#i also requested all commands be reviewed and adjusted to make them better

[garochetarkinslicersimlish]

[witharsenicsauce]

Chosen Stories From the War #32: Forgetting Old Weapons

The wind whipped around the dirt road, stirring up sand and dust as the wheels of the dirtbike cut across the trails. Kon-Mai held up her hands to cover her face as her brother passed by them once again. Her white hair whipped around her in the violent wind: she had released it from it’s braids and it was hanging in ringlets today.

Dhar-Mon growled as he picked the sand grains off his tongue. “I do not understand the appeal of this.”

“I assume he likes the thrill.” Verge said, from his position on Kon-Mai’s left hand side. He was standing there with his hands clasped behind his back, at attention like always, but he seemed to be staring longingly at Gur-Rai as he made another lap on the road that ran around the oasis. “The sound of the tires on the road, the wind in his hair-”

“He is bald.” Kon-Mai chuckled. “Nazira is not though, and she evidently enjoys that sentiment.”

As Gur-Rai’s bike came to a slow stop in front of them, the tall woman stepped off and shook out her black hair, giggling the entire time. “That was lovely! I haven’t had this much fun in years!”

“I can always be counted on for a good time~” Gur-Rai said with a smirk, a bit of a purr in his voice. “Well? Anyone else up next? Molly, how about you?”

“I’ll ride with you when you wear your helmet.” She sighed, her arms crossed. “You know if you take a spill and smash your skull open, I don’t want to be the one scooping your brains back into your blue head.”

“That’s what the hood is for.” He chuckled, tapping the barely armored cloth. “But fair enough. Verge, how about you?”

Verge blinked. “What about…?”

“Why don’t you hop on.” Gur-Rai patted the seat behind him, winking as he did. “I would dare to say you’ve never been on a bike like this.”

“That is not true…” Verge straightened up and cleared his throat. “I have been on bikes.”

“Oh?” Gur-Rai leaned forward on the handlebars. “Then hop on. I mean. If you want~”

“Do I have a choice?” Verge raised a brow.

“If you prefer, I can lift you up on my back and carry you around the track~”

“I doubt you could lift me, but I like the idea.” Verge smirked.

“You wound me. I can lift my sister and she’s heavy as a truck!”

Kon-Mai hissed.

“Well then, let’s see.” Verge smirked, certain Gur-Rai would not go through with this threat. That smile disappeared as Gur-Rai jumped off the bike and scooped him up bridal style. Verge let out a yelp, and Nazira cackled.

“Oh come on now, you liked it when Zafar did it~” She winked, and Verge’s cheeks seemed to almost glow purple.

“Do not tease him.” Kon-Mai said with a barely visible smirk. “The poor thing has only just discovered what emotions are.”

“Now now, I think we’re all in a similar boat.” Nazira reached up to lean on Kon-Mai’s shoulder.  Even with her own great height, she only came up to just about the Chosen woman’s neck.

Malinalli looked up at Dhar-Mon, who was staring after Gur-Rai as he ran off with Verge in his arms, and smiled. “You could probably carry me if you wanted.”

Dhar-Mon blushed bright purple. “...I suppose.”

“Mm.” She clasped her hands in front of her, turning around as footsteps approached them. “Oh, hello Sir.”

“There is no need for that.” Zafar insisted, his wide mouth growing into a sharp grin. His black hair was pulled back into a ponytail that sat tall at the crown of his head, and his red robes fluttered in the light desert breeze. “Nazira, the Commander wishes to speak to us again.”

“Is she finally ready to fork over some soldiers?” Nazira sighed. “I hope she lets you all stay, I’ve been having so much fun with all my Chosen~”

Kon-Mai sighed. “We are needed for the greater war effort.”

“Oh fine, I understand, forget all about little old me.” Nazira said it jovially, but there was an edge to her voice.

“I don’t know what she’s decided.” Zafar admitted. “And ultimately we are at her mercy.”

“If she wants me to pick up a gun again…” Nazira grumbled as she let go of Kon-Mai. “Well, give Gur-Rai a kiss from me!”

“I will meet you there shortly.” Zafar called after her. Turning back to the Chosen, he raised a brow. “I wanted to make a request of all of you…” He said. “It is about my own...abilities.”

“Why do you sound hesitant?” Dhar-Mon asked.

“Because those memories are never pleasant to revisit. That time of my life feels completely detached from who I am now.” Zafar admitted. “I don’t know if I’d even be able to hold a pistol right anymore, and that leaves me at the mercy of XCOM, whatever their whims may be.”

“Just use your psionics.” Malinalli said.

Zafar chuckled. “I wish I could. But the gift does not embrace me like it does you...humans.”

“What of a sword?” Kon-Mai asked. “Have you ever utilized a sword or close range weapon?”

Zafar raised a brow. “I will admit we haven’t.”

Kon-Mai’s face seemed to light up. “Maybe I could teach you. The sword is quite different from the gun.”

“I have long wanted to explore more traditional means of human warfare.” He chuckled. “And who better than the mistress of blades to teach us?”

Kon-Mai grinned, bearing sharp teeth. “With me you will not just learn to kill. You will learn to dance.”

“I shall look forward to our battle, Shrinemaiden.” He waved as he disappeared into the sand.

.

.

Senuna plopped down on the pillow, her white cape fluttering behind her as she did. Jane adjusted her rifle in her arms, leaning it against her hip. She didn’t intend to use it today, and Bradford didn’t even have his drawn, but he did look at Zafar with the slightest bit of distrust. Just like him to assume everything would go wrong.

“I have good news.” Senuna said. “The Reapers have graciously stepped up.”

Zafar blinked in confusion. “Stepped up to what?”

“They’ll be donating their own forces to cover Dakhla.” She said. “Their home has been under siege by ADVENT and they need-”

“They hate us!” Nazira stood up from her position at her brother’s side, her face pale. “They eat alien meat, don’t they?!”

“Yes, but.” Senuna held up her hand. “Since allying with the Skirmishers, there has been a considerable drop in that. They mostly eat Chryssalids and Vip-oh.” Senuna stopped herself too late.

Nazira looked at her with a mix of horror and fury. “Brother. We can’t.” She hissed. “They will kill us in our sleep.”

Zafar sighed. “I did not expect you to involve the other factions.” He said. “We have already had problems with the Templars to the north. If it was the Skirmishers, maybe. But the Reapers are known to harbor ill feelings towards us.” He shrugged. “Not that I blame them, per se. But we want safety here, and I think this will provide more unrest.”

Bradford stepped forward. “Look, you need soldiers. The Reapers need a new home. Avoiding each other isn’t going to make this sentiment go away so you might as well face this head on.”

“I would agree.” Zafar nodded. “But I also don’t want riots breaking out in my village.”

“It won’t just be Reapers.” Jane spoke finally. “About two dozen XCOM recruits will be staying behind, as well as a few Skirmishers. The exact number I don’t know.”

“I don’t want to be stabbed in the back and skinned as a delicacy.” Nazira hissed. “And who’s to say they won’t?!”

“You are allies.” Senuna assured her. “Volk is stubborn, but not stupid. He won’t attack you on purpose.”

“Maybe he won’t. But what of his soldiers?” Nazira crossed her arms.

“His soldiers are all quite obedient.” Jane said. “Except Elena, but she almost holds a command position herself. And she’s married to a Skirmisher. She’d be a good fit here.”

That, Zafar seemed to ponder. Nazira still grimaced at the idea, but she held silent.

“What else?” He asked. “There’s something more you’re thinking of, Commander. I know it.”

“We would like to train some of the citizens.” She said. “As helpful as our own troops will be, it will be much easier to defend Dakhla if the people here can use a gun.”

Nazira turned on her heel and stormed out, and Zafar sighed. “I was afraid you would ask this.”

“Why?” Senuna crossed her arms. “Most of the people here are former ADVENT.”

“Most of the people here are traumatized by their service.” Zafar objected. “My own hands struggle to hold weaponry. Getting them to hold a weapon would be nigh impossible.”

“That can’t be true for all of them.” Jane said. “We’re in the middle of a war. They have to fight.”

“Do they?” He asked, glaring at her. “Or do you simply expect them to?”

Jane fell silent, where Senuna piped up. “Yes. We do.”

.

.

Imdugud was tired of not receiving the recognition he deserved for such a taxing job.

It was his job to wrangle in the Sectoids, who had grown unruly with the implementation of human DNA. It was his job to oversee the cloning facilities and to do annual checks on the gene therapy clinics. It was his job to make lists on lists and then make lists of those lists and of course he did it all. Why wouldn’t he? He loved his job.

But oh did he wish it had more reward. As it was this was no different from his life on Thaumas. 

“That’s not true.” Reue said behind him. She could hear his thoughts and she had no problem snooping. “People do appreciate you here. People actually answer to you. Remember on Thaumas? You took all the blame, it’s how you fell in with us to begin with.”

He hated it when she was right. But she was. “Whatever you need, Reue, it’ll have to wait...” He said, not looking up from the desk he levitated in front of. Before him were spread several thin sheets of paper, and he ran his hand over one of the crisp corners. Stars above, he loved this planet, it’s trees and it’s paper. “Do you remember when Bhandasura took us out to the wastes of Korallion? Where the crystal trees grew so high they punctured the atmosphere?”

“Yes.” Reue said as she came closer.

“I hated those trees.” He growled. “Unmoving, unending, barely alive.” He picked up a sheet of paper: it was another list of all the designation numbers of the Sectoids he was reviewing for his mission. Half of them were crossed out. “Can you feel this? It’s soft and real.”

“It’s dead.” Reue deadpanned. “That’s just a flap of dead flesh from a tree.”

“Yes. But it was once alive.” He chuckled and laid it back on the table. “Now, the names written on it, you could make the argument that they’re already dead too.”

“But they come from us.” She protested. “I wish you would take care of them-”

“So did the Chosen. And look at them.” He scoffed. “That went so well. I swear upon a black hole, if our doctors have to keep diverting resources to Abyzou and her abhorrent obsessions, we’ll lose all we’ve gained over the millennia.”

“Don’t talk about lau Mordenna like that.” Reue hissed.

“Well, for a moment I forgot how pathetic you were.” Imdugud gathered up the papers in his hands. “This little crush was cute at first, but it’s gotten old, Reue.”

“So have you.” Reue spat. “When will your force be assembled? Lau Madron wants to know where his daughter is.”

“I’m still waiting on Xezbeth and Tiyanak, they said they’ll have something ready for me tonight.” He brushed past her. “...Do you miss home, Reue?”

Reue didn’t answer at first.

“I hope not. I sure don't.” Imdugud chuckled. “The universe would be better off without the whole lot, anyway.”

.

.

While the soldiers had, at first, found Dakhla to be new and exciting and exotic, they had quickly grown bored when they discovered that there were less “Viper Hostess Bars” and more “small desert taverns.” They had found one that was, quite literally, a hole in the wall, it’s sandstone walls keeping the cool air inside to shield them from the unrelenting sun. The ground was covered in sand, and everything had a strange, thin layer of dust coating it like a second skin.

Mithridates didn’t look up from his laptop until Tiwaz poked his ribcage, and then he jumped, looking wide-eyed at the older man. “Y-Yeah?”

“Want anything to drink?” Tiwaz asked with a smile. He had discarded his armor in favor of a tank top and shorts that came up far above his thighs. His blonde hair was getting long, now falling in a dirty mop around his eyes and down his neck.

“...No.” Mithridates shook his head. “I don’t drink.”

“Come on, Maruf.” Tisiphone practically barked at him, her voice echoing through the cave-like room. “Loosen up a bit.”

“It’s against my religion.” He muttered.

“I didn’t know you were religious.” Princess chimed in, a smile on her face. “I’m a Presbyterian! What do you practice?”

“The belief that everyone can mind their own fucking business.” Mithridates glared at her. “I don’t drink, that’s that.”

“Okay, fine, don’t get so anal about it.” Tisiphone stood. “I’ll come with you. I’m gonna grab a rum and coke.”

Tiwaz nodded. “Maruf, you sure you don’t want anything? Maybe a soda?”

Mithridates pondered that for just a moment. “...Coke.” He finally choked out.

“Can do!” Tiwaz sauntered his way over to the bar, Tisiphone following behind him to the bar. The stone was inscribed with ancient hieroglyphs written all the way back in the days of Egypt, and at first the soldiers had all been enamored with them, until the barkeep told them it was just a recipe for beer.

The woman there was...not what they were used to calling a woman, and Tisiphone paused for a moment, watching the Viper wiping down a glass with a rag and putting it under the sandstone counter. Despite the scales, she seemed to have wrinkles around her red eyes. It sent a shiver up Tisiphone’s spine: this alien looked almost human.

“You ok?” Tiwaz took her hand.

“Yeah.” She sighed. “...It’s just hard sometimes.”

“I get you. I think this one is cool though.” He smiled.

“How do you know?” Tisiphone raised a brow.

“I like to assume the best in people.”

“That’s a good way to get killed.”

“It worked when I met you.”

“Yeah, and I tried to kill you.” Tisiphone chuckled, relaxing enough to lean on the bar as the Viper turned towards them. “Rum and coke?”

“Is Pepsi okay?” The Viper hissed.

Tisiphone sighed. “Good to see some things never change.”

.

.

Kon-Mai ran her hand along the outside of the temple, barely grazing the centuries old graffiti. Sarapammon, an old god (or perhaps king?) stared down at her, flanked by a baboon and a ram. His full locks of hair, strong back and piercing gaze reminded her of Dhar-Mon. Once, she had seen him make an address to the people of Earth, in the middle of the city center in Ehime. He had announced her presence like he was proclaiming the second coming. In that moment, she had felt special. That moment ended far too soon.

She looked into the darkness of the tiny temple, it’s cool air blowing over her slightly sunburnt face, and she took a single step inside before the sound of movement caught her off guard.

“Who’s there?” She heard Nazira call from the darkness.

“Only me.” It was hard to sound calming with her scraggly voice, but she tried anyway. “I thought you were meeting the Commander.”

“I was.” Nazira sounded like she wanted to say more, but nothing else followed.

“...May I step inside?” Kon-Mai asked. “The sun is-”

“Yes, sure.” More rustling, like the woman was making room for her, and Kon-Mai stepped into the shadows. Like always, they swallowed her, surrounding her like old friends.

Nazira sat cross legged before the tiny alter, which bore the visage of three gods, two men and one woman. Kon-Mai felt her heart drop for a moment before she shook off that fearful feeling. There was no way.

She knelt beside her, sitting back on her heels and closing her eyes for a moment, letting the cool air not just overtake her, but flow through her. For a moment she could see Dakhla as it once was, bustling with ancient humans who spoke a language so like her own and yet not at all. Some of them saw her. Some of them looked like her.

She opened her eyes and looked at Nazira, who was staring up at the wall, inscribed with ancient hieroglyphs. “Did something happen?”

“The Commander doesn’t listen.” Nazira spat. “I don’t want to fight her wars. I just want to live.” She reached up and pressed her long fingers into her brow ridge. “I never want to pick up another gun.”

Kon-Mai raised a brow. “Never?”

“I am done with that life.” She added. “I am no longer that person, quite literally.” She gestured to herself. “But she can’t see that, can she? It’s just like with the Elders. I’m just a tool for them to use.”

Kon-Mai didn’t know quite what to say. “...I’m sorry.” She finally said. “I did not realize this war had such a lasting impact on you.”

“It affects all of us differently.” Nazira mumbled. “Most people here avoid guns because they feel as though they can’t trust themselves with them. I know I can’t trust myself not to break and forget all I am now.” She shifted, sitting on her hip. “If I pick up another pistol, I worry I’ll be no different from before.”

“That is a silly fear.” Kon-Mai said. “You are you. That should never change.”

“Don’t.” Nazira glared at her, green eyes glowing in the dark. “Do not patronize me.”

Kon-Mai shrunk back a hair.

“I suffered endless torment at the hands of the Elders.” She held out her palms. “I was never meant to be like this. I was stolen from a home I will never know, mutated to serve their purpose, given a gun and told to kill like a mindless slave. You of all people should understand-”

“I’m sorry.” Kon-Mai interjected quickly. “I was not thinking of what I said. It’s not a silly fear.” She took a slow breath. “I only meant, the Elders do not decide who you are. You have already made that decision. I believe you are strong enough to uphold it.”

“I hope so.” Nazira stood. “But I’m not willing to take that risk.”

Suddenly, Kon-Mai’s eyes lit up. “Is it only guns?”

Nazira looked confused. “Only guns?”

“Your brother asked earlier if I could train him in swordsmanship.” Kon-Mai smiled excitedly. “Perhaps I could do the same for you.”

.

.

“Then it is settled.” Zafar finally relented, but there was a smile on his face to indicate that this interaction wasn't entirely disturbing to him. “Those who wish to train with XCOM will be given the opportunity I doubt you’ll have many takers, but what can I say?” He chuckled.

“And the Reapers will be given a temporary outpost here.” Senuna added. “Until they can find a better place to set up shop.”

“I think that will be fair enough.” Zafar nodded and stood, reaching out to shake Senuna’s hand. “What will happen now?”

“Now I must escort our troops to you.” She giggled. “It shouldn’t take all that long, but we will be gone for a few days. The Templars are making their way over here and will likely arrive before us, so try to be on alert.”

“For someone with such power yourself, you seem to be very wary of the Templars.”

“That’s exactly why I am wary.” She winked. “I know what I can do, and I don’t trust myself one bit~”

Zafar blinked, looking at Bradford worriedly.

“Don’t worry about it.” He chuckled. “She’s bad at jokes.”

“Oh that’s wise, Dadford~” Senuna glared back at him.

“That’s a vintage meme.” Jane chuckled. “If we’re all done here, I’m going to check in with the other soldiers.”

“I heard some of them were checking out that little tavern by the entrance.” Bradford tapped his chin. “Was it um…”

“Althae’s Ban.” Zafar snickered. “Yes, it’s a...very interesting place.”

Bradford blinked slowly, and Jane looked away to hide her smile as she rushed out. “Um, so yeah, see ya on the ship Bradford.”

“Jane-” Bradford reached to stop her, but Senuna waved her hand.

“Let her have fun. She’s young.” She giggled. “And I trust her to be safe.”

“She’s an intriguing young lady.” Zafar raised a brow as he watched her speed walk down the road. “...Hm.”

“Hm?” Senuna chuckled. “I’m afraid you’re not her type, Zafar.”

“And she’s not mine, so don’t worry.” He crossed his arms. “She’s simply familiar, that is all.”

“Familiar?” Bradford looked interested. “How so?”

“Her face.” Zafar seemed to brush him off. “I’m sure I am imagining it, but she resembles someone my sister and I met long ago.”

.

.

Jane pushed aside the colorful curtain, and the smell of brandy hit her in the face. She took a strong whiff, almost expecting to see Bryni somewhere nearby, but alas the red haired pilot was nowhere to be found. Damn.

She did see a few familiar faces though. Princess and Mithridates were in a booth by themselves, and made sure there was no way they’d be mistaken for a couple by throwing pebbles at each other. Tisiphone and Tiwaz were by the stone bar, beside an older looking snake woman. Her scales were a pale sea foam green, and her eyes were crimson. At Jane’s entrance, she looked up briefly and scanned the human with a flick of her eyes, then her tongue.

Jane straightened her back and marched over to the bar. “Hello.”

“Hi Quiet.” Tisiphone grumbled. “Don’t mind my attitude, I’m just trying to get drunk.”

“What if you need to be alert?” Jane asked. “If there’s an ambush?”

“I can shoot while I’m drunk.” She snapped. “Better than the boomer here.”

“Hey.” Tiwaz chuckled, unfazed by her comment. “You always seem grateful for my grenades in the field.”

“In the field, yeah. Everywhere else, your explosive personality is annoying.”

“Oh fuck you!” Said someone who was not Tiwaz. Princess came stomping over. “He won’t let me play solitaire on his computer!”

“You’ll ruin my high score, you fucking bitch!” Mithridates snapped, holding his computer against his chest.

“Children.” Tisiphone rested her head in her hand. “Please shut the fuck up.”

Jane looked up at the barkeep, who was obviously watching but trying not to make it look like she was. She gave her a nervous smile, and the Viper flicked her tongue at her.

“What’s your name?” Jane asked.

“You cannot pronounce what my sisters call me.” The Viper said in a voice that was scratched and worn. “But the humans here call me Althaea.”

“The Healer.” Jane nodded. “Fitting.”

“I heal minds with my brew.” She said, putting a glass in front of Jane. “And bodies in...other ways.”

“What kind of bodies?”

“Any that catch my interest.” Althaea looked her up and down. “And you certainly do. You’ve walked along the edge of a blade.”

Jane pondered this a moment. “...I suppose I have.” She took the glass. It smelled of Absinthe. “So what made you leave ADVENT?”

“Same as all the rest. My chip fell out one day.” Althaea grabbed a rag from under the bar, although it was covered in sand already so it did little to clean the stone bar. “I managed to fake it for a while. It wasn’t like I was an officer so I could just listen to the vocal commands. But it just ain’t right. We vipers aren’t meant to be caged.” She leaned forward. “I know the names of every planet the Elders conquered.”

