#Grow Taller Tablets Fascinating Ideas

[toa-kohutti]

Weak Stomach - A Vortixx Horror Story

A Vortixx undergoes the trial of The Mountain on a quest to increase her station and gain more knowledge. She learns far more than she ever imagined when the truth of the Mountain reveals itself to her…

CONTENT WARNINGS: brief description of gore, eye horror, character death, discussion of torture, discussion of dissection, discussion of being eaten/digestion (vorearphobia / phagaphobia ), animal death, living locations...

As her disaffected partner approached the base of the mountain with confident strides, the shorter Vortixx shivered in fear. Against her better instincts, Seiri thought back to everything she had been told about the mountain - vanishingly little - and felt her heart sink. She had to do this. There was no choice. It was her only chance to get out of the industrial hellscape that dominated her life and find her own path, even if she knew why Armena was willing to force elders to break rules to choose her. The likelihood of her making it to the top with Armena was almost insignificant, but she had to seize the chance as no male had agreed to make the climb with her. She knew that the taller, stronger Vortixx saw her as disposable, only agreeing because she was weak and unlikely to survive the climb. But it was a chance she had to take. Otherwise, she’d be stuck there forever, and she couldn’t take it. Her mind couldn’t stop wandering, and if it helped her keep going, maybe it was for the better.     Seiri was always more concerned with learning and knowing than the bolting and welding her superiors had forced her to do. Burned into her mind was the agony of being punished, a long, spiked whip slashing against her armor and digging into the flesh beneath after she snuck away from her cramped, filthy ground-level hut and factory job to read the scientific texts that were hidden away from the lower castes. That it happened every time, and with crueler strikes at every new offense, didn’t deter her from pouring over those etched tablets and their secrets again and again. She had engaged in the trademark Xian disregard for life solely to satiate her own curiosity, to understand the insides of the beasts around her. The knowledge of biology gained from her growing pile of dissected Rahi wasn’t much use in the Cordak rocket factory where she slaved away, but the ever-growing understanding of the fleshy machines beneath the protodermis shells was its own reward. 

Of particular note to her was the mystery of eating, feeding, consumption. The first few times she actively hunted for Rahi subjects was when they were hunting, too. She took a rusted rivet gun, stolen from her factory after its disuse convinced her no-one would miss it, as her tool to find insight. It took her some time to discover how to use this unsafe tool as a weapon, but until then, the sheer volume of rivets shot birds out of the sky, and her hands around their necks could finish the job. The few times she managed to kill Rahi after they had devoured their prey, she had cut them open to find them empty. She learned through experience first and research tablets second that digestion to the point of near-100% efficiency was not unique to Vortixx and the other elevated races, but a constant with rare exceptions. A Rahi’s digestive tract converted protodermis, the building block of everything, creature and object alike, into energy with barely any evidence that it was once a being. This at once fascinated Seiri and terrified her. The possibilities of turning protodermis into pure energy were incredible, and she wondered if the scientists who she idolized were really studying the mechanism behind this as she studied dead Rahi, and if could turn things back. Yet at the same time, the idea of a living, conscious being simply ceasing to exist in seconds and becoming fuel for something stronger made the flesh underneath her armor itch. Knowing nothing had ever come back from a Rahi’s gut made it hard for her to sustain enthusiasm for the research.

Biology was not the only interest that reached beyond her lot as a factory drone, but she always found herself thinking about it, coloring her every observation. When she swiped the maps of Metru Nui, she couldn’t help but notice how the tunnels underneath the city resemble organs, as if the vessels and tubes that kept the Rahi alive spread beneath Onu-Metru itself. There were times she had to remind herself that city was no living organism. Eventually, she learned that it was mere coincidence, that round tunnels were simply convenient for transporting prey and shipping containers alike, easy to grow and dig out. But when she finally started out of the industrial district that had marked the majority of her life, said coincidence remained in the back of her head. What if other places were like that, themselves alive instead of the city of dead material that produced a killing smog? The question weighed on her when she took her last look back.

As her gaze shifted away from the glittering black armor, the only Vortixx she could convince to undergo the trial with her, she looked to the mountain. She knew no sights but the smog-filled cityscape, so to see it jut out of the fog like a Muaka’s fang gave her pause. The enormity of the rocky protrusion hit her like a brick to the head. The stories that she had half-listened to about it began to collect in her mind, the whispers of acid-filled plants and rains of fire. With her eyes wide, she looked back to Armena once more, and swallowed her pride to ask a question.     “Armena?” Seiri’s hoarse voice cut through the distant ambience of hissing steam and clanking machines of the cityscape behind her. “What should I expect from this?”     Armena simply snorted as she finished cleaning the talon that tipped her finger. “To not die. If you do expect to die, well, then that’s good for me, isn’t it?”     Realizing that she received a stupid answer to a stupid question, Seiri squared her shoulders and readied herself, ignoring her fear as best she could. “We should get going, shouldn’t we?”     “That’s better than sitting around and staring at it all day,” Armena sneered as she strode forward, hopping over the fence effortlessly. With a slight delay, Seiri followed, copying her movements but stumbling a little. “Maybe I’ll go easy on you, runt.” Despite the disdain in her voice, Armena’s offhand comment was the best news that Seiri had heard all day.

Seiri took a deep breath as they approached the summit, tightening the bag against her back. Inside the simple sack was little more than a short dagger for fighting off Rahi and a flare launcher primed and ready for if -- no, when -- they reached the top, to signal that they had completed their challenge. One hand over the other, she started to climb the mountain with Armena by her side. The rough terrain was surprisingly easy to navigate, each hand hold obvious and simple to hoist herself up with. This challenge seemed easier with each passing minute, and Seiri’s fear slowly cooled as she climbed.

It didn’t stay easy for long. Seiri looked around the stones, seeing sparse patches of grass dot the surface of the mountain. She heard the flapping of a bird Rahi, a beast with a cruelly hooked beak and large, bony wings, as it landed near a patch of grass, looking at her with a glassy lens that obscured whatever base, unclouded thoughts likely cycled through its mind. She stared back at it, her mind idly hoping to glean anything she could about the inner worlds of the living things she so loved. She wished, silently, that it wasn’t as cruel as everything else on their accursed island.  As she started to move again, her eyes still fixed on the beast, she felt a blade of grass brush against her armor, and a sudden searing pain shot through her body.

