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nonopi · 4 years ago

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a little closer; fallout: new vegas; veronica x christine

my (late) submission to the Fallout Bang event, hosted by @chaosintheavenue. can’t wait to see my partner @commonwealthcommoner‘s matching art! <3

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Christine.

A woman who stepped out of her dreams. Looking the same as she imagined her: short and sturdy and smiling. Nearly a decade had come to pass but Veronica would never, ever forget her face. She wanted to reach out, run to her, but she couldn’t. The ghost people watched her like she was their mother, a revered goddess, a holy sight amongst the vermin of the city. And Veronica was no better.

How long had she spent imagining what their reunion would look like? She had such a strong picture in her head, only made clearer by the courier’s tales of the Sierre Madre and the miles she walked to get there. Needless to say, the ghost people were not in the picture and neither were the clouds of gas clinging to the walls of a city that never was.

Veronica could feel the tension in her body, in the way her hands gripped the window sill she knelt next to, peeking out to see her. It took her hours to get to this moment, wandering the narrow streets, looking for the fountain that the courier said would lead her to the Sierra Madre, to where Christine now resided. She had never said anything about this. She never said that Christine could walk among the ghost people undeterred. A feat that she had learned was awe-inspiring and unattainable, a thing only taught by experience alone. It was something she learned the hard way as she cowered behind walls and furniture, waiting for the uneven gait of rubber soles to pass her by, because she knew if they found her, she might not make it. That was one thing the courier made clear, the ghost people were hurt by slicing, not by punching.

She was keenly aware of the sweat pooling around her neck and joints as she came to terms with what she had to do. The farther Christine walked down the road, the more Veronica could feel her opportunity slipping away. She would not make the same mistake she did years ago, she would not let Christine walk out of her life, not when she could do something about it. Even if it meant doing something she was scared to do. Was that not love? Doing whatever it takes to be by their side?

Do it for her. Do it for you. Words of power to send her forward.

A release of adrenaline flooded through her body as she pushed herself up and leaned out the window, an angel’s name on her tongue. “Christine!” She pulled back her scribe hood, wanting her to see all of her, to help the other woman remember. “Christine!”

It happened so slowly, like sand falling through an hourglass. Christine turned, grabbing her rifle out of habit, her gaze immediately picking up where her voice carried from. The ghost people nearby also turned their frightening gaze towards her, already scrambling towards the building she was in.

“Ronnie?” It was barely loud enough to echo down the street and into Veronica’s ear, a croaky haziness to her voice that she didn’t remember. “Ronnie!” This time louder, with an urgency that displayed plainly on her face.

“I could use a little help!” Relief swept through Veronica as she watched Christine sprint towards the door of the two-story building she was in, ripping it open before the ghost people could get a chance. They remained where they stood, unsure of what they should do when their hologram goddess came to the aid of an outsider.

Veronica could follow the clomping of her boots as she sprinted up the stairs, rounding the corner of the hallway, and there she was. Christine. A little older than she remembered, an interesting set of scars lined her face now that definitely weren’t there before, but she was still the girl she grew up with in the bunker and the woman she let walk away.

Veronica never felt anything like this before. Such an intense feeling of relief, at finding Christine alive and hoping that maybe they could start again mixed with doubt and fear that she was wrong, that they were different people now, and staying separated would be for the best. The emotions stayed there at the back of her throat, wanting to be released, to cry and smile and ask Christine so many questions but she settled on pulling her into a hug instead. She felt her flinch at the contact and Veronica tried to pull away to remedy the situation but Christine held her there after a moment, her chin on her shoulder, her cheek pressed to her cheek.

“What are you doing here?” she asked finally, pulling away to look at Veronica again, her eyes sweeping up and down, looking for signs of injury.

Veronica felt her cheeks hear, suddenly feeling embarrassed. “I’m here to see you.” It didn’t feel like the grandiose expression of love she had been imagining on the long journey here, but she was getting used to the fact that the world didn’t quite work the way her mind painted it. “But here specifically? I’m hiding from the ghost people. They aren’t really as friendly as the brochures made them out to be.”

Christine smiled and shook her head, “No, they’re not.” She took one last long look at Veronica before turning and beckoning her towards the stairs. “The ghost people won’t bother you if I’m with you. I’ll take us somewhere safe.”

---

"This is home, huh?"

"I wouldn't call it home. But it's not a prison either."

Christine lay tentatively next to her on the giant bed, surrounded by a giant room, inside a giant hotel. The Sierra Madre. Veronica felt smaller than she ever had, suddenly unsure of her place next to Christine. Why was she here? Did she come here expecting to rescue Christine from a solitary life amongst a forgotten era? Did she come here expecting Christine to return to the Mojave with her?

She swallowed her questions. It didn’t matter. She was with Christine now and whatever happened, happened. After all they’d been through, after what Christine had told her on the way back to the Sierra Madre, they were lucky to be here, they were lucky to be reunited.

“So no one bothers you here?” she continued, pushing her anxious thoughts away.

“I make sure no one bothers this place. After following Elijah here, there’s too much at stake to leave it unprotected.” Christine turned her head to look at her, the scars lining her face crinkled in concern. “You look tired. You can rest and we can talk more later.”

Veronica nodded, her arm sliding across the gap between them to squeeze the other woman’s hand. “Okay.”

So Veronica closed her eyes, feeling the softness of the bed beneath her and the warmth of Christine's hand in hers. Fear and vigilance had exhausted her. But it was the minute and tenuous feeling of safety that helped her to fall into sleep.

---

She awoke to darkness. It shouldn't have scared her like it did but maybe being topside for so long scarred her, changed her, altered her. She stayed still for as long as she could possibly manage, slowly watching the pieces of furniture come into view, the slight glow from the windows illuminating what little they could, leaving Veronica to invent the rest.

Breathe in, breathe out. Breathe in, breathe out. Something Arcade had taught her when the world would start closing in on her. Things were always a little harder after HELIOS One.

Slowly her heartbeat settled, her jaw still clamped shut but she could feel the tension and start to let it go. Breathe in, breathe out. One problem at a time.

She was with Christine. That she could definitely recall in all its vivid detail. She brought her here, so confident and sure. "Sit down, Ronnie." "Drink some water, Ronnie." "You can rest now, Ronnie." Ronnie. So she did as she was told. Veronica sat, she sipped, and she dozed until she fell into a deep abyss of sleep.

But now she was awake and alone and when her blood stopped rushing through her ears, she could hear the faint sound of music.

"Christine?" Her voice was so petite against the darkness.

No answer.

Nothing moved her body and soul like Christine did, her desire to find her again was overwhelming. She couldn't be far, this was her room, her things, her life.

So she crawled out of the bed and tiptoed into the living room area. The double doors were ajar, the windows were filled with a midnight sky, occasionally pierced with an unending spotlight, bathing the room in a soft glow for only a moment but it was all Veronica needed to see the letter sitting atop a black dress with red accents.

She couldn't remember ever seeing something so pretty before. So feminine. So perfect for her, it made her giddy. She picked it up and held it close to her figure, watching how it fell, wondering if it would fit. Wondering if Christine would think she was pretty too, as pretty as this dress.

She turned her attention to the later, maybe it would help her find Christine in this labyrinth of a building. She unfolded the paper revealing the insignia of the Sierra Madre declared boldly at the top and beneath it was Christine's pointed handwriting: meet me in the lobby. follow the music to the elevators, ground floor. wear the dress.

---

Veronica wasn't particularly fond of elevators and this one was no exception. It felt like years passed as she waited for floors to pass her by to reach the cold, hard ground. It gave her too much time to think, to look down at herself in the extravagant black dress, to smooth it out and wonder if she looked okay, to run her hand through her hair in an attempt to keep it set in some sort of style. Her feet felt pinched in the matching black heels, different from the kitten heels from a bygone era she had tried on before. But god damn if she didn't feel like a princess.

And as she shifted her weight from foot to foot, the elevator dinged to signal her arrival. She stepped out, her attire giving her the power and confidence she needed, ready to meet Christine, ready to behold her in her vision, and be with her.

Christine was there ready and waiting at the bottom of the lobby staircase, wearing a set of crisp pants and a white buttoned shirt, a shy smile on her face. "Ronnie, you're awake."

"Am I?" She laughed, butterflies filling her stomach as she watched the other woman walk up the steps to approach her, her hand outstretched. "This is too good to be true."

"Don't we deserve a little fun?" Christine's eyes sparkled, taking Veronica's hand and gently leading her down the steps.

She was overwhelmed, constantly torn between watching her wobbly feet as she descended the stairs or watching Christine and memorizing her eyes, her mouth, her nose, her skin because it had been so long and they were both so different now, but this still felt like coming home. "Oh, we deserve it."

“You look beautiful, Ronnie.”

It had been so long since someone had said that to her. People called her pretty and cute all the time, but it was different coming from someone she had loved and maybe, probably still loved. Veronica couldn’t help but let out a giggle, a big smile still plastered to her face. “Thanks. You’re not too bad-looking yourself.” Before she knew it, they were standing close together at the bottom of the staircase, Christine still had her hand tucked neatly into hers, fitting into each other like puzzle pieces.

“You better tell your girlfriend to watch out,” Veronica continued, pulling the other woman with her toward the open floor. “Because I’ve still got eyes for you.” She turned and moved her free hand to Christine’s waist, pulling her close.

“Vera?” Christine rolled her eyes but played along anyway, a fondness to her tone. “She’s just my roommate. I’m all yours.”

She missed this. The talking, the teasing, the flirting, how easy it was to just be herself with Christine. Perhaps this wasn’t the reunion she imagined, but the real thing was better than anything she could dream up. But there was still one thing left that she wanted to do. “Can we dance now?”

“Of course.” Christine smiled, as if it was a silly question. “All of this was so we could dance.”

#falloutbang #fallout #fnv #fallout: new vegas #dead money #veronica x christine #i just want them to be happy!!

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reylobiwan · 5 years ago

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So I woke up at like 4:55 this morning in a panic to write a new version of a previous fic I’d started for god knows what reason, I’m not sure if I should continue but here’s the first chapter anyway :) sorry for mistakes it’s not beta‘d or anything

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Kylo Ren stared at the door handle of apartment 213, watching the key tremble slightly as he held it an inch from its slot. Two years, and now a lifetime without his brother. He’s really gone, he tries to tell himself, but the words don’t match the image in his mind of Ben, full of life and warmth. The letter he received one week ago is folded neatly in his pocket, detailing his final wishes and demands. He’d explained that his apartment was only to be emptied by Kylo, who of course understood why. They’d shared a womb even before they’d shared a bedroom, so kylo knew more about Ben than anyone on this planet. He’d understand what was important, what was garbage, and what was for him. Not to mention what to hide from mom and dad. The letter had also contained a surprising detail, that Ben had picked up a stray cat six months ago. He warned Kylo that she would be quite hostile at first, prone to biting and putting on a tough front, and while she was not feigning her strength, she was actually the most loving, warm hearted wild creature he’d ever met. He doubted the cat would be staying long, but maybe his mom would take her in. Kylo didn’t do pets, especially the hard to deal with kind. Don’t get him wrong, he had no problem with animals, the whole affection and caring about anyone aside from himself was where he struggled.

Finally, the key made its way into its designated home, turning at glacial speed. The door opened silently.

Cozy, that was the word that nearly assaulted Kylo’s senses upon entrance. The smell, the decor, the entire atmosphere reeked of Ben. It was at least ten degrees warmer in here than it had been in the hallway, so he stripped off his jacket and threw his helmet along with it onto the small armchair closest to him. Damn, it was like Mojave in here, who the hell keeps the heat on this high even if it is December? He took silent, gentle steps toward the kitchen, as if he may shatter the illusion that this place wasn’t deserted. His long fingers drifted over the surfaces, a hollow feeling in his chest when he spotted the mug he’d gifted Ben last year displayed proudly on the counter. It was just a souvenir gift from the train station, he’d honestly forgotten to get him something and grabbed it before arriving at their mother’s. He hadn’t even wrapped it, but Ben had still treated it like the freaking holy grail or something. He smirked sadly to himself, trying to stop reminiscing for five minutes and remember why he was here. The sooner he got this place emptied, the better.

There was a surprising lack of cat, and all feline associated items, so far. He spotted the bedroom, he assumed at least, and wondered if perhaps she was kept in there? He felt sick, hoping she hadn’t been starving for a week. Surely Ben had some temporary care in place in the event Kylo hadn’t shown. It wouldn’t have surprised anybody.

He opened the door, preparing for a slew of angry meows or even an aerial assault, but was met with only the sound of soft, even breathing. What the fuck? He dared to step closer in, and that was when he finally noticed the large lump in the middle of the bed. Was this a house pet or some kind of jungle predator?! His fingers trembled slightly as he reached forward, slowly peeling back the thin sheet. A girl, very human, not even slightly a cat, aside from the position she was in. Curled up in a ball, hair a wild tangle of brown, cheeks flush (no doubt from the stifling heat) and pink mouth open slightly in a completely unguarded state of deep sleep. Really fucking funny Ben. She reminds me of you he’d even written. “She’s pretty, is that why?” Kylo silently asked his brother. She looked young, maybe not even in her twenties. Her skin was tan and out of place in a city like Boston this time of year. Freckles danced across her cheeks, reminding him of the constellations he and Ben spent summer nights admiring through their telescope. Why had Ben lied? Probably because he knew it was the only way Kylo would come.

He dared to move slightly closer, and that had been a mistake. The floor below him groaned, and she stirred before sitting up so fast he thought she’d topple from the bed. Her eyes locked onto his, and the panic faded quickly to relief. Brown, no, hazel? “Oh, it’s just you.” She stared at him, and he stared back, unable to process what was happening. English accent, huh? He put that in the ‘not a cat’ folder in his mind before focusing his full attention back on her. Did she know he was coming? Still, it was five in the morning, and she was wearing nothing aside from an oversized Citgo t-shirt and a pair of shorts that could also be underwear and oops she noticed his gaze traveling he’s in trouble now. He opened his mouth to explain himself, but she was slowly inching closer. “What are you..” She nearly whispered, before rising to kneel before him in the bed. He drew closer, not even of his own accord but drawn by her apparent gravity. She stood now, so their faces were nearly even, her breath ghosting across his skin. “Ben?” She inquired, and his breathing stopped. This wasn’t good, not at all. Suddenly he wondered if she knew Ben was even..gone, or not. She had not seemed surprised to see him after all. He had no time to object before she reached out and placed a warm hand to his cheek, her finger tips calloused but soothing. He couldn’t even resist as he leaned into her touch. Her look of quiet contemplation quickly turned to outright panic, and she dove backwards, tumbling directly off of the other side of the bed, flailing in a mess of sheets and legs and curses, then scrambling to her feet. “What the actual fuck?!” She cried, hands in her hair. “That’s it, Ive finally cracked. One week was all it took Rey, and you’ve gone completely off you rocker.” She was spiraling, and all Kylo could do was watch, adding notes to his folder now labeled ‘Rey’.

