#nonexistent or herbert changes it a lot

[vulpine-spectacle]

ECHOES IN OUR BLOOD by Vulpine_Spectacle

THE PARENTS OF FEYD-RAUTHA AND BEAST RABBAN.

It is the scream of a woman that spurs Abulurd into a faster pace, despite the pain of shards imprinting into his face, then the snow biting into his flesh. The door to Feyd-Rautha’s nursery is open wide, so Abulurd need only stagger forward into it. The sight that awaits him is sickening. Thora. His wife, his love, lays upon the ground. Blood pours ceaselessly from the stump of her neck. Her body twitches, her nightgown stained with blood and stab wounds across her torso, and her head is in the hands of her killer. “Glossu,” breathes Abulurd. His eldest son stands there before him, clutching Thora’s head in his large, calloused hands. The boy who he had left behind on Arakkis is now a man. He is exceptionally large in stature and muscle, adorned in fine black armor dusted in snow and painted by blood. His smile is like his uncle's, cruel. Twisting his own mother’s head between his hands, he finally looks up to face his father. Carelessly, Rabban throws the head of Thora across the room. It rolls in an expression of frozen pain and terror to the feet of Abulurd. He feels his lip quiver as he looks at it, then at his own son. Beyond this room, he can still hear the massacre transpring through the corridors. Broken windows, guards being slaughtered, the screams of his servants. “Your own mother?” Abulurd says, his voice quivering. Rabban’s back straightens. “I am no son of yours or hers,” he says, his voice rough and thick. He glances towards the crib at the center of the room where Feyd-Rautha is standing, clutching the rim of it and peering over to watch it unfold. He is crying. “Nor is he.” Nor is he.

[katrandomtiger]

We’ll Meet Again

Listen. I don’t know either just take it. Read it on AO3

Jack is visiting his grandma in Kentucky when he learns an important lesson about listening to your elders.

Warning: It’s got ghostys. 

Visiting grandma Lori in the middle of butt-fuck nowhere Kentucky was most definitely not at the top of Jack’s to do list. It wasn’t that he didn’t love his grandma, oh no, he adorned the woman, it was just that spending the first week of summer vacation at grandma’s house with mom is not a 17-year-old boy’s favorite thing to do.

Jack sighed melodramatically as he hefted the last of their suitcases out of the suburban. His mom had, of course, decided to take everything but the kitchen sink with her making the unloading process more difficult than it needed to be. Slowly, he slogged up the driveway to the front door of the house.

Grandma’s was just what you would expect from a small rural town, a well-cared for lawn and garden, and a pristine looking house from the 50s. Against the sides of the house were flower beds that were almost choked with ornaments; pinwheels, signs, flags, and most notably was a rather terrifying cement gnome statue that had been sitting by the steps for so long that the paint had almost completely been weathered away. His name was Herbert.

The garage was packed with grandpa Jeff’s old tools and workbench. Cabinets that lined the plain plywood walls were covered in vintage collectables and filled with out-of-date chemicals and potting soil. An old stove sat in the corner next to the cabinet of assorted junk. Grandma’s van took up one half of the floor while the area grandpa’s truck once took up was now occupied by an ancient grill, the picnic table, and an assortment of lawn chairs.

Jack trudged up the stairs and into the kitchen where his mom and grandma were already gossiping as they started supper. Names of people he had met maybe once in his life were being thrown around as he dumped the luggage into the guest room and collapsed onto the couch in the living room. He listened to their banter before he finally fell asleep.

--

A figure watched the blond boy walk up the driveway. Brown eyes skimmed over the familiar broad shoulder and gold hair. A tear escaped as the figured turned from the window and walked into the kitchen.

--

The trip was going better than Jack had anticipated. The trio had spent the day a few towns over shopping in various clothing stores and shopping centers. They met up with one of Lori’s old friends and Jack was treated with some high quality old lady banter over lunch. The women folk had ended the day with a few bags stuffed with their treasures and Jack had also come away with more than a few items for himself. He was inevitably dragged off to church and a meal at the golf course that he was hard-pressed to say was ‘ok’ before they finally returned to grandma’s.