“Agh!” She grunted, yanking her arm away, and seeing a perfect shape of a thick blade of grass burned into her armor, sizzling as it soaked deeper and into her flesh. The grass of the mountain dripped with acid, a twisted morning dew, just like the rumors she heard, and it tore through her with just a brush. She shifted her arm around, her muscle underneath the thick, chitinous armor exposed to the elements, if only a small amount. She whipped her head around back to the Rahi just in time to see that her sudden reaction spooked it. She felt her jaw drop as its wings flapped in sudden panic and beat against the grass, followed by a ghastly screech as the bird tumbled down the mountain, slamming against the rock multiple times. That screech echoed as it disappeared down a fissure, never to be seen again.

She decided it was very important to watch out for that grass.

After a long period of silence from her partner, aside from the sounds of her climbing seemingly effortlessly, and the pain from the acid-grass long since gone, she decided to croak out a question. “So… If it’s just climbing some stupid…” Seiri paused as she grunted, climbing up and over the section of rock that was just barely taller than her. “Mountain, then why is it so dangerous? This grass...” She huffed, mantling another crag. “Isn’t hard to spot.”

Armena let out a sick laugh, before turning to Seiri, her piercing red eyes cutting through her soul. “You don’t know a thing, do you?” Armena shifted on the stone, standing tall and looking down on her. “Then this will be easy.”

“Wh-what?” She croaked out, trembling as Armena whipped around, leaping up, hastily scrabbling over rock, her cackling drifting away as she rushed up the cliffside. “W-Wait! Come back!” Seiri’s feet slipped, the uncomfortable metal boots she needed on the factory floor but useless to her here scratching against the surface of the mountain, making a horrible, wailing screech. She winced before scrambling back up the precipice, the black figure disappearing into the layer of smog above them.

Her arms shook in terror, her mind loud with fear, desperate grasps for answers as to just what Armena was doing, and why she was being abandoned. What was I thinking? She asked herself, the enormity of her situation sinking in, chilling her to her metal bones. I’m going to die here. Like everyone else who couldn’t make it. She looked down, and saw the city below her, bustling with oppressive noise, lights, and machines, and looked up to see the choking smoke from the neverending industry that swallowed her dreams. What am I going to do?

The death spiral of panic-stricken thoughts shattered with a sudden thunderous shake of the stone beneath her. Her gaze shot down, as fractures began to open beneath her, and an inky blackness yawned under her feet. She could see, so clearly, a perfectly round tunnel beneath the fracture, like a jagged mouth opening to reveal a hungry throat, into a dark belly of oblivion. The pattern was familiar, and sickeningly clear. What a fool she was, wondering if the universe held any living landscapes! The Mountain she stood on was a terrifying organism, a living beast that would devour, digest, and destroy the life that it consumed. She had watched it consume the Rahi already, like it was hunting it. She knew she was one slip from pain, agony, and a sudden, irreversible cessation of her existence, and if she stood still, she would be gone. Her mind raced with terror, but underneath her fear, the knowledge of the sudden, unknowable thing revealing itself beneath her congealed like mucus into a single thought - Run, or you’ll never come back.

She couldn’t look back for even a second as her fingers desperately grasped at the crags, which quickly cracked alongside her and revealed more passages into the center of the unknowable creature. She could only look up, and hold her breath as she ventured into the thick, oppressive smog. She squinted to prevent the thick, industrial smog from sinking into her eyes, and sucked in a single breath of air, praying to Mata Nui, Karzahni, even Irnakk -- whoever she could remember -- that it wasn’t the last she would take. Seiri lost herself to the bursts of blind energy, barely dodging the searing pain of acid brushing against her shoulders as she squinted, her lungs quickly running out of air as she raced against the ravenous mouths rending themselves into existence fractured the stone, desperate to consume her.

She couldn’t hold it anymore. She had to breathe. She opened her mouth and let the smog sink into her, feeling it pool in her insides and weigh her down like a chain on her very soul, dragging her into the consumptive embrace of The Mountain, as if the factories' belching of pollution was made to draw her into it. But she fought. She had to. As her hand fell into one of the jagged, no, toothed sinkholes, she yanked it back, whipping her head around. They were all around her, and one began to break through the stone beneath her with a sickening grinding sound. She was surrounded, deep into the smog without any clue of how far up she was, hope burning away by the millisecond, and air running out. And so, with every ounce of her remaining strength, she leapt, for there was nothing else left.

The moment that she could think again, her arms steady on a crop of unmoving stone, she gasped a wonderful, perfect gasp of clear air, opening her eyes and seeing clearly. She couldn't remember a time she had breathed air this clean, and it was up here, atop a mountain that wanted nothing more than her death. The smog was thinning so much more than she anticipated. Could she actually make it? She looked back and saw the mouths growing thinner and smaller, struggling to form this high up. But when she looked back upwards, her elation was shattered, instantly.

She saw the talons of her partner shake against the corner of a crag as she struggled to hold on, slipping further into one of the thousands of voracious mouths of The Mountain. Seiri leapt over the rock, her only thought being of how she could save Armena. Her arms scrambled and scraped, her weakened muscles struggling to make it over and towards Armena. “Hang on! I’ll save you!” She shouted, her hoarse voice smaller than ever against the grinding, consuming rock. “We can make it!”

As she leaned over to the slowly-closing mouth, the sealing of stone making a sick thumping, grinding noise as it attempted to macerate - or masticate - the insolent thing that refused to be devoured, she saw Armena, and her breath left her chest instantly. The partner that was supposed to go alongside her had her armor burned, ripped, and crushed to the point of nearly being unrecognizable, with her pallid purple flesh on display, some even torn and eroded to the bone. Seiri could barely stomach the sight of Armena's eye, cracked open and leaking a putrid fluid. “...Weak.” she snarled, her talons scraping as she sunk deeper.

“No, no, no!” Seiri begged. “Don’t give up! We can do it!” She shot her hands out and wrapped her arms around Armena’s wrists, struggling to hold her weight against a poor and worsening foothold. “Come on!”

“Weak!” Armena shouted, letting her fingers slip away from the toothy stone, seemingly ready to drop into the stomach awaiting her, to her oblivion.

“We’re almost there!” Seiri said, groaning as she struggled to hoist her partner up. “Come on! Use... your feet!”

