#jetta speaks

[thefluxsystem]

“do one of the voices tell you to hurt yourself”

sure, if you mean “this guy just double-dog dared me to eat the entire package of pizza rolls”

[octuscle]

Hey I love to become Stereotypical blonde football player guy with amazing muscles and a hairy body

"Why don't you take this spring break too, darling?" "Why don't you relax after your first semester, you've been so hard-working, boy" You can't hear it anymore. After the exams, you would have loved to go to the mountains. Hiking. And explore the starry sky at night. But no, you gave in to pressure from your parents and set off for South Beach in your ancient VW Jetta. This is going to be endlessly embarrassing. You're pale, chubby, completely untrained. You're a virgin. No one has ever sucked your pathetic little cock. And you've never sucked anyone else. For your taste, it should have stayed that way. But now it's Florida. And you don't even drink alcohol.

Your father actually found a cassette entitled "Freshman's Guide to Spring Break". It's embarrassing enough that you only have a cassette player in the car. You listened to your beloved 12-tone music during the whole journey. Schönberg was a genius after your own heart. But now, just under an hour before your destination, you put the cassette in. Accompanied by hip-hop, someone speaks in a nasty slang. You can just imagine the guy Football-Jock. One of the guys who bullied you at college last year. "Yo, dude! let me tell you ha to get da hottest spring break. You'll have more sex n more fun dan you can imagine." You take a deep breath. This is going to be great… "You should start uh year in advance n get your muscles burning every day. An important motto of spring break is n remains 'sun's out, guns out'." Well bravo, then you can turn around right away. What kind of stupid advice is that an hour before you get out of the car? A little late, perhaps, to… Damn it! Your muscles are swelling. And in your head, a profound knowledge of the gym matures. Hey, the gym is your home. "Bruh, last haircut maximum three months before you go to da beach. Yes, your mommy will be sad about da messy look at christmas. But uh surfer's mane is best for da beach." You said it, dude. You think to yourself. Your hair is flapping in the wind. You love it. "N bruh, don't wash your hair two weeks before. You can smell da sweat from your football helmet in your hair." Hehehe, sure thing. Showering sucks, but washing your hair is for wimps. You love the look when you take your helmet off after the game and your sweaty hair lies wildly on your head. "My tip, dude, is that da last time you shave is two weeks before spring break. Nah one wants uh clean shaven guy on da beach. N while we're on da subject of shaving. You can shave your chest again four days before you get ta steppin. Da stubble on your mighty pecs looks hot." The traffic is getting heavier. More and more party-addicted students are clogging up the streets. You scratch your chest. Yes, the bruh with the podcast coming from the sick speakers of your powerful new car knows all about it.

"So dude, before you hit da road, one last workout. You'll have somethin other dan sport on your mind for da next few days. Nah more showers afta training n keep your training clothes on for da journey." It already smells a bit in the car. But it's the stench of youthful masculinity. Up ahead is the guesthouse where the others from your football team are staying. Some of them are already there. And obviously already drunk. The podcast said that the most important accessory in the car is the cool can of beer for the arrival. Hell yes! You park the car, get out, rip open the can, drink the beer on ex and crush the can between your forearm and biceps. Spring break is only once a year. Let the games begin!

[dynamitesunshine]

The Ultraman Orb movie was completely and totally awesome! It brought back all my feelings for Orb and why it's one of my all-time favorite Ultra series. The Something Search People are always fun to see and balance Gai out so well. I loved they save Gai in this and help out a bunch, they aren't the traditional Science Team/Defense Force and that's what I love about it so much. Gai is just one of my favorite protagonists, the wanderer, the fighter, and how he treats his senpai with respect; it just makes him an endearing and badass character I resonate with. Juggler continues to be Juggler which you gotta love to see. He's like Vegeta in the sense that he wants to destroy Gai and no one else can, also he's just delightfully mad in the best way. I like how he plays both sides in this movie, but really playing his own side, it what makes him fun and badass. It was great to see Daichi and X again too; I love X working with the Something Search People and Gai, he just had fun chemistry with everyone. Daichi did too, Daichi is an underrated favorite of mine; I always love seeing him, and his compassionate heart with his tech savviness. Orb's Trinity Form is majestic AF and I love the design and powers of it, I love the 3 who he gets the powers from so that helps and it gives them the design elements of them in the best way. Speaking of also great to have Ginga and Victory back in this as well, they are both a delight and awesome. Victory's design is what made me want to watch Ultraman in the first place. Love seeing Ultraman Zero and Orb work together in the beginning, those two get along great. Also, was surprised that UltraSeven came back for this too, but completely happy about it. UltraSeven was my first Ultra in UltraSeven X and I’m currently watching UltraSeven too, so this was a delight for me. Naomi, Jetta, and Shin like I said before are always wonderful and so is Ittetsu too; I love how they work with Gai. This movie just was great and made me fall back in love with Ultraman Orb.

[kaothedemon]

● LMX-000 Galatea -> LMX-000N Galatea Nerine

(a.k.a. the main mech in my novel)

● Height: abt. 21m

● Power Plant: Ultracompact Fission reactor (previously), Ultracompact Deuterion Fusion reactor

● Armaments:

High-Power Prototype Beam Rifle: can fire powerful beam shots: normal, charged, or rapid fire. Its power is almost comparable to a small-to-medium spaceship's main cannons. When not in use, it can connect to normally concealed hardpoints on the back of the waist and on the side of the calves.

2× Spread Beam Cannons/Beam Vulcans: standard mobile doll armament, located in the head, as the name implies these weapons can serve as weaker rapid fire weapons, or can charge up a spread beam shot, followed by a brief cooldown before they can fire again.

2× Variable-Intensity-Blade Plasma Sword/Javelin: the standard close range armament for most mobile dolls, it is a small device held in the mobile doll's hands when operated and is powered by the unit's reactor. It emits a blade of plasma contained by an A-Field and can cut through most armor not treated with anti-beam coating. The blade's shape, length and intensity can be changed to fit the situation, and its handle can extend to form a Plasma Javelin. The Galatea uses an experimental, more powerful variant, and stores them in its forearms.

10× small Psycho Bits: stored in the unit's new thighs, each funnel-shaped Bit possesses 9 micro-thrusters for movement, 4 small beam emitters, and a larger central one. Together they can form a beam barrier, and can return to their storage units to recharge.