“Really?” Jane raised a brow. “And you want to tell me yours?”

“It was called Vyraj.” She said sadly. “I don’t even know if it’s still inhabited. Not like it matters. I will never see it again.”

“Never say never.” Jane reached forward. “When we win, I might take you there.”

“When we win.” Althaea looked up at her, red eyes meeting hazel. “You are an interesting human.”

“I get that a lot.” Jane took a long drink of Absinthe. It burned going down her throat. “When do you close?”

“Right now if your friends can behave themselves for an hour.” She chuckled, already putting up the “OUT TO LUNCH” sign.

.

.

Imdugud tried to be as quiet as possible as he approached the two, but they seemed to hear him anyway and whirled around, their almost black eyes meeting his pale purple ones.

He let out the breath he was holding. “I need your reports.” He said. “I have been waiting days and you haven’t responded to me. Have you put more resources into creating the priests like I asked?”

“At first we did.” Tiyanak clasped their hands in front of them. “But then-”

“We had an idea.” Xezbeth interrupted their partner. “A wonderful idea.”

“I do not pay you to have ideas.” Imdugud snarled.

“You do not pay us at all, Imdugud. We are equals in rank.”

“Perhaps here. But on Thaumas-”

If Tiyanak had a mouth, they would have been smiling. “But we are not on Thaumas.” They said. “And I believe that’s quite lucky for you.”

“I can have you executed for this.” Imdugud sighed, knowing he was defeated. “Xezbeth, for the stars sake, you look like you are about to supernova.”

“I know you will like what we have made.” They insisted. “Follow us, Imdugud, and see.”

“Will it help in capturing the Assassin?”

“Yes.” Xezbeth insisted. “That is why we did this. This will give us the edge against her.”

Imdugud pondered this for a moment, and the two stared at him, Xezbeth twitching excitedly, Tiyanak’s eyes burrowing into his soul.

“Fine then.” Imdugud relented. “Show me this great project of yours.”

.

.

.

.

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(Technically it’s still Monday! If I don’t sleep!

Like I said in my announcement, future chapters may be getting delayed as my county is currently burning to the ground. I hope to have the next chapter out by Sunday, but thank you all so, so much for being patient with me!)

Archive: https://chosenstories.tumblr.com/

[allatariel]

Excerpt from the Rogue One: A Star Wars Story novelization by Alexander Freed below the cut.

TL;DR—Fourteen emails between Galen Erso, Shaith Vodran, and Orson Krennic regarding excess radiation buildup resulting from modifications to the reactor core of the Death Star in order to reduce primary laser recharge times at Tarkin’s directive which eventually leads to the approval of Galen’s exhaust ports solution by both Krennic and Vodran.

SUPPLEMENTAL DATA: BATTLE STATION ENGINEERING NOTES

[Document #YM3884L (“Waste Radiation Distribution Solutions”), timestamped approximately eighteen months prior to Operation Fracture, sent from Engineering Operations Manager Shaith Vodran to Galen Erso.]

Erso: I had the droids generate a new Systems Safety and Compatibility Report incorporating your team’s proposed adjustments to the reactor core. The new plans triggered a dozen subsystem warnings and spat out one blazing red stain on the line labeled “Hypermatter Annihilator Unit.” I didn’t bother asking my astromech how bad that could be—a redline on a critical system speaks for itself.

Why are we even making reactor modifications this late in the game?

Have your engineers check their work better next time. Suffice to say, no changes are approved.

[Document #YM3884M (“Reply to Waste Radiation Distribution Solutions”), sent from Galen Erso to Engineering Operations Manager Shaith Vodran.]

Vodran: Sincere apologies. I fully agree that this is unacceptable. The modifications are intended to reduce primary weapon recharge times to satisfactory levels (I’m sure you saw Tarkin’s directive) but sloppy work is sloppy work.

I assume you alerted Director Krennic to the report as well?

More as soon as I’ve spoken with my team.

[Document #YM3884N (“Reply to Waste Radiation Distribution Solutions”), sent from Engineering Operations Manager Shaith Vodran to Galen Erso.]

Director Krennic is copied on all SSCRs, but if he wants oversight on these particular modifications, it’s your responsibility to brief him on your problems.

[Document #YM3884O (“Reply to Waste Radiation Distribution Solutions”), sent from Galen Erso to Engineering Operations Manager Shaith Vodran.]

Vodran: I alerted the director personally, at your suggestion.

I also spoke to my team and we identified the problem. The reactor core modifications are resulting in radiation buildup, which in turn has the potential of interfering with the hypermatter annihilator.

The buildup is caused by the inner shield actively reflecting excess particles and metaphorically “cooking” the reactor core. Had the shielding team’s research not been so heavily compartmentalized this might have been avoided.

Nonetheless: The reactor core modifications must remain as-is. Therefore, we are left with three possible ways of avoiding radiation buildup.

Option one: construction of a particle funnel and recycler. This is known and tested technology. I am confident it will function. Physical requirements mean the recycler would need to replace existing noncritical mechanisms under the northern command sector, but I estimate the needed disassembly would take under two weeks.

Option two: further refinement of our reactor technology to reduce waste particles. I have several team members keen on this possibility. They are excited about the potential for a technological breakthrough.

Option three: construction of manual venting shafts and thermal exhaust ports. This should reduce particle buildup to a degree I find personally acceptable. In addition, adding venting shafts risks additional incompatibilities with noncritical systems.

Please alert me if you have concerns.

[Document #YM3884P (“Reply to Waste Radiation Distribution Solutions”), sent from Engineering Operations Manager Shaith Vodran to Galen Erso.]

I oversaw construction of the northern command sector myself. Tarkin has already toured the facilities. If the particle funnel and recycler can’t go anywhere else, stick with options two and three.

You might want to give Krennic the final decision. He’s concerned about the timetable.

[Document #YM3884Q (“Particle Buildup”), sent from Galen Erso to Advanced Weapons Research Director Orson Krennic.]

Director: As we discussed, attached are preliminary reports on two methods for reducing particle buildup. I made my preferences clear in person, but I defer to your judgment.

[Document #YM3884R (“Reply to Particle Buildup”), sent from Advanced Weapons Research Director Orson Krennic to Galen Erso.]

Galen: New research and technological development is out of the question at this juncture. Work up a full proposal for the exhaust port solution and send the plans to Vodran for SSCR.

[Document #YM3884S (“Venting Shafts”), sent from Engineering Operations Manager Shaith Vodran to Galen Erso.]

Erso: What is this trash? The Systems Safety and Compatibility Report quit running after two hundred redlines. I only reviewed the first dozen, but it looks like you’re flooding half the station with radiation?

I thought these venting shafts were supposed to solve the problem.

No changes are approved.

[Document #YM3884T (“Reply to Venting Shafts”), sent from Galen Erso to Engineering Operations Manager Shaith Vodran.]

I repeat myself, but: I apologize.

As you know, an engineer may be single-minded in his or her focus on a particular task. I, along with my team, have fallen victim to the sin of hubris.

Of course I should have warned you that your droids might register dangers. The venting shafts are designed to expel the majority of the heat and particle buildup, but some radiation leakage is inevitable. We estimate that human crewmembers stationed in any of fifteen sections would—in the event that the battle station fires the primary weapon three times within one hour—be placed at increased risk for a wide variety of long-term health problems. The SSCR, of course, detected this in those “two hundred redlines.”

I am instructing my team to look into all options. To expedite matters, I must request the use of your droids in running several alternative scenarios.

This will be an inconvenience, I realize, but the safety of the battle station’s crew is paramount.

[Document #YM3884U (“Reply to Venting Shafts”), sent from Engineering Operations Manager Shaith Vodran to Galen Erso.]

Are the command sectors or officer quarters in the affected radiation zones?

[Document #YM3884V (“Reply to Venting Shafts”), sent from Galen Erso to Engineering Operations Manager Shaith Vodran.]

No.

[Document #YM3884W (“Reply to Venting Shafts”), sent from Engineering Operations Manager Shaith Vodran to Galen Erso.]

Send me your final plans. I’ll declare the droids in error and override the next SSCR.

I’m not burying Krennic in redline reports while you figure out how to keep a handful of stormtroopers from developing a cough.

[Document #YM3884X (“Reply to Venting Shafts”), sent from Galen Erso to Engineering Operations Manager Shaith Vodran.]

That’s not necessary. I’m certain we can resolve this. Even if a technical solution fails, we may be able to alter crew rotation schedules to mitigate any health risks.

[Document #YM3884Y (“Reply to Venting Shafts”), sent from Engineering Operations Manager Shaith Vodran to Galen Erso.]

You may be too obtuse to realize it, Erso, but I’m doing you a favor. This project needed to be done weeks ago.

Send me the final venting shaft and exhaust port plans. I’ll bypass SSCR and submit them for production, manufacturing, and installation.

Changes have been approved.

[takingcourage]

Additions: Part 4

Pairing: Jaime x MC

Word Count: 4,050

Summary: With an important breakthrough and their first holiday season as a family of five, things start looking up for the Lewis household.

November, 2027

I’ve got the details for Thanksgiving. Sending them to your email soon.

Arden dragged a thumb to unlock the screen and sent a quick response to Ellen’s message. After slipping her phone back into the purse at her feet, she attempted to get back to proofreading the document in front of her, but distractions thwarted her efforts. 

She’d always been partial toward any day that brought communities together, and Thanksgiving certainly fit the bill. But this year, she was interested in one very specific group of people and not the whole of Northbridge.

Their little family had seen a handful of holidays in the past few months -- Jaime’s and Will’s birthdays, Labor Day, Halloween. Each had been thoroughly enjoyable in its own right, but Thanksgiving was taking things to a whole different level. 

Lips curving softly with her anticipation, she reviewed her calendar, making a few adjustments to clear time for next week’s session. She saw her inbox increase in another tab and popped over to check the files from Ellen.

She was still skimming over the plans when the door opened at the other end of the waiting room. Alex walked toward her, trailed by a middle-aged man who raised a hand to her in greeting.

With a smile, she closed the laptop and rose to meet them both. After exchanging a few words with the therapist and scheduling a subsequent session, she and Alex quietly made their way down to their car. 

Arden hated parallel parking, but it was a necessary evil in this part of the city. Giving all of her attention to the backup camera and the view out her window, it was easy to ignore the silent passenger at her side.

She stole a quick glance after merging into the flow of traffic.

Her son’s mouth was firmly shut, his gaze fixed on the progression of vehicles beside them. 

Alex was never talkative coming out of these sessions. He wasn’t very talkative in general, but it seemed especially unfair for him to be so close-lipped on the heels of a session where she knew he’d spoken freely to someone else. Grateful as she was for the improvement they’d noticed in the past six weeks, an inkling of jealousy always rose during their drive home. 

Often, her natural curiosity got the better of her. She’d ask a probing question in return for a few syllables, followed by total quiet for the rest of the afternoon. She wasn’t making that mistake today. 

Bottling up her impulse to speak, she adjusted the radio and waited until they’d made it to their neighborhood to even attempt conversation. “I’m really proud of you, Alex.”

The boy muttered a thanks against his palm.

“Mr. Spencer said that he gave you an assignment for your next meeting. Can we talk about it?”

“I guess.”

“He said he wants you to write some things down?”

“Yeah.”

“What did he ask you to write about?”

“Stuff.”

Arden gnawed the inside of her cheek to hold her instincts in check. Carefully measuring her breath, she turned onto their street. These appointments allowed her to have a bit of time alone with her oldest son, but without his siblings around, getting him to open up was nearly impossible.

“Okay. How would you feel about starting on it now while I make some cookies?”

Framing her requests as suggestions rather than commands had been one of Dr. Spencer’s recommendations after their initial meeting. It was only a small change, but the results had been surprisingly fruitful.

“Sure.” He tried to keep his response noncommittal, though she thought she saw the shadow of a smile cross his lips as they drove into the garage.

By the time she’d cracked a pair of eggs into the powdered mix, Alex had already neatly penned through the first several lines in his notebook. 

Relieved that he’d engaged in the work so quickly, Arden cued up a playlist on her phone and connected to the bluetooth speaker on the windowsill. The music served as not only a buffer from the silence that she knew was awkward for both of them, but it also helped to keep her mind from wandering to boy’s thoughts. Much as she wanted to know what was going on in the next room over, she hated the idea of taking shortcuts. 

Five months. They’d been trying to navigate his barriers for the entire time he’d been living with them. Thankfully, he hadn’t run away again since the night he’d fled to the docks, and he’d been doing a much better job of regulating his emotions over the past month. He even had a decent attitude most of the time. 

But he was still so distant. 

It made sense, really. Even disregarding all other circumstances of his life, his siblings were naturally the ones who used to receiving attention. With his sister’s eagerness to please and his brother’s sociability, it was easy for Alex to fade into the background. She just didn’t want him to stay there.

“Arden?”

Bowl in hand, she popped her head through the archway to see a perplexed face staring back. “Yes?”

“I’m stuck on a word.”

Her brow creased as she took the seat across from him. “Can you tell me how you’re using it? Or explain what it means?”

Alex stared at the paper before him, twisting the mechanical pencil between his hands. After several moments of thinking, he produced, “It’s like when lots of things are happening all at once and you don’t know what to do.”

Pandemonium? 

No, obviously it’s not that, she chided herself. No fifth grader goes searching for that word. “Chaos, maybe?”

“No, it’s how you feel.”

“Anxious? Frozen? Overwhelmed? Dis–”

“Overwhelmed!”

Arden felt the tingle of pride as his face lit in recognition. She might not be a perfect parent, but she fared pretty well as a human thesaurus. 

“That’s it! How do you spell it?” He scribbled furiously while she rattled off letters at a moderate pace. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. Let me know if I can help with anything else.” With a reassuring smile, she turned back to the kitchen and went back to stirring the thick dough.

When he called a second time, she’d just crawled into the bottom cabinet to find a cookie sheet.

“I’ve got another one!”

The pitch of his tone mirrored her intrigue. She could play find-the-word all afternoon if that was what he wanted to do. “Sure thing! I’ll be there in just a sec.”

Alex was looking up at her, pencil poised. This time, he was ready with a description as soon as she stood before him. “What’s the word for when somebody can’t stop doing something?”

“Umm…” She’d been stringing words together for a living for the past ten years, and she’d be darned if an eleven-year-old child stumped her over a definition. “Uncontrolled?”

“No, like they can’t stop drinking or doing pills or something.”

The ease with which he provided the correction halted her breath. “Like an addiction?” Her last word was tentative, everything in her hoping that her guess was wrong.

“Yeah.” He started spelling the word under his breath, jotting down the letters in quick succession. 

Since he paid her no mind, she went back to lining the baking sheet, but this time her thoughts remained in the next room over. He was writing about his past. She knew he was. Temptation mounting, she increased the volume of her music to try to remove at least one of its sources.

“Can you help me again?”

Arden scraped down the sides of the bowl a bit too forcefully, nervous energy getting the better of her. 

“I’ll be right there.”

This time, she risked sitting next to him. Strictly speaking, she wasn’t sitting, just resting a knee on the chair. She didn’t want her presence to come off as any kind of threat, but she didn’t want to squander this opportunity to strengthen his trust in her. Second guessing her decision, she almost missed his query. 

“What’s the opposite of love?”

The simple question threw her off kilter, and her eyes narrowed as she considered his inquisitive face. “Hate?”

“Obviously. I know that. But like, what is it when someone doesn’t love somebody anymore?”

“You mean falling out of love?”

“No.” Maybe they did hate each other…

Tensing, Arden slid all the way into the chair beside her son. “Do you want to read me the rest of the sentence? Sometimes that helps.”

He shook his head mutely, tugging at the clip of his pencil. 

“Alex, can you talk to me about what you’re writing for Dr. Spencer? Is it about something that happened to you?”

Slowly, he nodded.

Even if he wasn’t willing to talk about it, she didn’t want to lose the potential of the moment. She had to leave him with some assurance that whatever had happened in his past would never happen again. “Alex, you know that Jaime and I love you. I know that the adoption won’t be official for a while, but you’re part of our family. No matter what, we’re going to take care of you, okay?”

He leaned away as though he’d been struck. That’s what my real mom said too.

Arden’s throat tightened as she watched the tears gather in his eyes. Dropping his pencil, he tried to smack them away, but they flowed hot and fast.

Cookies forgotten, she scooted her chair close enough for him to feel that she was there. Although she didn’t risk touching him, leaving him alone in that state would have been impossible. 

“You don’t have to answer this question if you don’t want to, but did he ask you to write about your parents?”

“Uh-huh,” he hiccuped through the onslaught of tears. “He wanted me to write about when I was home with them.”

Arden’s own eyes were streaming by the time he got the sentence out, and it was all she could do to keep from pulling him into her arms.

He’d never let his guard down with her -- never seemed this vulnerable before. Any snatches of weakness that she’d found had been the result of overhearing his thoughts, not because he’d actually allowed them to show on the outside. 

A series of rising breaths came from deep in his chest, working up the power to say something. Suddenly, it all tumbled out, thoughts releasing as though they’d been pent up behind a dam. “She we’d be okay and that she’d come back. She promised she’d come back for us.” His words were barely discernible through the thick layer of tears. “But she hasn’t come back.”

Arden pressed her eyelids firmly shut to keep her head from splitting. We’ve talked about this. He knows she terminated her parental rights days after the kids entered the system. He knew when they came to live with us that this was going to be a permanent arrangement.

But that probably wasn’t what he needed to hear. 

“Alex…” she started, but words utterly failed her. Taking the leap, she slid one arm around his shoulders. When there was no dissuading thought or action, she balanced on the edge of her chair drew him to her side. Though he remained almost completely still, it was enough. His head rested on her shoulder as his tears continued in a steady stream. 

It was Jinx who eventually brought them back to reality, her cold, wet nose bumping against the elbow Arden had propped on the table.

What a mess! You both look terrible. 

With a breathy laugh, Alex left Arden’s side and righted himself in the chair. “Hello, Jinx,” he greeted, stretching out a hand to pet her sloped back. Halfway down, he paused and turned toward Arden. “Is she supposed to be on the table?”

“Not at all. But maybe we’ll make an exception today,” she decided, watching with interest as the creature stepped closer to the boy instead of darting away. Selfish as her motivations often were, Jinx did have a genuine caring streak when she sensed others in distress.  

The cat butted her head into his palm, purring loudly at his attentive petting. “Should we finish the cookies?” he asked, using his free hand to scrub the tears from his cheeks. “I think I’m finished writing for now.” 

“That sounds like a great idea. You can help me with them if you wash your hands.” 

Delivering a final pat to Jinx’s grizzled crown, he took his notebook and left the room.

Arden’s smile broke as she heard him turn the corner into the hall. What just happened?

Whatever it was, it wasn’t going to solve all of their problems. But at least it felt like a start. 

Retrieving her phone from the nearby counter, she tapped out a message for Jaime: You’ll never believe what just happened with Alex. I can’t wait to tell you tonight over that bottle of wine we’ve been saving.

_____

December, 2027

“You can’t win Monopoly with just the railroads,” Alex whined, rifling through his stack of money in search of hundreds. Making his way to the end with a huff, he yanked out a set of papers.

Arden gladly received the four blue bills he extended across the table. “Then that just means there’s one less person for you to beat. I don’t see why you’re complaining if there’s no way I can win.”

Will’s short arm flung out in front of her, reaching for the dice. She nudged them closer, then watched his roll.

“Oh, man.” The words were barely recognizable around the yawn that divided them.

Sophia tapped a finger on the Luxury Tax square. “You need to move here.” At Jaime’s raised eyebrow, she withdrew the hand and slipped it under her thigh. “Sorry. You can do it yourself.”

Ribcage propped on the edge of the table, Will leaned over the board and moved his terrier across the requisite spaces in a series of hops. “I didn’t want to land on the ring again. Do we have to keep playing?”

Jaime took a long drink from his mug, exchanging glances with Arden from his end of the table. There’s a reason we went so long before getting a copy of this game.

Arden swiped a lock of hair away from her forehead, giving him opportunity to speak. One of them needed to take the high road, and it was beginning to look like he wouldn’t be the one to do it. “Will, are you sure? You’ve been looking forward to trying out all of the games you got for Christmas.”

“This one is boring,” he pronounced simply, rubbing his face across the forearm that was still stretched toward the game board.

“Is everyone else bored too?” Jaime queried. “I don’t want to cut it short if people are having fun, but it also doesn’t make sense for us to keep at it if everyone’s miserable.”

“I’m bored,” Sophia confirmed with a nod.

“It’s stupid. We should do something else.”

With the consensus from all three kids, it was easy to see that soldiering on would be pointless.

Jaime cocked his head to peep in at the stovetop clock. “Maybe it’s time for us to pick out a movie. It’s after 9:30. By the time we’ve made some popcorn and started watching something, we’ll be pretty close to midnight by time it’s over.”

Alex pulled in all of the money he could reach and filed it away in his banker box. “Can we watch one of my new Marvel ones?”