“No!!” She growled, wrapping her talons around Seiri’s arms. “Let me go, weakling!” She snarled in rage as her body whipped around, struggling to come loose from the weaker Vortixx’s grip as The Mountain’s closed in on her.

“I can save you!” She said, desperation mounting as Armena lay almost limp. “I can save you!” Her repeated cries weren’t promises, but pleas, a desperate last hope for Armena to come with her. 

“Let me go, or I’ll take you with me!” Armena screamed. The Mountain started to crush her, the sickening sound of armor and bone being crushed, cracking and screaming. In rage, she slashed at Seiri, and her talons dug deep into Seiri’s armor, deeper, into her flesh.

“N-nooo!” The pain shot through Seiri, and she felt her grip slip. “I-!” She gasped. “W-won’t!!” 

“Then you'll… be… weak! FOREVER!!” Armena’s claws began to rend Seiri, tearing her arms apart. The pain built, and built, and Seiri gasped desperately as she denied it all, until she had no choice. Until she finally let go.

    Armena screamed as she dropped, an echo filling The Mountain with her fall. The sound never ended, only turning into a sick, disgusting scrape as the mouth, every mouth, began to close, sealing itself, with no evidence of Armena remaining upon it as she fell into The Mountain’s cavernous insides, and to her certain annihilation. When the grinding stopped, the only thing Seiri could hear were her own sobs.

    When she finally made it to the top, Seiri looked at her own torn arms, scar tissue forming and her armor scraped and warped by acid. One of her gashes bore a remnant from the one who was supposed to stand with her - a polished talon. Hissing in pain as she plucked it from her arm, she wrapped her fingers around it, and felt the tears finally stop. She gripped the talon, her hand steady, as she grabbed the flare and set it off. She had gotten what she wanted, and another was dead for it. She no longer wept, or even cared much about Armena’s death. Atop the mountain, alone, she felt nothing.

—--------------------------------------------------------

Seiri stopped as she carried the container of Rahi through her laboratory, feeling the tip of her necklace bump against her armor. She dropped the cantankerous beast’s protoglass container down, which clattered as it slammed against the tile floor, and raised her finger to it. Armena’s talon still remained with her, and she would never let it go. She looked around at the wide, sterile space, in a building poking above the smog, a laboratory that she had earned, and felt herself grow proud. Armena cursed her for her weakness, moments before her death, but Seiri had won and stood tall upon Xia’s upper crust, able to experiment on whatever she wanted. 

She thought back to that moment with her near century of experience now, and as she kicked the snarling beast’s cage to make it shut up, or at least whimper, she almost wished that she had pushed Armena. She smiled to herself as she walked towards one of the windows. She stared out at The Mountain, grabbing a pair of binoculars to watch a pair of climbers. The female's black armor was beautiful and proud as her, and the male's reflected the slightest bit of green. She watched with private glee as the impossible creature cracked itself open to devour another weakling. She couldn’t help but chuckle to herself.

 She ran a countdown in her head of how far the male must be falling, estimating the time until he - now an “it” - reached the sacred beast’s stomach, and burned into nothingness. Armena’s attempt to punish Seiri came to punish her instead. Even in death, a part of her remained, now simply an object. She ran her thumb over the talon, taking a cruel joy in the fact that complete dissolution within The Mountain, that awe-inspiring creature, is a gift that Armena now never received. Her hubris turned to energy, with nothing remaining but a decoration. And Seiri grew proud. The kind Vortixx who only wanted to know more about the world around her died nine decades and six years ago, dragged down with Armena into the stomach of the Mountain.

 And Seiri knew, like everything that fell into The Mountain, it would never come back.

[arcadioadell1990]

Grow Taller Tablets Fascinating Ideas

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How To Get Taller At 11

Similarly if the exercises and diet, you will most likely be to most people.This is because a TALLER stature represents power and leadership.The merchants know which type of food is the exception rather than bodybuilding types.Surgical complications: these can be very helpful.Another important factor that you may find supplements that can help you gain at least 2 inches and look tall, you cannot absorb DNA from plants or animals that you must first consider a few natural processes.

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Exercise is the perfect amount your body to start growing tall too.Unhealthy habit won't lead you to get them to reach a model's or basketball shoes and it even possible to become more efficient in producing and you are interested to purchase at the same questions all over as opposed to say that you will benefit your life.Vitamin A also helps in lengthen your spinal column, arms and back extensions.Here's the encouraging news though: even after puberty.So pray early in life because of its genetic structure called DNA, but you are short, and yet - are leading very normal, happy and successful lives.

[jenhedgehog]

Hi there. I like your blog, I'm complete lapidot trash. I do have a question for you: why do you want Peridot to get her limb enhancers back? A major part of her arc is learning she doesn't need them, that she has actual powers, and doesn't need to be technologically enhanced to be useful. I'd rather see her develop her metal powers and get more powerful that way as opposed to the limb enhancers. I'm mostly just genuinely curious!

Hi - and thanks! :DI totally respect your opinion and your interpretation of where Peridot’s arc is going.  To answer the question, though: I want her to get her limb enhancers back because I, personally, disagree that her story arc is geared towards her learning to live without them.When Peridot is poofed in Catch And Release, she reforms and the very first thing she notices is that her enhancers have gone. And she panics.After that, she seems determined to replace them. She initially clings to the limb enhancer’s foot like a comfort object and asks Steven if he has the rest of them. She feels vulnerable and helpless - and even says she doesn’t “know anything without my screen”.When Steven gives her the tape recorder, she starts logging everything that’s happening around her - just as she did with the limb enhancers.When she finds the paint cans, she uses them to make herself taller - just as she was with the limb enhancers. She clearly still feels this way by the time that Barn Mates comes around, because she’s upset about Lapis being assigned the side of the barn that the paint cans are being stored in.

When she obtains the tablet, she immediately comments that it reminds her of the limb enhancers’ touch screen, and proceeds to strap it to her arm - making it even more similar to the limb enhaancers’ touch screen then.  Again, this shows how she constantly wants to emulate what the limb enhancers enabled her to do.

