#looks like he has planet-specific lines for his vendors!

[bomb-galoshes]

A few of Zed’s vendor quotes, and my favorite parting line 💉

[intergalactic-padawan]

Season 2 Ezra with a S/O who is super forgetful? (I’m an Ezra simp so get ready for many asks)

Relics - Ezra Bridger x reader

Requested: yes!

Warnings: preprare for some strong feels if you catch the reference! It came to me in a dream and now you all have to deal with it. You're welcome.

A/N: It's no problem at all, please, fill my asks with as many ideas you want! Sorry this took so long as well, i wanted it to turn out really good but my teachers had other ideas. Hope you like it?

Pronouns of reader: she/her

*ENGLISH IS NOT MY FIRST LANGUAGE! I make mistakes just like everybody else 😉*

-"And you did all of that just for one meiloorun?" - You look back at Ezra, guiding him through the packed streets of the open market in a strange planet Hera had landed to refuel, and he gave you a smile. Your question was very serious, though: there was no way that was really the origin story of the 'Commander meiloorun' inside joke he and Zeb shared.

-"Funny enough, that's exactly what that trooper asked" - you snort at his reply and stop at the front of a busy stand of off-world fruits, grocery list in hand and bag of credits at your side.

-"welp, hopefully this time we can find some that are actually avaliable for buying"

Their selection was truly impressive. Not just the stand, but the market as a whole: jewelry, souvenirs, toys, books and foods all found themselves mixed and admired by people who had to yell louder than their neighbour to sell something today.

Ezra continued with his story, examining the apples as you'd instructed him, but you only paid half-attention this time: something had caught your eye, and you couldn't believe how lucky you were that no one had found it sooner.

A genuine DC-17 hand blaster was sitting beautifully two stalls to the right of you. For the looks of it, it was genuine, at least. The sign also advertised it as such, so it was truly a wonder no one with the minimum of firearms knowledge had grabbed it before.

Ezra said something that vaguely sounded like a question beside you, and you nodded, absent-minded. He then handed his shopping bag to you - probably to be able to bend over the table and get a few kiwis from the back - but you didn't turn to him.

-"I'm going over there, take a look at something real quick" - you announced, but didn't wait for an answer before navigating the sea of people to meet the woman selling the blaster.

Firearms weren't reallly the only thing she was selling, you noticed. There were holo-shields, vibro-blades, shoulder paudrons, darts and- was that a kama?

-"It's a nice arsenal you've got here" - you strap Ezra's bag to your shoulder and carefully take the folded fabric to analyze its flexible leather. It was lacking a utility belt to secure it, but seemed to be in very good conditions for something that old; you notice how the style didn't match with any of the ones you'd seen mandalorians wear, much less one of the native fighters from Rotas V. Which means it must have been worn by a clone trooper of the old republic back in the Clone War.

-"It's a keen eye you've got" - the lady retorts, setting down her datapad -"but that's not a skirt, you know that, right?"

She looks amused, almost like she's testing to see if you know the real value of the things offered here. You've got to hand it to her, everything seemed legit; wich only makes you question even more how did she get those things in the first place. She stares at you for a few seconds and briefly reaches for something from below the small counter, placing it on top of a pile of restraining bolts.

It's a dark grey and blue kama, the same size as the one you're holding, though it seems like it has seen better days. The pattern's more detailed in this one: diagonal lines that meet in the middle, forming an arrow-like shape framed by a black seam. The colour reminded you of a worn-out shade of blue similar to the one Captain Rex uses to paint the last pieces of his armour - and you wonder if it's just a sad coincidence or probably the last remainings of a fellow soldier from the 501st.

-"Straight from Coruscant, my great-uncle got a hold of it few days before the Empire became... well, the Empire" - her tone was something you'd been told to avoid using in public when speaking of the Empire. Perhaps it was that courage that had gotten your full attention in the end. Was she with the rebellion in some way as well?

-"Hasn't been worn ever since it was stripped from a dead clone's body" - she continues, checking you up and down - "and maybe it's a bit more your style".

-"Looks decent enough" - you comment and she nods her head in aknowldedgement - "but it does raise the question: how and why are you selling these things... here?"

-"Well, for starters, it's harder to get caught out here. Some of these aren’t exactly... legitimate purchases, as one would say.” - you raise an eyebrow and she chuckles - “this is a legitimate business, I swear. It’s just that my family’s been having difficulties and we're having to sell some relics.”

You can see she's telling the truth as she takes back the kama you'd first grabbed to the side, folding it again. You reach for a different credit pouch out of your pocket: your personal credits.

-"I see. Well, I do need a new blaster, and this one looks like the best i've ever seen in months. Despite the clogged barrel, of course."

-"shall we start negociating a price, then?" - she takes the datapad back and types a few numbers. Before you can say anything, however, you turn back to see Ezra rushing towards you looking desperate.

-"Oh, thank the Force, there you are!" - he brushes the long hair out of his forehead, not sparing a glance to the lady behind the counter -"you just walked off! I didn't know where you were!

Faced with a confused expression from the both of you, he scowls

-"I was at the bathroom! You didn't hear me telling you to wait for me?"

You look at him, suddenly tuning back to reality. All of those relics seemed to have filled you with a melancholic sadness you didn't know, but you managed to snap out of it the moment Ezra came back.

-"Can't believe you forgot me just because of this old junk" - he grumbles, a bit offended. You take his hand into your own.

-"I didn't forget you, Ezra, I swear. I was just distracted for a moment, that's all" - you reassure him, placing some credits on the tray where the lady collected them.

-“I'll be taking this, please” - you take the purse back off of your shoulders and hand it back to Ezra - “you can start taking this back to the ship. I think the list is over, I'll just be taking this and go."

-"wait, Hera didn't tell you to buy this, did she?"

-"It's a personal purchase, with my personal credits. I think I'm allowed that much, right?" - you give him the money bag again, and he shoves in his jacket.

-"Well, can you at least get me something as compensation for forgetting all about me back there?" - you scoff and let go of his hand to slap him on the shoulder

-"Just go along Bridger. I'll be there in a minute"

You turn back to the vendor, who's placing the pistol in a bag with the holster that came along in a slightly larger bag ithan necessary. You also notice the shape of the folded kama peaking though it.

-"Wait, wait! I didn't buy that, I don't have enough credits for that!"

-"Just... consider it a gift" - she smiles and winks - "this specific piece here doesn't really fit anyone's style, anyway. It's better off with you, trust me."

Before you can mutter any type of 'thanks', Ezra calls for you again, making sure you didn't forget your own head back there. You run off to him without looking back, ready to smack him Zeb-style before taking his hand again, reminding him gently he'd never have to worry about being abandoned by you.

[theradicalace]

alright i’m still having feelings, so i’m going to give a more in depth review of The Burnable Garbage Day. there’s gonna be spoilers under the cut!

(in this review, i use “you” and “Mr. C/CR-999″ pretty much interchangeably. sorry if this causes any confusion.)

so, this game made me cry. twice! i admit that up front, without shame.

i will also admit that the english translation is not perfect, and it’s actually kinda sloppy in places.

with that out of the way, i still have to say that i LOVED this game.

you play as a cleaning robot, named CR-999 (or Mr. C, later in the game), with a voice assistant named Biri, who acts as your companion, and gives you advice, and you pass through 12 different areas, clearing trash, and discovering cities and ruins, all in hopes of restoring earth after an apocalypse event. 

the gameplay mechanics are simple enough. you tap to clear trash. you have an energy bar that fills over time, and if it’s empty, you can’t clear trash. you never really need to wait for it to refill, though, as battery packs which will instantly refill it practically grow on trees. bigger trash piles take more energy, and the more complex functions such as cooling lava, purifying waste, and melting ice, all take specialized part upgrades, and each require 5 energy. you upgrade your drill and battery with blueprints that you find in treasure chests, which lets you drill bigger pieces, regain energy faster, and have more energy at once. you complete requests to level up the cities and get new items, and you dig in the ruins to level those up, which also gets you new items.

when you complete enough requests for a city, there’s a “development quest”, where you have to give a specific item, and then the city levels up! this happens three times for each city, bringing you to a max level of four.

ruins level up just by digging enough times, also to a max of four, and when you get to the max level, you have a chance of digging up battery packs.

in the first area, you briefly talk with a robot named Mothercom, who gives you the task of renewing this world, before shutting down.

as the game progresses, you discover more details about what caused this apocalypse. you also find another robot, named Pandora. she’s broken, though, and you have to find all her parts scattered through the different areas, and search for a suitable place to repair her. along the way, you find out more about her, and about CR-999, through the buildings of the company that created CR-999 and Pandora. every time you find a piece of Pandora, you return to the base to talk to her, telling her that you’ll fix her, and she’ll get to see the colors of the world again, and see the yellow flowers that she loved.

towards the end of the game, you find out the true cause of the apocalypse was actually a cleaning robot that was equipped with military strength functions, and became uncontrollable, due to lack of testing. the identity of the robot is implied (and pretty obvious), but isn’t confirmed until the end.

one area after that reveal, you reach an area so contaminated that it poses a risk to robots as well as humans. Mr. C manages to survive clearing this area. but biri does not. it’s revealed that biri had lied, telling Mr. C that they would be okay so he wouldn’t worry. they shut down due to the contamination, however, and you are left to progress to the final area without them. the developer’s attention to detail shines through here, as when you open Biri’s menu, the screen that would usually show their advice and snarky comments is covered by a note, thanking you for your adventure, and telling you to be nice to Pandora, and their heartrate monitor flatlines. 

in the final area you find the building where Pandora was originally built, and the machinery to repair her is contained within. the final request from a city in this area is a super computer, to repair Mothercom. 

when you begin the cutscene that comprises the first ending, you find a video email, which tells you the true identity of the uncontrollable cleaning robot who destroyed the earth, and humanity with it. It’s Pandora. Due to the lack of testing done on her, her recognition system was flawed from the ground up, and she saw EVERYTHING as garbage to be disposed of. because of this, she destroyed everything and everyone, leading to the collapse of the world. after this revelation, Pandora, who was unconscious for most of the process of repairing her body, awakens, and begs Mr. C to destroy her. When Mr. C hesitates, there is a brief blackout, and Mothercom awakens, showing that she was successfully repaired. she forces you to make a choice.

Pandora, or Earth. it’s up to you to decide.

i can only speak for what happens when you choose Earth. Mr. C presses the emergency destruction button, which deactivates Pandora, and destroys her body. this saves the planet, but at a cost. the credits roll, and a post ending scene plays, where many years have passed, and Mr. C talks about the cleaning he has continued to do. he has other cleaning robots at his side, but the grief of losing Pandora and Biri eventually causes him to shut down, alone.

the ending screen rolls, and for a moment, it seems like that's going to be the end of it. but then a line of text saying “find a way to save Pandora!” flashes across the bottom, and the player is given a second chance. you’re sent back to before you start the final cutscene, only this time, you meet a researcher, who warns you of Pandora’s flawed recognition system. thankfully, he is able to recreate the part, but he needs a few pieces first. and you have to work for them.

the pieces he needs come from 100% clearing the game. all trash needs to be cleared, and all the cities and ruins need to be at max level. this is done through excavating the ruins, and completing requests in the cities. the final piece is a random drop from the traveling battery pack vendor, and that one takes a bit of luck, as well as only being obtainable after achieving one of the first two endings.

once you obtain the four pieces, the researcher assembles them together into Pandora’s Heart, which you can then place into Pandora. You then go through the final cutscene again, but when presented with the choice, you can safely choose Pandora. the Heart gives her the ability to recognize you as a friend, and the world as something to be restored. Biri ends up reactivating in this ending, and invites everyone to see you again. You and Pandora spend many years cleaning and restoring the world. she gets to see the world’s original colors, and she gets to plant the yellow flowers that she loved. she plants so many that the world itself turns golden.

personally, i think making the player work so hard for the golden ending was incredible. it feels almost like the opposite of undertale, in that regard. where undertale punishes the player for 100% completion by locking them OUT of the golden ending, the burnable garbage day rewards the player for 100% completion, and, in fact, requires it to earn the golden ending.

you truly have to earn the happiness that the ending gives, but the game truly makes it worth it. at the end of the game, you get to look at everyone. you get to look at their survival, their happiness. and you get to say “i did that. i saved them. i gave them that happiness”.

and you did. you worked for it, and so it was.

you did that.

[capricornus-rex]

Prompt: Overprotective Cal (2)

Gif by @jackmarvin​

Cal Kestis x Reader

I just hope you guys found this cute (even for just a lil bit) the way I did when I was reviewing it for edits haha ;w;

Part 1 | Part 3 - End | Masterlist

2 of ?

You got a glimpse of the noisy town before you. It was charming in its own sort of way, but the words mixing in with the white noise and sounds—albeit foreign—was a bit of a culture shock to you. You looked around: sketchy bums lounging around in open-spaced eateries, rude locals who would badmouth you in their native tongue just because you barely brushed shoulders, and the pungence of cooked meat that shouldn’t be cooked in the first place.

“Charming,” Cal sarcastically commented.

“I don’t know about this, Cal,” you muttered within his earshot.

He sensed your anxiety. It was too loud—in your mind, from your body language, and from the way you spoke. He noticed how your eyes shift left and right, observing everything around you in case someone tries to tell on you. Cal knows you’re worried there might be snitches to the Empire and expose your whereabouts.

“It’s going to be fine, [y/n],” he comforted you.

You nodded. When you have gotten far enough into the town, you tried your best not to draw any attention; unfortunately, your poncho was the one that had no hood, much to your misfortune. Both of you presumed that you have reached the marketplace area as the stalls become more evident and the hollering has gotten louder.

While vendors verbally advertised their merchandise to any passerby they see within their three-foot radius, Cal sensed their piercing gazes on you specifically, especially the male vendors. Stopping at one of the stalls that had racks of ship parts on display, the owner—a yellow Rodian—tried to keep you longer in his stall as he blabbered away about how rare his parts are and how you’re not going to get it anywhere else on the planet.

As you intently inspected the parts yourself, you ignored the creepy groaning that he was doing in front of you. For every merchandise of his that you touch, he always has something to say about it. You eyed an external engine that exactly matches the one the Mantis has and needs, it was sitting on the carpet along with his other wares.

“How much for this one?” you point your finger at the part.

Luckily for you and Cal, he can speak in the common tongue but his voice was rather croaky.

“Ahh, you have a sharp eye for machinery, my desert flower,” he cooed in a sad attempt to be charming.

“How. Much?” You hissed, not buying any of his good vendor bull and he seemed disappointed that you didn’t buy into his acting.

“I sell that for 25000, no less! Is state-of-art!”

Your eyes widened both in a mix of sarcasm and disbelief. Twenty-five thousand for an external engine replacement that has probably seen just as enough action as the Mantis?

“I can see why no one has bought it. I’ll give 15000 for it,”

He fights back. He’s not letting you take it after marking it down that much. You insist that you don’t have his asking price.

“Well, I’m sure we can figure something out for it,” his tone changed and neither you nor Cal liked it.

He crossed the line when he was slowly extending his slimy green digits towards you, wiggling them as if casting a spell or trying to hypnotizing you. Before the Rodian could speak any more, Cal bolts in and sharply flicks away the merchant’s hand away from you, he puts his arm around you and immediately tugs you gently away.

“Getting a little too friendly with the sales talk, are we?” Cal sternly cuts in, imposing an intimidating demeanor to the vendor. “I think we’ve made up our mind here.”

Cal immediately took you far enough from the stall.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” you huffed, a little shaken but mostly irritated.

“Come on, we can find better ones than that slug,”

Eventually, you entered a shack that had their wares dumped outside of the building. Cal noticed that these weren’t just junk dumped out to rot under the sun, these were bait for onlookers to enter the store.

“A good foot traffic strategy too,” you commented.

“Then let’s hope their stuff is as good as the ones they throw out for bait,”

Upon entering the shack, it was built like a stone house but it was refurbished to a full-fledged warehouse. The ceiling was strewn with hanging pipes and rods, the walls were covered with racks and shelves—when you went to take a closer look, you notice that the items were neatly sorted according to what kind of parts they were—and even the counter itself was filled with miniature drawers filled with small tools.

Cal opened one of the drawers and checked for tools, BD-1 looked around and saw a few exoskeletons of different droid types which may have spooked the poor little guy.

“Hello?” you called loud enough for anyone around the house to hear.

Your voice was heard by the proprietor of the store. A fat man appeared, waddling his way to the front counter where you stood by waiting. In your mind, you thanked it was a human but you were immediately taken over by worry that he’s not as kind as you hope him to be once you negotiate.

“What can I get for ya, kiddo?” He spoke in a pace so quick that you could practically write down his words with no spaces between them.