“Hey kid, can you calm down for a fucking second?” She stopped rambling long enough to give Kylo a heated glare. “I will expl- “you’re not him.” She interjected, and Kylo sighed in relief. “But how did you..?” Her eyes roamed to the picture beside her bed of two boys, arms around each other’s shoulders, one with a mess of long dark curls and one with a baseball cap, toothy grins on their almost identical faces. “Kylo?” She supplied, and he nodded. Her defenses were up, the walls slamming into place so quickly he felt it physically even from across the room. Spite replaced confusion, and now he saw fully why Ben had called her wild. Feral, that was a better word. “Get out.” She snarled, pointing to the door. He knew by her face that she was far from joking, her eyes were practically ablaze and the room seemed to rise in temperature even further. Oh, this was going to be fun.

#reylo #ben solo #kylo ren #reylo fanfiction #idk what this is yet #maybe its a oneshot #rey of jakku #boston AU #cause thats where im from so i dont need to google stuff for once

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blusollyjd · 6 years ago

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Somewhere in the Mojave...

(The following is a collabo between me and CuddlyMedics! Enjoy Jane being the world’s best, stupidest husband. And getting some unexpected help. :D) ----------

Something that Jane Doe had forgotten about his beloved America was how big its western desert was. It certainly hadn’t looked this big on his map (the one that’d conveniently enough been sitting right on his tray at the Speedee Burger). Not that he was complaining- he knew it would be a long trek to Coldfront. He just hadn’t considered it would be this long. He was certain that he should’ve been halfway there by now, and that he’d have Abel in his arms in no time. But the Mojave was wide, barren and hot. His canteens had run dry long ago, his only respite from his thirst the occasional dust-ridden little town he’d come across that had a little water to spare. He’d remembered some trick about cactuses, but the spines stuck his fingers something awful before he managed to hack deep enough into one to get any decent amount of bitter juice. What the desert lacked in moisture it made up for in snakes, scorpions, red ants and the occasional coyote- all of which seemed to be doing their best to make sure that the Soldier didn’t get that great of a night’s sleep. The night was cool at least, but so many bugs seemed to be interested in his sleeping bag at night that Jane was starting to forgo it. Unless he could find a fairly flat elevated rock to keep him off the ground.

It was hard going. Something in him was wondering if this was a stupid, suicidal course of action. But then he thought of Abel. Abel, who may be dead or sick or hurt, whose letters never reached him, if they were sent at all. Jane had to get to him, and the thought of the Medic filled the Midwesterner with renewed resolve to go another day. But alas, even the most resolute, loyal and stupidly brave Soldiers are bound by the limits of human physiology. And so, it was around the peak of the midday heat that Jane finally collapsed to the dry, cracked ground, mouth parched, vision blurry, and brain baking in the metal confines of his helmet. His fingers dug into the dirt, pulling himself along a few more feet. He thought he saw something in the wavery distance. He was even less sure, but he thought he saw something moving toward him. All he was really sure of was that he was likely never going to reach Abel now. Stupid, he thought as the hot, bright world went dark on him. You’re so goddamn stupid.

But even as the bright world went dark on the Soldier, and all consciousness slipped away from him in a shimmery, hazy cloud of heat, indeed, something was making his way towards him. He wasn’t imagining things. It hadn’t been one of those ‘oasis hallucinations’ he had heard spoken about in the past. After all, the last thing he viewed before the darkness took over wasn’t of a cool, shimmering pond, where the inviting fronds of a palm tree swayed high above the giggling heads of half-naked desert maidens. Wasn’t that what hallucinations were? Cool ponds surrounded by sensual and sexy half-naked women? No. Well, yes, but no. This wasn’t that. This wasn’t anything of the sort.

“Now… what do we have here?”

It was silly to have ever considered such a thing. After all, cool, shimmering ponds and inviting palm trees didn’t talk.

“Is that--”

And, boy, it was a fact that hallucinated giggling, half-naked maidens typically didn’t have that kind of masculine voice.

“Naw. That couldn’t be. ...Could it?”

That was such a nice voice, though.

“It… it is! By the stars n’ stripes! Mr. Doe?”

That kind of masculine voice that rung out with a clear, crisp, southern lilt to it. No, no. That couldn’t be right.

But before the Soldier with heat stroke could even begin to recognize the voice, let alone the world around him, his body gave out on him. With his brain fried from the heat and his thoughts riddled with what remained of his cooked mind, he never truly understood the concept of being picked up and slung over someone’s shoulder, carried a-la-fireman-style, over to a place that had shelter, shade, food, water… and supplies. A place that, in all honesty, had he been aware of his surroundings… Jane Doe would have recognized in a heartbeat. “Hey! Woody!”, the masculine voice with a clear, crisp, southern lilt to it broke the darkness, piercing the quiet of that nothingness. “Woody! We got a live one from the desert!”

The sound of gravel and pebbles crunching underfoot. The smell of old, rotting wood in the air. Of dust and heat, and that particular scent. Like hay and sunbaked peaches. Like sunlight and arid soil. And of course… beer. There was spilled beer nearby, soaking into the clay-baked earth.

The barely audible whisper of the wind through creaking, groaning structures. The lazy humdrum steady thrum of heat exposed bees, whirling and spiraling away from a shriveled up flower, following its own crooked path back to the hive. The smell of home. The sounds of home. The feeling… of a lot of mercenaries calling this base their first ‘home’.

Of Teufort.

Jane was in and out of consciousness for a few days. He’d mutter something unintelligible in his sleep, wake up screaming only to fall asleep again. He’d ask where he was, drink water like some wild man dying of thirst, succumb to exhaustion, only to wake up disoriented again. It was only on the fourth day that he seemed to rest and hydrate enough to finally get his bearings. “...Will…?” He hadn’t seen the younger Soldier in a dog’s age, and in spite of himself, Jane cracked a wide smile. “Will, that’s you…? Jesus, I made it all the way to Teufort….”

“Aww, good. Yer awake.”

The bright eyed and bushy tailed man, by the name of ‘Will’, let out a huge sigh of relief. He had a friendly face and a truly affable smile. He oozed a sort of a saccharine honesty that one simply couldn’t help but warm up to him.

He hadn’t changed at all from the time Jane last saw him. He still had those baby blue eyes. He still had that dirty blond hair, a bit more carefree and loose in style compared to his old military-issued haircut. He still had his trademark helmet-- hung on the wall, at that very moment-- with the painted on peace symbol. And, of course, he still had those adorable dimples whenever he smiled that carefree, almost childlike smile of his. So full of innocence, so jolly and jovial in tone.

William Reed was a rather young soldier. At least, he was younger than Jane. He was also a bit taller than Jane, but not as built. Jane had known him for quite a long time, and though there were obvious similarities between the two, the biggest difference between them was the fact William had officially, and legally, been in the army.

William had served a few years in the wet, steamy jungles of Vietnam, the military issued victim of the dreaded draft. He had endured a good portion of it with nary a cut or bruise until one day his luck ran out. He lost control of his life during a particularly chaotic ambush where a mine exploded, and scalding, twisted shrapnel shredded his leg. He had lost a lot of blood before his allies and fellow soldiers could drag him off to safety.

His term spent over in ‘nam was done for, and the young, now disabled man had returned home.

Still desperate to make money for his family, he allowed himself to fall under the guile of MannCo’s job offering. Even with a damaged leg, they told him he could make himself... useful.

And so he had. The rest… was history. A history, thankfully, that Jane was privy enough to know of.

“Was jus’ beginning to worry, sir,” William honestly admitted to him. His voice rang soft and true, the thick Southern lilt of his accent almost comforting in its vernacular. It was like sweet southern honey, drizzled over everything he said. “You had us both worried. Up and began thinkin’ the desert heat done cooked yer brains half to mush. Like grits too long on the stovetop.”

The soldier pulled up a chair beside Jane and settled down into it. There it was: that same limp of his. His leg hadn’t gotten any better. If Jane had known any better, the limb might have seemed a bit stiffer, the leg a bit more favored.

“Now, now. Jus’ you relax. Don’t need you actually keelin’ over the moment you come ‘round.” Taking a bowl of room temperature water and a rag off of the bedside table, he dampened the cloth before he reached over and, with the gentlest of motions, wiped away any sweat from Jane’s forehead. “Got so many questions for ya, sir. So many. But I’m not sure where to even begin, if I may say so myself.”

Jane couldn’t help but smile, his own blue eyes crinkling at the corners. One hand reached to his side, looking for his helmet out of habit. “Mmm, go ahead and ask away, son. But don’t worry, I won’t be in your hair very long. I need to get moving soon as I can. Got a long way to go yet.” Wherever he’d been going, wherever he’d come from in such terrible condition, it seems that he was planning on pressing onward.

“Need to get movin’ again?” William murmured that under his breath to himself, his brow furrowed in concern. “Jesus, though,” Jane continued, not hearing William mumble. “It’s so good to see you. You’re a sight for sore eyes, Will. How have you been? The leg looks a little stiff, there. Been bothering you much?”

There was no denying it. He was absolutely confused as to what was going on. “Er-- ah, well.” Rubbing the back of his neck, he glanced down at his leg. He looked as if he were pondering its existence, or perhaps the limb’s use. Or maybe he was considering the fact that he did, in fact, have a leg. At least, that’s what his expression looked to portray. It was a bit vague for Jane. “My leg’s been iffy. Been doin’ a lot of jumpin’, sir. Lots of jumpin’. And it’s just been botherin’ me a bit. Especially with that surprise rainstorm we got a few nights back. Desert rain always lingers in my bones.”

William got up, and Jane could see the man move across the room to a chest of drawers. The piece of furniture looked beat up and worn. Maybe even nibbled on by mice. Yup. Those were teeth marks down at the very corner of the left leg.

Was this the soldier’s room? Sure seemed that way. It had a table and chair, and a dresser for clothes. It had a few hooks on the wall where a spare uniform jacket and a helmet hung, along with other such personal items. And there was a shelf there with a few books ranging from military tactics, to accounts of the war in vietnam to one that was, curiously enough, an intro into technology.

“Yeah, sir,” William continued. “I mean... if’fin ya don’t mind, sir, got a whole lotta questions to ask.” He slid a drawer open and rifled through it. He pulled out a shirt and examined it but, based upon his expression alone, after a thorough scrutinizing it must have been unfit for what he had in mind. He simply folded it back up and put it back where it came from. “I mean, like, what in the blue blazes were you doin’ out there all by yer lonesome? I mean, it’s not every day I get to talk again with my idol. Uh-- wait, I-- ”

William stuttered for a moment, clutching another shirt he had just pulled out so tightly he ended up wadding it in his grasp. He turned towards Jane, his cheeks obviously a bit tinted with the signs of a reddening blush.

“I--- I mean,” William began, tone a bit more rushed in his embarrassment, “here I thought ya went to another base, and you, uh… uh…” Unceremoniously stuffing the shirt back into the drawer, the soldier limped over to the open door and called out, “‘Ey! ‘Ey, Woody! Woody! He’s up! Up an’ awake! You wanna meet him?” “Will. At ease. You’re wound up tighter than a goddamn Medic. Just… take a few breaths son. Now. You’re right. I was somewhere else. I’m at Coldfront, usually, but they put me up to fill in at Ravine. But the stint kept dragging on, and I didn’t get no letters back from Abel no matter how many I wrote. Something’s wrong, Will. I know something’s wrong. So I’m going back.” One could only draw one conclusion. Jane Doe seemed hell bent on getting back to Coldfront. And if he’d walked all the way here from Ravine on foot… it seemed to be how he’d planned on making the entire journey. “I didn’t mean to commandeer your quarters this long, son,” Jane added. “Just another night’s rest and I need to keep going.” He didn’t comment on the ‘idol’ remark. It seemed to embarrass the younger Soldier that he’d let it slip out, and besides… at the end of the day, Jane knew he probably wasn’t the best role model.

Jane’s logic was never a sound, sane sort of thing. Everyone knew it. This particular soldier was loonier than a crate full of wildly excitable squirrels. It was a well known fact that his personal dossier (nestled within the confines of MannCo’s records) had each and every strange event, scenario, and situation that the man had ever been involved with painstakingly accounted for. And each account only got weirder and weirder with passing time. Weirder… and, of course, more and more unbelievable.

The bedridden soldier could see William pace back and forth a few steps. Four one way, turn. Four another way, turn. Repeat. A small pacing routine that involved slow, careful steps and an intense session of processing the information he was just given.

“Coldfront. Right. I know that base. Not the best thin’. Been there only once ‘fore. For a short, short stint. Like… a few weeks. Couldn’t handle it. The cold and, er…” Trailing off, he patted his bad leg, once. “Cold made my bones hurt too much. So they sent me back. Ended up here. Went from Sawmill, to Coldfront, to Teufort. Came here right when you were goin’ there, sir. Had to have.”

Footfalls creaked along the wooden floor as William made his way across the room to his table. Equally worn as the dresser, he leaned against it for support. Crossing his arms over his chest, Jane could see a frown beginning to etch on his face.

“And it’s no problem, sir. Really isn’t. Not usin’ my room much these days.” A smile formed at that, but, quickly, he mentally shook himself and got back on topic. “Brought you here. I was jus’ lucky I found ya. Was out doin’ practice jumps when I saw ya collapse. Would’a brought ya to the medbay, but I’m pret’y sure our docs wouldn’t want to treat a non-base worker. If ya know what I mean.” Shrugging, William looked over at his superior, confusion etched on his face. “But, uh… sir. Coldfront? That’s… hundreds a’ thousands a’... well, a lotta miles away. So far away that I’m fairly certain you would’a--”

“Yea, sugarloaf? He’s awake?”