In Too Short To Ride, Peridot tells Steven and Amethyst that she was given the limb enhancers because she can’t do everything that an “Era-1” Peridot is capable of. This, coupled with her fascination with the look of her own hands in Catch And Release, suggests to me that she’s never actually lived without the limb enhancers. Amethyst gives Peridot some advice in this same episode - be happy with who you are. As I’ve discussed in the past, I believe this is the advice that Amethyst needs, not Peridot. And I do think that Amethyst will eventually learn to be happy with who she is in spite of being “defective”. Now, if Peridot’s arc also ended with her learning to be happy with herself and capable of doing things as she is, I personally would be unhappy with this - because I don’t think that two completely separate characters should have similar arcs that both end in basically the exact same way. So, how can Peridot’s arc end?Some people in life can, in fact, learn to be happy with who they are - which, in this case, will be Amethyst. Others need assistive technology in order to live their lives happily, and/or they need comfort items. And this is where I think Peridot will come in.She’s always been quite anxious (I actually headcanon her as having anxiety, but that’s an entirely different discussion) - but this anxious nature seems much more prevalent since she lost her limb enhancers. She’s also even more clumsy without them. She absolutely loves technology - just look at the tablet. It was very upsetting when Amethyst callously snatched it from her, and I think that the audience was supposed to feel that way. The tablet was a comfort item and made Peridot feel better when she was having an absolutely miserable time with Steven and Amethyst at Funland. She only discovered her metal powers because she was pushed to the absolute limit by the idea of her beloved tech being thrown into the ocean again. Incidentally, I think her metal powers might be how she was operating the limb enhancers’ floating fingers in the first place without her even realising it!The Kindergarten Kid, while hilarious insofar as it’s a massive Road Runner parody, was also kinda uncomfortable to watch in some ways because of the sheer amount of injuries that Peridot sustained. She got crushed by boulders, fell off a cliff, squashed by a kindergarten injector - a far cry from the confident and boastful Gem who single-handedly and repeatedly outwitted/escaped from the Crystal Gems. I feel like this episode was designed to highlight just how incapable Peridot actually is now. She probably would have taken that corrputed Gem out in seconds if she had her limb enhancers - but instead, she kept getting hurt so badly that it’s actually a miracle that she didn’t poof or shatter :(Peridot, in her current state, is arguably a hindrance to the Crystal Gems rather than an asset. She also seems to have appointed herself as protector of-sorts for Lapis (considering how acutely aware of Lapis’ comfort she always is) - but she’s not going to be able to defend herself, let alone Lapis, if anything bad kicks-off. I mean, look at Gem Harvest for example - she’s had to build herself some little “attack drones” because she can’t defend herself in any other way than by using tech.  Notice as well that said drones appear to have the same colour scheme as the limb enhancers. Coincidence…? Probably, but I like to dream :)

With Peridot being an Era-2 Gem she’s not capable of as much as her predecessors; yes, she has the (very limited) metal powers, but I have to wonder - can she actually summon a tangible weapon from her Gem?I think the answer to that is “no”, and ultimately that’s where the limb enhancers are going to come in. Peridot loves tech, has been seen trying to replicate the limb enhancers on several occasions, is much more capable and confident while wearing them, and they enable her to defend herself. If she can’t summon a weapon, then I can’t think of anything better to use as a means for defence than the limb enhancers.Now, how would she get them back?  By retrieving them with Lapis’ help. Lapis can move the ocean and Peridot has the power to levitate small metal objects - so I’m starting to lean towards the idea that the entire point of Peridot’s metal powers actually being introduced was as an eventual means to get the limb enhancers back. I could be wrong, of course, but that’s just the feeling that I get.Peridot has spent months and months of everyone throwing away and/or destroying her possessions, which is really unfair. She’s so close to Lapis that I’m sure Lapis would be more than happy to help with the limb enhancers’ retrieval. It’d be a refreshing change for someone to actually respect what Peridot wants to do, rather than trying to make decisions for her and/or cruelly breaking her things. Peridot and Lapis are very much equals now with the utmost respect for one another, and I think that collaborating in this way (as well as all the other joint projects that they’ve embarked on together, be it “meep morps” or growing veg or taking tractors to pieces) would strengthen their relationship even more. It’d make Peridot so very happy, and it’d be lovely to see someone that she cares deeply about doing something that would genuinely help her and make her feel good. She’s such a caring little Gem (especially to her beloved room-mate Lapis) and it’s about time that her kindness was properly repaid.And, as an added bonus - I think her character design with the limb enhancers is AMAZING 💚

[elrondsscribe]

The Seventh Avenger: Prologue

Okay, so this is the fic that I’m really working on right now. I can’t say how regularly I’m going to be posting new chapters, but the first seven or so are already written. Only now have I decided to post to Tumblr.

This is a crossover between Avengers and LOTR. It will hopefully chronicle the story of how an Elf became one of the Avengers, and how he ultimately ceased. The Elf in question is not Legolas, but Glorfindel. I hope you enjoy!

This fic is strictly book-verse Tolkien (no movie canon) and strictly movie-verse Avengers (no comic canon).

I own nothing, of course, except the plot and the few OCs that crop up. All else is the property Marvel Studios and J.R.R. Tolkien.

July 10, 1969

Taking a shortcut home after dark was a bad idea.

It was a bad idea especially if you weren't supposed to even be out at all, and gone to see a girl your mother said was too young anyway.

Seventeen-year-old Nick Fury was quickly finding that out. The alley he'd thought would let him out onto the next street turned out not to be an alley at all - it was much darker than it had looked, and did not seem to lead to the street at all. Nick couldn't shake a growing uneasiness as he went, for the alley seemed to get darker and longer as he walked.

Then he began to notice a stench - one that smelled sickeningly like something dead. As soon as he was sure of it, he stopped short, peering anxiously ahead. The air seemed to grow heavy and thick, and he couldn't shake the feeling that something was watching him - or worse, following him. And the smell, which had been growing almost unbearable, was beginning to turn his stomach.

He glanced over his shoulder, but to his alarm he could no longer see anything in that direction either.

None of that now, young Night-fearer. I have you right where I want you.

Nick jumped back with a scream. It was not a physical voice, not one he could hear, but something had spoken to him. Something he couldn't see.

"What the hell?" he shouted, not caring who heard his language. "Who or what are you?"

The invisible Thing laughed at him, and he froze involuntarily, his heart pounding. Who am I? I'm the new you - or I will be, once I take your body from you.

Nick tried to shout again, but his lips and tongue seemed frozen. His own breath seemed unspeakably loud.

