#Natural White Cable Ties-Zip Ties

[nirahdistributors1]

Are You Searching for the Best 16 Inch Cable Tie 50 Lbs in the Usa?

Nirah Distributors provide the best 16-inch cable tie 50 lbs distributor in the USA. And we also supply top-quality 16-inch cable ties and we provide 16-inch industrial-strength cable ties. If you want more information about natural white cable ties-zip ties & UV black cable ties, visit our site!

[wrecking-man]

Starks;Gate Chapter 1 - Fullmetal & Alchemist

Click here to read on AO3.

One September day, on the second floor of the Brawn Workshop.

The Brawn Workshop was a traditional blacksmith shop in the Kingdom of Marvel, on the continent of Omorika... It specialized in, of all things, extremely heavy weapons and armor.

Armor several centimeters thick... Swords too big, too thick, too heavy, and too rough—you get the idea...

In contrast, the second floor was catered to anything but...

It was a sanctuary for intellectuals! The world’s greatest minds were gathered together there!

...Or so the man renting the place would like to believe.

It was known as the Future Artifact Laboratorium.

The air was hot and heavy in this makeshift lab in an apartment room, though the forge on the floor below had long been extinguished in anticipation of this meeting of the minds.

The atmosphere was tense as two young men sat hunched over a small, rectangular wooden table...

One was sitting on a cheap green sofa, clad in form-fitting red and gold armor... On the seat next to him was a plushie that vaguely resembled a panda with short, stubby legs.

The other was sitting on a metal folding chair on the opposing side, wearing a much more casual outfit... and on top of that, a white lab coat.

There were two clear glass bottles on the floor nearby, corked shut. One of them was empty, while the other was nearly so. Inside was once a carbonated beverage by the name of Doktor Pepper—or Dk Pepper for short.

The man in iron* delicately slid a card forward on the table with the tip of his forefinger, then overturned a small hourglass that had been sitting on the edge of the table.

“You seem nervous.”

It was a plain statement of fact. The gentleman before him was sweating bullets—uncontrollably so.

The younger man forced out a stifled laugh.

He had short black hair that he kept swept back. In a word, he was lanky... For the uninitiated, this man’s name was Okabe Rintaro.

That was his legal name... his birth name... but he would always insist upon Hououin Kyouma as his true name... In full disclosure, in his past life, it was.

“I must admit, Your Majesty, that your visit has me a touch perplexed,” Okabe responded. “It can’t be that you chose me at random to play a game of RaiNet against...”

He had wondered why Makise Kurisu, his girlfriend (provisional basis), returned earlier that day with so many snacks and drinks as if they were having a party today... Now he understood.

Questions still remained, however.

Had somebody sent a d-mail...?

Though the PhoneWave (name subject to change) had been disassembled for scrap, he could not at all discount that possibility... A message from the future would easily cause the sort of confusing circumstances he had been thrust headlong into.

D-mail... It was short for ‘Dorian mail’, which in turn was short for ‘the mail of Dorian Gray’.

Its name was a reference to the famous novel ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’, since no one could perceive the changes resulting from a d-mail—save for Okabe, of course, due to an ability of his he dubbed ‘Reading Steiner’.

...There was a catch, however.

That ability of his only triggered at the time d-mails were originally sent... and even then, given the overwhelming nature of Attractor Fields, sometimes the changes were too subtle for even him to notice.

Attractor Fields, in simple terms, are like bundles of timelines... Or world lines, rather.

Think of them as cables that have been zip-tied together for convenience, or like individual threads of a rope tightly wound together.

Though only one world line is active at any given time, and there are an infinite number of variations between them, all world lines within the same Attractor Field heavily influence one another and drive the active world line towards an event they all share in common—that is known as Convergence.

It was easy for Okabe to lose track of his life whenever world lines happened to shift... whether by his doing or otherwise.

His ability had gaps... Literally...

While he retained memories from previously-active world lines he had personally experienced, he gained none at all from the new ones on his arrival... As a result, it was possible he would forget this meeting ever took place.

‘When’ was anyone’s guess. It depended on when the d-mail was sent.

If one was even sent.

It was a useful, but often frustrating ability. In some sense, you could also call it a disability... It was like being gaslit by the universe itself, except the universe does not lie.

...He tried not to think about it.

Getting back to the game, Okabe moved one of his own cards on the table two squares over, sideways, leaving it two squares shy of the one Tony Stark had just moved... Two line-boosted cards facing off—a sacrificial play if ever there was one.

With haste, he flipped the hourglass back over, because time was not on his side in this battle of wits.

“You know, this game is remarkably similar to one back in my old world,” Tony said, dodging Okabe’s comment. “It was called Ghosts.”

Taking the mention of ‘ghosts’ as an indirect and subtle threat somehow, Okabe’s anxiety flared up even more... Unknowingly, he began clenching his teeth. It took everything in him to not have a panic attack right on the spot.

His mind could not help but conjure up scenarios wherein the king had become his mortal enemy, through no fault of his own.

“Do you believe in ghosts?” Tony asked as he calmly made his next move, then flipped the hourglass over again.

Okabe stared at the grains of sand as they slowly fell. Was he being toyed with here? That surely had to be the case... He could feel a righteous anger swelling within his gut... Had he not already been put through enough?!

In his mind, Okabe had already shot up from his seat and thrown his metal folding chair back towards the wall in indignation.

He then flung Tony’s Super Limited Edition RaiNet AccessBattlers board off the table, off to their sides—cards and all—and demanded to know what the great King of Marvel, Iron Man, wanted from him... all while slamming his hands on the table—again, this was only in his mind...

In reality, he was far too timid of a man to do something like that. At least to someone of such high and noble status... Further dampening his hostilities was the fact that his opponent seemed all too prepared for physical conflict, casually sitting there on his sofa in fullmetal...

Alchemist and arcanist by trade, Okabe scarcely stood a chance against him if a fight were to break out between them... So if there was any possibility of appeasement, then that would no doubt be Okabe’s first choice. And if not, then running away was also an enticing option.

Okabe anxiously tapped his feet on the floor, trying to somehow ground himself back to reality. If only he were not alone in this time of tribulation, he could somehow puzzle out the answer to his quandary.

But he was alone—his adversary notwithstanding.

“How about time travel...?” Tony changed the question after receiving no answer, carefully gauging all of Okabe’s reactions. “With that, I think you must have some idea why I’m here...”

As its CEO, Tony was coming off the heels of a thorough purge of the research organization known as SORN (Society for Omorikans Researching Nature) after it had gone rogue, and had yet to discern whether the young man in front of him was friend or foe.

The leader of the Rounders, a man by the name of Tennouji Yugo—the man who happened to own this very building, as a matter of fact—had already vouched for Okabe during questioning, stating that he was ‘too damned honest for his own good.’

Tony had received similar testimony from another Rounder, one Kiryu Moeka, whom said that Okabe ‘is a little rude, and acts delusional sometimes, but he is a good person.’

The Rounders were an elite team of ruthless mercenaries under the employ of SORN, however. As such, they carried out all manner of tasks for them... up to and including assassinations, as Tony had found out first hand.

To his great fortune, Tony had been blessed by one of this world’s many gods to never forget anything. So on that ‘promised day where time intersected’, well...

Tony took SORN’s betrayal personally, as one might imagine. Dragons would be jealous of the fury wrought upon them on his revival in this new, Iota Attractor Field...

Considering the Rounders had already killed him once, Tony would be forgiven for having a suspicious mind regarding anything they had to say now.

In this moment, however, he could only see himself as the villain. Or, perhaps more accurately, he was a schoolyard bully... Okabe was seemingly on the verge of tears—his eyes were red, anyways...

Playing dumb here was never truly an option for Okabe. That had become painfully obvious.

He made his next move without really thinking it over. He was going to lose this game of RaiNet anyway... At this point, he simply did not want to see the sand in his half of the hourglass run out.

“Time travel is possible,” Okabe said gravely, “...but time must never be manipulated. Never.” He summoned up what little foolhardy courage he could and stared Tony down as he overturned the hourglass again.

His skin felt like it was on fire. He was no doubt the world’s greatest hypocrite for saying that... He knew full well he had no right to make such a declaration. Not after having desperately jumped from world line to world line countless times trying to find one in which both his girlfriend (provisional basis) and his hostage (childhood friend), Shiina Mayuri, remained alive...

But it was precisely because he knew the consequences of messing with the flow of time that he could say it.

Tony leaned into the sofa and rested his arms on its back, ignoring the fact that it was now his turn. He then crossed one leg flat over the other.

Okabe’s answer was not bad, in Tony’s view. It at least let Tony know that Okabe had little to no intention of abusing the power he so clearly held.

“Spoken like a man cursed with knowledge... and experience,” Tony said after some thought, “But are you sure about that? Only the Smiths deal in absolutes...”

Tony decided to defuse the situation. It had come to a low boil, which admittedly was his intention until now, but Okabe was not among the ranks of his enemies. That was the conclusion he’d just arrived at.

Okabe was speechless. Just what was this guy’s objective here? One minute he’s putting the screws to his head, and the next he’s offering an olive branch?

Not that he was complaining about the latter, mind you... but Okabe was so taken aback by the mood whiplash that he couldn’t hide the growing confusion on his face.

“A Spark Wars quote...? Really?” Okabe couldn’t help but point out the glaringly obvious.

“You a fan?” Tony asked while making his next RaiNet move. He did so without moving, and instead ‘used the force’... That is to say, he used telekinesis.

If there was one thing he loved about this world he was reincarnated into, it was that magic was far more accessible. He somewhat regretted never trying his hand at it back on Earth, because he probably could have given his ‘old friend’ Stephen a run for his money.

And what about Okabe?

Was he a fan?

As if Tony even needed to ask!

Okabe wanted to let out one of his unhinged, top-of-his-lungs laughs at the absurdity of it... If only he didn’t feel that his neck was still on the line, he might well have done.

...Because he fucking loved Spark Wars!

He closed his eyes and extended his arm out to the side, then flexed open his hand.

Something mounted up on the far wall by the window lightly vibrated until it finally came loose from its display rack. It then promptly shot into Okabe’s waiting hand in a fraction of a second, reminding Tony of another old friend of his.

Okabe snapped open his eyes, and with dramatic flare, he held the item aloft in front of him to reveal it to his waiting audience.

It was one of Okabe’s most prized possessions, as it had been integral in paving the way to Steins Gate.

Future Artifact No.6: Cyalume Saber!

It had five major components:

A standard reinforced glass tube, about 30cm long.

A solution of cyalume—in other words, a ‘potion of illumination’. (Do not drink!)

A sturdy-enough cylindrical hilt, fashioned from aluminum.

An interspatial storage ring at the tip.

Fake blood concealed within said storage ring to make mock battles more realistic!

It was the perfect prop to reenact all your favorite scenes from Spark Wars!

“Does this answer your question?” Okabe asked seriously, without breaking eye contact—and without so much as a hint of shame.

Under pressure, but adapting to this new development, Okabe quickly concocted a new plan.

It was a simple plan, really.

Simply put, he would humbly seize upon the lifeline Tony had graciously offered him... He would call this ‘Operation A New Hope’!

“...Oh, it’s my turn,” Okabe quickly mumbled to himself before hunching over and taking his turn.

Tony couldn’t help but smirk to himself behind his helmet, and exhale through his nose in amusement. He could see now what the two Rounders had meant.

“You got two...?”

...

Somewhat startled by the question, Okabe’s heart fluttered and chills shot down his spine. His eyes went wide as he slowly sat back upright, and he took a moment to fully process the question.

...He was touched by its implications.

If he had two... If only he had two... The two of them could, in theory, have had a Spark Wars duel... right then and there!

Argh...! That genuinely sounded like so much fun! Okabe found himself gritting his teeth again, just for a different reason this time...

Of course, the singular nature of the relic in his hand was not the only obstacle preventing such merriment from taking place.

There was one other crucial detail that could not be overlooked... The one he did have had immense sentimental value, and thus he could never risk breaking it...

He mentally kicked himself for never producing more. Doubly so given it could have appeased his overlord.

Okabe looked down in disappointment, and shook his head. “Alas, I have but one...”

“Shame,” Tony responded. It was a fun thought. “...So. Favorite character?”

“...Duke Skywalker,” Okabe answered. Unequivocally. He crossed his arms, because apparently the RaiNet game was over.

Tony nodded. He hunched forward slightly, and clasped his hands over his leg. “I’m more of a Hanz Ollo guy, but I respect it.”

“...Who shot first?” (With a crossbow.)

“Hanz,” Tony answered as if by reflex, like he knew the question was coming, “...You know, we had Spark Wars back on Earth as well. Except a number of key details are different.”

Okabe sat more at attention, though ironically enough, he also found himself more relaxed. “Such as?” he asked while stroking his chin.

“We called it Star Wars... And it took place in space. With aliens.”

“You’re kidding...”

“I’m serious,” Tony assured him, “And Darth Spider was called Darth Vader.” The bottom half of Darth Spider’s helmet had an eerie resemblance to Spider-Man’s mask... It hit him rather close to home when that particular character died...

Tony finally decided to finish his drink, so he reached down and grabbed it. “Oh, and see this...?” he held up his bottle to show Okabe the label. “It’s still Doktor Pepper where I’m from, but with a ‘c’ instead of a ‘k’, and it’s shortened to ‘Dr’, not ‘Dk’.”

As an exercise in futility, he tried to ignore that the beverage had his ex-wife’s nickname in its name by pure coincidence... Predictably, he failed.

He sighed through his nose, and drank it down.

“Intriguing,” Okabe responded, as if he had learned some closely-guarded secret of the multiverse.