2× large Composite Armament Booster Units (CABU): located on the unit's back, these spherical Psycho Bits aid the Galatea's agility and speed, though rendering its maneuverability harder to master. Each Bit has 6 beam cannons, that can easily switch to thrusters, and 8 additional micro-thrusters.

2× Nerine Variable Speed-Intensity Plasma Cannons: exclusive to the Nerine modifications, these powerful beam cannons can alter the strength, speed, and intensity of their shots, even being able to concentrate their plasma enough to make it behave almost like a solid projectile.

● Special Equipment and Characteristics

White Rabbit System: an experimental learning-personality AI in the Galatea. More simplistically speaking, it's the Galatea itself, made to assist a "witch" pilot (shut up I started writing before WfM shut up shut up).

Intention Automatic System: translates strong brainwaves into data, allowing witch pilots to control the Galatea with their thoughts alone, however overuse of the system can bring organ failure due to the heavy exchange of data.

Ultracompact Jetta Drive: a highly experimental miniaturized version of the standard Jetta Drive for faster than light travel. Its use in conjunction with the CABUs causes an effect known as "Wings of Light".

● History:

When the aging monarch of Anur Khufos began growing paranoid of a possible attack from the moon Loum, he ordered the Galatea to be constructed by Lotus Electronics. After the coup d'etat led by his son Dijehd, he abdicated, leading to the planet becoming a republic. Dijehd, now representative of Lotus Electronics, gifted the Galatea to Drusus, emperor of Loum, and his fiancé Matias, as they set off on their mission to change Earth for the better.

It later became the personal unit of Kyoji Vianno, the emperors' human bodyguard, and highly skilled engineer. By his request, the Galatea's color scheme was changed from white, blue, and red, to white and grayish-lilac. The head's monoeye sensor was switched out for double eye cameras, and its single antenna was replaced by 2 "bunny ear" antennas. Back on Loum, Kyoji and the Shirk engineer Anakletos created the Intention Automatic System, and later modified the Galatea to have all of its IAS-related features and equipment.

After years at the emperors' service, Kyoji started a journey to the stars, taking the Galatea and experimental mobile armor Athena with himself. He returned almost 100 years later (having survived thanks to body-regulating nanomachines) to clean up the corruption within the Galactic Confederation, and played an important role in defeating the terrorist group Cannonball that took over several colonies, and almost succeeded in dropping one still in construction on Loum, fighting off their leader Omega, who during the battle piloted the stolen Athena. After the war ended, the Galatea was repaired and upgraded with the Nerine equipment.

[gymleadercheren]

Name: Preston Basil O’Dell

Race: Halfling (Lightfoot/Stout)

Class: Rogue (Thief)

Alignment: Chaotic Good

Age: 30

Where: Mal Famaburg

Seventh-born of the O’Dell family, Preston is the family’s resident silver-tongued con artist. He has a very pronounced lisp when he speaks, but nobody has ever been sure if the lisp is genuine or if he’s simply faking it to seem younger and more innocent. He spends most of his time teaming up with his older brother Potter, taking it upon himself to speak for him and try and sell his many inventions on the streets to unsuspecting citizens. His fast-talking charisma makes him the closest to his father in nature, which makes all his siblings suspect him of being their mother’s favorite. He’s certainly a mama’s boy, and he adores Cornflower with all his heart— and she’s also the only person he truly fears.

Despite being one of the youngest, he was the first O’Dell child to get married and have children. He and his wife Jetta already have four children— Arven, Cecily, Baxter, and Sariah— and Jetta is currently pregnant with their fifth. As such, he doesn’t leave Mal Famaburg too often these days, but he does long to go off on a true adventure— much like the rest of his siblings.

[fightthesun]

For the WIP game, I have a reverse ask:

Which one is the Jem one and also I Would Like to See It 👀

YOU RUBE THATS NOT HOW THIS WORKS anyway since you did ask nicely it's the one riiiiight at the bottom, Scorpio.

It was plotted out in a fever state overnight and it's essentially a kinda dark fic about the holograms and the misfits getting stranded at sea in a yacht called the scorpio and maaaaybe something spooky is out there? Its one of those things I know ill never finish so it keeps staring at me whenever I open my folder.

"Well, at least this means the food will last longer."

Raya scowled over at Jetta, obviously speaking loud enough for them all to hear. The woman feigned shock at the dirt looks being thrown her way.

"What? It's not my fault this little dingy came stocked with more champagne then fresh water."

"Have a little respect." Shana glowered from across the deck. "Rio was our friend."

"Oh, I'm sorry I'm not all torn up over mister two timer. I'm more worried about our impending horrible death by starvation, or maybe, I don't know, whatever it was that killed him!"

[auratale]

The world is saved! The Tyrant Johannes has been apprehended thanks to my friends and I. The world may not know who we are, but history will remember us.

According the Book of Yggasi, a young man, one who is shy but kind, would unite with three others from different kingsoms on a quest to stop the ancient magic of Ura. Admittingly, we didn't know what Ura was, but we eventually learned it was a powerful weapon that Johannes would eventually use to destroy cities and control people with fear.

The book said the young man would bear the crest of Yggasi, referring to my necklace my mother gave to me before she passed and that they would be born on the night of a lunar eclipse. So when the Order of Yggasi learned of my birth, of course I would be raised as the potential hero of the world.

I found a way to escape my hometown, however, and wanted to find my own path in life. I just couldn't escape it, though, and eventually, people came to me as the hero.

Thankfully, Lanz, Ezra, and Set eventually rescued me from the clutches of the masses and we decided to embark on the journey to stop the Empire of Halmet.

They began their invasion on their neighboring four kingdoms and pushed deep into the heart of each one. Even the Order of Yggasi was all but eliminated. After five short years, we made our way to Johannes himself and won a struggle that nearly led to the end of many thousands of lives.

It's been nearly six months since then, and the governance of each of the four kingdoms has gifted us with grand rewards while protecting our identities. Johannes was apprehended and is now in custody of the kingdom I hail from. They hope to extract information from him upon the ancient weapon of Ura, but even he has no idea how it was created.

Peace is attained, and the world is recovering from the damages the empire caused, but we are all getting by each day. Yet. I cannot help but wonder, what is it that I should do next?

