#Yeah yeah I know he technically just needs it as a backup power source

[bragganhyl]

Once again I'm thinking about how Eothas relinquishes the Watcher's soul - who brought rebirth to the Dyrwood in Eothas' absence - right before he begins his final march to Ukaizo - so when he becomes Gaun completely

[looney-mooney]

Okay WANDAVISION THEORY TIME

I’ve thought this for a very long time (like, since Endgame) but I think it’s extra relevant now considering information from the newest episode. I don’t think Vision ever fully died. Or well. He died, but he wasn’t gone. Remember how Wanda has powers because of experiments done on her with the Mind Stone? Remember how Carol Danvers also has powers from the Space Stone, and how they didn’t just go away when the stones were all put back? Yeah. So. Anyway.

When Wanda used her powers to destroy the Mind stone - the SOURCE OF HER POWERS - I think she subconsciously USED her powers to both A) absorb all the Mind Stone’s power, essentially becoming a new-ish vessel, and B) preserve a backup copy Vision’s mind in herself. And considering the fact that absorbed infinity stone powers don’t just go away when the stones are replaced in the timeline, I have to make the assumption that power transfers like that are impervious to the retcons of the time stone. Meaning when Thanos killed Vision, Wanda still had all that power (and a copy of Vision’s mind) laying dormant within her.

Something else that’s interesting is the knowledge that the time stone and the mind stone didn’t just give the Maximovs Mind-related powers - Wanda’s typical abilities more closely resemble the Reality Stone, and Pietro’s more closely resembles the Space Stone. And Wanda appears to have some time-related abilities as well. We can assume that the infinity stones are all somewhat linked, but I might get to that later.

We all know that Wanda is using these abilities to rewrite reality - to make the Hex, to resurrect a version of her husband, to make her idealized fantasy sitcom life. I still don’t think she’s the one who started it all, but maybe she is and just doesn’t realize it. All that power has to go somewhere, and after all the emotional turmoil of losing several loved ones, she might have acted subconsciously. She stole back Vision’s body (most likely to protect her husband from being used as a weapon against his will), and either went to or was brought to Westview. The first intro shows Wanda and Vision driving into Westview, so I think the Hex existed before she went into it and took control. I think Vision is’t a corpse anymore, but rather... a mechanical ghost, his saved mind inhabiting a reconstructed/rebooted version of his body. His body was created with the same atoms, but it is no longer in the same state. Just like how Monica’s rockin outfit is still technically bulletproof kevlar, even though it is in a different shape now.

Because it would make more sense for Vision to be a recreation rather than just a reanimated corpse, I also don’t think Wanda’s visions of corpses are real. I think that’s her personal trauma bleeding into her perception of this reality. Especially since Vision’s body was completely disassembled when she stole it back, and thus would look different from her vision of him, and the fact that this Pietro isn’t really her Pietro, so it wouldn’t really make sense for him to be a walking corpse with the exact same wounds as her brother.

This would also explain why Vision is different from everyone else. Everyone else is under the influence of the mind stone, but Vision IS the mind stone. He’s too closely connected to those powers to be manipulated by them. He’s like, the eye of the storm

The only exceptions I can think of are Billy and Tommy. She can’t control them either, and they know a lot more than she expects them to. I think that maybe creations of the Mind stone - new minds - can’t be manipulated by it. In that way, they really are a chip off the ol’ block.

I don’t really really know what else is going on here - weather Vision and the twins can survive outside the Hex, or if they need to be in close proximity to the New Mind Stone (Wanda) in order to survive - weather this is Mephisto’s influence like in House of M, or if there’s something else going on here and Marvel has different plans for the MCU - if Wanda will eventually take over the world for herself and her family, or if the Hex will dissipate, leaving behind scattered remnants of an altered reality to influence the rest of the MCU. But I do think that Vision, the Twins, and Pietro are real, alive, and themselves.

[ambered-glazed-sheep]

Please do go on about Doomslayer and his morals. I'm legit fascinated by him since starting the let's play I'm watching and I'd love to hear your take on him (I know literally nothing about the Doom franchise other than lots of blood and violence against demons and also badass music)

You know, a year ago when my friends asked me 'hey do you wanna play minecraft' and i said 'yeah sure' i would have never thought i would one day have a minecraft sideblog where i get questions about the personality of the main character of a shooter fps game (of all things!) that is known for its incredible violence.

But here you go:

(prepare yourself this has gotten way longer than i thought oh god, and also it has nothing to do with hermits whatsoever. warnings for language and descriptions of violence? and i assume the readmore won’t be working the way i want it to)

Ok so, Doom!

First of all, i know nothing about the old games, and i’ve only seen a minimal amount of Doom Eternal Letsplays. Most of this is based on Doom (2016). 

Ok so we all start out thinking Doomguy! It’s the guy you play in Doom. The hand that hold the gun YOU are shooting demons with. And sure, you can go trough the whole game with that mindset, but that’s boring and we are overthinking fictional characters in this house.

ID software actually managed to give Doomguy/Doomslayer a TON of personality despite him never saying a word, barely any cutscenes to show what he does when you don’t control him (at least in Doom 2016), and not a lot of other characters to interact with despite enemy monsters.

The game just leaves you little hints and snippets and that’s what makes Doomslayer so exciting to think about. Just the right levels between ‘cryptid half-god who never shows emotion and is a player-insert’ and ‘this dude’s got an AGENDA. he has PLACES TO BE’. You are him as you play, but sometimes he makes decisions on his own. But personally, i could never find myself to disagree.

First, you got the intro sequence. 

You got a unknown voice telling you: 

“They are rage. Brutal, without mercy. But you. You will be worse. Rip and Tear, until it is done.”

First of all, YO. WOW. HOLY SHIT.

The scene immediately shifts to Doomslayer waking up. He’s naked, he’s chained down somewhere, theresa SHIT TON of scars littering his arms and hands. First thing HE does, on his own behalf, is ripping off the chains by flexing a little (literal iron chains!!!), smashing a zombies head against the sarcophagus he lays in and completely obliterating said head into a bit of blood (mind you, three seconds after he woke up from a thousands of years long coma!! but we only learn that later), and then promptly gets up, picks up a pistol, and now it’s your, the players turn. This takes like 8 seconds in total. This man means BUSINESS. That’s the first thing we learn.

Second thing that strikes me is the interactions with Samuel Hayden. 

Doomslayer is patient when a computer voice tells him the status of the base. He is patient as he looks at the screens to see what is going on. (a demonic invasion, thats what). But then dear Dr. Samuel Hayden calls. 

Dr. Hayden says “Hi, i’m the boss here, i’m sure we can work together in a way that benefits us both uwu”. Doomslayer immediately grabs the PC screen and pushes it aside. His gesture says, i’m done with this. im sick of this dude. this guy is full of shit. And he’s right! And that after barely hearing two sentences from Hayden!

So the second thing we learn is that he has no time for people trying to exploit him. He hears Hayden, he has a gut feeling that this dude is a little fishy, maybe he just plain doesnt like higher ups and heads of facilities. But we learn that he IS. NOT. going to listen to this man, and his body language makes that very clear without being actually violent against the person (he doesnt destroy the Screen either! just pushes it aside very annoyed. He isn’t mindlessly destroying property here.)

This continues. 

Hayden goes ‘hey maybe don’t destroy that energy source!’ in the few seconds you dont control him, Doomslayer listens. He hesitates. He considers. Then he destroys the thing anyways. Hayden keeps telling him to stop, but Doomslayer doesnt listen. He’s got his own mind!

This was mostly about Haydens Company, the UAC, harvesting hell energy, and hurting people in the process. 

There’s a scene where Doomslayer rides an elevator. Hayden, over the comms, tells him that everyone that has died in the demon attack was a nacessary sacrifice that will bring a new future or some shit like that. the camera pans down to show some poor sods corpse at those very words. Doomslayer cracks his knuckles. he is NOT HAPPY about that, so we know he doesnt like it when human lifes are sacrificed. He destroys the communicator, so he doesnt have to listen to Haydens voice telling him lies and trying to sway him anymore. 

(then he takes out his shotgun, the doors open, metal starts playing and the doom logo is shown, but that’s more about making the player feel epic than showing doomslayers personality,,)

Now i would like to talk about VEGA, the AI that controls the mars facility. 

VEGA occasionally talks to us/the Slayer. He is very straightforward, tells us what to do and why to do it, and is generally very polite. In the story, Doomslayer listens to Vega. 

Now why does he listen to VEGA but not Hayden? 

I think it’s because Hayden tries to get him to do things that just benefit him, and Hayden is very manipulative in his words (or tries to be lol), while Vega just says (if you destroy this thing, that door will open. I think Doomslayer appreciates it when people are honest to him.

And in the end, Doomslayer on his own decides to save a backup of VEGA. VEGA didn’t ask him to, Doomslayer did that on his own. It’s not relevant to his mission, he doesnt need VEGA to go to hell to close portals and whatnot. But he does save him. Why? I think it’s because he cares. Because he’s come to like VEGA. Because Vega didn’t try to manipulate him and screw him over. 

Next up is the Slayers Testament. 

These are a bunch of writings/recordings that you find scattered in the hell levels. (i highly recommend listening to them/reading them, they are metal as fuck and give me such an immense feeling of power bc they are talking about me, the doomslayer)

These testaments were written by demons. They were genuinely afraid of the slayer. 

Quote:

Unbreakable, incorruptible, unyielding, the Doom Slayer sought to end the dominion of the dark realm.

As said, i don’t think these are purely talking about his physical strength. They are talking about his... well, mentality. His Codex. They see him as an unstoppable force. He is incorruptible. Let that sink in. Man walks trough hordes of demons and at no point ever thinks ‘yeah maybe this is a bit much’ or ‘they just keep coming this is pointless’. No. He’s unyielding. (Can you tell how much i love the words in these testaments? It’s just got such a nice ring to it.)

In battle, the Doomslayer is BRUTAL. He tears apart demons, rips their eyes out, all that. He stomps on heads like they’re water balloons and isn’t fazed at all. Nothing stops this man. (except players like me who fall off the map 5 consecutive times, but lets just imagine the doomslayer is actually like he would be if someone played the game perfectly. player skill shouldn’t be considered in my headcanons jahdjhgd) One could even argue he has fun at this, because there are some animations like ripping off a zombies arm and beating the Zombie with it, or feeding a demon it’s own heart.

I feel like that says a lot about his personality as well!

He doesn’t hesitate. He doesn’t doubt himself. He doesn’t question his cause! He fights to get rid of the demons, not just the ones in his way, but every. demon. He will go out of his way to kill more demons. You could either take this as him having fun, or him following his own moral codex to get rid of every demon, or him being a not-quite-human war machine, or wanting to protect humanity from them. 

I would say it’s a healthy mix of all that :D

In older games, there was this whole backstory snippet of him returning to earth, finding that the demons had invaded his planet but also killed his pet rabbit (Daisy), and he then goes onto a 2-game long revenge trip.Take that as you will.

The last thing i would like to mention is this post.

Please watch the video. Doomguy walks trough the rows of random human guards. This is the walk of a man who doesn’t owe them SHIT. Yes, he wants to save humanity. Yes, he cares. But he also knows who he is. He knows what he did, and what he will do. He doesn’t have to justify himself in front of these shady scientists and jerky guards.THEY owe HIM, in fact. This video emits the sheer CONFIDENCE of someone who has walked trough hell multiple times and knows none of these people could even touch him. Yes, he would never kill them. He would not harm humans. But he doesn’t care about making them uncomfortable with his presence, either. He doesnt ask for permission.

(i think by now i am using the exact same words they did in that post. really, its worth the read. i think there’s a lot of repeated things between this post and that post by now but i encourage you to watch that video. its worth it.)

Also, the impact he has on the people in this room! they trip. they walk backwards. they go quiet, stutter. they are intimidated. They know he’s technically here to help and save them, but now, standing in front of them.... just wow. it really puts things into perspective. it tells the player that all the demons that he’s killed, all that the doomslayer has done... its noted. it has an impact. 

I’m not really sure where i’m going with this anymore, but watching those NPCs react to the slayers presence just adds so much more to his character. it tells us how people see him, and boy.... do they see him. 

i think it also ties a lot into how the player is made feel, controlling doomguy. all these head stomping and limp tearing animations, the guns, people being scared, watching doomslayer destroy important equipment from first pirson or pushing open doors or whatever... it just gives me such an immense feeling of power! i can’t even describe it. (...it also has nothing to do anymore with the original question but holy shit did i love playing doom for the sheer atmosphere of it. despite me being horrible at playing.)

(at the end of this i’m realizing that all of this never addressed if doomslayer is happy and content murdering demons, or if he just wants his peace and quiet but can’t help himself every time he sees a demon. i would propose to leave that up to headcanons. mine is a mix of both but in a way that makes it not angsty. like he loves to have his calm moments, but is just as happy to rip some demon’s spine out. probably gets a little itchy and impatient if he hasn’t fought in a while.)

also if you’re interested in game design and way more professional people talking about why doom 2016 is great i reccomend this documentary

...anyways it’s past 1am and this has gotten way out of hand but

tl;dr: the doomslayer is metal as fuck, he has a lot of agenda he is following, and i love him so much

[starr-fall-knight-rise]

Humans are Space Orcs, “Out of Warp.”

You guys have been waiting a long time for this, I have been waiting a long time to write this. It’s going to be a wild ride, and this is just the beginning, so strap yourselves in. Comment, question and ask me any questions you have. I need reactions. I need to know what you are all thinking during this journey :) Hope you like it 

The ship was quiet, the soft whirring of the engine underscored the quiet, exhausted relief that had followed them from the courtroom not days before. The Captain’s chair lay unoccupied, the bridge crew lounged quietly in their seats absently monitoring all incoming data before the warp.

Krill sat at his chair on the bridge just over Sunny who sat, curled up against the back wall listening to her music. Unlike everyone else, the court case hadn’t seem to have eased her worries. She sat against her own tense muscles hunched inwards on herself as she stared at her playlist.

Towards the communications console, Captain Vir sat speaking quietly to someone over the phone. The communications expert sat a polite distance away, but the rather smug and amused look on his face told of someone eavesdropping.

“Yes….. yes, YES…. Mom, I’m fine. I KNOW I didn’t tell you because I KNEW you’d freak out…. Well if it was Jeremy, you would barely even notice….. That’s beside the point….. MOM, I won the case, I am back on my ship, barely a slap on the wrist.” He sighed, “Yes mom….. yeah…. No…. no, I just have to wear the leg Sunny gave me…..” He paused for a long moment sighing deeply a few times, “Yes, she gave me a leg, yeah it was a gift, and by wearing it it’s sort of similar to adoption, you know, technically I’m part of their clan now…. MOM can we talk about this later…….” He rolled his eyes to the heavens, “No mom, I am not rolling my eyes….. I am NOT lying, look I love you, I have to go.” He hung up and sighed glowering at the com expert as he walked past, “Get rid of that grin corporal before I get rid of it for you.”

The threat didn’t take, and the crewman just burst into a fit of childish giggling.

The captain rolled his eyes and took his seat, “Alright, The UNSC is sending us on a wide patrol, I think they are done with us being around for a while, so ready the ship for warp.” Upon hearing the order, the crew sat up in their seats, while Sunny buckled herself in at the defense controls.

Navigation sent over a pre-plotted course to the captain’s screen, pulled up as a hologram in front of the chair. He dropped the controls, and took the joysticks with the ease of someone who knew they had complete control.

“Preparing warp core.”

“25…. 45….65…. 75…..85….90….100.”

The captain’s hand pressed forward on the controls, and below decks, somewhere in the bowels of the ship, the warp core pulsed once, thrumming with a pulsing power that rolled its way through the ship dimming lights and flickering projections as power was diverted to the warp for a split second. There was one horrible moment like they were all being folded inwards, and then the view outside of the windows whent completely white as the cameras shut off.

The entire crew slumped in relief as the feeling passed, and they were finally on their way. If the calculations were right, they should appear just off from the Heaven’s Gate Nebula, and then circle around the perimeter, a journey that would take more than a few months with strategic warp jumps spaced throughout.

Captain Vir sighed turning sideways in his chair and throwing his legs over the opposite armrest. Under the leg of his pants, the blue, metallic prosthetic of his new leg winked out at the crew. It only had two toes, like the foot of the Drev and a single backward facing spur. It had taken a while for him to get used to the dynamic of the leg, but once he had, it was almost impossible to notice the difference.

Inside the warp channel, the crew allowed itself to relax, moving from their attentive positions back to their postures of relaxation and sleepy watchfulness. A warp was run completely on autopilot, to do it manually would be to commit suicide in in the most spectacular way possible, perhaps by flying themselves straight into the sun. Either way, the only thing to do now was to sit back, relax and monitor the inner workings of the ship.

Captain Vir was taking the advice quiet seriously, closing his eyes and turning to a light nap within the embrace of the warp channel. Oddly enough, one of the safest place in the universe happened to be carried on the wings of a powerful and reactive force capable of causing planets to implode. It was surprisingly calming, like being rocked to sleep by the universe. The ship itself did rock gently ever few minutes rising over the strange currents residing in the warp tunnel. Sunny was back to listening to her music, and the Captain was fast asleep.

And then the entire world imploded.

If going into warp felt like being folded, than coming out of a warp felt like being stretched and then let go like a rubber band snapping back into place. Coming out of warp forcibly, however, took the rubber band feeling and multiplied it by about a thousand. The entire world was pulled, dragged, and snapped. The ships interior constructions screamed and protested. The entire crew deformed, shifted back and were thrown suddenly and violently from their seats screaming to match the crying of the ship.

The main power of the ship was disrupted plunging them into darkness, before emergency lights kicked on around the room. Captain Vir had been thrown from his seat and lay face down on the deck unmoving.

Warp protocol was strictly regulated for many reasons, the sudden termination of a warp was physically horrendous, and potentially catastrophic. The humans lay across the bridge moaning and contorted into positions of pain against their own whiplash, some of the humans lay very still.

Krill lay draped over one of the seats, also unmoving.

Sunny struggled to her knees armored carapace having protected her form the worst side effects of the warp termination. “No, no, not now, not like this.” Sunny whispered. The ship shuttered and jolted with a metallic screech. The emergency lights cast an unholy glow over the room. Sunny scrambled across the floor and onto the defense console. Ahead of her at the systems console, she watched as the ship desperately tried to reboot itself. As far as she knew the main power sources and life support would have remained intact. If there was one thing surprising about humans, it was their extensive need to create backup systems to their backup systems. In some cases, humans could be very cautious.

The ship rattled again, and Sunny desperately rattled at the battle station controls.

Weapons systems offline.

She cursed under her breath, and tried to pull up close radar of the area. The loading screen seemed to take forever as she pulled it up, “Please, no.”

The radar came up, but the small signature of their ship was completely surrounded, a mass shape dwarfing them, engulfing them. Somewhere below the ship, a loud metallic thud reverberated through the hull. Sunny raced towards the wall, dashing the coms from the wall, pressing the button and screaming her orders into it, “DON’T FIGHT THEM, REURN TO THE BARRACKS, DON’T FIGHT THEM.” A loud screech echoed through the corridors of the ship, “PLEASE, YOU WILL DIE!” She thought about the marines, those idiotically brave humans. How could they not fight; she had a horrible image of the marines lying on the ground, dead.  The rattling continued for some minutes and then went quiet.

Sunny rushed over to Krill checking for signs of life, she didn’t know what she was looking for, she was a solider not a doctor; that was Krill’s job…. But to her….. he…. Wasn’t moving. She couldn’t see anything, she couldn’t feel anything. She shook him gently, but his large head just flopped forward like a rag doll.