“Oh, yeah. I mean, I could do this all day,” Tony said. After all, there were seemingly infinite subtle differences between their universes that he could list off... And some that were not-so-subtle. “...but getting back to the topic at hand—”

Okabe’s stomach tightened, and he fought the urge to curse, even under his breath... For a brief moment he had thought he was in the clear after their conversation strayed into safer territory... but he quickly realized just how premature of a judgment that was after Tony went right back to it.

A fresh bead of sweat dripped from his forehead down the left side of his face. It held steady at the bottom of his chin for a few seconds, and then finally landed on one of the folds of his lab coat.

Of course he wouldn’t be let off so easily... Not when the secrets of time travel were at stake!

He tried to keep his breathing steady. He had to remain calm...

Was it getting even hotter? Was it just his imagination? How was his adversary not sweating his ass off in that thick suit of armor...?

Were it not for their chronic lack of funds, Okabe would have offered from the start to activate another of his lab’s ‘Future Artifacts’ to cool the room... but now was hardly the time to think about that... Besides, he would have to go digging for another mana crystal to replace the last one that had been fully drained, and he didn’t know how many they had left in the appropriate size—if they still had any left at all.

Tony nearly broke into a laugh.

Okabe really was too honest for his own good. He truly wore his heart on his sleeve.

Aside from the very noticeable souring of his expression, Okabe had also tightened his hands into fists. If he were to squeeze any tighter, the hilt of his mana saber toy would buckle and break.

“You’re too tense,” Tony said, “It’s bad for your health.”

“...How bad?” Okabe asked... tensely... As if he didn’t already know that. He figured he must have forgotten to take his anxiety medication again, though even if he had taken it, that would have only improved this situation so much.

“Look. Rintaro...” Tony started off, which made Okabe cringe, “We all want our happy ending... It may not always work out that way—prime example being me—but despite what you might be thinking right now, I’m not out here to ruin your life... I thought you would have realized that by now.”

Tony sat back and folded his arms. If he wanted to, he could have killed Okabe in over seven hundred ways—and that's just with his bare hands... But that wasn’t why he was there. That much should have been obvious, he thought.

Okabe groaned under his breath in a mixture of annoyance and relief as he thought about how to respond to that... After the fact, he prayed that his liege did not notice—or at least that he did not care. He didn’t mean to do it! It was purely a knee-jerk reaction!

“...What?” Tony asked in defense of himself, because from his perspective he had done nothing wrong... At least not within the last couple of minutes.

It was common practice in most places in Omorika for people to refer to one another by their given names... but to be frank, Okabe loathed the name Rintaro, and so he could never get used to that custom...

No... In truth, he refused to get used to it.

The name was too ‘old-fashioned’... To him, the name even sounded downright stupid—though his vague memories of Ancient Chuunibya may have been more responsible for that... Hououin Kyouma was much more fitting a name for someone of his high stature any day of the week.

Okabe was vexed. Even if he were to tell Tony about his past life, Tony would most likely not believe him. He might even think it was a joke...

Neither of those outcomes appealed to him. As such, asking to be called Hououin Kyouma was simply out of the question.

And as for why he didn’t want to be called Rintaro... He would prefer not to get into it. It would be too tedious to explain, not to mention humiliating for him.

“It’s... It’s nothing...” Okabe said, defeated. He buried his frustration to the best of his ability. In the first place, this wasn’t the first time he had tolerated an authority figure calling him Rintaro.

He told himself to just suck it up, because in the end, it didn’t even matter. Not as long as he could get out of this in one piece.

...It had never even occurred to him to simply suggest his family name.

“No, I get you. Tell me. What is it you prefer?” Tony asked in a moment of clarity.

It didn’t take him very long to figure out Okabe’s most likely grievance when calling Okabe by his name. What else would it be?

While this world had no Japan, there was a large segment of the population that shared a striking number of similarities with its culture. Mainly in the Kingdom of Itan, as well as its surrounding regions—there were even some within his own kingdom that followed such customs... In this very city, as a matter of fact.

Tony really should have known... Even setting aside Okabe’s clearly Japanese features, with a name like Okabe Rintaro there was never any room for doubt anyways—he was Itanese, without question.

“Okabe-san? Okabe-kun?” Tony spoke again, without really giving Okabe much of a chance to speak for himself.

As a prolific businessman (and king), between his previous life and his current one, he had a lot of experience in this field. Using honorifics always felt a bit out of place for him, but appeasing his potential business partners always took priority... Well, second priority—after profit.

...

Okay, so it was his third priority... But you get the point!

“J-just Okabe is fine...”

Somehow, things had become even more awkward for Okabe after hearing Tony use Itanese honorifics. It was unexpected, to say the least...

“Noted.”

Okabe sighed... After getting a better idea of Tony’s character, he wanted to help him. Really. He did... but... “I’m sorry, Your Majesty-”

“Tony.”

“I’m sorry, Tony...” Okabe mended, “I wish I could help you change your past... but I refuse. I will not go down that road again...”

Tony snapped his fingers and pointed at Okabe in a back and forth motion. “So that’s it,” he said as the main cause of their disconnect dawned on him, “We’re not even on the same page here.”

“...Huh?”

“Dude, I solved time travel years ago,” Tony revealed casually, “The second time was an accident... So relax. That’s not even what I’m here for.”

“It’s... It’s not...?” Okabe asked, half-croaking the words out.

“Yeah. If anything, you’d better not go changing the past,” Tony said, “You’ll make me relive it... You do that, and we’re gonna have a real big problem...”

“O-oh...” Okabe said, “Sorry. I-I just assumed...” His confusion was palpable.

“I’ve got an idea though,” Tony said while slowly getting up from his seat. He started walking around the somewhat cluttered lounge area of the apartment to get a good look at the state of Okabe’s ‘lab’... “Tell me what you think about this.”

“...Go on?” Okabe said while worriedly following Tony around with his eyes.

He felt incredibly exposed as Tony strutted about like he owned the place... especially since Tony was now pushing into his friend Daru’s domain...

Although it greatly concerned him what sort of... things... Tony might find in Daru’s habitat, at least with his life seemingly no longer under threat he could feel himself starting to relax again... In fact, his body was beginning to go limp in his chair as most of his tension evaporated away.

While he was now more at ease, this exchange was still giving Okabe a headache... His concept of reality had just been shattered around him with that last revelation, and he was struggling to put the pieces back together... Very much like Tony to drop a bomb and then walk away like it was nothing...

Okabe’s confusion was more than justified. Until now, almost all knowledge of time travel had been tied in some way to the genius that was his girlfriend (provisional basis).

On top of that, the other thing Tony just said also caught his attention... He said it so casually that Okabe almost glossed over it.

He would make Tony ‘relive the past’ if he changed it...? Did Tony also have a high degree of Reading Steiner?

But that couldn’t be it... The way Tony described it was way off... It sounded more like the result of a time leap, if anything.

“I see you’re a bit of an arcanist,” Tony said as he picked up a pink ceramic band that was sitting on Daru’s small metal desk. It vaguely resembled a wrist watch...

As his suit scanned and analyzed it, Tony started to smile again.

On the same desk, there was also something called a ‘communer’, among other... things...

Tony almost pointed out they had a far more advanced, technological equivalent on Earth called a ‘computer’, but they were already past that topic so he didn’t bother... because now... Now they were going to talk business.

“Y-yes...?” Okabe answered.

“Looks to me like all you need is funding,” Tony said as he placed the artifact back down on the desk, and turned around to face Okabe again.

He saw potential in Okabe...

Who’s to say how far he could take this little operation of his if he just had an extra push?

“Funding...” Okabe said in an uncertain tone.

“Yeah,” Tony said, “Let’s talk shop... I'm guessing this is where the magic happens?"

He sauntered over to a set of closed, off-white curtains as wide as the room and stepped through where they connected in the middle.

Okabe nervously got up from his seat and followed him, making sure to maintain a respectful one meter of space between them after catching up to him.

"Ah, y-yes... That is correct," he said, then cleared his throat. "However, as you duly noted, we are not very liquid right now."

"...I'm sorry. Is that a mahowave?" Tony asked while pointing to the magical artifact that looked very much like... you guessed it... a microwave. It was sitting atop a wide metal desk, right next to another communer of a different make.

"A man's gotta eat," Okabe dared to joke. "It is perhaps the world's greatest cooking-related artifact."

"Right..." Tony said with a smirk, "Clearly you don't own an air fryer."

“Sir,” called a voice from within his suit, “Look out the window...” The voice was feminine, but sounded somewhat artificial.

“Hold that thought,” Tony said to Okabe as he made his way over to the set of large windows back in the main room. They were the type that slid open sideways... “Got something for me, Sage?”

“You should see them now,” Sage responded as 'she' highlighted, on his heads-up display, a horse-drawn carriage that had just rounded a corner. She had been tasked with keeping an eye out for any potential threats in the area. “My scans indicate five individuals... Four men, one woman.”

Okabe also made for the window to see what the commotion was, but unlike Tony who was standing at the far right side and only peeking out, Okabe stood right in front of it in full view.

Tony briefly glanced at him and considered criticizing him for doing so, but it was too late to cry about it so he didn’t bother... “These guys yours?” he asked as three men got out of the carriage. They, as well as the coachman, started running towards the Brawn Workshop.

The men were all dressed head to toe in 'black olive'-green armor made out of the highly durable silk of the makumo—a powerful species of demonic spider native to the Demon Continent of Mellon. They were also wearing helmets of the same color to conceal their identities as if they were nothing more than second rate villains in some kind of movie or manavision series.

“I can hardly pay rent. Do you think I can afford guys?!” Okabe asked pointedly as his attention shifted to the door.

This was supposed to be over, he thought, but the more things change, the more they seemed to stay the same...

His eyes darted around the room as he searched for ideas. He was not content to be raided helplessly yet again. Especially since this time he did not have the benefit of the PhoneWave (name subject to change)—let alone its extension, the Time Leap Circlet...

There would be no redo. No time reset... He either had to take a stand here, or possibly die like a dog while on the run.

He couldn’t even couch his bets on Convergence to save his hide anymore. That was only in the Alpha and Beta Attractor Fields...

With Tony there, he at least stood a fighting chance, however... Or so he hoped.

He looked at the relic still in his hand, and shook his head in frustration before clumsily placing the Cyalume Saber back on its display rack.

“You good with steam blocking your view?” Okabe asked quickly and quietly as he ran back towards the development room.

“Go. Show me what you got,” Tony said as he prepared for the door to fly open any second.

Okabe cursed under his breath as he urgently dug through a pile of Future Artifacts until— “Aha...!” Found it! Future Artifact No.4: Moad Snake!

It resembled a claymore mine from Earth, though strangely enough there was no such equivalent in Taazokaan... Its design had been carefully devised by Okabe after receiving inspiration from a popular in-universe novel called Metal Moa Solid: Rising—the author of which was from Earth... just a different one than Tony’s.

With haste, Okabe pulled its pin and slid it face up into the main room just as the entrance was kicked in.

Not even a full two seconds after removing the magical device’s seal, there was an explosion of catastrophe...! Extra thick steam sprayed forth in every direction in an instant, blocking the intruders’ visions in full!

“Huh,” Tony said to himself as his suit also received a free rinse.

His vision was somewhat dampened by the steam as well, but his suit had automatically switched to its thermal imaging mode.

He found it to be a bit jarring, but it was nothing he couldn’t handle. He was in a far better state than the men complaining about it in front of him, in any case. He could at least see them to varying degrees... Literally... You know, because of their body heat...

Rather than risk blowing the steam away with some of his fancier parlor tricks, he ran into the thick of them to engage in hand to hand combat.

To their credit, these intruders were of an especially sturdy sort, and hardly took any damage at all from Tony’s assorted magic-augmented melee attacks.

That was, of course, mainly due to the fact that he was holding back... a lot... He had no intention of making donuts today. Just think of the mess...!

He needed only to subdue them, anyways, not kill them... Dead men tell no tales and all that.

...

Okabe, meanwhile... understood his limitations...

As he concealed himself in the development room behind the wide metal desk, and amongst shelves of miscellaneous books and other items, he deeply inhaled as large and deep of a breath as he could under the circumstances to prepare a spell he referred to as his ‘Stealth Field’.

It was a spell of his own creation that required crouching low to the ground... It helped to remain as still as possible, though movement was permitted to a degree.

It made him nigh impossible to notice, though it did not operate via the reflection of light a la some kind of invisibility barrier. Nor did it induce some other method of optical camouflage... It was merely a spell that made him... ‘somebody else’s problem’.

The intruders would simply overlook him... because he was no longer their problem, but rather somebody else’s...

The idea came to him after having read The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Gal City.

He was 'safe' like this... He felt guilty, though. Not to mention cowardly.

Squatting on the floor in relative safety while Tony was left to fend for himself left a bitter taste in his mouth... But he was a lover, not a fighter, damn it... Surely, Tony understood...

He had every confidence in Tony’s combat prowess... If anything, he would be in Tony’s way... right?

He shut his eyes tight to maintain his Stealth Field, and felt his entire body growing tense again. Proper visualization was the key.

...

The stream of steam lasted for half a minute at best. It was far more short-lived than Tony had anticipated... Not that he was really banking on it in the first place.

He had only knocked out two of the large men at this point. Their strength and endurance-based builds made them even more durable than they appeared at a glance.

The third man was a bit different...

He seemed to anticipate each of Tony’s swings, and even a surprise kick after feinting with a right hook. It was some sort of sixth sense, Tony figured... The man kept shifting his body out of harm’s way with minimal wasted movement.

The fourth intruder, meanwhile, had been waiting out the steam in the narrow stairway leading up to the room.

“Sir...!” Sage called out urgently, just as a giant hole was torn out of the development room’s front wall.

Tony couldn’t tell what happened, exactly. But whatever it was, it shook the entire building.

He immediately turned to the development room in worry... Had he known something like this was going to happen, he wouldn’t have gone so easy on the mooks that came through the door like civilized criminals, and would have instead prioritized Okabe's safety, one way or another...