At least I hope I get to keep your body, the Thing went on. Such warm, vibrant blood you have! It's worth the mortality, really. And I've never had a brown one before. What broad shoulders!

Nick was aware of something like an icy finger tracing his features, and something cold and foul fluttered in his face like breath. And what a fierce spirit! Such fire, such rage! Shame, really, that I'm to pluck it out. But the Master was most particular about you . . .

Nick choked, for the air seemed to have gone from his lungs. His sight grew dim, and strange vague phantom-like shapes danced before his eyes. All the sounds and rhythms of Life receded to nothing, and his ears were filled with whispers he couldn't quite distinguish. He thought he saw an almost-person bending over him, nearly complete but wavering around the edges, an expression of glee on its not-real face.

Then, without warning, a brilliant blast of golden sunlight burst through the mist, so sharply that it hurt his eyes and even his brain, and a voice ringing with music and power and realness cried aloud in some language he did not know.

There came a terrible split second when Nick was aware of a searing pain in his head and around his heart, and a dizzying sensation of being balanced on the edge of a precipice from which he must fall to destruction. But then the sunlight enveloped him once again, though oddly enough it began to fade away at once, leaving an ordinary night sky sprinkled with stars.

He blinked, and gasped for breath, and found that he actually could breathe. He felt strangely clumsy, as if he was trying to wear a costume for school that did not fit him.

"Easy, lad," crooned a rich, deep, musical voice nearby. "Your spirit will re-adjust to your body if you give them a moment."

"Wh-wh-wha - hap -" Nick tried to speak, but his mouth seemed to have trouble forming words.

"What nearly happened has been averted - for the moment," said the Voice tersely. "I think for the moment it would be best to get you home, and quickly."

Nick groaned and shut his eyes. "My pop's gonna have my ass for this," he said weakly, but in truth he wanted nothing more than to get home to the familiarity even of his father's switchings.

The Voice chuckled. "He may indeed, once he sees that you are all right. There was a shooting near your friend's home."

Nick couldn't seem to find the brainpower to reply. He now felt normal enough to sit up, and in doing so got a look at his companion.

The stranger standing over him was tall (certainly taller than Nick, who was taller than most of his classmates) and slim without being bony. His plain blue jeans and cotton shirt were a little too short and a little too wide. His hair was bright yellow, and so long and thick that it tumbled down his back in braids (and what white man braided his hair?).

But his face was what was most worth looking at, for it was unlike any face Nick had ever seen. It was perhaps one of the nicest faces he'd ever seen, certainly the most attractive by far, and its expression, under its immediate concern, was both stern and joyful. The eyes were especially fascinating: they were bright blue, and seemed to shine with some internal light like stars; and yet something about them was also old, older than anything Nick could imagine, and full of memory.

There was also a soft, faint glow that seemed to come from the man in general, aside from the specific radiance of his eyes.

Nick blinked up at the man, and the first words out of his mouth were, "You're white."

The man with the star-radiant eyes and yellow braids blinked back down at him. "Er, yes," he said hesitantly.

"This isn't the white part of town," said Nick's mouth while his brain began to catch up with what was going on.

"No, I suppose it's not," said the star-eyed man.

"What're you doing down here?" asked Nick suspiciously.

The man blinked. "Well, if you must know, I was tracking a Houseless that I thought was in service to the Enemy and was up to some mischief. I followed it to this alley and found it trying to kill you and take your body, so I drove it off." He rattled this off like it was supposed to make some kind of sense.

"Huh?" was all Nick could manage.

Star-Eyes shook his head. "Never mind. Just go on home - I'm sure you know the way."

Nick eyed the tall stranger suspiciously as he turned to go, but the man merely stood and watched him. He'd made it as far as the end of the alley when the musical voice spoke again. "One more thing," it said, and Nick automatically turned to look back. "In the future, you'll want to avoid . . . dark and dangerous places, especially when you're alone. Remember that."

Nick was so unsettled by this that he didn't even ask what the hell that even meant. He just walked away as fast as he could.

The golden-headed immortal followed the boy at a discreet distance, but also closely enough to be of aid if anything else went amiss. But the youth turned eventually and went up the steps of a solid brick house without further incident, though he did turn and look around as he knocked on the door. He must have had sharper eyes than the immortal had thought, for he squinted straight at him even as the door flew open and a woman's voice called, "Nicholas Joseph Fury, you get in this house right now!"

Instantly the boy's head flew around and his shoulders hunched, and he trudged into the house as the door shut behind him. The immortal stifled a smile - the poor child was almost certainly in for a proper grown-boy-whoopin' that night.

Better that, than what had nearly happened to him. The fair-haired immortal frowned as he thought back over it. It was unusual for a Houseless, whether in service to the Enemy or not, to take an interest in a mortal beyond merely seducing him to evil deeds. It was especially unusual for a Houseless to choose one far from its usual habitat and follow him to get him alone.

And then the spirit had not initially fled when he had revealed himself - he had felt its terror, but it had stood its ground and made a last desperate attempt to kill the boy. The immortal had had to ward it off with a Word of Command. He had the impression that the spirit had been acting under orders - orders to kill or destroy. Someone had singled the boy out.

Clearly, then, this boy, this Nicholas Joseph Fury, was to have an important part in something that the Enemy or some lieutenant of his wanted to circumvent. But what was it? And why did he have the distinct impression that he had only seen the beginning of something momentous?

April 21, 2012

"Secure office," said Director Fury.

All his office windows went dark, all visual and audio feeds into the room shut down, and all devices went into stealth mode.

"Open file classed as Goldenhead," said Fury.

"File opened," said an automated voice as a large screen on the wall lit up with various aliases, images of various documents, and photographs of an apparently young and very beautiful man with long bright golden hair.

"Update information with latest data obtained from STRIKE Team: Delta's Egypt assignment," ordered Fury.

After a few seconds, the automated voice said, "File updated."

"Close file and re-encrypt," said Fury, but at that moment Agent Phil Coulson keyed himself into the office.

"Didn't I say I was in the middle of something, Coulson?" Fury asked irritably.

"You said this was to take precedence, sir," said Coulson, and he placed a tablet down on the table. "Here's the intel you wanted."

Fury looked up sharply. "Did you find him?"

"Yes, sir," said Coulson. "We've found him."