Jane could see William’s eyes brighten as the younger soldier looked towards the door. There, standing in the welcoming entrance, was a rather plump looking man of short stature. Garbed in the uniform of an Engineer, he had the familiar, thick electrical gloves on his hands and the old fashioned coveralls associated with most of his kind. His goggles were pushed all the way up to his forehead, partially covering the bandana wrapped around his forehead in an attempt to keep the sweat out of his eyes. And his eyes? They were a soft brown. The color of milk chocolate. His black hair was short and styled, but just a little bit messy. ‘Hard hat’ messy.

“Oh, Woody!” Excitement coursing through him, William all but forgot, at least for the moment, the sheer absurdity of Mr. Doe’s hellbent, but incredibly foolish, escapade. “Honeybee, this is the soldier I was talkin’ about.” Gesturing towards the bedridden man, he added, “Jane, this is Elwood. Elwood, Jane.” Jane sat up, making himself as presentable as possible. A proper Soldier must have some sense of decorum, after all. “Nice to meet you. Wish the circumstances were better.”

“Likewise, pardner,” the engineer replied. Quite the suave charmer, he hooked his thumbs in his belt and flashed Jane an unforgettable smile. Jane grinned in spite of himself, sky-blue eyes glancing between the two of them. So, this must be love. They made a very handsome couple. If Jane had to say so objectively, the Engineer was a good looking man, in a different but very complimentary way to Will’s boyish good looks. “I was just telling Will that I won’t be a bother much longer. Gotta make my way back to Coldfront soon as possible.”

The engineer had just run a hand through his hair to fix it, to appear more presentable himself, when Jane uttered that little statement of his. The engineer, Elwood, slowly looked towards William who, upon catching sight of the techie’s stare, sheepishly gave that nervous, boyish grin of his, all the while holding his hands up in the visual defense of not knowing anything.

“...Coldfront.” Elwood blinked a few times in bemusement as he tried to get his brain to process what the man had just told him. “But we found ya here, sonny.”

“Technically, I did.”

“Yea, that’s true, sugarloaf. You found ‘em.” Elwood nodded at William, giving a warm chuckle at how the man simply beamed at doing a job well done. “But... you found him out there in the desert. All walkin’ about all stumblin’ and bumblin’ from the heat, half outta his mind. Looney off his rocker, remember? Ya carried him all the way over to me and you were sayin’ how he was sayin’ the strangest stuff. Stuff that didn’t make a darn lick’a sense.”

William opened his mouth as if to say something, but he caught that familiar look in Elwood’s eyes. He knew that the man had already figured it out.

“You were walkin’,” Elwood continued, turning his attention back to Jane. “You were… so, wait, let me get this straight.” Pushing the bandana up a little bit, he scratched his forehead. “Uh, Jane, was it? Jane, pardner, tell me somethin’. And tell me the honest to God truth. Don’t you go lyin’ on me.” He quizzically quirked an eyebrow, his face clouded by befuddlement. “Were you… don’t tell me you were walkin’ to Coldfront? All the way? Walkin’, on foot?”

“...yes?” Jane shifted a bit, brows knit. He wasn’t sure how old Elwood was, but that no-nonsense look made him feel like a kid who’d come to class without his homework. “It’s all I can do. My Medic needs me, I can feel it in my bones. I can’t take the train and I can’t teleport. But I can’t let that stop me. Abel’s in trouble, I know he is, and I have to get back to him. I’ve waited too long already, and I don’t know if I am even too late. I just know I have not heard from him in weeks and weeks and that is not like him.” Jane squared his shoulders stubbornly. Nothing was going to budge him. One way or another, if he had to hike an impossible path, Jane Doe was making it back to Coldfront, no ifs ands or buts.

Again, Elwood rapidly blinked, but this time the visual display of his facial cues were not out of bemusement but we're, instead, out of the inability to process that bit of information. He was absolutely flabbergasted over what he had just heard, and he was reeling from it all.

“You…”

“I know that Medic,” William quickly interjected, as if hoping his currently malfunctioning beau would up and decide not to speak what was on his mind. “I remember Abel. Swell guy. Real nice. He was always nice to me, I mean. Made me tea a few times. Baked me cookies. Made sure I was bandaged up after a training session. I knew you two were a thing, but, you haven’t been able to reach out to him? And he hasn’t replied to you? At all?”

“...You…”

“I’m sure he’s alright, sir,” William said, in a slightly more rushed tone of voice. “Ain’t that righ’, Woody? Yeah. I’m sure it’s not too late for him or anythin’. He’s prob’ly just busy or, uh, well...” William left the support of the table behind him as he inched closer to Jane. “Have ya tried callin’ him? No. No, wait. Coldfront. Hard to get any phone to connect with that base. Uh, let’s see…”

Elwood had stopped blinking and mentally malfunctioning and, by now, had his face screwed up into an unreadable mask that could only be vaguely described as ‘something far past the human limitation for astonishment’ and ‘beyond an appalling sense of loss for the general faith one had in humanity’.

“Oh! Oh, wait! Have you--”

From where Jane sat in the bed, he could see Elwood walk up behind William and, with a heavy sense of, perhaps, mourning, he placed his hand upon the younger man’s shoulder. Something was whispered into William’s ear, and the sweet soldier gave the engineer a rather puzzled look.

“Oh? ...Oh, uh, Mr. Doe, sir? Woody here wants to talk to me about somethin’ real fast-like. Just be a moment, sir. Just a moment. Promise.”

Elwood quickly (and with a sense of urgency) ushered the younger soldier out of the door. But Jane, from where he sat, could see just a bit of each person. An arm here, or a leg there. Someone moving about from just around the corner of the entranceway. And then the hushed whispering began. Hard to make out, hard to understand. It was a lowered decibel that made deciphering what was being said hard. Jane, in the meantime, glanced out the window. Down at his hands, which were fidgeting with themselves. Abel. He had to get better so he could get home to him.

“Yer prankin’ me, sugarloaf.”

“I’m not, Woody.”

“You promise me?”

“I promise, I do.”

“Willy--”

“This is just Jane,” William confessed, lowering his voice even further in hopes Jane wouldn’t hear this. “I’ve known him for years. He’s always been a bit… well, a bit…”

“A few shy of a box of screws?”

“I mean--”

“A few colors short of a crayon box?”

“I jus’--”

“Denser than a sack of wet rocks? Thicker than batter--”

“It's just Jane,” William replied with a sigh. He held up his hands, once more, in the defense of not knowing. And it was true. He didn’t know what to say or do. It was not a typical sort of situation.

Elwood jabbed his thumb in the direction of the doorway and hissed, under his breath, “this poor sonuva thinks he can walk all the way to that alpine mountain range by walkin’ through the Mojave desert.”

“Well--”

“Does he realize those mountains are on a separate continent? That base is halfway across the world! It’s on a continent that is separated by a body of water, and that particular body of water jus’ happens to be an ocean! What’s he gonna do? Swim that, too?”

“I know, I know. I think he jus’ thinks he can get to Coldfront if he keeps walkin’ while findin’ alternate methods of travel along the way.”

“Didn’t sound like it. He’s fully intendin’ on walking there.” Pinching the bridge of his nose, Elwood breathed deep, calming himself. “Listen, darl, I get it. You look up to this guy an’ all. But he’s as oblivious as a herd of cows on steak day. He’s gonna get himself killed by pullin’ off this stunt. I’m awf’ly sorry to tell ya this, but either the sun done baked his brains for good, or he’s an absolute buffoon.”

“...He’s loyal.” William let out his breath. He hadn’t realized that he was holding it in. “That’s... what he is. Loyal.” He wrung his hands together, finding himself fidgeting just a bit by shifting weight from one foot to the other. “An’, I mean… he’s one of the most loyal soldiers I ever met. It’s why I look up to him, Woody. He’s everythin’ a soldier should be. Honest, loyal an’ true. He believes in himself an’ doesn’t believe in failure. He’s ready for the cause, ready to do the impossible, even if it’s to trek halfway across the world jus’ to be with someone again. Even with my bad leg,” he flashed the engineer a boyishly sweet smile, “I’d do the same for you.”

Elwood’s features softened, creases forming at the corner of his eyes as he smiled. Reaching up, he lightly gripped his soldier’s coat collar before tugging him down, just enough, to plant a kiss on his cheek. “I know ya would,” he replied, patting his beloved’s cheek. “An’ I love that about’cha. Real loyal. Real protective. And a damn fine looker.”

“Woody…”

“Righ’. Time for flirtin’ later. Got it, stud.” Grinning at the blush that was coloring the soldier’s cheeks, he gestured towards the door. “We let yer friend wait long ‘nough. Pret’y sure he’s one of them soldier types that gets real antsy when ya leave them alone for too long. Like an overgrown puppy, all antsy and nervous an’ ready to piss on the carpet.”

“That’s… actually accurate, Woody. Save for the peein’ part.”

“Come, now. Let’s see if we can get him to Coldfront without lettin’ him go out there and take the distance on foot.”

Elwood gently coaxed William forward, letting him back into the room first. However, he had the last say in everything. He had his last say without words, but with his actions instead.

With a quick, sly slap to his soldier’s rear.

“Uh-- Jane? Sir?”

William slid back into the room first, his cheeks a little red from what must have been blushing. He cleared his throat, moving aside so Elwood could enter next. The engineer had a wily smile on his face; the look of a pleased and sated cheshire cat, happy with whatever spoils it had accrued.

Jane, for his part, didn't seem to notice them at first. He was looking at something he’d apparently plucked out of his helmet: a photograph of someone Will might know, but Elwood probably wouldn’t. It was of a man in a Medic’s uniform. He had gentle grey-blue eyes, salt and pepper hair, and a warm, kind smile. The Soldier’s thumb slid tenderly over the image of the Medic’s cheek as he mumbled to himself. “I’m coming, Abel,” Jane was heard muttering under his breath. “I’ll be there soon as I can…”

William tentatively took a step towards him. “Sir?” Realizing he wasn’t alone anymore, Jane quickly cleared his throat, stuffed the picture back into his helmet, and tugged it over his eyes, blushing a bit. “Y-yes?”

William and Elwood shared a quick glance, each one silently asking who would go first. With a small hand gesture, and nod of his head, it was the younger soldier who took the reigns.

“You’re awfully worried, aren’tcha, sir?” Giving a small smile to the helmet (where Jane’s eyes would be) and to the photo tucked within it, he added in a kind and gentle tone, “I would be, too. I’d do anythin’ for Woody, like you would for Abel. You’re rather sweet on him, and so is he. He loves ya, sir. So much.” Moving over to the edge of the bed, he sat down, politely folding his hands in his lap. He sat straight and true-- an attentive little soldier in the presence of superiors. “Woody and I… we got to talkin’, and we wanted to help you.”

“Y’see,” Elwood began pointedly, as he began pulling up a chair to sit in it, backwards, so his arms were folded atop the chair’s short back, “Coldfront’s a bit of a loner base, way out there halfway ‘cross the world. And where you are now… well, y’see, you’re too far away to walk to it. It’s imposs--”

William cleared his throat and gave the engineer a tentative, but worried, look.

“--I, I mean… it’d be hard. Sure. Way harder than it should be. So we were thinkin’ about it… and we want to help.” “You can help me?” Jane’s mouth cracked into the big, craggy smile he was known for, the one he wore best when flying through the sky or in Abel’s presence. “I would appreciate that, I would. Anything that can get me home faster than walking. Which I would absolutely do if I had to. But...heh. I may be in a little trouble when I get back. I went AWOL from Ravine because they would not let me leave.” Jane fidgeted a little. He hadn’t thought that through when he left- he had the singular goal of getting back to Abel.

Elwood couldn’t help but give a small smile himself. For being denser than a sack of wet rocks, the soldier… had a pretty nice smile. No wonder some bloke fell in love with this guy. Maybe he wasn’t the smartest person alive but, confound it, when he smiled, he was absolutely charming.

But the engineer’s smile quickly went away once it sunk into his brain what he had just said.

“--wait, you what?”

William, too, looked to be surprised. A soldier going AWOL was a terrible thing. Especially so since many did just that during his own personal stint in jungles of ‘nam, and he remembered what happened to them, what punishment befell them. A soldier going AWOL was one of the worst things a soldier could commit. Or... at least that’s what the army’s superiors drilled into their brains.

“S--Sir, they-- they don’t know where you are? What if they’re lookin’ for ya? What if--”

“Lad’s got some balls on him!” Elwood laughed heartily, a good sounding laugh that was true and honest and came from the depths of one’s belly. “Look at him! Snuck under the gaze of those stiff suits and members a’ management over there at Ravine, and they’re none the wiser! Bunch of dogs runnin’ around in circles, sniffin’ their asses instead of sniffin’ for clues. I gotta admit, Jane, I had my doubts. But I’m damn impressed.”

Jane scratched the back of his head sheepishly. “I was not trying to be. I just need to get home. I couldn’t go by teleporter or train because they kept catching me and telling me I could not leave. So I left on foot. They couldn’t stop me that way.” He frowned. “I probably still can’t teleport. And if they catch me on one of the trains I will be court-martialed for sure. How are you going to get me home? I mean, you are an Engineer, if anyone can figure something out you can. I have never met an Engie who wasn’t smart as a whip.”

“Well, would’ya look at that. Ol’ boy’s butterin’ me up.”

“Don’t let it get to yer head, Woody.”

Beaming, the engineer turned his attention back to the soldier in bed. “But, ya know, as crackpot as this all seems, you’ve got a point there. If ya up and went AWOL at Ravine, they’ll have put a notice out to any other bases. You won’t be able to use a lotta MannCo’s devices. Like a teleporter, and stuff like that. So I can’t possibly calibrate somethin’ for ya an’ get a ‘porter up and runnin’. ‘Sides, your records aside, your chip might’ave been temporarily turned off, so you prob’ly wouldn’t be able to use the teleporter anyway, even if you wanted to. And as far as train, that’s most definitely a no-go.”