Breathing hard, she lay Krill gently on the ground and then leaped to her feet running over to where the captain lay on the floor nearly tripping over waffles, who lay on her side voice wheezing with a quiet whimper as she struggled to breathe

She threw herself to her knees next to the captain and flipped him over placing her hand over his chest. She knew relatively where a human heart was supposed to be, and placed one of her hands over his chest desperately feeling for some signs of life. There she felt it, the distant thudding of his human heart and his chest rising and falling with labored breath. She shook him to trying to wake him up, if anyone knew what to do….

Just like Krill, the man slumped forward upper body falling against her chest head sagging downwards. She knelt on the floor holding him in her arms trying desperately to wake him up, and she was still there as she listened to the floors begin to rattle.

Something was coming.

“Captain-“ She began, ready to beg him, to plead with him to wake up, and it seemed as if his eyes had begun to flicker.

The door burst open with a loud CRACK, hinges squealed as metal warped in protest bending and twisting into unintended positions. The door itself rattled to the deck, skidding halfway onto the bridge. A light haze of smoke poured into the room, obscuring the figures behind into shadows. Three figures rushed into the room one after the other ducking through the small space weapons raised to point at the incapacitated crew.

The mist dissipated.

Sunny felt her heart skink….

The Drev soldiers stared back at her with expressions of impassive disinterest. From where they stood, they fanned out across the room brandishing their weapons, blasters, razors, arm cannons, lasers, and of course their armor slid into place between and over the already armored carapace.

They were a good two feet taller than her on average.

Captain Vir shifted against her chest arms limply trying to regain consciousness fully.

And that’s when the fourth figure stepped into the room. The shape was so massive they had to bend almost double to make it through the door and into the room stepping with a soft clatter on the floor. Humans may have grown out of predators, but nothing at that moment could have looked more sinister than the shape that stepped from the shadows, and out onto the deck raising itself to a full 10 foot height only added to by the magnificent set of armor about her shoulder, and the mighty war staff in her upper right hand.

….

Sunny’s mother stood, metallic purple armor shining in the light of the emergency illumination, casting shadows about her body that turned her normally warlike form into nothing short of sort of hellish. Like the goddess of war herself reincarnate, and come down from the fields of battle to grace her presence on this very isolated ship.

Her regal armored head turned about the room taking in the fallen crew, some of which were finally beginning to stir, and then her eyes locked on Sunny. Sunny rested the captain back down on the floor and took to her feet slowly forced to look upwards at her mother’s face. The piercing golden eyes stared back at her as she stepped forward, easily striding over the fallen door with her massive pace.

She paused over Sunny staring down at her.

Sunny stared back.

Captain Vir groaned and struggled to his hands and knees. His bleary human eyes were out of focus ad cloudy with confusion.

Sunny’s mother bent down, and with her other massive hand, she grabbed the human by the throat, and hoisted him into the air like he was nothing more than a kitten in the jaws of a lion. He gasped, and gagged and struggled against her massive grip hands desperately scrabbling at her wrist and fingers. His legs kicked as his lips began to turn gradually blue.

The noise of his choking filled the entire bridge from front to back.

“Pathetic little creature, aren’t you.” She mused as the other humans were just beginning to pull themselves from the floor, only to be encouraged back there by the weapons of the Drev soldiers, “To think many of the Drev consider you to be mighty warriors, but look at you now.”

All that could be heard over the sound of the rebooting system, was the human slowly choking. His kicking grew more frail, more labored as he began to grow limp. Sunny took a step forward.

Her mother’s head snapped up, and with a flick of her wrist, she discarded the human to the floor. He hit the ground with a sickening thud and a reverberation through the metal. A desperate gasp rent the air as he took in breath hands to his throat.

A set of golden eyes fell on her. The gaze that had contemplated her many times, and only ever come back with disgust and distaste was filled with something else this time. A smile broke across her face, “Daughter…..” She looked around to the assembled Drev, “My daughter, a true soldier in the art of espionage. Good work, you did your job perfectly… quite a miracle considering your….usually lacking in these areas.”

On the floor Captain Vir choked a single word breaking from his lips, “Sunny…” A word filled with so much betrayal and despair, it turned Sunny’s blood right to ice.

She didn’t want this.

Her mother laughed, “Look at the poor stupid thing, Sunny, seems you did your job better than I expected.” Her laughter rose, and with it came the laughter of the other Drev soldiers, echoing out of the bridge, down the halls, and through the ship to die in dusty corners with its sinister intent.

  Scale of captain Vir to Sunny o Sunny’s mother for some context. 

 https://starr-fall-knight-rise.tumblr.com/post/182501791735/master-post

[james-stark-the-writer-wips]

A Year At The Opera - Excerpt

Chapter 9: A Body In The Woods

A/N: Its 5K words, I hope you like it!

*

Eleanor and Aaron

Eleanor opened the door and stepped in, only to be greeted by darkness.

“Hello?” She called out, checking to see if anyone was there. No response. She flicked the light switch on. Nothing. She did it again. Still nothing.

Power must be out or something.

“El?” A voice came from the second floor.

“A?” She called out. “Where are you?”

“Upstairs.” His voice was faint.

Eleanor shrugged and put the car keys in the bowl, heading to the stairs. She quickly turned on the flashlight on her phone. As she reached his door, she knocked once before pushing the door open.

“Why are the lights out?” She asked, turning her flashlight off.

“Power outage or something, Ingram’s looking for the gas valve for that chandelier in the living room.”

“Any idea when they’ll be back?”

“Ingram called his mom. She said she’d check and call back soon.”

“Okay, so, nothing’s working? They don’t have a backup generator or anything?”

“Well, they do but it’s not working. Or at least that’s what Mrs. Shaw said.” Aaron replied, turning on his phone’s flashlight. “So, where have you been all day?”

“Went for a drive around town. Saw a movie, had some lunch and just drove around for a bit.”

“Really?” Aaron asked. “And what exactly did this drive entail?”

“It was just a drive. Jeez, mom.”

“Eleanor, it’s never just anything with you. What did you do?”

“Look around for people.”

“Any chance these people happen to be cute guys?”

She paused. “Maybe.”

“El—”

“Look, I know what you’re going to say but… I need a distraction and technically, we are on vacation.”

“If you’d let me finish, I’d tell you I’m not your parent, you can do whatever you want. You don’t have to hide things from me.” He said casually.

“But?” She offered, almost looking for him to stop her.

“There’s no buts. That’s it.”

“Really?”

Aaron nodded.

“I don’t believe you.” She said.

“You can choose to believe whatever, I guess.” Aaron stood up, turning off his flashlight and flexed his back to crack it and release the pressure that had built up in it for a few hours, sitting on his bed trying to write.

“Sure.” She said unsurely.

“And by the way, you should never feel like you have to hide anything from me. Sure, I’ll judge you for a little bit but it’s because I’m trying to be helpful, you dumbass. Okay now I actually sound like your parents. Just forget I said anything.”

El smiled.

“Found it!” A voice came from downstairs. El stood up, following Aaron out of the room.

Mason turned on his flashlight to guide El and Aaron down the stairs. Ingram shouted from the basement, “Tell me when it’s bright enough!”

The lights on the chandelier flickered to life with a small hiss, casting bright amber across the room.

“That’s good!” Mason shouted back.

“Okay!” Ingram said, before rushing back up the stairs.

“Is that a gas chandelier?” Eleanor asked, looking at the chandelier with childlike amazement.

“Yep. An original one too.” Ingram said, walking up to her. “My great great-grandfather built this place in the late 70s. The 1870s. We’ve obviously upgraded stuff but a lot of it is original.”

“I did not know that.” Aaron stated blankly, wondering why he didn’t actually know that. Of course, they were only six when they stopped associating with the same social circles but he still couldn’t believe he didn’t know that.

Ingram chuckled. “Yep. We were the first cabin built in the area, actually. Pappy was the first one to start then everyone else started building around us and eventually we branched out into the town.”

“Pappy?” El asked.

“Yeah, that’s what my grandparents called him whenever they told me about him.”

“Really?”

“Mmhmm. Super genius, generally beloved, helped the people a lot, great with tools, practically an inventor. He sounds so fun whenever I hear about him.”

“So,” Mason began, clapping his hands. “Anyone wanna play a game of strip truth or dare on this dark, cold night with only a gas chandelier as a light source?”

“Uhhhh, duh.” Ingram said, lightly pecking Mason on the cheek. “I’ll go get the bottle.”

“What the fuck kind of bullshit horror movie setup is this?” Aaron muttered to himself.

“Let’s sit!” Mason sat on the floor around the small coffee table.

“Wait, what’s strip truth or dare?” Eleanor asked.

“It’s regular truth or dare but if you don’t want to answer or do whatever, you have to take off an item of clothing.”

“But it’s so cold.” Aaron said.

“All the more incentive to spill or sit naked in the cold.”

“Cool.” Eleanor said, taking the place next to Mason.

“Uh, okay.” Aaron said cautiously before taking the seat opposite Mason.

Ingram arrived from the kitchen with a bottle of wine and four glasses.

“There’s not much left in this, figured we might as well finish it, right?” He said, opening the window before taking the last empty spot on the floor, right next to Mason. He quickly placed the glasses in front of everyone and popped the cork, filling each glass up as equally as he could. “Bottoms up, bitches.” Ingram said, raising his glass.

A soft ‘bottoms up’ escaped Aaron’s lips as he gulped down a quarter of the glass in one sip. Eleanor quietly sipped hers while the duo gulped almost half a glass down.

“Who wants to go first?” Ingram topped off the glasses and placed the empty bottle in the center of the table.

“I’ll go.” Eleanor took a sip of her wine before laying the bottle flat on the table. She took a deep breath and spun it.

It spun slowly, not enough force behind the spin. But, regardless, it came to a stop.

Ingram.

“All right.” He said. “Let’s start off easy. Truth or dare?”

Eleanor felt a pit form in her stomach as she struggled to pick one. Fuck it. “Truth.”

She immediately regretted it.

Ingram mulled over for a second about what he should ask her. “Hmm. Best kiss you remember. When and where. Go.”

El leaned back, took a sip of her wine and tried to remember the answer. To be honest, she didn’t even need to think. She knew the answer. She really didn’t want to say it though.

“Two months ago. Passenger seat in a Corvette. That’s all you get.” She said, taking a slow sip of her wine. God, this better get me drunk.

Aaron gave El a tight lipped smile. He knew exactly who she was talking about, after all it’s kinda obvious, but he looked at the bottle and took a sip of his glass.

“My turn.” Mason said, spinning the bottle.

The bottle spun fast. It stopped. Aaron.

“Truth or dare?” Mason asked.

“Dare.” Aaron said enthusiastically. Might as well be first, right? Get this shit over with.

Mason grinned. “Take a shot of hot sauce.”

“Dude!” Ingram looked at Mason in shock.

“What?” Mason defended himself. “He asked for it?”

“You don’t have to do it, you know.” Ingram said, placing a reassuring hand on the table.

“No, it’s okay. A dare’s a dare. Plus I like hot sauce anyway.” Jesus fuck forgive me for the words I just uttered. Nathan, how fucking long is this night?

Aaron’s phone buzzed. He quickly took it out. Four hours till midnight, buddy. Stay in there. We need this. I texted him.

“Alright, that’s the spirit!” Mason jumped out of his seat enthusiastically. “I’ll get the glass and the sauce.”

“It’s open.” Ingram said and Mason rushed off into Mr. Shaw’s study, emerging a minute later with a bottle of hot sauce, a spoon and a glass of water.

The bottle looked suspect on all accounts. It had no label except for a handwritten ‘HOT SAUCE’ on the bottle scribbled in what seemed to be sharpie and a very awful drawing of a chicken breathing fire accompanying it.

“So, fair warning,” Mason put the bottle down on the table.

“No.” Ingram said. “Not that one.”

“Relax. He’ll be fine.” Mason said, which did nothing to reassure Aaron. He was regretting his decision with every passing second.

“So, fair warning, but this is super hot sauce so you should only do a spoonful instead of a shot. Because it will kill your tongue otherwise.” He put a spoon beside the bottle.

“Oh, boy.” Aaron said lifting the spoon. The world versus my tongue. You can do this, you little shit.

He cracked the bottle open and poured a little bit on the spoon. He brought the sauce a little closer to his nose to smell it. Instantly, the noxious fumes of the hot sauce obliterated his nostrils. He suppressed a gag and touched the tip of his tongue to the spoon. Hmm. Nothing. It’s one of those. Aaron shoved the spoon in his mouth and gulped the sauce down trying his best to not taste it.

As the sauce moved through his body, the heat from the sauce began to come through. Aaron grabbed the glass of water and held it near his lips, ready to guzzle it. The spice coursed through his veins and he shoved the glass in his mouth to try and stop the pain. Of course, it didn’t do much, but the coolness helped a little.

As the pain began to subside, he put the glass down and took a deep breath. “Who’s next, bitch?” He announced proudly.

Ingram chuckled, grabbing the bottle and spinning it.

As the bottle began to slow, a savior came in the form of the doorbell.

“I’ll get it,” Ingram announced, jumping from his seat.

He rushed to the door and opened it. Aaron leaned back to see who it was.

“Mr. Shaw?” The man at the door said, making Eleanor lean back too.

“Yeah?” Ingram said.

“Your mother sent me to get you some supplies.” The man said, handing Ingram two bags of groceries and food.

“Oh, okay.” Ingram took the bags.

“Oh, and here’s my number if you need anything else, just call me and I’ll get it to you ASAP.” The man handed Ingram a card.

“Uh, cool.” Ingram shoved it in his pocket.

“Alright, I guess I’ll be going then.”

“Uh, okay.”

As awkward as the conversation was, the man left without another word, driving off in the blue sedan he’d arrived in.

“We got food.” Ingram said, holding up the two bags.

“Tell me there’s something good in there.” Mason said, rising from his seat. El and Aaron followed them to the kitchen.

Ingram and Mason quickly emptied the bags on the counter. El turned the flash on her phone on to be able to see the things better. The first thing that caught Aaron’s eyes was the pack of chocolate chip ice cream. The pain from the hot sauce had mostly gone away but his throat was still burning a little and that ice cream looked really good right about now. Mason put his hands on one of the loaves of garlic bread and announced it was his. Aaron quickly grabbed the ice cream.

“Mine.” He said, placing the container in the freezer.

El grabbed one of the other ice cream containers. “I don’t mind sharing but mine.”

The rest of the food was either quickly divided up or put away for Mason to cook with later.

“Let’s get back to where we were, shall we?” Mason suggested.

“Happily.” El said, returning to the table. El and Aaron took their previous seats but Mason and Ingram switched seats.

El grabbed the bottle and spun it.

Mason.

“Truth or dare?” El asked, an evil smile on her face.

“Truth.” Mason said.

“Most embarrassing thing no one in this room about you knows.” El said. Either he answered the question in which case she got a new topic to talk about or he didn’t and she got a new piece of eye candy.

“I—” Mason began but stopped, looking defeated. He pulled his shirt over his head and placed it next to him.

“Try not to faint, Eleanor.” Aaron whispered.

“Believe me, I’m trying.” Eleanor whispered back. Holy Jesus fuck do you live in a gym?

Mason looked like a walking Greek god with his sculpted abs and chiseled pecs and muscular arms. Talk about unrealistic standard for teens. But as he looked at Mason, Aaron felt himself getting… excited. Oh boy.

“It’s that bad?” Ingram asked.

“Let’s not talk about it.” Mason said, quietly taking a sip of his wine.

“Alright then. My turn.” Aaron grabbed the bottle, quickly spinning it, trying to get his mind off Mason.

Ingram. Oh Jesus fuck me.

“Truth or dare?”

Ingram smirked. “Dare.”

“God why?” Aaron murmured to himself. “Alright, easy one. Give me your credit card. I get to make one purchase, whatever I want.”

“Oh.” Ingram said after a short pause. “So much for easy, huh? My mom would kill me, so…” He quickly took his shirt off and placed it behind him on the couch.

“Are you trying to kill me?” El whispered to Aaron as she laid eyes on Ingram. “What the fuck? How are you so built?” She said out loud without thinking.

Ingram chuckled. “Thanks, I try.”

“I mean, he plays a shitton of ball.” She gestured vaguely at Mason. “What’s your excuse?” Eleanor prodded further.

“I just go to gym a little bit.” Ingram said, trying his best to sound humble.

“Alright, I’m next.” Mason grabbed the bottle and spun it in an attempt to change the topic. He could see everyone getting uncomfortable.

“Eleanor.” Masons said as the bottle stopped. “Truth or dare?”

“Dare.” She said, absentmindedly.

“Right.” Mason cleared his throat. Eleanor shifted her attention to him. “Uh, give me your phone, I get to text anything to a random person but you aren’t allowed to tell them it was you for at least 48 hours. And you can’t see who I texted what until midnight either.”

Eleanor hesitated for a second but figured, how much harm could he really do? She reached into her pocket and grabbed her phone, handing it to Mason.

“Right. Mind unlocking it?”

“Oh, sorry.” She took the phone and quickly unlocked it before handing it back. “There.”

“Perfect.” Mason opened her messages, quickly scrolling through the names. “No, no no. Maybe? No. Wait. Who is that? Interesting…” Eleanor watched in anticipation as he scrolled through the chat. “Alright, I know exactly what to say.” He quickly typed out a message before handing the phone back. “I’m sorry, Eleanor. You’ll be able to explain it all in 48 hours.”

“Who did you text?” She took the phone.

“You’ll find out soon enough. You can’t look at your phone yet though.”

“Aw, come on.” She put the phone back in her pocket. She didn’t like not knowing but she was a good sport. She could at least respect not looking at it while everyone was around.

“Sorry, those are the rules.” Mason said.

“Who’s next?” Ingram asked enthusiastically.

“Me.” Aaron said, turning the bottle.

The bottle spun quick. Aaron swore he could hear the bottle grinding against the table as it slowed to a stop, just inching further like it was being pushed.

Ingram.

“Truth or dare?” Aaron asked.

“Truth.” Ingram declared. He didn’t want to lose more clothing. He felt cold as is.

Aaron felt a wave of emotions wash over him all of a sudden. “Why did we stop being friends?” The words slipped past before he could stop them. And he wanted to stop them so much. But now they were out there. In the open, seared into everyone’s brains.

Ingram cleared his throat. Instantly, the room felt a lot hotter, the tension was practically palpable.

“What?” Ingram asked, pretending he hadn’t heard the question.

“Nothing, never mind.” Aaron said, trying to brush it off. But he wanted the answer desperately. He’d never really understood why they’d stopped talking. He’d attributed it so far to just having different interests but there had to be more than that. There had to be.

“Well, so much for a fun game.” Mason mumbled to himself.

And so they sat there, waiting for someone to get up and leave so the situation wouldn’t be that awkward anymore.

Mason faked a yawn. “Well, I’m tired all of a sudden. I’m going to go sleep.” He stood up and turned to Ingram. “You coming, babe?”

“Yeah.” Ingram stood up and followed Mason out of the room.

“I should go too.” El said, placing a comforting hand on Aaron’s shoulder. “Get some sleep, A.” She rushed up the stairs and into her room.

With an exasperated sigh, Aaron rose as well. “Fuck me.” He muttered under his breath as he began to walk up to his room.

-

The room was shrouded in darkness when Aaron entered.

“What the fuck happened there, Nathan?” Aaron whisper-screamed into his phone as he closed the door behind him. He walked over to the window and pushed aside the curtains to let some moonlight in. It wasn’t very bright but it was better than before.

“I don’t know, dude!” I said. “You might not be as resistant to the spell as I thought.”

He walked over to his bed. “Oh, God. You’re telling me there will be more of these incidents?”

“I don’t know!” I said, “This is completely unprecedented! I don’t know anything! Why do you think I’m here for your help — as useless as that has been?”

Jesus fucking christ what the fuck have I done? Aaron put his head in his palms, contemplating how complicated he’d just made everything.