Jack collapsed on the recliner as soon as they made it in the house and pulled out his phone, desperately sending Terry and Russell pleas to save him. He was met with sarcastic replies and a gif of a man running out to his car and running face first into the door. Jack snorted before sending sad face emoji’s and opening a random puzzle game app.

“Jack, we’re going to Carroll’s house,” mom called from the kitchen.

“OK,”

“You coming?”

“No,”

“Jack.” His mother drawled his name in a warning tone causing Jack to sigh.

“I’ll walk down in a few minutes, I need to finish a couple things, ok?”

Mom shook her head before grabbing her jacket and making her way out to the garage. Jack listened for the van leaving the driveway before bolting upright and making his way into the bedroom where he proceeded to dig through the mess in his suitcase.

“Where the hell- AHA!” Jack exclaimed as he pulled out his headphones. He flipped them around and turned the power on as they synced the Bluetooth to his phone. The headphones beeped softly before music began blaring out of them, Jack paused it before meandering out to the kitchen. He walked over to the ancient looking radio that sat on the baker’s rack next to the counter.

For as long as he could remember, even before grandpa passed away, the radio played in the kitchen almost 24/7. The only exceptions were when a lot people were over, when the TV that sat below it was on, or at bed time. Even when they were in the living room watching TV or when they left, the radio stayed on.

Jack glanced out the window that sat over the sink to see if the van was gone, even when he was younger, grandma would warn him not to touch the radio, if anyone turned it off she would go right behind them and turn it back on. That was just the way it was.

He shrugged to himself before hitting the power button and sliding his headphones on. Jack worked his way around the kitchen, tidying the table, washing the few dishes that had collected by the sink, and hunting down his travel mug (it was in the garage). All the while, not noticing the fog building in the corner.

After a while Jack went back to the bedroom and took off his headphones. He ruffled his hair as his stepped out into the living room. It was dead silent apart from the windchimes ringing out front. All the lights had been switched off, leaving the dying sunlight to light the house. Jack stopped abruptly; something wasn’t right.

He stood in the doorway a moment, unease working through every line of his body before he noticed something sitting on top of the TV that hadn’t been there before. Cautiously, he stepped forward picked up the ancient cardboard picture frame. Two men in WWII uniforms stood with their arms wrapped around each other, their features were obscured by age.

Static from the TV broke the silence, the silver light from the screen was suddenly the only source of light in the house. The radio squealed from the kitchen before crackling to life. Jack dropped the frame as he spun around to face the kitchen doorway.

“~We’ll meet again, Don’t know where, Don’t know when~”

“Hello?”

“~ Till the blue skies, Drive the dark skies, Far away~”

“Grandma?”

“~They’ll be happy to know, That as you saw me go, I was singing this song~”

“HELLO? ANYBODY?” Jack’s calls bordered on frantic, he didn’t dare move from his spot in the only bit of visible light.

The light in the china hutch flickered to life before a horrendous screeching flooded the room, forcing Jack to drop to the carpet with his ears covered. He closed his eyes tight and yelled in pain before he passed out.

“~Next take, Billy, have the trumpets stand at uh- uh- at 37 as well as uhh- in the introduction~”

The sudden lack of harsh noise brought Jack back to consciousness. Jack laid there a moment, unwilling to open his eyes until he heard shoes shuffling past him. He looked up hesitantly only to find the room around him in brown and white, like the vintage photo. A man in slacks and a dress shirt stood in the archway between the kitchen and living room.

“~E 30000 211 take 11~”

The man was beautiful. Dark skinned, goatee, perfectly brushed curls, and a wicked grin curling his lips. The man’s face softened as another person stepped out of the bedroom. The new arrival was barely colored by the browns of the room, something about him was familiar. Jack stared wide eyed at him; he had no face.

“~I found you just in time, I found you just in time, Before you came my time, Was running low~”

They turned to each other and the darker man smiled as he slid an arm around the other’s waist and slowly pulled him into a dance.