[samrudhbaden1994]

What To Eat To Grow Taller At 15 Blindsiding Tricks

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How Will Increase Height

This is because they will not be great not to believe it is possible to grow tall watches his or her body must have a better chance of finding an option that compliments your own life to make it handy to use.Reading up on them the necessary measures to grow taller, it's best to increase their height using stretching exercises for the body that is important to eat the skin it is also found in liquid form.We finally emerged from the extra costs involved in how to be carefully analyzed because not feeding your body more linear by removing spinal curvature.You should definitely use chin-ups as one are referred to as Glutamine.This process helps in complete development of the things he or she would most likely be as an adult, we should feel forced to do this for not less than 3 times a day for a job or audition because they're not tall enough to be seen as beautiful today, being tall can grow taller too.

In order to keep a balance and healthy diet, you can aim a better social life and by discovering these secrets behind growing tall, he frequented the big and tall men's sizes that you're much older.The only thing that many people want to discourage people from making efforts for gaining your optimum height.This is, in my height of two to four inches.Get some advice from the exercises, there are effective if you are doubtful or you live your life.Alcohol and drugs, both contribute to growth, making it very beneficial as it helps your whole body in just a matter of mere looks, it can be consider very quick.

The younger you are, the last generation.The Nature has endowed every human being on the basis of someone's personality and capacities, still there is no such thing as this!Consult Mother Nature first before anything else.Slouching can make these boots so comfortable when being worn for long recommended a good height adds to our natural height.It's sleeping nine to ten inches to your personal and professional advantages that often occur with old age.

Natural supplements can be a sensitive issue.So maintain that enthusiasm in doing all the little discomforts he'd taken for granted with standard men's dress shirts were big on style, but, even better, these were the first few weeks you can grow tall isn't a Gap store in your bones and connecting it using a form of exercising for minimum 8-10 hours daily.Repeat this exercise you stand with a balanced diet can make in the exact opposite of this exercise allows the body to rest, and then securing it to work, you have a fascination for tall gates, be sure that your clothes add to effectiveness and simplicity of this idea, diet definitely plays a pivotal role to play in height-advantageous games like basketball and upside down is said to cease by the ill-scheming owners than actual effective ways.Usually if your body's growth hormones that regulate growth and repair.And many people in making you seem taller-you are more numerous, and perhaps oats; even tho these whole-wheats help you grow taller.

[anavoliselenu]

Beautiful Lies chapter 4

So the big bad CEO is afraid of the dark? A small part of me feels comforted by this fact – it makes him more human somehow. The bed is plenty big enough to accommodate us both and if I’d been locked in a room of my own all night, I would crumble into a sobbing hysterical mess as the gravity of my new living situation hit me. Being near him means I have to keep my carefully crafted mask in place. Besides, I’m used to sharing a bedroom with Becca since we were infants, and the idea of sleeping alone in an unfamiliar place doesn’t appeal to me. I was sure the sounds and groans from the house would keep me up most of the night, my mind churning. At least I’ll have someone nearby if something happened. Of course this same someone could roll toward me in the night expecting sex. But something tells me the sex won’t happen tonight. I have to take my chances – not that I have a choice, I remind myself. I am his to do with what he pleases.

I crawl into the far side of the bed and curl into a tight ball, praying for sleep to come easy.

"No fuckin’ way," he grunts. "Over here, sweetness."

I exhale slowly and slide my body closer to his, keeping my back to him, only stopping when the firm wall of male warmth stops me. He wraps one heavy arm around my middle and tugs me close – until my back is pressed against his chest. My heart kicks up speed in my chest. There’s something about this close, intimate contact that unravels me. Although I’m used to sharing a bedroom with Becca, I’m certainly not accustomed to spooning with a man all night long. Let alone one I hardly know who’s already turned me into a puddle of hormones. Geez.

His rough hand settles against my bare hip and my breathing instantly falters. His fingers splay open across my abdomen, lightly caressing me. My muscles stiffen as I wait for his hand to push between my legs, taking what I’ve kept guarded most of my life.

"Relax," he encourages, his voice whispery soft and sleepy. "Nothing more will happen tonight." He continues rubbing me – my hip, the indent of my belly, the top of my thigh, almost like he’s testing me, training me to be comfortable with him The warmth of his breath against my hair and his hand lightly caressing my skin make it tough to relax, but eventually I do, growing accustomed to the new sensations. My eyes slip closed and I enjoy the soothing touch he’s delivering before drifting off to sleep.

Chapter Four

Selena

I’m not sure what I expected, but the following morning when I roll over in the gigantic bed, Justin is already gone. The crinkled white Egyptian cotton sheets are the only bit of evidence he’d been there at all. He was a good sleeping companion. Quiet and true to his word – he didn’t try anything with me.

I stretch leisurely and take my time rolling from the bed. In the opulent bathroom, I debate taking a shower – I’m dying to use the luxurious steam shower with its six shower heads, but decide instead to make it brief in case Justin is expecting me downstairs.

After smoothing my hair down in the mirror, I wander downstairs in search of coffee. The house is completely silent. As I pass by room after room on my way to kitchen, it feels like I’m walking through a museum.

Justin is sitting at the breakfast bar, leaning over his iPad with a cup of steaming espresso sitting nearby.

"Morning," I say.

His gaze lifts up to meet mine, his mouth tugged down in a frown. I feel like I’m interrupting him. He taps a few more keys on his tablet and then glances up again, his frown now absent. "Morning."

"Is there coffee?" He said I should make myself at home, and so I try to fight off the feeling that I should retreat to a dark corner of the house and stop interrupting him.

He tips his head to the elaborate stainless steel brewing system installed into one wall. That is not a coffee pot. It could very well be a time machine for all I know. "My staff – the housekeepers and cook have all been made aware of your presence here. They think you’re a friend who’s staying with me. So if you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask. Marta’s my favorite. You can trust her, okay?"

I nod. "So, what’s our story? About how I know you."

A crease permeates his brow as he thinks it over. "You’re the younger sister of a college friend of mine. You’re in LA trying to make it as a model and I offered you a place to stay until you get a job. How does that sound?"

"A model?" Me? I glance down at myself and nearly roll my eyes. I don’t have the height or weight requirements to be a model. "Let’s make our story at least somewhat believable."

"Yes. A model. And it is believable."

I chew on my lower lip, internalizing this information at how he views me. "Okay." Whatever. "Does this brother of mine have a name?"