With a fair bit of musing and thinking, the engineer lapsed into a steadfast silence. Once or twice William looked towards his way, but Elwood didn’t seem to notice. The gears in his head were turning, and he was formulating any sort of escape plan that could eventually be possible.

“...wait.” An imaginary lightbulb dinged over the engineer’s head, and he jovially rubbed his gloved hands together. “Jane, I think ya might be wrong ‘bout one thing. I think you could use one particular route. Might be the best way goin’ about things, too. It’ll take a long time, but not as long as if you were doin’ it on foot.” Leaning forward, the engineer gave a mock stage whisper, going, “so, how do ya feel ‘bout trains?” Jane shrugged. “They’re alright. I never thought about them a lot. Alright for getting one place to another. Kind of shaky after a while. But I can’t use the train, you already said so.”

“He’s got a point, Woody.” William looked towards the engineer, a frown forming. “You did say trains were outta the question…”

“Now, now, hear me out.”

Getting up from the chair, Elwood began to pace the room. Like a passionate professor conducting a lecture before his befuddled students, he took the stage and began to explain aloud the finer machinations of his grand plan.

A train, he admitted, had not been his first thought. In fact, he thought it had been one of the major options that had to be avoided. Security was tight, and surely, by now, MannCo would have passed on Jane’s picture through the cybernetic grapevine. No doubt each base had received the information and the notice of the man’s absence. Mercenaries who went missing could very well lead to legal troubles later on. With the leaking of information, of blueprints…

But maybe that was the most logical option to take. After all, sometimes there was safety in heightened security. Even if that bit of security was being primed against you.

“...but what I’m thinkin’,” Wood continued on, feeling in his element explaining his ideas, devising a course of action, “is that we wait and get’cha on one of our supply trains. MannCo likes to run trains from base to base, shipping supplies from place to place, keepin’ the wheels on the tracks. As long as a box is properly addressed, they’re a bit lax on checkin’ the contents. They just chuck the box onto the train, and they move it ‘long its merry way.” “Whoa, whoa-- wait a minute there, Woody.” William bounced his attention back and forth between Jane and the engineer. “Are you suggestin’ what I think you’re suggestin’?”

With a rather wide, jolly smile, the engineer turned towards Jane. With his hands on his hips, he winked. “Well? You followin’ me so far, Jane?” “YES. Ahem. Yes. I think I follow you clearly.” Jane was grinning. “You want to mail Abel a box that lets him know that I am on my way!” William and Elwood could be greatly forgiven for their responses in marveling at Jane’s boneheaded answer. He certainly wasn’t known for his intelligence, as Woody had astutely remarked.

The Engineer gave a patient sort of sigh, raising his hands to his face so he could cover it. His shoulders rose and fell with each exhalation of breath, of the passing of time in the most exhausting sort of way.

“I think,” William interjected, hoping to diffuse the situation and get Elwood back on his feet (metaphorically, of course), “what Woody’s tryin’ to say here is that if we find a box big enough, and label it all correctly an’ do a mock up job of having a supply crate addressed to Coldfront, yer’ll eventually get sent there, sir.”

“That,” Elwood said, almost wearily, as his hands fell away from his face. “That’s exactly what I meant.” He inhaled once more, exhaled once more, and regained the strength to continue, once more. “So... all we gotta do is make sure we find you a crate big ‘nough for you to fit in. Fill it with some stuff so it’s not too inconspicuous. Pack plenty of blankets--”

“--rations, too. Food, water, supplies--”

“--and address it all proper to the mandatory protocols, and MannCo’ll think none the wiser.” Jabbing his thumb towards the open door, Elwood indicated the whole of the base, the company, as he added, “I may work for these folks, and they’re the ones signin’ my paychecks at the end of the day, but I can tell ya straight up: bein’ in the business this long, most of ‘em don’t know a real gun from a squirt gun. A lot’a the higher ups in management only care about the money and the statistics, and the gainin’ of territory. Profits. The business of profiting. But,” he tapped the side of his engineering goggles, “they don’t pay attention to the important stuff. And I bet’cha anythin’ we can get you on your way back to yer base, and back to yer pret’y lil’ Medic.”

“You are going to mail ME to Abel?” Jane’s eyes widened under his helmet. Then he threw back his head and laughed- not in a mocking way, but in absolute elation. It was such a simple, yet brilliant idea! He couldn’t believe he didn’t think of it himself. “THAT IS ABSOLUTE GENIUS. YOU DESERVE A MEDAL.” He could just imagine it: it would be like a present. Abel would open up the box unaware, and out he’d pop like a big American jack-in-the-box. If he was able to. The delight on the Soldier’s face fell a bit, shoulders drooping. “I just hope I am not too late. If he isn’t answering my letters something must be very, very wrong. He would never ignore me.”

Elwood and William exchanged silent, worried looks. It was common knowledge that Coldfront was a base of bad luck. From its terrible blizzards to delayed supply trains, to respawn glitches and the like, a lot of bad luck could befall the ill-fated mercenaries there. Sometimes mercenaries didn’t survive. Sometimes mercenaries took a walk outside, and an unpredicted spot of bad weather would crop up, obscuring their path. They could get lost. They could lose their way. They could freeze to death, just outside the respawn boundary lines.

A lot could have happened to the Medic. But there was no use working the soldier up, upsetting him with more potential bad news.

“I’m sure it’s fine,” came the younger soldier’s chipper tone. Always the bright optimistic, he looked towards the sunrises, not the sunsets, in life. “Ya gotta remember, sir, at Coldfront postal service gets slowed down and phone lines don’t always work. I remember Abel. He was a real tough Medic. Strong, steadfast. Loyal, too. Loyal and protective of you.” Giving Jane that boyish grin, he reached over and, with a truly wholesome sense of support, laid his hand upon his shoulder. “He wouldn’t give up on you. He’s there. I’m sure everything is fine. I’m sure nothin’ bad has happened.”

Elwood couldn’t help but smile to himself and softly shake his head. “Listen, Jane. Jus’ met’cha today. And it hasn’t even been that long. But if yer doc is anythin’ like ya… he’s probably worried sick about you, and is doin’ anythin’ he can to reach out to you. So I wouldn’t worry ‘bout it. I would focus on gettin’ there and gettin’ to him. And after that, pieces will jus’ fall back into place.”

“That’s right.” Giving Jane’s shoulder a reaffirming squeeze, William nodded. “Focus on the goal, sir. Focus on that. Keep your head on your task, and complete the mission. Don’t worry ‘bout what may or may not happen.”

“You both are right.” Squaring his shoulders once more, Jane felt a renewed sense of resolve overcome him. There was hope after all. He'd get there in time. Nothing bad has happened. He'd jump out of that box and he'd see Abel’s warm smile. “Nothing bad has happened. Soon I'll be there and everything will be fine.”

It would take a day or two, Elwood informed him. They would have to locate a crate big enough and prepare it for the trip. Then he'd have to look up the exact coordinates and shipping label codes for Coldfront in order to create a mockup of a supply label. It could be done, he assured him. There was no doubt in his mind they'd get Jane on his way.

Jane tried arguing the fact, seeing as two days time was just too long to wait, but the two mercenaries from Teufort knew it was just his anxious nerves getting the best of him. With some time and luck, they managed to convince him to stay where he was and rest up.

To all of this, Jane agreed. He did so on account that he knew they wouldn't lie to him. He'd rest up and stay put... as long as he could stretch his legs and get some fresh air.

“No training in the desert,” Elwood warned him. “We don't need to go back to square one with you half-baked to death.”

“AFFIRMATIVE. I would not want that either. I couldn't return to Abel if I were dead.”

A plan was set in motion. William went about gathering up the supplies while Elwood did his magic, finding a suitable crate, looking up the proper coordinates and making shipping label templates. Jane did his part and rested in bed, occasionally taking small trips in order to stretch his legs and get his muscles moving again.

Jane wanted to get back to Abel as soon as possible, but he had to be patient. Like the Medic sometimes said, ‘patience is a virtuoso’. Or something like that. He couldn't quite remember. Remembering was hard sometimes.

He began to count the minutes until all was ready. Hold on, Abel. Just hold on.

--------

Finally, everything was ready. The crate was as big as Elwood could make without arousing too much suspicion- big enough to fit one Soldier inside with a certain amount of comfort, as well as enough rations and water to see him through the journey. Holes were subtly drilled in the crate where it would allow for the best airflow possible while not looking like airholes- after all, the manifest said the crate was full of medical equipment, and x-rays and defibrillators and other such things did not need to breathe. Clambering into the crate, Jane hunkered down, arranging his travel rations and his few possessions as comfortably as he could. It was not going to be the cushiest way to travel, but that didn’t matter. If he got back to Abel, any amount of discomfort and rationing and peeing in an empty Mann-Cola bottle would be absolutely worth it, just as much as walking halfway around the world would have been. Looking up, he tipped his helmet back, regarding the two men who had helped him. “You boys are a credit to this man’s Team, and a credit to America. If you ever need my help for anything at all, let me know and I will do my best. I give my word as a Soldier I will.”

“Aw, shucks, sir.” William couldn’t help but beam at this. He was rather proud of himself that he had made his idol proud. He knew Jane wasn’t all that smart, and he was incredibly bullheaded, but he was brave. And he was the epitome of a soldier; someone he aspired to be. “You’ll be there in no time. Don’t you worry none.”

“And… there.” Elwood stood back from the crate, admiring all the hard work that had gone into it. He had placed the final parcel of rations in there with Jane, making sure the man had quite a few flasks of water and, of course, a bucket. For what came after the eating and the drinking. “That should do it, boy. Now, Jane,” the suave, charming engineer leaned against the crate, “don’t you be a stranger. Sugarloaf here is enamored by you.”

“Woody!”

“Aw, look at him. He’s adorable when he blushes.”

William grumbled to himself, his face aflame with his shy embarrassment. He tugged his helmet down a little, covering his eyes, unknowingly mimicking his idol in many ways, from many distant situations. But a little kiss to his cheek from the engineer caused him to lighten up.

“He’s right, though, sir. Don’t be a stranger.” He took the helmet away from his face. With hopeful eyes, the younger soldier smiled at him. “Please, come back n’ visit, alright?”

“And next time, bring your darlin’ little turtledove with you.” “Jesus. You two are so goddamn cute.” Jane laughed roughly, his eyes twinkling a bit, before clearing his throat. “Yes. I will tell Abel everything that happened here. If all is well he will probably want to come and thank you himself.” Sitting up straight, Jane snapped the two a sharp, proper salute, and then slouched back down to allow his friends to put the lid on the crate.

“Good luck, sir.”

“Pleasure meetin’ ya, Jane.”

The two hefted the lid and, both smiling ear to ear, the placed it on the crate. A moment later, the whirring sound of a drill pierced the sturdy wood of the structure. Everything was being nailed into place, and the crate, with the man inside, was all ready for its voyage.

A soft thudding sound heralded William’s little good luck gesture. He was giving the lid a gentle, reassuring pat.

Soon the box was hefted (surely by the two), and Jane was jostled inside.

He wanted to play his harmonica but he had been warned that, no matter what happened, he couldn’t make a sound. Silence was anathema to any Soldier, but deep down, Jane knew Woody was right- a single out of place noise could get him caught. So he stayed quiet, even as the hours passed, a train whistle finally blew, and the engine- and its cargo- set out on its long journey to Coldfront.

#jane doe #william walker #elwood hansford #writing collab #zecuddlyblumedic

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batsysims · 6 years ago

Photo

didnt wanna do an actual Simself Edit™ so have an arrested development reference

anyways

i was tagged by @0cherub & i tag any1 who hasnt done this yet bc who doesnt like answering 125 questions abt themselves oh also @flavortowne im forcing you to do this sry

get to know me tag

1. WHAT IS YOUR FULL NAME? its batsy dont worry abt it

2. WHAT IS YOUR NICKNAME? its batsy dont worry abt it

3. BIRTHDAY? september 15

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE BOOK SERIES? what?? are books

5. DO YOU BELIEVE IN ALIENS OR GHOSTS? ye both

6. WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE AUTHOR? ummmm idk lmfao i havent “read” a “book”” in like 5 years

7. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE RADIO STATION? 35 & 36 on sirius are like basically the exact same station but that doesnt mean i dont constantly alternate between the two whenever im near a radio

8. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FLAVOR OF ANYTHING? pink is a v trustworthy flavor

9. WHAT WORD WOULD YOU USE OFTEN TO DESCRIBE SOMETHING GREAT OR WONDERFUL? *owen wilson voice* wrow

10. WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT FAVORITE SONG? what kinda question is this wt f ive currently reobsessed myself w marina and the diamonds so honestly any of her discography

11. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE WORD? idk any words :^/ sry

12. WHAT WAS THE LAST SONG YOU LISTENED TO? wheels on the bus im exhausted

13. WHAT TV SHOW WOULD YOU RECOMMEND FOR EVERYBODY TO WATCH? man in the high castle. man in the high castle. man in the high ca

14. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MOVIE TO WATCH WHEN YOU’RE FEELING DOWN? clerks al;dksfjf

15. DO YOU PLAY VIDEO GAMES? almost exclusively sims and fallout but every once in a while some indie game i find on steam so. yea

16. WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST FEAR? never doing anything in my life and having nothing 2 look forward to!! yay

17. WHAT IS YOUR BEST QUALITY, IN YOUR OPINION? probably my resiliency, maybe?? idk

18. WHAT IS YOUR WORST QUALITY, IN YOUR OPINION? my habit of allowing bad things to happen to me lol

19. DO YOU LIKE CATS OR DOGS BETTER? cats but im sorta kinda indifferent 2 both i think i might 1 of the 5 ppl on earth who dont like having pets

20. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SEASON? summer and fall

21. ARE YOU IN A RELATIONSHIP? yea

22. WHAT IS SOMETHING YOU MISS FROM YOUR CHILDHOOD? not being lazy lmfao

23. WHO IS YOUR BEST FRIEND? @flavortowne eye emoji

24. WHAT IS YOUR EYE COLOR? blue

25. WHAT IS YOUR HAIR COLOR? its natural brown but im thinkn abt going either red or blonde again

26. WHO IS SOMEONE YOU LOVE? like 3 ppl irl and everyone on discord u guys legit

27. WHO IS SOMEONE YOU TRUST? my person and @flavortowne eye emoji

28. WHO IS SOMEONE YOU THINK ABOUT OFTEN? tom hardy. what is his end goal

29. ARE YOU CURRENTLY EXCITED ABOUT/FOR SOMETHING? tbh going 2 basic lmfao im!! lame

30. WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST OBSESSION? as of right now,, spiderverse lol

31. WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE TV SHOW AS A CHILD? teletubbies was fckn legit and so was old school spongebob