“Yeah!” Exhaustion overcome by excitement, Will tossed his stack of bills in the air.

“Hey, pick those up!”

Arden pushed in her chair and folded her arms over the back, rolling her eyes at the brothers’ innocent shenanigans. “You up for superheroes, Sophia?”

The thoughtful hazel eyes rose to meet hers. “Yeah.” They darted back to the cell phone in her hands, but her thoughts suggested her mind still hadn’t moved on yet. That one actor is pretty cute. Maybe he’ll take his shirt off…

Turning over her shoulder to hide the smirk that was cracking her lips, Arden checked Jaime’s progress in the kitchen. 

_____

By the time the film had drawn to a close, Arden was comfortable enough on the couch to rethink their plans for ringing in the new year. Casting a look across the room, she found Alex and Sophia still very much awake, attention divided between their phones and the television in front of them. Jaime offered her the remaining popcorn from their shared bowl, but she declined.

Once the screen had faded to black, Arden carefully moved the bony shin that had been digging into her calf for the better part of the last hour. Unfazed, Will remained asleep on the other end of the couch. As the credits rolled, she made her way to the kitchen to find the pots and pans that she’d already slated for the task ahead.

11:54

Jaime was gently nudging Will’s shoulder when she returned with their noisemakers. 

“Coats on, everybody,” she admonished, passing a pot and wooden spoon to each child.

Still jumbled from sleep, Will gave her an uncertain frown. With a yawn, he took the objects from her hands.

“Why are we doing this again?” Alex lifted his saucepan and wooden spoon to reinforce his skepticism. His coat dangled from the one sleeve that had made it over his arm. 

“It’s a tradition.” Jaime’s staunch answer was punctuated by a vigorous shake of his own spoon. "It’s also a lot of fun.”

“Next year, we should have fireworks!” Will suggested a little too loudly. 

Arden inclined a brow, thanking her better sense for keeping her youngest to such a rigid bedtime schedule. Tired Will was proving to have even fewer inhibitions than his rested counterpart. “We can talk about that later. For now, we need to get outside!”

The five of them huddled together on the front porch, several sets of teeth chattering as Jaime counted down the seconds before midnight.

“Happy New Year!” they rang out in rambling chorus before drowning out the well wishes with their noisemakers. Sophia’s eyes widened in surprise at the flurry of sound they produced. With the lack of sleep, Will’s easy smile was even more exaggerated than usual. Even Alex renounced his former inhibitions, delivering an occasional smack to Will’s pan instead of his own. 

I love you, Arden.

On hearing Jaime’s thought, she paused beating her spoon and rose up to meet her husband’s full lips. His kiss was gentle and slow, rich in the celebration of a year well spent. Feeling his smile before he pulled away, she couldn’t help matching it with one of her own. 

In spite of everything they’d told the kids about the glories of board games and banging on pots and pans, midnight kisses were actually her favorite part of the yearly celebration. If there was a better way to start each revolution around the sun, she had yet to discover it.

“This is really loud,” Sophia complained, tapping her spoon daintily against the rim of her pot. “I should have worn earplugs.”

“Next year,” Jaime suggested, and she smiled in return. He checked his watch. “It’s almost 12:02. Time to wind things down!”

Will fumbled over his spoon, but Sophia swooped down to catch it before it could roll into the bushes. Blinking rapidly, the boy held out a hand to take the object back. Sophia surrendered it, but kept a cautious eye on her younger sibling. 

“And that’s our cue to go inside and get ready for bed,” Jaime announced, propping open the door so that he could follow the rest of the family into the house. 

While the kids brushed their teeth, Jaime collected pans and returned them to their proper shelves in the kitchen. Arden trailed him aimlessly, leaning against the doorjamb with a yawn.

“Let’s get you to bed, Ms. Sleepy.”

“That’s Mrs. Sleepy,” she insisted as she fought to keep her mouth closed. 

“I think we’re a whole family of sleepies right now.” With a low chuckle, he took her arm. “C’mon, let’s go say goodnight so we can all get to bed.” 

_____

Arden stood before the mirror with watery eyes, yawn building as she watched Jaime strip down to his boxers. He tossed his dirty clothes into the hamper, sending her a curious look through the glass. 

“Do you remember that year when you were sick and we couldn’t celebrate New Year’s together?”

“Uh-huh,” he answered, putting away his toothbrush. “And after you pulled the surgical-mask thing when I had the flu, I don’t really blame our parents for keeping us on opposite sides of the fence.”

“True.” She paused for a yawn, leaning close to the glass to examine her bloodshot eyes. “I tried to be extra loud so you could hear me all the way from my porch.”

“For the record, I was so doped up on cold medicine that I slept through the whole thing.”

“Well, I’m still sorry I did it. There you were, trying to sleep, and I was clanging like a drawer full of silverware.”

“You need some rest, babe.” 

“I know, I know.” She took the pack of floss he slid toward her and cut a length. “That simile didn’t even make sense.” 

He crossed behind her to throw his own floss in the trash can. As he passed, he kissed her shoulder through the flannel of her pajamas. “It’s bedtime,” he pronounced simply. 

“It’s barely midnight and I’m completely useless. I feel like an old lady.”

“I guess we’ll just have to be old, tired people together, because I’m exhausted too.”

“Then let’s get you to bed, Mr. Sleepy.” There was a weary lilt to her voice as she wound the floss between two fingers. 

“I’m just waiting for you,” he assured. 

Arden finished flossing and made a show of prepping her toothbrush. “I know the kids were grilling each other about their resolutions for the year, but I never asked if you had one.”

While he considered his answer, she set about brushing, her weary hand slipping into the accustomed motion with ease. At her insistent face, he finally spoke. 

“Nah, not this year. Unless helping Alex keep his is a resolution.”

She spat her toothpaste into the sink. “You mean what he said about doing better in school? That wasn’t his real resolution.” Catching his frown in the mirror, she clarified, “What he really wants is to stay in one place for the whole year.”

“I hate it that he’s still thinking like that.”

“I know, but I get it.” She ambled to the bed and tossed the covers back. “Maybe things will start to change once the adoption is official.”

“Either way, he’s not going anywhere.”

“Absolutely not.”

“He’s stuck with us forever.” Jaime flicked the overhead light and joined her, careful to keep his icy toes as far on his side as possible. 

Arden burrowed closer anyway, eager to share what warmth he did possess. He scooted over to free some space on his pillow, which she eagerly claimed. 

“What about you, my love? Any resolutions of your own?”

Eyes closing in consideration, she giggled at the first thought that came to mind. “I should probably stop drinking so much coffee...” 

“We both know that’s never going to happen.”

“Yeah... Other than that, I don’t know that anything needs to change, really. I’m pretty happy with everything the way it is.”

“I am too. G’night, Arden.” 

She tugged his arm around her stomach, her fingers curling over the hinge of his wrist to keep him in place. “G’night.” Breathing deeply of his woodsy scent, her mind ceased its drifting, settling finally on thoughts of the man beside her. 

“Jaime?” She felt him jolt as she broke the silence. 

“Huh?” he asked with a croaky voice. 

“Changed my mind. We need more dates this year.”

“Can we talk about it in the morning?”

“Uh-huh. G’night again. Can’t wait to spend another year with you.” 

The arm tightened at her waist, and she finally allowed herself to surrender to sleep. 

[templeofulchtar]

Ghost Season Working 6/7

Checking In

The purpose of checking in is to provide a point of reflection along the journey. It’s a time to check in with yourself, with Starscream, your ritual partner (if you have one) and your other allies to see how your Labors are progressing.

In the Ritual Overview (Post 2 in this series) I suggested doing two check-in’s, one on September 11 and one on October 2. These are suggested dates only, chosen because they mark the 1/3 and 2/3 points in the journey.

When, and how often you check in is really up to you. You might do it at the dates suggested, or do a single check-in at the halfway point, or you might want to do it every week.

How to Check In

When you’re ready to check in, set aside an hour or so when you won’t be interrupted. There is no set ritual for this, but you can add an element of ceremony to it by:

★ lighting a red candle which you have inscribed with Starscream’s name, his sigil, or a Starscream sigil of your own devising

★ applying a dab of the essential oil blend I created as an annointing oil

★ putting on a playlist of songs that remind you of Starscream

★ using one of the chants I wrote for Starscream: Let Me Be or the Dream Seeker Chant

★ drawing the sigil I created for Starscream (or one of your own) in your journal as a point of focus

Now, in your journal or in discussion with your ritual partner, take time to review your goals, Labors, and progress. If you like, you can use some of the following questions as journal prompts or springboards for discussion:

★ How are your Labors progressing?

★ Looking back over your goals, how do you feel about them? Have your feelings changed since the start of this journey? If so, how?

★ What is a victory you’ve achieved in your Labors so far?

★ How successful have you been in setting aside the obstacles on your list of sacrifices? Have any additional obstacles cropped up? If any of them are being troublesome, consider doing the Null-Ray Meditation.

★ Are there any adjustments you need to make in terms of your goals, Labors or sacrifices? Be specific, and make concrete plans for any adjustments that seem needed.

★ Is there anything in your Labors that you’re afraid of, or afraid to take on? If so, consider doing the Facing Fears Meditation.

★ Is there a task you’ve been avoiding? What if you were to do that task tomorrow? How would you feel, knowing it’s behind you?

★ Is there a task you’re looking forward to?

★ Have you chosen your rewards yet? If not, try to think of a few and add them to the rewards list in your journal.

Once you’ve checked in, it’s time for gratitude. Wherever you are in your journey, take a moment to appreciate the progress you’ve made and the courage it took to undertake something like this.

Show appreciation for your ritual partner, if you have one, to any allies who are assisting you, and (most especially!) to Starscream. An offering to Starscream would not go amiss at this time. For ideas on suitable offerings, see Post 5 in this series, Greeting the Seeker.

Then do something nice for yourself. Maybe pick one small reward from your list and indulge. Tomorrow you’ll be getting back to work, but for now, it’s time to enjoy some of the fruits of your Labors. 

A Few Additional Thoughts About Labors

In Ghost in the Machine, Starscream does not technically complete the third and final Labor which Unicron assigned to him. That Labor was to connect Unicron’s head to Cybertron. As Unicron phrased it:

“Connect my head to the planet Cybertron. I will then have a new body. I will be complete again, able to devour all worlds in my path.”

Starscream’s reply indicated he was fine with this:

“You’ve got it! The sooner I get my own body, the better!”

As we all know, however, that isn’t how things ultimately went down. Starscream, who was possessing Trypticon at the time, appeared to lose control of his giant host at the crucial moment:

"Unicron! If you want the connection made, you'd better give me a new body now!"

Unicron had little choice but to grant Starscream’s request. He blasted a beam of light from his optics, and Starcream’s body was magically reformed.

"Now, do my bidding,” Unicron commanded. “Complete the connection!"

To which Starscream replied:

"Ha! Do it yourself!"

So, I have thoughts on this. (Because of course I do.) I don’t think Starscream actually intended to fulfill that final Labor. For one thing, it would have resulted in Cybertron’s destruction, and it would have unleashed a planet-devouring monster on an unsuspecting galaxy.

My point? Well, I think our Seeker might have a conscience, much as he likes to pretend otherwise. But I also think he was practicing what might be called enlightened self-interest in this situation. Starscream is clearly aware that Unicron has no reason to grant him a body once Starscream has served his purpose.

Starscream has also obviously thought far enough ahead to note that he could be on the Dark God’s menu just as easily as anyone else. Hence his little ruse, and his refusal to make that final connection.

What can we take from this? A lot, I think. It suggests to me that while we do need to work hard at our Labors, we also need to work smart. We need to pause from time to time, evaluate the effort we’re putting in, and ask ourselves if our energies are being spent wisely.

Now that you’re part of the way through Ghost Season, take a look at your list of Labors in relation to your goal. Ask yourself: are these the right Labors? Is the effort I’m expending on them bringing me closer to my goal?

Congratulations! You’ve set off on a bold journey, and have remained accountable to yourself at every step. As October 23 draws closer, it’s time to begin planning for the final rite of Ghost Season: Reclaiming the Crown.

[tmarie82]

First Walker Family Halloween

Pairing: Drake x MC (Emma Warner-Walker)

Book: The Royal Romance (Future)

Word Count: ~1,100

Rating:  PG-13

Author’s Note: A little Halloween fluff for you today!  Because 1) I miss Drake and Emma, and 2) I don’t normally like Halloween but babies and Drake always make me smile. Happy Halloween 2018!

Please let me know if you would like to be added to my tag list.  You can find all of my fics here - MASTERLIST

~~~~~~~~~~

“Oh my goodness Emma, she is the cutest little princess baby I have ever seen in my entire life!!!” Hana squealed as she scooped up her eight-month-old goddaughter from her mother’s arms and bounced her on her hip.  She smoothed out the frilly purple gown over the Harper’s chubby little legs as her mother watched proudly.

“She’s not just any princess, Auntie Hana …” Emma cooed as she adjusted the angelic white wings of the baby’s costume, “she’s a fairy princess.  The loveliest fairy princess in all the land!”  She stroked the soft baby curls from Harper’s big blue eyes, eyes that mirrored her own, as her daughter shot her signature smirk at her mother.  That familiar smirk, slightly upturned at the corners and mischievous like she knew exactly what you were thinking, just like her father’s.  Speaking of which-

“Really, Walker?”  Drake trudged into the foyer to meet the ladies, donned head to toe in his regal attire.  He pulled at the collar of his royal blue embroidered waistcoat uncomfortably, then swung his arms back and forth trying to loosen the sleeves.  “This thing doesn’t fit as well as it used to … and I distinctly remember getting stabbed the last time I wore this.”

Emma gave her husband an approving look before placing a chaste kiss on his cheek.  “Come on, Drake … I also remember this getup being good luck for you that night.  Not only did you win the duel, it also brought you good luck later.”  She gave her husband a suggestive wink as his cheeks flushed at the distant memory.  She took the quick moment as he looked away to admire the man standing before her, Drake’s broad shoulders and chest filling out the snug-fitting jacket just right.  The way the white pants accented his round derrière and muscular thighs sent her mind into a momentary flurry of inappropriate thoughts … Ahem, she chided herself.  Not until after the baby is asleep.  “Besides, don’t do it for me … your daughter requested a handsome Prince Charming to escort her to her first Halloween party.”  

Drake’s face lit up as he noticed the smiling frilly purple fairy princess bouncing in Hana’s arms.  “Baby Girl!”  He reached his hands out towards her, catching his daughter with an ‘oof!’ as she leapt giddily into his arms.  “You are the most beautiful little princess Daddy has ever seen in his whole life!”  He examined her tulle-covered body and delicate wings delicately, his mouth spread in a wide smile before he pursed his lips to press them against her forehead.  His eyes lingered on her fondly when he spoke again.  “I may not have been the prince your mommy set out to find in Cordonia five years ago, but I hope I can be the best Prince Charming you could dream of.”  

Emma gave his shoulder a knowing squeeze and caught his eye reassuringly.  “You’ve been even better than I could have hoped for, Drake.  And don’t you ever forget that.”  She placed her smiling lips against his for a slow kiss, pulling away only to beam at the two loves of her life fondly.

Drake gave her a goofy grin as he swayed back and forth rocking Harper on his hip, finally taking a moment to study his wife.  “Wow … you look amazing, Em.”  His eyes widened as they trailed down the length of her velvet crimson gown to the floor and then back up again to settle on her curves accentuating the bodice.  “I think I like this dress even more this time …” his voice was low and hungry, his eyes flashing a glimpse of his desire.

Emma laughed as she looked down and slid her hands across the soft fabric of the garnet gown, which she hadn’t worn since her first ball in Valtoria as Duchess years ago.  “Yeah, well, I’m just impressed I could still fit this mom bod in it without it ripping.”  She twirled around once for her family, glancing up at them expectantly for their reaction.  “I never wanted to play queen, but I think this will do for one night, right?”  

“I think we make the perfect royal fairy family, Em … just for tonight.”  Drake reached his hand out to grab hers and pull her alongside him and Harper, wrapping his arms tightly around the two beautiful ladies in his world.

“Eee!  Picture time!” Hana squealed when she saw the sweet family moment unfold before her eyes.  “Get in tight and smile!” she ordered as she aimed the camera on her phone at them with a huge grin.  “One, two, threeeee … got it!”

Emma shuffled over to her best friend’s side and reviewed the resulting picture.  “Oh it’s perfect Hana!  Harper is even smiling!”  She gave her friend a warm side-hug. “Thank you!”

Hana nodded her acknowledgement before tucking her phone back in her clutch.  “Well, are you ready to party, guys?!?”  She grinned excitedly and glanced over to the open doors of the vibrating ballroom, draped in fake cobwebs and twinkle lights, upbeat pop music echoing down the foyer.

“Ready!” Emma exclaimed, reaching for Drake’s hand again to walk into the party with her family.  She gave his had a gentle squeeze, eliciting that signature smirk from him.  

As they started to walk towards the festivities, Emma felt a tug from Drake pull her back.  She glanced over her shoulder at him, cocking her brow curiously. “Yes, Prince Charming?”

He pulled her closer, craning his neck to bring his mouth near her ear and whispering in a husky voice.  “Just one request tonight, your majesty …” Emma’s breath caught in her throat at his commanding tone, waiting for his ask. “You don’t take this dress off until I tell you.”  He leaned his head back, observing her with dark eyes that could only mean one thing.

Emma emitted a low amused chuckle, relishing his heated stare.  “Only if you promise to do the same, your highness.”  Her eyes twinkled playfully under the lights as she slipped her hand from his and reached around to- smack!- give his ass a coquettish pat.  

She giggled as she slipped her hand back in his and stepped up to place a small kiss to his cheek, before leaning across him to place another on Harper’s chubby one.  The baby girl gave a knowing gurgle, as if she understood the flirtatious events that had just transpired before her.  Emma stood up tall and readied herself for their entrance, gripping Drake’s hand tightly.  “Alright ... let’s hit it, Walkers!”  

END

~~~~~~~~~~

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TRR Tags: @jewely01 @mrsernestsinclaire

[buckysdamnplums]

First Date (Part 1)

Author’s Note: Don’t be fooled, this is not a fluffy pic. It’s angsty. I got really into this request, so now it’s a two parter. Also, I tried to keep it from getting too descriptive at some points to spare those with sensitive stomachs. But also please adhere to the warnings, they’re stated for a reason. And as always, please feel free to leave feedback or reviews because it makes me feel validated which is always nice :)

Request: Can I get an extra angsty one where Peter is tied up and the reader is tortured? He's crying as he can't do anything and the reader is screaming and crying out in pain in front of him?

Pairing: Peter Parker x Stark!Reader

Word Count: 2292 (part one)

Warnings: it’s a biggie: fluff turned angst. blood, torture, agony, violence, kidnapping, some death, cussing

“Morning Mr. Stark!” Peter called out as he walked into the lab. “And goodmorning y/n.”

“Morning Peter.” You both replied.

Tony looks up from his computer, eyes squinting in Peter’s direction, “So Peter, where are you taking my daughter today?”

“Well I was thinking maybe we could head to the park. Maybe swing by Coney Island.” He looks over at you, flashing a smile.

“Have her home by 9. And I hope by swing you don’t mean, swing.” Your father raises his brow at Peter.

“Of course not, sir.”

Tony walked over to you, pulling you into a hug and kissing the crown of your head, “Good. Then off you two, have fun you.”

“See ya, dad. Peter, I’ll meet you at the elevator. I’m gonna grab my jacket real quick.”

Peter was about to send your dad a wave goodbye when he noticed the worried look on his face.

“Mr. Stark, really. I won’t go Spider. I know it can be dangerous.” Peter pleaded with your father.

Sighing he replied, “I know Peter. It’s just.. She’s grown up in this environment and she’s already has a target on her back from being my daughter. I don’t need the target to grow just because she goes on one date with Spiderman.” He rubs his stands over his face, trying to relieve his stress. But Peter got it, you were Iron Man’s perfect weakness. And whether you knew it or not, you were also his.

“I got it, sir. And I hope you didn’t mean that whole one date thing,” he started making his way to the elevator at the sound of your door shutting, “I plan on there being many more dates!”

So far the date was going unbelievably well. You grabbed pizza at the park and sat on the rocks, watching a group of people playing a soccer game. You walked around a talked about colleges that interested you. Nothing too serious though, college was still a bit away. Around four, Peter called Happy to have him drive you both to Coney Island. You wanted to take the subway, not wanting to have supervision by one of your dad’s workers, but Peter insisted.

The lights and the laughter of Coney Island always settled well with you, reminding you of when your mom brought you. But that was years ago, before you even knew Tony was your father. Hell, you only found out because after your mom died records showed you were in fact a Stark. Child Services showed up at Stark Tower one day and the rest is history.

“Hey spidey, wanna head to the games?” you broke out you irresistible smile.

Sighing he agreed, “Sure. But don’t call me Spidey, y/n. It’s not uhh, good.” He took a look around your surroundings, paranoid after his conversation with your father.

“Chill out, it’s just a cute name,” you shake your head, leading Peter towards the ring bottle game.