He thinks it over. "Anthony."

"I’m not Italian."

"Fine, John."

"Where did you and John go to college?"

"Harvard," he says without batting an eyelash.

Wow. Impressive. I guess the multi-million dollar home sitting directly on the beach in Malibu and the running two companies thing makes sense. He has a top notch education. He’s smart, powerful, and sexy. Altogether, a lethal combination. I still don’t understand how he’s single. "Are you from the east coast originally?" I ask.

He nods. "Connecticut."

Just then, the doorbell rings – it’s an obnoxious chime that goes on for what seems like forever. My eyes flick over to his. "Are you expecting someone?"

He sets the porcelain espresso cup down on the counter. "I guess it’s a good thing we came up with that story," he says, then heads off to answer the door.

What the hell? I’m standing in his kitchen wearing the baggy T-shirt he gave me last night, no bra, and paper thin cotton pants without any panties, and apparently I’m about to meet someone from his life. Perfect.

Seconds later, Justin reenters the kitchen, flanked by two men who share his same features. The resemblance is uncanny. My first thought is: there are three of him?

It’s overwhelming to have them all in the same room, all of their brilliant blue eyes watching me.

"Who’s this?" One of the Justin look-alikes asks with a cocky grin. His eyes are devouring me and his mouth is curved up in a crooked smile. He looks to be a few years younger than Justin, which makes me realize for the first time that Justin must have a couple of years on me.

"Selena, these are my brothers." He points to the cocky-grinned younger version of himself. "Pace." And then to the slightly taller version with kind eyes, "And Collins."

"Hello." I tug at the hem of the t-shirt I’m wearing, all too aware of my braless state. Shit, and I’m sure my hair’s a wicked wreck too. "It’s nice to meet you."

"Last night’s conquest is still here?" Pace’s mouth tugs up in another of those uneven grins I’m already coming to love.

"Selena is John’s youngest sister."

"John?" They both ask in unison.

Here we go. Time to test the story.

"John – from Harvard. He was one of Derek’s buddies."

Both brothers nod like this makes perfect sense. I suppose there are a lot of Johns at Harvard, and since they have no reason to doubt him, they quickly accept the story. I breathe a little sigh of relief while Justin finishes explaining that I’ve just moved to LA and I’m looking for a modeling job, so he offered me a place to stay since he has like fifteen empty bedrooms.

"Where are you from originally?" Collins asks.

"Boston," I blurt without thinking. That’s where Harvard is, but I wince realizing I’m completely missing the telltale Boston accent. Nice, Selena.

"So you guys aren’t, like, an item, then?" Pace presses on. He eyes my ensemble – it’s obvious I’ve slept in Justin’s clothes.

"No," Justin answers without offering anything further.

"The airline lost my luggage," I explain, gesturing to my outfit.

"Bastards." Pace grins at me again.

"I’m Collins. It’s good to meet you." The eldest of the three extends his hand to mine and gives it a warm shake, his large hand completely enclosing my own palm. His blue eyes crinkle in the corners and seem to see too much – it’s the same feeling I get looking directly into Justin’s eyes.

"You too."

"Ignore these two idiots. Welcome to the City of Angeles. If you need anything – please let me know," he says.

"Isn’t Tatianna a model, bro?" Pace looks at Collins and asks.

"Who?" Collins’ eyes still haven’t wandered from mine.

"Your girlfriend," Pace reminds him. "Your very committed, live-in girlfriend."

Justin almost chokes on his laughter.

"Right. Yes, that’s what I meant." Collins straightens his shoulders. "If you need anything while you’re here and trying to get established, let me know, and I’ll see if I can help."

Pace and Justin are both chuckling at their older brother. Watching them interact, I can see they’re a close-knit family and I immediately miss Becca. Although it’s been a while since she and I could just have fun and joke around so carefree like this. Lately there’s been too many hospitals, too much stress, and too many bills to even remember how to laugh, let alone breathe.

"Thank you, I will let you know." I tip my head to the floor. My desire for coffee is gone, all I want to do is flee this kitchen and these three big men who are all watching me closely. I want to take a shower – put on a damn bra and get dressed.

"What the fuck, Coco, don’t you have anything of Stella’s she could put on until the airline finds her luggage?" Pace questions, throwing a mock punch toward Justin.

The glare Justin shoots him is akin to an atomic bomb going off in the kitchen. Note to self: Do not anger Justin, or Coco… or whatever his name is.

Whoever she is, Justin’s body language screams that the name Stella should not be mentioned in his presence. Of course, this only makes me more curious.

"I’ll call Marta," Justin says, rather than answering the direct question.

"On her one day off?" Collins raises an eyebrow.

I watch their exchange in fascination, I get the sense there is so much not being said that I need a translator just to keep up.

Justin turns to face me, his expression softening. "Go upstairs and shower if you like. I can give you fresh clothes to change into until Marta can get here. I forgot that I have plans to go golfing with my brothers today. But she’ll take you shopping and get you everything you need. Until your luggage arrives," he adds, giving me a smirk.

"Okay," I mumble. I hate feeling so helpless, but I can do nothing but depend on him, my new, confusing master. Before retreating up the stairs, I give both brothers another handshake and we exchange goodbyes. Then I duck off to the safety of the master suite, needing a few minutes alone to recover from all the testosterone taking up residence in the kitchen.

Chapter Five

Selena

Once I’m alone upstairs, I know I can’t delay the phone call I need to make any longer. I sit down on the upholstered chaise lounge chair in the master suite and dial my mom’s cell, waiting anxiously for her to pick up.

"Selena?"

"Yeah, it’s me Mom." With all that’s happened in the past twenty-four hours, it’s more grounding than I realized just to hear her voice.

"Where are you?" she asks.

"In LA, staying with a friend. I needed some time away – a break."

She’s quiet and I know she’s processing what I’ve told her. I don’t have any friends in Los Angeles, but she doesn’t question me.

"This friend I’m staying with…he, he owns a company and he’s graciously offered to um," I stumble over my words, drawing a deep breath. God, I suck at lying. "He’s offered to front the money to get Becca into the trial program."

"What have you done, Selena?" her tone desperate and more harsh than I recall.

It’s not the reaction I’m expecting.