“Look, just try and sleep on it, we’ll figure it out in the morning.” I said.

“Can’t you like, do some magic and fix this?” He asked. The desperation in his voice really made me want to try. But there was simply no way of doing it without alerting the Council of what I’d done.

“I can’t. Believe me, if I could, I would have. That was not fun for anyone involved.”

“Then how did you do the wish spell in the first fucking place, Nathan?”

“I don’t know!” I said. At this point, even I was starting to get frustrated. “Have you not been listening to a single word I’ve been saying? I have no idea how this happened!” I let out a soft sigh. “Just, try to get some sleep man. Hopefully in the morning everyone will have forgotten about it. After all, isn’t that how these things usually go?”

Aaron chucked his phone onto the bed and closed his eyes but sleep was not to be found. He lay there silently, trying to keep his mind blank but the intrusive thoughts of the consequences of what he’d done snaked their way in like a temptress, driving the idea of sleep even further away. Groaning, Aaron grabbed his phone and his earphones from the nightstand. Maybe music would be a comforting distraction.

-

As morning dawned, Eleanor knocked on Aaron’s door. “A?”

“Come in.” Aaron grumbled, half asleep, reaching for his phone to check the time. 8:36 am. He didn’t even know what time he’d fallen asleep at. After the music, everything was pretty blank.

The door swung open and Eleanor walked in, dressed in slutty-pink running gear.

“El?” Aaron asked in a soft mumble.

“Yeah, it’s me.” She replied. “Mason’s making breakfast and wants to know if you want any bacon and eggs.”

“Ugh. Tell him no, I’ll just have some cereal.” He said groggily.

“Okay.”

“And where are you headed dressed like a bored housewife who’s really into yoga?”

“Oh you just never stop, do you?” She put her hands on her hips.

He sat up, adjusting the pillows to provide more support to his back. “Hard to turn off a personality. I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine. Had a revelation last night. I’m just going walking, maybe running. Figured might as well use the time we’re here to have some fun.”

Aaron’s phone buzzed and he picked it up. Go with her. I texted him.

He let out a soft grumble. “You mind waiting for me?”

“How long are you gonna take?”

“Like half an hour. We’ll leave together at nine.”

“Fine. But you better hurry up because once it’s nine, I’m leaving with or without you.”

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll be ready. Now get out.” He chucked a pillow at her.

She smiled, turned around and left the room.

“Why the fuck am I going walking at 9am?” He said out loud.

Because you need to get out of the cabin. I texted him.

“Oh come on.” He said.

GO.

“Ugh. Fine, I’m going. God, get off my back.”

He pushed the covers aside, slipping away from the warmth of the bed to the harsh cold of the room. He grabbed the pillow he’d thrown at Eleanor off the floor and carefully put it back in its place.

Letting out a dramatic sigh, he trudged his way to the bathroom.

Twenty minutes later, he descended down the stairs into the living room.

“You want anything?” Mason asked as he spotted Aaron walking to the couch to join Eleanor.

“I’m good, thanks. I’ll eat something when I get back.” Aaron said, taking the seat next to Eleanor. “Ready?”

She nodded, tying her shoelaces. “Ready.”

“Alright, let’s go then.” Aaron stood up.

Eleanor rushed to the door, throwing it open and jogging out. Aaron walked through the door, closing it behind him. Eleanor was already halfway down the path cheerily skipping along. He closed the door and ran up to catch up with her.

“You seem extra cheery.” He said as he caught up with her. “What’s the matter?”

“Nothing. Just happy to be out and about.” She replied coyly.

“The fuck you are. What’s up?”

“Idk what you want me to tell you, dude. Just feeling happy. “

“Alright. Good to hear. You deserve to be happier.”

“Don’t get cheesy on me.” She joked.

“I thought you liked cheesiness.”

“On the TV, dude.” She took a left turn into a narrow path. “Not irl.”

Aaron’s phone buzzed. You’re telling me this was for nothing?

He shoved his phone in his pocket without a reply. Rude. “So you have any idea where we’re going or is it just a random walk?”

“I kinda do. Not exactly but I have an idea of our path through.”

“And where are we heading?”

“There’s apparently a beautiful stream that cuts into the forest, right on the border of Athea, Tenebris and Ellesburg. That’s where we’re going.”

“Cool.” Leaves crunched below Aaron’s feet as he walked through the damp forest, following Eleanor’s lead, hoping they didn’t get lost.

They walked mostly in silence as they made their way to the stream, making the occasional small talk but mostly looking at the trees and listening to the birds. It was serene. Calm. Peaceful. No loaded emotions, no baggage. Maybe this walk was exactly what Aaron needed.

The green leaves provided great cover from the sun but small gaps allowed tiny beams to pierce through, making a beautiful pattern along the way. It really was a sight to behold.

The ground beneath them was a little soft, slowly dragging them in as they walked. But it wasn’t too much of a hindrance.

“I hope this place is worth going this far, Eleanor. This mud really isn’t. Do you know how hard it’s going to be to get this off my shoes?” Aaron said, walking up next to her.

Eleanor ran her hand along the trees, feeling the jagged trunks as she walked. “It is, far as I know.” She reassured him. “And besides, even if it’s not, the walk is pretty fun, isn’t it? And sure, the mud isn’t ideal but this is the closest route.”

“Fine.” Aaron mumbled.

As they walked further in, nearing the boundaries of the three towns, the ground began to dry a little and the cover of trees began to reduce. The ground changed from the wet mud to a softer sand, the opposite of what you’d expect to see near a stream. But that strangeness was what made it such a special place.

“I see it!” Eleanor announced, running off over a small hill.

“Wait up, Eleanor.” Aaron said. God for someone that small, she sure is fast.

“It’s amazing.” El’s voice came as Aaron cleared the hill.

The stream flowed smoothly, its water clear as day. El could even see a few tiny fishes in there, dashing through the stream like it was some sort of obstacle course.

“Okay I take it back.” Aaron said. “Definitely worth it.”

“I don’t wanna say I told you so, but I did tell you so.”

“Fair enough.” Aaron walked up next to her.

Aaron and El spent about an hour by the stream, walking along the edge, just hanging out, walking. The hour cruised by and before they knew it, they’d begun to grow hungry and tired.

“Wanna head back?” Aaron asked.

“Sure.” El said, picking a small flower from a bush and tucking it into her hair. “How do I look?”

“You look great.” Aaron replied. “Now come on, I’m starving.”

“Alright.” El said, following behind him.

They walked through the mud again though it had begun to dry a little bit now. El almost tripped over a branch sticking out of the ground and Aaron turned to help her stand up. “Careful there, El.”

“God!” She said as she regained her balance. “I think I sprained it.”

“You are kidding.” Aaron said.

“Do I look like I’m kidding?” She took support against the tree and rubbed her ankle.

“Uh, okay, what do I do?”

“We have to get back somehow.”

Oh god. Are you fucking serious. Can we please not do this? He thought.

“You’ll have to carry me.”

You are fucking kidding me. Goddamnit why does this need to happen?

But Aaron had to go along with it. He couldn’t just leave her here in this forest alone. If these past few days had been any indication, she’d probably be kidnapped or murdered or worse.

“Ugh, fine.” Aaron grumbled.

He put his hand under her knees and another on her back to lift her up. She put her arms around his neck to hold onto something and he slowly started to walk.

“You know, we really should start looking for someone for you.” El said, trying to start a conversation that didn’t need to be started.

Aaron chuckled. “No, thank you.”

“Oh, come on. I’m not that bad at judging people.”

“Ha!” Aaron carefully maneuvered over another root sticking out of the ground.

“Okay, fair enough, my record hasn’t been the most spectacular but I’m a good judge of character. After all, I’m still friends with you, aren’t I?”

“Fair.”

“So, tell me. What are you looking for? Tall, blonde, dumb? Smart, short, brunette? Like, what do we have to work with, here?”

“Well, there is this one girl…” Aaron mentioned casually.

Eleanor gasped. “You little shit! What’s her name, where did you see her, I’m going to need all the details!”

“I’ve just started talking to her, found her on twitter, she seems nice.”

“Well, what does she look like?” Eleanor asked.

Aaron froze in his track. “Oh fuck me.” He muttered under his breath.

“What happened?” El asked, looking in the direction he was looking.

“We might have a big problem.” He said. “I’m going to have to call for help. I’m putting you down, okay?”

She nodded and Aaron gently put her against the tree. He reached into his pocket and quickly dialed Ingram’s number.

*

Ingram and Mason

Ingram took a last bite of his cereal, pushing the bowl aside. “So, babe. Now that it’s just the two of us and the guests are gone, do we have any plans?”

“I don’t know, do we?” Mason leaned forward, placing his hand on Ingram’s.

“I do have plans and I know you are going to love them.”

“Really?” Mason smirked. “What makes you so sure?”

“It involves me being naked.” Ingram whispered.

“Oh, that does sound fun.” He said. “And what will I be doing during this… plan?”

“I mean, it’s practically an event.” Ingram leaned in to lightly kiss Mason.

“And what will I be doing during this event?” Mason asked, slightly leaning away from the kiss.

“Participating, hopefully. I’m not getting naked alone.” Ingram said in a breathy rasp.

Ingram took Mason’s hand, gently pulling him towards and into the bedroom.

“Sit.” Ingram said, vaguely motioning towards the bed.

Mason complied without a second thought. He was enjoying this side of Ingram. Ingram had always been a little laid back before but in the last few days, he’d gotten a bit more controlling and, as awkward as it was to admit, Mason liked it. A lot.

“Now watch and learn, baby.” Ingram took a small step towards the bed.

Ingram slowly raised the shirt above his head, letting Mason enjoy the delicious reveals as it came off. Ingram chucked it behind him.

“God, you’re spectacular.” Mason said in a breathy whisper.

“And so are you.” Ingram took a step closer, unbuttoning his jeans. The waistband of his boxers peeked just slightly over the jeans. Mason couldn’t wait to get him out of those.

Mason quickly pulled his own shirt off and yeeted it across the room. It hit the door and landed next to it.

“Let me help you.” Mason said, leaning forward, slowly slipping the pants off Ingram to reveal his black boxers. Mason slipped his fingers into the waistband, slowly tugging them down. Ingram grabbed Mason’s hands and set them aside.

“All in due time.” Ingram said, placing a soft kiss on Mason’s cheek.

The tips of their noses touched as Mason kissed Ingram. It was a passionate kiss, like a soldier kissing his significant other after seeing them for the first time in years.

Ingram hands slipped under the covers, into Mason’s boxers.

“Someone’s excited.” Ingram whispered, breaking contact for just a second before kissing him again.

“You see what you do to me?” Mason whispered back.

“I love you.” Ingram said, laying a trail of kisses down Mason’s neck, slowly leading to his stomach. As he approached the edge of the covers, his phone rang, vibrating in his jeans.

Ingram let out a soft groan.

“God, let it be.” Mason said, a desperate whimper.

“Just let me see who it is.” Ingram grabbed his jeans, quickly reaching in and retrieveing his phone. “My god these two are mood killers.” Ingram groaned.

“Who is it?” Mason asked.

“Who do you think?” Ingram turned the phone towards Mason.

“Oh, come on. They wouldn’t be calling if it wasn’t important.” Mason said.

“Are you seriously siding with them?” Ingram looked at Mason in shock.

“I’m just saying, if they’re calling, it must be pretty important. Now pick up, already.”

“God, you’re annoying. Fine.” Ingram picked up the call. “Hey.”

“Oh thank god you picked up!” Aaron’s voice sounded relieved.

“Is everything okay?” Ingram asked.

“No, absolutely not.” The reply came back quick.

“What happened?” Ingram sat up straight.

“There’s been an accident, El’s sprained her ankle and there’s something you should see. I texted you our location, come here ASAP.”

“We’re on our way.” Ingram said. Aaron cut the call.

“What’s the matter?” Mason asked as Ingram jumped off the bed and grabbed his jeans.

“They’re in trouble.” Ingram said, tossing Mason a shirt. “Get dressed.”

“Are they okay?” Mason slipped the shirt on.

“Eleanor’s sprained her ankle and I think he’s fine but apparently they need us to come find them.”

Mason got out of bed and quickly pulled on a pair of jeans. Ingram grabbed the house keys and Mason followed him out the door. Quickly locking up, Mason and Ingram set out to find the duo.

*

Aaron

“You still haven’t told me what’s happened.” El said, leaning against the tree.

“El, you see that over there?” Aaron pointed at the ground in the middle of the trees a few feet from them.

El peeked her head around the tree, looking at where Aaron was pointing. “Yeah?”

“Look a little bit off the center, towards the left.”

“Holy fucking shit!” Eleanor almost lost her balance but Aaron caught her, helping her stand against the tree again. “Is that a human hand?”

*

[microsoftedgy69]

Goliath, part 3

[prologue] [part 1] [part 2]

Thursday

Sburb is not a game for people with acrophobia, you think. You happen to be a person with acrophobia, which is something you only realized a little while back. The apartment you grew up in was high-rise in theory, but the water was always close. You liked to climb up places and zoom through the air on your rocket board, but even then, when you fell, the water caught you. Sometimes it caught you so hard, it broke your nose (knocked out two of your baby teeth on separate occasions when you were really little), but it wasn’t concrete.

These days, when you’re up in skyscrapers, there is no ocean underneath that could welcome you home. There’s only streets and people, and it scares you. Heights scare you.

Riding your rocket board straight upwards to reach the gate leading into the medium, with only the flat concrete roof of Roxy’s house underneath you, you don’t look down. You don’t think about it. You’re not going there, anyway. You’re going upwards.

This is, perhaps, the most ambitious part of your plan. You could have confronted HIC on good old Earth, but Roxy was worried about their mortality. There’s also some sort of poetry to it, both of you think. You would rather see this planet destroyed than let her build her military base on it, and both of you deserve to do it yourselves. She’s taken enough from you, and you’re reclaiming control over what used to be your home.

You both know this timeline is a doomed one, by now. Sooner or later, this whole place would have collapsed in on itself anyway.

You have no regrets.

This thing goes very far up though. It’s a little hard to not have regrets, at this point.

Roxy is holding on to you behind you on the board (they’re taller than you, and are peering over your head for this), and, only about half a mile away, is the Condesce’s huge spaceship. She’s caught on to what you were doing very quickly, you’re sure, but there’s no way around it for her now. The game has already been started, and she can’t stop it anymore, so if she wants any chance at survival instead of staying in a dying universe, she has to come through the gate with the two of you.

And then, it’ll be only her, Roxy, and you in there.

As ambitious as it is, it’s simple too. You know that trasportalizing in and out of the game works, because you know there was a transportalizer on Hellmurder that led to the moons. It just usually wasn’t an option because “outside of the game” would normally mean a destroyed universe. You and Roxy have already made a home in new timelines though, so once you’ve programmed the transportalizer you’re importing into the session right, you can just hop back out when you’re done in there.

You’ll use the game for what it gives you: a chance to get Roxy immortal, an empty battling ground to kill the Condesce, and then you’ll just zap yourself back home.

Behind you, Roxy whoops as you pass through the gate. You’re glad they’re having fun; you still do your best not to think about how far up you just went and what would happen to both of your skulls if you fell. You’re busy, luckily -- as soon as you’re in, you veer the board sharp to the right, knowing that the Condesce’s ship must be right behind you. And sure enough, right after you’ve made room, the enormous thing zooms past you with the earsplitting sound of several alien engines.

“Fuck!” Roxy yells behind you, which you appreciate as proof that it didn’t blow out the microphones you have for ears. “We made it! See you soon, Betty!”

And just like that, your rocket board powering back up, you are whooping too.

Friday

You’ve set up camp in one of the caves you found. Everything here is dead and empty, which is deeply familiar to both of you, and welcome anyway. For now, Roxy is helping you mask any signals so you can hide from the Condesce, spend a few days prepping before you come to kill her. You get settled in, make sure Roxy has what they need in terms of sustenance and places to rest, go over your battle plans again.

First order of business is getting immortality for Roxy, and then taking a few days to get used to whatever powers they might get. You’ve both read up on it a little in multiverse sources, and you want to get the most use out of this as possible. So, you take the rocket board up to Derse, and start looking for quest beds.

You’re not interested in ascending, yourself. It was on the table briefly, since you couldn’t be sure how being inside a game would affect your programming, but you still feel stable and unkillable enough to just stay the way you are. After watching yourself punch a hole into Dirk’s -- your own -- chest half a decade ago, you really don’t feel like killing yourself again, or dying any other way. This is for Roxy only.

That, at least, was the plan.

Both of you take your time wandering through Derse. It’s Roxy’s first time consciously seeing it, and the last time you were awake here, you were still Dirk, and it’s been a long time since then. Carapacians eventually start pointing you in a single direction, and you follow it to the center of the moon, where you find two sacrificial slabs.

One is in the dark blue you expected for Roxy’s Void aspect. The other one is not the purple you expected for Dirk’s being Heart.

“Didn’t you say this was gonna be a heart?” Roxy says, too, pointing at it.

You stand in front of it, feeling cold all over, like someone just dumped a bucket of ice over you. This isn’t right, and it isn’t according to plan, and you’re having trouble processing.

“I said Dirk was Heart,” your voice answers. You know he was, you know all the other Dirks are. It seemed fair to assume that so would you. You’ve talked about it, at length. About being Dirk. About how you only stopped being Dirk because people kept telling you that you couldn’t be Dirk, but fundamentally, at your core, you were still the same guy. You didn’t plan to ascend here, but you did fully plan to find a Heart aspect stone slab at the center of Derse.

But you’re playing, not Dirk. And this isn’t Heart. “This is Mi--” you start saying, staring at the green stone, the tendriled circular emblem on it. You close your mouth, open it again, and flex your hands. You say, “This is mine.”

Saturday

Roxy has agreed to give you some time. You don’t want to take more than two days, but you need to sit down and think about this. You feel profoundly embarrassed, pacing up and down in your cave like an animal for hours, while Roxy sits on a lawn chair eating cereal and watching you, but you can’t help it.

You’re freaking the fuck out.

It’s a gross, bubbling concoction of your usual identity crisis paired with your deep, cold fear of death. You don’t know what it means that your quest bed has a different aspect than Dirk’s. Maybe you’ve changed so much that you count as a whole new person now. You don’t know if that’s good or bad. You don’t like it, you don’t think, but you do like being counted as your own player, so that doesn’t make much sense, does it? And now that you know that you have a whole other aspect, you’re curious to explore, find out what your class is and your powers are and if they could help you beat the Condesce. That means you have to die though, and you already killed yourself once and took away five years of insurmountable trauma from that.

You don’t know what the hell to do about any of this.

So you text Alma.

DC: Catch me up to speed. TT: We went to Derse to find the slabs, so Roxy could do their thing, you know, which they've now put on hold for me, actually. TT: And I mean. TT: I mean it would be reasonable, I think, to expect a Heart slab there next to the Void one, right? TT: You guys are all Heart. That shit's a constant. DC: Yeah. TT: Yeah. TT: It's Mind. TT: Very funny. Heart and mind. Hilarious. TT: Have I changed that much?? TT: I guess technically that should be a good thing. Nobody wants to stay Dirk. TT: But I always kind of figured that at heart (lol), at my core, I'd stay... you know. I've changed stuff about myself because I had to, I crafted a new identity because I had to, but, like. I didn't think it went that far. DC: Well, damn. DC: You made it.

Alma, like so often, starts out fairly monosyllabic, and then ends up saying the exact thing you didn’t know you needed to hear.

DC: Honestly -- and I get that that's oversimplifying in light of how you've had people tell you who you are for fucking ever -- you are who you want to be. A metaprophetical stone slab doesn't get to decide any further than what your best position on the game board is.