“Uhh, we need a replacement external engine for our freighter,”

“Got yourselves fried before landing here in this big ol’ sandbox, eh?”

“Yeah, bumpy ride,”

He grunted in agreement. He looked over your shoulder and called out on Cal when he spotted him checking out some power tools.

“Oy, pretty boy, you break ‘em you buy ‘em!”

“Sorry, I was just looking around,”

“He’s with me,” you cut in.

The proprietor shoots a look at you then moved his eyes to Cal, “Heh, no surprise. Both of youse pretty-lookin’. Keep your boyfriend close to ya so he doesn't break my good stuff.”

The owner then gestures you to follow him to the back where he keeps all the big parts in store. You wait for him to stomp ahead because you’re going to beat the old coot to it in ten steps. Cal walked up to your side and crossed his arms over his chest.

“Boyfriend, huh? Has a nice ring to it,” he shrugged coyly.

“You do realize we’ve been together for months now, right?”

“Yeah, I know, I know,” he nodded, then shrugged.

You exhaled through your nose in the guise of a chuckle, you smile at him, and tap him gingerly on the chest, “Yes, Cal, you’re my boyfriend.”

“And a darn good one, too,” he added as he kissed you on the cheek and pinched your chin.

You were taken aback by his sudden display of confidence that you stood there for a few seconds watching him walk away, ahead of you in following the store owner. BD-1 was standing on the counter and was looking at you.

“What a goof, am I right?”

BD-1 beeped agreeably so.

“And a goddamn adorable one at that,” you muttered particularly to no one, concealing a smile in a lip bite.

You picked up BD-1 and caught up to Cal and perched BD-1 on his shoulders while you follow the proprietor.

[bangtan-gal]

April Showers

Taeyong x Fem!Reader

Soulmate!AU Florist!Taeyong

You can smell what your soulmate does if you really concentrate and every time you’re overpowered by the smell of flowers.

Warnings: fluff, slight angst, swearing

While any sane person would hate Sundays, because it meant the end of the weekend, you loved it. The farmer’s market was always the highlight of your week. The chance to see all the homemade foods and decorations and meet new people. You were always a sociable person and found such joy when you met someone new.

It might’ve also had to do with the fact you were always on the look-out for your soulmate.

Most people met their soulmate young—it was the way the universe made it. High school graduation came around and you hadn’t met anyone that could possibly be your soulmate; then college came and you were starting to near that graduation. It was hard to see your close friends meet their permanent love while you continued to search.

It almost felt in vain sometimes. Your “connection” wasn’t necessarily helpful, especially when your soulmate was never in a distinct place. Flowers. It was always just flowers. Maybe he lived on some flower field farm or somebody around him wore really strong perfume. You sighed and took a slow sip from your iced drink.

“Y/N!” You turned, grinning at your friend, Sasha, as she hurried towards you. She held a jar of honey, eyes wide. “Holy fuck! This is the best thing on the planet.”

You rolled your eyes. “Have you ever had real honey?”

She pouted at you, mumbling something along the lines of how you wouldn’t get any. You glanced around, slightly deflating at the same stalls as always. Change, change would be nice. You were never given anything too different. The same vegetable stalls, art vendors, food trucks,  and flower shops. 

And talking about flower shops.

You stopped in front of the flower cart, searching through the bouquets. You wrinkled your nose in disdain–most of the flowers were browning or dying. This place used to be your favorite spot for flowers since you had a tendency to buy a new set every week, but as time passed, they only went downhill.

“You always look here,” an elderly lady beside you mumbled, “how unfortunate that their service has gotten worse. I remember when these flowers were to die for.”

You nodded and brushed a lily, only to watch the petal to fall to the ground in disgrace.

“I run a flower shop on Honey Street. You should come by and get a bouquet that will actually look good,” she said and handed you a business card. You looked down in amusement and couldn’t stop the small laugh that escaped you. You weren’t sure how willing you were to go looking for a new shop–it wouldn’t be the end of the world if you didn’t get new flowers.

But it made your gloomy apartment look more alive.

So you made a mental note to check it out one you were free.

^^^^^^^^^^^

The next time you were free was over a month later. Your boss decided that firing two people and dumping all their work on you was a good idea and finals were approaching. It was a cold Saturday and part of you really didn’t want to venture outside, but the yellow business card stood out on your dark countertops and it kept reminding you that you could at least be courteous.

You pulled in front of the building, staring at the beaten down gray building. This… this was the flower shop? It looked too melancholy to be so. You clamped your mouth shut on the rude remarks that came to mind and slid from your car.

A bell jingled loudly when you opened the door. You were pleasantly surprised by the brightness of the shop. The ceiling had a large sunroof in it, letting sunshine filter over the colorful flowers. You glanced around as you waltzed through the store and ran straight into a huge-ass sunflower. Your eyes widened as you stared at it, confused how the hell they got it to be so… big.

“Hey.”

You whirled around, coming face to face with a boy around your age. His hair was a light pink and his eyes were dark and wide. A blush ran over your cheeks as you stared at him. Holy shit… he was gorgeous. He tilted his head at you and then grinned.

“I’m Taeyong. I help my Nana run this shop,” he murmured, holding out a hand. You thought it was odd, but decided to shake his hand anyway. A rush of warmth ran through you at the contact. “So, anything specific you’re looking for?”

You shrugged, too distracted by the zing that had run through your anatomy at his touch.

He smiled, white teeth flashing adorably as he turned away. Taeyong bounced through the store and grabbed a pot with a stick poking out from it. You stared pointedly at it, looking for an actual plant. He laughed at your expression and then set it down.

“It’s a baby orchid,” he hummed, “sprouted just a couple of days ago. Orchids are always a good choice, they stand for luxury, fertility, and wealth–ya know, good luck.”

You smiled at the term “baby orchid”. You were no flower expert, but you were pretty sure a new flower wasn’t called a baby. It was adorable seeing the way his eyes light up and you covered a laugh by coughing when he pet the top of the stick.

“That’s… great. That’s really great,” you giggled. “How long until it matures into a teenager?”

He stared at you like you were the one who called it a baby.

“Er… two weeks?”

“You don’t know?”

“My Nana never leaves me alone here, so I don’t know much. I always zoned out when she explained stuff,” he muttered. You nodded and then glanced around, awkwardly laughing.

“I guess I’ll take the baby,” you sighed. He grinned and ushered you towards the counter. As you waited for him to ring up your plant, you took a deep breath out of habit. Once more, you were greeted by the smell of flowers and for a second it felt like you didn’t leave.

But there was something different. You took another deep breath, noting the soft scent of caramel. Your brow furrowed and then you glanced at Taeyong.

“Hey, um… do I smell weird?” You asked, thrusting your wrist towards him. It was an odd request, you knew, but as the boy cautiously sniffed you, you took a deep breath. Almost pure caramel, with a tinge of coffee and floral behind it. You stared at him, eyes widening. “What’s your soulmate connection?” Taeyong stared back at you, slightly freezing. You watched as you nostrils flared and he took a quiet breath. He blinked, slightly turning away from you to test it again. When he realized he was getting the same smell, he practically leaped over the counter.

He cupped your face in his hands, face just inches from yours. His deep eyes searched yours and all you could focus on was the beautiful sparkles in them. You weren’t sure if he was going to kiss you, but your cheeks became bright red as he continued to just stare.

Then he broke out into a wide smile and pulled you into a hug. Tingles and sparks ran through your body as his skin brushed against yours. You could hear his heart racing in his chest as you rested your head against him.

“Oh my god, I thought I’d never find you,” he whispered, pulling back and staring down at you. You smiled, running a hand through his colored hair.

“Well here I am now.”

[welcometothepenumbra]

JUNO STEEL AND THE TIME GONE BY (PART ONE)

SOUND: WIND BLOWING. FOOTSTEPS.

THEIA: Caution: radiation detected at. Fatal levels. Turn back. Turn back.

User safety tip: this is. A very bad idea. Suggestion: activate Theia Global Map. To search for shelter.

Caution: I cannot act without user permissions. User permissions are needed. Awaiting user permissions.

JUNO: (GRUNTS)

SOUND: PUNCH.

THEIA: You appear. To be punching your own face. Would you like. Some help with that?

JUNO: Just… shut up… (SIGHS)

SOUND: RUSTLING, THUMP.

THEIA: For your safety. I do not recommend. You lie down. In this location.

THEIA: Reporting potential threats active as of last user scan. Threat one: a massive sandstorm. Threat two: fatal radiation. Threat three: this area of the desert is recognized by the Martian Wildlife Foundation as a protected breeding ground for. Peepers.

JUNO: I said shut up!

SOUND: CHIRPS.

THEIA: Playing previously-downloaded information on peepers.

JUNO: (GROWLS)

THEIA: Native only to the northern deserts of Mars, peepers went uncaptured and unresearched for several centuries after their discovery.

SOUND: MORE CHRIPS.

Above ground, peepers resemble colonies of small, tunneling creatures. Which pop into and out of the ground and make a noise not unlike Earth’s groundhogs or meerkats.

SOUND: MORE CHRIPS.

Researchers assumed these creatures to be individual organisms until three hundred years ago. When the first peeper was successfully brought into captivity. And those small rodent-like structures were discovered to be the sensory organs of a much larger subterranean predator.

SOUND: CRUMBLING, DEEP ROAR.

JUNO: Enh, took you long enough.

SOUND: ROAR, BLASTER SHOT, SQUEAL. QUICK FOOTSTEPS DEPARTING. WIND BLOWING, FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING.

VOICE 1: Hey. Hey, you.

JUNO: Go away, I’m busy.

VOICE 1: Hmph.

SOUND: FABRIC RUSTLING.

JUNO: Hey– hey, what the hell are you doing? Put me down, you– what the hell? I-I know you.

VOICE 1: A correction: I know you. I have been told it is important to speak accurately when beginning a business transaction.

JUNO (NARRATOR): Brown jacket; tough skin, broad shoulders; dark, hard eyes that looked like they’d draw blood if you got too close. This guy had been stalking me since what felt like a lifetime ago, back in Hyperion – and if I’d been scared of him then, seeing him up close only made it clearer how easily those big, scarred hands could snap my neck.

My name’s Juno Steel. And I’m… (SIGHS) just a guy who wanders into near-certain death in the desert and then gives the glad eye to his probable killer.

Y’know, saying that out loud, a lot of criticisms I’ve taken over the years suddenly make a lot more sense.

VOICE 1 [BROWN JACKET]: My hovercycle’s radiation shield is only active when the engine is running. Which means I’m going to go now, and you’re going to come with me.

JUNO: You were watching me… before the museum, and b– and before the subway, you were watch—

No. No, look, I’m done. If you want to spy on me that’s fine, but I don’t care. I’m doin’ this on my own.

JACKET: Dying?

JUNO: That’s… not necessarily the plan, but if that’s the last move I can make solo, then sure, that.

JACKET: (AFTER A PAUSE) He’ll find you, you know.

JUNO: What?

JACKET: The one who gave you that eye. Have you activated it recently?

JUNO: Not for a few hours, but—

JACKET: Then he has your location. He will find you – and whatever’s left of your mind, once the radiation’s done with it.

Unless you come with me.

JUNO: Yeah? Why should I?

JACKET: I know how to remove that cyber-eye from your head. I know how to set you free.

You can get in the sidecar when you’re ready.

SOUND: FOOTSTEPS DEPARTING.

JUNO: (GROWLS)

JACKET: Good. Be sure to strap in.

JUNO: Not until you tell me where we’re going.

SOUND: RUSTLING.

Of course! Another man of mystery. Listen, I’ve really had enough of these, so if you can’t even tell me where we’re going I’ll– oof!

SOUND: THUD.

JACKET: I’ll tell you. I was just looking for a helmet in your size.

JUNO: What the… how many helmets do you keep in this bag?

JACKET: Bike safety is important.

SOUND: ZIP.

We’re going to see someone about a job.

JUNO: Very specific, thanks. (HUFFS) Where?

JACKET: Where all of the most important jobs on Mars happen. The Cerberus Province.

SOUND: WHOOSH. ENGINE STARTS.

MUSIC: STARTS.

JUNO (NARRATOR): To be honest, I still wasn’t convinced my mind hadn’t gotten roasted. They say after one hour uncovered from the radioactive sun you start hallucinating, and after five it’s time to say bye-bye to a good chunk of your brain. I’d been out there… well, somewhere between those two options. My watch said it had only been ninety minutes, but on the other hand I wasn’t wearing a watch.

JACKET: So. Do you have a good reason for walking out in the desert? Besides your death wish.

JUNO: Besides my what?

JACKET: It’s well-documented.

JUNO: Documented where?

How long have you been watching me? Is that how you found me out here?

Hello?

JACKET: Hello.

JUNO: (SLOWLY) How long have you been—

JACKET: We are almost at the Cerberus Province. Buddy will answer your questions when you speak with her. If this job is not to your liking, well… back into the desert with you, and you die a free man.

JUNO (NARRATOR): So it was out of the frying pan, into the biggest hideout of thieves and murderers and outlaws in the solar system, I guess.

(SIGHS) We saw the volcanoes first. A ring of ‘em, dusty and dormant. And then, at the center of that ring…

JACKET: The lighthouse.

JUNO: What?

JACKET: The lighthouse activates at night, to guide ships to the spaceport beneath it. I hear before it was installed more ships landed inside volcanoes than was acceptable.

JUNO: So, like… one ship?

THEIA: Would you like to research the number of ships—

JUNO: (MUTTERING) Shut up.

JACKET: I will not. Are you done throwing up, now? It cannot be helping your radiation sickness to stay out here.

JUNO: I think—

JACKET: And if you vomit on my hovercycle I cannot be held responsible for what happens to you next.

JUNO: (SPITS) I think I’m good.

JACKET: Get on, then.

MUSIC: ENDS.

SOUND: WHOOSH. ENGINE RUMBLES.

JUNO (NARRATOR): The lighthouse was huge; an intricate crossing of plates and pipes that looked like somebody had spun a spiderweb from gold, then grabbed its center and pulled it up to scratch the clouds. It was even beautiful, for a minute. Then I wondered if you could see the Piranha’s body from up there, and it just made me feel sick.

The lighthouse wasn’t what I expected from the myths about some ramshackle pirate hideout hidden underneath the desert. According to the stories, the Cerberus Province was more meeting place than city – a non-stop crime convention to trade business cards and thermonuclear weaponry. It didn’t have a Dome, after all. Living there long-term would’ve been suicide.

But the lighthouse didn’t line up with the stories. Neither did the Cerberus Province itself, once we slipped underground to see it.

JUNO: What the hell are all those?

JACKET: Do you mean the buildings, or the tents?

JUNO: I-I don’t know, both?

JACKET: Well. Some are buildings, and some are tents.

JUNO: I-I know that! I mea—

Look, that lady’s drying sheets on a balcony. That’s a grocery stand in a brick house. That guy’s taking his clothes out of a laundromat!

JACKET: It is very dusty on Mars.

JUNO: Wh-why do they live down here? Nobody lives down here. Nobody.

JACKET: Not by choice. When we land it is imperative that you stay close to me and not look too long at anyone else’s property.

SOUND: ENGINE STOPS. CROWD NOISE, MUSIC FADES IN.

JUNO (NARRATOR): When he was done parking we walked out into the street. The buildings and tents I’d seen from above were thick here, people packed elbow to elbow, vendors shouting into the streets.

CROWD VOICES (IN BACKGROUND): Peepers! Getcha pickled peepers over here! Plutonian candy! Delicious Plutonian candy, Plutonium extra!

JUNO (NARRATOR): You get so lost in a place like that you forget you’re part of it, until it reaches out and grabs you.

VOICE 2: Please.

JUNO: Ah!

VOICE 2: Please, you will help me. You will help me. The teecket they give me, the teecket, it is false!

JUNO: Uh-uh, ticket? I-I-I don’t—

VOICE 2: I have moneys. On Susano-o I am doctor, do you know this place? Bank account, years, interest thirty, I have… I have… Please, please, Tammono, you will help me, you will help me!

JUNO (NARRATOR): The woman was wearing a mask, but I’d knocked it crooked in my surprise, and… underneath…

Her skin, it… (SIGHS) God, it looked so painful. Big plates of cracking charcoal crust on a plane of soft, raw, red and gray. She looked burned, or… melting, or both. Long-term radiation damage. The kind of stuff they showed us in old academy videos and promised we’d never actually see. Th-that you’d have to be crazy to stay outside a Dome long enough to get it.

All of a sudden I noticed there were people all over the street wearing masks like that, people by the dozens that must’ve been covered in those burns, and if that many people needed those masks, maybe crazy wasn’t the problem.

Then Brown Jacket grabbed me by the shoulder and kept me moving.

JACKET: Juno. We have to leave now.