The Book Yggasi states that peace would be attained and that the hero was simply the one who brought that peace. But after, it says nothing of the hero's fate. In fact, the book only goes on to the next prophecy of the Spiral of Itta, a tale that speaks of an unforgiving creature that pierces the heavens and rains ash upon the world.

That prophecy comes after this period of peace, so I doubt there is anything I can truly accomplish with my heroics that would provide me true monetary gain or mental sustainability.

I suppose I should speak with Set, as they were always so philosophical.

---

A month has passed since I had set out to the kingdom of Jetta. I had sent Set a letter of my wish to seek them out, but I have received no reply.

I found Set at the Ministry of Peace, where they were discussing the best option to lower crime among the port cities. Sadly, when I reached out to Set, it appeared as though they couldn't hear me. I wad across the hall after all.

So then I pressed one of the Paladins there, and as they did not know me, they simply brushed me aside.

I thought I saw Set in town the next day, but when they saw me, they quickly went off in the other direction.

Eventually, I came across Set once more at the Ministry of Peace.

"Set!" I had a hard time with speaking to people, I didn't know what to say.

"Oh... Hey." They didn't seem too interested in making conversation.

"Hi. I haven't seen you in a while." I said happily.

"Yeah, you too." Set scratched their hair. "Hey, sorry. I got to get going, I have to, um, make a report on a bar fight that just happened."

"In the middle of the day?"

"Uh, yeah, some middle aged guys that struggle for jobs."

"Oh. You'd be pretty suited to help each of them with their differences and..."

"Hey, listen. I know I'm good at helping people with their problems, but I would rather just not interact with drunks. Now if you don't mind."

Set walked off, but I couldn't figure out what to say to get them to stay. They seemed different from the Set I knew. Distant, and also less sympathetic.

Hours went by. Then, days. I tried to get in contact with Set, but eventually, the other Paladins would bar me from the Ministry.

Finally, a week goes by and I catch Set outside the Ministry!

"Set! I-"

"Stop... Just leave me alone."

I was taken aback, I did not expect this reaction.

"Sorry... I don't mean to be rude, but... I just." They took a moment and sighed. "Don't take this the wrong way, but, I only ever joined you because I was part of the Order of Ygassi. I knew who you were. I thought you were our savior, our messiah."

"Oh..."

"I... I just wanted to raise to the rank of High Paladin as best as I could. I thought I could reach that rank by being in your good grace, and it worked. Because we stopped Johannes, I became Captain of the High Paladins.

"I thank you for the opportunity, but... I never really considered you a friend. I'm sorry"

I couldn't say anything. I just felt a pit in my stomach. Set was my first friend, my best friend... but this entire time, they never saw me as anything more than an acquaintance.

"I'm going to go now. I do actually have some duties to attend to today. Goodbye. And may the light prosper within you."

"Yes. Thank you. You... you too." I watched them walk away. I wanted to scream. I wanted to cry. But instead, I repressed it. I knew better than to cause a scene in town.

----

I wanted to meet with Ezra. Orlana was right next door to Jetta, and so I figured I could meet with her since we hadn't spoken since the defeat of Johannes. I had sent her letters, but I'm unsure if she ever received them.

It took some time to find her, but she was talking with her friends at a restaurant. I decided to finish my meal first before speaking with her. It was good to see her again.

"Hey, did you like... you know... like... uh, like like the hero?" One of the girls asked. It made me blush. They were talking about a knight that one of the girls liked, so this was on topic... but why bring me up all of a sudden?

"What? Oh, no... Him and I never really connected. Um... actually, he was a bit short tempered."

One of the other girls gasped, then asked, "Really? Like, what do you mean?"

Ezra took a sip of her drink and then continued, "He would get frustrated with people easily. Hard to say something, but he would get really angry at a lot of things."

"Oh wow, do you two still ever meet up?"

"Oh hell no. I honestly did want to be the girl who helped save the world, and so I did. After we won the war, I wanted nothing to do with him anymore."

My appetite was gone. I couldn't think straight. Why was Ezra talking about me like this to others? What did I do wrong to her? I left. I didn't even pay for my meal, I just left.

I stumbled out of the restaurant and came across Lanz shortly after. We were both surprised to see each other.

"Heeey little buddy."

"H-hey." I was shocked. I was still scrambled from what I heard from Ezra.

"Did you see Ezra in there?"

"Oh, yeah. She's with friends."

"Ah."

"Hey Lanz, we're friends, right?"

"Look. I'm gonna be honest here buddy. I've gotten your letters. But, I've just been too busy with stuff to write back. Sorry."

"That’s... not what I mean." I paused. "Why did you join me?"

"Like, way back when we started adventuring?"

"Yes."

"Well, to help you defeat Johannes of course?"

I was mad. I knew he was lying. Everyone was avoiding me. I wanted to know the truth. Angerly, I asked again, "the real reason?"

"Okay, okay. Fine. I saw Ezra and wanted to impress her by helping you. I have liked her ever since I saw her. But, hey. I tried to talk with you and stuff, but you... you always seemed difficult to talk to, and you would get angry if we did anything wrong..."

My mind switched. I let go of all the anger and let out a little chuckle. "Oh, I see. So... we're not friends then, are we?"

"Well... I uh, if you want little buddy, I can introduce you to some friends of mine."

"No!" I shouted. But then I took a breath. I decided to just walk away. Before I went down the next building, I looked back to see Ezra holding Lanz's hand, both looking at me. I couldn't tell what they were thinking, but I didn't care.

---

"And so... I came to you. I wanted to know what made you spiral down the path you've come to, because I am... I am this close to spiraling myself!"

He looked at me with his piercing white eyes. His voiced boomed against the cold walls as he spoke, "You have a choice, Vex, you can continue to spiral down a path that leads to your anger consuming you, or you can spiral out and up and use your anger to make the world different in your image."

"What do you mean?"

"I never let anger rule me. I used my anger to fuel my ambitions. It sounds like to me that you lack ambition, though. You have to find what you truly want."

"I just... I just want..."

"WANT WHAT!?" H startled me. I didn't expect him to yell at me. "We both have violent tendencies, Vex, you and I are the same, we both have had people leave us behind because of our anger..."

"NO! You're wrong!" I yelled at him. My anger was ready to unleash, but I kept it back. "You're wrong Johannes. I... people were never there for me. They were there for the prophecy. My entire life has been for the sake of the prophecy!"

"And your kingdoms' Book of Yggasi is going to let you dictate your own life?"