Just like that, your decision is made. This isn’t about who you are -- to be or not to be Dirk doesn’t even fucking matter in this very moment. This is just about how to utilize yourself and what you can do. This is about putting yourself to the fullest possible use, which is all HAL 9000 thought that any conscious entity can ever hope to do.

You almost laugh out loud at yourself for quoting Space Odyssey in a moment of personal crisis. That is a succinct summary of who you are as a person.

Alma and you go on for a bit, and he talks you through the bout of nervousness that comes with realizing that you’re going to be dying on a stone slab. You send him one of your backup files, let him know that your friendship means a lot to you, and then roll your shoulders and turn to face Roxy.

“Let’s go prep the bot,” you tell them. “I’m doing it.”

Roxy smiles, puts down their cornflakes, and gets up to pat you on the shoulder on their way to your work station. “Gonna be a pleasure dying with you, Al,” they say.

Now

Sitting on your respective cold hard pieces of stone, both of you have lost your smiles. This is far from pleasure. Roxy looks ashen and tense, while you are quiet and expressionless, the multiuniversal Striderian response to stress.

“Oh, the waiting is the worst,” Roxy mutters. “We really outdid ourselves with this garbage, Alan.”

“Yeah,” you say, weakly. You put a new head on what was left of your sparring bot. You programmed it to come kill Roxy, because Roxy didn’t want to do it themself, and you don’t quite feel up to killing anyone who isn’t the Condesce, again. Only you programmed it to pick a random point in time inside a larger time frame, hoping that making it a surprise will create less of a struggle.

It’s also programmed to deactivate you, now. Harming you physically to the point of complete destruction is possible, but so hard that it would take forever, and you don’t want to put yourself or the body you so carefully crafted through that. Roxy helped you program the bot to slide into your code, deactivate you and all of your backups, and then locked you out of it.

You have a save file stashed at Alma’s, for a worst case scenario. But until then, there is nothing you can do. Once that bot gets here, you’re going to perform what your version of dying is, and hope that the game will let it count.

“Roxy,” you say, and watch them look over at you. “Thank you. For doing this with me. I know you’re doing it for yourself as much as I’m doing it for myself, but thank you for being the one person out of our friend group who trusts me enough to--”

“Shut up,” Roxy says. “You dumb drama queen. We are not doing dramatic Strider monologues on the verge of death, fuck you.” You breathe out a laugh, and their expression softens. “You’re a good guy, Al. And all I’ve ever wanted to do was stand beside you and shove my gun so far up her fish ass--”

A sharp, grey blur rushes through the air, and Roxy is stabbed clean through the heart. You squeeze your eyes shut immediately, trying to simultaneously forget that sight and prepare yourself for what’s about to happen. The last time someone invaded you like this was when Dirk tried to deactivate you, and you responded in kind. The last time this happened was the worst day of your very young life. The last time this happened you found out that even as a digitalized pair of shades, you could feel a semblance of pain, and overwhelming, all-encompassing fear.

The first word that comes to mind when you feel the unique and, for you, exceptionally rare sensation of someone else changing your programming, is disgusting. You don’t have time to think of another word.

Your body collapses onto your quest bed, and you don’t feel a thing anymore.

some princes don’t become kings. even at the best of times i’m out of my mind

Waking up is slow, and unexpectedly gentle. You had been worried about your robot body doing this -- worried about the game giving you some other body you wouldn’t want, but you feel immediately that your consciousness is still right where it belongs. You blink your eyes open, and your visual perception is just as it was before. In this moment, you feel as alive as you feel serene.

That is, until you look down and see your penis.

Wait.

No, that’s not… It just looks like-- It’s a codpiece.

The first thing you hear after dying and waking up again is Roxy laughing at you.

You look up and they are floating in the air just above their quest bed, looking transformed and divine and cool as fuck. “Dude, you look cool as fuck,” you say, which gets them to stop giggling at least for two seconds.

“Thanks!” they say. “You look… Well, Alan, you sure look.”

You look down again, at your weird curly clown shoes, which makes you notice a weight on your head, so you reach up. It’s some sort of huge circus hat. Is it made of felt? You think that might be felt. Gravely, you nod to yourself.

You had said to Alma that you hope you’ll get cool pants. Your pants are fine. Your pants are the only normal thing about this getup, actually. It’s just that you’re wearing a codpiece over them, like some sort of superhero boner diaper.

“Yeah,” you say. “Yeah, I sure do.”

Roxy floats over to you, and you think you wanna be able to do that too, and next thing you know, you’re in the air.

“Sweet,” you say. Then you remember that you are a person with acrophobia and there is a stone slab underneath you. Your feet touch down on the quest bed again. You add, “Fuck.”

Roxy’s hand is warm when it reaches for yours. They have gauntlets and everything. They are so cool. “C’mon,” they say. “Let’s get back to our cave. I can’t be seen with you like this.”

When they laugh, it finally pulls a snort from you. Both of you take off again, and you keep holding their hand. You’re just not going to look down, even if that means that you can’t inspect your pants boner. You look behind you instead, where your weird green streamer cape flows in the wind. It clashes wonderfully with Derse’s purple.

[prorevenge]

Undermining a shady computer store; aka don’t screw with the employee who knows more than you.

Warning; this gets very technical very fast. I’ll try to keep it simple, but I’m not good at simplifying, so edits are very likely. Also, throwaway for obvious reasons. TL;DR at the end.

Over the summer in the early 2010s, I got a job at my local computer repair place. In our rural area, it’s an hour drive to the nearest GeekHelper or Wally World. The one and only local computer store was run by a couple. They did a lot; data recovery, networking, computer repair, e-waste recycling, home service, the works. I had recommended them for a long time, and wanted a job over the summer, so it was only natural that I went with them.

The day I started, things didn’t feel right. I was assigned a very different task than I had been brought in for; I was told I would take over networking and computer repair, but instead, I was taking motherboards, screens and keyboards out of dead and damaged laptops and desktops. Not a huge deal, but annoying nonetheless.

I was mostly working with the husband, who was pleasant enough, but was a MASSIVE slacker. In the back room was a hugely expensive gaming computer (think of the most expensive you can imagine for early 2010s, plus peripherals), along with a huge and expensive sound system (same kind of thing as the computer). It annoyed me that his ‘work’ was to walk out and check on me every once in a while, then return to CoD or whatever it was he was playing.

Oh, and this computer also held their open SMB share with terabytes of customer data on it.

The first month was nothing special. I disassembled laptops, changed out home networking gear for people, and upgraded a few things at the office. Nothing special or different, just routine computer-shop stuff.

When things really started getting shady was when they put me on E-waste.

Now, local companies and people drop off computers in the store daily. I thought the couple would follow the “Guaranteed secure data destruction” creed on the sign.

Oh boy did they not do that.

All those computers I was stripping for parts? Turned out all the hard drives were pulled and stored, without wiping, on a shelf, for use later. Anything they could resell, they would, regardless of the wishes of the people who brought them in. Medical company wants the computers completely scrapped? Psh, put the drives on the shelf and resell the whole system. Local business wants their camera system disposed of due to sensitive information? Yeah right, backup the footage and sell the system on eBay.

I was incensed. I had learned all about the laws pertaining to data security (HIPPA, GLBA, SOX, amongst others) at college the previous semester. It was drilled into us that these laws were not jokes for VERY good reasons, and carried VERY hefty punishments.

Then three events happened which pushed me over the edge.

First, I was taken to do e-waste at a customer’s house. Instead of taking only what the widowed lady asked us to take, the husband took EVERYTHING of value, looking to sell it all. The widowed lady didn’t know that some of the stuff he was taking was worth thousands of dollars, and had been collected by her late husband because it was amazing quality. I was told not to say anything by the husband, and I was pissed, because he basically robbed this lady, and she didn’t even know it.

Second, I was asked to rebuild their network, but I wasn’t given any requirements. When we finished, they were mad that I didn’t make it dead simple. I argued that since they had an SMB share containing LITERALLY all of EVERY DATA RECOVERY they had ever done, it needed to be secure. They ignored me. Customer machines could once again access that SMB share, even over their unsecured wireless.

Last, I went to initialize a CCTV recorder and some computers without backing up the data, and was yelled at because they could have had dirt on someone at a bar. I’m serious. They wanted that footage because they wanted to get dirt on someone, and instead did what the company had asked and wiped the data. Also, the computers had been taken from the local hospital and still had medical information on them. All of that data was instead copied to the SMB share and the drives tossed on a shelf, despite my warnings of “HIPPA” and “lawsuit”.

I was fired for accidentally bringing an OSX flash drive home after it ended up in my backpack. I was never worked on an OSX machine. I wasn’t allowed to. But somehow, the drive wound up in my backpack. Hmm.

It was the last straw. I gathered together what I had and talked to a few people over the following months. My parent was hugely influential in our town, and worked for a giant consulting firm, one of the couples main sources of income. The other parent was tight with the sports communities (sports town, so a LOT of people). I knew a few people in high positions in our local ambulance service, hospital system, universities, and school system. Small town, so these eight or so people were all I really needed to speak to.

Over the course of a year, their reputation plummeted. Word of mouth is incredibly powerful in such a small tourist town, and before long, everyone knew. The hospital administration, afraid of a possible HIPPA suit, pulled in a 3rd party professional to deal with their equipment disposal and data security, where hard drives and paper records were shredded before their eyes. The big contractor stopped using their services. The various businesses and individuals the couple had previously been contacted by started defaulting to other options.

It all culminated in the couple being forced out of their storefront by the owner of the building, who found that her franchises and stores had been part of this when she found her supposedly-destroyed accounting computer for sale in their store, and found her hard drive with all the accounting data on it in their back room. At this point, so many people knew, the closing of the store wasn’t even considered a loss to the town.

I later heard that they tried running the business out of their home, but couldn’t get enough customers. I don’t know what happened after this, and I don’t really care.

I’m not proud of what I did, but if they had just been more honest, none of this would have happened.

TL;DR: Couple who ran a shady computer business loses all their customers after their shadyness is revealed.

(source) (story by somekindathowaway)

[journeysintowebcomics]

Worm Liveblog #99

UPDATE 99: Back Home for an Hour

Last time Skitter intimidated the mayor and his family, in the process defeating two professional heroes and almost causing one of them’s death. Quite the awful actions, and even she is surprised she went this far! What didn’t happen was Coil doing anything. What happened to his plan to kill Skitter? Let’s continue.

The chapter starts with Skitter trying to compartmentalize what happened, as well as her actions. She tries to think of a reason to be angry with the mayor, to maybe think they deserved what happened, but she just can’t forget Triumph didn’t deserve any of what happened. She even has to admit Triumph could have died or suffered brain damage due to lack of oxygen. At least she admits it. It doesn’t make it okay, but at least she’s recognizing it was all awful.

She feels so bad she asks her contact with Coil to send medical help to the mayor’s house. I hope Triumph will be okay, honestly.

You know, it has taken a long time for Genesis to make a new body. Has this always been like this? Perhaps she was stalling on purpose so Skitter would be in danger? I wonder...still, now that the fight is – conveniently – over, she’s here to help.

Her first concern is Trickster, of course. They’re teammates! So once Skitter tells her where Trickster is, she asks if Skitter wants her to carry her. Hah! That would be kind of fun but no, the unconscious guy kind of needs to be carried.

“Fine. Damn it.  Making a new body’s slow when I’m this far from myself.”

Ah...that actually makes some sense. I guess Genesis not intervening in the fight wasn’t she stalling for time while Triumph and Prism got Skitter out of the way. And then her current form melts away. I hope she’s nearer than she was before, or else it’ll be a while before she can carry Trickster.

The mission is over and there’s some distance to cover, so she returns to something she used to do before, when everything was just as harrowing but less complicated, technically: running. She starts running towards the meeting point, reaching the main street and finding it almost abandoned. This makes me think...can Brockton Bay really be saved? There are places where people still live at, and Skitter and a few select others are trying their best to stop things from getting worse, but Brockton Bay will never be what it used to be before. This city is likely to go downhill, unfortunately.

Not that they’ll get much time to see that happen, what with the end of the world and what not.

I would have left, if I could afford to.  If Dinah and my people could afford for me to.

Won’t lie, I’m disappointed Dad Hebert didn’t cross her mind. I’m still pretty bummed he was pushed aside in this story. He could have been so good for this story, seriously.

At the meeting point, Genesis’ new body is almost ready, so I suppose she’s much closer than she used to be before. She has made a bison with a basin in middle, to deposit Trickster in. Neat! Now that Trickster was safe, Skitter can get on her beetle and take off, getting away enough to make a call to Tattletale and discuss their rebellion plans.

Informing Tattletale of the recent developments is easy enough. In any other circumstances I’m sure Skitter being okay and able to speak would be something Tattletale would be glad about, but tonight it’s more like...a source of confusion.

“We’re clear to talk, no bugs, I’m ninety-nine percent sure.  So listen, if Coil wanted to assassinate you, that’d be his chance. Once you leave the mayor’s property, that’s it.  He doesn’t know where you’re going.”

Huh. That so? Hmmmm...well, Tattletale isn’t infallible. She may have been wrong. But it just made so much sense Coil would be trying to get rid of her, I fully expected it. I don’t want to think Lisa was trying to misdirect Skitter, I don’t believe she’d ever do such a thing, so...yeah, she must have been wrong.

In my opinion, it’s possible Coil used his power. In one timeline he arranged Skitter’s demise, in the other he didn’t. For one reason or another, the timeline where Skitter died ended being disadvantageous for him in a way he couldn’t accept, so he got rid of that one and kept the timeline where he didn’t get her killed. That would explain Tattletale’s interpretations and how she was wrong. Still, her power would let her know Coil used his power, no? So...maybe I’m wrong?

“I don’t like that you’re there without backup.  You said he might want to get rid of you too.”

“I’ll know if he does.”

“Like you knew he’d try to kill me?”

That was rather biting! I can understand if Skitter is upset, because Tattletale’s warning brought a lot of stress and worry, but still, I can’t help but read that as a biting remark. After considering for a moment if she should go meet Grue for nebulous reasons, she decides against it and instead returns to Genesis, so they can exchange a few words. First! Is Trickster okay?

He’s in a lot of pain and still unconscious. You know, his role in this chapter was insignificant. I didn’t expect that, honestly. Oh well. At least this gives them a chance to talk about the Travelers and their rather unusual situation. This isn’t the first time Trickster gets cocky and everyone pays for it, apparently. When Genesis comments they weren’t meant to be “a family”, Skitter asks why they don’t quit and go their separate ways. Because of Noelle, right?

“She’s only half of it,” Genesis said.  She didn’t volunteer anything more.

So there’s also another reason as well? Perhaps a shared past, or something they want to get that’s unrelated to Noelle? I thought Noelle would be enough to keep them all together, not that there would be something else going on as well.

The plan right now is somewhat vague. All she knows is that she has to stay out of Coil’s sight and soldiers for the time being, so going to the headquarters or to the territory may not be a good idea. Getting some stuff from her headquarters, she ponders what to do with Atlas. He can’t survive on his own, unfortunately. Atlas is like a big beetle puppet for Skitter, so she has to keep him close for her to keep him alive.

While Skitter walks with unclear destination, she looks around and notices just how ruinous the city is. Mr. Wildbow once again shows his descriptive skills, painting a rather good image of the derelict Brockton Bay. It’s not so flooded now, but weeds are growing and litter is everywhere. I guess the services haven’t been fully set yet. May be a while before they are.

Her wandering had a direction, and it takes her to a place she hasn’t been at for quite a while – for social visits, at least. Welcome home, Taylor. Dad Hebert misses you. She knocks on the door, and when he opens, she feels rather saddened about the marks left on him due to Shatterbird’s glass explosions. Overall he seems to be okay, although it’s worrying there’s something about a large bandage that should have healed by now but hasn’t. I hope it didn’t get infected or anything, Brockton Bay doesn’t seem to be in the best condition to help heal someone with a serious infection.

“It’s good to see you,” he said.  His forehead was creased in concern.  “You’re hurt.”

I looked down at the sling.  “It’s not major.”

“Is it why you-” he said, stopping himself as if he didn’t want to jinx things and scare me off with a poor choice of words.

“No,” I said. I found myself searching for an explanation, opening my mouth to respond and then closing it when that explanation didn’t readily come.

You know, it has been several days since the last time they saw each other. I can’t imagine how it’s like to not know where his daughter is, because, well, she’s been rather vague about where she’s at.

“No,” I said, again.  “I just saw someone nearly lose her daughter.  It made me think of you and mom.”  I’d changed the genders on the spur of the moment to be safe.

I don’t think that’s impossible, but her narration didn’t indicate she thought exactly about that. I do can buy the mayor’s reactions reminded her of Dad Hebert, though. Still, she’s not the most reliable of narrators.

Turns out Dad Hebert hasn¿’t been having a good time in his life these days. Not only Taylor is living in parts unknown to him, he also has needed to barter and sell stuff from his house in order to acquire supplies. Well! I’m sure Taylor will try to divert some supplies to Dad Hebert, but how can she do it in a way that nobody notices nor Dad Hebert links it to Skitter or any other villain? Just leaving supplies on the doorstep isn’t going to be of any help, because I doubt Dad Hebert would accept it.

So what’s going on is that Dad Hebert suffered some kidney damage, and in the current state of the city it’s a tad more difficult to have the necessary diet the doctor told him he should have. That’s going to make a tad more difficult for Skitter to provide the supplies, because only she and I suppose a few select others would know what’s going on with him, so it’s not like anyone can give him supplies.

Well, I suppose she could just go to the house and deliver supplies, and then just lie and say she took what’s left of her own supplies. It’d be the simplest way to give him food, I think.

Obviously Dad Hebert is worried about Taylor’s injury, and sounds horrified she had surgery. By now he knows asking further questions is futile, so he lets that go and instead comments something else:

“You’re so different,” he said.  “You’re standing straighter, dressing like you aren’t trying to hide in your clothes, moving with more purpose.  I think you’ve grown, too.  So many people, they seem like they’ve been burdened by what’s going on, they’ve given up a little, lost important things.  That just makes the contrast between you and them that much stronger.”

Yeah, she has changed a lot. Not really in a good way, some would say, but she has changed indeed. Oh well. At least the way Dad Hebert is making this sound is favorable. Taylor herself isn’t sure if her changes are good, anyway. It’s a tad of a heavy topic of conversation, so it dies after a moment. Taylor sits to the table and sees a couple piles of papers, with information about the Travelers and the Undersiders’ Simcity shenanigans.

The one about Grue remarks he and Imp don’t attack civilians under provoked. I’m glad that’s written here, anything that can make the Undersiders seem like an okay bunch to be around of will be favorable. Doesn’t mean the civilians should get involved with their stuff in any manner, but hey, don’t look a gift horse in the mouth or whatever the saying goes!

Worth noting his power being used at all is being taken as an indication there may be fighting nearby. A reasonable assumption to make, pretty much. Also, there’s almost no information about Imp. Niiiice, the least everyone knows about her and her skills, the better.

There’s also a notice about Skitter. It’s rather accurate, although the information about her territory is a bit out of date.

Skitter is an unpredictable young woman tending towards acts of apparent kindness to those she deems her subjects and bursts of sudden and extreme violence towards those she sees as her enemies.  The city is not funding work in her territory, as Skitter is handling matters there.

It may not be generous of me to assume this, but I suppose if it wasn’t for Skitter, that area of the city would be sorely screwed. Good thing Skitter is taking charge of everything there.

Dad Hebert asks Taylor how she got here from the north, where she’s staying with Lisa’s family, and Taylor says she crossed through Skitter’s territory. She says they stopped her and then they gave her permission to go through. I suppose that means that’s what she’d do with any civilian who tried to cross through her territory. Kind of encouraging.

I looked around.  It didn’t feel like my house anymore.  I’d only been gone two months, but things were different.

I think I have said it before, but I’ll say it again: with everything that has happened it sure feels like more than two months have passed. This story has been quite eventful!