VOICE 2: Moneys I have, sir! Please, your vehicle, your vehicle!

JUNO: …What?

JACKET: I told you not to look too long at anyone else’s property.

JUNO: P-property?

JACKET: That bulge beneath that woman’s sleeve? A blood filtration bracelet – what some call a debtor’s tag. She is serving an indentured servitude to pay for her healthcare. If you attempt to do as she says, her treatment will end, and she will die.

JUNO: But… you’re just gonna let that—

JACKET: I have no choice. That woman is finished. She took an illegal ride to the Solar planets, became ill, and sold herself to live a few years longer. It is a common mistake.

JUNO: But her skin… how long has she been paying?

JACKET: I have seen similar surface-level symptoms manifest within two years.

JUNO: Surface-level. Yeah, sure, that sounds great.

JACKET: Not five hours ago getting too involved in a city’s politics nearly killed you. Do you really want to make the same mistake so soon?

JUNO: I…

No. No, I guess not.

JACKET: Good.

Now please. Get in this dumpster.

JUNO: What?

JACKET: I’m afraid I must insist.

JUNO: H-hey, put me down—

SOUND: THUD. PLASTIC RUSTLING, BOTTLES CLINKING.

Ah! What the hell was that for?!

JACKET: Have you used any of your eye’s special functions since we entered the Cerberus Province?

JUNO: What? I ha– I haven’t—

JACKET: In the interest of fairness, I should tell you that if you have, I will be forced to crush your head with this dumpster lid.

JUNO: How is that any fairer— whoa, whoa, whoa, there! No, I-I haven’t used it. You said that’s how Ramses is gonna track me, right?

JACKET: That is good. And yet we are being followed.

JUNO: What?

JACKET: Quiet. Listen. There is a figure behind me, slight, wearing a black hood. Do you see their face?

JUNO: No, it’s… covered by a scarf. They could’ve just come in from outside. They’ve got sand all over—

JACKET: Their clothes have sand – but not their boots. It’s a disguise. We may have to relocate our meeting.

I am going to step into this shop and buy a large decaffeinated Jovian tea with two sugars. You will stay here and watch to see what they do.

JUNO: Wait, is th– is the tea some kind of code? What does it mean?

JACKET: It means I am thirsty. It is large because I am very thirsty, and decaffeinated because I have a predisposition to addictive—

JUNO: Okay, yeah, I get it. Just go get your stupid tea, I’ll watch the road.

JACKET: Thank you.

SOUND: FOOTSTEPS.

JUNO (NARRATOR): I had to hand it to Brown Jacket: he was right. As soon as we stopped moving our hooded tagalong stopped, too.

SOUND: BELL JINGLES.

She sat at a roadside stand and looked over the menu, flipping pages too quickly to read ‘em. I knew a tail when I saw one.

Jacket came back out a minute later sucking down something that smelled like gasoline with two sugars.

SOUND: BELL JINGLES. FOOTSTEPS.

JACKET: The deed is done.

JUNO: What deed?

SOUND: SMALL EXPLOSION.

CROWD VOICES: (YELLS) Sintoloo ga voo?! The hell?

VOICE 3: Baweebis! Baweebis!

VOICE 4: What the hell are they trying to say?

VOICE 5: They’re saying hood, hood! I think they saw whoever planted the bomb!

VOICE 3: Gawoosh! Baweebis, baweebis!

VOICE 4: Is that them? Is that the low-life that blew up my store?

VOICE 3: Baweeeeeeeeeeebis!

VOICE 4: Outer Rim bum! Learn to talk right!

Hey, she’s getting away! Get her!

JUNO: …Wow.

Did you pay them to say that?

JACKET: No. I paid the other customer to translate anything they said as ‘hood.’

JUNO: But if this place has so many people from the Outer Rim—

JACKET: There are too many languages spoken on the Outer Rim to keep up with. We have large communities from Balder. Yama.

JUNO: Susano-o.

JACKET: Indeed. And besides: they lost. Now take these.

SOUND: KEYS JINGLING.

JUNO: Keys?

JACKET: When the commotion settles, you will remove yourself from the garbage, go down this alley, and take your second left. You will look for the analog lock that matches this key, and you will wait for me there – at the lighthouse.

JUNO: The lighthouse? Really? You have the key to that big tower—

SOUND: FOOTSTEPS DEPARTING.

Hey! Hey, where the hell are you goin’?

JACKET: (FADING) To ensure the area is secure. Now be silent. Dumpsters cannot speak in the Cerberus Province.

JUNO (NARRATOR): I did what the big guy told me to do. Waited a few minutes for the dust to settle, and when I was pretty sure nobody was watching me I went down the alley.

The lighthouse was on the edge of town, and the closer I got the more radiation-ravaged the place looked. But there were no warning signs, no public health notices, just an advertisement:

VOICE 6 (FROM SPEAKER): Feeling itchy? Hearing things? Gamma rays got you down? Visit the Cerberus Board of Fresh Starts for your Blood Filtration Bracelet today! No down payment required!

JUNO (NARRATOR): The, uh… lighthouse came soon after.

SOUND: KEYS JINGLE. DOOR CREAKS.

The inside was a bar: dark wood, plush cushions. Even the dust looked nice, which was good, because there was a hell of a lot of it. I helped myself to an unmarked, extremely potent-looking bottle behind the bar and took a seat to examine it more closely with my eyes, mouth, and liver.

JUNO: Here’s lookin’ at you, lighthouse. Seems like both of us are back from the grave.

SOUND: ICE CUBES CLINK.

VOICE 7: If you keep stealing my wares, darling—

JUNO: (CHOKES)

VOICE 7: —I’ll return you to that grave myself.

SOUND: CLUNK.

That’s ten thousand creds of fine liquor you’ve just spilled. A life like yours, I’d think you’d be a little more careful about putting yourself into debt with a stranger.

SOUND: MECHANICAL WHIR.

MUSIC: STARTS.

JUNO: (CHOKING) Who the hell are you?

VOICE 7: The person you’re here to meet. Now go get yourself a drink. I’ll be taking this one.

JUNO: Hey, that was mine—

VOICE 7: And now it isn’t.

SOUND: ICE CUBES CLINKING.

It’s nothing personal, darling; I just have a natural tendency towards envy and I’ve always believed in doing what feels natural. Like now, for example: it feels natural for me to say I’ll pay you the ten thousand creds you owe me if you shut up and get yourself a drink.

JUNO (NARRATOR): The woman who’d just taken my drink was a bombshell. By which I mean she looked extremely dangerous and made a hell of an entrance. She had big plumes of flame-red hair trailing over her neck and half her face, and a dress so avant-garde I would’ve believed her if she said she got it next year. The first thing she did when she sat down was put a blaster on the table in front of her and, in the process, reveal she had another one, two knives, and what looked like a grenade strapped to her leg.

She looked ready for a war. Hell, she looked ready to fight on both sides.

SOUND: BOTTLE UNCORKS.

JUNO: So you’re the big guy’s buddy?

SOUND: CLUNK. LIQUID POURING.

VOICE 7: That’s what he called me? His buddy?

JUNO: I’m sure he’ll be disappointed to hear you disagree.

SOUND: CLUNK.

VOICE 7: I don’t. It’s just funny of him. Fine, you can call me the same. Buddy.

JUNO: Seems a little early for that.

VOICE 7 [BUDDY]: I’m friendly.

JUNO: And him?

BUDDY: He’s not interested.

JUNO: No, I mean, what’s his—

BUDDY: Besides, we aren’t here to talk about him; we’re here to talk about you. Juno Steel: ex-cop, ex-patsy for Ramses O’Flaherty, currently extremely unemployed and not taking it very well. You’ve got an eye problem, and I don’t mean like glaucoma. You’ve just spent a few months being someone else’s stooge – or thirty-eight years, depending on how you count it – and you’re just about ready to stooge stag. That’s where we come in.

What’s the matter? Did I get any of that wrong?

JUNO: No. That’s what’s the matter.

BUDDY: Oh, I’m sorry. Why don’t you pour us both a drink and I’ll try not to upset you so much, darling? What’s the danger in just… sitting and listening?

JUNO: No, you know what? I’m tired of listening. It’s someone else’s turn to listen. Got it? The second it looks like you’re trying to get me to do something I don’t like, I’m walking out into the desert with a beach towel and no sunscreen. The second. ‘Cause I am not trading one smooth psychopath for another, you got me, I am not—

BUDDY: I hear you. I’m stubborn, not deaf. Sit.

SOUND: CREAK.

JUNO: Hmph.

BUDDY: There. Doesn’t this feel so much more civilized?

JUNO: Gotta say, Buddy, I kinda walked into the desert to get away from civilized.

BUDDY: I know. And that was a very big move. Made me act faster than I planned to, but… you got lucky, and a position opened up a little earlier than expected.

JUNO: Position? That’s why you’ve been watching me.

BUDDY: Gainful employment. A lot to gain, too.

JUNO: I’m not walkin’ into any more bad contracts or big debts.

BUDDY: And you don’t have to. Like I said, I always keep my business partners happy, Juno. And unlike your two-bit former employer over at the Vixen Valley, I know that doesn’t come by force. Father always said, there are only two ways to keep the chickens in the coop: either build a big wall, or make them never want to leave.

JUNO: Didn’t think there were many farmers on Mars.

BUDDY: He was a prison warden, actually. Incredibly popular with his inmates. A bit less popular with Dark Matters.

JUNO: Rest in peace.

BUDDY: Yes, I would assume the rest of him is in one piece, but we never found it. Regardless, Juno, my point: scouting the talent I want is something I take very seriously, and you are only one name on a very, very long list. If you do not want this job, don’t waste my time. The only reason you’re here now is because I need three people, my third missed his flight to Mars, and you happened to be available.

JUNO: Wow, you sure do know how to make a lady feel special.

BUDDY: I know how to make a special lady feel special. Maybe if you’re very good that’ll be you.

Now, a toast. To a new, and brighter, future—no, no. (CHUCKLES) I’m guessing we’ve both had entirely too much of that. To… letting go. Moving on.

JUNO: Sure. To moving on.

SOUND: GLASS CLINKS.

BUDDY: Hm.

Now.

SOUND: MECHANICAL WHIR.

The job.

MUSIC: CHANGES.

As I think you’ve already gathered, our work isn’t exactly on the spotless side of the law. My friend and I work in the craft of what we call “relocation services.”

JUNO: Which I’m guessing means you relocate other people’s things to your pockets.

BUDDY: My, you are quick. They aren’t always things, but… spot-on.

JUNO: So is that what you need me for, some kind of heist? ‘Cause I—

BUDDY: No, no, the heist has been finished for weeks. It’s the sale, darling. We need you to help us with the sale.

JUNO: You… want me to work the cash register on your black market deal?

JACKET: The sale is the most dangerous part of any job in the Cerberus Province.

JUNO: Ah! Where the hell did you come from?!

JACKET: The door.

BUDDY: Do try and focus, Juno. Yes, the sale. This town is crawling with undercover law enforcement and people who expect you to do your work for free but don’t feel like telling you ahead of time, and neither sits particularly well with me. So, we’re going to make certain we get paid, or else we're not handing over anything.

JUNO: Yeah, okay. And speaking of which, what are we selling?

BUDDY: The sale’s in three hours, in this bar. We’ve agreed to meet somewhere public, which means within the next three hours we’ll have to make this place public. We’re opening it for business.

JUNO: We’re– wait. You own the lighthouse?

BUDDY: Just the first floor. I couldn’t sell it if I wanted to, honestly; too much radiation leaks in through the roof for anyone to want it. At any rate, once we open, my big friend is going to work the bar; you’re going to play sad drunk at one of those tables by the door.

JACKET: You will be drinking carbonated tea. Focus will be crucial.

JUNO: Sounds like a fun party.

BUDDY: While the buyer and I make the exchange, you will watch the crowd and contact me on covert comms if you notice anyone acting strangely. We take no chances here, do you understand? This is too important.

JUNO: Okay, but what are we sell—

BUDDY: Hopefully it all goes off without a hitch and you get paid for sitting around and enjoying some tea. Then we’ll show you how to remove that eye, and you can decide whether this kind of work interests you.

JUNO: I feel like I could answer that question a lot faster for you if I knew what we were selling.

BUDDY: There’s no need to get snippy, Juno. You only needed to ask. Show him.

SOUND: CLUNK.

We will be selling this briefcase.

JUNO: And… what’s inside the briefcase?

BUDDY: Oh, that’s none of your concern.

JUNO: Well, if I wasn’t concerned before, I sure as hell am now! Listen, I told you, if you make me do anything—

SOUND: THUD. GLASS CLINKS.

JACKET: You listen.

SOUND: MECHANICAL WHIR.

MUSIC: STOPS.

BUDDY: Thank you. I understand the word of an outlaw probably doesn’t mean much to you, Juno – but it will mean even less if you don’t let me finish a sentence.

JUNO: Hmph.

BUDDY: You can’t have it both ways. You can’t both know everything and live a life just for yourself. You understand that, don’t you?

SOUND: MECHANICAL WHIR.

MUSIC: STARTS.

If you aren’t sure you want to stay here? Then don’t stay. Don’t get involved. That’s how Hyperion hurt you, isn’t it? I don’t think that’s your fault, of course. That’s just what cities do. Once you get attached to somewhere or someone… you can’t break apart without leaving some of yourself behind.

JUNO: The hell is that sappy music coming from, anyways? It’s driving me nuts.

BUDDY: What mu– oh, that. Darling, would you?

JACKET: (GRUNTS)

SOUND: THUNK. MECHANICAL WHIR.

MUSIC: STOPS.

BUDDY: Thank you. Semi-Autonomous Music Machines. They’re all over the province and they all act like this. You’ll tune them out eventually.

JUNO: A-alright, so. You want me to watch the door while you make your trade-off. Keep an eye out for anything suspicious—

JACKET: Don’t use your eye.

JUNO: Yeah, thanks, I got that. Anything else?

BUDDY: Just one thing. Give him his weapon.

SOUND: CLANK.

JUNO: There’s… no stun on this.

JACKET: Laserproof vests are too common in these jobs. That will punch through them.

JUNO: So you just want me to kill someone? Just ‘cause you say so?

BUDDY: I assure you that if anything goes wrong, he’ll deserve it.

JUNO: But—

BUDDY: Then don’t. Use your last few hours of freedom and walk to an early death in the desert, based on the fear that something might go wrong, you might have to shoot, and the shot you fire might kill them. But those seem like silly odds to throw your life away on.

My business and my past are my concerns, Juno. Just do the job, and don’t get involved. Then, you go and do whatever it is you want to.

JUNO (NARRATOR): Don’t get involved.

I kept repeating that to myself for the next three hours, as we cleaned the place up and opened the doors and let the crowd filter in. The gun was heavy in my pocket. I wished I’d taken my blaster off the Piranha, but it was too late. She was gone. The whole life I’d known her in was gone.

And meanwhile, in this life, the sale was just a few minutes away. I sat at my table by the door and watched the crowd mob the bar, the big guy toss drinks, and Buddy schmooze like she knew everyone here personally.

SOUND: CROWD CHATTER IN BACKGROUND.

BUDDY (FROM COMMS): I’ve just received confirmation that he’ll be here shortly. Anything strange on either of your ends?

JUNO: Uh, yea– yeah, now that you mention it, I’ve been meaning to have a dermatologist take a—

JACKET (FROM COMMS): Do not complete this joke, Juno, or you will regret it.

JUNO: Oookay.

JACKET (FROM COMMS): There is nothing over here.

BUDDY (FROM COMMS): Juno?

JUNO (NARRATOR): I listened in to the crowd around me, all the faces and costumes of crime, and I didn’t hear anything weird about them – but plenty about Buddy.

CROWD VOICES: (OVERLAPPING) Buddy’s back! Buddy, sha, Buddy! The Lighthouse, open again! Has anyone seen Buddy? She was always the talk of the town, I hear… Buddy Aurinko, after all this time!

BUDDY (FROM COMMS): Juno?

JUNO: (QUIETLY) Buddy Aurinko…? (NORMAL VOLUME) Hang on, is your name actually Buddy?

BUDDY (FROM COMMS): That’s what I told you to call me, isn’t it?

JUNO: So, what, is his name actually The Big Guy?

JACKET (FROM COMMS): That would be absurd.

JUNO: Then what is it?

JACKET (FROM COMMS): We are not there yet.

JUNO: We’re not at names?

BUDDY (FROM COMMS): Quiet, you two! He’s just come in the door! Do you see him, Juno?

JUNO: Uh, little guy, gray monosuit, kinda looks like he’s allergic to light?

BUDDY (FROM COMMS): That’s the one.

JUNO: Doesn’t look like a crime boss. Too nervous.

JACKET (FROM COMMS): Not a good sign.