No longer having the privilege of taking his time, Tony shot ice magic out through the palms of his armored hands. He started at the third guy’s feet, then quickly worked his way up until the man’s entire body was encased in several centimeters of ice.

He exhaled sharply and watched as the fourth man shook his head no and ran back down the stairs.

Tony then ran towards the development room without wasting another second, and as soon as he saw her, he shot a linear blast of concentrated light magic (a laser beam) at the woman whom he hadn’t even considered an active threat until now.

She was dressed head to toe in a black leather outfit, and wore a thick black metal helmet to top it off. Not a single millimeter of her skin nor hair was exposed.

She blocked the light magic attack (laser beam) as easily as she breathed by waving her hand in front of her to erect a powerful barrier.

It would normally be invisible to the naked eye, though Tony could still see it thanks to one of the numerous enchantments inscribed on the inside of his helmet.

The barrier took the shape of a stone brick wall, though it was still largely transparent. Only the outlines of the edges and cracks could be seen.

Seeing it meant nothing, however, since Tony couldn’t exactly penetrate it.

Tony looked around the room for Okabe, and quickly noticed that he was unconscious at the woman’s feet, behind the desk.

He breathed, somewhat relieved... At the very least, he could tell that Okabe was still alive.

“Come with me if you want to live,” the woman demanded.

“Uhhh. Not today, Terminator,” Tony declared sarcastically. “Sage. Give me an hour, would you?”

Click here to read on AO3.

[bargainshouse]

#UKDEALS Gocableties Small White Cable Ties, 100mm x 2.5mm, Bulk Pack of 1000, 4” Premium Nylon Zip Ties Clear/Natural, Plastic Tie Wraps, Secure Self-Locking Mechanism, for Home, Garden, Office and DIY https://www.bargainshouse.co.uk/?p=118495 https://www.bargainshouse.co.uk/?p=118495

[triangularjuice]

Remember? -A Pokémon Story-

Chapter 16: The Visitor

You inhale sharply, opening your eyes, but only to be met with darkness. The sweat on your skin makes your (h/c) hair stick to your forehead. Your knuckles turn white from your grip on the sheets. You find yourself laying in your bed in the Professors' house. You bring a hand to your forehead, rubbing your temples, trying to shake off whatever just happened. It seems like Xurkitree appears in your mind more frequently when you're asleep. It makes it a lot more challenging to get a good night's rest without having to worry about being attacked by a creature made of cables and zip ties.

You glance to your left at the small alarm clock. It's still pretty early, but there's no point in trying to get any more sleep. You swing your legs over the side of the bed and stretch. Cato stirs at the base of the bed, but doesn't get up. You stand up and head for the door.

You slip out of your bedroom and walk silently to the front door. You try your best not to wake anyone: especially Ash, since he sleeps on the loft in here and not in a bedroom. You crack the door open and quietly exit, sighing as you sit down on the porch's top step. Your head aches and your whole body is sore. You close your eyes, trying to ignore the pain. You feel the soft Alolan breeze brush against your face, and the smell of the ocean wafts up from the beach.

You breathe in the crisp morning air, listening to the sound of Pokémon around you. Your muscles relax, enjoying the quiet sounds of nature. Your small moment of peace was soon interrupted by the sound of a door pushing open behind you. Glancing over your shoulder, you see Cato sit down beside you. You smile at him and put a hand on his back, feeling his soft fur between your fingers.

"Quite a mess we've fallen into, huh?" you mumble. Cato gives a small sound of agreement, looking over at you.

"I've been thinking," you start, "If we find a way to go back to our own world, does that mean we won't be able to see Ash, Pikachu, and the Professors ever again?" You look over at Cato, and he stares back at you with sad eyes.

"I don't want to leave them behind," you say quietly, "but I don't think we have a choice if we want to go home."

You lean against Cato's tall frame, wrapping your arm around him in a hug. He leans into your side, and you rest your head against his. He's always been there for you, and you've always been there for him. Your mind wanders to the times when you were little and you would hide from the scary scientists your dad worked with. Cato would stand guard at your hiding spot, making sure you felt safe, even if there wasn't a real threat. You smile at these memories, and you wonder how much you've missed out on by being kidnapped. You two sit there, watching the sunrise, until the door behind you opens once again. You and Cato turn and see Professor Kukui standing there.

"How long have you two been out here?" he asks, yawning. You shrug, not really knowing for sure.

"Well, better get up and around, we're heading to Aether Paradise in a little bit. Burnet thinks she found a way to send you home," he says. You look over at Cato with wide eyes, and then back to the professor.

"Really?" you ask him cautiously. He smiles down at you two.

"She told me she has an idea," he says, cryptically. You and Cato stand up, but your head spins and the world feels like it was pulled out from under you. You clutch your head and regain your balance, wincing at the growing headache. Professor Kukui grabs your arm, holding you up.

"Whoa, are you alright (Y/N)?" he asks you, concerned. You brush it off, not wanting him to worry.