Of course, Dad Hebert would like Taylor to stay, so she immediately says she doesn’t plan to stay. Then she receives a call from Tattletale. Something happened already? Boy, there’s no rest for the wicked!

Luckily for Taylor, nothing happened. In fact, nothing will happen, because Coil isn’t planning to kill Taylor for the time being. Well then! I thought for sure he would know Taylor is against him and he would take measures, but apparently he doesn’t know, or he doesn’t consider Skitter a threat at all. Tattletale is concerned because everything indicates stuff is going according to Coil’s plans – which is a good reason to be scared, honestly.

“Um,” she said. It wasn’t like her to be lost for words. “I told Coil that Trickster got injured. I wasn’t sure if you’d told him.  He didn’t seem concerned.  There was zero indication that his plan had been disrupted.  Told him you were on your way back, again, no concern. Everything that had been telling me he was harboring plans to assassinate you was telling me he wasn’t and hadn’t ever been, this time around.”

“Your power lied to you?”

“Um. That’s what I thought.  I was thinking maybe I was working under a mistaken impression, tried adding and removing the elements to see if I could get a different result, interpret his earlier behavior differently.  No go.  And I was doing all this while having a perfectly normal conversation with Coil, until he says something like ‘Very dangerous.  You want to be careful who you’re picking a fight with.'”

I don’t know, I still think I may be onto something with what I said about Coil having used his power. If that’s so, then having Taylor around will be more advantageous for him in the near future than killing her. Once Dinah is back and active she’s expendable, though, that’s what I think. I bet he would use his power and ask Dinah something about the odds Skitter will be able to defeat him, and depending on the number he’ll take action.

So it’s still urgent for Taylor and others to take action, I’d say. They should give it a try. Either way, he knows something’s afoot and he’s not particularly concerned about it. What a smug villain! He did prove with this that he can manipulate Tattletale’s power to some extent, so they can’t really know what he’s thinking or planning.

“We’ll figure something out,” she said.

There are, what, five days or so left before Dinah is back in action? Better hurry! The conversation ended shortly afterwards. Well I’m taking this as an indication this arc is close to over, unless it turns out Coil really is planning to kill Skitter tonight and a gas pipe explodes underneath her current location or something.

It’s introspection time! What do you have to say about your motivation for your actions so far, Taylor?

Whatever my overall motives might be, some part of what drove me was some desire to patch up the damage, fix that part of myself that had been taking a beating ever since I’d gotten that call about my mom’s death.

Weeeeell...given how much guilt and regret she has been accumulating, if her narration is any indication, she’s failing at this. I mean, unless she all along intended to fill that damage with lots of regret. In that case then she’s excelling at this.

It was unlikely she was going to stay at Dad Hebert’s house for long, but it seems to me the call has made her want to leave now. The only farewell they can have is a hug, but Dad Hebert wants more. And this time he manages to get something a little more concrete than vague reassurances.

“No vague promises.  You’re going to promise,” he said.

“Day after tomorrow?”

“Okay.  I don’t have work then, with the mayoral elections.  We can eat lunch here and then go to the town hall.”

Oh shit. If Coil had something for us to do-

...she’s not going to fulfill this promise, is she. I can see it already; she’s not going to meet Dad Hebert that day. That’s going to tug at my heartstrings. She even tries to think of an excuse but promises it anyway. Yeeeeah this definitely isn’t going to be fulfilled.

I felt the need to reward him, to express some kind of gratitude, but I had only one thing to offer that he really wanted.  “I-  don’t know when.  But maybe I’ll come home?”

Won’t lie, part of me is hoping she actually does this, but yeah, as long as she’s with the Undersiders she won’t return. Although, given how there were two months in these fifteen arcs, it will be like three months more before the story ends. That’s no guarantee she’ll return home, but hey, there’s a chance she will once the story reaches its end. I sure know that, if she doesn’t, I will like to think she does.

...although I have to admit that depends on Dad Hebert staying alive until the end of the story and, knowing the conventions of stories with superpowers, his odds aren’t that good. Welp.

Having exhausted everything she intended for this visit, Taylor pretty much runs away, tearing up. Is this the end of the arc? Possibly. I’m sure an interlude is coming, and then it’ll be time for the next arc, but after how the arc didn’t end last two times I thought it would, maybe it won’t either this time, haha!

Well, we’ll see next time.

Next time: in four updates

[shadowfae]

**breathes in deeply**

(vent)

So I'm a soulbonder who's looking to make a new bond to a particular person and nothing is working.

I know a lot about this person, I know a good amount about their world, and I know what I need to do, but none of the things I've tried have worked. I've bonded people before in both intentional and unintentional ways. This is unusual for me. I don't quite know how to handle what's going on here.

I know what's probably causing it. My mental health kinda tanked between this and the last time I called a new bond. Like. I've started experiencing psychosis issues intra-headspace. Thankfully I've avoided anything that severe in meatspace, but I have had increased issues with my pre-existing executive function and emotional regulation issues. Every time I think I've gotten somewhere with bonding this character it's only been psychosis issues and discernment issues, and it's really, really disheartening.

But even aside from mental health issues, when I'm relatively lucid I'm not having luck.

I've tried summoning, I've tried inviting, I've tried direct "hey come here", I've tried indirect "hey we'd like to talk", I've tried yanking them, I've tried directly appearing to them in their own world, I've tried just trying to talk to them before. Most of these I've tried more than once. Nothing has worked. There may have been contact in the past (and seemed positive-to-neutral about learning more about this place and visiting), but at this point I really doubt even the more reliable incidents. Something should have worked here, and I can't shake the feeling something is going very wrong.

I know I should probably give up and move on at this point, as it's been literal months. Honestly I've asked a lot of places for help and I've looked into what resources I've been able to find on their source world and bonding in general, and my options are running dry. Nobody would blame me for giving up. But I have my reasons not to. I have a feeling about this, and they're in a situation I don't feel like leaving alone. Like, everyone they thought they could trust screws them over. I also DESPERATELY want to at least talk to this person. This entire situation is so fucking frustrating. I'm at the "try shaking cat treats at them" phase.

Also I can't talk to anyone about this because 1. dude's source is from my own AU, and is technically my oc, 2. the places I can talk about this shit are not open to sensitive parts of this, going assume I'm lying, or uh, were exposed to a few cringey false alarms on related things, 3. it's been long enough and constant enough that it's too much to talk about the full extent of this nonsense. 4. My SO can't tolerate this person's source world, so I won't make them endure my prattling.

Because I needed isolation added to this clusterfuck.

Anyway that was good to get off my chest, feel free to throw this into the tumblr void with the identities of anon asks if you want. Or post it, I have no investment in the fate of this.

Mmmm, it looks like there are several issues here that you're facing.

I want to ask: do you have any other bonds right now? Because maybe getting them to try will help, just because their methods will be different than yours, and sometimes you just need a second set of hands. (Or fins, as Albafica wants me to make sure you know.)

There could be a ton of things blocking it, and I would suggest dealing with your psychosis issues first. Not give up, but put this on hold until you know what's causing the psychosis and have dealt with it. You do not want to forge a bond on such a shaky foundation. I'm not saying 'psychotic people can't soulbond', flames forbid I am, I'm reading that this is a new and difficult thing, and you don't want unknown variables getting in your way, especially when they can induce things that look similar to soulbonding but really really aren't.

I have to account for my Devil powers every time I do a spell, ward, or fuck around with the headspace. Because I'm the host and the god in the room, and things answer to me when they won't to anyone else, and Albafica's commentary on that is "stop locking me in a room with your crazy sentient brambles that only speak static whenever you're majorly upset" and I think that's not fair to me, that only happened once and it was accidental, but you get the point. That's a variable you need to be predictable and accounted for.

Then yeah, past that it looks like they're just not willing, and if you want to bond, you need to see it from their side. Because to some random person in their world, you probably feel / appear like a particularly dangerous spirit that's trying to eat them. Al agrees that's how he'd take it if someone pulled that on him, and he's very untrusting on his best days. So it sounds, so far, like your approach is not the best for this.

If you rule out medical reasons for your psychosis - and that is not an easy thing to do, please check out medical things for that, you don't want to fuck around with it - it could also be them refusing you and using their own wards. (Or at least, I can see the line of thought between them trying to stop you and such backlash; but that's an option to consider after medical issues.)

If you can get in contact with them, you need to ask one question, and one question alone, and do not pass go or collect your 200$ until they've answered clearly: do they want you to stop?

You haven't said why you want to bond with them so badly, and motivation is a key factor here. With Goni, he showed up looking for Luco and serves partially as the adult to go to when shit gets bad and also as the resident prettyboy and slut. Al is logical and blunt and his remarks cut deep, but he gives a damn and functions as lieutenant where Goni's advisor and backup. South is uh, he's the demon commentating about how much we should just kill people and he's right, he is, but that's illegal. He also serves as the youngest and the most prone to extreme emotions, and when someone else is doing the extreme emotions, it makes it that much easier for the rest of us to keep our heads. He says what I'm thinking, and then I can deal with it rationally.

They're all people, and they aid each other as well in headspace, but the bond between host and bond is a bit different than bonds with each other. I pilot the body most of the time, I handle everything in meatspace, they help me do that. It's simple: keep the guy who pilots the body running, get body privileges.

And what you need to consider here is not only what they can do for you, but what you can do for them, and how exactly you're going to coexist. Because while my triad of fishmen help me, I also help them, largely because uh, /gestures at the fact they all died in a war in various gruesome ways and the journey they took to get there was actually worse/. It's all fun and games until they're here, away from the danger, and then there's the exotrauma.

Goni handles it by not handling it until he has to and right now we're working on actually acknowledging that he's got issues. South deals with it by being resentful as all hell and incredibly violent and yandere, but being allowed to not pull his punches is still so new to him that it's actually quite good for him to get to say what he's thinking and be respected for it. Al's grumpy about it but is trying to build something of his life now before he falls apart. He wants something to hold onto first, which is smart. Trust Al to figure out the most logical way with none of the words and then adamantly refuse to let that go wrong. He and I both understand bullying the universe into giving us what we want, and since he has full utter control over his own mental processes thanks to being able to make my Devil powers do what he wants, I don't think anyone's going to be able to interfere with his ability to do that.

So now I have to ask for you: what is this bond going to be doing for you, and just as important, what exactly do you expect to be able to do for them? Because they're also an OC, and they may have some goddamn feelings about that. They may see you as having coincidentally written down their life, they may see you as channeling it, or they may see you as the one who made it happen. All of which you'll also see in fictionkin spaces. If they fall into the last category, they're gonna be pissed you didn't give them a happy ending, and they're justified in that, and so are you for not doing that.

You have to be prepared - especially from reading between the lines of your ask here - that they're not going to be as functional as you want them to be. When we handle our exotrauma, we're a mess. Everything gets put on hold to deal with it, and even then, we rely a lot on our partner system (Faolan and the Nebulaic Collective) to keep the body from crashing so we can hold onto our life instead of falling apart utterly for a week straight. We don't do jack entirely with the four of us, and it's better that way.

The fact that you can't rely on anyone outside of yourself, especially considering 1) they don't seem to want this, 2) your attempts either very coincidentally happened alongside or caused serious mental issues that need urgent attention from you, and 3) you don't sound prepared to handle the severity of what you're implying it to be; all goes to show that this reads to me like a terrible fucking idea. I mean that honestly and gently and bluntly.

I don't mean 'give up and don't do this', I mean 'seriously dude either you're not giving me context or you haven't thought nearly hard enough about the realistic way this is going to go', and if it's the latter, no wonder you're having issues.

I already know who my next bond will be, and I know what needs to happen for him to show up. Right now, the four of us are functional, and we have a good Thing going on, sleeping arrangements and all. If we're getting another, a Space needs to open up for him, job to keep us functional that he can do as well as a part to play in our dynamic that is currently not being met. We got Adult (Goni), we got Logic (Al), we got Emotional Teenager (South), we got Has Context And Admin Access (me).

(Side note, South is vaguely 17-19, but he's been treated like he was five for most of his life and has been forced to rapidly oscillate between genuinely horrifying scenarios and being incredibly sheltered, so trying to put any sort of 'he's an average X year old' is downright impossible. He's on the upper end of teens and we call it a day there, and if he hears a word of "you're not old enough to do X activity" then I have to stop him from sending you graphic descriptions of things he can do to your insides and that's no fun for anyone so don't do that please.)

So when we have a space the new bond can fill both in keeping things functional so he has something to do and a space in our relationship so he's not standing on the sidelines looking in, he'll show. As it stands right now, that hasn't happened, so he's not here yet. That and I think I'm stretched rather thin when it comes to bonds, I need much more time with our fishes before I think I can handle more folks in here. So much on my mind, so little time.

But either way regardless. You have several glaring issues that are fairly obvious that you may not have noticed because you can't be objective in a situation you're involved in (true of everyone), and until you fix those, yeah, this doesn't sound like it'll work all that well.

Although I will note that I typically bond via my writing, simply writing from their perspective until they start commentating. They go from 'maybe MaDD doing shit' to 'oh hey soulbond' when they don't comment only on themselves but also on things I'm doing in meatspace. Albafica's a character when he's narrating his own life, he's a person when he demands More Salmon For Dinner; if that makes sense.

I doubt you'd get that far unless they genuinely did want the connection, because otherwise they wouldn't tell you stuff about themselves. Works for me, might work for you, who knows, please get your psychosis symptoms checked out first before touching this again and make sure they actually want to bond and it's actually viable before continuing and then try again I suppose?

A very long answer for a very long ask, but I like Helping, so. Hope that helped a bit.

[wintermoth]

Silenced (Commission)

The following is a Ko-Fi commission for @anthonyswest  who asked for a rewrite of the scene between Alya and Kasai in Chapter 63 of Guardians. I don’t technically have open commissions or set prices or anything but a ko-fi is a ko-fi so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I went a little above and beyond what you asked for, dude, but I doubt you’ll be disappointed ;3c

Obviously, SPOILERS for Guardians if you haven’t read it yet

Alya almost said no when Marinette invited her over.

This last week had been like being caught in a rough swell, something she had experienced more than once growing up in Martinique, up and down and up and down, being tossed to and fro, knocked under before she could make any headway towards shore, then heaved upwards a moment after. She thought about simply waiting below the swell, far enough down where the waves had no pull, for the surface offered no relief. But now her lungs screamed for air and as she rocketed towards the surface, she resolved to not let herself be tossed around once more.

She was tired of being treated like the enemy by those she had idolized and being pitied by her friends. She was tired of accepting their words at face value while doubts lurked within, unspoken, but festering. She needed answers and she needed them now.

So, she said yes.

And just like that, she had Marinette all alone. No classmates to overhear, parents busy in the bakery with their morning customers, no concerned boyfriends to intervene, just them alone, with no easy way out. Not if Marinette valued her as a friend at all. Maybe it was a little underhanded but, then, Marinette deserved it, didn't she?

Because Ladybug and Chat Noir had known. When they came to her room that night, they'd done so knowing exactly what they were looking for. They'd looked straight at her folder, they'd known about the flash drive, they'd asked for her digital backups, they'd known. Before that, they'd shown up to the studio with Sombra in tow, a clear indication that they'd anticipated needing to stop the interview.

Somehow, she'd gone from being someone they trusted and preferred over others in the city to someone to be treated with suspicion.

No one knew the full details of her research and she'd only ever spoken at length about her research and discoveries with four people. Her mother, Nino, Adrien, and Marinette. Her mother would never rat her out, nor did she have any connections to the heroes, same for Nino. She suspected Adrien might know them but Marinette, oh, she knew Marinette did. Of everyone who knew what she was doing, only Marinette had the necessary connections for this to have happened.

According to Ladybug and Chat Noir, Alya was digging into things she ought not to be. But how could they have known that before her interview even happened? Surely, they would know better than to have bought into the media hype of all their secrets being revealed unless, of course, they knew already that she had uncovered secrets and had begun to mistrust her because of it. And who could have clued them in, who could have told them about the folder and the flash drive, about her habit of meticulously back everything up, other than Marinette herself?

Alya wanted to believe that Marinette hadn't snitched. Maybe she'd been planning to surprise her with another interview the way she had once back in troisème but the heroes hadn't liked what she'd told them. That was the best-case scenario.

Worst case scenario? Marinette had been keeping tabs on her research for them this whole time and something she'd uncovered sent up red flags.

As much as Alya didn't want to, she suspected the truth was somewhere near the latter.

Because Marinette knew more than she let on. She'd never been a good actor and Alya had seen the insincerity in some of her reactions. But if she knew that much then why hadn't she tried to stop her? Warned her, maybe? Why did she have to…turn her back on her and run straight to them?

That thought swirled through her mind as she followed Marinette up to her balcony. She needed to water her plants or something. Perfect.

Except…she wasn't sure how to begin. How did one ask one's best friend if they were in league with the enemy without actually accusing them of anything?

Hah. 'The enemy.'

God, she wanted all of this to just end. She wanted normalcy again.

"Marinette…I need to ask you something."

Marinette looked over her shoulder, somehow the picture of innocence despite everything. And maybe she was innocent. Alya really hoped she was.

"And I need you to tell me the truth."

Doubt and uncertainty flickered across her face, a perfectly natural response, Alya reasoned. Marinette set the watering can down and turned to face her. "Okay…"

Alya took a deep breath. Yeah. Okay. No going back now. "Did you… did you tell them about my research?"

Silence followed in which Marinette stared at her, frustratingly unreadable. Then she cocked her head to the side. "Tell who?"

So, this was how they were going to do things. Alright then. Alya clenched her fists. "Ladybug and Chat Noir," she said stiffly. "I know you know them, even if you won't tell me how."

"Alya—"

"Don't even try to deny it!" Alya snapped and Marinette closed her mouth. "I know you know them. You got me that interview with Ladybug one time. Sometimes when I tell you things about them, you're not surprised." Panic flashed across her face for only a split second but to Alya it was more than enough evidence to confirm everything she'd suspected. "You act like you are, but you're not. And I've seen Chat Noir interact with you before—like he knew you."

Marinette licked her lips and ducked her head, removing her oh-so-treacherous face from Alya's sight. "You don't understand," she uttered softly and Alya wrinkled her nose.

"Yeah, that's what everyone keeps saying," she retorted.

Marinette shook her head. "I wasn't allowed to tell anyone. I—they said I had to keep it secret."

Despite the admission, Alya scoffed. Because why wouldn't they have demanded her silence? "Why am I not surprised?"

Though, really, with this new fact established, suddenly a lot of things from the last few years made sense. Marinette must have been a source of information for them for a while now. That would explain why she'd run off every time there was an akuma attack nearby. She must've been following their orders or carrying out some manner of task for them. And no wonder they'd chosen Alya over everyone else if Marinette was nearby to put in a good word?

…No, wait. She wasn't sure she liked the implications of that one.

Alya exhaled through her teeth. "Did they tell you about my interview? What they did?"

Marinette's head snapped and shook back and forth. "I haven't seen them in weeks. We're not even friends! We've just…" she paused, floundering for words, "…we've met," she finally settled on, lamely. "Sometimes they come over for snacks late at night."

"And did you tell them about my research?"

She was well and truly distressed now. "I—I don't think I did…why—?"

"They knew, Marinette!" Alya yelled, throwing her hands up in frustration. She had to have! There was no other way! "They knew about my research, the folder I kept it in, everything! They came in and knew exactly what they were looking for!"

"Came in?" Marinette yelped and, oh no, she looked genuinely alarmed. Did she not…? "What do you mean? What happened?"

Someone cleared their throat behind her and Alya whipped around with a shriek. Her first thought was that maybe Sabine had come to offer lunch or something but this was struck almost immediately because the woman in front of them was short and dark-haired but she was very much not Sabine Cheng. She wasn't even Chinese.