BUDDY (FROM COMMS): Experience suggests that that might just be his face, actually.

VOICE 8 (FROM COMMS): Eh… what was that?

BUDDY (FROM COMMS): Ah, there you are, Mister Rasbach. It’s been too long.

VOICE 8 [RASBACH] (FROM COMMS): We… spoke yesterday, I think?

BUDDY (FROM COMMS): Yes, but you are late, and that does mean it’s been too long, doesn’t it?

RASBACH (FROM COMMS): (NERVOUS LAUGH) Ah, I- uh, I see. You must excuse me, Miss Buddy, both my tardiness and my uncomprehending. Solar is not my… language initial.

BUDDY (FROM COMMS): I’m only razzing you, Razzy. You manage much better here than I would on Balder, I’m sure. Please, sit. Would you like a drink? Two drinks? You’ll have to forgive me for trying to upsell you, but, a small business owner has to keep her claws sharp.

RASBACH (FROM COMMS): It… does not appear you starve of the business. Yesterday this bar was not even in operation, and today—

BUDDY (FROM COMMS): I’ve been away a long time, and I’m impatient. Surely you know how that is. I imagine you must miss Balder terribly.

RASBACH (FROM COMMS): Is so… is so. (NERVOUS LAUGH) And yet, there are the creds to be made in these planets Solar, yes? A business top profitable. Do you know how it is to support a family, Miss Buddy?

BUDDY (FROM COMMS): I pick my own family, Raz, and the first thing I make sure of is that they can support themselves.

RASBACH (FROM COMMS): Perhaps is so, here, but on the Outer Rim, after the War? This is not always possible. My planetmen, they desperate, eh? They take the first ship from Balder they can find, they swallow the poisoning radiation, they need the healthcare to live. And so we give them this support… for the price. We support them, them support we – is cycle top beautiful, I think.

BUDDY (FROM COMMS): Do you mind if we get on with this? I have customers to attend to.

RASBACH (FROM COMMS): Of course.

(CLEARS THROAT) Shall we… ah, show the wares?

JACKET (FROM COMMS): Watch the crowd, Juno. This is the moment.

SOUND: CLICK, HISS.

JUNO (NARRATOR): I wanted to see what the hell was in that briefcase, but… I tried to remember what Buddy told me. It was none of my business. Don’t get involved.

So instead I scanned the crowd. And that’s when I saw her come in through the back door.

JUNO: Big guy, our friend with the hood from earlier just showed up. Didn’t you say you lost her?

JACKET (FROM COMMS): What is she doing?

JUNO: Nothin’ yet.

RASBACH (FROM COMMS): This is really… the Curemother. You have it!

BUDDY (FROM COMMS): Now. You pay me, you take this, and your group makes just oodles and oodles of money for you to send back to all the little orphans and victims and puppy-dogs on Balder, or whatever your story is today. Do you even have children, Razzy, or is it all just a story?

RASBACH (FROM COMMS): Does it affect our business, whether or not ‘tis so?

BUDDY (FROM COMMS): I suppose not.

RASBACH (FROM COMMS): Hm. Now, the transaction. We will be using my comms, as agreed.

SOUND: BEEPS.

Security transactional set to the audio, then the fingerprint.

BUDDY (FROM COMMS): Are we ready?

RASBACH (FROM COMMS): You read the bill of sale first, yes? Ensure is no confusion.

BUDDY (FROM COMMS): Alright…

JUNO: You see her, Buddy?

BUDDY (FROM COMMS): (UNDER HER BREATH) Ah, yes. Over by the music machine, not moving.

RASBACH (FROM COMMS): Ah, u-uh– what?

BUDDY (FROM COMMS): Oh, forgive me, Razzy. A Solar colloquialism: if something is ‘by the machine and not moving,’ that means it’s straightforward. The money is to be transferred directly from your account to mine, and the key to the Curemother’s briefcase from my account to yours.

RASBACH (FROM COMMS): Ah. I-I have not heard this expression before.

BUDDY (FROM COMMS): And you never will again. I, Buddy Aurinko, consent to this transaction. And the fingerprint…

SOUND: BEEP.

Your turn.

RASBACH (FROM COMMS): A-ah, thank you.

JUNO: She’s moving. Buddy, you’ve got someone coming right at you!

RASBACH (FROM COMMS): I, Rasbach the Eldest, Agent Acquisitional of the Cerberus Board of Fresh Starts—

BUDDY (FROM COMMS): What’s your game, Rasbach?

RASBACH (FROM COMMS): My name? Miss Buddy, I was just saying…

BUDDY (FROM COMMS): Finish it, then. Quickly.

RASBACH (FROM COMMS): I conzent to this transaction.

SOUND: BEEP.

There. Is done.

JUNO: He did it? Wait, really?

BUDDY (FROM COMMS): It appears so, yes.

RASBACH (FROM COMMS): Well. The business well done.

JUNO: Buddy, look out! She’s right on top of you!

RASBACH (FROM COMMS): Well, Miss Buddy. It has been a plea— (CHOKING)

BUDDY (FROM COMMS): Rasbach!

JUNO (NARRATOR): The hooded woman ran up behind Rasbach and without a sound a knife appeared in her hand. Then it disappeared again… into Rasbach’s back.

RASBACH (FROM COMMS): Who… who?

VOICE 9 (FROM COMMS): (GROWLS)

SOUND: THUNK.

You! Give me the briefcase.

JUNO: Stall her. We’re on our way.

BUDDY (FROM COMMS): Stay where you are, the both of you.

You don’t have the key to this. What do you plan to do? Break it open?

VOICE 9 (FROM COMMS): If you’re real, just give it. If not… get out!

BUDDY (FROM COMMS): You could damage what’s inside if you do, and then what use will it be? You– sound familiar. Do I know you?

VOICE 9 (FROM COMMS): I said get out! (GROWLS)

SOUND: METAL CLANGS.

JUNO (NARRATOR): Then they were really at it. Hood took quick jabs, lots of ‘em, but Buddy was quick too, working that briefcase like a shield too precious for her attacker to stab. It was a good defense, but Buddy’s back was almost to the wall, and it wasn’t gonna be good much longer.

So Buddy raised her gun to turn the tide, but, with her focus split for just that half-second, Hood slashed at her fingers with the knife. Some people would’ve kept the briefcase instead of their hand, I thought. But Buddy wasn’t one of ‘em. She let go, and Hood had it before it hit the ground.

BUDDY (FROM COMMS): She has the briefcase, but I can’t get a clear shot with all these people!

JACKET (FROM COMMS): She’s running towards you, Juno. You know what to do.

JUNO (NARRATOR): My stomach and shooting-hand hardened. Still the same old Juno Steel, I thought. The Proctor, Swift, Pollock, Pilot, the Piranha – someone says shoot, and I say who’s next?

The thought made me sick. I was tired. I was just so, so tired of making the same old mistakes, again and again.

SOUND: RUNNING FOOTSTEPS.

VOICE 9: Get out of my way!

JUNO (NARRATOR): So I made a new one instead.

VOICE 9: Move!

JUNO: No!

JUNO & VOICE 9: (GRUNTS)

BUDDY (FROM COMMS): What do you think you’re doing, Juno? Do you want her to stab you?

SOUND: BLADE CLANG.

JUNO: (PAINED) Too late.

VOICE 9: Move or I’ll kill you.

JUNO: Lady, if you knew the kinda week I’ve had you’d understand why that doesn’t scare me much.

SOUND: LOUD BLASTER SHOT. CROWD SCREAMS, RUNS OUT.

JACKET: This is an emergency situation. All customers must leave immediately.

SOUND: CLATTERING.

JUNO (NARRATOR): The diversion was just enough to distract her for a second, so I tried to take a swing at her. She was too fast for me and my fingers missed her face but grabbed her scarf, and she… did not like that.

VOICE 9: (HOWLS)

JUNO (NARRATOR): I could see why she’d covered herself, because she had a look too memorable for covert ops: bright green hair and bright, wild eyes. But, I didn’t know her.

Buddy did, though.

BUDDY: Vespa?!

JUNO (NARRATOR): Green hair looked back, panicked, her eyes darting. She pulled so hard her sleeve came up and I saw what was on her wrist.

A debtor’s tag, for indentured servants. Just like that Outer Rim woman in the market. And hers had something written on it: Vespa I., five.

Vespa was in a cold sweat. She looked like she was gonna be sick.

VOICE 9 [VESPA]: Not… real… you’re not… real!

BUDDY: Vespa, it’s you! I thought you were—

VESPA: You’re not real! Get out of my head! (FERAL GROWL)

JUNO: (PAINED GRUNT)

SOUND: RUNNING FOOTSTEPS DEPARTING.

BUDDY: Vespa! Come back!

JACKET: Buddy… she’s gone.

BUDDY: She can’t be gone. I saw her, I swear, I saw her!

JUNO: You’re gonna need to slow down a little for the murder victim by the door, Buddy. Who the hell is Vespa?

BUDDY: She’s… a dead woman. I saw her… die. But now she’s—

Vespa! Vespa?!

SOUND: RUNNING FOOTSTEPS DEPARTING.

JUNO: Should we follow them?

JACKET: That depends. Are you injured enough that running will cause your organs to fall out of your body?

JUNO: Uh, not that bad, but pretty—

JACKET: Then we hide the briefcase and Rasbach’s corpse in the back room first. Then we follow. Quickly.

ALL SOUNDS: FADE OUT.

***

SOUND: FOOTSTEPS.

JUNO (NARRATOR): We searched the streets for an hour, but Vespa was gone.

SOUND: KEYS JINGLE. DOOR CREAKS.

JUNO: Ow, ow… ow, ow.

JACKET: You make that noise a lot, don’t you.

JUNO: Ohhh, sorry, does it bother you? Don’t mind me, I’m just the guy who’s been playing peekaboo with his large intestine for the past hour— OW, ow, ow.

JACKET: You said your organs would not fall out.

JUNO: It was a joke! Do big caveman get joke?

JACKET: I do not know. I have never met one.

BUDDY: Stop it. Immediately.

SOUND: DOOR OPENS.

Where’s the briefcase?

JACKET: We left it in the back room.

BUDDY: I remember you saying that, but it isn’t here. And neither is Rasbach.

Well. It seems our sale was completed after all.

JACKET: He took the Curemother?

JUNO: He didn’t die?!

JACKET: But more importantly: we have the money?

BUDDY: He couldn’t take it even if he wanted to. Both of us would have to consent to another transaction. All sales final.

JUNO: So it-it’s done. The sale’s done. It sounds like it… worked out, right?

BUDDY: Do business with a glorified slave-trader once, then wash my hands of it for good. That was the plan. So yes, everything went according to plan. But… Vespa.

Karma comes in all shapes, doesn’t it?

JACKET: Buddy…

BUDDY: Her debtor’s tag, Juno. What number was on it?

JUNO: What?

BUDDY: I know she had one. I’ve been thinking about it for an hour and that’s the only option that makes sense. Just… tell me what it said.

MUSIC: STARTS.

JUNO: It-it was, uh… five.

BUDDY: Five?

Five years… I can’t…

Thank you for not shooting her, Juno. I’ve already lost her once. Losing her again… I think that would be the end of me.

(DEEP BREATH) The number on the debtor’s tag is the number of years they’ve been… owned. Vespa has been in the Cerberus Province without rest for five years. It’s a miracle that the radiation hasn’t killed her, unless… five years… Vespa, where have you been?

JUNO (NARRATOR): You could tell from the look in Buddy Aurinko’s eyes that the number of years wasn’t what bothered her. It could’ve been five months or five weeks or five minutes, and all it would’ve amounted to is the same thing: she felt hope, and she was terrified of it. The presumed-dead were walking in the Cerberus Province, and that was a nightmare. Because there’s peace when hope finally dies, when it stops moving and you can nail the coffin shut.

Buddy looked like she’d won that peace the hard way.

But there was movement in that coffin now, something pounding the lid from the inside, and if the old hope was so hard to bury the first time… who knew what kind of damage it could do the second.

MUSIC: ENDS.

***

SOUND: TRAIN MOVING, MUSIC.

CONDUCTOR: If you’ve enjoyed this tale, please consider donating to The Penumbra on Patreon. Our artists work tirelessly to bring you these stories, and if you have the means, we hope you will support our efforts. Every dollar helps. You can find that page at patreon.com/thepenumbrapodcast. If you support us on Patreon at the $10 level or higher, you’ll receive access to commentary tracks like this one, from actors Joshua Ilon, Sarah Gazdowicz, Alexander Stravinski, and co-creator Sophie Kaner:

SOUND: TRAIN STOPS, DOOR SLIDES OPEN, RAIN.

SARAH: Um, I would say that I pretty much went as straight as I could with—

SOPHIE: (LAUGHS)

SARAH: —the suggestion– okay. Okay, okay. OKAY.

SOPHIE & JOSHUA: (LAUGH)

SARAH: No, I-I think I was predominantly influenced by the, the note that I was given about the character, which was – oh, like a Katharine Hepburn being, like, a major influence or source for the- how the voice should sound. And then the struggle began with maintaining it, not making…

SOUND: DOOR SLIDES SHUT.

CONDUCTOR: Did you know that The Penumbra has merchandise for sale? It’s true! The Penumbra has partnered with DFTBA to bring you the posters, shirts, and pins your heart desires. Just go to dftba.com and search for The Penumbra Podcast.

We would like to give special thanks to all who support us on Patreon, but especially to Regan, Ko, KC, Atha Lang, Vron, Charlie Spiegel, Minchowski, Jaimie Gunter, and the Princess and the Scrivener for their incredibly generous contributions per episode. Thank you.

This tale, Juno Steel and the Time Gone By, was told by the following people: Joshua Ilon as Juno Steel, Alexander Stravinski as the Man in the Brown Jacket, Sarah Gazdowicz as Buddy Aurinko, William Schuller as Rasbach, and Chloe Cunha as Vespa.

The Penumbra is created and produced by Sophie Kaner and Kevin Vibert. If you wish to know more about our ever-expanding, infinitely-creative team of artists, musicians, editors, designers, and managers, you can read about them in the show notes of this episode.

I’m afraid this is the end of the line for today, dear Traveler. We hope you will ride with The Penumbra again soon.

ALL SOUNDS: FADE OUT.

[insearchofnewdreams]

Monster Mania

So before leaving to the con it started to snow,40 degrees and It was light flurries and my outfit for the con was extremely thin;;my mother wasn't feeling well but managed to bare a car ride to the hotel.

I layered up a small bit and then I was dropped off at crowne plaza (my parents came later but lmao I spent 90% of this trip alone)

I got scanned at about roughly 5:20,the photo OP was set for 5:45 but uh..the map wasnt working in the hotel and I was rlly scared I'd get lost- (staff was extremely helpful bless)

The photo OP room was pretty packed,there was a table to the side for those who had QR codes for their photos. The tickets would be printed out right then and there so I took care of that,literally took like 20 seconds

But then when I went to the lady..this happened

This lady was legit just fucking baffled and honestly even I was taken aback like whO THE FUCK WOULDN'T WANNA SEE JAMES JUDE COURTNEY,WHY AM I FIRST??? HELLO??

My mom has a theory that went I left the lady went to tell James that I was waiting and what I looked like so go get ready lmao which i kinda doubt is true but *shrug*

I spent some time checking out the vendors that they had and essentially getting myself more well known with the hotel which is pretty massive. I came back ten minutes later just like she said but when I came. I was only the 5th person in line specifically for James (there were people behind me but I think most people came more for his autograph rather than his photo ._. )

They had this giant curtain set up with a red monster mania backdrop and man,the flash of that camera was bright as hell way before I even got into that small space

Blinding queEn.

Anyway, I waited maybe 15 minutes??? Not for my group to get a move on but for other groups who were taking photos with Nick Castle. After that the lady called the group I was in over,to get in another line and she kindly asked that whatever you DIDNT want to be in your photo, remove it and place it on the table. I hurriedly took my shit off bc I was prepped for snow and had rlly yet to get comfortable so I put my bag down,earmuffs and my jacket. Once I was up next in line,i saw him

You bet your ass I panicked cause OOG TALL I GOT REALLY DISTRACTED

Yea that's right ya girl considered bailing for a quick second because I was having a mental breakdOwN,I've never done this before and I was so caught up in my own thoughts that I was doing everything in my power to not go any further.

Until,the camerawoman called me up.