"Yeah, yeah I'm good. I just have a killer headache, that's all," you mutter. He gives you a look, obviously not believing you, but he decides to leave it for now. You follow him inside so you can gather your things, but you pause. The thought suddenly crosses your mind that this could possibly be the last time you and Cato are ever here. If this plan of Burnet's works, then you'll probably never step foot here again. The thought makes you slightly upset, but you push the feelings down into the back of your mind, not wanting to dwell on it.

~~~~~

When you finally arrive at Aether Paradise later that morning, you're about as nervous as a long-tailed Glameow in a room full of rocking chairs. The six of you start heading to Burnet's lab, and you keep fidgeting with your sleeve, unable to keep still. Ash picks up on this and tries to calm you down.

"Hey, everything's going to work out! You'll be home in no time," he says. You glance over at him and give a small smile.

"I know, it's just... now that we know what's going on and we maybe found a way to get us back, I'm really nervous. I mean, I haven't been home for almost two years. What if he doesn't care if I ever come back?" you ask quietly, referring to your dad.

"(Y/N), from the stories you've told us, there's no way your dad would ever stop looking for you," Ash says with confidence. You nod, looking at the ground.

"Alright, here we are," Burnet says, unlocking the door. You all file through the door, but as you walk in last, a wave of nausea hits you. You close your eyes for a moment until the feeling passes. No one seems to notice, so you just keep walking.

"So, (Y/N), when we were here last time and I studied your blood and anatomy, I saw something else that was a little strange, but I didn't think much of it at the time," Burnet starts, "When you went to Kalos, I studied it a little more closely. It seems that your body's energy signature is slightly different from ours."

Staring at her blankly, she continues.

"Now, my plan is to scan your energy signature and trace it throughout Ultra Space to find the wormhole that has the same energy signature as you. Then, we enter the coordinates and open a direct wormhole to your world. You'll be able to walk right through and straight to your reality," she explains. You nod slowly, staring at the ground.

"So, are you ready?" she asks. You look up and see everyone staring at you, waiting for your answer. You take a deep breath and nod once more.

"Yeah, let's do it."

Professor Burnet directs you to stand inside a sleek looking tube. The door slides closed, trapping you inside. You stand as still as possible as the walls light up with bright colors. The piercing light hurts your eyes as they move all around you. After a few long, torturous minutes, the lights finally turn off and the door opens. Stepping out, your eyes readjust to the darker room, and you sway a little. Ash grabs onto your arm, helping you stand.

"You okay?" he asks. You nod, holding a thumbs up.

"Yeah, just a little dizzy," you say. Ash guides you over to the couch by the door and helps you sit down.

"You did great, (Y/N)," Burnet says, "Now, I'm going to try and find a match to your energy signature. I don't know how long it's going to take, though. Ultra Space is presumably infinite."

You nod again and close your eyes, another wave of nausea hitting you. It's stronger this time, and you can feel it coming up your throat. You quickly stand up and run a couple feet to the bathroom door, throwing it open and sticking your head right in the toilet. Your stomach empties its contents, making your muscles feel weak. You flush the toilet and sit back on the floor, the cool tile against your hot skin.

"(Y/N), are you okay? What happened?" Professor Kukui says from behind you. Humming in response, you stand up on shaky legs.

"There's some extra toothbrushes under the sink for overtime in the lab you can use," Burnet offers. You thank her and close the door so you can get washed up. When you exit, Kukui comes up to you and puts the back of his hand against your forehead.

"Geez, you're burning up!" he says, removing his hand.

"We need to get you some-" Burnet starts, but she's cut off by an aggressive beeping sound. You all look towards the computer monitor and see two green words flashing across the screen:

Coordinates Located

Burnet looks over at you with concern.

"(Y/N), we don't have to do this right now, we can wait," she suggests, but you're not having it.

"No, I want to do it now," you say. She nods hesitantly and walks over to the device next to her computer. She enters the coordinates from the screen and the machine starts up with a loud whirring sound. A ray of colors shoots out from the machine and creates a rip in the air. The rip grows wider until it becomes a hole filled with beautiful colors. The wormhole starts sucking in air, blowing papers everywhere and making it hard to hear. You were too busy admiring the sight to notice Burnet's concerned look.

"Something isn't right, look at the flow of the wormhole!" she shouts over the wind. You shift your focus on the patterns inside. The colors are flowing in the opposite direction that they normally do.

"It's like the flow is backwards!" you shout back, and Burnet nods. She looks down at her screen for a moment before her eyes widen.

"I think we accidentally opened a one-way portal, and we're going the wrong direction!" she yells. The portal starts making all sorts of strange noises, and none of them sound good. You cover your ears, the shrill sound of ripping a hole in reality pierces your eardrums.

"Shut it off!" Ash yells. Professor Burnet types frantically on her computer, but the wormhole stays open.

"It's not working, I can't close it!" she shouts. The wormhole starts shining brighter and brighter and you shield your eyes from the light. A loud crack rips through the air, and then the blinding light is gone. The machine makes a low whirring sound as it shuts off, and the room is filled with an eerie silence.

"Is everyone okay?" Kukui asks, "Burnet? Ash? (Y/N)?" The other two respond, but you stay silent, staring at the spot where the wormhole closed.

"(Y/N)?" Kukui says again. You ignore him. You're too focused on the figure that sits on the floor where the portal was. Your words catch in your throat as you try and call out to them. You swallow thickly.

...

"Dad?"

***

Chapter 17: The Reunion

[marvelousbirthdays]

Happy Birthday, backwardsandinhighheels!

MockingHunter for @backwardsandinhighheels, written by @ozhawkauthor

He was trapped. Again.

“Why is it always the bloody boot?” Hunter groused to himself, feeling desperately around for the safety catch. Those bastards had fucking removed it, he finally realised. He had no way out until they pulled him out, no way to get to Bob, to help her. Agonised, he shut his eyes, squeezing them for a minute.

It had seemed like such a simple job. Hunter had liked Pete Wisdom the moment the fella introduced himself; he’d seemed straight-up and the intel he’d given them had certainly been good. Wisdom had been a little vague on exactly why his own MI-13 people couldn’t infiltrate the neo-Nazi cell themselves, but he was offering bloody good money and both Hunter and Bobbi fit the bill physically. Bobbi, with her height and her blonde, blue-eyed beauty, was the absolute ideal that the extremists were looking for.

He hadn’t realised until too late that their leader really wasn’t impressed that Bobbi already had a husband. By then they were well and truly embedded in the cell, and the smooth bastard was doing his level best to get into Bobbi’s knickers.

Hunter knocked his head on the floor of the boot. It was his own fucking jealousy that had got him in this situation, he freely acknowledged. Bobbi had no intention of sleeping with the Shithead (as Hunter was now calling him) but she did plan to flirt, to use the attraction to get close, to find out more about the cell’s plans.

Hunter hadn’t been able to take it. Seeing Bobbi on the Shithead’s arm, his fat pink hand stroking her slender thigh, had snapped something inside him. He’d jumped the gun and decided to search the command bunker.

Well, he’d found the plans, all right, but he’d been caught, and Bobbi was ‘convicted’ right along with him of being a spy. And now they were both being taken to locations unknown, for purposes undoubtedly nefarious. He only hoped that Bobbi was being taken to the same place. Together they might just possibly have a chance of kicking enough neo-Nazi arse that one of them might get away to warn Wisdom of the very real and serious threat to the country.

Lance Hunter had already tried to give his life more than half a dozen times to protect Bobbi. He’d somehow never managed it. This time, though, this was something bigger. This time he had to succeed, because it wasn’t just Bobbi he was protecting. It was the land of his birth, the home of his people.

Mother England.

“This is an unexpected surprise,” a voice said, and Hunter’s eyes snapped open; how had he not felt the car stop?

How was he no longer in the car???

He was still lying down, curled in the foetal position with wrists and ankles secured together with zip ties, but he now appeared to be in some sort of cave. He couldn’t see any visible light source, but the walls were glowing faintly golden - and there was an old geezer sitting at a table a few feet away, just now turning to look at him.

“I’m feeling kind of surprised too,” Hunter said, “don’t suppose you can cut me loose?”

“Certainly,” the old geezer said, getting up, and bringing with him, not a pair of scissors or a penknife, no, an absolutely bloody massive sword.

“Fuck me, what?” Hunter tried to scramble backwards.

“The only sharp tool I have on hand, I’m afraid,” Old Geezer said apologetically, and with surprising delicacy flicked just the very tip of the sword at the cable ties.

The archaic weapon had to be bloody sharp, Hunter acknowledged, as the plastic parted like butter. Old Geezer stepped back, set the sword down on the table again and sat down, as though suddenly exhausted.

A little unsure of just what the hell was going on, Hunter sat up slowly, got to his feet. “Excuse me if I seem rude,” he said, “but where the bloody hell am I, and who the fuck are you?”

Old Geezer actually smiled, as though amused, gestured to a chair opposite him. “Please, sit down.”

Hunter didn’t see that he had much choice. The cave had no visible exit. Slowly, he sat down, looking at the table. The sword was the only thing on it, apart from a flat wooden box a little bigger than his hand.

“My name is Merlyn, and you are in the Heart of Avalon,” Old Geezer said conversationally. “And your name?”

“Lance Hunter,” he said, almost by instinct, and then “Wait. Merlyn? Avalon?”

“Yes, that Merlyn and that Avalon, Lancelot. It has been many centuries since you walked this earth.”

“Lance, not Lancelot,” Hunter said hurriedly.

Merlyn gave him a secretive little smile.

“Okay, I’m hallucinating, right? Overcome by engine fumes.”

“I’m afraid not.”

Merlyn’s eyes were like polished black pebbles, peering out from beneath bushy grey eyebrows. Hunter couldn’t look into them for long.

“So, what?” he said finally.

“You have a mission you must complete. For Britain. Your need was great enough to bring you here, where few have ever come before. I see in you strength enough, and so I am empowered to offer you a choice. You may take up the Sword of Might, or the Amulet of Right.” Reaching out, Merlyn opened the wooden box, revealing a golden pendant with a deep red stone set in it, hanging from a heavy cord.

“And the catch is…?” Hunter asked suspiciously.

Merlyn smiled. “The Sword is the path of violence, the Amulet the path of reason.”

Hunter looked from the sword, gleaming silver and he already knew brutally sharp, to the softly glowing red stone in the amulet.

“Not so long ago, I’d have grabbed the sword and legged it,” he said slowly, “but one thing Coulson taught me is that you really have to use your head. So… I’m gonna ask why I can’t take both.”

Merlyn looked completely and utterly startled. “Nobody has ever asked that before!”

“Maybe I’m just a greedy ambitious arsehole, then, but I don’t think I like being tied down to one option like that. Violence has its place, but so does reason. Violence without reason is what the cocksuckers I’m trying to stop resort to; reason without violence is something they don’t respect. So again, is there some reason why you need to hoard one of them like a dragon sitting on its gold? I won’t keep them both, if that’s what you’re worried about. Bob always was better at being the voice of reason than me. She can have the amulet.” The sword called to him; he could almost hear it in the back of his mind.

“I am afraid that won’t be possible,” Merlyn said. “Give me your hand, please, Lancelot.”

“Please stop callin’ me that, you’re makin’ me really bloody nervous.” Hunter held his hand out, and Merlyn took it between his aged, withered ones, peering at his palm. “Did Lancelot get this choice?” he suddenly thought to ask.

“No. The sword was already held by another. Britannia needed two champions at the time, so I elected to give you - Lancelot - the Amulet anyway, hoping to balance violence with reason.”

“Why do I have the feeling that didn’t turn out so well for you?”

“Do you need to ask? They were never meant to be held at the same time by two different people.” Merlyn let go of his hand, stared at him again. Hunter had the uneasy feeling that the ancient being was staring directly into his soul.

“Love was their downfall,” Merlyn said, “that they both loved the same woman, yet not enough to be able to share her. You hold in you a greater love yet; the willingness to do whatever you must to see the woman you love happy, even if it means letting her go.”

“Already did that once,” Hunter said steadily, feeling somehow more able to hold Merlyn’s gaze now.

“Perhaps my downfall was not enough faith,” Merlyn murmured, as though to himself. “Very well. Britannia needs her champions, now more than ever, yet I will not risk dividing her against herself again.” He sighed, took the amulet from the box. “Nobody will ever be able to take this from you,” he told Hunter, “not even I. Should you die, it will return here to the Heart of Avalon, as will Excalibur.”

“Wait,” Hunter’s brain finally caught up. “Wait, that’s Excalibur? I thought it had to be given by the Lady of the Lake, or pulled out of a stone!”

“Roma is not here right now, and merely lifting it from the table will be proof enough of your worth,” Merlyn said with an amused smile.

“Does this mean I have to be King of England? Being filthy rich’d be nice and all, but I don’t think I’d be good at all the pomp and circumstance shit. I swear too much.”

Merlyn chuckled, standing up and moving around the table. “No, a king-champion is not what Britannia needs in this day and age.”

“I don’t think I’m really what she needs either,” Hunter said, “but since I’m still ninety-nine percent sure that this is a petrol-fume hallucination, go for it, me old son.”

The amulet felt very cold as it settled around his neck. He didn’t feel any wiser, but then, he supposed, it was a dream, so he wouldn’t, would he?

“Take up the sword,” Merlyn said quietly, and Hunter reached out.

The worn leather-wrapped hilt felt utterly natural in his hand, and though he’d expected the blade to be heavy - Merlyn had apparently struggled to lift it - it actually felt incredibly light, like a broom handle. Standing, Hunter swished the blade experimentally a few times.

Behind him, Merlyn started chanting something, in a language was sure he’d never heard spoken before but somehow found distantly familiar, like an ache at the back of his brain. Whirling, Hunter gaped to see the magician no longer ancient, but standing tall, his hair and beard still white but his face appearing no older than middle-aged.

“Wait a fucking min…”

************

He startled awake with a yell, jerked up and smacked his head on the roof of the boot.

“Fucking ouch!”

He put a hand to the lump on his head, cursing under his breath again. “Should’ve known it was just a fuckin’ dream, no way Merlyn would give me Excalibur…”

His hands were free. How the hell had he managed that? They’d been bound tightly with cable ties, more hooked around his ankles and linked to the ones on his wrists to disable him completely. The tight plastic was gone, though.

With a sudden feeling of unreality, Hunter felt at his neck. Inside his shirt was a cool lump of metal that definitely wasn’t there normally.

“So I’m still dreaming…” and now I’m dreaming myself locked in the boot of a fuckin’ car. Why can’t I get good dreams, like me and Bob on a beach in Ibiza, her wearing that little tiny teal-blue bikini… Twisting over, his hand brushed something cold.

Hunter froze before very carefully feeling along whatever he’d touched. If he was dreaming that sword in here, it was really, really sharp…

… it was the sword. His hand closed around the warm, leather-wrapped hilt.

Hunter swallowed.

“On the off-chance that this is actually not a dream,” he said aloud, “thanks, Merlyn.”

He thought he heard the ghost of a chuckle somewhere in the back of his brain, just before he wrapped his fingers more tightly around the hilt and stabbed the sword hard through the back of the seat in front of him.

************

 There were some thumps and thuds when the car stopped. Bobbi wasn’t quite sure what she expected to see when the trunk lid popped open, but she really hadn’t expected to see her husband, smiling cheerfully down at her.

“Hey, darlin’. You all right?”