She was Kasai Neko, the Japanese Tigress who wielded the power of fire, and she…she had just overheard Alya grilling Marinette about…

Alya had never been this close to just her before. Among the others, she gave off the same Justice League vibe that the others did but, alone she… There was something powerful and dangerous emanating from her. She crouched on the ledge above the trap door, cutting off their escape. Her golden eyes glinted as they flicked between the girls. Then she slid off the ledge with all the grace of a tiger and slinked towards them.

"Oh my god," Alya breathed. They were fucked.

"Konnichiwa," the woman said solemnly then looked over Alya's shoulder. Alya was too afraid to follow her gaze but figured she must have been looking at Marinette. Did they know each other? What was happening, what—?

Kasai Neko lifted one clawed hand and an eerie magenta light ignited around it. She made a simple sweeping motion and uttered a single word in English. Marinette whimpered and Kasai rushed forward. Alya turned in time to see the woman catch her friend and gather her into her arms.

"What did you do?!" Alya demanded, ready to scream and shout if she had to

"I made her sleep," Kasai Neko explained in accented English after setting Marinette down in the lawn chair. She gave Alya a wry look over her shoulder. "Or would you rather I have left her awake and let her join you in the dangerous waters you now tread?"

Alya exhaled sharply. Damn that woman, she had her. And Alya…she'd been wrong. Whether Marinette had been the one to tell them or not mattered little now because it was clear that she hadn't been involved, nor was her ignorance of the last week or so faked. "What do you want?"

"I want to protect my people."

This again? Seriously, how many times was she going to have to tell them that she wasn't a threat! She was just…she was just one girl! An ordinary human with no powers or anything. Even if she started shouting what she knew from the rooftops, how many would believe her? It was all so fantastical that she herself doubted the validity of some of it.

"Look, I'm not a threat to—"

"Yes, you are, whether you acknowledge it or not." Kasai interrupted in a tone that left no room for argument, eyes narrowed, expression thunderous. Alya shut up. "The only reason we have not killed you is because Ladybug and Chat Noir have pleaded endlessly for your life." Kasai leaned towards her. "They are risking much on your behalf and one wrong word or move from you will ruin their efforts, and quite possibly their lives."

…

They…

What?

"I am here to make sure that doesn't happen." Kasai declared, straightening up, and Alya's eyes widened in horror. "You know what I'm capable of. I advise you not resist."

Alya skittered back but where was she to go? Her back hit the railing all too quickly. She was fenced in, trapped. Hadn't she thought this place perfect just a few minutes ago for the difficulty to escape? God, she'd fucked up. She'd fucked up. "Wh-what are you going to do?"

Kasai approached her slowly. Of course, she had all the time in the world. There was no way Alya could get away from her. She may have been nearly a whole head shorter but she was a warrior, a tiger, and Alya was nothing but a mouse in comparison. "I am going to be merciful and only cast a spell," the woman informed her and Alya did not like that proposition one bit.

"G-get away from me!" Alya stammered, terrified. Kasai raised her hand which was covered in that magenta light from before and Alya scrambled to get away from her. "Don't touch me!"

Kasai followed her. "Our secrets come with a price, one that all without the right to them have paid." She lunged forward, seizing Alya by the arm with her lightless hand. Claws pricked her skin and Alya stilled at the threat. "The price you will pay is less steep and you owe Ladybug and Chat Noir for that kindness."

The woman's glowing hand seized her other arm. Light began to spread from the point of contact, quickly encompassing Alya's entire body and she felt paralyzed. Whether it was Kasai's fault or from her own fear, she did not know.

"Speak of our secrets and you will speak no more," Kasai intoned with an eerie duality to her voice. Each word felt like a rock thrown against her heart. They pounded through her blood, against her temple, her throat, the tips of her fingers. They slid along her body like a vice, constricting at her neck. "Though your body will remain unharmed, your voice will never again take form. Your words will die ere they reach your lips and even the mightiest of your cries will never escape."

With that, Kasai Neko released her, the glow died, and she moved away.

Alya struggled not to faint. She felt…violated? Changed? Bound? She didn't have words for it. Something had been altered fundamentally. Added? Taken away? Something was different, wrong. Her eyes burned as Kasai asked her if she understood. Alya nodded. Yeah, she understood. She'd just been hexed or something and now everything was different.

"I will be clear: this is insurance for us and nothing more," Kasai Neko said almost casually in English. She paused a moment, then added, "Ladybug did not believe it necessary and she exercised every bit of her power and influence to get us to agree to such a light consequence should you invoke the Curse."

"Y-you call that light?!" Alya shrieked and glared at the elder Guardian. Her entire being felt wrong and this was light?!

"You are fortunate that Ladybug cares for your safety," was the hard retort. "Were it up to me, the Curse would have killed you as punishment."

The words hung in the air for a long minute and Alya struggled to reign in her anger. Exploding wouldn't help her situation any, might just get her killed. All of this because she'd uncovered things that weren't even really hidden? It was bullshit and it wasn't fair. She hadn't done anything wrong and they wanted her dead?

What are you? she thought and it was as if she was seeing Kasai Neko for the first time. Since the very first appearance of Ladybug and Chat Noir, Alya had known that she could never quite see their faces and that the details her mind managed to process would disappear when no longer in her line of sight. She'd nearly driven herself crazy trying to figure out why but eventually accepted things for what they were.

Short, slight, yet there were muscles under that suit of hers, a warrior's body. Light brown skin, black punk hair, a round nose, a slender face that belonged to a young woman who'd only seen a few decades, not someone who spoke like they'd seen dozens.

Everything about her solidified in Alya's mind. How had she never seen before? This…this…whatever this woman was, it wasn't right.

"You're no hero," Alya finally growled. "I don't know what you are…but it's not a hero."

"No, I am not," Kasai agreed. "I am a protector of human kind but I am certainly no hero. Be happy that Ladybug and Chat Noir endeavor to remain so."

There was something threatening about that and Alya swallowed nervously. What would happen if they became like her?

Kasai Neko shook her head. "Return home. Your friend will sleep for a time and wake with muddled memories. She will not even know you came."

The tigress turned to go but paused beside Marinette's slumbering form. "Poor little girl," she murmured. Then she was gone.

Alya wondered who she meant.

[queenofangrymoths]

All of Carswell Thorne’s Quotes in Scarlet

So I did this thing a long time ago. While I don’t blog about TLC a lot, I am a fan of them. I read them all, cried during all of it, and generally been sad that it’s over.  This was started in February of last year and wasn’t completed until that June. I spent five months on this. While I was in school.

If the title didn’t give this away. This is all of Carswell Thorne’s Quotes in Scarlet. I also have the things for Cress and Winter but this is about 21 pages in google docs, so let’s keep this short because this post, in general, is going to be very, very long - because he never shuts the fuck up,

These were all taken directly from a hard copy of the book - that I own- so yes, this is a cretiable source. Use it for fanfiction, anaylst, tattoos, whatever. it’s yours now.

Book One

Chapter Four Page 32 “I’m sorry,” “It seems that you’ve stumbled into the wrong jail cell. Do you need directions to get back to yours?”  Page 33 “Special circumstances.” “Thank you, but no. I started a riot on the yard.” “We were protesting the soap.” “The soap,” “It’s too drying.” “I have sensitive skin.” “You’re escaping.” Page 34 “I haven’t the faintest idea.” “I’m putting together a portfolio of the women I’ve loved.” “What are you doing?” “What for?” “You have a portscreen in your head?” Page 35 “When they locked you up,” “Did they consider that this prison might have some security weakness?” “Let me guess,” “Breaking and entering?” “How old are you?” Page 36 “What’s your name?” “I’m Captain Carswell Thorne. But usually, people just call me-” “Thorne. Or Captain. Or Captain Thorne.” “I can see you’re in need of an accomplice,” “And lucky for you, I happen to be a criminal mastermind.” “That’s difficult request in this situation.” “What are you going to do when you get out?” “Oh, my naive little convict. Don’t you think that’s what they’ll be expecting you to do?” “I’m just saying we might be able to help each other.” Page 37 “I have a ship.” “A spaceship.” “She could have us halfway to the stars in less than two minutes, and she’s just outside the city limits. Easy to get to. What do you say?” “Point taken,” “You just think it over in that pretty head of yours.” “Now that I’m thinking of it, there used to be an excellent dim sum bar just a block away too. They had mini pork buns that were to die for. Rich and succulent.” “Maybe if we have time we could stop in and pick up a snack for the road. I could use a treat after suffering through the tasteless junk they call food in this place.” “Are you all right?” “Do you need a back rub?” Page 38 “All right.” “Of course. Anything you like.” Chapter Six Page 54 ”Are you the same girl who was just here?” “Oh.” “You seemed a lot prettier before.” “Captain Thorne.” “Portscreen in head?” “Well, if you want to be technical about it,” “But I’m a captain now. I prefer the sound of it. Girls are much more impressed.” “It was my irresistible charm that convinced you, wasn’t it?” Page 55 “I don’t like to think of it as ‘stolen.’  They have no proof that I didn’t plan on giving it back.” “You have no proof either.” “Maybe.” “Of course not. Removed all the tracking equipment ages ago.” “Of course not,” “It’s just...is that think sterilized?” “I mean-I’m sure you’re very hygienic and all, it’s just….” “Never mind. Just try not to hit anything important.” Page 56 “Is it just me, or is this a big moment in our relationship?” “What is it?” Page 58 “Everything all right?” “Blueprint?” Page 58“ “Where are we?” “Isn’t there an exit ramp over there?” “Why aren’t we trying to get there?” Page 61 “What are they doing?”

Chapter Nine Page 84 “Argh, Get it off, get it off!” “It’s in my uniform!” “Please tell me we’ll be exiting through that manhole.” Page 85 “Oh, aces,” “Tell me that’s not what I think it is.” Page 86 “Wait-what are you doing?” “Don’t you have some tool in that fancy hand of yours that can get us across?” Page 87 “This is what I get for complaining about soap,” “Captain.” “It’s near the old Beihai Park,” “Which way is that?” Page 88 “Yunxin sounds familiar. Sort of.” Page 89 “Yeah, yeah, I do.” “I just haven’t been here in a while.” “This way.” “No, no, this way.” “No, I’ve got this. It’s this way.” “A captain always knows where his ship is. It’s like a psychic bond.” “There!” Page 90 “Locked.”“There’d better be. I haven’t been paying rent all this time for my darling to sit in an unprotected warehouse.” “Alak, how are you?” “Am I really on the news? How do I look?” “Alak, I’m here to pick up my ship. We’re in a bit of a hurry.” Page 91 “But she's my ship! I’m a paying customer! You can’t just keep her from me.” Page 92 “No, but I think he’s having a heart attack!” “Aces, he weighs a ton.” “He may be a selfish jerk, but he sure does have good taste in -” Page 93 “Jewelry.” “Hey, look, there was another jailbreak.” “This is great! They’re not going to worry about us if they have a Lunar to track down.” “Wait. You’re the Lunar?” “Hold on there, little traitor. Breaking out of jail is one thing but assisting a psychotic Lunar is a bit out of my league.” Page 94 “I think I look pretty good…” “Right. Let's get out of here.” “Doesn’t matter,” “The roof’s open.” “And there she is.” “Thanks. Did it myself.” Page 95 “There was a time she housed a twelve-man crew,” “Rampion, code word: Captain is king. Open hatch.” “Captain is king. Captain is king! Rampion, wake up. It’s Thorne, Captain Carswell Thorne. What the-” “How? It’s just been sitting here.” Page 96 “Yeah, let me just pull it out of my prison-issued pocket and we’ll be on our way.” “Where are you going?”

Chapter Ten Page 98 “Captain is king,” “Captain is king, Captain is ki-” “Captain is-?” “Rampion, close hatch!” Page 99 “Rampion, close hatch!” “Rampion?” “”Rampion, ready for liftoff!” Page 100 “Why is my shop talking back to me?” “Cinder?” “Without computer assistance? Are you sure?” “Uh.” “Yes?” “Yeah, yeah, I hear you.” “Here we go.” Page 101 “Whoa, whoa, whoa, don’t do that!” “Engage the backup wh-oh, never mind, I found them.” “Stop distracting me!” “This isn’t as easy as it looks!” “I usually have automated stabilizer to take care of this!” “Right! Like that!” Page 102 “Come on, darling,” “Good work, cyborg girl,” “If you were hoping for a permanent position on my crew, you’re hired.” “I don’t mean a lowly position, either. First mate is available. Well, I mean, pretty much every position is available. Mechanic...cook...a pilot would be nice so I don’t have to go through that again.” “Cinder? Are you there?” Page 103 “Hello?” “Cyborg girl? Are you in here?” “Lights, on?” “Cyborg girl?” “Hey, you,” “Come on,” Page 104 “Good plan,” “Wake up,” “What, do you have a power button or something?” “Right!” Page 105 “Oh….,” “Oh, boy. You don’t think...oh, that’s disgusting.” “Ouch,” Page 106 “Cinder? Are you alive?” “Cinder?” “I think it did drain your power system.” Page 107 “I didn’t want to.” “We’re having another moment, aren’t we?” “I’ll take it,”

Book Two

Chapter Fifteen Page 151 “Eww, is that an ID chip?” “Why do you have an ID chip?” “It’d better not be yours, after you made me cut mine out.” “Don’t tell me she’s a runaway convict too. Doesn’t she need it?” Page 152 “Oh. I’m sorry.” “How long ago?” “The plague?” “Aren’t the androids that work at the quarantines government property?” “Why would the government program androids to harvest ID chips?” Page 153 “What about those other two?” “Are you some sort of a chip hoarder or something?” Page 154 “I’m going to guess, really different?: “And we have an adapter?” “The dust what?” Page 156 “Now, hold on just one minute here, little miss disembodied voice.” “What do you mean, ‘hideous’?” “I am Captain Carswell Thorne, the owner of this fine ship, and I will not stand to have her insulted in my presence!” Page 157 “That’s right.” “And you, my fine lady, are the most gorgeous ship in these skies, and don’t let anyone ever tell you different.” “The prettiest,” “Painted her myself.”

Chapter Nineteen Page 186 “It’s-not-junk.” Page 187 “I don’t know,” “Supplies. Food. I think there are some guns in one of them. And I know I had a few sculptures from this really collectible second-era artist-I was going to make a fortune off of them, but I got arrested before I had a chance.” “What’s that?” “Oh, right. This ship does have one of those.” “Never needed it.” “We’ll see.” Page 188 “What do you think I am, an amateur? Nothing entered this ship without being thoroughly inspected. Otherwise, the Republic would have reclaimed it all a long time ago rather than let it idle in that warehouse.” “And it’s next to impossible to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere without detection. That’s how they nabbed me last time.” “News to me. I got pretty good at sweet-talking my way into public hangers, but I don’t think that’s going to work with such a high-profile convict on the loose.” Page 189 “Huh?” “Do you think it’s with their-” “Crazy Lunar magic stuff?” “Whatever.” “Optimistically hoping it’s magic, maybe you should start practicing?” Page 190 “Venezuelan dream doll.” “It’s worth about twelve thousand univs.” “Doubtful,” “How much longer will ours hold out?” “Plenty of time to learn a new Lunar trick, right?” “In the meantime, I’ll do a little research, try to determine the best place for us to land. Not the Commonwealth, obviously. I hear Fiji’s nice this time of year.” Page 191 “Do you have any suggestions?” Page 192 “Uh...Cinder?” “Any reason in particular?” “Of course.” “Because it was so vague the first time. Yes, of course I think she’s alive.” “Sure. I know some people think it’s all conspiracy theories, but I’ve heard that Queen Levana was really paranoid for months after the fire, when she should have been ecstatic because she was finally queen, right? It’s like she knew the princess had gotten away.” “What does this have to do with Europe?” Page 193 “Where did you hear this?” “A royal android,” “And how did it get this information?” Page 194 “I’m in.” “Sure. This is the biggest unsolved mystery of the third era. There’s got to be someone out there offering a reward for finding the princess, right?” “In that case, we already have something in common with the princess, don’t we?” “I just hope she’s cute.” “That would be important.” “Hungry? I think there’s a can of beans in there calling my name.”

Book Three

Chapter Twenty Four Page 248 “Hey, Cinder! Are you watching the news?” “What is this, nap time? Turn some lights on.” “Yeah, good one.” “Well. Keep up the good work, mate. In the meantime, you should watching this. They’re talking about us on all channels. We’re famous.” “They already showed the clips. And now you’ve achieved the dream of every red-blooded girl under the age of twenty-five.” Page 249 “Maybe not, but at least dreamy Prince Kai knows your name.” “Precisely.” “They’re starting a press conference, to talk about you. Thought you wouldn’t want to miss” “His heavenly, chocolate-brown eyes, and perfectly tousled hair, and-” “Ow,” “What’s got your wires crossed?” “Hey, that’s my-” Page 251 “A what?” Page 253 “He didn’t mention me. Not once.” Page 254 “But I’m a wanted fugitive, like Cinder,” “They do realize I’m missing, don’t they?” “Now I understand why you’ve been so immune to my charms. I  had no idea I was competing with an emperor. That’s a tough beat, even for me.” “I have great instincts when it comes to amore, and he does not” Page 255 “despise you. Plus, he asked a cyborg to the ball? That takes guts. I generally dislike royalty and government officials on principle, but I have to give him credit for that.” “He didn’t?” “But he knows you’re cyborg now and he still likes you.” “‘I don’t see that her being cyborg is relevant.’” “Hey, come back!” “I have something to show you.” “I promise not to make fun of your boyfriend anymore.” “It’s about Michelle Benoit.” “Come take a look at this.” Page 256 “Did you know that Michelle Benoit has a teenage granddaughter?” “Well, she does. Miss Scarlet Benoit. Supposedly she just turned eighteen, but-brace yourself-she doesn’t have any hospital records. Get it? Holy spades, I’m a genius.” “Do you know a single person who wasn’t born in a hospital?” “That’s precisely what I’m suggesting.” Chapter Thirty One Page 313 “At least we’re in the middle of nowhere,” “If anyone calls the police, it will take them a while to get here.” Page 314 “Bingo,” “She’s here.” “Creepy, isn’t it? I don’t know how people can stand it.” “Yeah, like a morgue is nice.” Page 315 “Did you see someone?”  “I”m not sure that breaking into Michelle Benoit’s outbuildings is the best way to introduce ourselves” “What a sty,” “I’m not sure I can trust a pilot with such little respect for her ship.” Page 316 “Uh, Cinder,” “What are we doing here?” “In this mess? Good luck with that.” “Really, Cinder?” “This is not the time to be worried about a change of clothes.” Page 317 “How did you know that was there?” Page 318 “What-what is this?” Page 319 “What’s this?” “Aren’t those illegal? Overpopulation laws or something?” “What do you suppose it’s doing down here?” Chapter Thirty-Two Page 321 “I don’t get it,” “What do you think they did to her down here?” “Good thinking. Of course she wouldn’t have had her own when she came to Earth.” “What about all that?” Page 323 “What’s a bioelectricity security block?” “If we have the technology to nullify the Lunar’s craziness, why doesn’t everyone have one of these?” “Well, this proves it, doesn’t it? The princess really was here.” Page 324 “What the-” “Who would do this to a child?” Page 325 “We should go talk to Michelle Benoit,” “She hasn’t moved since we got here.” Page 326 “Hello?” “Miss Benoit?” “Hello, Scarlet” Page 327 “What’s that?” “You mean...she’s not here?” “How do we track a person who doesn’t have an ID chip?” “We should talk to the neighbors. They might know something.” Page 328 “Bonjour, mademoiselle,”

Chapter Thirty-Three Page 329 “What are you doing?” “We should take her with us.” Page 330 “Crazy in love. She’s gorgeous.”“I’m good like this.” “Her port. I took it off her while you were busy panicking.” Page 331 “I think we should stay and talk to her. Maybe she’ll know where to find Michelle.” “Hey, I liked my idea of bringing here along, but you already vetoed that idea, so now I’m resorting to Plan B, which is to interrogate her. And I am really looking forward to it. I used to play a game called interrogation with one of my old girlfriends where we-” “Now that was definitely jealousy I just heard.” “Don’t be alarmed,” “We’re not going to hurt you.” “Escaped Lunar cyborg fugitive?” Page 332 “No! No, no, no, of course not.” “We just want to ask you a few questions.” “What’s your name, love?” “Émile. A beautiful name for a beautiful girl.” Page 333 “You do know Michelle Benoit, don’t you?” Page 336 “I mean, you are in her house. This is her house, isn’t it?” “Émile, please stop crying. It’s just a simple question, really.” Page 335 “Have you heard from Scarlet since?:“One more question,”“Our ship is need of some repairs. Are there any good parts stores nearby?”