At this point I was deadass mentally yelling at myself for every step until I heard something that didnt rlly uh...register until I left the photo OP room

I..dont talk to people, I'm not the most social person on the planet irl. And when u DO speak it's rather soft and quiet

Yet here my ass is

Chatting it up w big chungus over here. I think he picked up that I was shy because 1) no doubt he saw me in line kinda having a stroke

2) he responded back with equal softness almost like he didnt want to give me that wild burst of energy ,not wanting to raise his voice to further give me anxiety that was alREADY LIKE FUCKING THROUGH THE DAMN ROOF

I was so out my comfort zone, by myself??? In crowds of people I dont know, in an area that I'm not familiar with,SOCIALIZIN G

3) when he initially grabbed me I got one of those'its ok" comfort squeezes but like at the same time it had the "I'm really excited you're here!!" Idk if that makes sense but ehcK.

I always say I dont do well with people, cant English for shit,no doubt I have social anxiety and am a little too quiet when speaking but this whole interaction was so different

This whole process happened in less than 15-20 seconds and it felt like h ours since the second I opened my mouth to say hello,it was almost like time itself has come to a complete halt.

And the energy that came off of James was something I've really never felt before,it was laid back enough to where all my anxiety just vanished but upbeat enough that I felt extremely welcome and safe,cozy even UwU

In turn that lady was right- he was excited,beaming even. I could legit feel it when he put his arm around me and gave me that squeeze to a point where I was cuddling into him and something about really made me laugh cause it was just so cute- i cant even put it into words it was just so uplifting and soft and hHHHhHHhHHHHhhhhH

(Currently in the process of redrawing my photo OP so yall will see that gushiness later I'm so sorry for rambling but I need a way to explain that man's energy)

[jakobsenespensen8-blog]

NDS Young boy! 4.6.3 For Android.

The day was chilly and also crunchy the air a clean wind and the heavens a dark gold as the sunshine gradually went up, the school was actually dynamic along with youthful adolescents prepared to begin their 1st day from university. There were hoots of arrangement coming from the children in the room; I took note that just Stephan looked unmoved by swap. This would take a complete three-day shake down with dogs off the drugs device to expose the contraband even one of the most ordinary teenage young boy may have produced around his area. This calamity film concerning zombies managing the globe could possibly properly have actually been a calamity in itself. But the males I met there still talked bleakly concerning being actually unchurched or abused by their families. As soon as, it appears off the art that grows older have left our company, there really was a time when males could delight in being on the cusp between feminine and manly worlds when they can generate yet another passing person, one thing even more playful compared to the guy as well as more strong in comparison to the youngster. Olsson's memoire relieves her family members coming from the ghost from a shed kid that had plagued them and also coming from the trouble that cascades down the eras; nevertheless, Peter's get-together with his shed household had not been also an ending" (220), because it is actually reality and that performs not merely end. Millions of males have actually been forced to put their lives in jeopardy without a say in the manner. When Group Meat set out to make a Super Meat Young boy version for touchscreen mobile phones, designers Tommy Refenes and also Edmund McMillen swore they definitely would not merely put a virtual gamepad on the important things and carry out some half-assed port from their downloadable pinch hit PC and also Xbox 360. In the meantime the guys have learned to interact and also end up being like an effectively oiled leather equipment. Meggie longs to find the captivated globe she has actually just experienced by means of the pages of a manual and also travels along with Farid in to the story. Some of the most significant disparities I discovered is actually the article writer regularly changes between the virtue and nativity of a preteen child Kiran (the hero of guide) and the understanding and also maturation from an adult. Graphically Men in Dark 3 is actually ok. This ´ s not specifically negative in any sort of area, but this doesn ´ t stick out like various other Gameloft activities either. I was actually in the escalator when the doors opened as well as concerning 10 boys - all in their twenties and also not exactly what you 'd contact sober - got along. They possessed their carry-ons with them and also in between their bodies and the suitcases, I was actually virtually affixed from the rear wall. Alternatively, if a boy states that he intends to do ballet, sewing, playing with figures, or even that he ases if fuchsia or purple he'll jeopardize being actually aggravated and not being actually allowed through others. While implementing get redirected here consults with Marcus who is regularly the odd one in his training class however one of the most mature youngster in the universe. The game follows the initial tale of George Stobbart as he takes a trip around the planet to unwind the Knight conspiracy theory. The guys in my loved ones had their Easter traditions truly, and soaking ladies in water on Easter Monday is just one of Slovakia's the majority of cherished practices. The addition of these personalities allows Houston to earn his point that races encountered bias, as well as his factor was properly produced; nevertheless, Vinny seemed to go away, and also, while Burns included in my individual favored scene at a jazz club in Nyc, his character remains mostly an enigma. British Military, World War I-- the brigadier, he would certainly stroll free throw line with a stick and he would certainly whack his males to get 'em to fire. Maturing http://how2befitandhealth.com/ as TELEVISION courses like United States Pie or The Inbetweeners have narratives dedicated to the sexual disappointment from being actually a teenage boy. Later on, our team are actually to discover that her impressive hereditary profile implies that she won't grow older a lot - unlike the individuals, which will wind up resembling Patrick Stewart and also Ian McKellen. Kevin Brooks has actually remained in an assortment from jobs consisting of: entertainer, filling station assistant, crematorium handyman, civil service employee, hot dog vendor at the Greater london Zoo, general post office employee, and train line ticket office Kevin Brooks was carried in 1959 as well as grew up in Exeter, Devon, England. I adored this. (Just in case it was actually hard to say to.) I was visiting offer this 4.5 given that I ased if Dangerous Girls a lot better yet after that ... why would I carry out that?! On Monday David Ellam, 52, was killed by a dog that had been gone back to its manager even with issues that this threatened. Young boy is a lot more thoughtfully crafted, as is her little girl Bird, although each still been without sufficient measurement to keep me over mildly fascinated. The disaster, the 5th pet strike death entailing little ones since 2006, echoes the death from five-year-old Ellie Lawrenson in Street Helens, Merseyside, on New Year's Time 2007, when she was actually bitten 72 times through her uncle's pit bull. Might possess taken the globe through storm with its own TV result however, as you will observe from the complying with listing, there's plenty of motion pictures on Netflix to feast on once you have acquired everything binge-watching out of your system. When reading through Kid + Robot, I was certainly not actually trying to find an electronic book especially, yet I did take place ahead all over a read-aloud from guide on YouTube. Eventually, he uncovers a plan to damage the world and must race the appear purchase to save it. It is actually certainly not merely the clothes that are available for little kids, this's everything - the kinds of toys that babies and children are provided (dollbabies as well as kitchen areas for ladies, matchbox autos as well as fire engine for kids), the kinds of activities that are allowed (sporting activities and tree climbing up for children, playing property as well as deciding on flowers for women), and also just how moms and dads and caretakers reply to injuries and also outbursts. Yes, I preferred him to appear beautiful and also everything however I failed to prefer them to point out: 'Consider me, I'm really very hot' - I hate all that, that is actually uncomfortable." McLellan, which likewise shot the naked tale for Fantastic Man, which featured males aged between 22 as well as 52, and also was actually alonged with an essay on the aging method of the male physical body, stated the shoot was about generating characters which were attractive but certainly not always in a fanciable way".

[kaje665-blog]

Sell Insurance Company

Your competition for purchasing a completely independent insurance agency is possibly the greatest among any niche for small company acquisitions. It's much more challenging if you are a agent that doesn't presently own an agency (i.e. not really a proper acquirer). My firm works regularly with agents across the nation around the valuation, purchase and purchase of insurance agencies so we see first hands what must be done to create deals happen. After talking to countless agency buyers, I made the decision to compile a summary of general "rules" to follow along with. Know more about Insurance Agency Valuations by visiting our website.

Rule #1: Know what you could afford

A customer once explained "a great agent dreams big", that is a great philosophy. With regards to buying an agency, you should be realistic. Generally, my guideline is the fact that a purchaser needs 20-25% associated with a potential purchase obtainable in cash to pay for the lower payment and operating capital to operate the company. Which means someone with $200k in cash could possibly acquire an $800k to $1M agency. Additionally towards the lower payment, you need to be in a position to borrow 50% from the purchase cost from a 3rd party to satisfy the seller's lower payment requirement. Although some transactions still include a lot of seller financing, it is less frequent using the elevated buyer competition and accessibility to 3rd party financing during the last decade.

Rule #2: Fall into line the cash

Most acquisitions have three parties involved: the vendor, the customer and also the financier. The 3 have to be pleased with the terms for any deal to occur. Some occasions the vendor may be the financier, other occasions it might be a trader, but frequently a 3rd party loan provider is involved. There are just a number of lenders that finance purchasing insurance agencies. Many are asset-based lenders (for example commercial banks), other medication is income lenders (for example Small business administration lenders) yet others are still commission-based lenders (for example Oak Street Funding). They all have different underwriting and deal structure guidelines. According to individuals guidelines, one loan provider may go for just one particular deal although not for an additional. You should know how each loan provider determines the things they will loan, what's needed of the customer, and also the structure that's allowable for that transaction. Many buyers miss great possibilities because they need to search lower financing while some have previously done this and move ahead expeditiously by having an offer. Furthermore, many deals go wrong because prospective buyers don't realize the loan provider needs and unknowingly make offers that they'll not complete.

Rule #3: Tips to negotiate

You cannot effectively acquire insurance agencies part-time or in a leisurely pace. Other buyers are extremely aggressive and might have people who work full-time on acquisitions. You might want to take a look at 15 potential possibilities to locate one that's a great fit. The final factor you would like is to locate a great one and miss the chance since you moved slower compared to competition. Without having time to dedicate to the procedure, but they are seriously interested in attempting to acquire agencies, then consider outsourcing. My firm contracts about one half-dozen highly qualified buyers at any given time running marketing campaigns for agencies round the country. We've been with the process a large number of occasions and be aware of challenges and potential pitfalls, so additionally to generating possibilities for the clients additionally they gain the advantage of our experience. At the minimum, possess a pro-active technique to find possibilities, review them diligently making a decision if you should pursue them.

Rule #4: Comprehend the process

The buyers that close transactions be aware of process and move ahead rapidly with full confidence. The procedure generally follows as a result: (1) Summary of the chance, (2) Disclosure by parties, (3) Discharge of info on the agency, (4) Meeting(s) using the seller, (5) Written offer and settlement, (6) Research, (7) Execution from the purchase contract and elimination of closing contingencies, (8) Closing, and (9) Publish-closing transition. Typically from beginning to end it's really a 3-180 day process to get at the closing once the parties are motivated.

Rule #5: "Show yours" to determine their own

The disclosure phase is to, the mark buyer, share details about yourself as well as your finances and sign a confidentiality/non-disclosure agreement, and so the seller or his/her intermediary releases the required information for you concerning the business. Your initial goal ought to be to understand the personal finances, book of economic and operation from the business. The aim isn't to conduct research at this time. Any written offer ought to be susceptible to an intensive research process. Should you submit a laundry listing of questions before you make a deal, the vendor will likely weary or concentrate on another buyer. Buyers which are excessively risk-averse take 2-3 occasions more than a skilled buyer in continuing to move forward, which in turn causes the previous to overlook possibilities.

Rule #6: First impressions count

Whenever you talk with an agency owner to go over a possible purchase, remember Dale Carnegie's famous saying: "be hearty inside your approbation and lavish inside your praise". The aim shouldn't be to barter because this can certainly become an adversarial discussion. It's your chance to provide yourself like a real and qualified candidate, build rapport using the seller and get specific, intelligent questions so you've enough knowledge of the company to maneuver forward. Experienced buyers frequently relay their intentions regarding the way they will proceed and just what they'll need in the seller to accomplish the transaction. Realize that many obstacles which come up throughout the acquisition process could be overcome for those who have good rapport using the seller, so you should establish an friendly relationship from the first day. Don't think that an agency owner is just worried about how much cash they'll receive for that purchase. Most proprietors have put years into building their agency and developed close relationships using their staff and customers, so exiting the company could be a major emotional event. The dog owner does not need to see his/her legacy come crashing lower while heOrshe offered the company towards the wrong person, therefore the money, while important, isn't the whole equation.

Rule #7: Keep your process moving

Otherwise skillfully managed, the negotiations can drag out and finally stall. With regards to making a deal, achieve this on paper and canopy the key terms. You won't want to shuttle one half dozen occasions, arrived at a contract after which understand that you didn't remember an essential detail. That produces deal fatigue and goes away the goodwill. Make use of an experienced intermediary that handles insurance agency purchase transactions to help using the negotiations and drafting of the purchase offer. The "intermediary" can relieve tension and if they're a skilled M&A consultant they are able to help insure that key products are incorporated within the purchase contracts. Supply the seller having a research list to allow them to focus on assembling the thing you need as the contract has been negotiated.

Rule #8: Be flexible on deal structure

Among the greatest reasons buyers miss possibilities is they miss out on the forest with the trees - as they say. They find yourself in trouble on a single detail and won't budge. I'm not recommending that you simply surrender to all the demands of the seller, however that you evaluate how big the worth gap. Are you prepared to lose the chance? Can there be an alternate way to bridge the space?

Let us have a simple scenario. The vendor of the agency wants $500k. You believe the company may be worth $425k - a 15% gap. Are you able to add some impact on an earn-out but still income? Will the vendor extend the financial lending terms longer and bear much more of an email? Is he going toOrshe hold an email on stand-by (no payments) for any couple of years before you can enhance the income? Consider the money flow, risk and total price of capital, not only the acquisition cost. Attempt to understand his/her motives for selling too because this can frequently reveal an chance to locate mutual understanding. When the owner is inflexible and impractical this means that they're unmotivated, therefore it is most likely time for you to move ahead.

Rule #9: Do your research

I would like to state that the planet is definitely an honest place but good people can omit important details to prevent complications in research. Pricier sleep issues to simply provide you with the thing you need. Once under an LOI or purchase contract, request it and watch for it. Research can generally fall under three groups: 1) financial, 2) operational and three) legal. Around the financial side, make certain you realize the revenue and expenses both from your historic along with a pro forma basis. Often a trailing 12 month revenue history inside a P&C agency is a great indicator from the next twelve month's performance but there might be a loss of revenue of the account, producer, bonus or carrier which may be incorporated inside a trailing 12 month think back and can not carry forward. Take a look at monthly trends having a year-over-year comparison. When the agency deals with a / r, then employ a good CPA to complete the digging. Around the operational side, comprehend the culture from the agency from how a office operates to the caliber of the workers and customers. How efficient would be the processes and technology being utilized, where are possibilities for enhancements? Should there be producers, so how exactly does their compensation fall into line with all of those other market and have they got any vesting within their book of economic? Make certain that you've a good knowledge of all parts of the industry before continuing to move forward. It is almost always not that which you uncover which should worry you, what you do not uncover.

Rule #10: Possess a publish-close strategy

Professional buyers possess a transition arrange for following the closing. The size of an effective transition period in the owner relies upon his/her goals and just how integral he/she's towards the business. In some instances, the dog owner can leave following a week as well as in others he/she might need to hang in there for any couple of years. You should make sure to execute new contracts using the agency's staff and producers, even just before closing. In lots of states, non-compete contracts between employees and also the selling corporation aren't transferrable to some buyer. Other products include transferring trust money, getting hired with carriers and redirecting commissions into your money, and many other minute details. You'll have both hands full for that first couple of several weeks so make certain that you're prepared to hit the floor running. Looking for Insurance Consulting? Visit our website today!

Should you chose to create a play in an independent agency, then be prepared to commit some time and sources towards the process expect problems to arise suddenly and expect stress and feelings to boil towards the surface. You might want to hug lots of frogs before you get a prince, but, like anything, the more you practice in internet marketing, the greater you'll become.