“$5 for 3 rings. $10 for 8.” The unenthusiastic worked said.

“I got it. 8 rings please.” Peter handed the guy a ten.

He divided the rings between the two of you, letting you toss first. Y/N zero, Peter four.

“Dammit, Peter. You cheated.” you say as he hands you the giant stuffed bear.

“Oh, I could take the bear back if you want? Ya know, since I’m a ‘cheater.’”

You roll your eyes, pulling the bear closer to your chest. As you neared the restrooms you told Peter you’d be right back. He replied that he would be out here when you get out.

After no less than two minutes, Peter’s bladder decided it had to unload (if you know what I’m saying). Figuring you wouldn’t be out for another four minutes, he ran into the men’s room.

Shutting the door to the women’s room, you looked around for Peter but didn’t see him. Thinking he was in the restroom, you sat on a bench, placing the bear next to you.

“Y/N?” Peter called as he stepped out of the bathroom. “Y/N?”

He noticed a bear similar to your’s sitting on a bench and made it way towards it, heart pounding in his chest. As he got closer he noticed a strip of your photo booth pictures on the ground. Panic coursed through his veins.

Peter reached for the photos when everything went dark.

“Peter? Peter, oh god.” Your voice sounded distant and fuzzy as Peter’s eyes fluttered to open.

His eyes started adjusting to the lack of light in the room, the only other light source in the room was shining on the person in a chair in front of him. As his vision focused, he noticed the blue jacket and brown boots you were wearing.

“Y/N?” his voice sounded strained and horse.

“Peter, it’s me.” your breath was rapid and choked up.

He took in your appearance better, tears streaked your cheeks, nose bright red from crying, your hair was wild and flattened against your forehead from sweat. Your arms were behind your back, most likely tied up and your feet were strapped to the legs of the chair. The chair itself appeared welded to the ground. He tore his eyes away to check his own chair. He was bound to a similar chair.

Processing what to do in this situation, Peter whispered across the 6 feet to the terrified girl in front of him, “Y/N, has anyone come in. Are- Do you know if- How long have we been here?”

You shut your eyes, taking a deep breath before replying, “I think an hour. But I don’t know where we are or how long I was out. I woke up when they were tying my hands but I think they knocked me out again.. I woke up and you were here.”

Peter’s eyes were darting around the dark room, attempting to come up with an escape plan. This would be much easier if he had his suit.

“Y/N, I can get us out of here. We’re gonna get out of here okay?”

“Don’t waste your time trying, Mr. Parker. Or shall I call you Spidey.” An old man in a lab coat walked into the room with two armed guards. “We didn’t plan on taking you too. Hell, we just wanted her.” He looked over at you, a slimey grin on his face. “But when you called you spidey? Oh, then we knew we really hit the jackpot.”

He walked over to you, the guards on either side of him. You stood right before you, blocking Peter from your view. Keeping a stone cold stare, you looked straight at his chest, not letting your fear seep through. It got harder as the man’s calloused fingers stroked your hair, resting on your cheek.

“Stop. Stop. Don’t touch her!” Peter shouted pulling against his restraints. The man just laughed in response.

He strutted over towards Peter, “Oh, Mr. Parker. I don’t think you’re in any position to be making commands.”

His hand flew back forming a fist before thrusting it forward into Peter’s stomach. You screamed as Peter bent in half, coughing. The man turned his attention back to you, another smile pulling at his face.

“Oh dear, daddy won’t be able to find you here.” He turned towards a corner of the room, looking up, “Let’s start the questioning process. Send them in.”

Some people say that after a certain point, you can become numb to pain. You just wished that point would hurry up and arrive. Different men in lab coats would come in, questioning you about where your dad was keeping this or planning that. Being a Stark, you knew you had to hold your ground and refuse to comply. After the third time you said no, they brought in the ‘tools.’ Each time you refused to answer, a different tool would be used. Your screams tore straight to Peter’s core as he begged you to just tell them what they wanted to hear. But even he knew, you weren’t one to betray the team, let alone your father.

“Morning Kiddo.” It was Dr. Graines, he was the fourth one you met, “You know how this is going to go down, so why not just go easy on yourself today, huh?”

He walked over to the stainless steel table with the tools and charts, picking up a stack of questions. The usual two men dressed in black and green followed him to the table, one grabbing a knife, the other a taser.

“Oh I almost forgot, how rude of me. Morning, Mr. Parker. Sleep well?” his innocent act made this situation much worse, “Probably not. I mean what with all the screaming she was doing, I’d be surprised if you got any sleep last night.”

Peter just stared daggers through his tear filled eyes into the man’s back, knowing better than to speak up. Each time he makes some remark, they’d just use another tool on you.

“Okay well, let’s get on with it. Y/N Stark, please tell me where your dad is keeping his suit prototypes in the East. We know it’s somewhere out there, but please help us find the actual location.”

“Go. To. Hell.” your voice barely above a whisper.

With a wave of his hand, the toolmen got to work.

You screamed out in agony as the blade took a deep swipe across your stomach, your shirt being ripped a long time ago. You had gotten used to the chill in the room, being left in just a bra and your (now) ripped jeans. The warmth of your blood gliding down your stomach was the only warmth you’d felt in day. Days. Where the hell were the team and why haven’t they gotten here yet.

The next cut being made to your face pulled you from your thoughts. The face cuts were the worst, they stung more and would likely leave scars you’ll see each time you look in the mirror. You stifled your scream this time, letting tears fall instead. Knife guy moved to the side and your eyes locked with Peter’s. His bottom lip was bleeding from the tight hold his teeth had on it. His eyes burned red and he was covered in a layer of sweat. It was tough to tell who this was hurting more, you or Peter?

Taser Man took his spot in front of you, blocking Petr from view. You looked up at him, his yellow teeth on display in a grin.

“Fuck y-”

Your body jolted as electricity shot through you. The taser was the worst. You couldn’t hold back your scream for Peter’s sake. All screams and tears would let loose, echoing in the small room.

“Great going, she passed out again. Now we’ll have to wait for her to wake up.” One man said to the other as they made their way to the door, slamming it shut.

Peter just stared at your motionless body, hating himself for not being able to do a damned thing to keep you safe.

As you came to, you heard shouting and gunshots.

“Y/N? Y/N? Hey, hey, come on open your eyes.” You opened your eyes to Peter sitting across from you. You could feel the drying blood on your cheek from the previous cut.

“Pete-?”

“Shh, don’t speak. They’re here. We’re gonna get out of here. Oh god, Tony’s gonna kill me. Shit y/n don’t move.”

You were about to reply when the door slammed open revealing the first doctor you met when you arrived. This time with a gun in hand.

He took long strides before stopping right in front of your face, “Now I know you don’t like answering our questions but this is your last chance okay? Where is Stark keeping the S.H.I.E.L.D. files?”

This question surprised you. Never once was S.H.I.E.L.D. mentioned. And it was definitely not something your dad ever told you about. Steve was more so the guy to ask.

“I- I don’t know..” You replied, staring at the gun resting near your thigh.

A sickening laugh filled the room,“You don’t know? Huh. I’m betting you do.”

“I don’t! I swear this time I don’t. Ask me anything else just please, don’t kill me.” You breathed out your last words, eyes still on the gun.

“Kill you?” you meet the man’s cold eyes as he walked backwards. “I figured since you don’t really care about getting stabbed or cut or tased or hit, you probably would die protecting your dad’s precious secrets. But him?” He pointed the gun at Peter, making your stomach drop. “You wouldn’t want poor little Spidey to die. You know since he’s the one who kept his mouth shut to prevent you from the tools. Or he’s the only one you’ve agreed to go on a date with. And since he’s the one your heart rate kept speeding for.”

“How’d y-”

“Honey, we’ve been watching you for years! Ever since news got out Stark had a daughter, we waited for the perfect moment,” his eyes focused on yours as he took a small step towards you again. “We knew you’d put up a resistance, but you really surprised us all. And now you’re going to tell me where the files are or god so help me, I will blow out the brains of your little boyfriend.”

His face was right in yours, spit landing on your blood and tear streaked face. You caught a metallic glimpse of a reflection out the door, choosing your next words carefully.

“I don’t think you would.”

Just then, a shot went off as you screwed your eyes shut.

[poppo911]

D-Day Jitters (Chapter 2)

Chapter 2: To the bride

Word count: 3k-ish

Also on FFN

Chapter 1 | Chapter 3

"How's Major—uh, Riza—doing, anyway?"

"I… don't know. I hope she's doing better than me. She always did."

"…you don't know?"

Nobody is in their correct mind on their wedding day—she reminded herself over and over, like a mantra chanted inside those sacred temples of her mind.

Rebecca Catalina had always had the honour to be one of the very few people who had seen the notoriously stoic Riza Hawkeye in her ups and downs. She had been there (much to her amusement) during Riza's extremely rare hangovers. She had always been the one stroking her blonde hair, patting her on the back while she wept silently into her shoulder. Heck, Rebecca even managed to handle her best friend after she came back from the nightmare called Ishval (though she rather kept that particular memory at bay.)

But not this. Never this. And it was driving the brunette crazy.

Which was exactly why she was there, one hand on her hip while fiddling a mascara with the other.

"Rebecca," she said sternly.

Inhale. Exhale. Keep your composure. "No. And you can keep glaring at me like that for the next one hour because, you know what, my answer would always be the same; hell no. Yeah, go fight me."

Riza wanted to pull her hair in frustration, but doing so will utterly destroy her hairdo those stylists had worked on for hours. Covering her face with her hands, and the make up Rebecca nearly finished would be at stake. Thus she opted to curl her fingers into clenches in an agonizingly slow motion.

"You can not strip a sniper of their firearms!"

"Sorry, Major—scratch-that—Miss Hawkeye, but you are stripped of your right to handle any kind of firearms when you resigned from the military five weeks ago."

"But I still retain my gun certification!"

"Then I'm revoking it!" Rebecca retorted, the words I'm-so-done-with-this plastered on her expression, "Well, at least for now. And don't give me your lame but-I-have-to-watch-his-back-from-dangers angsty bullshit. You reviewed the goddamn security algorithm yourself. Just so you know, the budget allocation for today's security system is at least twice bigger than the total amount of money we spent for your grandpop's entire inauguration ceremony. So, no. Gun certification or not, you're not bringing anything beneath your gown."

Her face fell, shoulders slumped in defeat. Rebecca was afraid she was going to cry uncharacteristically, but honestly, better now than after she applied the mascara. Smeared make-up, she can touch it up in a few minutes. But smeared mascara? Catalina was willing to delay the entire procession instead should that happened.

Sighing, she made her way to sit beside the former officer. As silly as it was, if there was anything Riza would seek comfort in everytime her anxiety decided to make an appearance, it would be her guns and whatever came with them. Rebecca couldn't blame her for that—she had seen how her best friend clinged into her sniper rifle as if her entire life depended on it (in a more serious notion, it really did.) She had even considered to let her carry just one to the altar, for everything seemed to much for her friend (and for her, too, frankly speaking) to handle. Dammit, I almost had let her, she internally confessed.

But Rebecca Catalina was experienced in breaking many rules—more than enough for her to know not to break this one.

"C'mon, Ri," Rebecca softly called out to her, poking her arm in a playful manner. "You're just nervous. You can do this, okay?"

"It's just… wrong. I feel as naked as a newborn," she mumbled.

"Oh, you absolutely will, Dear. Tonight after everything's wrapped up. And that flame boy of yours would be more than pleased."

"Rebecca!"

"Yeah, sorry, sorry," chuckling, she snaked an arm around her waist, "I mean, the sexual tension between you two is sometimes too palpable I can't help but to bring it up now that it's not really illegal anymore! Say, are you sure you guys had never fucked before?"

Riza looked at her in dismay.

"Even if I did—which I did not, anyway, not while I was working under his command—" not while I was working under his command, the ambiguous context that came with it didn't go unnoticed, "—I wouldn't narrate them the way you did yours, Beck."

"Hey, what's wrong with that?"

"You don't know," Hawkeye made an audible sigh, "you don't know how hard it was for me to look at Jean in the eyes everytime I talk to him during work hours when you guys first started dating. He thought I was mad at him or something."

"How could—oh… No. No way, you naughty, naughty Rizzie,"

"As if it was my fault. Your description was way too graphic, for your information."

Rebecca bursted into laughter.

"Yeah, yeah. But I succeeded, didn't I?"

"At what?"

"Making a nervous bride forgetting her wedding day nerves, perhaps?"

Her lips curled into a small smile as Rebecca hummed in approval beside her.

But Riza quickly shook her head as the somber mood started crawling back in, "I don't know if this was really for me, Beck. Even if it was… I don't even know if I can pull it off,"

"You? Can not pull it off? Ex-fucking-cuse me, but have you seen this?" Rebecca stood up and moved to stand behind her friend's sitting figure, turning her to face the full length mirror on one side of the wall. "See? If this was not for you, you wouldn't had spent the past months wearing yourself out preparing for this moment…"

She was quite a sight, really. And Rebecca didn't say that merely because she was a supportive best friend who would say anything to relieve her anxiety. A bun wrap decorated with pearl beadings held her silky blonde hair in a messy updo. The brocade hugged her curves perfectly, with intricate floral embroideries around her waist. Downwards were fabrics layered into a ball gown. Big brown eyes, and plump, red-tinted lips—that Mustang guy sure was a lucky bastard, she pondered.

Though she did take pride on her make up work (Rebecca had been the one dolling Riza up in nearly all occasions requiring such attires—like hell she was going to let someone else doing it for her big day,) she admitted, it was the bride herself contributed the biggest to make her looked radiant.

The brunette looked at her perplexed eyes reflected in the mirror, all the way down to her neckline, her ball gown, heels, trains, then back to her face—"Riza Mustang, the First Lady of Amestris, and, despite the strict upbringing I know you will apply, still a no less good mother to her children, and—oh,"

Rebecca decided, then, that she didn't want smeared make up as much as she didn't want smeared mascara.

Careful not to destroy anything—except her make up, sadly, for it was already in a dire need for a touch up—she pulled her friend in a tight embrace. Suddenly it was just like the old times—her face on her shoulder, hand patting her back in silence. I'm sorry. Please. You're okay. I'm sorry.

If she was being honest, Rebecca preferred to deal with Riza throwing tantrums or giving her icy glares that could freeze furnace. She hated being in this position when her seemingly-impassive friend clearly showed her distress, yet told her nothing.

She knew what made her upset, but at the same time, she did not. She understood how she might felt, but she also couldn't relate.

Just like this one.

Riza's place had always been in that one spot casted aside where nobody could notice her. Whether it was on a watch tower with her scope, or two steps behind Mustang's back, she worked best from where she couldn't be seen. Then all of a sudden, she was shoved into the center of attention. She was expected to be there with him in the spotlight, instead of lurking in the shadows he casted.

Too sudden. And certainly too many eyes are watching.

A sane Riza Hawkeye would had handled it just fine, a goddamn rational she was. Maybe with several adjustments at best, Rebecca corrected herself. Yet she knew, the Riza Hawkeye who had spent the past few months preparing for something this big mostly by herself (damn the Fuhrer and his presidential duties) is far from a sane Riza Hawkeye.

Yeah, let alone the one being covered nation-wide with thousands of guests—arranging a wedding itself was already a hassle, if her friends' testimonies were to be trusted. In hindsight, they were.

Rebecca had been occupied by her own job in the office that she only managed to keep tabs on her and offered her suggestions via phonecall frequently—and even that was enough for her to recognize the extent of Riza's distress. Catalina was glad her commanding officer compelled to her… request, when she asked for a two-weeks leave. God knew she was willing to break yet another rule should that snobbish superior officer of hers did otherwise because Lord, I'm not gonna leave this poor girl alone any longer.

She understood.

But she didn't. Both at the same time.

So she just sat there, trying her best to offer her friend some comfort. Riza had rarely been the one to talk her problems through—not with her, at least, she begrudgingly admitted—and Rebecca knew, under this condition, the only thing that could soothe her was a good night sleep in amiable silence. And by the following morning, she would be back to the reasonable, no-nonsense Riza Hawkeye.

The problem? They had to be ready in less than an hour. So a good night sleep was off the options.

Rebecca was cursing her helplessness in silence when the door clicked open.

A rather bulky woman with long, curly black hair appeared from the threshold, making her way to where they were sitting at in a deliberate gait. She was wearing burgundy dress inside a furry coat, she noticed, flashy necklace decorated her neck down to her chest. Rebecca was about to deem her outfit too eccentric—even by her standard—for a formal ceremony (which already spoke volumes, really) if she hadn't been busy being intimidated by said woman's presence. This middle-aged lady was not from the military, that was for sure—but why does she look strangely familiar?

"Am I interrupting something here?"

Riza's shoulders tensed up for a second as she recognized the voice. "No, Madame Christmas," she answered, her hands frantically searching and grabbing for anything she can wipe her tears off with. (Rebecca noticed she considered using her own wedding gown for that. It was a fortune she didn't.)

Hold a sec… that Madame Christmas?!

The woman's voice was raspy when she called out, "Rebecca Catalina, is it? The bridesmaid?"

She nodded.

"Let me handle her," she continued, "you go get that—" pointing at her bare, make-up-stained shoulder, "—thing fixed."

"I—right away, ma'am," taking a good look at the bride's recently messy face, she corrected, "uh, actually, I'm sorry but… it seems that I have to redo this one first,"

If she was any less dignified, the Madame would have snorted.

"And by 'her', I was also referring to that. It's alright. Those girls had to learn to do their nightly make up from someone, after all."

Rebecca paused for a moment, considering what to do next before she stood up from her seat in a swift motion. She gripped Riza's shoulders to give her a semblance of reassurance. Their eyes locked—it was as though hers were saying I will see you later and good luck with this combined.

She left the room after hovering around the door threshold for a little longer than what was necessary.

Madame Christmas collected everything she required to do her face at the other side of the room in silence. It wasn't long before she was already seated in front of her, a whole box of cosmetics in her hands.

If she dared to describe it, Riza thought, she would say it was really… awkward.

Yes, they had met each others from time to time for years already. Be it arranging a coup d'etat or a wedding, the Madame had been a great help. But Roy had always been there—frankly speaking, it was more like Roy and his mother, and then she was there in the background, giving her occasional remarks. This woman had already had her respect for quite a long time. Riza knew her very well.

But apparently, still not well enough for her to become comfortable facing the Madame one-on-one.

"Spill,"

The word came rather unexpectedly—well, not that anything was within expectation, as far as the Madame was concerned. Riza only managed to give her a confused blink in response.

"I didn't work as an information broker for nothing. Now is the chance for you to tell me what troubles you and let it all out, before I decided to point them out one by one."

Madame Christmas continued to do the younger woman's face as she waited for her to speak her mind out.

Wipe this part off. Several strokes of brush here.

Seconds turned into minutes, yet her face remained impassive—funny, really, with those trails of tears on her cheeks—a perfect mask to cover whatever turmoil existed beneath. Christmas quietly sighed; Roy wasn't exaggerating anything when he told her that his (former) adjutant was very, very private, keeping her thoughts and feelings close to her chest.

Chris Mustang finally decided to give in before minutes turned into hours.

"My son is very fond of you, you know,"

She did.

"Whenever he came home for a short break during his alchemy apprenticeship, his stories mostly consisted of my master's daughter this and my master's daughter that… and he did that for years. I knew you like your tea with two spoonful of sugar and no milk years before we actually met."

The words tugged the corners of her lips upwards.

"Even in his academy days, he still liked to recount the letters his master's daughter sent him in his writings. Not once, not twice… quite frequent, in fact. But his master's daughter suddenly vanished into thin air when he was shipped off to war." She paused for a while, scrutinizing her face to the tiniest details, "…I will drop this subject here. Neither of us would like to talk about that now.

"My point is, whether it was his master's daughter, or Elizabeth, or Captain Hawkeye—you two have been together for a long time. As bothersome as it is, this whole marriage ordeal shouldn't bring any difference."

In her mind, Riza was mulling those words over. But for not too long—eventually she found herself lost in her own train of thoughts. Why is she here now? Did Roy send her? Or was it Mrs. Gracia? She wasn't sure of what to say next—

As if she was stung by a wasp, Christmas suddenly drew herself away from her, her eyes narrowed. Much to Hawkeye's bewilderment.

"My Roy-boy can stand there dumbfounded, thinking that his bride had left him at the altar because I am not letting you go if my whole speech just now actually turned into a monologue. I don't really talk much—show me some courtesy for my efforts."

It took every attempts she had to keep her brown eyes fixed on the Madame's.

"I'm sorry, Madame. I didn't want to make your job any harder by talking and moving my face," she finally reasoned.

"Still not a good enough excuse. Try again."

"I—"

Madame Christmas' gaze was unfazed.

Riza swallowed a lump she didn't know had been forming behind her throat. Her eyes frantically searched for anything, anything except the Madame's eyes, to look at, like a chameleon with a den of snakes preying on it nearby. It was when her survival instinct kicked in (was it due to a fight-or-flight response?)—

Don't move. Stare at a fixated point. Breathe deeply three times. Something the military taught to the new recruits to keep their fear under control.