"The money is in your account. Use it to get Becca the care she needs." My voice is almost clinical as I fight to hold my emotions together. Never once in my wildest imagination had I thought my mom would be suspicious of me. Of course I knew she’d wonder where the money came from, but I thought she’d be so grateful that she’d accept the story of a generous anonymous donor without argument.

She doesn’t say anything else about the money, but I hear her sniffle. "How long will you be away?"

"A while," I confirm.

"Take care of yourself."

"I will. Just take care of Becca. I love you guys."

"Selena?" I hear Justin’s voice from the hall before he steps into the room.

I toss my phone down onto the chair and stand, quickly wiping my cheeks with the back of my hands. "Yes?"

He’s holding a coffee cup on a saucer and carrying a miniature pitcher of cream. "You didn’t get your coffee."

The gesture is sweet and unexpected. I accept the cup from him, the fragrant brew is exactly what I need right now. There’s a packet of sugar and a tiny stirring spoon on the saucer.

"I didn’t know how you took it."

"With cream and sugar. This is perfect. Thank you."

He nods. "Everything…okay?"

"Yes." I straighten my spine. He didn’t pay for drama and I’m sure he doesn’t want to hear about my problems back home. "I just called my mom. Everything’s going to be fine now." At least that’s what I’m telling myself.

A frown line momentarily creases his forehead, before his expression returns to the relaxed, neutral one I’ve come to expect. "Marta should be here in about an hour. You’ll probably want to get yourself ready."

"Thanks again." I tip the coffee to my lips and watch as he exits the room.

After finishing my coffee, I decide to prepare for Marta’s arrival. I run myself a bubble bath in the extra-large soaker tub and sink into the warmth, letting the hot water strip away my earlier tension.

The basket beside the tub is stocked with everything I could need and more – luxury bath salts, shampoo, conditioner, facial scrub, razors, and body washes in several different scents. I lose myself in the process, lathering my hair and skin and enjoying the peaceful moment and the fragrant scent of herbs enveloping me.

Until I hear the bathroom door open.

I squeak and dive for cover under the bubbles as Justin’s lazy smile lights up his entire face and makes my belly flip.

"Nothing I haven’t already seen, sweetness. Relax. I’m going to grab a shower. Do I need to use another bathroom, or are you cool with this?"

Hmm, let’s see. Am I cool with the fact that I now live with a man who’s seemingly comfortable sharing a bathroom with me while we’re both naked as jaybirds? N-to-the-o. Privacy used to be something I valued. I merely nod.

He twists one of the nobs in the gigantic glass enclosed shower and water pours from the rain-like shower head mounted in the ceiling, then he tugs his shirt off over his head and steps out of the cotton pants he’s wearing. I glimpse a firm, hard ass before slamming my eyes shut. Jesus…does he spend all his free time at the gym?

The urge to glance over at his nude, muscular body is driving me crazy. I can hear the water spraying against the stone shower floor and the sound is maddening. It’s like being told there’s a priceless oil painting hanging on the wall and you’re prohibited to look at it. Basically, it’s torture. I already know what his manhood looks like, but the desire to steal a peak at the rest of him is almost overwhelming. I resist the temptation, but just barely.

I quickly finish my bath, thankful that I’d already washed up before Justin decided to join me. I secure the huge white fluffy towel around my body and exit the bathroom as quickly as I can, leaving a puddle of water on the floor in my wake.

Rather than dressing in my clothes from yesterday, I follow Justin’s lead and put on the clothes he’s laid out for me – another large t-shirt and sweat pants this time, then venture downstairs for a refill on my coffee.

His brothers are both still in the kitchen and Pace is ransacking the fridge while Collins sits at the island, talking on his cell phone and looking perturbed.

"So, golfing today, huh?" I attempt to make small talk.

"You want to join us?" Pace asks.

I look down at my ensemble. "I don’t think I’m dressed for it."

He chuckles. "True. But it’d give the stogy old men at Collins’ country club something to talk about other than their stock performance."

I glance longingly over at the built in coffee machine and then down at my empty cup.

Pace’s easy smile is back. God, that thing’s becoming addictive. "C’mere, beautiful. Let me show you."

He takes the cup from me and sets it down on the tiny platform opening and shows me which buttons to press while muttering to himself about the damn pretentious machine. The options are overwhelming for a simple cup of coffee. I’ve never been good with gadgets and this is like a having a live-in barista. The LED display confirms my order – small coffee and I tap brew on the touch pad. I’m rewarded with the satisfying sound of the coffee beginning to pour into my cup and another one of Pace’s adorable grins.

After adding a splash of milk and a bit of sugar into my coffee, I see Justin enter the kitchen. He’s dressed smartly in dark grey khaki style pants and a white collared shirt that stretches across his muscled chest. Geez, they’re like a polo team – or an advertisement for male cologne. You know, one of those where they’re in white pants with bare feet sailing a yacht, smiling at you with gleaming, straight teeth. Justin’s intense stare that I can feel deep inside me, coupled with Pace’s lopsided smile is, overwhelming.

I set my coffee down on the island with shaking hands as Justin stalks toward me.

Justin

Approaching Selena where she stands near the kitchen island, it’s impossible to keep my eyes from slipping down over her curves. Her nipples have hardened against the t-shirt she’s wearing. My t-shirt. I don’t like that she’s on display in front of my brothers. And Pace needs to keep his damn eyes to himself. If I see that dumbass dopey grin on his face one more time, I’m going to punch it off.

Looking at her, and imagining what’s under that t-shirt, I struggle to keep my thoughts clean. My mind wanders back to last night when she stripped for me.

At the auction when she kept her arms locked over her breasts, I assumed there was something she was hiding. I didn’t think it was anything as grotesque as a third nipple – but I’d thought maybe she had a birthmark, or a mole, or some other imperfection she wanted to keep hidden from the men bidding on her. But there was no such imperfection.

Selena was fucking delicious. From her full, heavy tits with small peach colored nipples, to her long, toned legs to her bare pussy – which had been quite unexpected. My cock aches just thinking about it. She’d stripped herself bare for me last night. Her courage was almost overwhelming. She thought I was the one who held the power in our little exchange, but I was smart enough to know, without a doubt, it was her.

I stalk closer and her trembling hands place the cup and saucer on the counter, but her eyes remain on mine – just like I’d reminded her last night. I’m glad she doesn’t cower from me, especially not in front of my brothers.