"No... no. I will live my life how I see fit."

"And what will you do with your life?" He smiled like a devil, but he was actually angry. It was a tick, a cirled smile was a sign that Johannes was growing anxious.

I sighed. I thought. Why was I even talking to the man who nearly brought the end of the four Eastern Kingdoms?

I was spiraling... I didn't want to spiral out of control like he did. I hated my anger. I admit it. I had a temper. I got angry, and when I did, my anger would destroy others, especially in battle. It scared people, I made people fear me... I really was just like Johannes...

"I... I want to get rid of all hate."

"Oh?"

I stood up. "I'm going to take this anger straight to the gods themselves. I will find a way to eradicate anger, hate, and all evil from this world."

"And just how will you do that?"

I thought for a moment... "I'm going to let the prophecy take control. I will create the spiral to the heavens and kill the God of Hate."

I left Johaness alone in his cell and pressed forward.

...

A sinister smoke emitted from Johannes. His body went limp.

There was a presence within the room. Then laughter.

"Excellent. The god you seek? I am they." The smoke filled the room. "I shall consume your hate, and soon, my prophecies, the book I wrote so long ago, shall end. The gods will see my fury once again. The God of Hate, Illum, shall consume all."

The shadow dissipated with a sinister laugh...

You are a Prophecied hero who (with your friends) saved the kingdom. Now, said “friends” are avoiding you because they only needed you for the prophecy

[garyalanhidalgo]

3. The Hotel Cairo Is Private Property

Who knew Hughie Roman would be grateful to this Fabian person after ignoring his calls many times over the past two months? Accepting the Acting Manager’s invitation sounded like a long overdue holiday, but taking a rideshare to the Hotel Cairo was anything but. It truly was an act of desperation. 

He opened the passenger door of the black circa 1990s Jetta, and a cloud mushroomed off it from the thick layer of dust that camouflaged its countless scratches, dents, and bald spots.

“Hughie Roman?” the red-haired woman at the wheel asked as she lifted her sunglasses to reveal her pale blue eyes. “I’m Rusty Fontana, your rideshare to Hannibal. I tried to run your credit card, but it got rejected.”

Hughie reached for his wallet and said, “I can give you cash. Why do you look so familiar?”

“I must have one of those faces,” she said. “You know an average Joe. I mean Josie.”

At least Rusty Fontana’s charming company made the two-day road trip from Los Angeles to Hannibal feel shorter and less repetitious than he feared. His chauffeur hesitated to share additional details about herself. To compensate, Hughie shared more than Rusty, who’d never seen his show, probably wanted to know about her outspoken passenger for the next forty-eight hours.

“Where do you want to get dropped off?” Rusty asked as they passed by trees, then more trees, followed by even more trees.

Hughie glimpsed the white and gray building with four massive pillars that made it look like, to his ex, the Pantheon, and Hughie, the White House. For once, they had both been correct. The Hotel Cairo was the premier example of Greek revival architecture that deserved to sit in Los Angeles or New York, not here in this backwater setting out of The Last Picture Show or—he choked—Deliverance.

“I’m headed there,” he pointed out the Hotel Cairo to an exasperated Rusty as they got closer to the hill it reverently crowned.

“You’re staying at the Hotel Cairo?”

“Just until next week. It’s not quite like I pictured it.” As they got closer, he identified that the stucco white was actually dirty white, and bald spots scarred the roof where some gray shingles had slid off. Sure, they were minor wear and tear, but Hughie cringed at the thought as they diminished the hotel’s face value. “It’s seen better days.”

“As someone born three decades before they built that hotel,” Rusty said, “I won’t comment. Hey, at least they have running water.”

Hughie glumly noted that the fountains spread out across the grounds that, per the agent’s vivid description, once spouted water were now used as planters for common-looking yellow flowers. He would take it up with the actual manager soon enough, not just someone acting as manager.

“Speaking of running water,” Rusty said, “I hope you don’t take this the wrong way, Mr. Roman.

“We’ve been stuck like glue for two days. You can speak your mind freely and please call me Hughie.”

“Alright, Hughie.” Rusty fanned her nose. “You may want to freshen up once you get to your room. Sorry, but I told you to wash up at the last three gas stations.”

“I have a thing about using public bathrooms.”

Rusty pinched her nose and scrutinized him from head to toe. “While you are quite handsome in a devil may care way, you smell like a—I forgot what’s politically correct for—bum.”

“I haven’t used a public toilet since I was in high school. Even then, I detested them. Who knows what nasty diseases you’d pick up?”

“Yet you don’t have an issue with stinking up my car. Thank God I keep Pine Air Freshener handy for my riders’ enjoyment. If you could reach for it below my seat and apply it per instruction to the rear-view mirror. I’d be much obliged. And feel free to wear one. Please, I keep extras.”

Hughie did as advised to hang one in the rear-view mirror. Then he panicked as the Jetta began to pull into the hotel driveway. Before the car turned to wind its way up the hill and arrive at the main building, he abruptly hit the vehicle’s horn.

“What the fuck?” Rusty cursed, not amused by the scare he gave her.

“Can we please stop here?” he asked.

“But the hotel’s still further up. Let me drop you off at the door even if you aren’t fit to mingle with the townsfolk. Main Street locals maybe, but this hotel is a four-star establishment. They have a higher class of riffraff.”

“Ahem,” Hughie said. “It’s a five-star hotel. They have a gourmet restaurant, health club, and spa. And the only local I’m gonna mingle with is the honor bar.”

Rusty scratched her head. “If you’re not careful, those things could run up an enormous debt.”

“I meant I’ll hit up the hotel bar.” Hughie sniffed his reeking armpits as he got out of the car. “After I take a shower and change.”

Because of their abrupt stop, they currently blocked the driveway of the Hotel Cairo. As he stretched beside the Jetta, he spotted an antique white and gold Rolls Royce as it rolled down the hill at the same time. Even in car-obsessed Los Angeles, the elegant automobile would have commanded a great deal of attention. This model, a 1938 Wraith, would have particularly earned his adulation.

Its engine may have purred like a cat, but its horn trumpeted like an elephant at him as he pulled out his luggage from the trunk of the more practical Jetta. With his luggage in hand, Rusty left Hughie in the dust, frightened off by the warning.