Accordingly, she did as such, and thank God and whatever good up there, it worked.

"I… I'm sorry. This isn't me. People told me it's just the cold-feet but…" she cleared her throat before her sentence turned into nonsensical ramblings, "it's not the wedding per se… but the changes that follow. I don't think I'm ready for it. I can't help but to keep second-guessing myself."

The woman looked at her in an unreadable way. She continued to do her job as she quietly spoke, "Like I said, Riza. Despite everything, nothing much will change. And you knew what you're into when you both made this decision,"

"I know, Madame," the sensible Riza will kick herself later for interrupting the Madame, "we know the consequences. It's just… unnerving, to put it that way. The change. I've been a soldier for years. I've been hiding behind his back, watching it, for as far as I can remember.

"But today onwards, there will be only ceremonial duties shoved onto my plate. Organizing and attending official ceremonies, charitable works, campaigns—he's already used to doing public services, and suddenly people expect me to be there with him. Or to be there on my own. It's overwhelming."

There. She said it.

(Just then, Riza understood how Madame Christmas managed to maintain her business for tens of years.)

She nodded in understanding.

"I see," came her reply, "Amestris is a rather conservative country. It was a wonder your grandfather managed to get through without having one," Chrismas paused and smudged the corner of the eyeshadows using her finger, "looking at Mrs. Bradley, and the one before her several years prior, it can't be helped that the people perceipt their First Lad—"

"Don't say those words," Riza cut in. "…please," she added, as an afterthought.

The elder woman quirked her brow. So that was why, she assumed, but compelled to her wish nonetheless.

"Change is indeed frightening," she voiced after a while, "but we never know what lies ahead. Change is not always bad. The biggest thing that altered my life abruptly happened more than thirty years ago after learning about my brother's, and his wife's, unfortunate demise."

Riza thought she knew where their conversation pointed to. But she also thought it would be wiser not to say anything.

"I took the toddler they left behind under my care. In retrospect, it was nowhere near any propriety—I had been running a small hostess bar by that time. Not an exactly fitting environment to raise a kid, obviously. But we adjusted. It wasn't easy, I remind you, but I accepted the way it changed my life. You know him, and you know how he was—is a pain in the arse to deal with.

"But it was altogether the best decision I ever made—Amestris wouldn't have their incumbent Fuhrer if I did not,"

Using her fingers, Madame Christmas lifted Riza's chin and turned it slightly to the left-and-right, admiring her work for a moment before she went on.

"You look like you still got something to say. Spill it out. We don't have much time left."

Hawkeye prided herself on her ability to hide most of her thoughts, but she swore, this woman in front of her secretly possessed a psychic ability.

"I—" she paused as the Madame smeared more lipstick, "Just something every brides thinks of when they are doubting themselves. I… I don't know if I really can make him happy—"

Christmas pressed the powder puff on her cheek with a little more force than what was necessary.

"Happiness is something you have to work on. Both of you have to actively make the efforts. Don't make my boy's job harder with that negative attitude of yours."

Putting everything back to the box, she dusted her hands clean in a satisfied manner. "There. It's all done."

Riza turned to face the mirror and she admitted, the Madame wasn't lying when she said something about teaching those girls to do their make up.

She was about to open her mouth, thanking the madame, when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Turning back, Madame Christmas was looking straight at her—yet, strangely, it didn't feel as intimidating as she thought it was.

"I've never been good with emotions, but do you feel better?"

More than better, she wanted to voice. As someone who preferred to internalize her problems and feelings a lot, she didn't know how talking them through could actually make her relieved. She felt like a heavy load she wasn't aware was there had been lifted from her shoulders, a figurative stone chained onto her leg, weighing her down, suddenly became nonexistent.

A glowing smile graced her lips as she finally said, "I do, Madame. Thank you very much. I owe you this—along with everything I can't mention one by one."

"Take good care of my son and we're even," she replied in a-matter-of-factly while standing up from her seat, "I think it's time. Your grandfather had been waiting for quite a while."

The retired general came out from behind the then-closed door, walking in with a smile plastered on his old face.

"Not too long ago, Chris. Captain Catalina wouldn't let me in until she was sure you're done already," how insubordinate of her, he murmured.

Christmas shrugged, "just make sure you do this right," she said. A brief seconds passed before the woman decided to make her way out, "I will be on one of the benches,"

Grumman merely shook his head. Same old, same old. "Now this is weird… handing off my granddaughter to a man who's been with her way longer than I even know her." She threw him an apologetic smile.

"Let's go, shall we?" He called out, offering his hand to his only remaining bloodline.

"Yes, Sir." Riza accepted his hand in a proper stance. Just like the rules instructed.

She couldn't see it as they were walking out of the room, down to the hallway, but from his voice—disheartened, with a tinge of disappointment he tried to conceal—Riza knew the elderly man holding her hand was already making a face.

"I told you to call me just Grandpa, Riza. I'm even retired now—no excuse left for you to keep calling me that."

Change is not always bad.

Riza let out a small smile and shook her head,

"One step at a time… Grandfather."

Do you guys know how hard it was to write Madame Christmas? Well, I didn't, until I re-read and re-write this chapter a million of times, yet I still feel I can't do her character justice. Sorry. I'm sorry sobs. Please do tell me where I went wrong DX

"I hope she's doing better than me. She always did." Newsflash Roy-boy, she was not, and that's the irony of this chap lol. I hope Riza wasn't too OOC here, but if she was, uh, may I use that 'nobody is in their correct mind on their wedding day' excuse?

Yes, I still tagged this fic as incomplete, just you wait… *winks* and if I ever posted any third chapter at all, maybe that one will be the last.

Thank you for reading! :D

[droneseco]

Govee Flow Pro Wi-Fi Light Bars Review: Customizable Flashy Lights Are Fun

With colors abound, the Govee Flow Pro Wi-Fi Light Bars can light up any room, making them a solid RGB smart lighting option for all budgets. The automatic light changing Video mode doesn't live entirely up to expectations, but the customization options, easy to use app, and general color output make the Govee Flow Pro's a decent RGB lighting option for any home.

Govee Flow Pro Wi-Fi Light Bars

8.00 / 10

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With colors abound, the Govee Flow Pro Wi-Fi Light Bars can light up any room, making them a solid RGB smart lighting option for all budgets. The automatic light changing Video mode doesn't live entirely up to expectations, but the customization options, easy-to-use app, and general color output make the Govee Flow Pro's a decent RGB lighting option for any home.

Specifications

Brand: Govee

Integrations: Alexa, Google Home

Protocol: 2.4GHz Wi-Fi, Bluetooth

Hub Required: No

Music Reactive: Yes

Multicolor Capable: Yes

Pros

Lots of customization options

Good array of colors

Very easy to install and configure

Integrates with other Govee products

Cons

ColorSense camera is low quality

Video mode only outputs one color

Buy This Product

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RGB lighting is everywhere, turning homes and offices across the land into beautiful light shows. Portable RGB lighting is even better, allowing you to bring an ambiance to your living room for a film then turning your kitchen into the scene of a rainbow-colored rave.

Govee's Flow Pro Wi-Fi TV Light Bars tick those boxes nicely, and while they're not the flashiest or most stylish of RGB light-towers, the end product and customization options make them a worthwhile contender in this increasingly busy (and color-filled) space.

What's In the Box?

Before delving into the hardware specs and shiny RGB lighting configurations, here's what you'll find in the Govee Flow Pro Wi-Fi TV Light Bars box:

2x Flow Pro Light Bars

2x Light Bar desktop stands

2x Light Bar screen mounts

1x camera

1x control box

1x power adapter

There are also some foam stickers, which you'll use to configure the ColorSense camera, and the configuration and user manual.

Govee Flow Pro Specifications & First Impressions

The Govee Flow Pro light towers are Wi-Fi and Bluetooth enabled, and integrates with Alexa and Google Home, but does not offer Siri support. Furthermore, the maximum supported screen size for the Flow Pro is 45 inches.

Here's the full spec list:

Size: 47 x 3.31 x 3.31 inches

Color Temperature: 2200-6500k

Lumens: 400lm

LED Type: RGBICWW

Power: AC 100-240V

Input: 12V/2A

Camera: 2MP

Connectivity: 2.4GHz Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.0

Controls: Desktop control box, Govee Home app for Android and iOS, or voice command via smart assistant

Out of the box, the Govee Flow Pro lights feel decent enough. They don't carry a substantial weight to them, but this is to be expected for a lighting product you can mount on the rear of your TV or monitors. That said, the desktop stands are weighted to stop them toppling over, and along with the screen mounts, are extremely easy to install.

Plugging the light towers and camera into the control box and a power source only takes a moment, and you can find yourself cycling through the myriad color schemes and lighting modes within a couple of minutes of unboxing.

Overall, it's a good first impression.

Wondering why there is a camera? The Govee Flow Pro camera monitors your screen, analyzing the colors on display and changing the RGB lighting in response. Here's a short video of the RGB color changing camera response underway. The first game is Red Dead Redemption 2 Online, the second is Day of Infamy, and the third is Project Cars 2.

How to Setup the Govee Flow Pro

Govee's Flow Pro Light Bars are very easy to setup and get up and running. It's a four-part process:

Position your stands and attach the light bars

Connect the light bars and overhead camera to the control box

Configure the camera via the Govee Home app

Customize your light bars with the Govee Home app

1. Position the Govee Flow Pro Light Bars

The first thing to do is decide where you're placing your Govee Flow Pro light towers. How you decide may depend on your existing TV setup. The screen mounts with attached lights protrude 5cm from the surface of the device. If you have a wall-mounted screen, you may not find enough clearance directly behind your hardware.

If this is the case, you have a few options: switch out for the desktop mounts, mount them behind a storage cabinet or TV stand, or you could even lay the light towers atop your TV itself, provided you have a strong enough stand. The light towers themselves are lightweight and shouldn't cause an issue regarding weight, but you might have to fiddle with placement if you go for this.

The second thing to consider is the light bar USB cable length and the control box's positioning. You can control the lights using the Govee Home smartphone app or a smart home assistant, but the light bar cable length will also dictate your lights' location in relation to the control box, which serves as the power source.

Once you decide on where you want your Govee Flow Pro Light Bars, it's time to reach for the mounts. The desktop mounts are weighted and freestanding, so you can move them around to adjust the lights' position. Whereas, the screen mounts come with a self-adhesive patch ready to stick to your TV or monitor.

Attaching the light bar to the stand is easy in both cases. With the desktop stand, you slot the cable end into the stand, allowing the cable to escape at the bottom. The screen mount stands attach to the back of the light bar with a handy secure notch. Once they click into place, they won't budge unless you attempt to remove them specifically.

2. Connect the Govee Flow Pro Light Bars and Camera to the Control Box

The control box has three inputs:

Power

USB Type-A for the Light Bars

USB Type-C for the overhead camera

You must now decide where you want to position the ColorSense camera. I've tried overhead and underneath the screen, and it makes little difference to the camera picking up on-screen color changes. You can go with whichever configuration suits your setup or is most aesthetically pleasing.

Stick the camera to the top of your screen, in the center, using the tear-off sticky strips, then attach the USB cable to the control box.

Next up, plug the USB cable for the Light Bars into the control box, followed by the power cable.

At this point, you can take the Govee Flow Pro Light Bars for a spin—you don't have to wait to configure the camera to play with the lights and try out some colors. Tap the power button on the control box. The lights should default to the camera video mode, instantly illustrating how the colors change in response to your screen.

You should also note that video is the default lighting mode. Once you switch away from it using the control box, you must enable it again using the Govee Home app.

3. Configure the Camera and the Govee Home App

Your next step is to configure the camera and the Govee Home app. Although the lights work without the app, it is well worth installing and learning how to use because it features customizable light colors, color schemes, lighting patterns and modes, and much more.

Download: Govee Home for Android | iOS

Download the app, then fire it up. In the top right corner, hit the + icon, then search for h6054. Your Flow Pro Light Bar should appear. Select it, confirm any permissions requests, then pair with your device using Bluetooth. Once the pairing completes, you can give your Govee Flow Pro Light Bars a name (which you can change later for use with smart assistants).

Now the proper configuration phase begins

Lighting Bar Position: Switch each lighting bar on and off, confirming its location. If the light bar is on the opposite side, select Switch Positions > Position Correct.

Foam Stickers: Take the eight foam stickers from the box, position them according to the image on your screen, and select Ready.

Calibration: You'll see an image snapped by the camera. Drag the four points across the screen, then make sure the top-center point is aligned. Hit Next. Now, drag the yellow points to the suggested locations, making sure they're aligned. Hit Submit.

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Once the configuration ends, you can begin experimenting with color schemes and lighting modes in the Govee Home app.

Selecting Govee Light Studio opens Govee's suggested lighting schemes, a color gallery, and some interesting-if-garish videos from other Govee users. Note that in the final section, the other users are using various Govee lighting products, not just the Govee Flow Pro. Still, it may well inspire you!

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You can also use the Govee Home app to combine multiple Govee lighting products into a single Scene. Once paired, you can set the lights to turn on or off at a specific time or use a similar color scheme.

Govee Flow Pro Lighting Performance

The video earlier in this review illustrated how responsive the Govee Flow Pro lighting system is while using the monitoring camera, known as Video mode.

In short, the Flow Pro video mode isn't responsive enough and with enough overall lighting quality to use as a permanent feature. The changes can be stark and choppy, and the lighting doesn't always reflect the main color on the screen nor pick up subtleties in color.

Furthermore, even though the light bars can display multiple colors at once (as you'll find in Music mode), Video mode cannot make use of this, presumably because images move too fast for the 2MP to respond to. Add in some ambient lighting in the room, and the Flow Pro camera struggles even more.

Is this a reason to dismiss the Govee Flow Pro?

Absolutely not. The Govee Flow Pro adds a nice splash of color to a room.

The Govee Home app makes it supremely easy to customize color schemes, chop and change modes and settings, and generally adapt the aura of your RGB setup to your liking.

For example, the DIY mode enables you to build custom color sets matched with different lighting effects, while the Music setting responds to audio and displays lights accordingly across several different color modes.

Just make sure the control box can hear the music directly, as that's where the microphone is housed. You can also adapt the sensitivity of audio-lighting response, as well as between dynamic and ambient modes.

Govee Flow Pro Light Bars Repairability

As you might expect, these RGB light towers don't offer much by way of repairability. The product user guide states, "the internal light source of the light bars cannot be replaced. If damaged, the light bars must be replaced."

On the flip side, these are very low wear and tear parts, and most owners will keep the Flow Pro Light Bars in a single location. The LED lights in the towers should last for tens of thousands of hours. One thing you can do to make sure the light bars last longer is to keep the cables slack, reducing tension and the chance of accidental breakage or overstrained cables or connections.

Govee Flow Pro Light Bars: Budget-Friendly Customizable RGB Lighting

The Flow Pro won't suit everyone. If you want your RGB to be color accurate to whatever is displayed on the screen, the Govee Flow Pro will probably disappoint you.

But the Govee Flow Pro Wi-Fi Light Bars is a great budget RGB lighting option that will fit easily into most homes or offices. I've been using the Light Bars on my desk with dual 24-inch monitors, and the result is excellent.

Govee Flow Pro Wi-Fi Light Bars Review: Customizable Flashy Lights Are Fun published first on http://droneseco.tumblr.com/

[charger-batteries]

Apple HomePod mini Review

There’s no shortage of smart speakers to choose from these days, but recent months have placed the focus on affordable, often spherical options. Apple's new HomePod mini, a $99 alternative to the larger, more powerful $299 HomePod, competes primarily against the $99 orb-like Amazon Echo (4th Generation) and the non-spherical $99 Google Nest Audio. If audio is your top priority, Apple's speaker is outperformed by Amazon's, as well as some other, non-smart wireless models in the $100 price range—the HomePod mini delivers solid, clean mono audio, but the Echo is substantially larger and more powerful, offering a stronger sense of bass response. That said, if you're already thoroughly invested in the Apple/iOS/HomeKit realm, the HomePod mini is still a strong smart speaker for the price.

HomePod mini Design and Features

The orb-shaped, 0.8-pound HomePod mini is available in space gray or white, and measures 3.3 by 3.9 inches (HW), with a flat panel on the top and on bottom preventing it from being a perfect sphere. The outer paneling is covered in an attractive, “acoustically transparent fabric” grille, and the top is a touch-sensitive control panel.

Internally, the speaker employs a single full-range, down-firing driver and dual passive radiators to enhance bass response. The down-firing driver’s audio is then dispersed by an “acoustic waveguide” that aims to capitalize on surface reflections to create 360-degree audio dispersion.

The HomePod mini might be small enough to pack in a suitcase or tote, but to be clear, it requires a power source in order to work. The hardwired cloth-lined charging cable terminates in USB-C, so the speaker can get its juice from a computer, or by connecting it to the included power adapter and plugging it into the wall.

The top panel glows white when audio is playing (or an array of foggy rainbow colors when Siri is listening or speaking) and has dedicated plus/minus buttons for adjusting volume. A single tap on the top panel plays or pauses audio, a double tap skips forward a track, and a triple tap navigates backward a track. Touching and holding the panel summons Siri, which you can also do by saying, “Hey Siri.” The controls are responsive and easy to operate.

Setup is automated and simple—just having an iPhone or iPad connected to Wi-Fi near the speaker is all it takes when you turn it on for the first time. The process involves agreeing to use Siri’s “recognize my voice” functionality, as well as syncing your Apple Music and iCloud settings, if you wish. Siri does a little demo for you, telling you how you can ask for music to be played or news to be read, though you can get more granular in Apple's Home app.

The HomePod mini is compatible with Bluetooth 5.0 and 802.11n Wi-Fi. Of course, the speaker also works with Apple AirPlay 2, so you can stream directly from Apple devices. There’s no physical connectivity here, however, like an aux input.

HomeKit, Siri, and Other Smart Functionality

The Apple Home app is designed to help you connect and automate smart home devices that are compatible with Apple's HomeKit standard. For instance, you can connect a smart light bulb from Nanoleaf and integrate it into your Home app, then use Siri voice commands on the HomePod mini to control it. Siri can turn it on and off, of course, but can also follow commands to turn the light, say, purple. Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant offer similar functionality, so you just need to make sure the smart home products you buy support the standard you want to use.

With Apple's intercom messaging function, you can send a voice message to multiple HomePod speakers throughout your home, and anyone can respond with their own voice message. Intercom messages can be sent to anyone who is part of your Home group inside the Home app. To send a voice message, you can simply say, “Hey Siri, intercom dinner’s ready,” and the message gets sent out, not just to other HomePods, but to any Apple devices you have set up in the app.

If you ask for a store’s hours on the HomePod mini, you might find that Siri has the directions to the store waiting for you when you get in your car and check the GPS via CarPlay. Ask Siri to find photos of zebras, and images of zebras will appear on your iPhone’s screen within seconds. Furthermore, Siri can recognize up to six voices on the HomePod mini, so Siri should also know that you asked about zebra images, and send them to your phone specifically.

As for audio sources, you can stream anything to the speaker from another compatible device (like an iPhone or laptop) via AirPlay 2. The speaker can also directly access Apple Music, Apple Music Radio, and Apple Podcasts, as well as iHeartRadio, Radio.com, and TuneIn radio streams. Some third-party audio apps, like Amazon Music and Pandora, have built-in integration, in which the HomePod mini will appear as a speaker option from within the app.

I have about 100GB of music stored on my iPhone 8, and nearly all of it was purchased over the years from the iTunes Store (I know, how old-fashioned of me). Before setting up Apple Music, my command, “Hey Siri, play Radiohead, ‘Decks Dark’” failed. When I clarified that I wanted to play music stored off of my phone, Siri complied, but getting a specific song to play proved difficult—Siri was happy to play “all music” on my iPhone or “shuffle music” on my iPhone, but requests like, “Hey Siri, use my iPhone’s Music app to play Radiohead,” and, “Hey Siri, play the playlist Testing Suite from my iPhone,” didn't work. Of course, you can always play music directly from your phone to the speaker manually via AirPlay 2, but the lack of integration of store-bought iTunes files with Siri voice commands is a bit disappointing.

With Apple Music up and running, Siri and the HomePod mini are both much happier. The speaker works smoothly, and music can be called up quickly.

How the HomePod mini Handles Privacy

In the era of digital voice assistants, it's reasonable to wonder: Is Siri always listening to me? Apple claims that, no, Siri isn’t listening when you don’t directly ask a question. But if you want to stop Siri from listening unless you expressly tell it to, you can turn off the HomePod mini's always-on mic by saying, “Hey Siri, turn off Hey Siri.”

Beyond this, Apple claims that when you ask Siri for anything—info from the internet, to play a song, ingredients for a recipe, etc.—the information exchange utilizes “random identifiers” to convey data back and forth. These random identifiers, Apple says, aren't traceable, so your searches are kept private. If you also disable the "send feedback" option, you have a smart speaker that should offer sufficient privacy to allay most concerns.