32. WHO OF THE OPPOSITE GENDER CAN YOU TELL ANYTHING TO, IF ANYONE? my person

33. ARE YOU SUPERSTITIOUS? im not superstitious,,, but i am a little stitious

34. DO YOU HAVE ANY UNUSUAL PHOBIAS? i cant deal w fishing poles idk

35. DO YOU PREFER TO BE IN FRONT OF THE CAMERA OR BEHIND IT? in front babey

36. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE HOBBY? sims or stitching play foods 4 the kid to use on her play kitchen

37. WHAT WAS THE LAST BOOK YOU READ? stop asking book questions

38. WHAT WAS THE LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? spiderverse yeye

39. WHAT MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS DO YOU PLAY, IF ANY? piano & i try 2 pretend i know what im doing w a ukulele

40. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ANIMAL? stingrays :^)

41. WHAT ARE YOUR TOP 5 FAVORITE TUMBLR BLOGS THAT YOU FOLLOW? legit all my mutuals

42. WHAT SUPERPOWER DO YOU WISH YOU HAD? i had an oc that could read ppls memories like a scrapbook if he touched them and i always honestly thought that was. cool

43. WHEN AND WHERE DO YOU FEEL MOST AT PEACE? in my house!! the door b locked bitch!!!!

44. WHAT MAKES YOU SMILE? toddler being an idiot toddler

45. WHAT SPORTS DO YOU PLAY, IF ANY? its not really,, a sport,, but i bike

46. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE DRINK? cream soda in those glass bottles is top tier non-alcoholic beverage

47. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU WROTE A HAND-WRITTEN LETTER OR NOTE TO SOMEBODY? i wrote a letter 2 my person telling him he was an idiot and by the time it was mailed 2 his house i was already living there lol

48. ARE YOU AFRAID OF HEIGHTS? nah

49. WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST PET PEEVE? either ppl blowing vape in my face or holding something so close to my face i cant see i just go ballistic

50. HAVE YOU EVER BEEN TO A CONCERT? nope unless u count a sesame street liveshow like 10 years ago

51. ARE YOU VEGAN/VEGETARIAN? nope!

52. WHEN YOU WERE LITTLE, WHAT DID YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GREW UP? a cop lmfao

53. WHAT FICTIONAL WORLD WOULD YOU LIKE TO LIVE IN? this is horrible but the setting of new vegas i just feel like id be at home there, w the radiation and constant danger and dehydration

54. WHAT IS SOMETHING YOU WORRY ABOUT? the kid

55. ARE YOU SCARED OF THE DARK? only when im looking in the mirror adlkfj start thinkn abt a different face showing up instead of mine idk

56. DO YOU LIKE TO SING? yea

57. HAVE YOU EVER SKIPPED SCHOOL? skipped a whole year adlfkj

58. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PLACE ON THE PLANET? this is basic but i miss the tri-state area

59. WHERE WOULD YOU LIKE TO LIVE? this is basic but i miss nj

60. DO YOU HAVE ANY PETS? yea :^/ a dog, a cat, and uhhhh 14 fish

61. ARE YOU MORE OF AN EARLY BIRD OR A NIGHT OWL? night owl but honestly im just always tired

62. DO YOU LIKE SUNRISES OR SUNSETS BETTER? sunsettttt

63. DO YOU KNOW HOW TO DRIVE? i do

64. DO YOU PREFER EARBUDS OR HEADPHONES? headphones. they just work

65. HAVE YOU EVER HAD BRACES? nah but i need em

66. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE GENRE OF MUSIC? i listen to everything tbh

67. WHO IS YOUR HERO? michael cera

68. DO YOU READ COMIC BOOKS? i used to read them religiously but not so much any more. i am reading the TAZ graphic novel tho

69. WHAT MAKES YOU THE MOST ANGRY? having to repeat myself 20 times. or being an idiot when i wanna start a new hobby

70. DO YOU PREFER TO READ ON AN ELECTRONIC DEVICE OR WITH A REAL BOOK? idk how to read

71. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SUBJECT IN SCHOOL? honestly i had a blast in econ and my law enforcement class

72. DO YOU HAVE ANY SIBLINGS? a bro, another sibling, and a half-bro

73. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU BOUGHT? food lmfao

74. HOW TALL ARE YOU? every time i measure myself im 5′2″ but the government insists that i am 5′3″ so w/e

75. CAN YOU COOK? yeap

76. WHAT ARE THREE THINGS THAT YOU LOVE? alcohol, bike riding, wearing stupid makeup

77. WHAT ARE THREE THINGS THAT YOU HATE? ppl holding me back, bird box, when my nail breaks before i can file it so its all oglee

78. DO YOU HAVE MORE FEMALE FRIENDS OR MORE MALE FRIENDS? uh idk?? i dont have,, many,,,, friends

79. WHAT IS YOUR SEXUAL ORIENTATION? bi

80. WHERE DO YOU CURRENTLY LIVE? sc :’^(

81. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TEXTED? my brother

82. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? 2 nights ago the kid pistol whipped me in the chin w her phone and it just hurt so bad it legit made me lose it

83. WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE YOUTUBER? ok this is dumb as shit the kid is obsessed w Blippi and i have a mom crush on him afdslfkjs

84. DO YOU LIKE TO TAKE SELFIES? ye

85. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE APP? i am currently obsessed w L.O.L. Surprise! Pop but all in all probs Pocket Camp

86. WHAT IS YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR PARENT(S) LIKE? bad as parents but theyre fine now that im an adult and they have a grandkid they can like

87. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FOREIGN ACCENT? i dont like a majority of them lmfao but idk maybe uh?? irish

88. WHAT IS A PLACE THAT YOU’VE NEVER BEEN TO, BUT YOU WANT TO VISIT? rly wanna go to nevada but im moving to the mojave soon anyways so

89. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE NUMBER? 15

90. CAN YOU JUGGLE? nope

91. ARE YOU RELIGIOUS? i was raised christian but i dont rly give a shit abt any of that

92. DO YOU FIND OUTER SPACE OR THE DEEP OCEAN TO BE MORE INTERESTING? outer space my dood the ocean is dumb and scary

93. DO YOU CONSIDER YOURSELF TO BE A DAREDEVIL? im jus livin my life

94. ARE YOU ALLERGIC TO ANYTHING? i mean. im lactose intolerant but thats abt it

95. CAN YOU CURL YOUR TONGUE? nope

96. CAN YOU WIGGLE YOUR EARS? no

97. HOW OFTEN DO YOU ADMIT THAT YOU WERE WRONG ABOUT SOMETHING? when im wrong abt something

98. DO YOU PREFER THE FOREST OR THE BEACH? forest ig bad choices

99. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PIECE OF ADVICE THAT ANYONE HAS EVER GIVEN YOU? i dont think i was ever given advice, ever. maybe thats why im like this

100. ARE YOU A GOOD LIAR? idk i try not 2 lie unless its like. an obvious exaggeration for the lols

101. WHAT IS YOUR HOGWARTS HOUSE? wtf idk ok i just did one of those quizzes & im a slytherin?? what does that mean

102. DO YOU TALK TO YOURSELF? yeah

103. ARE YOU AN INTROVERT OR AN EXTROVERT? more of an introvert but im ok w going out there if i gotta

104. DO YOU KEEP A JOURNAL/DIARY? i keep one for the kid but thats abt it

105. DO YOU BELIEVE IN SECOND CHANCES? nah. unless it was something stupid like burning food like im not gonna ban u from the kitchen

106. IF YOU FOUND A WALLET FULL OF MONEY ON THE GROUND, WHAT WOULD YOU DO? if theres an id i guess mail it 2 the address on there?? idk ive never just. found a wallet. i think this happens a lot less than all the hypotheticals make it out to be

107. DO YOU BELIEVE THAT PEOPLE ARE CAPABLE OF CHANGE? if theyre dedicated to it. i dont think ppl can just do it over night and i dont think its ever a 100% change

108. ARE YOU TICKLISH? dont touch me

109. HAVE YOU EVER BEEN ON A PLANE? Yep

110. DO YOU HAVE ANY PIERCINGS? 2 in both ears but thats it

111. WHAT FICTIONAL CHARACTER DO YOU WISH WAS REAL? spidr...mna

112. DO YOU HAVE ANY TATTOOS? no :^( once im cleared for them tho deffo

113. WHAT IS THE BEST DECISION THAT YOU’VE MADE IN YOUR LIFE SO FAR? i hate that this is the answer but enlisting adlfkjs

114. DO YOU BELIEVE IN KARMA? yeah ig??

115. DO YOU WEAR GLASSES OR CONTACTS? glasses

116. DO YOU WANT CHILDREN? 2 late

117. WHO IS THE SMARTEST PERSON YOU KNOW? we all b stupit

118. WHAT IS YOUR MOST EMBARRASSING MEMORY? idk?? i get embarrassed but also get over it quick so like. idk

119. HAVE YOU EVER PULLED AN ALL-NIGHTER? yea

120. WHAT COLOR ARE MOST OF YOU CLOTHES? black & red

121. DO YOU LIKE ADVENTURES? mhm

122. HAVE YOU EVER BEEN ON TV? i was on nickelodeon back when they had those cuts to the Live Studio Audience™

123. HOW OLD ARE YOU? 21

124. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE QUOTE? “I wish there was a way to know you’re in the good old days before you’ve actually left them.”

125. DO YOU PREFER SWEET OR SAVORY FOODS? savory i almost never eat anything sweet

#get to know me tag #now that ive posed this i wanna get back in2 making pose packs sigh

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marjaystuff · 4 years ago

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Elise Cooper Interviews Iris and Roy Johansen

Blink of an Eye by Iris and Roy Johansen brings back the wonderful character Kendra Michaels. It is fun to read how the authors display her deductive skills to find information others over-look. She is perceptive, astute, insightful, detail-oriented and can assess a crime scene meticulously.

The story has mega pop star Delilah Winter kidnapped after performing at the Hollywood Bowl. In attendance were Kendra and her friend Jessie Mercado, the singer's former bodyguard and a military hero, now a private investigator. They are friends with Delilah and are devastated that she went missing without a clue. They, along with FBI Agent Nate Kellard and Delilah’s former boyfriend billionaire Noah Calderon, investigate her disappearance. Calderon agrees to provide the $20 million dollar ransom, while Department of Justice black ops expert Adam Lynch, who has a complicated relationship with Kendra, is chosen to deliver it. Because directions were not followed, the kidnappers abort the delivery. They then make a new demand, upping the ransom by $5 million and wanting Jessie to deliver it. They chose Jessie for an alternative motive, able to kidnap her as well. Now Kendra, Lynch, the FBI, and the police are running out of time to find the two kidnapped victims. Tensions rise as the kidnapped lives are at stake.

This is an action-packed suspenseful story. It has just the right amount of mystery, character banter, and intrigue.

Elise Cooper: It looks like you changed the setting?

Roy Johansen: This is the first Kendra story that takes place almost entirely in LA where I have lived since college. We kick off this adventure at the Hollywood Bowl, one of my favorite places. We then move the characters to other of my favorite landmarks, including The Hollywood Forever Cemetery where they show movies, the Silver Lake Reservoir, and the airplane graveyard in the Mojave Desert, the Boneyard.

EC: How would you describe Delilah?

Iris and Roy Johansen: Very grounded even with being in the entertainment industry. A waif. She is based on four or five artists that have huge successes since their teens. A lot of them came through on the Disney Channel, such as Miley Cyrus, Christina Aguilera, Demi Lovato, and others who came around the same time and grew up in the industry. They are very talented.

EC: How would you describe Jessie?

IRJ: She helped to ground Delilah. Very caring and always had Dee’s best interest at heart. Very tough, fiercely loyal, reasonable, and persuasive. She has many experiences including being a war hero in Afghanistan and participated in a physical game show. Her vast experiences made her the person she is.

EC: What about the different relationships?

IRJ: Jessie and Kendra bonded. They got to know each other in a professional arena. There is this mutual respect for each other, especially after they went to Afghanistan together.

Dee and Jessie had more of an emotional relationship. Jessie thinks of Dee as her kid sister.

Jessie and Olivia are very good friends. They spent a lot of time together in the book before this one, Hindsight.

Kendra and Olivia grew up together and have a life-long emotional relationship. After Kendra got her sight and Olivia did not there was a little tension. But Olivia was generally happy for Kendra, she just wanted her sight back as well. Kendra goes to Olivia when hurt or needs healing.

Kendra and Lynch have a relationship, but we are playing it by ear. She likes Lynch a lot. We want to make sure every minute they are together is interesting. They have mutual respect, admiration, mental stimulation, and of course good sex.

EC: There is an explanation for how women speak?

RJ: I actually have a book about regional linguistics. I made an effort to study and explore. It explains how people in different parts of the country speak regarding different words. We will be using more of this in future Kendra books. She grew up without sight so she relied on what she could hear instead of seeing. These are things Kendra could pick up on. She became an expert of accents.

EC: You are not one of these authors that have the readers sympathize with the bad guys?

IJ: They are pretty creepy. We don’t want readers to empathize with them. At the end of the book people will be glad they got their due. Sometimes they are intelligent, but they should always be hated.

EC: Can you give a shout out about your next books?

RJ: I am writing a stand-alone book with Jessie as a private investigator. Kendra has a small part in it. It will be out next year this time. The year after next Kendra will be back in a featured book. After that we will try to do a Kendra book every year.

IJ: Out in the spring is an Eve book titled The Bullet. It will be a very different Eve type book with a secondary character that comes back from her past. In the fall will be a book with new characters titled, High Stakes.

THANK YOU!!

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thehikingviking · 5 years ago

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Edgar Peak, the High Point of the Providence Mountains in Mojave Regional Preserve

The main objective of my desert hiking trip was Edgar Peak, a suspended DPS listed summit with over two thousand feet of prominence. There had recently been some access issues on the standard route from the east, so we planned to approached the peak from the DPS route D trailhead for Mitchell Point, which I believe avoids any access issues. I left a car at the standard trailhead just in case I needed to descend the peak from a different direction.