Having expelled at least one inconvenience from its path, the Rolls prepared to mow down its remaining obstruction. Face to face with the vehicle, Hughie angrily reminded himself that it was half his property and, therefore, whoever it was inside owed him some respect. He shivered as he looked into the icy-blue pupils of the attractive, middle-aged lady with dazzling flaxen hair snug in the backseat. She scolded her chauffeur, who winked at Hughie as they flew within an inch of his life.

Narrowly missing him, Hughie waved to get their attention, but the Rolls sped off the property in a huff. The vanity plates XENIA1 glared at him as he gave the Rolls one last look. He rolled his eyes while he stifled his envy.

Hughie dragged his Louis Vuitton rolling luggage and wheeled duffle bag, both matching Monogram Canvas, up the winding road to the Hotel Cairo. Surveying the sprawling property, this had indeed been his only worthwhile investment in thirty years of get-rich-quick schemes that included the late nineties Dot-com bubble and bust and cryptocurrency, whose concept he still couldn’t understand.

It wasn’t exactly that he was trying to get rich. Thanks to Autumn of My Discontent, he was rich longer than most actors managed. But alas, he got old. Everything went downhill from there.

Hughie felt guilty for not telling Rusty the truth. He didn’t want the hotel staff or their manager to see him get dropped off in her over-the-hill Jetta. Not that it wasn’t a fuel-efficient and comfy ride, Lameo Larry would say. It just wasn’t the right fit. He may be a loser back home, but Hughie Roman wanted to arrive at his hotel as a winner even if he had to pretend that he took a limousine from the airport after flying first class, of course. Obviously, the limo had a flat tire outside the driveway, forcing him to walk the rest of the way up. 

Thank God he brought Louis Vuitton luggage. It was still the unmissable mark of a celebrity.

* * *

At the peak of the steep last length of the driveway, two men lost no time welcoming him to the Hotel Cairo.

“Hello,” Hughie said. “Which one of you is—” Before he could finish his friendly how-do-you-do, a well-dressed man with gray-green eyes immediately punched his face with wanton disregard. With that, he lost consciousness for at least a minute, in which he fantasized he cuddled an Oscar like a long-lost child.

“Whoever the man is, you should never have hit him. You’re the lawyer. You should know better.”

“What’s this drunken bum doing with expensive luggage like this? He must’ve stolen it from one of your guests.”

“Don’t call him that. It’s disparaging. He’s an unhoused person with an alcohol use disorder.”

As the Oscar tore itself away from his forlorn embrace, Hughie groaned in relief, then rubbed his left cheek. The thickness of his beard had protected his precious face from any superficial damage.

“I-I-I’m ...” he said.

“Thank God, you’re awake.” One of them kneeled to check on him. It wasn’t the man that struck him. This man had beaming brown eyes that matched his carefully tapered chestnut hair. If he wasn’t already fully awake, Hughie would’ve mistaken him for an angel shielding him from the nasty piece of work in the blue blazer. “I’m sorry, sir. The Hotel Cairo is private property and James just wanted you to go. But he should have asked and not laid a finger on you. Is your jaw okay?”

Hughie turned his head to show off his chiseled jaw. The nice man saw he was okay, sighed with relief, and caressed his cheek with tenderness.

“Fabian,” the mean man shouted. “You don’t know where he’s been.”

“Fabian Flores?” Hughie stood up.

“That’s me.”

“As I was trying to say before your security guard pummeled me without mercy, I’m Hughie Roman. We spoke last Monday.”

“I am not the security guard,” the one named James growled at him, “and you aren’t Mr. Roman. But this is probably his luggage.”

 He unzipped the leather duffel bag and dumped its contents on the ground before Hughie or Fabian could protest.

“James, please stop,” Fabian said to his crazed co-worker. “Do you have any I.D. to prove you’re Hughie Roman?”

“Yes, I do.” Hughie reached for his wallet, but his back pocket was empty. “No, I don’t. I must’ve dropped it in the Uber.”

“You took an Uber here?” Fabian asked. He crouched on the ground and scooped up Hughie’s belongings.

Hughie saw a familiar wine-colored envelope sticking out among his unmentionables. He grabbed it and presented it to Fabian.

The hotel manager’s eyes dilated. “It’s our seal, and it’s sent courtesy of Carraway & Sons.”

“I still don’t believe him.” The man named James would’ve been handsome even by Hollywood’s lofty standards had he not had a disagreeable scowl. “He looks and smells putrid. Hughie Roman is a wealthy television star. Surely, he would’ve showered and dressed up before he checked into his hotel.”

James took the envelope from Fabian and pulled out the thick packet of papers inside. Finally, identifying an unmistakable sign made him laugh hysterically.

“What is it?” Fabian asked.

“It’s my father’s signature.”

“Now, do you believe him?” Fabian said like he definitely knew Hughie had told them the truth.

He caught the thoughtful hotel manager staring at him from time to time. Why was he so obsessed with his face long after he brushed his cheek while he’d been on the ground? Now that Hughie was on his feet again, Fabian studied his face even more conspicuously. It was as if he looked more familiar now that gravity hadn’t flattened his features out of proportion. Who did he see in those stolen glances?

Hughie’s mind raced as he heard James call someone on his phone. “Sheriff Holden, we have a criminal element at the Hotel Cairo.”

After a forty-eight-hour trip, being knocked unconscious upon arriving, and having his clothes scattered across the driveway, Hughie was out of steam.

Read The Hotel Cairo now on digital and Kindle Unlimited:

[im-just-a-dumb-gay]

Ramble about Jem Au

Drama! When Ecliese/Pizzazz finds out RoxCee/Reaper and Scthye are their half siblings and her mother stayed in the city. (Nothing like this happened in Jem btw. This is specifically for this au. Initially Roxcee and Pizzazz weren't related but the idea popped up so made this scenario)

(Gonna actually try to write a thing).

Ecliese ran out of the studio, hearing voices behind her but she wouldn't look back. She kept running until she found a storage area filled with nothing but boxes. Most of them being old papers and small office equipment. Ecliese closed the door and breathed loudly. Their mother, their mother was in the studio.

Ecliese gritted her teeth. Why, why now did she decide to show herself?! Never in the past (forgot age mother left whoops) years did she think to talk? To show her face? To be her mother!

In her rage, Ecliese broke the boxes surrounded her. Why?! Why!! Why did she leave?! Why did she stay?! Why now?! Sobs broke from Ecliese and they slowly slid down to the floor, apparently and cardboard surrounding them. The door then slowly creaked open.