Cramped and stiff, she blinked in the bright sunlight beaming down on her, unable to believe her eyes for a moment. “How…” There wasn’t even a mark on him. Lance had rescued her before, but she couldn’t think of a time when he’d done it without picking up at least a few contusions.

“Do you think you’re dreaming?” he asked, puzzling her immensely.

“It’s possible,” Bobbi allowed, “since I wasn’t really expecting you to escape. Farley took great pleasure in telling me all the horrible things he was planning to do with you.” The bastard had laughed at her screams of rage and fury before ordering her bound and chucked into the trunk of the car. Her last sight of Lance had been him being beaten to the ground by half a dozen of Farley’s men. Since she couldn’t see any sign of the bruises he had to have picked up in that beating, maybe she was dreaming.

“If it is a dream, I’m glad you’re here.”

He grinned, that old, rakish smirk that made her heart turn over in her chest. “Don’t freak out, but I’ve only got one knife to cut you loose with.”

She nearly screamed as he held up the sword. It had to be over four feet long. “Jesus Christ, Hunter, where did you get that?”

“That in and of itself is quite a story.” Cutting the cable ties that bound her carefully, Hunter reached in to help her up. She took his hand, climbed out of the boot, and looked up at him.

“Okay, so this is definitely a dream,” they both said simultaneously. Hunter looked at his feet to check that he wasn’t standing on a ledge or something, but no, his boots were on a level with Bobbi’s.

They were also dark blue, which they hadn’t been that morning.

“That’s an… interesting outfit,” Bobbi said slowly. “This is quite some dream.”

“I’ve never been taller than you even in my dreams,” Hunter said, puzzled. The boots didn’t look or feel like platforms, and he was looking down at Bobbi from about a six-inch height difference. Which should mean he was on stilts. He stamped experimentally.

“You look - bigger. Not just taller.” She touched his arm, measured the breadth of his shoulders with her hands. “You didn’t get given any super-soldier serum or anything, did you?”

“Maybe that fish oil pill finally activated or something,” Hunter shrugged off the shock, though he couldn’t quite explain the outfit. It looked like a British version of Cap’s dark blue battle suit, with deep red and thin white crosses overlaid on his chest. “Or maybe Merlyn threw the suit in along with the rest.”

“Who?”

“You know what, let’s talk about this later. I’m having a really weird day, but the fact remains that I think this is a public road and we’re surrounded by dead neo-Nazis.”

He wasn’t wrong, Bobbi realised, looking around. She was in the rear of two cars pulled up at the roadside, and there were quite literally bodies spilling out of the front doors, blood pooling in sticky piles on the road from the multiple stab wounds each of them were pierced with. One of them didn’t have a head. She looked back at the sword in Lance’s hand.

“It doesn’t seem to need cleaning,” he said, correctly reading her glance. “The blood sheets right off.”

She said nothing, just took a few steps forward and peered into the back of the other car. Most of the back seat had been literally cut to pieces, bits of plastic and upholstery mingling with the blood and body parts.

“I’ve seen some crazy shit in my time,” Bobbi said slowly, “even aliens, but this is right up there, Hunter.”

“I know.” For a long moment they looked at each other, and then Hunter said, “On the very small possibility that we’re not dreaming, luv, I really think we’d better get a move on. Farley isn’t here, which means he’s somewhere else, and we need to let Wisdom know what I found in that bunker.”

He was right, and Bobbi drew on all her training, pushed aside the impossibility of what Hunter had done and the evidence of her own eyes. “Phone,” she said.

“One of them must have one,” Hunter looked around at the dead men. “And then I think we’d better get the hell out of here before anyone shows up and starts asking really awkward questions. Excalibur isn’t very easily hideable.”

“Exca- no, you know what, I’m not ready to deal with that right now.” She’d rather search the bodies. The first’s phone had been neatly sliced in half. The second had a locked iPhone, which she could bypass with a bit of time - which they didn’t have.

The third man’s pockets turned up a wallet full of cash and a cheap, generic-brand, unlocked burner phone. Bobbi held them both up to Hunter, who nodded.

“Good job, luv!” He’d been busying himself pulling bodies out of the less messy car, the one she’d been travelling in. “Let’s go!”

She had to stare as he laid the sword down on the backseat before getting into the driver’s seat. “Shouldn’t you hide that in the trunk?”

“If we happen to run into any more of Farley’s thugs, I’m leaving it where I can get my hands on it, thanks very much,” Hunter said.

“Let me drive, then…”

“Luv, we’re in England. You know I love you, but on this side of the pond? I drive.”

“On this stupid side of the road, you mean,” she grumbled, getting into the passenger seat. There’d been blood all over it, but Hunter had done a fair job of cleaning it off with one of the dead men’s jackets. They’d have to ditch the car as soon as possible anyway and find another; finding her some clean clothes at the same time shouldn’t be too hard. She slid another sideways glance at Hunter.

On the other hand, her husband and partner had now suddenly become a whole lot more noticeable than he had ever been before.

She pushed the thought away as he started the car. Deal with what you can, right now. The longer things went on, the more convinced she became that she wasn’t in a dream.

Which means that seriously weird shit is going down.

Bobbi dialled Pete Wisdom’s phone number. 

[nirahdistributors1]

Are You Looking for the Best 18-Inch Zip Tie in the USA?

Nirah Distributors provide the best quality 18-inch industrial strength cable ties and we are a wholesaler. The 18-inch zip tie is strong, durable, and insulated. It's available in natural white and UV black cable ties. It's perfect for home use. Contact us for 18-inch cable tie 50 lbs today!

[nanettesmith44]

Neiko 51253A Natural White 8-Inch Heavy Duty Cable Zip Ties, 120 pcs | 75 lb Tensile Strength

[liray-stylespk]

The Smart Trick of Hoodies For Men That Nobody is Discussing

It is the best hoodie to the gentleman that desires extra levels to stave from the early morning chill. Its fleece is mid-pounds supplying it the flexibility you require for prime output pursuits. This dope hoodie from Tommy Hilfiger will definitely do the trick to interrupt up the monotony of all white and you won't must sacrifice the white foundation. Acquiring a white hoodie with a few graphics on it may also support break up the brightness with the white. This hoodie from Lacoste is a wonderful alternative. The environmentally friendly alligator and Lacoste brand will certainly preserve from washing out your pure tone and blend nicely with khakis or denims. See Also: A different advantage of zip-up hoodies is they’re easier to use for layering. You can certainly showcase a great shirt beneath a zipped hoodie. Because the temperature drops, pick cable sweaters or zip sweaters to maintain your shoulders limber. You'll be able to pair them with your Business have on for a clear, sophisticated seem. To the weekends or informal satisfy up with your folks, choose puffer jackets or puffer vest. This holiday break year lounge in fashion with our enjoyment selection of holiday break pajamas. The hoodie, on the list of environment’s most villainized goods, is currently a style entrance row merchandise. It has left its moody teenager seems to be at the rear of, acquiring into a mainstream athleisure dress in item. Not a mugger or teenager misfit uniform, Now you can use the best men’s hoodies into the Business. Its hoodie is delicate cotton on the outside, even though its inside features a Pima cotton jersey lining for extreme coziness. This hoodie is sort of the in-your-deal with substitute to typically every other hoodie available and acts as an informal bragging correct to good friends and strangers on the street alike. To produce the final word outfit for this Gucci hoodie, use it with your favorite gentle wash denim and one of Gucci’s staple sneakers. Dry cell technologies makes use of remarkably functional resources to attract sweat absent from a pores and skin and help maintain you dry relaxed through training. In the event you such as this Buy Hoodies For men hoodie in white then you'll want to test it out in one other colours that it comes in.  Products that give you the independence and self esteem to explore everyday living and mother nature with no boundaries and yourself phrases. Carry out at your very best in Nike athletic equipment. As the right combination of technologies and luxury, You can not go wrong with their Dri-In shape and Therma-In good shape apparel. And if you’re on the lookout for the ideal dressy outfit with clean traces, typical patterns, and exciting shades, You can not go Improper with dress apparel from Assortment by Michael Strahan. The choice of hoodies obtainable at H&M will be for the honest price place you usually be expecting at a fast manner retailer. But with that value point also arrives much less high-quality; absolutely anticipate a thinner hoodie. JCPenney is among the Leading men's outfits shops from the nation. Dive into our numerous And large selection of best of the road Gentlemen's garments by the entire makes you know and exceptional JCPenney brands! Our Guys's online store has every little thing you might want to fill your closet for every event. This grey hoodie is available in 5 diverse sizes with its surprisingly refreshing and powerful material excellent. It's a entrance pouch pocket and also a warm hood. This hoodie is finest to your fashion and identity at a very realistic price tag. Whenever you get a thing by our retail hyperlinks, we may well get paid Fee as well as retailer may receive particular auditable info for accounting needs. Share

  If it will get super cold it is possible to often layer this hoodie which has a Burton Winter season jacket and rock an entire appear. This hoodie comes in the featured off white and a few other baller colors that you are about to like. Get two or three to develop your collection the appropriate way.  We use cookies and similar technologies to enable providers and performance on our web-site and to grasp your interaction with our provider. By clicking on take, you agree to our usage of this sort of technologies for promoting and analytics. See Privateness Plan BNB has shrunk the corners of the earth with E-acquiring (but needless to say, the pivot continues to be the identical). No-one experienced at any time considered reaching heights effortlessly, which BNB Components presently achieved with excellent accessibility and comfort for its people. BNB is catering a mass audience all over the world, giving them a new System for enduring explicit sort of e-commerce & online shopping. The hoodie can be a ubiquitous icon, noticed across a large number of subversive subcultures. Originally extra to sweatshirts as a layer of defense for athletes and workers, the hood has lengthy due to the fact surpassed its utilitarian origin. A attribute that once protected against Intense climatic conditions has become repurposed, operating as an additional layer in direction of a masked id. Having said that, the current type of this season’s menswear hoodies and zip-ups allows for advancement earlier its outsider and sportswear roots. Created of good quality textiles ranging from cotton fleece, French terry, and denim to textured velvet and wool, this Males’s wardrobe staple appears in many different silhouettes starting from overlong to outsized, from vintage tracksuit motifs to avant-garde layered constructions. Complete at your very best in Nike athletic equipment. As the perfect mixture of technological innovation and luxury, you can't go Incorrect with their Dri-In good shape and Therma-FIT clothing. And if you’re looking for an ideal dressy outfit with clean strains, typical styles, and enjoyment shades, You cannot go Incorrect with dress apparel from Selection by Michael Strahan. These two qualities enable it to be great for the amount of time we’ve spent indoors this yr by mixing it with our go-to pattern for Any time we *almost never* remaining the comfort of our personal home. There’s truly no other hoodie that strike the nail on The pinnacle just how this one did. The issue about The standard hooded sweatshirt is the fact, at this point, it ain't everything humble. I would go so far as to convey the hoodie's gotten arrogant. Layering warmth degrees can be blended and matched to produce ideal conditions for Your system with no bulk of mid and outer levels. We also use third-celebration cookies that aid us examine and know how you use this Web page. These cookies will probably be saved as part of your browser only with all your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of such cookies. But opting outside of Some cookies may perhaps affect your searching working experience. JCPenney is among the premier Gentlemen's apparel outlets during the nation. Dive into our numerous And large assortment of top rated of the road Gentlemen's outfits by most  Gym Hoodies For Men  of the makes you are aware of and exceptional JCPenney models! Our men's online store has anything you should fill your closet For each event. Make your style statement crystal clear and absolutely distinctive! We just acquire inspiration from pattern to achieve these terrific outfits. The interior is super tender, manufactured from high-high-quality pure polyester. Furthermore, the perfect colour blend and particulars enable it to be an extremely at ease outfit. Continue to keep Your system warm and cozy and concurrently search neat although complementing your outfits While using the Warehouse! Browse our number of T-shirts, sweat pants, jeans, Adult males's shorts, hoodies, and even more to uncover fantastic hunting everyday dress in for all seasons. A classy navy Gentlemen's go well with is incredibly multipurpose and a must-have in each and every male's closet, and we are right here to supply anything else that complements your new getup completely. Store snazzy dress shirts and superior-top quality ties that go well with you well for almost any celebration. The hoodie, it thinks to alone, just isn't likely any place. Guess what? It isn't really wrong. It is the hoodie's earth, male, and we are all living in it. The quicker you reconcile oneself to that reality the sooner you can move on (mostly through a process involving copping as many dope hoodies as you possibly can). Drag it by way of rock faces and bushes and it'll not pull or tear. The shell’s quilt pattern draws away any cold spots and liquids through the hoodie’s surfaces, blocking any soaking.

[3dhunting21mbxyis]

Camping Essentials - What To Pack For A Weekend Of Tent ... in Lake Isabella

Keep these items on your person UnderwearBras/camis/undershirtsSocks (plus at least one additional set) PJsTrail pants Long-sleeve shirtsT-shirtsShorts Rain jacketRain pantsFleece jacket Hats * Gloves * Bandana Cross-trainers Treking bootsSlip-on camp shoesShower shoes Toothbrush/toothpaste/dental flossBody wash/soapDeodorantFace washLip balm*Sunscreen* ShampooBrush/combEarplugs/eye maskHair elasticsTampons/pads * Birth control/condoms * Hand sanitizer *First-aid set* Insect repellent * Medications/vitamins *Discomfort relievers* Map and map case * Camping/hiking guidebook * Compass * GPS *Walkie-talkie* Personal location beacon * Emergency contacts * Camping area booking printouts and allows * Maps/directions * Bank/credit card contact information * While the above packaging lists will get you through practically any automobile outdoor camping or backpacking journey in spring, summertime, or fall, there are products you'll need to switch out for extremely cold conditions, and a couple of to consider packing for backcountry outdoor camping.

The type of outdoor camping and variety of people on your journey will determine the kind of tent you'll need. When we invest in a camping tent, we search for low-volume three-season tents made with durable materials, like aluminum poles and breathable polyester walls. For solo backpacking, we like Marmot's one-person Tungsten UL Camping Tent for its fully-sealed waterproof flooring and rain fly, and added vestibule for boot and pack storage to keep it neat.

We like compact double-door alternatives, like Mountainsmith's Celestial Camping tent, for duo backpacking treks. Both featured tents will get you through years of journeys and tracks, as long as you're not planning for any major mountain climbing up or cold-weather outdoor camping. For that, you'll require a four-season camping tent, like Marmot's Thor model, with a sturdy six-pole style to keep your camping tent grounded in harsh winds and secure versus heavy snowfall that would weigh down the roofing of a two or three-season camping tent.

A spacious 4- or six-person camping tent, like these options from Kelty and Big Agnes, are best for families and large groups looking to bunk together. We specifically like their big panel mesh ventilation and additional in-tent storagejust do not pack either for a winter season weather vacay! You'll need a large four-season option, like Marmot's Lair Camping tent, for any mountain trips.

Family Camping Essentials Checklist - Activekids Kernville

Most camping journeys only truly need two pairs of shoes: a tough pair of boots to cover your daytime experiences, and a water resistant set of slip-ons or sandals for showering, popping in and out of your tent, and walks to close-by lakes or beaches. If you have additional space in your pack, add a little luxury to your journey by packing three sets of shoesboots, flip flops, and waterproof slip-ons.