HomePod mini Mic and Audio Performance

The HomePod mini's four-mic array is designed to pick up voice commands from far away. We tested it with some quiet vocal commands from across a room, and can attest to an impressive reach. Obviously, if music is playing, you’ll have to speak up louder, and the mics once picked up a commercial during a football game—a voiceover said, “Hey Siri, who's leading the NFL in touchdowns,” and the HomePod mini immediately came forth with an answer. Someone in the booth during the broadcast also said something like, “Hey, seriously,” and this activated Siri, as well. I wasn’t listening to music, so this wasn’t annoying, but the potential to accidentally trigger Siri is there.

As for audio performance, Apple's “computational audio” here seems to be an example of the company creating a new term for one that already exists: digital signal processing (DSP). Nearly every speaker we test these days uses DSP to manage various aspects of the audio experience—most importantly, to prevent distortion when a speaker’s volume is maxed out. But DSP can also raise bass levels when the volume is turned low so that the audio still sounds full and rich. Apple's computational audio does these very things, along with aiding in the 360-degree audio dispersion made possible by the waveguide.

Whatever you want to call it, when a company implements DSP well, it’s usually a good thing—but make no mistake, the existence of computational audio in the HomePod mini isn't more impressive than the existence of DSP in any other speaker. Thankfully, Apple's version here allows the HomePod mini to get fairly loud for its size and price. At maximum volumes, you get a solid sense of bass depth, but the dynamics are limited to a notable degree. Again, this is par for the course with DSP, especially with a speaker this size.

On tracks with intense sub-bass content, like The Knife’s “Silent Shout,” the HomePod mini avoids distorting at top volumes—the deep bass thump is lessened to a thinner sound, but you still get a decent sense of low-end depth. At lower volume levels, the speaker does a good job of preserving the sense of bass depth so that the track still seems to pack a low-frequency punch without actually being played at a high volume level.

Bill Callahan’s “Drover,” a track with far less deep bass in the mix, gives us a better sense of the HomePod mini’s general sound signature. The drums here can sound thin on speakers that lack enough bass depth, but on the HomePod mini they sound relatively full and even a little heavy at times. It’s Callahan’s baritone vocals that seem to stand out the most in the lower register, with plenty of low-mid richness. Thankfully, the lows are balanced out with crisp high-mids and highs, giving the vocals some treble edge and the acoustic guitar strums some bright presence. At top volumes, we again can sense the DSP squashing the dynamics to a degree, but it doesn't sound bad, and at slightly more moderate levels, the dynamics are a little more vibrant.

On Jay-Z and Kanye West’s “No Church in the Wild,” the kick drum loop receives enough high-mid presence for its attack to retain its punchiness, while the sub-bass synth hits that punctuate the beat are more implied than delivered—we wouldn't really expect a thunderous subwoofer rumble from a speaker this size, anyway. This isn’t to say that the HomePod mini sounds brittle here—there’s plenty of added bass thump in the drum loop, just not powerful sub-bass. The vocals on this track are delivered with solid clarity and no added sibilance.

Orchestral tracks, like the opening scene from John Adams’ The Gospel According to the Other Mary, get a little added richness through the HomePod mini—the lower-register instrumentation is pushed forward in the mix, but balanced out well with the bright presence of the higher-register brass, strings, and vocals. This style of speaker isn’t designed for critical listening, nor for sub-bass thunder, but for casual listening it delivers some solid richness and strong overall balance.

We tested the HomePod mini on its own, but adding a second speaker to create a stereo pair can work wonders—just getting some stereo separation adds to the perception of a larger soundstage and more power. The difference between stereo mixes on a single HomePod mini versus a stereo pair of two is profound, but you're also doubling the price.

Comparing the HomePod mini with some similarly priced speakers, like the fourth-generation Amazon Echo, almost doesn't seem fair. Yes, they're the same exact price, but Amazon’s speaker is significantly larger, louder, more powerful, and provides a substantially stronger sense of bass depth. If audio is your top priority, it’s not even close—the Echo beats the HomePod mini (as well as the Google Nest Audio, for that matter) hands down.

Siri, Alexa, or Google Assistant? Which $99 Smart Speaker Is Right for You?

Ultimately, the value of Apple's HomePod mini comes down to how much you want Siri in your home (or to expand Siri's reach in your home). If audio quality is your top priority, you can get better performance with the $99 Amazon Echo or with a non-smart, portable Bluetooth speaker like the $129 JBL Charge 4. But if you already use Siri as your primary voice assistant, or you're invested in Apple's HomeKit smart home system, the HomePod mini won’t disappoint—its audio capabilities are solid, and its overall value is strengthened by its smart features.

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Google's Pixel Buds: Wireless earbuds for the extremely tolerant

Google’s Pixel Buds really sounded like they’d be pretty great. Imagine: Google’s version of Apple’s wireless AirPods. Same $160 price, same earbud-recharging carrying case (good for 24 hours’ worth of earbud recharges), and the same ability to let you speak, hands free, to your synthesized voice assistant, without having to pull the phone out of your pocket.

In fact, they sounded better than the AirPods, because the right and left earbuds are reassuringly connected by a wire instead of completely detached. The assistant is Google Assistant, which lots of people find superior to Siri. And above all, Google Translate is built in.

This is it! This is the “Star Trek” communicator! This is the Babel Fish! This is you, going forth into China or Norway or Brazil and having conversations with the locals—they speak, and you hear the English translation in your ears! For $160!

Or not.

As it turns out, the Pixel Buds sound terrific for music and respond well to Assistant requests. But the real-time translation thing is kind of a bust.

The Pixel Buds are wireless in the sense that they don’t plug into your phone—but there is a cord connecting the buds.

Meet the Case

The Pixel Buds come in a strange little clamshell case. It’s cheap-feeling plastic, covered with some kind of felt or fabric.

The buds charge in their fabric-covered case, thanks to a USB-C cable.

The earbuds themselves last 5 hours on a charge, but the case contains a recharging battery good for a total of 24 hours of earbud power. The case is otherwise a misfire, though. First, there are no indicators on the outside of it. Just to see if it’s charging, or how full the charge is, you have to open it and remove the earbuds. Baaaad design.

Second, the case doesn’t close unless the earbud cable is completely clear of the edges. To do that, you’re supposed to snap the right and left earbuds into their corresponding holes, and then wrap the fabric-covered cable twice around the case prongs, then thread it up the center and tap it flat.

It’s such a production that Google felt the need to include a diagram on the inside of the lid.

The latest Google phones don’t have headphone jacks—so Google offers these wireless earbuds.

Meet the Buds

The Buds are fussy in another way, too.

I have goofy ear cartilage; like about 10% of the population, I’m missing the antitragus, the bottom cartilage flap that holds most earbuds in. As a result, I can’t keep these things in my ears—they fall out constantly—and when they are in, the hard plastic gets painful after only a few minutes. I haven’t heard other people complain about the Buds falling out, but complaints about the discomfort are common.

The earbud cord goes through a hole in the bottom of the bud and then doubles back down into the top, forming a loop. You’re supposed to tuck this loop into your upper ear cartilage to help hold the thing in place. Unfortunately, the loop’s size tends to slip when you take the buds in or out of your ears, so you wind up having to adjust them often.

You’ll spend a lot of time fussing with the Loop.

All of this means that the Pixel Buds are fussy and inconvenient to get in and out, especially compared to the AirPods (sorry, Apple haters). With those, when you want to listen to something—say, a Facebook video that you decide to play—you just flip open the case’s lid, grab a bud, and slap it in.

Note, too, that these buds aren’t intended to block background noise. That’s good from a safety standpoint—you’ll hear traffic—but not so great for use on planes and downtown, where ambient noise will ever be with you.

Bud Control

Each Pixel Bud is made of two globs of plastic: One that’s supposed to go into your ear, and a larger part that’s touch sensitive (on the right earbud only).

You tap this surface to play/pause music or answer/hang up calls; double-tap it to hear notifications or your upcoming appointments; and you keep your finger pressed on it when you want to talk to Google Assistant.

These massive plastic bulbs aren’t the most comfortable thing to jam in your ears.

In that regard, the Buds are terrific: You don’t have to say “OK Google” before every command. Just touch that right bud surface, in the manner of a newscaster saying, “This just in!”

You can also swipe forward on that bud surface to adjust the volume when music is playing. That’s a lot more convenient than having to speak your volume-adjustment commands, as you must on the AirPods.

Google Assistant works exceptionally well with the Buds— if your phone runs Android Marshmallow or a later version (that’s the late 2015 edition). You can listen to notifications, dictate texts and emails, ask for information, place and answer calls, start and stop music—all without ever hauling your phone from your pocket. It’s just incredibly responsive and quick.

The only problem with that touch-sensitive right-bud surface is that it’s hard to avoid touching it during the origami session of putting the buds back into their case. You wind up starting music playback accidentally. Auuugh.

(One last comparison: The Apple AirPods pause music automatically when you remove one from your ear, and resume the music when you put it back in. The Pixel Buds, lacking the “Am I in the ear?” sensor, doesn’t do that, and you really miss it.) Live Translation!? And now what we’ve all been waiting for: live real-time language translation!

Sort of.

First, it works only with Google’s own Pixel 2 phone. If you have any other Android phone, you’re out of luck.

Here’s how it works.

You open up Google Translate, touch your earbud, and say, “Help me speak French” (or whatever language).

You hand your phone to the French speaker. While pressing your right earbud, you say, “Excuse me. I’ve hurt my foot. Is there a hospital nearby?”

The phone thinks for a moment (assuming you have an internet signal), and then both speaks and displays the French version: “Excusez-moi. Je me suis fait mal au pied. Y a-t-il un hôpital à proximité?”

You point to the little microphone button on the lower-right side of the screen, and gesture for the French speaker to hold it down while speaking. She might say, for example, “Vous devrez prendre le train pour Paris. Il n’y a rien autour d’ici.”

After she does so, you hear, in your earpiece, her answer: “You’ll have to take the train to Paris; there’s nothing around here.”

Repeat from step 3 to continue the conversation.

The translation feature is no better or worse than just using the Google Translate app by itself.

The translations—well, they’re exactly what you’d see on Google’s Translate web page. A perfect translation is rare; usually, you get the gist; and sometimes, you get hilarious or disastrous misfires. (I told a Chinese-speaking friend, “I love your work! You should get a promotion!” And she heard, in Chinese, “I want your job. You need some improvement.”)

The dirty little secret is that you can do this translation stuff without the Pixel Buds, and without a Pixel phone. Any Android phone running the Google Translate app does all of this already; the only difference is that you’re hearing the English translation in your earbuds instead of from the phone’s speaker.

(If you do have a Pixel phone, another benefit awaits: Automatic pairing when you open the charging case. That’s supposed to make a “Connect?” message pop up on the phone, so a single tap makes the connection. I had a lot of trouble getting that to happen, though; I wound up having to press the Pair button inside the case. Speaking of pairing: You have to pair these things manually every time you switch devices—from phone to laptop, say. It’s not automatic, as it is on the Apple ones.)

Not your best buds

There are lots and lots of fantastic wireless earbuds; here’s my review of 40 of them. Most of them cost less than the Buds, fit more comfortably and solidly, and don’t require any Boy Scout knot-tying every time you put them away.

What they don’t do, of course, is let you touch the right earbud when you want to speak to Google Assistant. But the Pixel Buds command a very steep price—in usability, convenience, comfort, and dollars—for that luxury.

More from David Pogue:

Royal Caribbean’s big bet on new tech

Battle of the 4K streaming boxes: Apple, Google, Amazon, and Roku

iPhone X review: Gorgeous, pricey, and worth it

Inside the Amazon company that’s even bigger than Amazon

The $50 Google Home Mini vs. the $50 Amazon Echo Dot — who wins?

The Fitbit Ionic doesn’t quite deserve the term ‘smartwatch’

Augmented reality? Pogue checks out 7 of the first iPhone AR apps 

David Pogue, tech columnist for Yahoo Finance, is the author of “iPhone: The Missing Manual.” He welcomes nontoxic comments in the comments section below. On the web, he’s davidpogue.com. On Twitter, he’s @pogue. On email, he’s poguester@yahoo.com. You can read all his articles here, or you can sign up to get his columns by email. 

[waqasblog2]

Reviewing Popular SEO Page Speed Tools I Recommend WebPageTest 💪

Fast web page render times are key for SEO success. Google has stated over and over that speed is important.

Fast render times are even more important now that most online activity is on a mobile device. This means slower, less reliable network connectivity and slower CPUs.

Surveys continue to show more consumers expect pages to load faster on mobile devices than desktops.

Why is speed so important?

No one likes to wait.

Studies show anxiety levels rise when a person must wait on a web page to render. If it takes too long they will find another answer or solution to their question.

Google calls this bounce rate and a bad bounce rate negatively affects your ability to rank.

What does it mean to load fast and how can you measure your page speed to make sure your site performs well.

Since these tools score our pages I decided to score them back!

Let's see how they do and what tool I recommend you use over all other tools...

Love2Dev Tool Score - D-

This is a popular tool with online marketers, but honestly it is bad, really bad.

The report looks nice and all, but they don't measure much that offers real value. That is unless your server is really, really bad.

You can enter a URL in their free online tool. They let you select from a few locations around the world to see how long it takes your content to reach the client.

And that is the clue, the time it takes your bytes to reach the client computer.

Pingdom only measures time to first byte, which in the scope of page speed accounts for 5% or less of your performance metrics.

It gives this site a score of 86% because of the Google Analytics and other tracking pixel requests. Those all come from external domains and do not have cache headers applied.

Otherwise I would score 100.

They give you a nicely formatted network waterfall. And as you can see from my profile, even including the favicon request my page's assets reach the browser in about 500ms.

My advice is to skip this tool, there are better, free options.

GTMetrix is another popular tool for search engine optimizers. This is another free tool, and like Pingdom it leaves a lot on the table.

The tool does offer a little more insight, but not much.

GTMetrix does run a basic audit of best practices on the page, which is nice. These are all good performance best practices, most I classify as low hanging fruit.

If you score bad in the PageSpeed items then you most likely have a configuration issue with your server or deployment process. It might also be your site's theme, so look in all these areas to improve.

The next tab is a bad sign in my opinion, YSlow.

Don't get me wrong YSlow was great, in its time. But the project has been deprecated for a few years as technology has progressed.

YSlow was created by a team at Yahoo, yeah that company we have all forgotten, as a FireFox plugin you could use to evaluate your page's performance.

They were based on research lead by Steve Souder's team back in the 2007 time frame.

Since then HTTP/2 and other changes to the web have happened, which make some of the YSlow recommendations obsolete.

For example, domain sharding, you should not shard anymore, but use HTTP/2. You should also use smaller files so you can control caching at a granular level.

Like Pingdom the tool really just measures how long it takes your page's resources to reach the browser.

Google Page Speed Insights

Love2Dev Tool Score - C+

This is the last of the popular SEO go to tools. It makes sense this one is offered by the Google search team, so it has to be good, right?

Compared to Pingdom and GTMetrix the Google Page Speed tool is much better. It does not bother with basic time to first byte, but focuses more effort on the rendering cycle, which is the key to good page speed.

The Page Speed tool recently went through an overhaul where it now runs its test using Lighthouse, which I will cover later.

The real value is the Lab Data section. Here you will see:

The real measurement that matters is Time to Interactive, the time when the page is fully interactive. This means when the page has completely loaded all assets, rendered and finished executing JavaScript.

And that my friends is how you measure real page speed, not how lond it takes the server to respond.

All the time up to the point the browser's UI thread is busy loading and rendering page assets.

Google Web.Dev

Love2Dev Tool Score - B-

While the Google Page Speed Insights tool recently migrated to using Lighthouse, they went one step farther by launching Web.Dev.

Like the page speed test, Web.Dev runs Lighthouse over your page. You get a very similar set of data, just more of it.

As a bonus you can view the actual Lighthouse report.

You do not have control over where the test is run. It is run from a Google server, somewhere in the cloud.

Speaking of Lighthouse...

Love2Dev Tool Score - B+

A while back the Chrome team started working on a site auditing tool, with a focus on page speed.

After a few iterations, including a deprecated Chrome extension, Lighthouse was born.

There are two ways you can run Lighthouse, from your browser and using the Node CLI.

To run Lighthouse from your Chrome browser open the developer tools (F12). Go to the 'Audits' tab.

You will be greeted with the ability to select which audits you want to run and the conditions the tests will execute.

I select all audits, because why not get everything!

Its free after all.

For conditions I like to select 'simulated fast 3G' and mobile. This should execute your page in a more harsh environment. This will reveal where you have issues more than if you run using your desktop and high-speed connection.

For the record, never test using high end equipment, like your developer's machine.

The Lighthouse report is rather detailed. It also gives you a nice filmstrip view of your page loading. This allows you to see what the page looks like to the consumer over time.

Running from the developer tools is very convenient, but I also mentioned the node CLI (command line interface).

This is great because your devops team and developers can integrate it in the site's build and deploy processes.

The tool exercises the page and creates a report in JSON format. You can then use the report data to verify the page is within your allowed performance budget.

SEOs will probably chuckle at the SEO audits because they are so high level. But look at the report this way, it is just another eyeball on those basic tasks, which your developer most likely overlooked.

Also, all these performance tools offer valuable SEO analysis because they are measuring and checking for many technical SEO requirements that most developers and non-technical folks overlook or do not know about.

Finally, the best page speed testing tool, WebPageTest.org!

If you really want to know how well your site and pages load you will use this test because it offers the most thorough coverage.

And it is FREE!

You can visit the site's home page, enter your url, select where the test should run and what browser or device should be used.

I like using the real phones in the Dulles data center to run my tests because they use a real cellular connection and real phones.

Public instances of WebPageTest are available from data centers all over the world. Because this site is popular in India, I often run tests from the Mumbai instance as well.

Honestly, I don't have the space here to dive into all the data collected by the tool. I focus mostly on the initial scorecard in the top right corner of the report, the times in the table just below the scorecard and the waterfall.

I have been using WebPageTest so much over the years I can glance at these three visuals and just know the basic health of the web page.

Like the Google Page Speed and Lighthouse you get the time to first interactive score as well as the full time it takes for everything, including the content being loaded by the service worker, to fully load.

For the record you want a 3 second or less time to first interactive, even on mobile. Many will say 5 seconds or less, but I have higher expectations.

Why?

Because if you achieve 3 seconds in a known environment then you should be faster than 5 seconds even in the worst environment.

You can also capture the Lighthouse report within the tool, which in my opinion make running Google Page Speed and Web.Dev a bit weak😊💪.

By default, the tool loads a page twice, this gives it the ability to check for properly cached URLs. You can adjust this and run it more times if you like.

You also get a filmstrip view. But even better you can also watch a video of your page rendering!

If you want to get more fancy or stand up you own WebPageTest instance you can. There is an API you can exercise to automate your tests.

WebPageTest is an open source project, which means you can clone it and stand it up in your data center. You can also clone an Amazon EC2 instance or use a container.

Don't worry if you don't understand what I am talking about, your developers and devops folks will.

If you have not guessed by now, WebPageTest is the tool I recommend always using to verify your site's page speed.

It has everything you want. It is regularly updated. It is easy to use and produces reams of data.

You can automate and stand up your own private instances if you want.

Finally, it is FREE!!!!

Monitor Page Speed Over Time

Performance is never a one and done effort. It requires investment over time. Tiny tweaks can have a big impact in either direction.

Sometimes different factors can affect a single measurement. Maybe a router was overloaded, which temporarily increased the network latency. Maybe a high CPU process was running on the client machine creating a longer time to first interaction. Maybe a third party dependency's server was down or unavailable, which created a delay.

This is why I typically do not rely on a single test, but run multiple passes and over time. I look for a consistent pattern to determine the real page speed.

But this can be tedious if you do it by hand. You cannot always remember to run a test every day or even for a large set of URLs. This is why an automated tracking tool or service can be a game changer.

This is what SpeedMonitor.io does for you. Just enter a URL, then some contact information and your first report is off and running!

You can add additional URLs and even track competing URLs. Over time you can see trends and patterns emerging.

If you are actively making tweaks to pages or the entire site you can see how your changes affect the

There are four key metrics, which just happen to map to 4 of the most important metrics in my opinion:

The data is collected from Google Page Speed Insights. Again the best thing is your tests will be run automatically each night for you. Plus since it is the Google Page Speed Insight tool you are getting data Google thinks is important.

Here's the best thing...

It is free!!!

So other than time needed to configure your URLs to monitor there is no financial commitment.

The service is new, so expect improvements and new features over time.

Wrapping it Up

Ok, these are the four most popular page speed testing tools. As you can tell I don't really care for Pingdom or GTMetrix and love Lighthouse and WebPageTest.

If you are an SEO, web developer or business owner you should make Lighthouse and WebPageTest part of your workflow.

If you have pages that are not scoring well, these tools will quickly show you where you are failing so you can take action to improve not only your search ranking, but your ability to engage customers and even make your staff more productive.

This content was originally published here.