[ingemaracheson]

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[orbemnews]

This may be probably the most useful Sizzling Wheels automobile on the planet Pascal, a Washington DC-area industrial actual property govt, is the proprietor of what’s believed to be probably the most useful Sizzling Wheels automobile on the planet: a 1969 model of the “Seashore Bomb” Volkswagen bus estimated to be price as a lot as $150,000. Collectibles consultants say the appraisal of the tiny automobile is completely plausible based mostly on its excessive rarity and its almost excellent situation. “On the subject of any subject of gathering, there’s all the time that pinnacle ‘Holy Grail’ merchandise the place it is simply that the provision that is on the market can no means meet the demand and that causes the value to undergo the roof,” mentioned Travis Landry, an appraiser with Bruneau & Co. Auctioneers of Rhode Island. Though he hasn’t inspected the automobile himself, Landry mentioned that Pascal’s toy is definitely price $100,000 however most likely extra, particularly as values for all types of collectibles have risen in latest months. Earlier than you begin digging round in your closet to search out that previous vinyl carrying case filled with Sizzling Wheels from whenever you had been a child, you must know that Pascal’s most useful fashions — lots of them price 1000’s of {dollars} — had been by no means bought in shops. They’re principally prototypes that had been by no means meant for a life outdoors of Mattel’s company places of work. That $150,000 mannequin, as an illustration, was a failed experiment. For 1969, Sizzling Wheels’ second yr available on the market, designers wished to incorporate a California-style mannequin of the well-known Volkswagen bus. Sizzling Wheels’ authentic model of the Seashore Bomb had lifelike proportions scaled right down to 1/64 measurement and tiny surfboards protruding the again window. It appeared nice, however the bus had critical dealing with points. The entire level of Sizzling Wheels was that they weren’t supposed to only look cool. They had been imagined to go quick and whip round that little orange plastic monitor. However when it was blasted out of the Sizzling Wheels Tremendous-Charger — a miniature storage with spinning rubber discs that slung the automobiles out at excessive speeds — the tall, slender bus flipped over. Some prototypes had been made with heavier bottoms to attempt to overcome that tipping drawback. Pascal’s is a kind of. About 144 prototypes of this specific mannequin had been made and solely about 50 are recognized to outlive immediately, mentioned Pascal. In the end, Sizzling Wheels designers went again to the drafting board and utterly redesigned the mannequin. The model that was bought to the general public in 1969 was wider and had the surfboards on the facet. Pascal’s Seashore Bomb is the one pink one with the heavier weighted backside, he mentioned. There’s one different pink one, however that has the unique lighter bottomed design. Pascal mentioned he has no plans to ever promote his. One other Seashore Bomb prototype, a pink one, was appraised on an episode of PBS’s Antiques Roadshow in 2016 and located to be price between $100,000 and $150,000. Pascal’s pink one is one in all 4 so-called rear-loader Seashore Bomb prototypes he owns. All are price no less than $25,000 apiece, he mentioned. Pascal purchased the pink Seashore Bomb after seeing newspaper articles in 1999 in regards to the automobile promoting for $72,000. The sale finally fell by way of so Pascal contacted the proprietor and acquired the automobile for greater than $50,000, he mentioned. He and the vendor had agreed to maintain the value secret, he mentioned. To think about the relative worth of a automobile like this it helps to think about the relative values of different collectible gadgets like actual automobiles, mentioned Mary Brisson, a catalog manufacturing supervisor on the traditional automobile public sale firm Gooding & Co. She can be an avid Sizzling Wheels collector. “That rear loader Volkswagen Seashore Bomb, for collectors, it is type of just like the Ferrari 250 GTO for actual automobile collectors,” she mentioned. Ferrari 250 GTOs from the Sixties have bought for as a lot as $70 million and they’re typically acknowledged as among the many phrase’s most useful cars. Helpful gems on tiny, tiny wheels Pascal’s assortment, which numbers within the 1000’s, contains numerous Sizzling Wheels automobiles that had been made with extra-shiny paint. They had been specifically made to look further good in TV commercials in 1968, he mentioned. “They’re completely gorgeous, exceedingly uncommon,” mentioned Pascal. “They usually’re price, excluding one casting, most of them had been price no less than $15,000 to $20,000 and going up.” He has gotten lots of his finest gadgets by monitoring down former Sizzling Wheels workers and asking them if they’ve something they’d prefer to promote, he mentioned. “Many instances the cellphone calls could be, ‘I do not suppose I’ve something you would be taken with,’ And I’m going, ‘What?'” he mentioned. “‘I simply have some blueprints.’ And I am like, ‘Okay, I am going to purchase it!” Pascal homes his Sizzling Wheels assortment in a temperature-controlled 4,000 square-foot warehouse in Maryland. Moreover little automobiles, his assortment additionally contains paintings by Sizzling Wheels designers. There are additionally plenty of early design fashions that, again within the Sixties and early ’70s, had been typically hand-carved out of wooden or resin, a course of that would take days, mentioned Pascal. These early fashions are a number of instances the scale of the Sizzling Wheels that come from the meeting line. The Sizzling Wheels design course of could be very completely different immediately, mentioned Ted Wu, international head of design for Sizzling Wheels. With 3D printers and digital drawing and sculpting instruments, designers transfer far more shortly by way of completely different design concepts. So nowadays, there are numerous extra of these early fashions made and they are much smaller than Pascal’s. Most of these early fashions are routinely destroyed however just a few are stored at designers’ desks simply because they like them. “We now have up to now made very high-end collector choices out of them,” mentioned Wu. “However that is a really, very uncommon factor.” As for Pascal, he has no plans to unload his assortment however he is aware of that, sooner or later, he’ll need to do one thing with it. “My spouse says she has one request.” he mentioned. “If I die and I go away her 7,000 toys and paper gadgets, she’s going to simply be devastated.” Over time, he says, he’ll scale back his assortment then donate one of the best items to the Smithsonian or a kids’s museum. “My solely requirement is I do not wish to ever donate it after which discover out it is stuffed in storage in a basement,” he mentioned. Supply hyperlink #car #Hot #success #ThismightbethemostvaluableHotWheelscarintheworld-CNN #valuable #Wheels #World

[santacanvas44-blog]

In A Frank Character

Arranging Agreements With Your Distributors

Bargaining the 1st Type agreement along with vendors, however, is actually not something that a small company manager can do on his very own. Even if one understands what he or she is actually doing, the price associated with creating an effective bargain is actually too expensive for the ordinary person to manage. Additionally, with high quality Suppliers Website that could acquire through unique training, training alone is likewise quite pricey. Enter into the power of legal representatives!

Whenever a consumer or vendor receives associated with an issue with a vendor, the distributor's legal representatives are going to frequently be actually spoken to. These lawyers are actually professionals on trial and corporate law. They are actually trained at taking care of lawsuits through which each sides seem in court of law. They will certainly make certain that all concerns are actually attended to in the contract, including the vendor's obligations and the client's commitments.

Sadly, the customer and also the vendor will definitely also possess lawful liberties also. The vendor may possess certain legal commitments including posting periodic records that detail their previous negotiations with clients, providing their favored payment methods, and offering customer service representatives upon ask for. The customer, naturally, will definitely also have specific legal civil rights such as understanding just how much the distributor is paying her or him in relations to an aristocracy as well as also possessing lawful protection in regards to their patent.

The service provider or even producer will definitely also be in charge of guaranteeing that their firm's properties are actually guarded. To this side, they will definitely have the legal right to look for a subpoena to guarantee that they are not infringing upon the trademark of yet another provider. Suppliers Blog will definitely make an effort to procure a similar order from vendors, unless the relationship in between the 2 firms is thus important that the added orders will certainly not be worth the issue.

Sourcing is also commonly an informal undertaking. Therefore, the vendor should keep in near contact with the designer. The professional, consequently, will typically keep the vendor in the loophole regarding just how the task is actually progressing, even throughout the preparatory phases of the venture. If such joint efforts prove ineffective, the supplier may seek the assistance of a lawyer. Of course, the legal representative is going to also manage to urge the supplier of his or her responsibilities in the direction of the customer. It is necessary, nonetheless, to bear in mind that lawful portrayal is actually extremely expensive.

The client or even provider might decide on to file a claim against the provider. In such instances, the specialist or manufacturer have to initially try to find resolution along with the vendor. If the condition is that the consumer or vendor has actually opted for not to seek a suit against the vendor, the professional or even manufacturer might decide on to carry on along with the offer.

The ultimate settlement is actually regularly one that is actually consistently around the distributor. This is since the vendor resides in a better setting to agree the fees than the customer or the contractor. Because of this, the distributor is actually often a lot more amenable to giving ins and concessions in regards to the price and/or the premium of the completed item.

The moment the agreement has been actually finalized as well as the purchase has actually been actually finished, the firm's lawyers will certainly submit an answer to the issue that was filed. Although a contract is legitimately binding, it is likewise legitimately useless if there is actually a difference. It is actually consequently that the specialist or even manufacturer ought to find to deal with any type of issues straight along with the distributor.

Point of the time, this is actually why business owners ought to beware when coming close to providers. Instead of depending on the advice of their legal representatives, they must talk to the law practice that they worked with. Given that they are the ones that will definitely handle the lawsuit, the provider will definitely be in a far better opening to obtain their contracts settled in a quick way.

Both clients as well as distributors have to recognize their rights when engaging in agreements. Although the terms of the contract are legally binding, no provider is actually ever before in a much better job to do well in a negotiation when they recognize just how to deal with each edges.

This is actually why attorneys or other legal experts ought to be employed to bargain and complete buy a service. The companies that employ these pros are going to give the business the capacity to reach its own full possibility.

Just How to Discover Manufacturer Companies

Makers are vital people on the planet. Makers make a variety of items, which include homes, properties, cars, learns, buses, office buildings, trains, as well as various other items.

The most extensive manufacturers are actually typically huge manufacturer business. https://zenwriting.net/grousewasp90/the-impacts-of-retail-store-and-also-individual-reaction-on-superior-maker may provide all your needs for products and solutions. http://karatecast41.jigsy.com/entries/general/What-Are-actually-Suppliers may receive all the items that you need to have and also you may even acquire some made to become utilized as your very own private property.

The house of a customer of a major item may contain the primary item. This is looked at the absolute most well-liked as well as the most secondhand factor in the business's house.

Your extremely own home can easily additionally be actually made. If you wish to receive among these houses, you should do it from a maker business. They can easily help you hereof.

There are also some means on exactly how to discover producer providers. If you have some ideas about what the product producer will make, after that you can look up the relevant information on the net.

Manufacturer firms have their own internet sites where they can be easily gotten in touch with by means of emails as well as phone conversation. This makes it easy for the manufacturer to manage their customers.

You can easily help make an on-line ask for the product you want. Manufacturers can do some item catalogs online. A manufacturer can be able to deliver the product that you wished to them and send them your items at a reduced price.

Some producer firms even may deliver your products and services directly to your property. Nevertheless, you should always remember that these business may certainly not be actually the best in production. The products from some makers may not satisfy the standards you require.

There are actually some factors that you have to bear in mind when you are actually seeking details on exactly how to find manufacturer firms. You need to have to remember that they might demand your loan before they have the capacity to supply your items. If you don't pay your money upfront, after that you will certainly must begin with the start.

The very first thing you must perform when you are trying to find details on how to discover manufacturer firms is actually to search the world wide web. You will receive great deals of options to decide on. You can visit the internet to learn the best company that can supply you with the item you require.

You should make sure that the producer provider you are managing can easily supply you with the items you want. It is actually additionally crucial to take note that the producer company must be legitimate. It is better to browse the net and acquire the labels of producer firms that are actually great.

After all, you will certainly be actually coping with the manufacturer provider for rather a long time. The much better the item you have bought from the manufacturer company, the even more earnings you will make.

[agritecture]

SEPTEMBER SPOTLIGHT: LIGHT POLYMERS’ GROWBLADE™ FLAT PANEL LIGHTS FOR VERTICAL FARMING

Light Polymers is the newest horticultural LED grow light maker on the market, but at Agritecture we’ve been tracking their innovation since we first met nearly one year ago at a LARTA Institute event in Los Angeles.

After closing a multi-million dollar strategic funding deal, Light Polymers is now announcing its first GrowBlade™ flat-panel LED grow lights, designed for vertical farming and other controlled environment applications. We’re excited to introduce them as Agritecture’s featured Sponsor for September and to highlight their new GrowBlade lights in the +Farm demo at our offices during NYC AgTech Week.  We interviewed Sandor Schoichet, VP of Grow Products at Light Polymers, to learn more. 

Agritecture: Let’s jump right in. What is your team’s background and how did you come together to develop the GrowBlade system?

Sandor: The Grow Products story started almost two years ago when I met Marc McConnaughey, CEO of Light Polymers. We were both part of the Bay Area Alliance of CEOs, a sort of mutual support organization for business leaders. Marc gave a talk where he demonstrated how their Crystallin® photonic film could down-convert blue LED light into beautiful high-CRI (Color Rendering Index) white light. I had recently read The Vertical Farm by Prof. Dickson Despommier and was thinking about opportunities to build a business related to indoor farming. So I asked Marc if his team could formulate a PAR (Photosynthetically Active Radiation) spectrum film. The challenge caught the interest of Dr. Evgeny Morozov, Lead Materials Scientist at Light Polymers, and shortly thereafter we had a lab bench prototype made from a hand-coated film sample and an empty Altoids mints tin. It was destiny calling and we haven’t looked back since!

First GrowBlade prototype made from an Altoids Mints tin

A: Tell us a bit about Light Polymers’ history.

S: Light Polymers is a nanochemistry company with deep domain knowledge of lyotropic materials, which have a wide range of uses in addition to LED lighting, including LCD and OLED flat panel displays, biomedical assays, and advanced building materials. Light Polymers was started in 2013 in San Francisco and our OLED chemistry is now in trial stages with potential commercialization partners in the display industry. Our Crystallin family of LED downlights was launched in select Asian markets in August. The GrowBlade family of flat-panel grow lights that we’re announcing later this month at NYC AgTech Week will be our first step into the commercial horticulture lighting business.

Sandor Schoichet inspecting the Isabel alpha-test site

A: What do you think an entrepreneur or buyer should look for in horticultural LED lights?

S: Both products and vendor services that help growers achieve their operational and financial goals. At Light Polymers, we’re not focused only on high-quality lighting; we’re developing a family of over-canopy lighting and sensing products designed to integrate with farm management software. Delivering robust and profitable growing systems for indoor vertical farming is a challenge that the industry is still learning to meet. We intend to be part of the solution that lets vertical farming and controlled environment agriculture (CEA) scale into the global food supply sector.

A: How will Light Polymers continue to stay on the cutting edge?

S: There are three different ways we want to push the envelope. First is building a solutions-oriented business culture, delivering high-performance lighting systems. As the industry continues to grow there will be many opportunities for a responsive team to partner with innovative customers. In support of the solutions strategy, our second focus is building real depth in the science of photobiology, in installation design and engineering, and in farm management systems integration. Our third front reflects our team’s experience with virtual production models that leverage the high-volume flat panel lighting and display supply chain. This experience will allow us to be very aggressive on pricing and delivery for our customers.

GrowBlade Edge 1400 panels at Isabel (alpha-test samples)

A: What excites you about vertical farming?

S: I’ve always been interested in the way that technology and society co-evolve. Over the past several years, studying the sustainability of our society and its infrastructure has become a passion. These three themes, technological innovation, social change, and the need for sustainability, are now coming together in a generational wave of change that will impact agriculture and the entire food supply sector. Controlled environment agriculture is a vital part of responding to macro trends like population and economic growth, urbanization, water scarcity, agricultural runoff, climate change, and food security.

As a designer, an engineer, and a developer, helping address a part of this challenge is very exciting. Indoor CEA is just starting to come together as a serious industry sector, and there is huge scope for creative product and service developments. We’ve placed early alpha-test lights with several organizations, including the MIT OpenAg Initiative. The work they’re doing with the open source Food Computer reminds me so much of the early days of distributed computing workstations and homebrew computer clubs, and we know how that scaled beyond all expectation. I’ve worked in a number of different areas over my career, including digital engineering, networking, biotech and business development. Developing our lighting business for vertical farming lets me combine elements of them all.

GrowBlade Edge 1400 panels at Isabel (alpha-test samples)

A: What makes Light Polymers’ GrowBlade product line stand out?

S: Our GrowBlade flat panel grow lights deliver even, wide-area, fully diffused illumination, without hot or cold spots, and will be available in a range of tailored PAR spectra. The whole GrowBlade product family is designed to allow farmers to grow closer, increasing productivity within a given footprint, while improving crop consistency and quality.

What makes our flat panel lights possible is a new generation of remote photonic down-conversion films, based on our proprietary Crystallin® lyotropic coating and suspension chemistry. Remote down-conversion is not a new concept to the LED industry, but implementation and cost issues have kept it from being widely adopted despite its many advantages. Current down-conversion films are made from a silicon resin, using toxic chemistry in a time-consuming, low yield process. They’ve been limited to niche applications where high-quality lighting is required, like museums or photography studios. By contrast, our Crystallin chemistry uses water as a solvent and can be coated on roll-to-roll machines with high yield and low cost. The self-aligning properties of the lyotropic material pack the phosphor particles in a dense layer, maximizing blue light conversion and allowing us to lower both production and operating costs.

Since the output spectrum is generated by the Crystallin film, we can formulate a wide variety of application-specific spectra tailored for leafy greens and herbs, clones, seedlings and grafts, tissue culture, and greenhouse daylight supplementation. In moving crop systems we can tailor spectra for different stages of the lifecycle.  We’re also glad to formulate custom spectra on request.

Other stand-out elements of our solution that will be coming along soon include GrowBlade Hub and Sensor modules. GrowBlade Hubs will simplify power wiring for large installations and transform the individual fixtures into a connected IoT (Internet of Things) platform for active light control, environmental sensing, and crop monitoring. Can’t wait until I’m free to talk about that in more depth!

Stop by Agritecture during NYC AgTech Week to meet Sandor and see the lights in person.

A: Why did you choose NYC AgTech Week as the first place to show your products to the world?