Under Armour Post Canyon Low Hiking Boot Hunter Norris Chelsea Boot Birkenstock Arizona EVA Sandal Timberland White Ledge Mid Waterproof Boot Merrell Waterproof Slip-On Shoe Rainbow East Cape Molded Rubber Sandal Simply say no to excess! Makeup, various clothing for every day, not practical shoes, hardback books, brass instrumentsleave all of it in your home.

While parks often have visitor centers and park stores with some basics, it's not like you'll have the ability to simply run around the corner and select up something important that didn't make the cut due to packing your entire closet - kern river ca. The point of camping is to take pleasure in the excellent outdoor and to exist off of simply what you require.

And while it's fun to bring a guitar, parlor game, or book along, don't bring a lot of. Among each will likely be more than you'll use. If you're solo backpacking and wish to bring a book for business, tear the pages out as you check out and recycle them when you can or use them for campfire fuel to keep your pack light.

Packing For A Family Camping Trip - Modern Tent Camping in Lake Isabella

They're snug, safe, and would never imagine riding up, dropping, or becoming a sweaty swampfesteven after miles on the path in the dead of summer. They're made with super-strong natural cotton threaded with antimicrobial silver, implying a single pair can be worn more than one time in between washes.

A UNESCO World Heritage Website, Great Smoky Mountains National Park is popular for its clear streams and waterfalls, incredible wild- and birdlife, and 850 miles of treking routes. Fishing, rafting, horseback-riding, skiingor merely taking in the gorgeous viewsare other popular activities in the Smokies. The park's Cades Cove is one of the National Park Service's a lot of sought-out automobile camping spots in all 50 states for its extensive views and simple access to landmarks, like Rocky Top and Abrams Falls.

Numerous nature fans cite the one-million-acre Glacier National forest as their absolute preferred destination. The park's huge surface, open all 365 days a year, consists of lovely lodges on all sides, like Numerous Glacier Hotelwith simple access to spectacular Grinnell Glacierand Lake McDonald Lodge, which watches out onto the park's largest, deepest lake.

Famous for its awe-inspiring granite cliffs, towering sequoia trees, stunning canyons, sky-high waterfalls, and dozens of walkings leading to sweeping views of the valley, Yosemite National Forest lures countless visitors of visitors every year. The UNESCO World Heritage Site is home to tops El Capitan and Half Dometwo of the most most popular websites within Yosemite's nearly 750,000 acres - rv booking.

12 Motorcycle Camping Tips - Harley-davidson Usa Los Angeles

Specifically daring spirits aiming to deal with Half Domea 16-mile round-trip trek with a 4,800-foot elevation gain!must pack at least one one-liter Camelbak for each person treking, along with a headlamp, extra batteries, and a set of climbing up gloves for the notorious 400-foot stretch of cables to the walking's top.

For skilled backpackers searching for a tough trip, there's nothing quite like treking the 47 miles of trail around the Grand Canyon, from rim to rim to rim! For long backpacking trips with numerous days spent straight in the components, we suggest packing additional requirements in your bag, like water filtration tablets, in case you need to establish camp wherever you land, and extra compression bags to assist maintain your limited pack area as you unload and repack your fundamentals like your range kit and fuel, silverware, and dishware day after day.

The most popular warm-weather tourist attraction lacks a doubt a trek through The Narrows, an area of the Virgin River that streams through the narrowest area of Zion Canyon. If you pick to do the complete hike (which we highly advise!) arrive prepared to wade through the river by packing a pair of boots made particularly for water hikes, like Merrell's Waterpro Maipo Water Shoe, and a quick-drying outfit, like this SPF 50+ athleisure gown from Nuu Muu.

Unlike backpacking, glamping suggestions the scales of excess when it pertains to taking what you can bring. As long as you can fit it in your automobile, do not hesitate to bring any of life's high-ends into the outdoors with you on your glamping adventure, like a full canvas tent, wood-burning stove, portable hot showereven inflatable pull-out couch.

What Is The Most Important Gear To Bring On A Camping Trip ... Bakersfield

And don't forget the canopy lights!.?.!! From Mammoth Hot Springs to Old Faithful to Grand Prismatic Spring, there are a lot of stunning sights to take in year round at Yellowstone, the very first National forest in the U.S. While most of the park's yearly three million visitors are households visiting in the spring and summertime, devoted outdoor adventurers enjoy Yellowstone for its winter season backcountry campingwhen temperatures can plunge to 30 listed below zero and conditions include snow and even avalanches.

In addition to your cold-weather camping outfit, ensure to bring water resistant utility snow boots, an insulated hat, neck warmer, safety glasses, winter gloves, and ear warmers. Likewise required are a, ice axe, trekking poles, and snowshoes. While an over night trip in Yellowstone's winter backcountry is a severe undertaking, it would no doubt be an once-in-a-lifetime experience.

If your trip is over a weekend, you can most likely skip the shower. If you'll be camping for a variety of days, however, prepare to brave the general public centers. Constantly remember to load shower shoes in your bag, and arrange your toiletries in a method that permits you to carry and hang them in the shower while you utilize them.

If your camping site does not provide showers and you intend on staying awhile, you can always bring your own. All you require is a couple of gallons of water and the completely located tree branch. The outright most convenient way to start a campfire is to utilize newspaper, branches, wood, lighter fluid, and a match.

Tent Camping 101: Tips For Beginners - Tent Camping Tips in the Sequoias

Collect twigs from around your camping site and organize them in a pyramid shape around the wood. Utilizing ripped and crumpled newspaper for starter at the base of the pyramid, squirt lighter fluid onto the paper and twigs and light it with a match. The paper and twigs will burn initially, but flames from the pyramid should capture on the wood, beginning your real campfire, which will burn through the night just by adding logs as needed.

Constantly remember to pack your tarp, and cover your camping tent with its rainfly when you've ended up establishing camp. Bring a water resistant jacket or hooded poncho, and purchase a solid pair of waterproof treking boots. If you choose to pack on the extra-safe side, an extra tarpaulin or 2, and a handful of bungee cables or zip ties, are your best choice for keeping yourself and your personal belongings dry if rain begins to fall.

Numerous camping areas have their own water pumps with stations for refilling water bottles and containers. It's best to load 5 or more gallons to begin your trip, and refill every water container as you go. Similarly, it's finest not to presume the camp host or ranger station will have fire wood waiting upon your arrival.

Whether you're backpacking or automobile outdoor camping, opportunities are your trip will consist of time on the tracks. The finest method to prevent blisters as you acquire mileage on foot is to measure a minimum of a half or even a full size when you buy your treking boots. Many outdoor enthusiasts discover their feet swell after an hour or more of consistent hiking, so your shoes might feel loose when you begin your trip, however will likely feel tight by the end of the day. rv booking.

The Millennial Woman's Guide To Camping: Necessities - Medium in Lake Isabella

Band-Aid's blister cushions are the very best item for quickly recovering a blister as soon as one has actually formed. All items have actually been carefully picked by our authors and editors. Products acquired through links might earn us a commission. vacation trailer rentals.

From beginners to veterans a list can make the difference in between an outdoor camping journey that is as fun as you hoped, or one you suffer through. They can be particularly valuable to brand-new campers since they may likewise suggest outdoor camping items you might not have actually thought of. As you scan the list listed below, do not get overwhelmed remember, you will not require whatever on it.

Also, when printed or deemed a pdf, (links listed below), this checklist is formatted as a one-page "checkable" list Bonus blankets/sheets Pump for air mattressesTip: A pillow isn't really "optional," you will want one, even if it is only a little camping-size pillow. Also, whether it is a convenience or age option lots of cars and truck campers, (this isn't gear you wish to back-pack into your site), have switched from sleeping pads to inflatable air mattresses/beds.

Have a look and see what is readily available for your outdoor camping comfort. Camping tent rain-fly or tarpaulin Entryway door mat/carpet Sm. Wisk broom dust pan Cot( s) Mosquito/Insect netting Rope for extra tie-down lines Extra tent stakes Duct tape or camping tent repair package Tent-pole repair work sleeve Guy-line markersTip: Much like a camping pillow, a camping tent light isn't truly "optional" unless you are a back-packing or "bare-bones" camper.

[snakedrblog]

Having delivered courses all over Europe for the last 2 years I appreciate that it's not always easy to find quality cable/zip-ties. The ones I prefer to use are heavy duty and will resist the restraint breakout techniques typically demonstrated on social media websites. They are now available via OscarDelta SPD if you're looking for the good stuff : ) Specs: 10mm x 450mm Heat, acid and erosion resistant nylon -35 ℃ to 85℃ Each Snatch Pack contains 10 x Cable-Ties (5 black + 5 natural/white) and 2 x PVC tube for joining two cable-ties together. Some in parts of Northern Europe call these 'cat strangles' 🤔

[putthison]

eBay Roundup

Twice a week, we round up the best of menswear on eBay so that our readers don’t have to. For an additional roundup, along with a list of each week’s best sales, subscribe to our Inside Track newsletter.

My favorite items in today’s roundup are these Ghurka bags -- the Expediter, Examiner, and Courier No. 8. They were made back in the heydays of the company, when Marley Hodgson owned the brand and everything was manufactured in the USA. The company has since passed hands a few times, and some of what was once off-shored has now been brought back, but I still think the vintage stuff feels the nicest. The leathers back then just felt heavier and had more of an interesting character. 

To find up more menswear gems, try using our customized eBay search links. We’ve made them so you can quickly hone-in on high-end suits, good suits, high-quality shirts and fine footwear.

Outerwear

Blue Private White VC field jacket, S

Black Journal Standard field jacket, S

Tan Belstaff motorcycle jacket, S

Diamond Dave D-pocket double rider, 40

Navy Nigel Cabourn Aircraft jacket, 40

Wallace & Barnes down parka, M

Camoshita Balmacaan coat, 40 (fits oversized, so could accommodate 42)

Grey Private White VC bomber jacket, L

Grey and black Monitaly varsity jacket, 42

Post Overalls nylon workwear vest, XL

Nigel Cabourn oilcloth Surface jacket, 44

Sweaters and knits

SNS Herning Stark cardigan, M (fits like S)

Bubble knit SNS Herning fisherman sweater, M (fits like S)

Navy Reigning Champ sweatshirt, M (fits like S)

Washed grey Champion sweatshirt, M

Navy striped Nanamica sweater, M

Brown Inis Meain cabled cardigan, M

Striped Saint James Breton shirt, L

Charcoal Wings + Horns cowichan, L

Wallace & Barnes Donegal sweater, XL

Shirts and pants

Green Filson plaid shirt, S

Grey plaid Wallace & Barnes flannel shirt, S

Wallace & Barnes pullover work shirt, M

Levis washed chambray shirt, M

Indigo dotted Wallace & Barnes shirt, M

Visvim linen tunic shirt, M

Vintage Land's End tattersall shirt, L

Black Iron Heart Western denim shirt, XL

Buzz Rickson workwear chinos, 32

Shoes

Alden black tassel loafers, 7

Viberg tan suede boondockers, 7

Tricker’s suede penny loafers, 7.5

Tricker’s jodhpurs, 8

George Cleverley slippers, 8.5

Eastland guide boots, 8.5

Edward Green tan suede chukkas, 8.5

Meermin black bluchers, 8.5

Brooks Brothers string loafers, 8.5

Todd Snyder x Cole Haan white bucks, 9

Tricker’s shell cordovan cap toe boots, 9

Tricker’s longwings, 9

Tricker’s chukkas, 9

RLPL shortwings, 9

Allen Edmonds black shell cordovan longwings, 9.5C

Wildsmith black penny loafers, 10

Rubinacci string loafers, 10.5

Margiela plastered GATs, 10.5

Tricker’s black Chelsea boots, 10.5

Russell Moccasin chukkas, 10.5 (prob fit like 11)

Paraboot apron toe bluchers, 11

Viberg cap toe work boots, 11

MA+ Maurizio Amadei black side zip boots, 11

Heschung Tyrolean shoes, 11.5

Tricker’s suede chukkas, 12

Adidas x Raf Simons hi tops, 12

George Cleverley bluchers, 12.5

Margiela plastered bball sneakers, 13

Ties

Wool Paul Stuart tartan ties

Purple dotted United Arrows tie

Bags, briefcases, and wallets

Vintage Ghurka bags (1, 2, 3) (same as models pictured above)

Tanner Goods natural leather travel wallet

Pendleton blanket duffle bags (1, 2)

North Face Purple Label daypacks

Canvas Filson briefcase

Misc.

Gold leaf shaped belt buckle

John Lobb shoe horn

Smokey the Bear figurines

Alden shell cordovan dress belt, 40

Sulka stud and cufflinks dress set

Ralph Lauren keyhole eyewear frames

MoMA silk neckerchief scarf

African continent shaped cufflinks

Tom Ford aviator sunglasses

Il Bisonte leather dopp kit

Il Bisonte leather folios/ pouches

Trinket tray with horse racing design

If you want access to an extra roundup every week, exclusive to members, join Put This On's Inside Track for just five bucks a month.

[abutterflyobsession]

Doctor Who AU: Part 17

prelude/one/two/three/four/five/six/seven/eight/nine/ten/eleven/twelve/thirteen/fourteen/fifteen/sixteen/ao3

“Stop this now, Roland!”

“Darlin', you've got the button. The program is set to run all by its lonesome and the only way to shut it off is that little button in your hand. I'm completely locked out. Couldn't do a thing even if I tried. This is entirely your call.”

Roland flourished his hand and gave a little bow to the Doctor.

He straightened up, looking slightly puzzled.

“Buttercup, not that my plans didn't anticipate you finding me but . . . how did you get here?”

“She was covered in dust from the wall she atomized,” Dawn appeared in Bog's line of sight, her glasses in place and hands in her pockets, “Turns out that your handy little nanotech interior automatically tries to find its way home and reassemble itself. An advanced trail of bread crumbs leading us back to you. Also, you still have your shields down from when I deactivated them last time.”

“Oh,” Roland looked disappointed, “I was expecting a little more effort on my sweetheart's part. It's not much of a rivalry if her little sister elbows in.”

“Don't mind me,” Dawn shrugged her shoulders, “I'm just the designated damsel in distress. In your head, anyway.”

“This is an eight-wheeler worth of third wheels,” Roland sighed.

“How are you doing, Boggy?” Dawn held his chin and tipped up his head so she could shine a small light in his eyes, “Responses are still good. You look all dried out, though. Drink plenty of water and, uh, hang in there.”

Bog was just grateful it wasn't a plant pun.

He wasn’t grateful for much else. He was on the edge of panicking because none of what was going on made any sense, he was in a great deal of pain, and he was being used to somehow take over the world. Or was it destroy the world? Roland had been a little vague about the specifics.

Bog was trying his best not to panic because if he did he was sure someone would point out the text on his shirt read ‘Don’t Panic’, and he wasn’t sure if he could take that.

Roland coughed politely to regain their attention and once all eyes were on him he smiled and continued his performance, “Now, now, enough of this lallygagging. You're on a deadline, remember?”

With a wave of his hands the walls shimmered, the blank white stretches giving way to a view of the park that the Doctor's TARDIS had been parked in earlier. The crumbled section of wall where the Doctor had been imprisoned flickered and buzzed, an disordered patch in the otherwise flawless projection of the outdoors.

Roland paused and shook his head regretfully at the crumbled wall before continuing.

“Lovely, wholesome little park,” he gestured to a small grouping of trees, “a space conveniently free of pavement and buildings. Nothing but a nice smooth piece of grass and trees and a sweet little pond for the ducks.”

Roland swung around to face his audience and flashed the smile of a man in an informical about to tell you that if you call now you would receive double the product and a free set of measuring spoons.

“All in all, the ideal place to start growing a plant army in the middle of a city!”

Right on cue a sprouting plant pushed its way through the grass, it's massive size scaring off a dog that had been inspecting the shifting ground. More sprouts followed, the people walking through the park startled but laughing, coming up closer to see if the plants were real, snapping pictures with their phones.

“Humans,” the Doctor muttered, dragging a hand down her face, “I hope the increased traffic on their twitter feed is worth possible death.”