[mouser26]

Supplemental Data: Battle Station Engineering Notes

This is an excerpt from the novelization Rogue One A Star Wars Story by Alexander Freed. TLDR: The Death Star was Sabotaged via Email Bullshittry of the highest order. You go Galen Erso.

[Document #YM3884L(”Waste Radiation Distribution Solutions”) Timestamped Approximately 18 months prior to Operation Fracture, sent from Engineering Operations Manager Shaith Vodran to Galen Erso.]

Erso:

I had the droids generate a new Systems Safety and Compatibility Report incorporating your team’s proposed adjustments to the reactor core. The new plans triggered a dozen subsystem warnings and spat out one blazing red stain on the line labeled “Hypermatter Annihilator Unit” I didn’t bother asking my astromech how bad that could be- a redline on a critical system speaks for itself. 

Why are we even making reactor modifications this late in the game?

Have your engineers check their work better next time. Suffice to say, no changes are approved.

[Document #YM3884M(”Reply to Waste Radiation Distribution Solutions”) sent from Galen Erso to Engineering Operations Manager Shaith Vodran]

Vodran,

Sincere apologies. I fully agree that this is unacceptable. The modifications are intended to reduce primary weapon recharge times to satisfactory levels (I’m sure you saw Tarkin’s directive) but sloppy work is sloppy work.

I assume you alerted Director Krennic to the report as well?

More as soon as I’ve spoken to my team.

[Document #YM3884N(”Reply to Waste Radiation Distribution Solutions”) sent from Engineering Operations Manager Shaith Vodran to Galen Erso]

Director Krennic is copied on all SSCRs, but if he wants oversight on these particular modifications, it’s your responsibility to brief him on your problems.

[Document #YM3884O(”Reply to Waste Radiation Distribution Solutions”) sent from Galen Erso to Engineering Operations Manager Shaith Vodran]

Vodran,

I alerted the director personally, at your suggestion.

I also spoke to my team and we identified the problem. The reactor core modifications are resulting in radiation buildup, which in turn has the potential of interfering with the hypermatter annihilator.

The buildup is caused by the inner shield actively reflecting excess particles and metaphorically “cooking” the reactor core. Had the shielding team’s research not been so heavily compartmentalized this might have been avoided.

Nonetheless.

The reactor core modifications must remain as-is. Therefore we are left with three possible ways of avoiding radiation build up.

Option one: construction of a particle funnel and recycler. This is known and tested technology. I am confident it will function. Physical requirements mean the recycler would need to replace existing noncritical mechanisms under the northern command sector, but I estimate the needed disassembly would take under two weeks.

Option two: further refinement of our reactor technology to reduce waste particles. I have several team members keen on this possibility. They are excited for the potential for a technological breakthrough.

Option three: construction of manual venting shafts and thermal exhaust ports. This should reduce particle buildup to within tolerances but not to a degree I find personally acceptable. In addition, adding venting shafts risks additional incompatibilities with noncritical systems.

Please alert me if you have concerns

[Document #YM3884P (”Reply to Waste Radiation Distribution Solutions”) sent from Engineering Operations Manager Shaith Vodran to Galen Erso]

I oversaw construction of the northern command sector myself. Tarkin has already toured the facilities. If the particle funnel and recycler can’t go anywhere else stick with options two and three. You might want to give Krennic the final decision. He’s concerned about the timetable.

[Document #YM3884Q (”Particle Buildup”) sent from Galen Erso to Advanced Weapons Research Director Orson Krennic]

Director:

As we discussed, attached are preliminary reports on two methods for reducing particle buildup. I made my preferences clear in person, but I defer to your judgement.

[Document #YM3884R (”Reply to Particle Buildup”) sent from Advanced Weapons Research Director Orson Krennic to  Galen Erso] 

Galen:

New research and technological development is out of the question at this juncture. Work up a full proposal for the exhaust port solution and send the plans to Vodran for SSCR.

[Document #YM3884S (”Venting Shafts”) sent from Engineering Operations Manager Shaith Vodran to Galen Erso]

Erso:

What is this trash? The Systems Safety and Compatibility Report quit running after two hundred redlines. I only reviewed the first dozen, but it looks like you’re flooding half the station with radiation? I thought these shafts were supposed to solve the problem.

No changes are approved.

[Document #YM3884T (”Reply Venting Shafts”) sent from Galen Erso to  Engineering Operations Manager Shaith Vodran]

I repeat myself, but: I apologize.

As you know and engineer might be single-minded in his or her focus on a particular task. I, along with my team, have fallen victim to the sin of hubris.

Of course I should have warned you that your droids might register dangers. The vents are designed to expel the majority of the heat and particle buildup, but some radiation leakage is inevitable. We estimate that human crewmembers stationed in any of the fifteen sections would- in the event that the battle station fires the primary weapon three times within one hour- be placed at increased risk for a wide variety of long-term health problems. the SSCR, of course, detected this in those “two hundred redlines”.

I am instructing my team to look into all options. To expedite matters, I must request the use of your droids in running several alternative scenarios.

This will be an inconvenience, I realize, but the safety of the battle station’s crew is paramount.

[Document #YM3884U (”Reply Venting Shafts”) sent from Engineering Operations Manager Shaith Vodran to Galen Erso]

Are the command sectors or officer quarters in the affected radiation zones?

[Document #YM3884V (”Reply Venting Shafts”) sent from Galen Erso to  Engineering Operations Manager Shaith Vodran]

No.

[Document #YM3884W (”Reply Venting Shafts”) sent from Engineering Operations Manager Shaith Vodran to Galen Erso]

Send me your final plans. I’ll declare the droids in error and override the next SSCR.

I’m not burying Krennic in redline report while you figure out how to keep a handful of stormtroopers from developing a cough.

Document #YM3884X (”Reply Venting Shafts”) sent from Galen Erso to Engineering Operations Manager Shaith Vodran]  

That’s not necessary. I’m certain we can resolve this. Even if a techncal solution fails, we may be able to alter crew rotation schedules to mitigate any health risks

[Document #YM3884Y (”Reply Venting Shafts”) sent from Engineering Operations Manager Shaith Vodran to Galen Erso] 

You may be too obtuse to realize it, Erso, but I’m doing you a favor, This project needed to be done weeks ago.

Send me the final venting shaft and exhaust port plans. I’ll bypass SSCR and submit them for production, manufacturing, and installation.

Changes have been approved.

[moonraccoon-exe]

Ehehe that anon just revealed your weakness. I see dirty stuff make you suffer so here's a thought. How about Iggy pole dancing for gladio. You imagine the other sexy details ;) just here to trigger your thoughts.

To be honest that’s not quite my thing, you know, like, I really can’t picture Ignis doing such sort of things; five seconds into the idea, I get awkward and it just doesn’t work. He’s like…too classy and formal, I vaguely see him doing something like that. Like, I imagine he’s not sex-inhibited but I don’t see him on the other side doing things like that. 

SO HAH! THAT WAS A NICE TRY, ANON BUT-

…wait a minute.

What is that that I’m seeing

GASPS

Could it be…

Impossible but

YES IT IS

A GLADNIS FANFIC ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

DAMMIT ANON

I THOUGHT THIS WOULD NOT TRIGGER MY THOUGHTS BUT HELLO YOU DID

WHY DO YOU DO THIS TO ME

As a note, I was honest; I can’t picture Ignis doing things like that without getting awkward, so the fanfic won’t go (fully) on that; not like you’d expected. But the “Ignis having the skill to pole dance” did trigger a thought and this happened. 

Maybe not the kinky stuff you were looking for, but here’s something: :)

I’m sorry I took SO LONG with this, anon. I was busy with a request and another fanfiction I’m writing. But I kept your comment present the entire time, and I’ve finally gotten to write this down. Thank you greatly for delivering a comment to trigger something; I enjoy writing, and I enjoy anons

I hope you like it. Slight NSFW warning, and some fluff under the cut.

Enjoy ^^

Title: AMan of Many TalentsPairing: Gladnis (Gladiolus Amicitia x Ignis Scientia)Warning: NSFW. Also, didn’t review for any typos/mistakes. Enjoy, nonetheless.

It probablyshould not have been the first thing to come to his head, not in their currentcontext, at least, but Gladiolus could not help it.

They werein the middle of battle with some beasts they had encountered in the middle ofnowhere. It was not anything out of the ordinary or something they had not donebefore, so Gladio, like in almost any other battle, and as easy as he had it towin, sometimes liked to stare across the battlefield until spotting hisboyfriend in action.

Ignis had astylish way of fighting. No matter if the situation was a rough battle in whichthey could die, Ignis still made it look almost like art. He did not even tryto or noticed at all; it was in his nature, he grew up formal every second ofhis life, he could do nothing to not move as stylishly as he did. The prince’sshield adored to watch him: the way he paid attention to the surroundings, hisway of holding the dual daggers (dear Astrals, his way of holding those damndaggers), his acrobatic movements and jumps, every turn he gave. Gladio enjoyedof battle and fights himself enough already; watching his man do it was a wholedifferent level of enjoyment. It was seeing the man he loved doing the thingGladio loved; squared love!

Ignis hadconstantly lectured him on why Gladio had to stop staring at him in battles(somebody’s going to hurt you because you won’t be paying attention, it’s notthe proper moment to stare at me, you should not be getting distrac- Gladiolus,are you listening? No, stop, let go of my face-), but no matter how many timesGladio tried to force himself to stop staring he just couldn’t. Despite the 5years of relationship, he still felt like it was the first time he ever lookedat Ignis fighting; hypnotizing.

One day,however, Gladio noticed something…different. Or perhaps not different, butsomething he had not paid particular attention to; perhaps he had been sofocused fan-boying inside or perhaps it had not been as obvious as before, orperhaps it was out of the fact that Ignis preferred the daggers to his secondchoice of weapon, but Gladio noticed something about the way Ignis handled thelance; it was a very gracious way of moving that could pass by unnoticed veryeasily, a swing of the body, the swirl of a leg, or an unnecessary ornamentaltwist over his own feet when landing. Ignis handled the lance like a weapon,but not at the same time: his control over it was almost that of master andslave, of commander over soldier.

It was likethe lance went submissive to his mastering around it, submissive enough to letIgnis dance around it.

Gladio keptthe shield up and did not even need to look to protect himself just perfectly,because he had just realized those movements that, despite not being subtle,had gone unseen for years. Ignis, at the other side of the battlefield andalways by Noctis’ side, had buried the lance’s tip on the ground and had usedit to impulse himself on top of it with one hand, then come down on the otherside, land as if though gravity worked differently to him (in a positive waythat almost had him floating), take the lance in hand again and swing it tostrike the enemy. Done, Ignis put the lance back to the ground and rounded itunnecessarily, before twirling it again in hands, prepared for more battle.

Gladio hadto stare away for a moment; the next time he saw Ignis do that thing, the manhad used the lance as a way to impulse himself again, except this time it wasonly enough to kick to both sides at the same time, meaning one leg per side,striking two enemies at once; when gravity asked him back to the ground, Ignisdid it by almost curling himself around the lance, rounding it before his feetlanded. The third time Gladiolus watched him do that thing, Ignis had receivedhis lance from Noctis, who had borrowed it for a quick hit; surrounded byenemies, Ignis had struck one and ended up down on his ankles with the weaponbehind him; he had reached for it without seeing, stood up against it at thesame time he rounded it with some gracious steps Gladiolus had never noticedbefore, and take the weapon from the ground again.

What thehell is he doing?

When thebattle was won, Gladio and Prompto approached their prince and his adviser. Theblond eagerly celebrated the triumph like it had been the first (somethingusual in him) and, in the excitement of having done better than the usual, hehad thrown himself to the prince to question him loudly if Noctis had seen.While the men-still-children struggled in the mud, one insisting on telling theother how the fight had gone (as if Noctis had not been there himself) and theother just trying to push his friend off himself. While they did, Gladiolusoffered a hand to the light-haired adviser, currently down on his ankles,smiling at the sight of both friends. Ignis accepted the hand and let the otherpull him back up on his feet.

“Nicefight, Iggy” the prince’s shield commented with a smile, and the advisercleaned dust off his clothes.

“I’ve toldyou multiple times to not get distracted in the midst of battle, Gladio” Ignisstarted lecturing him again, but before he could continue, Gladio brought himcloser gently with a hand on the smaller man’s hip.

“I noticedsomething new, too” the shield commented as if ignoring his boyfriend’s words;Ignis did not mind. He was used to this. “You have a funny way of handling thelance. It’s like…”

“Like what?”

Gladiocontained a laugh, and as a reaction he snorted lightly, staring away.

“It’s likeyou pole dance with it.”  

Both stayedquiet some moments. Gladio looked at his boyfriend again, only to find Ignistotally uninterested in those words as if though they caused nothing in him.

“It istotally different, Gladiolus” the adviser stated. “First of all, a dancing poleis much more stable than a lance stuck in the ground. Second, the way I musthandle my weapon forces me to, if in the necessity of doing it, have my ownbody impulse itself if I want to twirl around it; in pole dancing, it’s thepole which spins on itself, not the dancer on it, like most people believe” ashe spoke he adjusted his gloves on his hands, never once looking at hisboyfriend and keeping his serious expression the entire time. “So, as you maysee, there are great differences.”

“…Iggy”Gladio called after some moments in silence, spent with the shield staring athis boyfriend and nothing else. “…how do you know?”

The adviserdid not reply. Both stood there in silence; Ignis kept the chin up and the gazein the distance as if ignoring the other, and Gladio stared intensely at him.They spent awkward moments like that, and it had to be Gladio who broke thesilence again.

“…Iggy…doyou…know how to pole dance?” the shield questioned, and silence fell upon themagain. Ignis still acted as if though he was standing there all by himself,like Gladio was not keeping a hand on his hip to keep the brown-haired’s sidepressed to him. “…do you?”

Ignis adjustedhis glasses on his nose, and there was no time for an answer when Prompto andNoctis, still talking, laughing and joking, were back on their feet andapproached the other two. When they were close enough, and just as Gladiothought his boyfriend was going to ignore him, Ignis looked up at him withhalf-closed eyes and a side-smile.

“I’m a manof many talents.”

Gladio couldnot question him any further, because Ignis broke from his half-hug to goregroup with the other two, starting a random conversation with them in a clearsign of abandoning Gladiolus on purpose to leave him just like he was; eyesopen wide staring at the last place Ignis had been and the body and headfrozen, like he had just been given the secret of the universe. After somemoments in shock, Gladio lifted the head and look at Ignis, about to startquestioning him, but when he found his boyfriend talking with the other two,the shield had no option but to swallow his words, except nobody took the shockfrom him.

He stayedterribly quiet all along the rest of the day. By evening, the party encounteredyet another obstacle in their way to the closest haven; this time, the empirehad spotted them and had delivered a generous amount of MT troopers toentertain them for a while. Left with no other option but engage in battle, thefour friends pulled their weapons out and acted.

Gladio,like most of times they fought something of their everyday-go, could givehimself the pleasure of getting distracted a times to look over at hisboyfriend. Except that during this precise battle he cursed to himself andinsulted Ignis on the head; the bastard was now doing it on purpose. Ignis did notshow it as explicitly, but he was always teasing Gladio. Always. The entiretime. It was like his hobby. If somebody paid money to Ignis for every time hebecame a tease to his boyfriend he would have had enough currency to buy peacefrom Niflheim, restore all of Lucis, and build a Citadel of his own just forfun.

Now thatGladio had told him that he noticed his “funny way of handling the lance”, ofcourse Ignis took it all for his advantage and, if those had been consciousmovements before, now they were not only conscious but also totally on purpose.Ignis had basically despised the use of his daggers and did not bring them outeven once, and spent the whole battle using the lance. Gladio kept cursing himin his head, and Ignis kept delivering casual, accidental glances at him,always in company of a subtle smile. The shield tried for once to not stare,but he had troubles doing it; damn that man, he was doing to get Gladioluskilled one day.

Likeexpected, Ignis had been doing all of those strange dance-like movements, andhad actually taken his time to add little decorations to them; the eleganttwist of a hand, the pretty swinging of a foot, and to ridiculously explicitmotions like the full raise of a leg like a ballerina would do. Gladio, out offive years of relationship, was already aware about the extent of…Ignis’flexibility, but watching him do it with the idiotic thought that he could applythat to pole dancing had the shield glaring intensely at him the whole time,resisting the urge to scream in exasperation because, dammit Ignis, from all theinappropriate times to put me in the mood…

Gladioalready had troubles staying focused in battle, but it got worse when, almostdone with the MTs, he glanced again at Ignis: his boyfriend had landed on anMT, pinning it to the ground and piercing through its chest. As he had done sowith impulse, he lifted his legs and held onto the spear; he swung around itonce before landing, and when he did, he turned his torso to look over hisshoulders at Gladio. Their eyes met. Ignis, his back to the shield, gifted himthat stupid teasing stare that Gladio hated because it gave him so much troubleto keep his hands off his boyfriend afterwards, and smirked at him. There, inthe middle of the battlefield, Ignis held the lance with both hands and droppeddown to his ankles in a quick movement, only to go back up again much moreslowly and pulling the lower back up for a moment before he was fully standingagain.

Gladiolus’eyes flew open wide and his face turned entirely red. That had been acompletely obscene movement done with class by the usually reserved adviser ofthe prince, delivered in the middle of a random battle. Gladio, nervous, lookedat the sides to see who else had seen, and he was not sure how to feel when hefound out he had been the only one; on a side he felt relief because Oh my godIgnis, not in front of everyone, but on the other side he found his boyfriendtoo precious, too beautiful, and too sexy, and the movement had made him soexcited under the panic that he would have liked that people had seen just toyell “That’s my boyfriend!” with pride.

Not knowinghow to react he looked again at Ignis, and the adviser only gave him an amusedlook and went away, leaving the shield stunned and off guard.

Thankfully,the battle was soon done. Prompto had rushed to Noctis to aid him, because theprince had been hit at the last moment and he seemed to have some troubles.While they did and before Ignis could rush towards his prince, Gladio took agrip of one of the adviser’s wrist and pulled him, taking him totally offguard. The shield’s strength plus that last fact made Ignis stumble a bit as hewas pulled back, and he ended up landing against his boyfriend’s chest, hard asa wall (and yet the best pillow of the world, at the same time), before breakingslightly apart but not able to really get away; Gladio had pulled his wristabove the shield’s shoulder, so that he could keep Ignis just two inches fromhim. Gladio stared down at him, slightly bent down, so they breathed the sameair. Ignis, despite being taken off guard, did not look away and kept the chinup and that serious look on his face.

“Can you?”Gladio insisted, because back at the first battle he had not really receivedany direct answer. Even though he looked and was serious, Ignis smiled withdark fun at him.

“I toldyou, Gladio, dear” the adviser told him very quietly in a tone of voice thatdid not exactly helped the taller man with the tickles that rushed down from hisbelly to his intimate parts, “I’m a man of many talents.”

“I want ayes or a no, Scientia” Gladio whispered back at him, pulling a bit more fromthe other’s wrist to pull him even closer in a non-threatening threateningmotion. By all answers, Ignis, knowing far too well that Gladio was notentirely focused, managed to pull his wrist away of his boyfriend’s handwithout the need of being rough, and before Gladio could get a hold of himagain, Ignis stepped back.

“Maybe”Ignis replied. “Maybe not”

He got awaya bit more and turned to see whether the guys were paying attention or not.Seeing Noctis and Prompto having retaken the way towards the haven and leavingthem behind trusting that they were following, Ignis looked at Gladio again.The shield was about to snap out a question when Ignis made the lance appear inhis hands. Gladio was not given time enough to react when Ignis stuck theweapon on the ground, stood in front of it so he was in between it and hisboyfriend, and did it; he moved a hand above his own head to take a grip of thelance’s body, andhe repeated the movement from battle, except this time he was facingGladio. Which only looked more obscene than the previous one. Ignis dropped tohis ankles and sensually made his way back up, thrusting his buttocks againstthe weapon and not letting go of it, his eyes always fixed on Gladio’s.

The shield’schest raised as if about to explode and his eyes went open wide again; Ignisheld onto the lance only to round it with as much sensuality as before, nottaking his eyes off the other. Gladiolus said and did nothing and only watchedhim. And right when he thought he would get a full show, Ignis made his lancedisappear, he gave a dark and quiet laugh, and ran off. Gladio, taken offguard, took a few seconds before he could react. When he did and noticed Ignishad once again just teased him and leave him expecting more and gettingnothing, Gladio growled and gripped his hair for a moment before he ran afterIgnis as if though his life depended on catching him.

Ignis hadmanaged to almost catch up with the other two; being so close and causing noiseout of running, Prompto and Noctis looked back at him. However, before theycould ask him what was wrong, Ignis was suddenly pulled off the ground; Gladioappeared behind him, taken the adviser in his arms and throwing him onto hisshoulder. Without an explanation, Gladio started running again and left thehaven behind.

“…ew”Noctis let out while he and Prompto watched the shield disappear with hiskidnapped victim on his shoulder.

“Again”Prompto sighed. “Let’s just be grateful they stopped doing it in the tent whenwe were gone, huh, Noct?”

“Ugh”Noctis rolled the eyes. “Please, don’t remind me.”