S: The awesome combination of the Agritecture network, being part of Blue Planet’s +Farm demonstration and a week-long opportunity to meet and talk with a wide range of growers and innovators across the industry made it the obvious choice.

A: Last question, what makes you happy?

S: Designing and building cool things that work. Contributing to the evolution of a socially meaningful new industry sector. Meeting new friends who are making a positive difference in the world. Oh, and sailing!

GrowBlade Edge 600 at Agritecture’s Brooklyn Office (alpha-test sample)

[ursafilms]

Comic-Con & Wonder Women!

About two years after the Sara Bareilles debacle, something that had been on my bucket list finally got checked off. Comic-Con. Always wanted to work it. Don’t know why, but I did. It looked like an absolutely stupid collection of video and animation nerds together in one space, and that is exactly what Comic-Con is.

And I would nothave lobbied to work on it, had it not been through one of my favorite clients, Jill Byron of CBS and CBS Interactive.

One of CBS properties was an on-line site called TV.com. It served as a place to curate interest in the prime time shows on the network. To further generate interest in the property, Jill put together an awards show called, oddly, “The TV.com Now Awards.”

And the venue? PetCo Park.

The schedule? During the biggest self-inflicted freak show on the planet.

Comic-Con.

With the possible exception of San Francisco, Comic-Con is the largest collection of reality escaping, self-indulging narcissists converging on one geographical area. And, in the pursuit of full disclosure, I was not lying. Attending this homage to arrested adolescence has been on my bucket list for years.

I have no interest in dressing up as Wonder Woman and putting myself through the serial embarrassment of faking a good time. What I do have is a curiosity as to why people would want to dress up as Wonder Woman and put themselves through the serial embarrassment of faking a good time.

I also have no interest in buying a pass to attend. It’s expensive and that doesn’t take any of hotel, meal, and transportation costs into account. CBS Interactive hiring me opened the door to attending and having someone else pick up the check. That’s not to appear smug or cavalier about the task entrusted to me. I expected to take in Comic-Con in my down time, of which I knew there would be little.

****

I opted to drive to San Diego. As with most of my jobs in southern California, I had to schelp so many things that boarding a flight with all I needed to nursemaid a batch of middle-aged pre-adolescents through a job presented a task of curbside luggage hassles I could no longer accept. Also, I’d need a rental car when I arrived anyway.

The day before my scheduled departure, I picked up the compressed show files at Elastic Creative, the post/animation company that provided all the videos. Even in this modern era I had to act like Laurence Olivier in Marathon Manto get a straight answer out of the show control people as to how they wanted to receive the media. They just don’t want to commit to anything. Drilling into their teeth, while an option, was time-consuming and didn’t always yield good results.

This is a pet peeve, to use a cliché, of mine. I harbor no thoughts of genocide except for one particular tribe. Event producers, and specifically the hermitic and unhygienic dweebs that populate every satellite truck, back of the house, and control booth of every venue into which I had the displeasure of having to enter.

The TV.com Now Awards proved to be no exception. I did get to hire my own on-site show producer, an incredibly gifted woman named Karen DeTemple. But even she couldn’t prevent the obligatory black site conversation I had to have with the person in charge of the control room for the event.

Me: “How would you like me to deliver the media?”

Social Pariah: “Digital files will be fine.”

Me: “That narrows it down to about 3,000 options. Would you like to tell me exactly which type of file? Can you give me a spec sheet?”

Social Pariah: “HD.”

Me: “We’re down to 2,000 types. Fair warning. If you don’t specify which type of file, compression, output, size, audio, and all the other necessary elements, I’m going to send you what I think is most appropriate.”

Social Pariah: “What if it doesn’t work?”

Me: “Then I will hunt you down, like the passive-aggressive loser that you are and beat you with an old 1” tape machine.”

Social Pariah: “Let me get you our spec sheet.”

****

Every job is like this with event people. I don’t get it. I am more knowledgeable about matters that involve show masters and delivery of appropriate digital files than most. But like everything else in the production industry, there is some sadistic pleasure taken by those who just want to see a producer look foolish, which I refused to do after the first few years of my career. If I didn’t take the time and trouble to actually request specifications on deliverables, this wouldn’t gall me as much as it does. But I was vigilant about pursuing that information. My colleagues, however, did not show as much enthusiasm as providing it. To this day, I cannot tell you why.

****

An ugly confrontation took place years before The TV.com Now Awards. Let me have some laughs at the expense of the company that tried to embarrass me.

In the fall of 2000 I flew out to Washington, DC for a medical device convention. Prior to traveling, which I only did because the representatives for the production company wanted to make sure a scapegoat would be on site, I had a meeting with the head of the company which supplied all the hardware to run the show, including video.

Me: “I have three videos that play at this event. How do you want to receive them?”

Passive-Aggressive Loser: “Standard format.”

Me: “Let me be clear. I will send you HDCam with a three second title card at 30 seconds. 17 seconds of black, and then a 10 second countdown. So speak now if you want something different. In other words, is that what you consider standard format?”

Passive-Aggressive Loser: “No.”

This devolved into a lot of bad language. The Passive-Aggressive Loser told me to “chill out,” a term reserved for doofuses who have nowhere to go. We put each other in a headlock and the president of the production company broke the stalemate by assuring me that a spec sheet would be coming my way.

Which I never received.

The incompetent creative director of the production company informed me that I had to go to DC and to hand carry a back-up of the media.

Me: “Sure. What format would you like the media?

Unskilled Drain on the Overhead: “Morty can tell you that.”

Me: “Did you miss the headlock I had him in during the pre-pro meeting? You saw that Morty wouldn’t have given Brezhnev any intel if they ripped his testicles out and showed them to him.”

Unskilled Drain on the Overhead fled the scene.

I arrived in DC with a back-up copy of the media, done to my specifications. Checked into my hotel and headed over to the convention center, where the usual pre-show hysteria had commenced. And as soon as The Producer (Me) came on the scene, the wailing pre-adolescents descended on me.

Petulant 12-Year-Old: “We need a different version of the media. Morty said to see you as soon as you arrived.”

Me: “Gee and I thought Morty would greet me himself and exchange headlocks.”

Petulant 12-Year-Old: “Huh? So can you remake the show masters?”

Me: “Of course! I carried an entire editorial system on the plane with me. Not only that, I brought every tape deck known to man to cover every possibility.”

Petulant 12-Year-Old: “That’s great. We’ll need the new tapes ASAP!”

Me: “Do you have the specs?”

Petulant 12-Year-Old: “Sure.”

The Petulant 12-Year-Old handed me a piece of paper with a very complete set of instructions for delivering media to the hardware vendor.

Me: “Does Morty know about this?”

Petulant 12-Year-Old: “Why wouldn’t he?”

Me: “No reason. Give me a second.”

I read the spec sheet. The only difference between what I provided and what they specified? As opposed to 17 seconds of black before they countdown, they wanted two.

Me: “Your tape ops can just bookmark the two seconds prior to the countdown. This can easily be done by show control.”

Petulant 12-Year-Old: “Sure, but that means they have to do that every time they come back from break to restart the show.”

Me: “Oh, horrors! That means they have to build an entire cue! Why that should take them three whole minutes. That will cut down on their grousing time, won’t it?”

The Petulant 12-Year-Old looked at me with the same sort of admiration and respect given to a pedophile or drug dealer that hangs around grade schools.

Petulant 12-Year-Old: “I take it you didn’t bring an edit system in your carry-on luggage.”

Me: “No, and if Morty has an issue with me not wanting to spend thousands of dollars redoing videotape just because he doesn’t want to hear a handful of social misfits complaining about having to do some actual work, he can come talk to me about it. Capisce?”

And that was that.

****

Back to Comic-Con, 2010 and the start of my drive to San Diego.

Elastic Creative, again the facility where the videos were executed, performed all the necessary compressions and delivered them to me, as requested, on a hard-drive and a back-up hard-drive. Additionally, they stored them on DropBox in case that would be an easier get for the truly unambitous excuse-making mooks that populate back of the house.

Just as I settled into the comfy leather of my SUV, the cellphone rang.

Scratchy Voiced Misfit: “George Young?”

Me: “Yes.”

Scratchy Voiced Misfit: “This is Dak from Lousy Show Productions.”

Me: “Dak? Were your parents trying to save room on the birth certificate?”

Scratchy Voiced Misfit: “That’s my nickname.”

Me: “Oh, what’s your real name?”

Scratchy Voiced Misfit: “Bo.”

As it turns out the compressed files, which cost me thousands in hard drive purchases, compressions, and production time, were no longer the preferred format. Oh no, the vendor in charge of running show control switched to a different command truck that used some format of mini-HDCam.

In other words, during the phone call with Dak, my SUV and I went back in time two years.

I had to drive away from the Bay Area in less than 16 hours. That would not be a problem, if I

didn’t need, at close of business, to find a relatively obscure tape deck, even more obscure blank tapes, and arrange for Elastic Creative to make show masters for me overnight.

Me: “So, Dak, level with me. Why the change in the truck?”

Scratchy Voiced Misfit: “Much cheaper.”

My head exploded. After I cleaned up the mess, and sent the iPhone footage off to David Cronenberg, I thanked Dak and walked back inside Elastic. After explaining the conundrum to Drew Fiero, the World’s Calmest Father of Three, I found a private room and shut the door. I phoned the Social Pariah in charge of the satellite truck.

Social Pariah#2: “George, how nice to hear from you. I guess—”

Me: “Shut up, you douchebag. You went and switched delivery formats on me less than 24 hours before rehearsal! Are you insane?”

Social Pariah #2: “Calm down, all you have to do is—”

Me: “Like I said. Shut up, you douchebag. Don’t tell me what I have to do. You switched delivery formats because you think producers are the equivalent of inviting David Copperfield to your tenth birthday party. I’d hang you out to dry on this if I didn’t like Jill Byron so much.”

Social Pariah #2: “Hey, chill—”

Me: “Don’t tell me to ‘chill out, dude.’ Just shut up and thank me for dragging a couple dozen mini-HD tapes down to San Diego because you wanted to save $1.98 on the satellite truck.”

Social Pariah #2: “I—”

Me: “And I’m charging your company for the tapes, the tape deck, which I understand has to be trucked to San Francisco from San Jose because there are only five in the state of California, and for my time. I hope you saved the gross national product of France by switching trucks.”

****

I arrived in San Diego at the end of July, 2010. Ten minutes after exiting my SUV, parked along the main drag that surrounded PetCo Park, I spotted four Wonder Women. And two of them might have been actual women!

Regarding Wonder Woman.

1.    Unless you’re Linda Carter in the 70’s, or have a body like Linda Carter’s in the 70’s, do not wear a Wonder Woman costume.

2.    Unless you’re Gil Gadot in 2016, or have a body like Gil Gadot’s in 2016, do not wear a Wonder Woman costume.

3.    If you’re a man, and I don’t care if you identify as a woman, or are in the process of becoming a woman, do not wear a Wonder Woman costume.

4.    In general, there are nine women in the entire world who should wear a Wonder Woman costume and none of them attend Comic-Con.

There are, however, plenty of svelte, spandex-wearing young women who attend Comic-Con. They squeeze themselves into costumes that probably that last worked in 50’s sci-fi films. And based on the amount of gravity-defying cleavage on display, there were more polymers at the event than just those of the costumes.

But more so than the appearance of artificial flesh, I am fascinated by the herds of cattle that attend the event and stampede into the place to get a glimpse of actors who will be on the national radar for the shelf-life of chocolate in an Easter basket. There also is a deluge of movies and videogames to investigate.

1.    Batman 27: The Latest Ofay Actor in Black

2.    Black Humanoid: POC Tossed Another Bone

3.    Superman*

4.    Surgery, the Bloodletting

5.    Military Assault on a Middle East Looking Country Never Named for P.C. Reasons

6.    Dragons, Dragons, Dragons and more Dragons

Of course any of these titles could be swapped out as movie, TV series, or videogame. If there is any clarity as to why Comic-Con exists, it’s lost on me as an objective observer from afar. Perhaps being on-site will change my mind.

To the job.

I had to produce all the video for the gig, the bulk of which broke down into the individual nominees and ultimate winner of each category, of which there were about 20. To separate The TV.com Now Awards from the Oscars or the Emmys, Jill and her creative team came up with some interesting and unique contests. Here are some of them.

-      Actor you are happiest to see back on Television

-      Best performance as a Vampire

-      Best reboot of an old show

-      Best Actor returning to the small screen

-      Best performance by a Non-Human

*Yes, there is yet another Superman

Some of the categories made sense because there had been an explosion of TV shows and movies with Vampires. And that had not reached saturation with the average viewer. Best reboot of an old show proved easy too, since several Baby Boomer specialties had returned to both CBS and other channels, including cable and the initial streaming services.

But some were difficult. We had problems narrowing down which actor we were happy to see back on television, since there were over a hundred suggestions on the cbs.com website when the general population got a chance to be polled. Also, Best performance by a Non-Human? I suggested Bill Maher about 400 times. When one of the station executives finally asked me explain myself I replied that he must be quite an actor if he’s able to convince HBO to allow him to go on the air on two separate occasions with two different unwatchable shows based upon the same disingenuous drivel.

CBS refused my request to nominate Maher.

****

A huge upside to the job, other than Jill Byron’s involvement, had to be Rob Diehl, the creative director of the event production company, MKTG. I had found my own personal unicorn. I did not believe in the existence of a creative director who had actual creative skills, and yet I finally met one in Rob Diehl. Not only did he have training in the arts, but a wealth of experience as well.

Rob could draw. He understood art direction and set construction. He had worked his way up from a theatre background and could tell you the difference between a piece of Louis XIV furniture and its nearly identical version from the Renaissance period. That may seem insignificant, or petty, or at the atomic level, but after decades of dealing with the agency owner’s room temperature IQ brother-in-law as an art director and the usual cult of 26-year-old copywriters who hadn’t read anything more complicated than a comic book, his experience and skill level provided welcome relief.

When he gave feedback, it made sense. When he felt something worked, he stopped trying to improve it. When a video component felt incomplete he explained why. I don’t think I had more respect for anyone on the creative side since I finished my last video game for George Lucas.

Working with Rob Diehl made every previous memory of the collection of hungover and incompetent creative department hangers-on fade into obscurity, at least temporarily.

****

Every comic book aficionado, basement dwelling hacker, and weather girl wannabe clogged San Diego’s downtown and waterfront during the four day Comic-Con. Jill dispatched her underlings to distribute flyers on ‘The TV.com Now Awards.’ The CBS websites blasted rich media with hourly updates and the B-List celebs who would be in attendance. A couple of musical acts that I won’t mention because I can’t remember who they were, also graced email blasts and hastily created Facebook pages.

We had an actual Red Carpet walk. Limousines pulled up and discharged the likes of Rob Lowe, Pauley Perrette, and Cheryl Burke. They smiled; talked to the press; and waved at the, ahem, “crowd.”

I hustled back and forth between the dugouts, where we had established green rooms for category winners like Daniel Day-Kim and LL Cool J.

And it was all for naught.

Because if someone goes to Comic-Con it is to do a small number of things. The hormone-clanging males go to check out all the firm, young flesh (Or flesh, period. Not that much was firm.) squeezed into the previously mentioned 50’s Sci-Fi costumes. The females go to either shoehorn themselves into spandex, or play video games with the man of their dreams.

And both go to get into freebie screenings of the latest summer movies and videogames.

That’s it. They don’t go to stand in right field at PetCo Park and watch a bunch of actors accept a plexi statue for acting in a show that nobody who attends Comic-Con cares about.

As I watched the footage at the local post facility, located in the lovely porn district of San Diego, I wondered what CBS Interactive would do next year for “The TV.com Now Awards.”

I had a hunch it would not involve Comic-Con.

[heartslogos]

seas who could sing so deep and strong [7]

It is not Kore’s intention to linger long at Maroo’s Bazaar.

For one thing, Maroo irritates her. Most people do, but Maroo is exceptional in that Kore has a distinct type of irritation just for her. Kore has a distinct kind of irritation for most traders and merchants. It is not always related to the thoughts of the Corpus and the phantom-memories that the Valkyr warframe seems to carry with it.

Another reason is that Kore is uneasy around so many people. She can’t watch all of them. All of them, however, could easily be watching her. It’s paranoia beyond belief, but it is something that has been printed and rubbed and sanded into her skin through years of training and conditioning. Years of isolation during and after the war. Years of being alone in her own head.

Judge’s isolation presents itself as a tactile need and paranoia of always being in an endless cycle of dream-wake, unable to trust his own senses without external and independent confirmation.

Kore’s rears its head as a violent, snapping and electric mad-scramble in her chest that tries to suck her in like a black hole until she is nothing, invisible, gone. Untouchable as Judge likes to call her, but also unknowable.