“Don't be so hard on them,” Dawn said, looking up from her inspection of the cables trailing on the floor, “they don't—are they putting their baby right next to it to take pictures?”

The Doctor nodded dully.

“How have they survived as a species?” Dawn groaned.

“A mystery,” Roland said.

“Don't agree with me,” Dawn ordered, “It makes me want to shower.”

“As fun as this all is,” Roland said, his back to the rapidly growing plants, “you've go a schedule to keep to. About five minutes and we'll have a nice amount of wooden soldiers to march off into the streets, armed with an array of natural toxins and pointy sticks for general stabbing. Of course, they could always be stopped with large amounts of weedkiller, or setting everything on fire, but that would cause just as much damage as letting them rampage. Really, the only option is--”

Roland was abruptly cut off as he dropped to the floor in an undignified heap.

There was a small round patch stuck on the back of his neck and Sunny was standing over him looking apprehensive.

“I didn't kill him, did I?”

The Doctor rushed over, turned Roland face up and felt for a pulse in his neck.

“He's fine. How long have you been here? What did you--?”

“I've been here the whole time,” Sunny said in the resigned way of someone who was used to being constantly overlooked, “I found a box when Dawn sent me looking for stuff to track Roland. Some sort of knockout things. I read the label and was going to ask, but I never got a chance and then when he wouldn't shut up I kind of thought we'd all be happier if he took a nap.”

The Doctor examined the box, nodded, pulled out a second patch and stuck it in the middle of Roland's forehead, “Good. Dawn, you may keep Sunny.”

“Gee, thanks,” Sunny and Dawn said in disgusted unison.

“You're welcome, now find me something to tie him up with.”

“There are zip ties in my jacket pocket,” Bog tilted his head to where his leather jacket had been dropped to the floor after Roland removed it so he could take blood samples from Bog's arm.

“Why do you carry around zip ties?” the Doctor asked, pulling the items in question out of the jacket pocket.

“I work at a bar. Sometimes you need to make sure people stay put until the cops come and pick up their unruly carcasses.”

The Doctor fastened Roland's wrists together and then his ankles. Finished, she picked up the leather jacket again and played thoughtfully with the metal spikes on the shoulders.

“Are you going to unplug me now?” Bog prompted, watching the plants in the park unfurling leaves as they reached a height of roughly six feet, “Because I would really like to get down from here. Like, now.”

“It's not so simple as unplugging you,” Dawn held up one of the cables, “These are organic and integrated into your system and connecting you to the computer, which has become, well, basically a vital organ.”

“How vital?”

“Unplugging you would be like ripping out your heart.”

“And how are you going to fix it?”

“Well,” Dawn said slowly, tilting her head back and pointing her eyes away from Bog.

“We don't have a clue,” the Doctor said with characteristic bluntness.

“Okay . . . why are you wearing my jacket?”

Bog asked more to avoid thinking about the image of having his heart ripped out rather than any real interest.

“Because I'm nostalgic for when I wore a leather jacket. But mine never had spikes. Never thought of spikes. Why didn't I think of spikes? They send a very clear message of 'hands off unless you want multiple puncture wounds.”

“You used to wear a leather jacket?” Dawn asked, interested.

“I went through a phase. Or two. Now,” the Doctor clapped her hands together, “let's take a look at the computer.”

The Doctor pointed her sonic at the console and the walls flickered, the park being replaced with blocks of computer code. There were numbers, but also symbols like the ones Bog had seen the Doctor scribbling on a chalkboard. They were all round and intricate, like the inner workings of a watch.

“Marsh man, I need your help,”

“Sure, lemme just unhook myself.”

“Sarcasm is not helpful. Roland has rigged this up to follow his program, but you're still admin, your still the rightful owner and operator of this necklace. I'm going to take you back into the database while Dawn stays out here and works on disconnecting you.”

“But--!” Dawn looked up sharply from her study of the computer code, an objection on her lips.

“Just do it!' the Doctor snapped.

Dawn bowed her head and resumed her work.

“What, you mean go into that forest in my head again?” Bog asked, “Can't you at least get me down from this wall first?”

“Oh, yes,” the Doctor waved a hand and the wall shifted enough for Bog to slip free and collapse into a sitting position on the floor. The Doctor tossed him another bottle of water before he could ask for it, “I managed to hack the psychic interface, so the place is at our disposal.”

Trying and failing to unscrew the cap of the bottle, Bog couldn't help but look at his hands. They were twisted and root-like, knotting up at the joints, and covered with small twigs of new growth. The bottle still capped, Bog stared at his hands and asked, “How am I supposed to play the guitar like this?”

The words came out softer and sadder than he had intended them to.

The Doctor's small hands took his, the water bottle falling into his lap.

Light brown eyes were looking at him with an unshakable steadiness that spoke of large, immovable things, like ancient cliffs and burning stars, “This can be fixed.”

“It shouldn't have happened in the first place!” Bog jerked his hands free, “I would never have even been involved if you just left me alone! Your crazy ex thinks that I'm some sort of rival for your heart and I don't even like you!”

“Roland what now?” Dawn's head popped back up.

“According to Lord Hair Gel your sister and I are destined in the stars, or a fixed point in time, or whatever. I think his hair bleach has eaten away his brain. But that's what he thinks and that's why he did this . . . all this . . .”

Dawn's eyebrows had shot up into her hairline, “Is this true?”

“No!” the Doctor snapped, “of course not!”

“Look me in the eye, sister mine, and say that again.”

“Why should I have to? It's ridiculous.”

“You know something!”

“Stop.”

“Tell me! It might be important!”

“It isn't!”

The Doctor stood up, pulling off the jacket and throwing it over Bog's head before she stomped off to the other side of the room and pretended to be looking at the computer code.

Sunny walked over to Bog and picked up the bottle of water, twisting the cap off and handing the bottle back, “Dude, I have no idea what's going on.”

“I'm a plant now,” Bog replied, taking a drink.

“No, actually, picked up that much.”

“How bad do I look?”

“Uh . . .”

“If you say I need to moisturize then I will strangle you with these cables.”

“Mmm,” Sunny bit his lips and attempted to look innocent, “Well, the—the pieces of skin are kind of . . . messed up.”

Bog looked down at the dried out scraps of skin clinging to the dark shape of his arms. He could still see bits of the tattoo patterns visible. He rubbed at his arms to discard the useless skin, but quickly stopped, unnerved by the alien texture of his arms.

Like she had read his mind, the Doctor spoke up, “I recognized your tattoos as a corrupted Cheem crest. I assume the patterns had been passed down in your family.”

“Yeah. There's some old manuscripts. Illuminated. I used them as a basis for my sleeves.”

“Then you'll have the references to recreate them.”

“So you will be able to put me right?”

“We need to get started now. Get into the program and put you back in control. Ready?”

“No.”

“Excellent. We'll begin. Dawn, try to unplug Bog and keep the plant soldiers from doing anything too terrible. And try not to get distracted by kissing and things.”

“Have a nice date,” Dawn replied haughtily.

The Doctor's small, dark eyebrows drew down low over her eyes in an impressive glare that would have made most squirm when targeted by it. Dawn merely rolled her eyes and asked Sunny to help her pry off the top of the console.

The Doctor couched down in front of Bog again, reaching out to put her fingertips against his temples.

“Hah,” Bog said, “Can't believe a girl is actually going to touch this face.”

“Look, if you want me to comment on faces you've got another thing coming. For one thing, we've established I'm terrible at faces. For another, I've seen a lot weirder faces than a Cheem's. My judgment is skewed. Which, I suppose, is why I think your face is fairly inoffensive.”

“I'm flattered.”

“At least you've still got your cheekbones and blue eyes. Stupid blue eyes. Now,” the Doctor pinched his cheeks despite their rough texture, “think of the forest and don't let your thoughts wander.”

[nirahdistributors1]

Are You Searching Best 48 Inch Cable Tie 175 LBS?

Nirah Distributors USA provides the best 48 Inch Cable Tie 175 LBS, and we supply natural white cable zip ties and also supply UV black cable ties. 48-inch cable ties are used in industrial strength and are strong, durable, and insulated. Contact us for an order today!

[rickeywilliam-blog]

15 BEST ADVENTUROUS ACTIVITIES IN INDIA?

Thinking about adventure activities make us thrill and fill us with excitement and happiness. Some wants to overcome the phobia of height or any other phobia by doing these activities and some wants to enjoy them. India, being a diverse country offers and fulfills the need of each and every individual by providing various adventure activities. Whole year you can feel the festive vibe in India. International tourists can also be a part of this by just obtaining the Indian visa. One can easily online indian visa and obtain it within 2-3 days and also within 24 hours for emergency visa to indiaand enjoy these festivals. Among all activities in India, 15 best adventurous activities in India are given below.

1. White Water Rafting and Kayaking

Imagine getting into the cold waters of the beautiful rivers and the thrilling speed of the water of Grade 1-5 and the cold breeze under the scorching sun. Would not that be great fun? India, the land having different rivers at various majestic places offers wide range of White Water Rafting and Kayaking.

If you want to discover and feel the bliss of water then you can do it alone also and with group also. Kayaking, is an individual water sport wherein, one can enjoy riding a small, narrow watercraft propelled by a double bladed paddle. It is one of the latest sport that can be seen growing in India. White Water Rafting, is a group activity, where people together row the boat and get the lashing of the beautiful river with the majestic view of the mountains and the nature.

Popular Areas for White Water Rafting

Brahmaputra River, Nameri National Park, Assam

Barapole River, Coorg, Karnataka

Mandovi River, Goa

Kundalika River, Saje, Maharashtra

Betwa River, Orchha, Madhya Pradesh

Indus River, Ladakh, Jammu & Kashmir

Teesta River, Sikkim

Beas River, Kullu-Manali, Himachal Pradesh

Alaknanda River, Uttarakhand

Popular Areas for Kayaking

Devprayag in Karnataka

Rishikesh

Lakshwadeep Islands

Aguada river, Goa

2. Flyboarding

Something new isn’t it? Yes, it is one of the latest water sport, which is getting popular. But what is it ? Remember movie “Bang Bang”, wherein Hritik Roshan steering over the waves with the help of flyboard. So basically, it is a board and balancing water activity wherein, one hovers over the board and due to the pressure of water, you are able to reach the sky with balance. Isn’t it great? Being internationally quite popular, India is also taking it up.

Popular places for Fly Boarding

Baina Beach, Goa

3. Trekking

When we hear of this word, the first thing that comes to our mind is forest, mountains, greenery but if you get a chance to trek over the sizzling frozen white ice ? Shocking ! But yes, here in India, you get a chance to trek over the frozen Zanskar river, Ladakh, to the North of India.This river freezes during the months of January and February with thick blanket of snow and trekking enthusiasts trek for 8 days until they reach the frozen waterfall. Everything looks surreal over there the scenery, the temperature, the canyon valleys,etc.

India, has various landforms so it provides various trekking area, that is, the beautiful hilly regions of Ooty, Kerala, Munnar in South. The breath taking view of the Himalayas and the mountains in Uttarakhand and Himanchal Pradesh in North. The beautiful ranges of Sikkim, Darjeeling, Meghalaya in the East. These offer the trekkers to have the glimpse of the untouched beauty of nature.

Popular areas of Trekking

Roopkund Trek, Uttarakhand

Chadar Trek, Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir

Valley of Flowers, Uttarakhand

Kanchenjunga Base Camp Trek, Sikkim

Hampta Pass Trek, Himachal Pradesh

Goecha La, Sikkim

4.Hot Air Ballooning

Remember as a child when we used to watch the famous “Mickey Mouse Show”, Mickey used to fly in his hot air balloon. Don’t you wish to experience the same as Mickey, the beautiful sky and make memories together with not only you but with your friends, children, relatives. So here is the chance, to live the moment of lifetime, soaring above the crowd, watching the world from a different horizion, from the eye of a bird, isn’t it thrilling ? You can watch the beautiful “Pink City”, Jaipur, the lovely regions of the Maharshtra and the beautiful sky.

Popular Areas for Hot Air Ballooning

Goa

Lonavala, Maharashtra

Neemrana, near Delhi

Hampi, Karnataka

Udaipur, Rajasthan

Jaipur, Rajasthan

Pushkar, Rajasthan

5. Heli Skiing

Skiing, is what many would have tried but how about skiing in the regions where it is tough to reach. Wouldn’t it be thrilling for the adrenaline to ski and explore in the regions which are beyond the reach normally ? Heli skiing, is one of the popular skiing across the globe, offered in the beautiful white mountains of the Kashmir.

In this a helicopter drops the skiers to the skiing spots, and from there on, the skiers have to find their ways through the beautiful snow capped mountains. Skiing, can be done in various regions of India. Auli being the “Skiing Capital Of India” is often visited by tourists.

Popular Areas for Skiing and Heli Skiing

Auli, Uttarakhand

Manali, Himachal Pradesh

Gulmarg, Jammu and Kashmir

Kufri, Himachal Pradesh

Yumthang Valley, Sikkim

Solang Nala, Himachal Pradesh

Munsiari, Uttarakhand

Narkanda, Himachal Pradesh

6.Bungee Jumping

How about watching the beautiful view “UPSIDE DOWN” ? Interesting isn’t it?To have this amazing experience you just need to jump from a height which can be 83 metres or above and vanish the fear of height in your mind and just jump. Voala! This will certainly send chills down the spine but its worth it. Being tied to a rope and falling freely certainly makes your adrenaline rush. Amaze yourself with this activity in India and add it onto your memories.

Popular Areas for Bungee Jumping

Rishikesh, Uttarakhand

Bangalore, Karnataka

Maharashtra

Jagdalpur, Chhattisgarh

Goa

Delhi

7.Scuba Diving and Snorkeling

Ever imagined how it would be deep down the sea. Wonderful ! Magestic ! And what not. Scuba diving, one of the best activity for one to see the beautiful coral reefs, the varied kinds of marine life,like, Scorpion fish, sharks, etc and the beautiful blue of the sea. Every divers wish is to dive in the beautiful sea of Andaman Island and here in India, one can fulfill the wish by diving deep inside the sea and creating the most sparkling memories of the sea. Snorkelling, is also one of the diving activity which is getting quite in demand, so as to experience the sea of Goa, is amazing. Get your equipments ready and dive in.

Popular Area For Scuba Diving and Snorkeling

The Andaman Islands

Netrani Island, Karnataka

Lakshadweep

Goa

Tarkarli, Maharashtra

Pondicherry

8.Dune Bashing

Interesting name and so is an interesting activity. Now no need to go to Dubai or any desert country for this activity. Right here in India one can experience dune bashing in lavish style in Jaisalmer. In a Suv, in the heart of the Thar desert, one can enjoy the dashing of sand coming your way. This action filled activity is worth a try. Get the feel of it Dubai style.

Popular areas for Dune Bashing

Jaisalmer, Rajasthan

9. Paragliding

Who does not want to fly like a bird, right ? So here is the most exciting chance to fly like the Eagle in the sky in one of the safest destination of paragliding, that is, Bir-Billing, where the take-off site is 8000ft from sea level and the landing site is 4300 ft. It is the second highest paragliding in the world after Chamonix in Europe. One can quench the thirst to reach the skies and witness the life from the eye of a bird with paragliding. So glide along with an instructor or a friend, live the moment at the highest not under the blue sky but with the blue sky.

Popular Areas for Paragliding

Bir Billing, Himachal Pradesh

Goa

Kamshet, Maharashtra

Manali, Himachal Pradesh

Saputara, Madhya Pradesh

Gangtok, Sikkim

Munnar, Kerala

Mussoorie, Uttarakhand

Bangalore, Karnataka

Yelagiri, Chennai

Mahabaleshwar, Maharashtra

10. Microlight Flying

Do you want to fly like the “Wright Brothers”, the one who actually developed the aircraft ? If yes, then what are you waiting for ? Head to Bangalore and get ready to be the co-pilot inside the aircraft, wherein you get to have all the safety gears ready and camera. So get ready to soar high and conquer the sky, cause sky is limit !

Popular Areas for Microlight Flying

Mysore (old airport)

Jakkur (Bangalore)

Tambaram (Chennai)

11. Motor Cycling