“~Now you’re here, And now I know just where I’m going, No more doubt or fear, I’ve found my way~”

Jack watched in fascination as the two shuffled around the kitchen to the sounds of the ancient radio. He slowly stood and followed them into the room. The kitchen was different than the one he remembered, it was smaller, the carpet had been replaced by laminate tile and the appliances were even older than what his grandma kept. Jack glanced at the corner and dread filled his chest; the radio was the same.

“~For love came just in time, You found me just in time, And changed my, Lonely life that lovely, Lonely life that lovely, Lonely life that lovely day~”

The world twisted under Jack’s feet, the walls warped, the painting over the table seemed to melt down the wall, the only thing not affected by the sudden corruption was the radio. The dancers continued across the rolling floorboards as Jack scrambled across what was left of the floor, wood splintered and broke under his feet as he ran for the radio. He managed to grab the counter just as the floor dropped out from under him.

Desperately holding on for dear life, he looked over his shoulder to where the dancers had been only to see the darker man in the corner sobbing over the bloody corpse of his partner, a gun in his hand. Jack scrambled up the cabinet when the man spotted him, an inhuman scream escaped his throat as he fired at Jack.

Blood spattered Jack’s vision and he dropped into the void below, he fell for what felt like an eternity before he landed with a thud in the middle of the living room again, the radio still playing. He shot into a seated position and frantically patted himself down, checking for bullet wounds.

The radio crackled as the music warped and cut out. Jack hesitantly stood and tiptoed back to the kitchen, fear coursing through his body. The fog that had been building in the corner spit static and buzzed when Jack poked his head through the doorway. Jack jumped and stared wide eyed as the fog contorted into a semi-human shape, hissing pitifully as it went.

Sinatra sputtered back to life on the radio as the figure approached him. Jack stood frozen in fear as the foggy creature wrapped a gaseous arm around his waisted and tugged him closer. He couldn’t make out the song through the ever-warping speakers of the radio.

“J-Jaj-Jaaaaaaaaahhhh- CK-,” the creature spit as it forced him into step with the nonexistent tempo.

Tears spilled down Jacks cheeks as he was dragged through whatever dance the thing was trying to do. He shook violently in its arms, trying to keep in step for fear of the repercussions. They made their way around the kitchen until they were back by the radio.

“J-Jaaaaahh- C- Ck- ieeeee,” it screeched, “L-l-oOOoo-vve yOooU. S-s-sooorrRyyy,” a staticy sob burst from the cloud, “FffforrgiVe g-gaabbi?”

Jack gawked at it, trying to understand it’s words, before he nodded jerkily, “Y-yes, I forgive Gabi.”

The fog screeched again and Jack found himself face to face with the dark man. His body was slightly transparent and his legs disappeared below the knee. Tears ran down his face as he gripped Jack’s arms and pulled him into an embrace.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Jackie. Jack. I love you. It was an accident. Jack, I’m so sorry,” the man repeated over and over, burying his face in Jack’s hair.

“I-it’s ok,” Jack stuttered, awkwardly patting the man’s back, “I forgive you. I’m sure your Jack forgives you too. You should go to him. Please, go.”

The ghost pulled back after a moment and looked him in the eye, “Thank you.”

The room blurred and Jack woke up on the floor in front of the TV. The house was quiet and the kitchen light was on. He crawled out to the kitchen to turn the radio back on, only to find it was gone. A small carving of a barn owl with two rings around its neck sat in the radio’s place.

Jack stood and picked up the carving and turned it over, reading the inscription on the bottom.

Jack Morrison & Gabriel Reyes ~ 1954

He slumped into the chair next to him and rubbed his eyes. After a moment, he got up and put his shoes on before heading out the door to Aunt Carroll’s house.

[bunnies-at-midnight]

70 horrible question: op @livixdunne

01: Do you have a good relationship with your parents? i’d say so

02: Who did you last say “I love you” to? my mom

03: Do you regret anything? absolutely

04: Are you insecure? extremely

05: What is your relationship status? single but idk if i’m ready to mingle. i just want affection but i haven’t found anyone new

06: How do you want to die? i want to be awake at the very least.

07: What did you last eat? cake frosting

08: Played any sports? i used to play basketball and softball. but i’m not a sporty girl anymore.

09: Do you bite your nails? yes.

10: When was your last physical fight? never been in one.