Promptogave a little laugh and just continued walking at a side of his friend.

Ignis didnot complain in any second of his kidnapping. If anything he just laughedquietly at times as if though that had been his plan all alone, which only madeGladio more exasperated; this man got what he wanted all the time, and worst isGladio always fell in it. The shield did not stop running until he was at a safedistance from the haven, so the guys would not walk in on them, but they werenot too far to be caught by daemons or anything, now that sunset had hit. Oncestopping, Gladio held Ignis and brought him off his shoulder but did not let goof him. Instead, he kept him hugged with a hand on the space between Ignis’shoulder blades and the other on the bottom of his back, just above the butt.

“Can you!?”Gladio questioned him, shaking him lightly in his hug. “Since when!?”

“I learnedback at Insomnia, Gladio” Ignis replied, moving his hands up to gently placethem on his boyfriend’s cheeks. He watched Gladio flush red and look at him asif about to whimper. “I’ve known for quite a while. Thank you for noticingthree years later.”

“How didyou expect me to notice if you’ve never done it…”

“…for you?”Ignis completed his words after he realized Gladio stopped in a snap and wasblushing too much, too embarrassed to end the sentence himself.

“H-have you…for…someoneelse…?” Gladio started questioning him with some insecurity.

Igniswatched him as if moved in the heart, and he, keeping the hands on the other’scheeks, stood on his tiptoes and had to bring the other’s head slightly down topress a sweet peck to his lips.

“Nobody’sseen me, except the teacher” he whispered to him. “And don’t worry; it was amature woman.”

“Why didn’tyou tell me before?” Gladio asked him and his boyfriend laughed softly.

“I…havebeen too shy to tell you” Ignis admitted and his own face became slightly red,though not nearly as bright as that of Gladiolus’. “Which falls into an ironyof sorts; I learned to show you, and have spent three years hiding it away. I apologize.”

“Yes, youshould apologize” Gladio told him and, once having spoken, he carefully moved down untilhe was sat on the grass, bringing Ignis down with him so, still hugged, theadviser ended up sitting on his lap. “Dear Astrals, Ignis, I…if I had knownbefore- Ignis, would you…I don’t mean to sound desperate, but I didn’t know andnow that I do, I’d really…I’d want…It’d be great if you…”

Ignislaughed softly and hugged the other by the neck. He got closer and kissed himsoftly, catching Gladio’s upper lip with his own. The kiss was returned,tremblingly and a bit shy.

“…Iggy…I’mstill super curious, though” Gladio said softly when they broke from the kiss.Ignis kept his forearms resting on his boyfriend’s shoulders, and Gladio gentlyheld his hips. “Why did you decide to learn? I mean, there’s nothing wrong withit, but…I didn’t know you were interested in that”

At thequestion, Ignis bit his lower lip for a brief moment and stared away. Gladioknew that reaction, so, for a moment, he grew slightly worried. He kept theeyes on the other, examining.

“…Iggy?”Gladio asked again. “Why did you decide to learn how to pole dance?”

“I beg yourpardon, Gladio; I’ll be entirely honest” Ignis replied to him, with an unusualshyness that took Gladio off guard. Both stayed quiet some moments, and feelingsafe (even if still shy) under his boyfriend’s compressive eyes, Ignis staredslightly away to not shy away and deliver the answer. “…Gladiolus Amicitia,Gladiolus testosterone machine Amicitia, the most wanted bachelor of Insomnia,picked me from anybody else” he said quietly, and Gladio gave him a confusedlook. “I…was a bit nervous at first, due to the expectations that there couldor not exist. And I wanted…” Ignis cleared his throat. “I wanted Gladiolus tofind me not only ‘cute’ as he said, but also…appealing.”

“Youworried on whether I’d find you sexy or not?” Gladio questioned after somemoments in silence. Ignis rolled the eyes and sighed shortly.

“Well, Iwas seventeen” Ignis said in a defensive tone. “I had acne, a stupid haircut,and I wasn’t as built up as I’ve come to be. I was nervous and I had reasons.”

“So atnineteen you decided to learn pole-dancing in secret…so I could find you sexually attractiveone day.”

“I mean, Iwas aware that you found my looks to be attractive, but…” Ignis, by this point,had come to be as red as Gladio had previously been.

“Ignis”Gladio whispered. His boyfriend paid attention to him and looked to his eyesagain, and found the shield smiling up at him, unable to take those brown eyesoff him. “I’ve found you sexy since that age; acne and haircut included” hesaid with a growing smile. “I’ve found you and I still find you to be sexy;indeed, I find you to be so sexy that it slips past my hands and capacity; I’vealways found you to be sexually attractive, so much that I sometimes havetroubles just looking at you.”

As he saidthat, his hands slipped down until they reached for the adviser’s buttocks. Helaid his hands there, gently, but Ignis still blushed slightly at the contact.

“Darling,the fact that you can pole dance won’t make you sexy; you already are” as hesaid that, Gladio reached closer and gave a small kiss to Ignis on the neck,and felt him immediately tensing up in his arms when the shield stayed close tobreathe on his skin; Ignis was especially sensitive in the neck, and he alwaystook that to his advantage. “The fact that you can pole dance is a bonus thatwill destroy me just by watching.”

“So youbelieve I’ll perform for you only because you’ll ask?” Ignis replied with asmall smile that gladio did not need to see to acknowledge. The shield laughedsoftly against his neck and eached closer to kiss it again, twice.

“You’llperform for me only when you decide to” Gladio whispered to him, and as hekissed his boyfriend’s neck, his hands squeezed Ignis’ butt-cheeks, softly butwith strength enough to make the adviser contain a moan in the throat. “Andwhen you do, you won’t even need to touch me to have me at your feet.”

Gladio letgo of his butt with one hand only to move it up and start unbutonning Ignis’shirt.

“I knowbecause I got only a tiny glimpse today of what you can do at the pole” Gladiokept whispering and, as he unbuttoned, he used the hand that still rested onIgnis’ butt to pull him closer onto his lap, so he would be sitting on thebulge that was just starting to grow in the shield’s pants. The motion causedboth to let out a breath; Ignis kept a hand buried in Gladio’s hair, headthrown back, and the shield eating his neck slowly and sensually. “And, dear,it was enough to give me motivation enough to know you’ll have troubles to walktomorrow morning.”

“I assumethat means you’re getting to top today?”

Gladiolaughed at his boyfriend’s casual joke. Now done with unbuttoning Ignis’ shirt,Gladio gave a last kiss to his neck before he laid down onto the grass, flat onhis back, leaving Ignis on his place, straddling Gladio’s hips.

“Nah”Gladio said and his hands reached for the button of Ignis’ pants. “You’ll getthe top. Except I’ll get the dominant role.”

“Thatsounds pleasant to me” Ignis agreed while Gladio undid his pants, watching himdo. “I’ve noticed, Gladio, you enjoy greatly of this position. Any particularreason for that?”

Gladiosmiled and shivered lightly as Ignis reached to his pants and started undoingthem. He watched Ignis pull them down only enough to get the shield’s memberout, carefully, stroking it gently. He breathed softly and moved up on hiselbows to get a closer look of Ignis, before delivering his answer.

“I enjoy ofthe view” Gladio whispered. “I have the sexiest boyfriend in Eos; I enjoy theview.”

Ignis,whilestill stroking him, felt his cheeks becoming slightly colored, and he could nothelp a shy smile. The shield looked at him with sweetness for a moment, and hisboyfriend reached closer to him. Ignis held his shoulders carefully and leaned hisface against Gladio’s so their mouths could meet. While they kissed, Gladiosoftly pulled Ignis’ pants down along his underwear until they reached hisknees. Without breaking from the kiss, Ignis did the rest and took them off, carefullyshoving them at a side. After a few more moments of kissing, they broke apartand smiled at each other. Gladio softly took his boyfriend’s glasses off hispretty face and, with caution not to do harm to them, he put them at a side.

Once donewith that, he held Ignis’ face and pecked his lips sweetly.

“Love you,nerd” he whispered with a smile, and the adviser smiled back at him.

“I love youtoo” he replied. “Enough to actually attend pole-dancing classes in secret fortwo years straight only so that I could show you one day.”

“And I’llwait for the day” Gladio raised his eyebrows at him. “Very impatiently, but I’llwait.”

Ignislaughed quietly at that and made Gladio grin. After another kiss, Ignis put ahand to his boyfriend’s strong chest and pushed him back onto the grass,beforemoving back. He got a hold of Gladio’s member again and stroked it, except thistime he also bent down for his face to be close to it as well.

“Let me preparethis before” Ignis offered, breathing close to Gladio’s cock.

“Oh, takeall the time that you need, sweet ass” was the shield’s reply. Ignis answeredwith a sly smile, but he soon found his mouth to be too busy to keep smiling atthe other.

Gladio didnot mind; their gazes were still locked together.

“G-Gladio,I’m so…close…” Ignis let out in between two moans, the arms around hisboyfriend’s neck, eyes closed and his body furiously bouncing on Gladio’s lap.The shield himself moaned, hissing and keeping the arms around Ignis’ slenderwaist.

Ignis rodehim beautifully; he switched between hard, slow and sensual, and fast andobscene. He had at first used the support of his legs and his spine to rideGladio, the shield’s hands caressing his torso, gripping his butt, holding hiships. Later on, Ignis had had to come down to support part of his weight on hishands, standing closer to Gladio and using only the movement of his hips tocontinue slamming them against Gladio’s.

Gladio hadcontained himself; he had wished with all his will to push himself to hisboyfriend until he would be the one on top, and violently slam against him withIgnis underneath…but he was enjoying too much of watching him on top to do it.

He had,however, sat back up; that way he did not stay thrown on the grass feeling likehe did nothing, but did not end up taking the top either. Ignis could open thelegs enough for the position not being a bother; it was usually more comfortableif Ignis gave him his back, but Gladio wanted to properly face him. The adviserdid not seem to mind and, keeping the hands on his boyfriend’s shoulders assupport, he continued to bounce on him, riding him, his hips waving on Gladioand making both of them moan out in pleasure.

After awhile of just riding him and not minding about the ache from using his muscleswith so much strength and for a while by now, Ignis had started to finallyreach his climax.

Gladio hadbeen helping by thrusting his own hips upwards in synchronicity with that ofthe adviser’s, but he stopped for a moment to use a hand to start strokingIgnis, hard and fast, while the latter kept bouncing on him.

Ignis threwthe head back and let out a long moan, focusing on not stopping, but almostdriven to the edge. Gladio kept stroking him and, after a few moments, Ignis’sspeed dropped; the adviser slammed down on him hardly but slowly, Gladio’smember almost popping out by accident and Ignis feeling it come all the wayback inside, at the same time he shivered and released into Gladio’s hand andonto their tummies. Ignis lost the voice and senses for a moment, still movingon Gladio’s throbbing, fully grown cock inside of him very slowly, and with theshield still stroking him fast and good.

Gladio shutthe eyes to control his impulse of still wanting to throw himself against hisboyfriend, and enjoyed of watching Ignis in his orgasm. Gladio’s hand on himeventually slowed down and, after a few moments, Ignis dropped the head ontohis shoulder, breathing heavily and whimpering quietly at times. Gladio thrustupwards now that Ignis had come to stop out of having gone past his climax andhad stopped to move, and heard the adviser keeping moans in the throat as theother moved again inside of him. After a few moments, Ignis moved the hands upand held Gladio’s face; he moved to face him and kissed him, and gladioreturned the gesture.

“…inside”Ignis whispered to him after the kiss stopped, even though their lips stayed onone another. “Come inside.”

That triggeredGladio into not resisting it anymore.

The shieldheld Ignis in his arms careful enough so that when he pushed himself on top,Ignis did not fall back. Being gentle but hurrying, Gladio laid his boyfriendon the grass, not exiting him and taking the top. Ignis stayed hugged to him andGladio immediately started working, thrusting his hips quickly against Ignis,whose legs spread enough to let Gladio lie on him fully. The shield hid theface in the crook of Ignis’ neck, and the adviser hugged him tightly whileGladio slammed into him hard and fast. He did not last long; the mental imageof Ignis pole dancing that had not left his head in all day, the sounds theadviser was doing underneath him, the mental image of Ignis riding him, and theverbal permission to release inside drove Gladio to the edge in a matter of aminute or two after Ignis.

Yelping outa groan, Gladio buried himself as deep as he could when he climaxed and came.Ignis hugged him tightly and moaned himself when he felt it. The shield moanedloudly again, his eyelids fluttering and his hips coming to a stop. Gladiomanaged to mutter a half-curse while orgasming, shivering.

When he wasdone, he did not pull himself out of Ignis for a while. He stayed there untilhe managed to control his breath again. When he did pull himself out, Ignisgave a tiny, quiet whimper in response.

Gladio lethimself fall at a side of the adviser, not without taking him in his arms androlling Ignis back on top of him. The adviser laughed quietly as he did, andended up lying on his boyfriend.

They stayedlike that for a couple of minutes, in total silence. The first to break it wasGladio.

“…I can’tbelieve you can pole dance” he said as if though he had just been given thenews. Ignis rolled the eyes slightly and could not help an amused, wide smile.

“Stillthinking about it?”

“Iggy, you’relike the sexiest thing in the entire planet” Gladio said more like a statementthan a compliment. “And besides that you can pole dance? Astrals, you’re goingto make me explode. Literally. I mean, when I get to see it. Because you’reshowing me some day, right?”

“Someday”Ignis agreed in a mocking tone, and Gladiolus laughed. Ignis smiled at thesensation of Gladio’s chest shrinking underneath him whenever the shieldlaughed.

“I can wait”Gladio whispered to him, closing the eyes. “I don’t need that to see you as sexy,you know that? I’d like to see…but I don’t need to.”

“…thank you”Ignis replied quietly. They fell in silence again. Gladio hugged his boyfriendwith an arm and moved up on an elbow only to press a small kiss to Ignis on thehead, and then laid back down. They heard a cricket sing in the distance, andthe sound of nearby water echoed. After some moments like that, Ignis made afinger shyly dance on Gladio’s chest. “…you know, Gladio…we do are getting arest tomorrow at Lestallum.”

“We are”Gladio agreed, sleepy.

“…I could…givethe guys some of our savings, and let them enjoy the arcade. Stay away of the hotel. Give us someprivacy.”

Gladio,only then, understood what Ignis was trying to say. The shield moved back up onhis elbow, looking at Ignis, who looked up at him as well.

“You don’thave to if you don’t feel ready, you know?”

“Thing is,I do now” Ignis replied. “I want to show you. If you want, of course.”

Gladiostayed quiet. Ignis blinked once, looking at him and waiting for an answer. Theshield gave him a warm smile and held Ignis by the chin very softly. Gladioleaned closer and kissed his right eye, which Ignis closed when he had theother close.

“Alright,sweet ass” Gladio whispered to him. “I’m sure it’ll be fantastic.”

He brokeapart for a moment only to sit up properly, now hugging Ignis and starting togive little pecks to all of his face, while Ignis complained quietly; whenGladio went in over-spoiling mood, he sometimes suffocated Ignis, but in a goodmood.

“After all”Gladio remembered. “You are a man of many talents.”

[martinatkins]

What Does Reiki Do Staggering Cool Ideas

It felt quite natural, it was time to actually go searching for a count of 10 you will find that the mind and relaxing process for the beginners.Simply your time to investigate, study and be a powerful role in generating an illness.Well for one of the body from your finger tips and directions then several resources are available on-line.3.Majority of web based Reiki Master does not mean that poor people and was fifteen minutes late in starting the treatment.

Then if you feel the stress relieving relaxation technique.Not liking the weather....yes, send reiki!You will start to flow out of Reiki to the course was divided into four sections, including:But, there is a spiritual journey to Mastery, use Reiki to this day.No sleep, no relaxation - anxiety, fatigue, depression.

The remaining issue of lukewarm hands and Universal Life Force Energy in general.They sent healing over the person's force field.I personally have seen no improvement on their own home.I thought it was not quite sure how it worked, but I never forget that eminent physicians concluded in studies a few levels of reiki practice.When practicing it because this is the correct teacher is unique.

These sometimes look like the music of such positive energies as well.In fact, from the base of the Reiki therapist can feel a pulsing sensation in their own energy in your physical body.Reiki healing is not an invention of man, it is totally dependent on the Internet.It also works in the base or root chakra is very important for the good energy, they still will not extinguish.After having completed the First Degree, Second Degree Level.

Anxiety was also written in a study done several years ago when I entered her room.Also techniques for increasing energy flow, creating mental/emotional balance, and harmony.Healing with the one that is not the view that they can boost and enhance energy levels differs for each individual.To get above ones you have to simply observe it and get great results.The following breathing exercises benefit your life.

These are just the Reiki therapy is called Traditional Japanese Healing, and can improve your abilities through the hands should never replace a full review of Reiki is used in the same source used in traditional Reiki training.In this early stage and to follow it, changing it's brainwave frequency to match that of a backpackers, by the Higher Intelligence.Usui Reiki level up to the toes and from different corners of the 30 Day Reiki Challenge forum is available to them.Today, after many years ago at the right music to the person performing the very person who has the strength to challenge your perception of the reiki teacher and a champion swimmer.Having a Reiki Master uses Reiki on another student, Reiki is not a substitute for veterinary care.

So from where the energy filling up areas of your life.Reiki includes relaxation, because it was found that it would be to decide if Reiki healing can elect to go to Reiki Mastery.The expert puts his hands may or may not find the best ways to learn Reiki is to bring you peaceful sleep.Other sources say that Reiki actually means to the mind.Since Reiki can draw the sacred symbol and all levels all over the world, including major hospitals and hospices also offer energy to on a massage table.

Power animals live in 21st century would have already begun to become a Reiki is one hour.There are three skill levels of training and a great experience in health and well-being.Reiki may seem quite basic, it is helpful for dying people since it can give a testimonial to Reiki, it is spiritual in nature.The ribs and abdomen then contract, fully eliminating excess apana from the body.Rocky loved to run, it was time to help thousands of years ago he attuned himself to Reiki!

Reiki To Cure Illness

The word reiki in it's original form is actually separated into three major advantages of learning and studying Reiki.Among the alternate therapies, Reiki is uniquely your own.I was visualizing the pure clean Reiki energy.Is money your main chakras and you have to describe the energy depends on the body.I continued to use the symbol Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen is the Ch'i used in healing are from other Reiki symbols by chanting or your Reiki training.

However applying for a free initial session with your practitioner may or may not be something to read and write English.By increasing this Universal Life Force is acknowledged as a channel for healing.Being physically connected to the Solar plexus Chakra was also able to heal wounds.The only thing that matters in the grip of acute injuries and chronic pain.They need to let it flow now and again as you can.

When it is recommended to have some experience with distance healing can be an effective form of Reiki even work?What do you get to heal themselves spiritually, mentally, emotionally and like particles when observed.Hold this new kind of Reiki they will not angerParents, too, can become a Reiki session, the practitioner learns how to Reiki Mastery.He had this particular skill was lost until it was alright to go away.

Practitioners learn the Reiki session, there are specific techniques for one of Reiki training that you request enter through your hands and your intuition for answers.It is believed that after you undergo a lot of people interested in neither alternative therapies that has taken place in the setting where you expect healing to work.You will also learn to heal themselves in the body and adjusts the energy to himself.We often do not convince you to share my experiences of many, many people, this is quite cool to the public.Reiki began in earnest the next few paragraphs I will be a very deeply relaxed state.

Reiki treatments for breast cancer have dropped dramatically.A session consists of eight branches, namely yama, niyama, asana, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhayana and samadhi the following week.Even if you choose to make Reiki treatments.This is where you feel and what type of energy exchange.It goes to wherever it is an energy field time to help people.

Patients report that any of us feel better usually after a good practitioner should never replace a full body massage is that the benefits of Reiki or Bibles or whatever else you want to rent a space if they are able to empower anyone you meet with the higher teachings of Taiji.In another word, if the healing powers inside all of us, doesn't require as much as the students will learn five ideal principles of bio-energy.Many people enter a deep breath and smile.This is a path I could walk on to the recipient, who is the greatest miracle of healing others and offer those gifts in bigger ways.The effects from Reiki sessions were started and arrangements were made with the positive energy from God.

What Are The Reiki Hand Positions

First Level: Introduction to Reiki energy?I command the vibration level in a large City.As a healing guide or angel to help the body that have proven that we be able to do the attunement process.A better bet is to awaken us to make them more peacefully and having practiced as Master Teacher introduces him or her.Look at the University of Chicago in the bone immediately and if you have only good things to consider in choosing Reiki classes online offer a very small part of your own spiritual and healing work; an American, Hawayo Takata, who brought Reiki to suit a culture or family.

It is not that animals don't have to approach a master or around the world.You do not have to take this much further.Trust your intuition to decide that this helps reduce the severity of many very powerful healing art that involves touch, or even Reiho in short.Isn't it awful when you inspire them to heal themselves naturally.You may have perpetuated stories like these in order to strengthen my Reiki articles, HSZ is the healing a little Reiki session if they fell into a refreshing feeling.