Book Four

Chapter Thirty-Five Page 343 “She’s going to be fine, you know.” “That Émile girl. You shouldn’t feel bad about knocking her out with your Lunar mind-trick thing. She’ll probably be extra refreshed when she wakes up.” Page 344 “There was a gust of wind.” “You’re extra gloomy today,” “Cheer up. We may not have found Michelle Benoit, but now we know for sure that she housed the princess. This is good. This is progress.” “Yeah, because we’re famous.” “Oh, come on, it could be worse.” Page 345 “At least we have each other.” “And you are going to pull your very handy brainwashing magic on all of them and they won’t even know they’re seeing us. Well, I mean, I guess they’ll still see us, they just won’t recognize us. Or, hey, can you make us invisible? Because that would come in handy.” Page 346 “You might be a crazy Lunar, but you’re not evil. As long as you’re using your glamour to help people, and more importantly, to help me, then there’s nothing to feel guilty about.” “Here we are,” Page 347 “He scared me.” Page 348 “Will this cover it?” “Hey, that watch saved us in there.” Page 349 “Even if it saves your skin?” “What?” “No time to shop for new clothes then.” “Here,” Page 350 “Where are you going?” “No, you need to calm down and start using your brainwave witchery thing.” Page 351 “Come on, then.”

Chapter Thirty-Six Page 357 “Cinder!” “Come on, the cuffs!” Page 358 “What?” “This is not the time to go crazy, Cinder!” “Pull yourself together and help me unlock these things!”

Chapter Thirty-Seven Page 361 “What was that?” “I know Lunars are supposed to have some screws loose-no offense-but those men were psychotic. He practically gnawed off my arm! And this is my favorite jacket!” Page 362 “I forgot about the police! Is my ship all right?” “Well, that’s predictable.” Page 363 “I’ll get it,” “Iko, seal the dock as soon as I’m out, then open the main hatch. Cinder, get that power cell installed!” Page 364 “Cinder!” Page 365 “Yeah, I definitely don’t want to catch whatever he had.” Page 366 “Like I was bit by a feral dog.” “I’m fine,” “Pretty upset about my jacket.” “What happened?” “Cinder?” Page 367 “Or maybe,” “It was an accident, and you’re still learning.” “No. That blood-sucking, howling wolf-man killed her. Cinder, you were scared. You didn’t know what you were doing.” “And you think he would have left the rest of us alone once he had you?” “I get that you feel like it was your fault, but let’s try to put some of the blame where it belongs here.” “Now what are you rambling on about?” “Cinder, you’re being-” Page 368 “Delusional. Michelle Benoit housed Princess Selene if they tracked her down, that’s why. It has nothing to do with you.” “Good guess,”

Chapter Forty-One Page 394 “Come on,” “We have to get out of here.” Page 395 “Don’t worry,” “We're the good guys.” Page 396 “Come on,” “Time to go.” “He’s exactly like the rest!” “He was trying to eat you!” “Fine,” “You take the helm.” “Holy spades,” “What are these guys made of?” Page 397 “You better have those tranquilizers ready.” “Cinder! Ten o’-” “Let’s pick it up,” “How many more of those do you have?” “Gonna have to restock.” Page 398 “Iko! Open the hatch!” “I noticed!” “Go!”

Chapter Forty-Two Page 401 “So…” “How many more darts do you have?” Page 402 “Right,” “In that case.” “Oh no.” “Cinder…”

Chapter Forty Four Page 422 “Whereerwe?” “Managed to get the loon on board, huh? Maybe I can find a cage for him in one of these bins. I’d hate for him to kill us in our sleep after all.” Page 423 “Are you sure?” “Well,” “I feel much better.” “Captain Carswell Thorne.” “Where did that come from?” Page 424 “Aces, I’m glad that didn’t happen to me. How embarrassing.” Page 425 “Thanks to him?” “Was that supposed to make me feel better about having him on board?” Page 426 “What?” “And that’s supposed to make me feel better?” “Cinder had a bit of a crush on him,” Page 429 “Uh, I’m confused,” “What are we talking about?” Page 430 “I’m still confused.” Page 431 “What, really?” “That makes two of us,” “Since when?” “You’re Princess Selene,” “The crazy cyborg is Princess Selene.” Page 432 “No,” Page 433 “I know, I know. She seems a little-” “But it’s really part of her charm, once you get to know her.”

And that’s it! Well, for Scarlet at least. Thorne really DOES never shut up.

[ericknobbs50]

Review of GSA Search Engine Ranker and Step by Step Tutorial

How to Use GSA SER with Proxies for Maximum Results

Table of ContentsGSA Search Engine Ranker Tutorial Blog post GSA software verified lists - How to Set IT Up How to Use GSA Search Engine Ranker Tutorial Best GSA SER help GSA Search Engine Ranker Tool And Review – AVS

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hen t passes wy of our identifiers wit entirely dfferent filters (reserve T1 igh quality hyperlinks & get rid of spam URLs tc.) after which we verify te record wt GSA online search engine ranker - GSA Search Engine Ranker tutorial. t's an automated ourse of, and evey littl thing is dependent pon our server performances. The proxy service providers cn mask th actual identity of te IP handle in rder that it assists ou to not keep an eye on ain to the distinct location.

he software application wll develop backlinks for ou desire a manually. This s part 3 of th complte GSA Online search engine Ranker software application tutorial. f ou hv not yet discover half 1 nd half 2 f ti tutorial, recommend that you attain this. GSA Search Engine Ranker s a baklink builder tat assists ou to reate monumental backlink consisting of social backlink, remark backlink, contextual backlink nd so forth.

GSA Search Engine Ranker Youtube - How to

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owever, the truth is GSA SER ma be made use of herever you desire whenever yo ant. his GSA SR verified listing is indicated to conserve lts of you time nd money from having t scrape your individual target web sites fr creating backlinks. ur GSA SR Panel assists to view the list f tasks, tools, a real tm log with stats nd color coded validated hyperlinks.

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GSA Search Engine Ranker: Learn To Rank Sites

Thee i n option f acquiring GSA R confirmed lists ith goal urls for each publishing sources. Afte you challenge s configured, GSA SER will immediately finds new website fr you, signs up accounts nd submit yor content/link wt none intervention n you finish. Tis is the GSA Search engine ranker validated reslts of one cryptocurrency backlinks seo package of ou day-to-day urls. Take a great long take a look at all the various engine possibilities in GSA. Likewise observe that you can right click the engine area and batch select some engines based upon a few various choices like nofollow vs dofollow links. Now if you're just going at it and ticking whatever then you're most likely not gon na be having an excellent month, let's repair that.

We can't all be good spammers and many people simply won't work hard enough. Like I discussed above, if you anticipate results with GSA, you much better expect to put in the grind to get there. Did you understand GSA will check PR for you if the option to conserve PR is ticked in your advanced alternatives? Yeah it kind of uses up a lot of resources, specifically if you're already inspecting PR with your scraper. GSA Search Engine Ranker tutorials.

Keep an eye on what updates roll out, there has actually been some variations that didn't work well for me. Seriously, I'm all stired on a new upgrade and then my verified count goes down the damn drain, no bueno. GSA Search Engine Ranker tutorials. I advise keeping a backup of the latest copy that has been running the very best for you.

GSA Search Engine Ranker Tutorial - Updated 2020

Indexing and Linking with GSA Search Engine Ranker

Get Kick-ass GSA Search Engine Ranker Help at - Asia Virtual Solutions

It's 2015, can't just spam angela and paul's backlinks anymore bros. Linkvana, BMR, those days have actually long gone. GSA is still an essential part of the ranking puzzle, however you require other links to develop some authority to your domain. Then you have parasite pages like a Facebook page for instance where you can get more aggressive however still need reliable links to power ranks and keep things from getting to close to the risk zone.

If you're running some extremely little spin and it's outputting dupe content like insane do not come weeping to me when the ranks aren't busting through the roofing. How are you resolving captchas? Simply utilizing GSA captcha breaker? If so, you require a secondary solver bro, I use Deathbycaptcha. It costs money yes, but if I wish to get enough verified to finish the job I need it.

GSA Search Engine Ranker Ultimate Tutorial Guide

Stunning GSA SER training

I might go throughout the day men, however that is all for now. Hopefully these tips will help you get some more green arrows in your life and less banging of your head into the wall.

Understand GSA SER training

GSA ranker SEO software is an SEO software that brings a lot of blended opinions at the SEO community in Vietnam. There are some people who state that it is great however some might say that it is bad. Due to the fact that there are many reasons. This post is based on the experience of a long time GSA SEO user who wants to share it back on GTV SEO for everybody to check out and refer to, not me Vincent Do usage GSA and share it.

It will be a lot better, due to the fact that GSA is for those that completely understand link structure and have experience in SEO!). Alright, let's get begun! GSA is a customized tool to develop backlinks from different sources such as Post (posts), blog comments, forums, Directory, Guestbook, Image remarks (image comments), RSS, Social bookmarks, web 2.

Before getting into the information of the tutorial, you need to comprehend which tool is GSA? (if you currently know, you can skip this part). You have most likely heard many individuals point out GSA tools but sometimes you still question what is GSA? As I discussed above, GSA is an energy software application that assists you build backlinks - India.Sanctifyindia.Com.

[ambroseseabrook]

GSA Search Engine Ranker Tutorial - Best Settings

Extreme GSA SER training

Table of ContentsGSA Search Engine Ranker - video tutorials GSA Search Engine Ranker Guides - SER Verified Lists Why Is GSA Search Engine Ranker Still Good in 2020 How to use GSA Search Engine Ranker correctely GSA Search Engine Ranker Ultimate Tutorial Guide

If you'e any doubt relating t our service rendered, examine ou web website and validate ur llow particulars and consumer examination. e ensure tt no technical nformation s needed fo your surface as e solely o t established and as online search engine scraping software nd bureau de change email list for b2b marketing extractor operation requirements.

hen t passes wy of our identifiers wit totally dfferent filters (reserve T1 igh quality hyperlinks & remove spam URLs tc.) after which we confirm te record wt GSA online search engine ranker - GSA Search Engine Ranker tutorials. t's an automated ourse of, and evey littl thing relies pon our server efficiencies. The proxy service providers cn mask th real identity of te IP manage in rder that it assists ou to not monitor ain to the distinct location.

he software wll establish backlinks for ou want a manually. This s part 3 of th complte GSA Search Engine Ranker software application program tutorial. f ou hv not yet learn half 1 nd half 2 f ti tutorial, advise that you attain this. GSA Search Engine Ranker s a baklink builder tat helps ou to reate huge backlink consisting of social backlink, remark backlink, contextual backlink nd so forth.

Indexing and Linking with GSA Search Engine Ranker

Ever single URL we scrape go b method of our GSA Online search engine ranker engine compatibility filters. ost mall to huge SEO companies, seo people, Web designers e Gsa search engine ranker to rank teir Sites, YouTube videos, ara sites, yu title it. It is a superb software program developed GSA staff.

owever, the reality is GSA SER ma be utilized herever you desire whenever yo ant. his GSA SR validated listing is indicated to save lts of you time nd cash from having t scrape your individual target website fr creating backlinks. ur GSA SR Panel assists to view the list f tasks, tools, a genuine tm log with statistics nd color coded confirmed hyperlinks.

The development in considering has modified te patterns f software optimization. T thrilling and transformative ra ha been introduced s GSA Online search engine Ranker hich helps in mking the technical individuals every day life simpler. he digital assistants are extremely easy t instal, easy to operate and reduces te time usage with the proper cognition nd effectivity.

GSA Search Engine Ranker Review & Tutorial To Build Projects

Thee i n choice f acquiring GSA R confirmed lists ith objective urls for each posting sources. Afte you challenge s set up, GSA SER will instantly finds brand-new web sites fr you, registers accounts nd send yor content/link wt none intervention n you complete. Tis is the GSA Online search engine ranker confirmed reslts of one cryptocurrency backlinks seo plan of ou everyday urls. Take a good long take a look at all the various engine possibilities in GSA. Also discover that you can right click the engine location and batch pick some engines based on a couple of various choices like nofollow vs dofollow links. Now if you're just going at it and ticking whatever then you're most likely not gon na be having a great month, let's repair that.

We can't all be great spammers and the majority of individuals just won't strive enough. Like I pointed out above, if you expect outcomes with GSA, you much better anticipate to put in the grind to get there. Did you understand GSA will inspect PR for you if the choice to save PR is ticked in your innovative options? Yeah it kind of uses up a lot of resources, especially if you're already examining PR with your scraper. GSA SER manual.

Keep an eye on what updates roll out, there has actually been some variations that didn't work well for me. Seriously, I'm all stired on a brand-new upgrade and after that my confirmed count goes down the damn drain, no bueno. GSA SER Tutorial. I recommend keeping a backup of the current copy that has actually been running the very best for you.

GSA Search Engine Ranker and VPS – The Ultimate ...

GSA Search Engine Ranker Tutorial - Updated 2020

Get Kick-ass GSA Search Engine Ranker Help at - Asia Virtual Solutions

It's 2015, can't simply spam angela and paul's backlinks any longer bros. Linkvana, BMR, those days have actually long gone. GSA is still a vital part of the ranking puzzle, however you require other links to establish some authority to your domain. Then you have parasite pages like a Facebook page for instance where you can get more aggressive however still need reliable links to power ranks and keep things from getting to near the risk zone.

If you're running some super little spin and it's outputting dupe content like insane do not come weeping to me when the ranks aren't busting through the roofing. How are you solving captchas? Simply using GSA captcha breaker? If so, you require a secondary solver bro, I utilize Deathbycaptcha. It costs money yes, however if I want to get enough verified to finish the job I need it.

Special GSA SER manual

Master Plan GSA SER manual

I could go all day men, but that is all for now. Hopefully these ideas will help you get some more green arrows in your life and less banging of your head into the wall.

GSA Search Engine Ranker Tutorial - Asia Virtual Solutions

GSA ranker SEO software application is an SEO software that brings too many blended opinions at the SEO community in Vietnam. There are some individuals who say that it is great but some may say that it is bad. Due to the fact that there are many factors. This post is based on the experience of a long time GSA SEO user who wants to share it back on GTV SEO for everyone to read and refer to, not me Vincent Do usage GSA and share it.

It will be a lot better, due to the fact that GSA is for those that thoroughly comprehend link structure and have experience in SEO!). Alright, let's get started! GSA is a specific tool to build backlinks from various sources such as Post (posts), blog remarks, forums, Directory site, Guestbook, Image remarks (image comments), RSS, Social bookmarks, web 2.

Before getting into the information of the tutorial, you require to understand which tool is GSA? (if you currently know, you can skip this part). You have probably heard many individuals mention GSA tools but sometimes you still wonder what is GSA? As I mentioned above, GSA is an energy software application that assists you construct backlinks - Www.Zameen4U.Com.

[dorothysamuels]

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Table of ContentsGSA Search Engine Ranker Ultimate Tutorial Guide GSA Search Engine Ranker Tutorial - Best Settings GSA Search Engine Ranker Tutorial - Latest Post How To Build Backlinks With GSA Search Engine Ranker Introducing GSA SER tutorial

If you'e any doubt relating t our service rendered, inspect ou web site and confirm ur llow details and consumer assessment. e make sure tt no technical nformation s required fo your finish as e exclusively o t established and as search engine scraping software nd bureau de change e-mail list for b2b marketing extractor operation requirements.

hen t passes wy of our identifiers wit totally dfferent filters (reserve T1 igh quality hyperlinks & get rid of spam URLs tc.) after which we verify te record wt GSA search engine ranker - GSA Search Engine Ranker tutorial. t's an automated ourse of, and evey littl thing is reliant pon our server efficiencies. The proxy service providers cn mask th actual identity of te IP deal with in rder that it assists ou to not keep an eye on ain to the unique location.

he software application wll establish backlinks for ou want a by hand. This s part 3 of th complte GSA Search Engine Ranker software application program tutorial. f ou hv not yet learn half 1 nd half 2 f ti tutorial, advise that you attain this. GSA Online search engine Ranker s a baklink contractor tat helps ou to reate significant backlink including social backlink, remark backlink, contextual backlink nd so forth.

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Ever single URL we scrape go b method of our GSA Search engine ranker engine compatibility filters. ost mall to huge SEO companies, seo people, Web designers e Gsa online search engine ranker to rank teir Sites, YouTube videos, ara sites, yu title it. It is an outstanding software program developed GSA personnel.

owever, the reality is GSA SER ma be used herever you desire whenever yo ant. his GSA SR confirmed listing is indicated to save lts of you time nd money from having t scrape your individual target web sites fr producing backlinks. ur GSA SR Panel assists to see the list f tasks, tools, a real tm log with stats nd color coded verified hyperlinks.

The development in contemplating has actually customized te patterns f software optimization. T thrilling and transformative ra ha been introduced s GSA Search Engine Ranker hich helps in mking the technical individuals everyday life simpler. he digital assistants are extremely simple t instal, simple to run and lowers te time intake with the correct cognition nd efficiency.

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Thee i n choice f acquiring GSA R validated lists ith goal urls for each posting sources. Afte you challenge s set up, GSA SER will instantly finds brand-new website fr you, registers accounts nd submit yor content/link wt none intervention n you complete. Tis is the GSA Online search engine ranker validated reslts of one cryptocurrency backlinks seo package of ou everyday urls. Take a nice long look at all the various engine possibilities in GSA. Likewise discover that you can right click the engine location and batch select some engines based upon a couple of various choices like nofollow vs dofollow links. Now if you're simply going at it and ticking whatever then you're most likely not gon na be having an excellent month, let's repair that.

We can't all be excellent spammers and the majority of people just will not strive enough. Like I pointed out above, if you expect results with GSA, you better anticipate to put in the grind to arrive. Did you understand GSA will examine PR for you if the choice to save PR is ticked in your advanced alternatives? Yeah it kind of uses up a lot of resources, especially if you're currently examining PR with your scraper. GSA Search Engine Ranker tutorial.

Watch on what updates present, there has actually been some variations that didn't work well for me. Seriously, I'm all stired on a new upgrade and after that my verified count goes down the damn drain, no bueno. GSA Search Engine Ranker tutorial. I advise keeping a backup of the current copy that has actually been running the finest for you.

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It's 2015, can't simply spam angela and paul's backlinks anymore bros. Linkvana, BMR, those days have long gone. GSA is still a crucial part of the ranking puzzle, however you require other links to develop some authority to your domain. Then you have parasite pages like a Facebook page for instance where you can get more aggressive but still need reliable links to power ranks and keep things from getting to close to the risk zone.

If you're running some super little spin and it's outputting dupe material like crazy don't come sobbing to me when the ranks aren't busting through the roofing system. How are you resolving captchas? Just utilizing GSA captcha breaker? If so, you need a secondary solver brother, I utilize Deathbycaptcha. It costs cash yes, but if I wish to get enough validated to finish the job I need it.