11: Do you like someone? yes i do but i don’t know if that will ever work out.

12: Have you ever stayed up 48 hours? no, surprisingly enough

13: Do you hate anyone at the moment? don’t think i have the capability to genuinely hate anybody.

14: Do you miss someone? quite a lot

15: Have any pets? i have a bunny, two dogs, and 3 birds

16: How exactly are you feeling at the moment? not really feeling anything emotionally. i do have a scratchy throat tho

17: Ever made out in the bathroom? never made out anywhere

18: Are you scared of spiders? nope. they are my friends

19: Would you go back in time if you were given the chance? absolutely

20: Where was the last place you snogged someone? no

21: What are your plans for this weekend? work through the consumerist hellscape of toilet paper hoarders.

22: Do you want to have kids? How many? kind of indifferent. i wouldn’t mind having kids but i also wouldn’t mind not having them. so if i did maybe 2 but 3 is the most. no more.

23: Do you have piercings? How many? just my earlobes

24: What is/are/were your best subject(s)? english, history, and art.

25: Do you miss anyone from your past? of course

26: What are you craving right now? physical affection and candy

27: Have you ever broken someone’s heart? yes, and i’m still very sorry. we’re friends now though — hope you know i love ya and i was an idiot sophomore year.

28: Have you ever been cheated on? no, thankfully

29: Have you made a boyfriend/girlfriend cry? no idea

30: What’s irritating you right now? the return of social darwinism during the coronavirus outbreak. people thinking because they got to the store first they deserve all the toiletries. got some news for you: you don’t. also, darwin never wanted his theories applied to human society so quit trying to be herbert spencer wannabes.

31: Does somebody love you? don’t know but i know someone has a crush on me and i’m scared.

32: What is your favourite color? pink

33: Do you have trust issues? yessir

34: Who/what was your last dream about? my friend and i shopping i think.

35: Who was the last person you cried in front of? damn idk i try to cry in isolation.

36: Do you give out second chances too easily? maybe but i think they deserve it.

37: Is it easier to forgive or forget? much easier to forgive.

38: Is this year the best year of your life? no lol

39: How old were you when you had your first kiss? not happened yet.

40: Have you ever walked outside completely naked? no

51: Favourite food? hamburgers

52: Do you believe everything happens for a reason? maybe not everything but definitely some things.

53: What is the last thing you did before you went to bed last night? took a sip of tea and passed out.

54: Is cheating ever okay? ..no

55: Are you mean? i think i am sometimes but i try to be better

56: How many people have you fist fought? i would have to say approximately zero, null, none

57: Do you believe in true love? i would like to believe in it.

58: Favourite weather? spring or fall where it’s not too hot but not too crisp. the air is comforting and the sun gently kisses your arms and face.

59: Do you like the snow? i welcome snow when it’s its time to arrive but i do not want it to last forever. i think it can be very pretty, but i’m in the mood for sunshine and flower petals now. i miss it.

60: Do you wanna get married? yeah i do. but will it happen?

61: Is it cute when a boy/girl calls you baby? depending on their tone

62: What makes you happy? animals, flowers, my crush, art, learning. lots of things.

63: Would you change your name? don’t think i would i’m quite fond of my name.

64: Would it be hard to kiss the last person you kissed? yeah considering that person is nonexistent

65: Your best friend of the opposite sex likes you, what do you do? i don’t know

66: Do you have a friend of the opposite sex who you can act your complete self around? kinda, but not really

67: Who was the last person of the opposite sex you talked to? my friend chris

68: Who’s the last person you had a deep conversation with? my best friend

69: Do you believe in soulmates? again, i would like to. i think we might have multiple soulmates tho.

70: Is there anyone you would die for? i think so

[businessliveme]

The Electric Cars Are Here. Now How About Selling Them

(Bloomberg) — It only took a decade for traditional automakers to take electric cars seriously and offer more than a smattering of test-the-water models. Now comes the hard part: Getting consumers to buy them.

At Frankfurt’s 2019 car show, Volkswagen AG Chief Executive Officer Herbert Diess laid it on thick, calling on governments to give up coal-fired power as he unveiled the electric ID.3 car-for-the-masses. At the Mercedes-Benz stand, where the Daimler AG brand was showing the prototype of an electric S-Class sibling, real beech trees framed massive screens displaying schools of digital fish.