To join Asaka and I on this trip were Dean and a new acquaintance, Josef Nuernberger. We parked at Bonanza King Mine and headed cross country towards the entrance of Gilroy Canyon.

The traverse to the mouth of the canyon had several ups and downs. We then followed a wash as it snaked up the canyon. Josef told us a very funny story of how we was awoken in the middle of the night by border patrol when hiking some P2ks in the southwest. He was sleeping nude in a sleeping bag near the trailhead when a group of government vehicles swarmed him, suspecting him of trafficking drugs across the border. “I’m just a stinky hiker,” he yelled in his German accent. Both Dean and Asaka, neither American citizens at the time, found the story as funny as I did.

Josef and I generally stayed out in front with Asaka right behind us and Dean in the back.

I grew tired of the wash, and took a left directly towards Edgar Peak prematurely. Dean was far behind at this point, so we left him to his own devices and climbed upwards. Dean continued up the wash towards the saddle between Edgar Peak and Mitchell Point, which was the easiest route.

Mitchell Point, another listed DPS peak, seemed a lot farther away than my map indicated. Would I have enough time and energy to climb this as a bonus peak?

As we climbed the steep northern slopes of Edgar Peak, I could spot the overland route of the Union Pacific Railroad passing through Kelso.

The remaining three of us got separated from time to time. We definitely made the climb harder than it needed to be, but perhaps we also made it more fun and interesting. The snow on the upper reaches of the peak made us forget we were in the desert.

The weather was getting colder and the clouds were moving in. We wondered if more snow would fall. Shortly after we ran into a patch of brush and bush whacking commenced. My route was no longer fun.

I picked a nasty route that took me up and over the right side of the mountain. The combination of snow and brush pushed me up and over a class 4 route which was more than I bargained for. I told Asaka and Josef to not follow me, and continued on my own towards the summit. I didn’t have much further to go, but I couldn’t find a good line either. I was first to reach the summit. To the south were Fountain Peak and Providence Benchmark.

To the southwest were Granite Peak and Silver Peak.

To the west were the Kelso Dunes.

To the northwest was Old Dad Mountain.

To the north was Mitchell Point.

To the east was the Providence Mountains State Recreation Area that was off limits to hiking.

After a while I spotted Josef and Asaka climbing over the false summit. They looked to be in a precarious spot and I was nervous watching them from afar.

Then out of nowhere Dean showed up. This was a pleasant surprise. Asaka and Josef showed up slightly after, but don’t let the below picture fool you, Asaka was very upset that I left her.

The summit was really nice but tougher than I expected. I respect those who combine Edgar Peak with Fountain Peak and Mitchell Point. I was still interested in doing Mitchell Point but it was already after 2pm. We learned from Dean that his route was straightforward, so we decided to take his way down.

We dropped into the wash again then followed this out of the canyon.

I decided to split from the group and get my Jeep. Granted, this would take me through the restricted area, but I felt it would be really hard to spot me moving through the washes in fading light. While my distance was longer, it was mostly downhill, so I ended up retrieving my car and taking it to the meeting point well before the rest of the group showed up in Dean’s vehicle. The sunset that night was one of the best I’ve ever experienced.

That night Asaka and I agreed to continue with Josef, who planned on climbing Clipper Mountain the next day.

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martyrofthemojave · 7 years ago

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Coming Down

@superiiorisms

The Courier was well aware of just how far he had fallen. He knew that if his old comrades could see him now, they’d spit in his face.

The old ranger had become jaded and cynical, exactly what he had aspired NOT to be when he was younger. It was inevitable really. The pressure of the last 10 years, of his experiences in that desert of death and pain, they had shaped him, more than anything in California. He didn’t realize how lucky he had it until they expanded into the Mojave.

Even then, he had a unit. Comrades. A sense of family. He was utterly alone here in the Commonwealth.

Westerners were practically non-existent. Everyone spoke in strange accents he had never been exposed to before. It was... well, it was a trip. That’s what it was. His first months in the Commonwealth were a fucking trip. And he was just now starting to come down from it.

Having gone on a one-man killing spree, cleansing entire raider camps, he had become something of a urban legend. When he finally showed his face, he didn’t get the reaction he was expecting. Everything, at least to him, had been black and white in the Mojave. He had failed to notice the wiring and circuitry in many of the bandits he had killed.

Yes, as it turns out the careless courier had fucked up a shadowy organizations plans to observe raiders and bandits and control their settlements, completely by accident.

When he was told about just who the Institute and their synths were, he wondered if perhaps he had made too big an enemy this time. So he decided to go on the run. Running was something he was used to, after all. Fastest man in the West, if you believe the stories. Took down Legion in just around 30 days. Delivered packages in one, even if they were halfway across the Mojave.

Yeah, he was a runner.

At the moment, the old courier had taken a stop at a relatively small bar somewhere out of Concord. The Wasteland might have gone to shit but there would always be places that offered small respite, warm beds and alcohol for tired and weary folks. He could do without the alcohol of course. He entered the place, dressed in his old riot gear (always thought of the Divide when he put it on) and a baseball cap. His helmet was back at home. Broken. Needed some spare parts to fix it.

Teddy sat himself down at the bar, right next to a well-dressed, good-looking stranger. “Howdy.” He rumbled, nodding his head to the stranger. He was... well, he was VERY well-dressed. Almost made Teddy feel silly, until he realized how dirty this place was. Then he was thankful he had worn his normal apparel.

#exclusive delivery ( closed starter. )#superiiorisms #an outsider ( fallout 4 verse )#i am?? so so sorry that this was so long #and that a lot of it was exposition #i just like to build a lot of background aflcskfoe #pls forgive

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monsternobility · 8 years ago

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sometimes, doc mitchell wonders how this became his life.

he isn’t talking about doctoring, or even living in goodsprings. it’s a nice place to settle down, and folks are friendly enough. no, he’s talking about the toothy menace currently crashed on his couch, boots kicked up on the arm, drinking his beer and smoking his cigars while they regale him of what’s going on in vegas this week.

they look up at him, grin, put a hand on their hat to keep it from falling off. they’re a leggy bastard, and they stretch across the couch as if they own it. he supposes they kind of do.

“so then harrison - good friend, harri, bit pushy about sales but real fun in the sack -” “yes, you’ve told me.” “ oh of course, of course. so then harrison, THEY go 'what reputation, he’s a cad.’” a bark of laughter erupts from them, short and cruel. doc mitchell laughs along, mostly out of politeness. “you should have seen dean’s face, he hadn’t heard a damn thing we had said, only knew we were laughing about something and HE was not in on the joke. he hates that. silly bastard.” they sit up to knock back their drink, and he notes that their accented voice is slurring already. at this rate they’ll be asleep within the hour.

it’s not that he ain’t grateful; he is. buzzard’s done right by this town, and a lot of other folks too if mr. new vegas is to be believed. now, mitchell isn’t one to believe EVERYTHING he hears on the radio, he’s got a healthy bit of skepticism to him, but buzzard ain’t ever lied to him yet. maybe to other folks, but not to him. there’s something there in that, he thinks, some shred of morality - just would be nice if that shred of morality extended to not eating him out of house and home in addition to not lying to his face.

they do this every now and then - appear on his doorstep every few months, knocking, looming, leaning in close with those big stormy eyes. not bothering to ask whether or not it’s a good time before they enter. hi doc, how has it been, how are You, any trouble you been having lately? it’s as if they’ve chosen to take goodsprings under their - well, he’d say wing, if it didn’t seem horribly contrived. howdy courier, it’s been good, i’m as healthy as a horse, no trouble whatsoever. like a ritual. it’s been a few years now. goodspring’s been thriving with the legion gone and with new vegas rejuvenated. folks’ve been hitting them up more frequently on their trip to buzzard’s jewel, and buzzard doesn’t tax ‘em too much neither. they’d called themselves benevolent when they said they weren’t going to take more than the town could handle. mitchell isn’t sure benevolent was the word to use.

days like this make him think back to the first time he saw them. that was the first of many big, big changes in the mojave, he knows now. it’d have been nice to know then, but what would he have done with the information? courier six may be weird, and overbearing, and very demanding, but he can’t deny they’ve done good for people. he just can’t help but wonder why. money, fame, and glory, probably. seems to be a common theme with those attracted to the glitz and glam of new vegas.

it doesn’t plague his every waking moment, that night victor showed up with a corpse on his doorstep. that said, he’d be lying if he said it didn’t come up from time to time, especially on days like this. this bird currently sprawled on his couch was once a bloody mess, a scant amount of flesh on their bones, hardly even alive - the fact that they were breathing at all was a shock, after being shot twice in the head. he remembers telling victor it’d been a lost cause.

victor’s screen, flecked in dirt, had flickered. check again, doc. my sensors’re tellin’ me there’s still a pulse yet. mitchell wasn’t too proud what all he’d uttered when he felt for that pulse and found it.

they told him today that after meeting some folks from before they were shot know for a fact now that they’re 43. that follows. when he shaved their dark curls off their head to piece their brain back together and got his first good look at their face, he had figured they couldn’t be much further than mid to late 30′s. back then, they would have been. has it really been five years? christ. mitchell remembers frowning when they woke mumbling some slurred string of spanish and english words, confusion plain on their face as they raised a hand to their forehead and now-bare scalp. there had been a spark of intelligence in those eyes, even then, even dulled by the chems he’d used to keep them alive through the night. he’d thought they might attack him at first when he tried to sit them back down. easy, now, don’t go too fast. your name, son, why don’t you try and give me your name. that glare isn’t gonna work on me. i’ve had worse than you in this cot before. the courier’s eyes, dazing into the distance, suddenly snapped to him. it shouldn’t have been so startling. the first words they’d spoken to him had been these: you haven’t ever had Anything like me, old man.

he’d known they were right. can you tell me your name?

they looked blank again, staring straight through him. i think i am…. un buitre. he frowned, and so did they, rolling their tongue around their mouth. clenching their fist at their side. searching for the words. the fact that they could offer that amount of coherence that early was in and of itself a miracle, so he guesses he didn’t do that too bad a job rebuilding them after all. mm, si. un buitre. that is- buzzard. buzzard. that’s what i am.

it wasn’t the name he would’ve picked for them. he wasn’t sure it was a name at all. it felt more like a title, a brand, the way the word dripped from their tongue like poison. but it was the name they chose, and he wasn’t gonna object. as they tottered into his living room, slow, relearning how their gangly limbs worked, he had the thought that he didn’t expect to see them again. there was no way they’d make it more than a week out in the wasteland with an injury like theirs, not without more recovery time and rehabilitation, neither of which he could help with. there’s intelligence in them, and some amount of charisma, but that’ll only get you so far when you don’t remember the words to talk yourself out of trouble. he saw their confusion and disorientation plain on their expressive face. no, he didn’t expect to see them again.

especially not so soon. you can imagine his surprise when they showed up three days later asking for stimpaks for goodsprings to fend off the powder gangers. the first of many such visits, the first of many instances of them darkening his door. grinning a ghastly grin full of crooked teeth. hi, doc. can i come in?

he realizes, belatedly, why they help people so often. money and fame and glory, sure. knows they probably leverage people’s good perceptions of them to rocket themselves into higher standing.

but in the end, they like when people like them. it’s an incredibly human desire, something that softens his heart to them every time he remembers. they like people thanking them and worshiping them and saying nice things, and when people don’t... well. he could explain to them, but he’s not sure they’d understand even then.

he remembers seeing them look in the mirror, pass their hands over their scalp, digging their nails in. he’d apologized. had to have all that out of the way to get at your head easier. they had pinned him down with a distinctly terrifying look that erupted into a blinding grin. no es un problema, doc, i think i like it. maybe i’ll keep it a while longer.

he scrubbed their rads, too. was worried they’d grow another toe to match their eleventh. seven toes on one foot is far too many. six on both would, at least, be symmetrical.

this courier. this incredibly bizarre, incredibly unlikely person. no one else could survive what they survive. no one else could do what they do. he guesses he should feel ‘honored’ that they still choose to spend time here on occasion, or at least he’s sure that’s what they’d say if he asked. courier six, buzzard barebone, the new mr house - among other things.

mitchell looks up, and finds the old bird nearly snoring, hat tipped low over their face, long thin fingers wrapped loosely around a drink set safely on the floor. he sighs, stands, takes the old throw from the back of the couch and drapes it over them. as he eases by they roll over, catch his wrist in their free hand. lightning-fast and nails like daggers. he flinches away on reflex - he’s heard rumors about them in addition to what mr. new vegas preaches, none too pretty rumors, and he may not believe everything he hears on the radio but what he’s heard went by word of mouth only. barebone.

they don’t do anything but mumble “love you, doc,” before letting go and falling back asleep.

he inhales. exhales. wills his heart to stop pounding. christ.

he… needs to go make himself some dinner. they’ll probably be out for a while.

#oc: buzzard

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pcttrailsidereader · 8 years ago

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PCT - Back to Back

I have a special affinity for people my age still walking the PCT. Perhaps that was my initial attraction to Alison 'Catwater' Sterley's journal. But, more enduring was the quality of her writing, her sense of humor, and the power of 'yo-yoing' the PCT over the past two years. Alison has been hiking in the woods since she could toddle (her words). She left her home state of California more than four decades ago settling in Alaska with her husband, Dan. "That’s turned out well," she said, "but the restlessness has never abandoned me. We’re still married, the kids are grown, and somehow Dan loves me still and supports my idiosyncrasies." Several years ago, she walked the JMT. After which Alison observed, "I kept telling myself, and others, “I don’t want to want to hike the PCT.” But I did. I really did." And so she did. These are some of her reflections on her PCT experiences of the past two years. Read more from Alison’s PCT adventures on her blog -- www.alisonsterley.com

I’ve just hiked the PCT for the second time and in the opposite direction from last year. The accumulation of more than 5000 miles on the same trail is a jumble of memory--sights, sounds and emotions. In 2015 the trail was new and unknown except for the John Muir Trail portion which I had hiked several times and coming from Alaska, I was terrified of the region blithely designated “The Desert,” the first 700 miles northbound. In 2016, heading southbound, those 700 miles felt like going home, although I was struggling with a slightly crippling case of plantar fasciitis foot pain along with end-of-the-trail fatigue and weight loss.