Jake was shocked at the arrival of Rox and Cee's parents, let alone the reveal of their mother being the missing mother of their leader Pizzazz. When they ran off, Jake looked between where she left and RoxCee. Eventually, leaving the two to talk it out with their mother.

He walked through the halls, looking at every room until finding an old storage room. Slightly opening the door, his heart froze at what lay before him. Pizzazz, their strong and ruthless leader, broken down on the floor. He walked towards them, kneeling beside them before gently speaking. "Pizzazz..."

Ecliese had heard Stormer, his footsteps not difficult to decipher with the idiotic shoes he decided to wear today. They jingled at each step, tacky. Ecliese wanted to stop her tears, to instead scream and rant like she normally did. But now they were tired, and crying seemed to be the only thing they could do. Pathetic. Then a usually loud and grating voice whispered. "Can I come in?" A small nod was given. Ecliese too tired to try and hide.

Initially, Ruin didn't want to be part of this drama. The other members knew Pizzazz longer than they did. But he'd be lying if he said he didn't care about The Misfits. What was initially a money and fame grab had actually become something treasured...something she didn't want to let go. And so she followed Stormer. Ruin never really dealt with crying, this was something Stormer would be much better at. Quite honestly, they was surprised Pizzazz let them enter.

Jetta seemed to be awkward. In any other situation, Ecliese would've laughed. Instead, she quietly watched Jetta eventually sit on the opposite side of Stormer. Stormer had one hand on Ecliese's shoulder while Jetta sat firmly, looking back at the door. The two were quiet. It stayed like this for a while until Jetta sat up, and 2 sets of footsteps were heard.

Reaper and Scythe were not expecting their mother to actually show up. She always found an excuse to never stop by or even attend backstage to their concerts no matter how much they assured her they allowed it. What was a pleasant surprise, however, turned sour. Now they realized the root of all her excuses. She didn't want to face Pizzazz. The two didn't know much about Pizzazz's mother. All her paintings were thrown out and neither Pizzazz nor their father spoke about her. It was if she disappeared. Except she didn't. She was here the whole time, she was their mother. At first, the two didn't know how to react. It was then Reaper who spoke up.

"Why did you lie to us?" Prompted, Schythe continued "Why did you keep this hidden?". Their mother then explained. Explained her loveless marriage and how she had to leave her old life behind. How she did initially want to leave further away, until she met their father and stayed with him. She had wanted to see Pizzazz again, but that she was afraid. And that her guilt became too strong to ignore and finally, after all these years, meet Pizzazz.

Reaper and Scythe were stunned. It was, a lot. To know that the mother they loved and cherished all these years, was the same mother Pizzazz would angrily shut down at the mere mention of her. "We need to find Pizzazz. It might be best...you're not here when we find them." Their mother simply nodded in understanding, initially going for an embrace before stopping herself and going through the door. The two then went in the direction where Pizzazz and later Stormer and Jetta left. Eventually they found an open door and walked in.

Ecliese braced themself. Much like thenself, RoxCee were never great with their emotions. Ecliese knew she must have made their mother cry. Before all this, the two would speak praises of their mother. Surely, they sided with her. It seemed Jetta had the same thought, getting ready to yell back. What they didn't expect, however, was an embrace. It was sudden and in any other occasion, the two would have been shoved off and yelled at. Instead, Ecliese accepted it. She knew what it meant, they were there for her...Stormer and Jetta then joined as well, the four holding their band leader close. Ecliese was never much for hugs and all that mush, but...maybe this could be the one exception. She gently closed her eyes and fell further in the embrace.

[thefluxsystem]

finding out that the “realm i grew up in” is actually just a hidden corner of a severely traumatized person’s brain has been quite the adventure. it sucks because it makes perfect sense. i’m not a full person, just a piece of one, no matter how it feels. there’s some weird peace in that.

[starlightswitch]

A Funeral Without a Death

@flashfictionfridayofficial I actually had the full idea by Friday afternoon for once and then things happened Friday night and I was out most of the day Saturday and for some reason the words have just not been flowing.

Jetta was gone, and her parents were planning her funeral.

“She’s not dead,” Covy argued, as if they might really think she was. “What if she comes back?”

Their parents looked at him the way that stood in for an answer he wouldn’t like.

“We can’t say she’s dead. How would she have died, with no one knowing she was sick?” He was being smart. He was thinking of why people would question it. He wasn’t just arguing because if they said she was dead, she really couldn’t come back.

“We’ll say there was an accident. She died immediately. There was nothing we could do.”

 Covy swallowed.

“What do we do about the body?” said Father. “Wrap something else?”

Covy hoped he wouldn’t be able to say ‘the body’ so calmly if there really was a body. Maybe he would, he thought with a sinking feeling, since he could talk so calmly when he didn’t think Jetta was ever coming back.

 “Wrap something else,” Mother was saying at the same time Father was asking it. “We should be able to find some and things enough to look like a body when wrapped in cloth.”

“If we have to use rocks I don’t know we’ll be able to lift it into the grave, even with the three of us. And there’s not much else we can spare to be buried.”

“We won’t put it in the grave at the funeral,” said Mother.

“How?” Covy burst out. “It goes in the grave at the funeral. It always goes in the grave at the funeral.”

“Not always,” said Father. “Most people do it that way so that more people can be part of moving the body and filling the grave, but the family can do it alone. We’ll say we want to do it alone; then we won’t have to put anything in the grave.”

“So–” Covy took a breath. “We’re going to dig a grave and then just fill it back in?”

“With a funeral in between,” Mother pointed out, “so everyone is convinced she really is dead, and no one goes looking for her.”

And there was the reason for having a funeral. Covy didn’t know what Jetta had been doing– he got the idea if he tried to ask he would be told he was too young to know, so he’d hoped if he pretended not to care and paid quiet attention he’d figure it out for himself– <> but he knew it was something that made their parents worried. At first he’d thought they didn’t want her doing it, but they had never made her stop, so he’d started thinking it was other people who wouldn’t want her doing it. And if they didn’t want her doing it so much, if they knew she wasn’t dead they would go after her to stop her– and then maybe she really would be dead.

They dug the grave. They told Covy he didn’t have to help, since Jetta wouldn’t really be buried there, but he wanted to. If it helped protect her, he wanted to.