Cycling, as we all know is good for our health. But what if we do cycling in the hilly ranges, stoney roads, rugged terrains, enchanting beauty of mountains with zig-zag way. Wow ! Is the word for an avid cyclist or for an adventurer. So India being the area of various land-forms offers various kind of cycling, be it in the enchanting mountains, scenic views, quaint villages and unbelievable places.

Popular Areas for Motor Cycling

Mumbai to Pune Expressway

Manali to Leh Highway

Shimla to Manali via Mandi

Visakhapatnam to Araku Valley

Manali to Leh Ladakh

Shimla to Spiti Valley

Siliguri to Yuksom

Bangalore to Kannur

Delhi to Mandawa

Guwahati to Tawang

Chennai to Munnar

Khardung La, Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir

12. Surfing

The name itself excite the inside of you. Surfing, popular activity internationally   can now be experienced in India too. Kovalam is one of the best option as there is a surf school and so one can be proficient in the art of surfing. Even a novice with little practise can learn this art. So get ready with your Banana Surfs and hit the waters.

Popular Areas for Surfing

Murdeshwara, Karnataka

Kallialay Surf School, Pondicherry

Ashwem Beach, Goa

Kovalam Beach, Kerala

Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu

Little Andaman, Andaman Islands

Varkala , Kerala

Paradip, Odisha

13. Flying Fox

Interesting name isn’t it? Flying fox, is the activity wherein you start your voyage against the wind and glide down a sequence of ultra-strong cables or zip lines, attached by a harness and pulley. You swing from one end to the other, exactly like a scene from the Hollywood movie. This unique aerial activity needs your courage and also excitement so go on and feel the world aerially.

Popular places for Flying Fox

Rishikesh, Uttarakhand

Jodhpur, Rajasthan

New Delhi

Kikar, Punjab

14. Wildlife Safari

India, is filled with all kinds of flora and fauna. Wildlife is part of India and in each and every state one can see the varied animals from the one horn rhinos to the Great Bengal Tiger. This can be enjoyed with family and friends. So cherish the nature with the animals beside you by visting various sanctuaries in India.

Popular Areas for wildlife Safari

Jim Corbett National Park, Uttarakhand

Gir National Park, Gujarat

Nagzira Wildlife Sanctuary, Maharashtra

Sunderbans Jungle Camp, West Bengal

Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary, Kerala

Hemis National Park, Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir

Ranthambore National Park, Rajasthan

Kaziranga National Park, Assam

Satpura National Park, Madhya Pradesh

Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary, Rajasthan

15. Climb Frozen Waterfalls

This is one of the most amazing and initially started  activity by a group of adventure junkies in Spiti Valley. Thanks to these adventurer one can now climb these amazing frozen waterfalls and enjoy the enchanting beauty of Spiti Valley. For a real adventurer enthusiast this is the milestone which can be tried for sure.

Popular Areas for Climbing Frozen Waterfalls

Spiti Valley, Himanchal Pradesh

[itsworn]

How to Swap a 700R-4 Overdrive Transmission into a C10

We’ve all been there—cruising down the highway in an old truck, just wishing you had “another gear.” The hum of 3,000 rpm on the interstate can be concerning to those of us who constantly stare at the temperature gauge or perhaps the gas gauge, and the persistent strain can take its toll on an old-school engine. In our case, we’re working on a 1971 Chevrolet C10, which has a fresh 355ci small-block Chevy with aluminum heads and a sizable camshaft. While the engine had received some serious attention, the TH350 transmission was completely stock, aside from a stall converter to work with the big cam.

The truck ran pretty well, but had a few issues that were hard to pinpoint. Our concern came when it was time to really test out the new engine on a nice, straight back road. At wide-open throttle in low gear, the engine seemed to bog, and it never came to life, even with close to 400 hp on tap. It wouldn’t spin the tires, no matter how hard we tried. The engine was firing on all eight cylinders, but the truck felt like it was tied to a tree stump when we’d take off. As we were scratching our heads in disbelief that it wouldn’t do a burnout or set you back in the seat, we went out for one more testdrive, and the transmission finally let go. What we quickly realized was that the transmission was causing the bogging issues before it gave up.

The truth of the matter is that we wanted to upgrade to an overdrive transmission either way, and this breakage gave us the perfect opportunity to make it happen. The natural choice for our application was a GM 700-R4, a simple four-speed automatic based off of the long-running Turbo Hydramatic design. The .70:1 overdrive ratio would calm down our peppy small-block during highway cruising, and the lower 3.06:1 First gear ratio (compared to the TH350’s 2.52:1 First gear) would liven up the acceleration. Of course, we could’ve also opted for the 200-4R overdrive transmission, but they’re getting increasingly harder to find and not exactly known for their strength.

We were faced with a couple of options. Grab a core from the junkyard and have a local shop go through it with factory-style replacement parts, or buy an aftermarket unit. After some studying and price checking, we called up the folks at Phoenix Transmission Products in Weatherford, Texas. They offer transmissions for lots of applications, including Chrysler and Ford, and had plenty of options for GM transmissions, including several versions of the 700-R4.

After a conversation with Greg at Phoenix Transmission, we decided on the “SS” model, the street/strip version, rated for 450 hp and 500 lb-ft of torque. Phoenix Transmission modifies the transmission with high-load capacity sprags, high-energy friction and band, and increase pump volume and pressure. To keep us from piecing together the components, Phoenix Transmission offers a complete package for our C10, including the new transmission, a high-performance lock-up torque converter, a COMPUSHIFT Mini module, a G-Force crossmember, and a Lokar stainless steel TV cable, complete with the appropriate correction bracket for our Demon carburetor. That means the only thing we had to add to the kit was a new driveshaft and a few quarts of Dexron III transmission fluid, and our C10 was back on the road.

The final result of our transmission swap is a classic truck that hits the highway with ease, thanks to overdrive and a lock-up torque converter. It also lights the tires with ease now that the new transmission isn’t holding back the rowdy small-block. We were pleased with the simplicity of the swap, and the performance of the Phoenix Transmission-prepared 700-R4 is undeniable. Now it’s time to stretch the legs on our C10 with some longer trips and some more back road adventures.

Our 1971 Chevrolet C10 pickup was showing signs of concern, and eventually lost forward motion when something let go in the transmission. Add to that a leaking chrome transmission pan and less-than-desirable highway manners, and it was time to remove this antiquated three-speed transmission.

Another problem area that we wanted to resolve included the two-piece driveshaft. While it had been repaired with a new carrier bearing, it still isn’t an ideal setup for a high-performance application.

Our starting point is the driveshaft. It can be removed at the rear end, by loosening the four bolts that keep the U-joint in place. Then, the carrier bearing can be removed from the rear suspension crossmember, and finally the yoke can slide out of the transmission.

Next, we remove the three torque converter bolts that pass through the flexplate. The engine will usually try to spin, so we typically tap on the box-end wrench with a small hammer to get it broken loose.

The truck has a tubular transmission crossmember, which has easy access to the transmission mount bolts. While in this area, we can disconnect the vacuum line from the modulator valve, then we can move forward to disconnect the transmission fluid lines.

The six bolts that hold the transmission to the engine usually require the use of a couple extensions and a swivel extension to have enough room to spin the ratchet. Before it’s completely loose, we roll our low-profile transmission jack in place and secure the transmission.

With everything out of the way, we did a mock-up on the G-Force Transmissions crossmember, which is part of the kit from Phoenix Transmission Products. While it does have massive humps for exhaust clearance, our particular truck needed some modifications to the exhaust for proper fitment.

For the sake of simplicity, we decided to completely remove the exhaust system. This isn’t necessary on all C10s, but it gave us a lot more room.

Phoenix Transmission builds several versions of GM’s 700-R4 automatic overdrive transmission, and we went with the PT700R4SS, which is the street/strip configuration. The transmission is rated for 450 hp, and takes all of the guesswork out of the swap. It comes out of the crate with a Lokar TV cable already installed.

The complete kit from Phoenix Transmission included a custom torque converter, built to match our camshaft specifications and rear end gear ratio. Since our application has a Comp Big Mutha’ Thumpr camshaft, it required a 2,800-stall speed.

The transmission comes with a new mount installed, as well as a new speedometer drive and new hardware throughout. The transmission has been run on Phoenix Transmission’s dyno, so it’s tested and ready to install.

Our transmission swap took place under a carport—no lifts or special equipment here. We did make use of a low-profile transmission jack, which made easy work of lifting the 700-R4 transmission into place.

Before we installed the transmission, we situated the G-Force crossmember between the framerails and then slid it backward. The tolerances are pretty tight on the crossmember, so having it hanging in place keeps us from having to fight with it.

We lined up the dowel pins and slid the transmission against the engine. Then, it was a matter of installing and tightening the six mounting bolts.

Now we can jack the transmission up a little more and then slide the transmission crossmember forward to line up with the mount. We used the supplied oval-shaped plate to strengthen the connection, as it features large slots for a wide range of adjustments.

With the crossmember bolted to the transmission, we can drill holes (if necessary) in the frame and then attach the crossmember to the frame.

Next, we attach the torque converter to the flexplate with three new torque converter bolts. Luckily, the Phoenix Transmission torque converter features dual-bolt patterns, so our existing flexplate worked perfectly.

Our existing transmission lines didn’t need any tweaking to fit into the new 700-R4 transmission. The original lines and fittings threaded into the female fittings, which were already installed by Phoenix Transmission.

Installing the pressure sensor is next on our to-do list. It’s provided with the kit and works with the COMPUSHIFT Mini to read line pressure, controlled by the TV cable. The sensor threads into the driver side of the transmission case, with a little bit of Teflon pipe tape on the threads. To access the port, you must first remove a brass plug.

Another piece of the puzzle is the speed sensor, part of the COMPUSHIFT system that makes easy work of configuring the transmission settings. The speed sensor connects to the transmission speedometer drive with a 1-foot speedometer cable. The big end threads into the transmission.

The small end of the short cable threads into the speed sensor. You can connect your mechanical cable to the other end of the sensor. Or if you’re using a digital speedometer, you can connect the purple wire with a white stripe in the speed sensor wiring harness to the “high side” of the speedometer wiring.

Now we can simply plug in the wiring harness. The pressure sensor and speed sensors have specific connectors and are clearly marked for easy installation.

Finally, we can snap the main harness plug into place and tidy up the wiring with a few zip ties. Be sure to keep all sensors, wires, and cables away from the exhaust.

Attaching the shifter linkage is a simple task. We reused the arm from our TH350 transmission, which goes along with the column-shift linkage.

Phoenix Transmission provides a new dipstick tube with the kit, so we carefully pressed it into place, being sure the bulge in the tube is seated against the case. It’s a nice, tight fit.

With the bottom side buttoned up, we can make the necessary changes to the exhaust system and prepare for a new driveshaft.

We wanted to swap the original two-piece driveshaft for a more reliable one-piece design. Most shops request measurement from center-to-center on the U-joints, so you can slide your old slip-yoke into the transmission to get a good measurement.

The new driveshaft came complete with new U-joints and a new slip-yoke. We simply slide the yoke into the transmission and then attach it to the rear end with the original U-joint straps and hardware.

Up top, we installed a Lokar throttle cable, as well as the provided TV cable kit (Phoenix PN PTVSYSBGD), which uses a special correction bracket on the throttle arm on the Demon carburetor for correct TV cable geometry. A small set screw keeps the rear cable bracket square and steady for consistent cable tension.

Before we crank the engine, we must adjust the TV cable. To do so, we go full throttle with the carburetor, and then pull out on the TV cable until it’s completely tight. Then, we can slide the cable end back as far as it can go, and tighten the small Allen-head set screw.

After adding some fluid to the transmission, we can fire it up and go through some of the settings on the COMPUSHIFT Mini. First, we confirm that line pressure changes with throttle input, and then we test the speed sensor with the rear end jacked up.

Then, we can calibrate the TPS Sensor by pulling the TV cable out and back in smoothly. Our truck has a carburetor on it, so there’s no actual TPS sensor on the engine. The throttle position is determined by the TV cable and its effect on line pressure.

Now we can go for a testdrive and adjust the default settings if needed. The COMPUSHIFT Mini allows us to control when the torque converter locks and unlocks, based on speed and throttle input (controlled by the TV cable). The lock-up torque converter will keep the 2,800-stall converter from slipping while cruising in overdrive.

The post How to Swap a 700R-4 Overdrive Transmission into a C10 appeared first on Hot Rod Network.

from Hot Rod Network https://www.hotrod.com/articles/how-to-swap-700r-4-overdrive-transmission-into-c10/ via IFTTT

[tapwrites]

As soon as she walked in, she felt the tension...

Unedited Freewrite

As soon as she walked in, she felt the tension. That strange tension in the air you only felt in the engine room as it worked its magic.

The space was gloomy, though the steel walls were painted a yellow-white. Pipes poked from surfaces and then dove back down again. Cables hung zip-tied from seams in the ceiling, and light cut up through the grating beneath her feet.

It had the air of an old submarine film. Though they were far from water, now. She always thought of how pointless it was to lay grating for the floor in a spaceship.

She pressed on through the pokey corridors towards the engine proper. The walls opened out to surround a large machine in the centre of a clearing of sorts. It did move from time to time, but only subtly. As she watched, part of its grey-painted form shifted and moved, cracking the paint on its surface and letting an eerie glow shine through.

The “tension,” as she called it, was even stronger here. Almost like a kind of static electricity reaching out to her, making the air thick to walk through.

She took another step towards it, regarding its slowly warping surface. Was it alive? She knew it was alien tech, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t sentient, right? Who knows what poor creature the aliens harnessed to drive their ships. Who knows what dark deeds the scientists had perpetrated to bend the creature to drive this one.

Slowly, she reached out a hand towards the thing. It shivered, as if drawing a sudden laboured breath. She did the same, pausing. Was this a good idea?

She straightened and rubbed her chin. They all agreed. The latest meeting was heated. Sometimes a little too outspoken for her taste; it was hard to get anything done without some sense of dispassion on the subject, though she understood the feeling, of course. But whatever, she agreed on the course of action to be taken. And so did all the others. No creature—whether terrestrial or otherwise—should be subjected to such servitude.

Steeling herself, she leaned forward and reached out her hand once more.

She winced her eyes shut as she touched the thing’s surface. But there was no response.

She looked at it. It continued its usual pulsing rhythms, its usual quiet play of light between the cracks of the paint. No response to her touch at all.

She pulled her hand away, and splinters of paint flaked away, floating to the ground in the thick air. Light pushed through the new gaps, and something changed in the ever-moving nature of the alien entity. The pulse of movement became just a little softer, the undulations slower, more even.

She stared at that light. It seemed to go on forever. Was she looking through its skin? Into its body? Its soul?

Her hand moved towards the light, as if drawn by it. A smile slowly spread across her lips. There was something there. There was life. The light played about her hand as she reached out for the skin. She touched the surface.