I was asked a lot of questions on the trail and in the trail towns. People are fascinated by the whole idea of walking for such a long time. What made you want to hike the PCT? Why are you hiking it again? Don’t most people hike north? Why are you going south? Aren’t you afraid? When did you start? When are you to finish? Not to be rude, but how old are you? Where are you from?

I had done some long hikes before tackling the PCT the first time—the JMT and then a solo JMT yoyo the following summer. I met lots of PCT thru hikers on those adventures and the idea just kind of grabbed me. As I told people though, “I wish I didn’t want to hike the PCT, but I really, really want to hike the PCT.” As ready as I was to finish the PCT in 2015, I almost immediately began dreaming of the next long hike. When my husband said he’d like to hike the PCT through Washington, to revisit the backcountry places of his childhood, the SOBO plan was born—we’d hike together to Oregon, he would return home to Alaska for hunting and fishing and I would continue to Mexico. The PCT would look different going south.

Finishing the NOBO last year through Washington was miserable and beautiful at the same time. I was wet, cold and fatigued most of the time. I stalled out in White Pass for three nights waiting for the rain to lift because, hiking solo, I just could not make myself shoulder the pack and hike out in the drenching downpour. Although the big views in the Cascades were sporadic due to clouds and precipitation, the near views were glorious with Fall red, maroon, mustard and acorn squash colors while the fetid odor of decaying vegetation imprinted in my memory.

This year, I saw the Cascades in a different season with fresh legs. As we walked, I knew and kind of dreaded some stretches, like the unmaintained miles between the Suiattle and Methow Rivers. But the weather was better and I had happy hiking partners Dan and Jackie who were wowed by the country. I got the big views I’d missed, even while tripping and slipping off the trail and picking Devil’s Club thorns out of my hands. Plus huckleberries-- ripe huckleberries, in September 2015 and in July 2016, how cool is that?

The PCT NOBO 2015 and SOBO 2016 were very different socially too. There is a large number of NOBOs, thousands apply for the thru hiking permits, but just a few SOBOs, I heard there were about 100 this year. NOBO I hiked solo but nearly always had company if I wanted. SOBO in Washington and California, I had hiking companions, Oregon I was on my own. Beginning in Mt. Shasta, I hiked with a single companion for 1500 miles and we had very little company apart from each other. Puff Puff and I met on the trail in 2015 but only camped together a few times. She is English and in her 30’s. I’m Alaskan and turned 63 on the trail this year. We arranged to start together at Hart’s Pass in July 2016 for a week and planned to reconnect to tackle the High Sierra together in September.

We learned a lot about each other in the months we spent together. She doesn’t appreciate beer, coffee, tea, cinnamon, nuts or certain American traditions like restaurants offering soup or salad with your dinner. Her breakfast is a chocolate Instant Breakfast and maybe a Twix bar. She loves broccoli soup and Sprite. I love beer, drink cinnamon and honey tea on cold nights, and eat anything with nuts and seeds in it. My day starts with coffee (she was there in 2015 when I got my trail name in the pursuit of my first cup of coffee for the day) and broccoli soup reminds of changing diapers for my three kids.

We came to resemble each other in subtle ways. In Mexican restaurants we both got fish tacos (although her pronunciation of the “a“ in tacos is disturbingly weird, like the “a” in quack.), and in burger places we get bacon cheeseburgers with fries.

We had some challenging conditions, from heat so intense in Northern California she would reel with dizziness if she had to stand still to a hail storm pounding us with marble-sized pellets that ripped my jacket and pushed me close to hypothermia. We were snowed on along the Tahoe Rim Trail, between Sonora and Tioga Passes and all day heading up and over Donahue Pass in Yosemite.

To be honest, there were a few times when I wished I was on my own, with just myself to decide where and when to camp. We did camp apart from each other a bit, for various reasons, and I relished the solitude, the quiet and the freedom of wallowing in my own emotions without having to put a positive or polite face on for my partner. I often felt like my slower pace and less ambitious miles was a problem for Puff Puff. The schedule I had devised for myself when packing resupply boxes for my family to send me included a day and a night more food for each stretch than Puff Puff’s planned schedule. It’s really important to decide how many days you are going to hike until the next resupply but how you break it up while hiking that stretch is flexible—you can make up a few short days with a longer day, for me longer days are in the 25+ mile range but I’m not happy or healthy on a regular diet of 25-30 mile days.

Mostly though, and quite intensely on several occasions, I was super happy to have a trail partner, especially one so easy to get along with. Hiking the PCT south through California in September, October and November, the trail doesn’t have a lot of hikers. Having somebody to chat with at the end of the day is precious: “Did you see that gigantic tarantula?” “I saw my first coyote!” Puff Puff and I revisited a lot of the established trail angel operations we’d been to on the NOBO. The lack of crowds heading south was remarkable. We were the only people overnighting at Hiker Town at the edge of the Mojave. Hiker Heaven was truly heaven with just Doug, the caretaker, 2 other woman hikers and the wonderful menagerie of resident animals. We walked into Warner Springs Resource Center and camped alone near flush toilets and a garbage can—blissfully peaceful compared to last year when dozens of blistered and heat battered hikers pitched tents on every available patch of grass. We missed Casa de Luna because of the time of day we hiked through, but the Andersons were still openly welcoming to SOBO hikers.

Puff Puff and I often wondered what people thought of our partnership. “Where are you from?” became a joke between us when I observed that her English accent prompted the question but my answer got the biggest reaction. “Alaska! You’re from Alaska?!” We don’t look related, and I definitely look my age. “I don’t mean to be rude, but how old are you?” I was asked. On the NOBO there were plenty of hikers in the 50+ age group. On the SOBO, I didn’t see any others although they had to be a few days ahead or behind. I felt like a freak, although a much-admired freak. “You’re inspirational! I’m telling my Dad about you, he needs to get out more,” for example. People almost always guessed that Puff Puff was from Australia, which she didn’t get. Me neither, does the West get more Australians than Brits? She sounds like the actors on Downton Abbey, not Crocodile Dundee.

As I got further south, dropping out of the High Sierra into Kennedy Meadows and the terrain and vegetation changed, I remembered what an achievement getting to Kennedy Meadows was for me the previous year. This year it began a countdown to the Southern Terminus. I’d forgotten how close civilization is to the PCT in So Cal—roads, lights, wind turbines, campgrounds, dirt bikers and deer hunters. Just like last year, I was ready to be done with the hike. I think I was even more exhausted this time, although the terrain is much easier walking and it wasn’t really too hot during the day or too cold at night. As I discovered last year, the “Desert” is varied and beautiful, southern Californians are friendly and kind, and the trail tread is easy. The countdown from resupply to resupply town felt relaxed: Lake Isabella, Tehachapi, Agua Dulce, Wrightwood, Big Bear, Idyllwild, Julian, the Border. It was a comfortable rhythm of hiking the dwindling daylight hours 6 am – 5 pm and camping for a few nights, then hitting town for real food and a real bed, and repeat. I was ready to be done, take my husband for his first trip to Disneyland, and return home to Alaska. Home for a while at least. As I discovered last year, post trail blues is real and the best fix is to plan the next hike.

#SOBO #NOBO #Yo-Yo #Desert #Hiker Town #Casa de Luna #Andersons #Donohue Pass #Tioga Pass #Tahoe Rim Trail #Kennedy Meadows #Trail Towns #Tehachapi #Wrightwood #Big Bear #Julian #Idyllwild

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mactorrenthub · 6 years ago

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Cardhop 1.2.1

Cardhop lets you search, add, edit, and interact with your contacts in a fun and interactive way. Just type what you want and Cardhop will figure it out! Until now, managing and interacting with your contacts has been a real frustration. Cardhop’s magical parsing engine is incredibly intuitive, letting you search, add, edit, and interact with your contacts using a simple sentence! Just type in “John G” and John’s card will instantly appear. Or enter “Sarah Smith [email protected]” and Cardhop will add a new contact to Sarah’s card. Or type in “call Michael S” and Cardhop will instantly start a phone call with Michael on your Mac or even directly on your iPhone! SEARCH, ADD, EDIT, AND INTERACT WITH YOUR CONTACTS LIKE NEVER BEFORE

Open Cardhop with a single click or keystroke

Type in the details for your contact and press return

That’s it!

Features

A beautiful and simple menu bar app, designed exclusively for macOS

Instantly works with your existing macOS contacts, nothing to configure

Groups: quickly toggle contact groups with a click

Smart groups: Create dynamic smart groups that automatically update based on specific search criteria

Notes: a convenient and powerful way to add notes to your contacts, helping you to strengthen your relationships

Recents: quickly interact with your recent contacts

Birthdays: instantly see upcoming birthdays and easily send a wish on their special day

Printing: Print customized envelopes, labels, and lists of contacts

iPhone and Bluetooth dialing

macOS Action Extension

Dark and light themes

And much, much more!

Powerful Options

Quickly interact with your contacts with the following actions: Call, Copy, Directions, Email, FaceTime, FaceTime Audio, Large Type, Message, Skype, Telegram, Twitter, URL, and VoIP

Simply enter an action or abbreviation (which you’ll find in the Help Book by entering “?” or “help”) followed by your contact’s name and Cardhop will handle the rest

Even better, some actions are flexible. For example, you can add a subject to an email by entering “email Kent Lunch tomorrow?” and the email including the subject will instantly appear, ready to go!

Customizable quick actions are also available per contact, allowing for single-click actions

Smart

A single natural language input field lets you quickly search, add, edit, and interact with your contacts

Works with all of your existing contacts

Interact with phone numbers and email addresses not in your contacts list

Powerful search and sorting using smart groups

Convenient

Quick-access menu bar app

Quick action buttons let you quickly select an action

The dashboard shows upcoming birthdays and recent contacts

Print customization envelopes, labels, and lists of your contacts

Flexible

Detach the menu bar window

Light or dark theme

Quickly toggle between groups and servers

Customize the template used for new contacts

Instantly find what you’re looking for by typing the name or details and let Cardhop handle the rest.

Add or edit

Add new contacts or edit existing contacts with unparalleled ease and simplicity. Just enter the name of the contact along with their details and then be sure to observe the smile on your face.

Act

The old way of interacting with your contacts takes multiple steps to accomplish the actions you want. Once you use Cardhop, you’ll wonder how you ever did it the old way.

Cardhop in action

Watch how easy Cardhop makes it to search, add, edit, and act on your contacts.

All of your contacts in one place

The same contacts that you already use will instantly be available in Cardhop. iCloud, Google, Exchange, and Office 365 are all supported.

Notes will become your new best friend

It looks like a small detail, but Cardhop’s notes field will help improve your relationships. Add a few details about your contacts and the next time you chat with them, you’ll know more about them. You can even quickly add a timestamp to create a history of your interactions.

Wi-Fi and Cellular Bluetooth Calling

Use macOS Continuity and Wi-Fi Calling or your favorite phone’s Bluetooth connection to make calls. Enter a name or number and your call will be made. Instantly.

Speaks your language

Cardhop is fully localized in English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, and Japanese. Just enter your contact details using natural language and Cardhop will automatically understand.

What’s New

Cardhop for Mac now has the perfect companion: Cardhop for iOS is now available on the App Store!

1.2.1:

Fixed an issue with Exchange and Office 365 directory contacts not showing phone numbers or emails

G Suite directory contacts will now show additional information and photos

Improved matching of contacts with accents when searching

Fixed a crash on macOS 10.11 and 10.12

1.2:

Directories! Add Google, Exchange, and Office 365 directories to look up users on Google Contacts, G Suite, and Exchange Global Address List

Favorites! Mark commonly used contacts as favorites. Favorites sync between all of your devices, including with Cardhop for iOS

Added Copy Contact URL option to copy a URL which will show a contact in Cardhop from another app

Fixed a potential crash when using smart groups on macOS Mojave

Improved matching of contacts that have an email address but no first or last name

Various fixes and improvements

Screenshots

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Cardhop 1.2.1 Cardhop 1.2.1 Cardhop lets you search, add, edit, and interact with your contacts in a fun and interactive way.

#Mac Apps

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buildercar · 7 years ago

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New Post has been published on http://www.buildercar.com/first-drive-2017-honda-civic-si/

First Drive: 2017 Honda Civic Si

MOJAVE, California — With Southern California’s high cost of living, we often find ourselves on the hunt for value. Take for example the interesting trend of converting shipping containers to modern dwelling spaces, Central American vacations, or even picking up a “like-new” book for the cost of a latte on Amazon. The 2017 Honda Civic Si fits neatly into this value-hunting mindset. The first turbocharged Civic Si has a wonderful powertrain and is loaded with appealing components and trim, all for the stunning low price of $24,775, including delivery charges.

No trend itself, the Si made its debut with the third-generation Civic series in 1985. We’re now enjoying the 10th-generation. While enthusiasts can argue what’s the best Si among them, our test at the Honda Proving Center in California’s Mojave Desert — and on highways in surrounding Kern County — acquainted us with as well-balanced and pleasurable a front-drive car as any we’ve driven.

The Si uses an enhanced version of the turbocharged 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine from several other Civic models. With variable-valve timing and a relatively high 10.3:1 compression ratio (premium fuel recommended), the four produces 205 hp (up from 174 hp in most other models) and 192 lb-ft of torque (from 167 lb-ft). The torque peak arrives as early as 2,100 rpm, which explains why our driving coach, IMSA Weather Tech SportsCar Championship competitor Ryan Lewis, swatted our hand away from the leather-wrapped shift knob. “Just leave it in fourth,” he said.

We whooshed around HPC’s 1.9-mile handling course in an Energy Green Si coupe. Freshly paved as part of the facility’s rejuvenation, the course simulates a crowned, winding road. Contending with a fast sweeping bend, tricky decreasing radius turn, and either of two blind crests, the Si featured the new chassis’ superb roll stiffness. Meanwhile, the exclusive suspension with adaptive dampers imposed a kind of martial law on body motions. Combined with sharp steering that put the nose right on the apex cone, it was adrenaline a-plenty.