Read: Electric Mini Cooper SE First Drive Review: Specs, Photos

The message to environmentally conscious consumers: we’re with you. But a marketing blitz alone won’t wash away the deep uncertainties facing electric cars — obstacles little changed since carmakers’ initial forays with models like the Nissan Leaf and BMW AG i3. Customers don’t like paying up for new technology they’re unsure about, and they’re worried they won’t reliably get to where they want to go.

“The next big thing is not going to be about the cars, because they will come,” Carlos Tavares, president of the European Automobile Manufacturers Association and CEO of Groupe PSA, said Wednesday. “The next big thing is about affordable mobility. The next big thing is about how we make this work for the biggest number of people.”

Read: Geely Launches Its First Pure Electric Brand Geometry Globally

So far, electric cars have only proliferated in countries with significant sweeteners. Once they go, sales of battery models crater. Demand in China, the world’s biggest electric car market, fell 16% in August — its second straight decline — after the government scaled back subsidies. Carmakers can reduce prices, but then only cut into profitability that in most cases has been nonexistent.

Biggest Obstacles

Consumers are similarly sensitive elsewhere. Demand in Denmark collapsed when the government phased out tax breaks in 2016.

“We’ve been talking about EVs for years, but this year the real production cars showed up,” Max Warburton, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein, wrote in a note. “Should we be celebrating these cars, given the poor margins that most will have?”

Read: Lotus Announces Comeback With All-Electric Supercar, Geely Cash

Across Europe, sales of new plug-in hybrids and fully-electric cars last year made up 2% of total registrations. That’s a tiny market to tussle over for the likes of VW’s ID.3, with a price point below 30,000 euros ($33,009), Tesla Inc.’s Model 3 and Mercedes’s gleaming lineup of plug-ins. Yet carmakers have little choice but to boost their offering to keep pace with regulation, or face fines.

Consumer demand “can’t be mandated,” Daimler CEO Ola Kallenius said at the show. Mercedes-Benz is adding at least 10 purely battery-powered cars through 2022 at a cost of more than 10 billion euros, starting with last year’s EQC SUV, so the carmaker’s lineup can to meet stricter emission limits.

A lot of factors are moving in the right direction. The ID.3’s price point and basic range of 330 kilometers (205 miles) sets the car apart from previous efforts that needed meticulous pre-planning for longer trips. At the top end, there’s now the $185,000 Porsche Taycan Turbo S, and a mid-range that’s rapidly filling out from SUVs like the Jaguar I-Pace and Audi e-tron.

Read: Tesla’s Latest Competitor Is a $15,500 Electric Three-Wheeler

Patchy charging infrastructure is improving too. Ionity, a consortium of Daimler, VW, Ford Motor Co., BMW and now Hyundai Motor Co., is on track to finish building a network of 400 European fast-charging stations by next year to make long-distance travel easier.

Lean Years

For carmakers, this will mean some lean years — at least to 2025 when battery prices are expected to come down — during which lucrative conventional SUVs must subsidize poor returns from their electric cousins. VW will need “patience” until the ID.3 brings significant profit “joy,” Chairman Hans Dieter Poetsch said.

To bridge the gap, the industry is lobbying hard for governments to step up incentives to get to the oft-cited tipping point where driving without a combustion engine becomes normal. In Germany, home to VW, Mercedes and BMW as well as world-leading suppliers like Continental AG, the government sits down next week to discuss broad climate measures. Carmakers are hoping for a bigger slice of subsidies than they got so far.

Read: The Dirt on Clean Electric Cars Is Just Under the Hood

The ACEA on Wednesday called on national governments to boost charging points in Europe to 2.8 million by 2030, a 20-fold increase from 2018.

“We need strong support, because if we don’t do it,” simply offering electric cars won’t be enough for sales to take off, PSA’s Tavares said.

–With assistance from Richard Weiss.

The post The Electric Cars Are Here. Now How About Selling Them appeared first on Businessliveme.com.

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