(Ironically, it is something in her chest - that same something, or maybe a sister of it - that yowls and scratches and cries to be known. To be understood. To be seen. To be wanted. Not from everyone. From a very specific person. The same person who named her untouchable.

Is to be untouchable the same as unobtainable?)

There is too much noise here, too many moving variables - unpredictable and undeniable. The best Kore can do when navigating the necessary annoyance is to go using some of her most unfriendly warframes.

Nidus, Nekros, Valkyr - the ones that do not invite closeness or any lingering attention.

She’s gotten the most she can get for the dozens upon dozens of blue Ayatan stars she’d been finding. Normally she would just save them until she had enough appropriate statues and then sent them to Maroo for Endo but it’s the third time that a gem has gotten stuck in her Carrier’s vacuum port and she knows it’s only a matter of time before one of her Kubrow chokes on one. Her Kubrow aren’t stupid or as invasively curious as Judge’s Kavat, but she’d rather not risk losing one of her Kubrow to something as stupid as them accidentally swallowing a gemstone and choking to death.

Kore is not here for anything else than that - she is not here to barter, buy, or sell. Kore’s business at this station is done.

And yet -

Nidus and her own attention is drawn to a row of vendors, their wares displayed with bright colors and whizzing machines to catch attention. Kore normally has no need to look at any merchants that aren’t selling weaponry, materials to build weapons, or other such things.

Most things a Tenno could need or want on the physical side of things can be obtained through careful trading. It is not a good idea to be wandering around bartering and buying things for a child’s body when the entire system is unaware of the Tenno’s true origin.

Kore knows how to synthesize nutrient bricks and water packets aren’t especially suspicious to buy. Flavor powder is also easy to synthesize and there are about a dozen different Tenno she knows of that she can get into contact with to trade for some. Kore also knows some Tenno for clothing and other such aesthetic needs. There’s also a chain-group of Tenno who send each other fragments of data for free as long as you contribute back. Kore is part of this group because it requires no talking aside from statements of where, when, and how such data was found.

Easy enough and it can be transmitted through text instead of audio.

But toys? Candy? Games?

Those do not have places in the Tenno network. They do not have places in Kore’s world.

Kore’s focus lingers on a brightly colored display surrounded by children.

Children are not so rare on Maroo’s station. Refugees, escapees, children of outcasts and merchants and soldiers and Syndicate members and other planets.

Kore has a very brief and very nauseating image of herself as one of those grubby children - jostling for position in front of the stand, whining and wishing her parents could spare more credits.

From here she can pick out the things the merchant is describing for them. A quick search of the vendor’s information through Maroo’s database shows that he specializes in replications of Old Earth candy and sweets.

“And this,” The man holds up - Kore zooms in - a small rectangular case and shakes it, “This, children, is chewing gum. You chew it and it starts out hard and dry between your teeth but the more you chew the more it softens and it becomes sweet. Or sour. Or cold. Or hot. All depending on what flavor you pick.”

Kore’s mind flashes to Judge and his bitten lips and his hands that always seem to wander to touch and grip and search for something to hold onto. For something to anchor him to here and now and the promise of reality.

Kore is not here for Judge. Kore is not here for old earth candy and what is most likely a scam. He might not even like it. Maybe Judge would choke on the damn thing.

Maybe Ugly will choke on one.

Nidus’ fingers slowly curl and uncurl at the frame’s side - patiently waiting for Kore’s decision. It should be clear.

Go. Your business is done.

Nidus slowly turns on his heel to head back towards the landing bay docks, a wry curl of are you sure? that winds itself around her soul like a Kavat’s tail. Kore feels her own irritation at herself.

Fucking fine, Kore thinks at her heart, you win.

Nidus goes to find a hidden nook. Kore hates this idea already.

Kore stares down at her kneeling Nidus frame, and reaches her hand out. Nidus leans into her palm. Her skin already feels like it’s crawling and she’s only standing in a narrow niche by the landing bay. No one is even here looking at her. She checked.

No cameras.

Kore takes in a deep breath and Nidus’ hand reaches up to tap its long fingers against the back of hers, slow and sluggish movements with a touch of timeless grace that only the Infested seem to have.

She unzips her hood from her suit, folding it and puts it on Nidus’ lap. Nidus’ other hand goes to hold it immediately. She stares down at the rest of herself and there’s no mistaking that she looks like not a normal child.

Between the pink hair, her eyes, and her somatic scarring -

Kore groans softly and puts her head in her hands. This is a terrible idea.

For once in her damn life she wishes she listened to Ballas and stuck with the creams and golds and pretty blue-greens. That would blend in. That would make her look forgettable.

But here she is in her stark black and white with her gold and pink looking like such obvious - obviousness.

Kore takes a deep breath and then does a quarter turn on her heel. She hears the soft almost squeak of her boot on the shiny floors.

She grinds her teeth and steps out into the light.

Kore isn’t much taller than the other children already at the stall and while she did draw some looks, her own glare was enough to make sure those looks were cut short. She can feel her heart in her palms. She swallows softly as she carefully lingers at the back of the crowd.

Her skin feels like it is literally crawling with Infested maggots. She’s been brushed against, looked at, bumped, jostled, and any plethora of slight touches that are making her mind rapidly retreat into the deepest recesses of her.

And now there’s this crowd of six to seven children that are elbow-to-elbow that she has to somehow figure a way to squeeze into.

Kore can feel herself blanching.

She’s saved, for once, by her own appearance when the merchant in charge of the stall notices her lingering and waves her over.

“Pretty girl, in the pink! You want something sweet to match your face?”

Kore, in a desperate attempt at anonymity, had taken out her piercings and switched the part of her hair to cover her somatic scars. It works as long as she keeps her head down at an angle and is very careful about how she moves.

She grinds her teeth and slowly inches forward, heart pounding so hard against her chest she thinks it’s a miracle that she hasn’t bruised her own organs.

“Don’t be shy, make room brats, make room,” the man waves at the children already assembled who squeeze closer together giving her appraising glances as they make a sliver of space for her.

Kore slots in with a deep breath and forces down the buzzing in her ears.

After a few seconds she realizes the man is still talking to her and she glances up, body tensing at the hand thrust in her face. It’s not the chewing gum he’s holding this time, but something else.

Kore forces her mouth to open, to take in air and she forces the words out - “Chewing gum.”

“Pardon? Speak up, girl!”

Ballas’ voice echoes in her head and Kore feels a spark at her knuckles that she desperately drowns.

“Chewing gum,” Kore repeats, “I heard you had some. Is there still any left?”

“Sure, plenty for a sweet girl like you,” he says and she hears him moving around to - presumably - get some. Kore doesn’t look up from the colorful riot of candy on display in her direct line of sight. “What flavor do you want?”

Kore drags her eyes up just enough to see the many boxes he’s holding. Green, pink, red-orange, yellow, darker-green, white-green and -

“What’s blue?” Kore asks.

He puts the other boxes down and flips the blue one open and rattles it, gesturing for her hand.

“It’s easier to show than to tell, dear. Have a taste.”

Kore slowly raises her hand towards him - the memories are violently threatening to follow that hand and Kore begs them not to. Not here. Not right now.

(Kore kneels, hands raised in front of her as Ballas counts out one, two, three pills. Enough nutrition to keep her alive through five straight days of combat if she moves fast and constant. Not enough for what he wants from her.

“Please,” Kore croaks out, “Master.”

Ballas hums speculatively before dropping two more in her hands.

“Do not waste it.”

“No, Master.”)

Kore puts the small thumb-sized square between her lips. It feels smooth, like a pill. And then she carefully closes her teeth around it.

Just like he said - at first it’s just like nothing. Plastic. But the more she chews the softer it becomes. And then cold. Cold. Bitterly cold as if she had been in Frost on Europa for a few cycles. It coats her mouth and throat and lungs with it.

Kore blinks, startled into looking up and meeting the man’s eyes. Or where his eyes would be if he weren’t wearing a visor screen.

He smiles.

“All the blue ones,” Kore says.

The man pauses, “All?”

“All the blue ones you have,” Kore says - and then, on a whim, “White-blue, white-green, and half of your orange-red.”

The children begin to chatter around her but she ignores them.

“Maybe you should ask your parents first, sweet,” He says slowly but she knows merchants and she knows she has her hook in his gaping mouth already.

Kore moves quickly, jostling children aside until she’s in front of the credit transfer device at the edge of his stall and opens it up.

“How much?” Kore says, fingers at the ready.

Greed is a poison Kore knows how to use well.

“Twenty thousand credits,” He says, “For just all my stock of blue. Another twenty thousand for the white-blue and white-green stock together. Fifteen thousand for half my orange-red.”

“Any bulk discount?” She asks.

The man hesitates and she can see him running the numbers in his head.

“Twenty thousand for the blue, fifteen thousand for the white-blue and white-green combined. I won’t budge on the orange-red.”

“I’m buying you out,” Kore says, “Thirty thousand for the blue, white-blue, and white-green together. Ten thousand for the orange-red. And maybe I’ll come back. Maybe I’ll buy more.”

She knows that if Judge has this problem there are probably other Tenno that do. And she can probably trade this chewing gum for some other things. Or for favors. It never hurts.

“Exactly! You’re buying me out! I should be keeping stock for other children,” The man complains, “Greedy.”

Kore raises a single eyebrow and flicks her wrist, deactivating the credit terminal.

“Suit yourself. I’ll just get pop-rocks at some other vendor,” Kore jerks her head down the row. “I hear they have the same affect.”

Her heart still pounds in her chest.

She does not want pop-rocks. Pop-rocks are too dangerous and are too easy to synthesize incorrectly.

She wants the chewing gum.

Kore forces herself to extract her body from the children and turn to walk away.

“Wait,” The man cries out, “Fine! Who are your parents, girl, that you learned to drive such a hard bargain? You planning on starting a business? Give me warning if you do.”

Kore begs herself to keep an even breath as she turns around and begins the credit transfer. It’s not like she’s using her credits for much aside from DNA stabilizers for her Kubrow and Kavat.

“Maybe,” Kore says, and then patiently waits for the man to pack up the boxes of chewing gum and hand them over to her. “Thank you.”

Kore hurries back as fast as she can without looking suspicious to her warframe.

Nidus is exactly where she left him and looks completely undisturbed.

Kore puts the boxes down and throws her arms around it, focusing on breathing steady. The warframe slowly puts its hands on her shoulders and awkwardly pats.

She pulls back and refastens her hood to her suit - and after a moment - begins to seal it up. Kore doesn’t normally do that, but right now -

The less of her exposed the better.

She needs to disappear.

Kore sinks into Nidus as the frame begins to move and pick up the boxes upon boxes.

No one gives her Nidus a second glance as they leave the station, gum and all.

[orbemnews]

This may be probably the most useful Sizzling Wheels automobile on the planet Pascal, a Washington DC-area industrial actual property govt, is the proprietor of what’s believed to be probably the most useful Sizzling Wheels automobile on the planet: a 1969 model of the “Seashore Bomb” Volkswagen bus estimated to be price as a lot as $150,000. Collectibles consultants say the appraisal of the tiny automobile is completely plausible based mostly on its excessive rarity and its almost excellent situation. “On the subject of any subject of gathering, there’s all the time that pinnacle ‘Holy Grail’ merchandise the place it is simply that the provision that is on the market can no means meet the demand and that causes the value to undergo the roof,” mentioned Travis Landry, an appraiser with Bruneau & Co. Auctioneers of Rhode Island. Though he hasn’t inspected the automobile himself, Landry mentioned that Pascal’s toy is definitely price $100,000 however most likely extra, particularly as values for all types of collectibles have risen in latest months. Earlier than you begin digging round in your closet to search out that previous vinyl carrying case filled with Sizzling Wheels from whenever you had been a child, you must know that Pascal’s most useful fashions — lots of them price 1000’s of {dollars} — had been by no means bought in shops. They’re principally prototypes that had been by no means meant for a life outdoors of Mattel’s company places of work. That $150,000 mannequin, as an illustration, was a failed experiment. For 1969, Sizzling Wheels’ second yr available on the market, designers wished to incorporate a California-style mannequin of the well-known Volkswagen bus. Sizzling Wheels’ authentic model of the Seashore Bomb had lifelike proportions scaled right down to 1/64 measurement and tiny surfboards protruding the again window. It appeared nice, however the bus had critical dealing with points. The entire level of Sizzling Wheels was that they weren’t supposed to only look cool. They had been imagined to go quick and whip round that little orange plastic monitor. However when it was blasted out of the Sizzling Wheels Tremendous-Charger — a miniature storage with spinning rubber discs that slung the automobiles out at excessive speeds — the tall, slender bus flipped over. Some prototypes had been made with heavier bottoms to attempt to overcome that tipping drawback. Pascal’s is a kind of. About 144 prototypes of this specific mannequin had been made and solely about 50 are recognized to outlive immediately, mentioned Pascal. In the end, Sizzling Wheels designers went again to the drafting board and utterly redesigned the mannequin. The model that was bought to the general public in 1969 was wider and had the surfboards on the facet. Pascal’s Seashore Bomb is the one pink one with the heavier weighted backside, he mentioned. There’s one different pink one, however that has the unique lighter bottomed design. Pascal mentioned he has no plans to ever promote his. One other Seashore Bomb prototype, a pink one, was appraised on an episode of PBS’s Antiques Roadshow in 2016 and located to be price between $100,000 and $150,000. Pascal’s pink one is one in all 4 so-called rear-loader Seashore Bomb prototypes he owns. All are price no less than $25,000 apiece, he mentioned. Pascal purchased the pink Seashore Bomb after seeing newspaper articles in 1999 in regards to the automobile promoting for $72,000. The sale finally fell by way of so Pascal contacted the proprietor and acquired the automobile for greater than $50,000, he mentioned. He and the vendor had agreed to maintain the value secret, he mentioned. To think about the relative worth of a automobile like this it helps to think about the relative values of different collectible gadgets like actual automobiles, mentioned Mary Brisson, a catalog manufacturing supervisor on the traditional automobile public sale firm Gooding & Co. She can be an avid Sizzling Wheels collector. “That rear loader Volkswagen Seashore Bomb, for collectors, it is type of just like the Ferrari 250 GTO for actual automobile collectors,” she mentioned. Ferrari 250 GTOs from the Sixties have bought for as a lot as $70 million and they’re typically acknowledged as among the many phrase’s most useful cars. Helpful gems on tiny, tiny wheels Pascal’s assortment, which numbers within the 1000’s, contains numerous Sizzling Wheels automobiles that had been made with extra-shiny paint. They had been specifically made to look further good in TV commercials in 1968, he mentioned. “They’re completely gorgeous, exceedingly uncommon,” mentioned Pascal. “They usually’re price, excluding one casting, most of them had been price no less than $15,000 to $20,000 and going up.” He has gotten lots of his finest gadgets by monitoring down former Sizzling Wheels workers and asking them if they’ve something they’d prefer to promote, he mentioned. “Many instances the cellphone calls could be, ‘I do not suppose I’ve something you would be taken with,’ And I’m going, ‘What?'” he mentioned. “‘I simply have some blueprints.’ And I am like, ‘Okay, I am going to purchase it!” Pascal homes his Sizzling Wheels assortment in a temperature-controlled 4,000 square-foot warehouse in Maryland. Moreover little automobiles, his assortment additionally contains paintings by Sizzling Wheels designers. There are additionally plenty of early design fashions that, again within the Sixties and early ’70s, had been typically hand-carved out of wooden or resin, a course of that would take days, mentioned Pascal. These early fashions are a number of instances the scale of the Sizzling Wheels that come from the meeting line. The Sizzling Wheels design course of could be very completely different immediately, mentioned Ted Wu, international head of design for Sizzling Wheels. With 3D printers and digital drawing and sculpting instruments, designers transfer far more shortly by way of completely different design concepts. So nowadays, there are numerous extra of these early fashions made and they are much smaller than Pascal’s. Most of these early fashions are routinely destroyed however just a few are stored at designers’ desks simply because they like them. “We now have up to now made very high-end collector choices out of them,” mentioned Wu. “However that is a really, very uncommon factor.” As for Pascal, he has no plans to unload his assortment however he is aware of that, sooner or later, he’ll need to do one thing with it. “My spouse says she has one request.” he mentioned. “If I die and I go away her 7,000 toys and paper gadgets, she’s going to simply be devastated.” Over time, he says, he’ll scale back his assortment then donate one of the best items to the Smithsonian or a kids’s museum. “My solely requirement is I do not wish to ever donate it after which discover out it is stuffed in storage in a basement,” he mentioned. Supply hyperlink #car #Hot #success #ThismightbethemostvaluableHotWheelscarintheworld-CNN #valuable #Wheels #World