We say that whooshed because of the faint wind rush at the roofline along with screeching from the optional Goodyear Eagle F1 tires. The exhaust note was muted — too much so. Honda wanted to make the new Civic transcend the compact segment in looks and driving experience. They’ve succeeded so well, the Si goes altogether placidly about its business. A little howling never hurt anybody, you know.

Taking to the highways after lunch in a Rallye Red sedan, we found the Si to be a feisty contender, easily capable of overtaking in sixth. We worked the 6-speed manual transmission (the only gearbox offered in the Si), felt the standard limited-slip differential’s bite, and marked the discernible change between normal and sport driving modes.

The Si also delivered a fine touring experience. We could hardly have asked for more comfort or better visibility while also enjoying The Loft on Sirius XM via the 450-watt, 10-speaker system.

Both body styles ride on a 106.3-inch wheelbase but have notable dimensional differences. The coupe measures 177.4 inches long, 54.7 inches high, and 70.8 inches wide. The sedan is 182.8 inches long, 55.5 inches high, and the same 70.8 inches wide. The sedan tips the scales at 2,906 lb and the coupe weighs 17 lb less. The shorter coupe is slightly more nose-heavy with a weight distribution of 61/39 percent compared to the sedan’s 60/40 percent.

Whether coupe or sedan, you know you’re looking at a Civic Si because of the glossy black grille and theatrical aero package. The ghastly front air intakes and rear extractors are for appearance more than function. There’s also a stinger-type exhaust outlet. The conventional interior layout is nicely executed in black with red accents, a leather-wrapped wheel, and the first heated front seats to be included in an Si. The well-bolstered seats are faultless. Selecting sport mode changes the 7-inch TFT display, presenting an “ambient meter” to indicate redline. And no sport model these days would dare show up at track day without performance meters, which here let the driver choose among options including a G-Meter and lap timer. While the dashboard’s tablet screen does audio and climate functions, navigation isn’t available in the Si.

Honda doesn’t publish numbers, but we estimate the Civic Si to be capable of dashing from 0 to 60 mph in a bit over 6.0 seconds and hitting a top speed close to 130 mph. Racy people will swoon at the sight of ready-to-go parts already available from Honda Performance Development. Among those displayed during our preview, we noted HPD’s more robust limited-slip differential and slotted brake rotors. Honda even has a Body-in-White program that will have Civics at the head of the pack on tracks nationwide.

We loved the 2017 Civic Hatchback Sport so much, we named it an 2017 All-Star. Now we find ourselves awed by the Civic Si, with more power and torque and overall perfect execution of its specialness. It will get 38 mpg on the highway, delivering you to your destination in total comfort, yet it has an inner coyote that tears off at the sight of a rabbit. This latest Civic Si adds new luster to Honda’s reputation for miraculous product development. You’ll love it as much as we do — and the best news is that you can easily afford it.

2017 Honda Civic Si Specifications

ON SALE Now PRICE $24,775/$24,995 (base/as tested) ENGINE 1.5L turbocharged DOHC 16-valve I-4/205 hp @ 5,700 rpm, 192 lb-ft @ 2,100-5,000 rpm TRANSMISSION 6-speed manual LAYOUT 4-door, 4-passenger, front-engine, FWD coupe/sedan EPA MILEAGE 28/38 mpg (city/hwy) L x W x H 177.4-182.8 x 70.8 x 54.7-55.5 in WHEELBASE 106.3 in WEIGHT 2,889-2,906 lb 0-60 MPH 6.2 sec TOP SPEED 130 mph

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joesbrownusa · 8 years ago

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Houses For Sale in Morongo Valley, CA

49559 Rosella Dr

Price: $189000

YOGA HOUSE AND SANCTUARY. This rambling ranch house is now a serene yoga retreat and guest retreat. The home is set up as a house and retreat with several living areas, 1 kitchen plus kitchenette, 3 bedrooms and 2 baths. The warm and inviting decor and floor plan boasts mostly wood flooring, artistic appointments, creative use of color and wood accents, massive natural rock fireplace. The entry room has a welcoming aura and large windows. The main living room is open to the sparkling white kitchen and leads to additional distinct spaces: The main yoga room, or bedroom if you wish, inclu des a pellet stove & creative barn wood wall. The home is split into 2 wings and the 2nd wing has a full guest suite including living area and mini kitchen. The outdoor space is yet another artistic creation of flowing green spaces and sitting areas. The foliage is watered by the price well located a the front of the property. Lattice ladders block the neighborhood but reveal surrounding mountains, roving vines and trellises give the yard a park like feel. Many mature trees and defined paths. There is an oversized 2 car garage with double roll up doors, concrete driveway, fully fenced, rolling double gates, room for toys, gardens, guests.

Acres Apache

Price: $20000

Cabin on 3 plus acres with great possibilities. Located on Apache Road which only has a few homes and has good access. Electric is near. Plenty of room for house, barn, horses, farm. Beautiful vistas.

51063 29 Palms Hwy #19

Price: $10000

Adorable sunshine yellow mid century mobile home in quiet Roadrunner Mobile Home Park. This charming 1 bed, 1 bath with multi functional pop out. Pop out could be an office or currently is a 2nd bedroom. Private newly fenced-in patio and garden. This home has a cozy wood panel interior, new flooring, new evaporative coooler and the kitchen has new appliances. The park common area includes a swimming pool and shuffle board area.

43 Pioneer

Price: $80000

Clear and expansive views of Mt San Jacinto and surrounding hills. Beautiful 2.5 acre lot with PAVED ROAD and shared WELL. This is a great neighborhood. Larger lots, close to school, easy access, beautiful views. During the boom this lot sold for $125K! as it is quite a beautiful spot to build. One other house shares well. Drive by to capture the views and lovely location.

Twentynine Palms Hwy

Price: $135000

good location close to hwy 62 / twenty nine palms highway & highland street. flat vacant land (nec) 3.67 acres in morongo valley. lot zoning is mv/rl. school district is morongo. assessors map no 11 lot 38. buyer and their agents please to complete your own investigation and due diligence. seller and their agent are unable to assist and are not responsible. with this lot the following properties may be purchased. please see (1) mls iv17014664 / apn 0585-211-22-0000 lot 36 (2) mls iv17018355 / apn 0585-211-23-0000 lot 35. now for additional lots and options please see mls iv17018909 this listing consists of three (3) lots (1) apn: 0585-222-01-0000 of 9,750 sq/ft (2) apn 0585-222-02-0000 of 9,750. sq/ft (3) apn 0585-222-03-0000 of 10,415 sq/ft seller is motivated will ing to consider all offers

29 Palms Hwy

Price: $175000

Great Developer Opportunity to create awesome view lots. The north property line is located along side Highway 62 with the east property line against the boundary of Yucca Valley. Zoned 2.5 acre Rural Living. APN: 0585-301-13 & -14

10770 Juniper Ave

Price: $39900

This just shy of 2 acres parcel of land is located on a paved road in the beautiful North West region of Morongo Valley. A spot sure to WOW with its beautiful desert views, serene night skies and quiet location. A MUST SEE! There are power poles on the corner along with a water meter. What more could you ask for?! This peaceful, mesmerizing property for your dream home awaits. Horses welcome!

Palo Veede Rd

Price: $20000

Get up out of the lower desert and still only be 30 minutes from Palm Springs. Rural area allows you room for the toys and animals.

49035 Mojave Dr

Price: $25000

This 18,000 square foot lot is located near the top of the Juniper Heights neighborhood. The are neighbors on both sided and nice houses. Drive to the top of Mojave to find the lot and enjoy views of Mt. San Jacinto and surrounding hills. There is a fire hydrant right at the street. Morongo Valley is surrounded by the Sand to Snow National Monument and houses the world famous Big Morongo Canyon Preserve. Morongo is cooler in the summer and boast views of snow capped mountains most winters. During “the boom” these lots were selling for twice the asking price of this one. Drive by and have a look.

49323 Matzene Dr

Price: $145000

Check out this fantastic home, on over a half acre of land, located in Morongo Valley today. Home has been partially remodeled and just waiting for your final finishing touches. Circle Drive, Mature Landscaping and has its own well. Home is on natural gas. Classic floor to ceiling rock style fireplace, recessed lighting, 2 car garage. Great Views! The adjacent lot is included in sale for easy access to the home.? Home is conveniently situated close to the Big Morongo Canyon Preserve and less than 30 minutes to Palm Springs and the Joshua Tree National Monument. Two lots total 24,842 sq feet, over half an acre. Home is sold as is where is.

9.3 Acres Canyon House Rd

Price: $40000

2 parcels totaling approx 9.3 acres. APN’s 0584-121-23 and 0584-121-29. See pictures. Great time to invest. Call today with any questions.

Twentynine Palms Hwy

Price: $135000

strategically located large flat lot close to hwy 62 / twenty nine palms highway and highland street. flat lot (nec) 3.67 acres with dimensions of 801×200. zoning area mv/rl. located in the morongo school district. assessors map no 11 lot 35. all investigations and due diligence must be completed by the buyers and their agent. seller and his agent are unable to assist. also available for sale with this property are (1) apn: 0585-211-20-0000 lot 38 please see mls iv17014022 for details. (2) apn 0585-211-22-000 lot 36. please see mls iv17014664 for details. also please see mls iv17018909 this listing consisting of these three lots (1) apn: 0585-222-01-0000 size 9,750 sq/ft ( 2) apn: 0585-222-02-0000 size 9,750 sq/ft (3) apn: 0585-222-03-0000 size 10,415 sq/ft. all these six lots are facing the highway and next to the highway. u.s mail, utilities and city services are available to the neighboring property owners

Twentynine Palms Hwy

Price: $135000

great location close to hwy 62 / twenty nine palms highway & highland street. flat land (nec) 160000 sq/ft 3.67 acres in morongo valley. zoning is mv/rl. in the morongo school district. assessors map no 11 lot 36. buyers and their agent must complete all the investigation and due diligence. seller and his agent are unable to help and not responsible. lot may be purchased along with (1) apn: 0585-211-20-000 lot 38 please see mls: iv17014022 for details and (2) apn: 0585-211-23-000 lot 35 please see mls iv17018355 for details all three are large lots of 3.67 acres each. another option, pl ease see mls iv 17018909 this listing consists of three (3) lots as follows (1) apn: 0585-222-01-0000 size 9,750 sq/ft (2) apn: 0585-222-02-0000 size 9750 sq/ft (3) apn: 0585-222-03-0000 size 10,415 sq/ft

49834 29 Palms Hwy

Price: $210000

This Multi-Family Home is located at 49834 29 Palms Highway, Morongo Valley, CA. 49834 29 Palms Hwy is in the 92256 ZIP code in Morongo Valley, CA. The average listing price for ZIP code 92256 is $218,008. 49834 29 Palms Hwy has 4 beds, 3 baths, approximately 1,675 square feet, and was built in 1952

50439 Mecca Rd

Price: $225000

Fantastic views from this beautiful home just a short distance off the paved road. Huge tiled family room with views to the back yard and beyond. The kitchen boasts a breakfast counter with built in stove and cook top. Newer light wood cabinetry and white tile counters. Plenty of storage! The master suite has French doors that lead to to a covered patio. The covered patio is rough hewn wood on a concrete slab and has wonderful views and additional landscape. Inside the garage is a artist workshop with its own A/C. All this on 2.5 usable acres.

8676 Highland Rd

Price: $159900

This Rustic Mid-Century Home is a 2 Bed/1 Bath home with over 1200 sq. ft. and GORGEOUS Views. This home has been well maintained and has REAL Hardwood Floors, Back Patio, Dual Pane Windows, French Doors, Wood Shed, Circular Driveway, Exposed Beams and an Open Floor Plan. Situated on OVER a half acre of property, this home has MUCH to offer. If character is what you are looking for, this place has it!!

Address Not Disclosed

Price: $130000

nice quiet are 2 bedroom 1 bath 15 minutes from morongo casino

49406 Conejo Rd

Price: $121900

Best views in Morongo – 20 min drive to Palm Springs! PLEASE DO NOT DISTURB TENANTQuaint home in the rural area of Morongo Valley. This home will require some TLC but could be a nice starter home once it’s remodeled. The home has a large carport, partial basement, and raised hearth for a wood burning fireplace or stove. In this tranquil desert valley rimmed by beautiful purple San Bernardino Mtns, you may enjoy continuous blue skies with 360 days of health-giving sunshine. Boasting the best four-season climate in Southern California, Yucca Valley also provides pure well water, an ave rage relative humidity annually of .296 percent and average temperatures of 74 high and 42 low. Take time to LIVE – RELAX – PLAY In this tranquil desert valley rimmed by beautiful purple San Bernardino Mtns, you may enjoy continuous blue skies with 360 days of health-giving sunshine. Boasting the best four-season climate in Southern California, Yucca Valley also provides pure well water, an average relative humidity annually of .296 percent and average temperatures of 74 high and 42 low. Take time to LIVE – RELAX – PLAY

Canyon House Rd

Price: $20000

This is 4.87 Acres in Morongo Valley. It is in a very interesting private location. There is even a road that can take you on the other side of the highway under the bridge overpass. There is only a few scattered homes in this area, very remote. The views of the surrounding hills are great from here, lots of foliage and there is power in the street. Check with the water company for water. This is just about 12 minutes to I-10, Palm Springs and the same up to Yucca Valley. Great Location and privacy. Owner Will Carry. Don’t Wait – Call Now!!

Twentynine Palms

Price: $51000

vacant flat land listing offered at very attractive price consisting of three pieces (3) parcels totaling 29,915 sq/ft in size. tract is 3448 (1) apn 0585-222-03-0000 lot 3 (2) apn 0585-222-02-0000 lot 2 (3) apn 0585-222-01-0000 lot 1. the zoning is mv/rl buyers please complete all due diligence. utilities and trash collection services are available. these three lots may be purchase with three other large lots which are 3.67 acres each, located close to twenty nine palms highway. for more details please see mls iv17018355. all the lots are off the 29 palms highway facing the highway. be tween highland road and samuel road thank you

from Houses For Sale – The OC Home Search http://www.theochomesearch.com/houses-for-sale-in-morongo-valley-ca/ from OC Home Search https://theochomesearch.tumblr.com/post/157996225695

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