He helped fill the cloth with enough heavy things to make it seem like a body– he even offered his twirling sphere to use for the head, insisting even when his mother told him it might have to be buried, if anyone seemed suspicious and insisted on the body being put into the grave at the funeral.

At the funeral, when it was his turn to speak, he simply said, with real tears, “I miss her so much. And I wish she was still here.”

They waited for a while after everyone was gone, then quickly scattered the rocks. Covy was told to hurry the rest of it inside, the cloth first, while Mother and Father started filling the grave. He finished and went to help with that too. As hard as it was knowing he might never see his sister again, he thought it would be worse to bury her than to fill an empty grave and hope she was alive and well and smiling.

[moonlight26posts-blog]

In Baltimore City, MD: Stunning, sweet, and dog-friendly long-haired cat is seeking rescue due to medical - BARCS, Baltimore MD

Jetta- 5 years, altered female, 8.9lbs

FELV-/FIV-

Jetta is the sweetest girl! She absolutely loves being pet and will seek you out for her requisite session(s). She is playful and will let you know when she is ready for a round with the flirt stick by pawing at the handle. When she is ready to just relax, she will plop down beside you, preferably using your knee or any available part of you, as a pillow.

Beautiful Jetta has the softest, politest meow we have ever heard and her tail flicks- a lot- like she's a lion in the pride swatting flies. She isn't annoyed, quite the opposite; it is just out there flipping and flopping around, sometimes hitting herself or you in the process. Speaking of lions, while she is a stunning black cat with piercing green/yellow eyes, she has what resembles a male lion's mane surrounding her face -- it is floofy and ruddy colored. On the back of her neck, she has slight salt and pepper coloring. She is a beauty and a delight.

Shortly after arriving in foster, it was noted that Jetta had something going on with her hind legs. She has an ataxic gait in the hind end with decreased muscle mass, and she prefers to lay down. In-shelter x-rays showed no obvious fractures or luxations, but questionable increased lucency of the pelvis and hind limbs. A neuro consult and potentially additional rads are recommended to further assess.

While in foster, Jetta was exposed to the resident dog, who is familiar with cats and able to mind his own business, and she did fine.

Jetta is available immediately for rescue pick-up, and due to her medical and need for further diagnostics, we are seeking rescue placement ASAP for her.

Please let us know if your organization can help!

Thank you,

The BARCS Rescue Team

Baltimore Animal Rescue & Care Shelter (BARCS)

​New Address! 2490 Giles Rd, Baltimore, MD 21225

rescue@barcs.org| (410) 396-4695

Rescue pick-up hours:

Monday-Friday: 10:30 a.m.-6:30 p.m.

Saturday and Sunday: 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m

Adoption hours:

Monday-Friday: 2 p.m.-6 p.m.

Saturday and Sunday: 11 a.m.-4 p.m.

Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter, Inc. (BARCS) | 2490 Giles Rd, Baltimore, MD 21225

[immawraffle]

Some more courtesy of the reblogs, special shout-out to @eruscreaminginthedistance for a lot of these.

Sigrun’s personal quest in Awakening. It’s bugged, so you have to do it before Law and Order/Smuggler’s Run in Amaranthine. Easiest to just recruit her before visiting the city, I think.

Loot the meteor of the Superman-reference random encounter and bring it to the blacksmith at Soldier’s Peak to get Starfang.

You should hold tab, basically for the entire game. There’s so much shit you can miss if it’s not highlighted, like the Chasind Trail Signs, Black Vials, Five Pages, Four Mages, and plenty of other quests. Also probably codex entries.

Wynne is at Ostagar. So is Uldred (he shows up at the war table)

You can talk to Loghain at Ostagar by persuading the guard at his tent. His greeting in Denerim is different if you do.

If you reject Leliana in the tavern, you get another chance to recruit her before you leave Lothering (by the imperial highway).

Sten and Zevran might also be easily missable. The Chantry Mother in Lothering has unique dialogue with Leliana if she’s in your party when you try to get the key for his cage. Don’t kill the elven assassin without talking to him, at least.

There are actually two different stories for the pre-game purge of the Denerim alienage. If you talk to Soris after the brides were taken (as a male Tabris), he says it was a fire after an elf killed a human in a fight by the docks. If you talk to him in the Arl of Redcliffe’s Dungeon, he claims that it was a mass lynching after an elf hit on a human woman.

I may be wrong, but I think the purge also coincided with King Maric’s disappearance in The Calling, potentially increasing unrest the same way the blight did.

If you have either stealing or stealth, Slim Couldry will appear in Denerim and offer a series of sidequests. If you only have one talent, you can say “show me both” to see all of them. You can rob at least one of the targets before getting the mission for a refund. Upon completion, a new dialogue option unlocks with the Dark Wolf character in Amaranthine.

Speaking of Awakening: finding all of the ingredients to fully upgrade Vigil’s Keep

Shout-out to @shiny-pawmot who missed the tavern in Redcliffe—so did I the first time. Also the oil barrels.

If you save all the Redcliffe villagers, even the unnamed ones, you get a special helm. This is practically impossible. There’s a mod to make it easier.

The Kocari Wilds quest, Last Will and Testament, doesn’t have a reward for turning the box in to Jetta, so it’s more profitable to keep the contents for yourself. You can still go to the Redcliffe chantry to tell Jetta the sad news.

You can talk to your companions outside party camp. I didn’t really miss this (kept clicking on them by mistake), but I always forgot and only talked to them at camp anyway. Leliana has location specific stories sometimes. There are reactions to kissing your LI in public.

You can kill Cauthrien and go home or fail and be captured. If you’re captured, you can escape or allow yourself to be saved by two companions of your choosing.

Things that are easy to miss in Dragon Age: Origins, I guess:

If you talk to the soldier guarding the tower of Ishal, he tells you they found tunnels under it, so they should already know it’s compromised.

If you exhaust all dialogue with the head templar of the Lothering chantry, he’ll tell you about the right of annulment being sent for (at least if you’re a mage).

If you reject Leliana and talk to the barkeep, he tells you a bit more about her.

Honorable mention to the people who completely miss Leliana bc they never go in the tavern.

The Orzammar Palace Dragon.

The full Blackstone Irregular and Favours for Certain Interested Parties quest lines, which I missed my first couple play-throughs.

You can extend the quick bar by dragging it.