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I might go all day people, however that is all for now. Ideally these suggestions will assist you get some more green arrows in your life and less banging of your head into the wall.

Proven GSA SER training

GSA ranker SEO software is an SEO software that brings a lot of blended viewpoints at the SEO neighborhood in Vietnam. There are some people who say that it is good but some may state that it is bad. Due to the fact that there are many reasons. This short article is based upon the experience of a longtime GSA SEO user who wants to share it back on GTV SEO for everyone to read and describe, not me Vincent Do usage GSA and share it.

It will be a lot better, due to the fact that GSA is for those that thoroughly comprehend link structure and have experience in SEO!). Alright, let's begin! GSA is a customized tool to construct backlinks from various sources such as Short article (posts), blog site comments, forums, Directory site, Guestbook, Image comments (image comments), RSS, Social bookmarks, web 2.

Before getting into the details of the tutorial, you require to understand which tool is GSA? (if you currently know, you can avoid this part). You have most likely heard lots of individuals discuss GSA tools however often you still question what is GSA? As I pointed out above, GSA is an utility software that helps you build backlinks - Multiple-Avenues.com.

[jakelavarack44]

GSA Search Engine Ranker Review & Tutorial To Build Projects

Table of ContentsGSA Search Engine Ranker Tutorial - Manuels and Guidance Should I buy GSA search engine ranker? Reviews GSA Search Engine Ranker Full Help Provided Fantastic GSA SER manual Rank YouTube Videos Using GSA Search Engine Ranker Easy

If you'e any doubt relating t our service rendered, check ou web website and confirm ur llow details and customer examination. e guarantee tt no technical nformation s required fo your surface as e specifically o t set up and as search engine scraping software application nd bureau de modification e-mail list for b2b marketing extractor operation needs.

hen t goes by wy of our identifiers wit entirely dfferent filters (reserve T1 igh quality hyperlinks & eliminate spam URLs tc.) after which we confirm te record wt GSA search engine ranker - GSA SER help. t's an automatic ourse of, and evey littl thing relies pon our server efficiencies. The proxy providers cn mask th actual identity of te IP manage in rder that it assists ou to not keep track of ain to the distinct place.

he software wll establish backlinks for ou want a by hand. This s part 3 of th complte GSA Search Engine Ranker software application tutorial. f ou hv not yet learn half 1 nd half 2 f ti tutorial, recommend that you accomplish this. GSA Search Engine Ranker s a baklink home builder tat helps ou to reate huge backlink consisting of social backlink, remark backlink, contextual backlink nd so forth.

How to Install GSA Search Engine Ranker.

Ever single URL we scrape go b method of our GSA Online search engine ranker engine compatibility filters. ost shopping center to enormous SEO firms, search engine optimization people, Web designers e Gsa search engine ranker to rank teir Websites, YouTube videos, ara sites, yu title it. It is an outstanding software application established GSA personnel.

owever, the truth is GSA SER ma be used herever you desire whenever yo ant. his GSA SR validated listing is meant to save lts of you time nd money from having t scrape your individual target web sites fr creating backlinks. ur GSA SR Panel assists to view the list f jobs, tools, a genuine tm log with stats nd color coded confirmed hyperlinks.

The development in considering has actually customized te trends f software optimization. T thrilling and transformative ra ha been introduced s GSA Online search engine Ranker hich assists in mking the technical people everyday life easier. he digital assistants are really simple t instal, simple to run and decreases te time intake with the correct cognition nd effectivity.

GSA Search Engine Ranker Tutorial - Asia Virtual Solutions

Thee i n choice f acquiring GSA R verified lists ith objective urls for each posting sources. Afte you challenge s configured, GSA SER will immediately finds new web websites fr you, signs up accounts nd submit yor content/link wt none intervention n you finish. Tis is the GSA Search engine ranker validated reslts of one cryptocurrency backlinks seo package of ou day-to-day urls. Take a great long appearance at all the different engine possibilities in GSA. Likewise see that you can right click the engine area and batch choose some engines based on a few different options like nofollow vs dofollow links. Now if you're simply going at it and ticking everything then you're most likely not gon na be having a great month, let's repair that.

We can't all be good spammers and the majority of individuals just won't strive enough. Like I pointed out above, if you expect outcomes with GSA, you better anticipate to put in the grind to arrive. Did you understand GSA will examine PR for you if the alternative to conserve PR is ticked in your sophisticated alternatives? Yeah it sort of uses up a lot of resources, specifically if you're already checking PR with your scraper. GSA SER video tutorials.

Watch on what updates present, there has been some versions that didn't work well for me. Seriously, I'm all stired on a new upgrade and after that my verified count decreases the damn drain, no bueno. GSA Search Engine Ranker Video Tutorials. I suggest keeping a backup of the most recent copy that has actually been running the very best for you.

How To Build Backlinks With GSA Search Engine Ranker

Exclusive GSA Search Engine Ranker tutorial

Get Kick-ass GSA Search Engine Ranker Help at - Asia Virtual Solutions

It's 2015, can't just spam angela and paul's backlinks any longer bros. Linkvana, BMR, those days have long gone. GSA is still an important part of the ranking puzzle, however you require other links to develop some authority to your domain. Then you have parasite pages like a Facebook page for instance where you can get more aggressive however still need reliable links to power ranks and keep things from getting to near to the threat zone.

If you're running some very small spin and it's outputting dupe material like crazy do not come crying to me when the ranks aren't busting through the roofing. How are you solving captchas? Just utilizing GSA captcha breaker? If so, you need a secondary solver bro, I utilize Deathbycaptcha. It costs cash yes, however if I want to get enough verified to finish the job I need it.

Special GSA SER training

GSA Search Engine Ranker Review & Tutorial - YouTube

I could go throughout the day guys, however that is all for now. Hopefully these ideas will assist you get some more green arrows in your life and less banging of your head into the wall.

Unbelievable GSA Search Engine Ranker training

GSA ranker SEO software is an SEO software that brings a lot of blended opinions at the SEO community in Vietnam. There are some individuals who say that it is good but some might say that it is bad. Since there are numerous reasons. This short article is based on the experience of a long time GSA SEO user who is prepared to share it back on GTV SEO for everybody to read and refer to, not me Vincent Do usage GSA and share it.

It will be a lot much better, due to the fact that GSA is for those that completely comprehend link structure and have experience in SEO!). Alright, let's start! GSA is a customized tool to construct backlinks from various sources such as Article (short articles), blog site remarks, forums, Directory site, Guestbook, Image remarks (image remarks), RSS, Social bookmarks, web 2.

Prior to entering into the details of the tutorial, you require to comprehend which tool is GSA? (if you already know, you can avoid this part). You have most likely heard many individuals mention GSA tools however often you still question what is GSA? As I pointed out above, GSA is an utility software that assists you construct backlinks - gsa search engine ranker tutorial.

[rosalindmosis]

Jane Foster Week - Day 2 - Associated Quote

Okay, this is technically song lyrics, but it reminds me of Jane so much.... 

‘ They look down At the ground Missing But I never go in nowI'm looking at the big sky I'm looking at the big sky now I'm looking at the big sky You never really understood me You never really tried.’

The Big Sky, Kate Bush

(Content warning- cancer, death, suicidal thoughts- but there is a happy ending!)

As Dr Bastrop was talking, Jane wondered how many times he’d had to deliver death sentences. Did he speak to his therapist about it? Did he get drunk? Did he cry? Probably not cry, otherwise he’d never stop. Would her reaction, or lack thereof, stick out in his memory at all? She was probably younger than most he delivered this news too, but maybe not the youngest. She wished she could ask him, but… it didn’t seem like the right time.

‘Do you… understand Dr Foster?’

It was nice he actually used her title, even if he had just informed her that she had maybe eight months at best. It was the little things.

‘Yes,’ she managed, distantly.

‘I can go through anything if you wish…’

‘No no…I’m… alright, hah, or not.’

He managed the merest trace of a smile, indicating to her that he’d heard his fair share of gallows humour in the past.

‘Is there anyone you wish to speak to?’ He asked, quietly ‘Or for me to contact?’

There was one, to start with.

‘My lawyer,’ she told him, looking at her phone ‘I need to speak to her straight away.’

Ms Jennifer Walters was someone Jane had known for years. They were at Culver, albeit in different departments, and she had a reputation for being quiet but determined. Her outwardly mouse like exterior hid something that won her cases and Jane admired her for that. She also admired the way that Jen had brought in the most delicious, artisan coffee she could find for their meeting.

‘I’m so sorry Jane,’ she told her, indicating a seat before drawing her into a hug first. Jane returned it gratefully.

‘Thanks,’ she whispered back ‘um, yeah, could we… get down to it?’

Jen nodded ‘Of course! Sure!’

She went behind her desk and retrieved a file from a drawer. Jane recognised it.

‘Most forward thinking thing I’ve ever done,’ she said, mostly to herself.

‘Is… is there anything you want to change about it?’ Jen asked.

‘No… well, how much would it be if I recorded a video message as well?’

Jen frowned ‘Nothing.’

‘C’mon Jen-’ Jane began.

‘Nothing whatsoever,’ Jen repeated, firmly ‘I’m serious.’

Jane sighed ‘Okay, fine… but that’s the only thing I want to do. Nothing has changed. Same people. Same stuff.’

‘Same plan?’

Jane nodded ‘Same plan.’

Jen said nothing for a moment, before pressing a button on her intercom ‘Hey, Dean? Could you bring in the paperwork for a video will? And set up the studio?’

A young male voice replied from the other end.

‘Sure thing Ms Walters.’

Jen sat back in her chair and nodded to Jane’s coffee ‘Drink up. That’s the best stuff I have.’

Jane nodded and drank deep- it was perfect. Probably the best coffee she’d ever drank. God the smell was heavenly, with a proper creamer, not some diner garbage and a nice ceramic mug instead of a paper cup.

‘You need a tissue?’ Jennifer asked, her voice seeming to come from a long way off.

‘Yup. I really do.’

‘That good?’

‘Hmmph,’ she sniffed.

Well, I already look pretty bad, Jane reflected, blowing her nose before finishing her coffee so I might as well cry.

Eventually, she collected herself enough to be led into Jen’s will-studio, complete with dull murky backdrop and school-photographer set up. She passed her own reflection and saw that she had endured a year of chemo. No hair, pale skin, skeletal appearance… man. Red eyes did nothing to improve the fact she looked half dead already.

She sat on a reclaimed bar stool, whilst Jen’s cute assistant, Dean, asked if she wanted cushions or some water which she declined. Jen handed her the will she’d made the week she had been diagnosed. She glanced at it. She hadn’t had much hope back then, but she promised herself this was for peace of mind. She didn’t really think she was doomed, it was just… a precaution.

Jen coughed ‘We’ll start rolling and… you just read whenever you’re ready.’

Jane nodded and took a breath ‘Okay… I’m good to go.’

‘My name is Doctor Jane Foster, this is my last will and testament- the full legal document is kept by my lawyer; Ms Jennifer Walters, but I wanted to make a video so that… so that it felt more… I dunno, personal? I guess? And um… yeah… I just… If I am making this, it’s because I’ve decided to take the cancer with me… rather than let the cancer take me, if that makes sense? I’ve made arrangements. You probably will not find a body if all goes well.’

She slowed her breathing and started again.

‘I um… I am sorry to everyone. I know some of you are probably going to be mad that I didn’t say goodbye in person but… um… yeah, pretty selfish of me I guess, but there’s something I’ve always wanted to do and… this is my last chance. I don’t know if it will work but… what the hell. I’m dying anyway.’

That was the first time she’d said it outloud. God.

‘Um, I’ve filed several patents, the numbers are listed in my will and all the proceeds from them go to a Miss Darcy Lewis… who I owe big time. I can never pay her back for her time or emotional labour, but I can compensate her financially… if my last experiment works, then the equipment listed is eventually going to make her very well off indeed. Just in case it doesn’t work, I have savings of about $7,000 which I am leaving to her as well… and, if I may get super unprofessional for a moment… Love you Darcy. I’m sorry for this.’

She’d sold her Mom’s London apartment after she’d died. She couldn’t bare to be there any more. The place was worth a surprising amount, but she’d spent a lot of it on her treatment and… a few other things.

‘All of my equipment, notebooks and backup drives currently in my apartment are to go to the University of Culver, Virginia. Again, a full list is available in my will. To Erik Selvig, there’s a list of data drives and a server in storage at a facility in Norway. The address is in the will- I am leaving it to him. All of it. I hope… I hope he can make good use of it… and I’m sorry I’m the second Foster he’s had to watch get sick, but I’m damned if I’m going to be the second Foster he watches die so… sorry Erik.’

She blinked and continued.

‘Anything further is detailed in my will…. Um… there is one more thing.’

She looked dead into the camera.

‘If Thor comes back somehow and… and sees this, tell him… I mean if you’re watching this Thor… Oh god… I’m also sorry. Sorry that I had to… Had to end it this way um… I didn’t want to end it this way, but I also didn’t want you to know about this...that I was sick. I thought you were way better off not knowing about me...that the universe needed you more than I did. I hope you can forgive me. I wanted to protect you from the dangers of my world.’

She coughed as she recovered from the impression. Dropping her voice to that octave hurt at the best of times. Jen and Dead laughed. She took some grim satisfaction.

‘Okay, that’s all. That’s all I have. I… I love you guys. I am sorry. I hope… I hope I either die in the name of science or… finally get to go to space on my own and… die out there. Also in the name of science.’

She waved to the camera and Jen clicked it off.

‘That was a pretty great Thor by the way,’ she told her as Dean offered her help off the stool she was sitting on.

‘Eh, had plenty of practise,’ she shrugged ‘thanks.’

‘So… what’re you going to do now?’

Jane bit her lip, before turning off her phone and handing it to Jen.

‘First… get a van.’

There wasn’t much left of Puerto Antigua. No one decided it was worth rebuilding. It was regrettable, but it worked for her. After finding the site of the old garage where she had first found Thor and the Einstein Rosen Bridge- god had it really been eight years? No, closer to nine now. She glanced up and down what remained on the main street. The whole place was a ghost town now. She looked little more than a ghost herself.

Perfect.

Even now, probably as it had done for thousands of years, there were readings. All she had to do was… open it up.

Dealing on the black market had not been the best option, but it was the only way she could find the power sources she needed. The Chitauri army had not been able to open the portal without a massive boost, but there was enough for one person… in theory. Aiming was another problem- but she had a rough… idea of where she was going. Thor had taken her to the libraries of Asgard once, long enough for her to cross-reference a place- the Alfheim system. She was certain a group of astrophysicists in Hawaii had found it and they were happy to share the data with her. If they were wrong- well she’d end up floating in space and would mostly likely die quickly. Or in the middle of a star. Or something… worse. Well, she had a contingency plan, provided she could move her arms and legs.

The black market was a good place for cyanide capsules as it turns out.

The platform was a crude octagon of spires that tapped into the weak spot left by continuous Rainbow Bridge use. It was faint, but present. The power source were some crystals, circuits and the engine of one of the floating hover boards linked to a remote controlled unit. It had taken her years of work and, she wasn’t wholly confident. She had been doing it since the convergence. She hadn’t told Thor… for some reason. She meant to. Really. Perhaps he’d worry about her safety. Perhaps he’d try and stop her. She wasn’t sure, but she hadn’t said anything. She’d simply disappeared into a converted shipping container she’d rented and hoped no one would find it. Darcy knew, but she’d assumed she’d abandoned it after she’d got her Nobel and focused on Astronomy instead. She had for a while… but the cancer had put her right back in there.

Screw it, she had thought, at five am in a cold static shipping container in the middle of Staten Island, I might be dying anyway.

There was only one certainty in her future now. The only question was when and where. So she wasn’t all that different from everyone else really. That was a good way to think about it.  

She checked her watch. An hour. Time for a final once over. She tested the signal, applied more duct tape, checked the wind resistance… a lot of it felt more out of nervousness than anything else. Her hands shook, but they shook all the time lately. She was cold, but it was the desert at about 10pm, so that wasn’t surprisingly either.

But yeah, she was scared. Uncertainty had never sat right with her. She needed to know, but right now, that wasn’t going to be possible. She could only hope she didn’t end up dying in a stupid way. Just in an awesome way.

She checked her watch again- now it was twenty five minutes. God. Too much time, yet not enough… She rechecked her backpack- food, supplies, a water purifier, warm clothes, ancient mp3 player, old digital camera (as if anyone would ever see what she recorded) changes of underwear, painkillers… and the way out. The cyanide were in an otherwise innocuous little pill bottle that she placed on the inside of her jacket. Just in case she… over shot? Undershot? This would be interesting, if nothing else.

Ten minutes.

She had ten minutes of time on Earth. That’s all. What the hell could she do in ten minutes? Pretty much nothing. Especially not out here.

Oh god. What if… hah. What if what? She died? That was happening anyway.

‘I’m looking at the Big Sky…’

Her Dad said-sung that when he was high on morphine, as he faded away. He was, as a nerdy British man who was in college in the seventies, a huge Kate Bush fan. He adored her. He had her records on in the car. One of her earliest memories was listening to Hounds of Love on the way to pre-school. The song that she loved the most?

The Big Sky.

They look down

At the ground

Missing

But I never go in now

I'm looking at the big sky

I'm looking at the big sky now

I'm looking at the big sky

You never really understood me

You never really tried

She wasn’t the best singer ever. But… if there was an appropriate song to go out to, then this was it. She pulled out the mp3 player and put the headphones in, finding the song quickly. Her voice was lost in the desert night, echoing into nothing as the equipment began to hum into life. She checked her watch.

One minute.

That cloud, that cloud

Looks like Ireland

C'mon and blow it a kiss now

But quick

'Cause it’s changing in the big sky

It’s changing in the big sky now

We’re looking at the big sky

You never understood me

You never really tried

She was aware of the equipment warming the air around her. The buzz and hum as they began to open the way around her. She took a breath as the pressure made her ears pop painfully, but she had no time to check if she was okay before-

-she was thrown.

Well, she wasn’t thrown exactly, but it sure as hell felt like it. She’d realised early on that she could die on impact if she tried to recreate the Bifrost exactly. She aimed for more of a tunnel type thing that would allow her to walk out. It still felt like she was pulled by a gust of wind. Her eyes watered as she saw blackness speed past her, feeling as though she were being buffeted. She wondered if it would ever end, as nausea and pain began to creep up her throat. Oh god…. Oh god what’s-

This cloud, this cloud

Says Noah

C'mon and build me an ark

And if you're coming, jump

'Cause we’re leaving with the big sky

We’re leaving with the big sky

We’re leaving with the big sky

She opened her eyes. The sky was blue, pure, clear blue, with soft clouds that would indicate a sunny day. She winced and got up, feeling stiff and sore but, apparently in one piece. She glanced around, trying to take everything in. Either she was hallucinating, or there was a lot of grass here. Like, it was a field of tall grass that flowed and waved in the breeze. She gazed to the west of her and saw what looked like a settlement of some kind- a town? It was so far away…

She hefted her bag onto her shoulders and stood up straight.

Either I am dead and this is heaven or… or I made it to somewhere in the Alfheim system. Or… somewhere else.

She patted her pockets- her mp3 player was there, still in her pocket, but the headphones had been lost. She had packed another set, given her past experience with camping trips, and set herself up with some more Kate Bush.

The sky above her was bright and big, there were people up ahead and here she was… ready to head out. She’d done it. She’d left.

She’d made it. Holy…

‘Holy shit!’ She giggled ‘Holy shit!’

The thought that perhaps no one would know where she was or what she had done… hurt, but only briefly. The mortal world with her friends, her work, her legacy… it was still there. They’d have to sift through the pieces. Maybe… maybe they’d find something.

Hopefully.

But that wasn’t her concern any more. She had left.

She set off.