Feel free to add your own to the list.

[silverslipstream]

what are your characters' biggest flaws? do they see them as flaws?

Hello Churchofcrows, and thank you for the ask!

Kat - similar to Yuri, has a superiority complex regarding her intelligence/engineering prowess. is under a lot of pressure as a wanted fugitive and thus is needlessly combative/distrustful in conversation

Harry - impulsive and rash, often does or says things without thinking of the long-term consequences. often offends others by continually minimizing issues into jokes and disrespecting their opinions/wishes.

Jack - intensely stubborn, refuses to listen to consensus when her negative aspects are pointed out (e.g continually rebuffs crew members when they offer to help her with her alcoholism) and is emotionally distant as a result.

Sora - kinda the exact opposite of Jack: has very little self-confidence to the point of barely even speaking, can't deal with pressure at all and struggles to stand up for herself

Stan - has an immense superiority complex regarding his intelligence (which, to be fair, is sorta justified - he's smart as fuck) and a tendency to take things way too seriously, whether it's a passing remark or a simple game - comes off very standoffish/rude.

I haven't thought of anything for Kaz or Jetta yet, but I'll work it out as I go along. As you can see, the Dowager Caroline is a vessel of misfits and arseholes (well, they're nicer than they sound...most of the time, anyway...)

[omanxl1]

Cal Tjader- Speak Low

 Sunday Jazz Continues! check us out as we proceed and continue with this Father’s Day  / Juneteenth conjunction! The saga / struggle continues as we drop this good word and good music, we’re rocking the function! We’re broadcasting live and direct from our remote outpost out off of I-20 in Atlanta! We were swerving out in those Atlanta streets earlier, spotted the Volkswagen Jetta trying to…

[rhetoricandlogic]

Once More Unto the Breach: A Kingdom For a Stage by Heidi Heilig Alex Brown Wed Oct 9, 2019 2:30pm

After the terrible events of For a Muse of Fire, Jetta is unsure of herself and her future. Her mother is gone, her father gravely injured, her brother back from the dead, and the boy she cares for has abandoned her. An unexpected reunion leads to a shocking betrayal. Captured and frightened, she is sent back to the one place she never wanted to see again: Hell’s Court. What was once a prison of horrors is now a workshop for Lady Theodora and armory for her brother General Xavier LeGarde. Theodora strikes a deal with Jetta (although she has no choice but to accept) to study her magic in exchange for bringing peace to Chakrana and providing Jetta with an endless supply of the elixir to treat her malheur. Secretly, however, Jetta is still working with the Tiger to bring down the Aquitans.

Much to Jetta’s dismay, the Aquitans are keeping her sociopathic biological father Le Trépas in Hell’s Court as well. If the colonizers can understand how Jetta’s abilities work while harnessing Le Trépas’ expansive powers, the Aquitan armee will be unstoppable. She may be young, but she has the fate of her family, her friends, and her entire kingdom on her shoulders. If she fails, everything she loves will be destroyed, yet success is almost out of reach. The things she will have to do and the horrendous acts she must commit will change her and her people in ways she cannot predict. The final battle is coming, and Jetta is not ready.

In my review of the first book, For a Muse of Fire, I commented that Jetta was standing at the precipice, the hardships of her past at her back and the vast unknown at her front. By the end of the novel, she had stepped off that ledge, not knowing if she’d find peace and security or pain and suffering. When A Kingdom for a Stage opens, Jetta thinks she is floating, waiting for someone to give her direction, but really she’s falling toward a fate she cannot escape. She is surrounded by impenetrable darkness, with only the tiny bits of intel her conspirators and conquerors deign to give her as her guides.

Before imprisonment, Jetta felt stifled by her malheur (what we would call bipolar disorder). The hallucinations made her doubt her reality while her mood swings made it challenging to establish a sense of normalcy. But now with the Aquitan treatment coursing through her, she feels both more stable and less in control. She is beholden to the elixir. It is the only thing that makes her feel “normal,” but is also imposed on her by her Aquitan guards. How must it feel to need something produced by the very people destroying your people but at the same time have those enemies strip you of your choice of whether or not to take it? Even worse is how the Aquitans treat Jetta. Her malheur isn’t something that can be managed, only suppressed. They fear and despise her “madness” more than her necromancy, enough that Leo and Jetta are able to play the Aquitans’ prejudice against them.

We see such deception, so to speak, again but in a different aspect. The Aquitans believe the Chakrans to be ignorant and incapable of ruling themselves and that dominating the kingdom will save their souls from damnation and the citizenry from a life of aimless scrabbling. They bring civilization and salvation to a lawless, heathen land, or so they believe. So when the bigots assume a a Chakran boy is nothing more than a cha, the degrading slur Aquitans spit like venom, he uses it as an opportunity. While the Aquitans are busy sticking their noses in their air and sneering at those below them, the Chakran boy works to undermine them.

The easiest way to not be noticed it to not be worthy of notice. It is an act of resistance, albeit a small, quiet one. Sometimes that is all you have and sometimes it has to be enough…at least for now. But make no mistake, it is resistance. In one scene, an Aquitan soldier indirectly berates a Chakran servant while arguing with another Aquitan, and Jetta and the servant lock eyes for a brief moment. She understands the depth of this silent interaction: “Still, there is comfort in the glance – the shared connection of two strangers who, for a moment, have everything in common.” If the servant speaks up, the Aquitans will focus the full force of their notice on him, with Jetta suffering as collateral damage. For the same reason, she kept her mouth shut in an earlier scene where she knew her backtalk would ripple down to any other Chakran unlucky enough to be in the vicinity. For the Aquitans, power means domination, and domination means making sure every cha feels the burn of oppression.

Second books in trilogies are frequently weaker than their predecessors or successors. They are bridges between what was and what will be, and that often leaves them wanting in terms of plot and action. Fortunately for you, A Kingdom for a Stage was written by the immensely talented Heidi Heilig, so you don’t have to worry about this novel being filler. This is the kind of young adult fiction that makes the whole category look good. Heilig injects OwnVoices and anti-colonialist sentiment into YA fantasy in an evocative and powerful way. Packed with intense action and deep introspection – as well as scenes from plays, newspaper clippings, letters, and sheet music! – it more than lives up to the greatness of A Kingdom for a Stage. I’m genuinely not sure how I’m going to last another year before the third and final book comes out.