#pre-cut granite

[captainjamster]

A Surprise Exception

Pairing(s): Kate Laswell x F!Reader Warnings: pre-established strained relationship with sibling, non-sexual intimacy, post-sex cuddling and talks Wordcount: 3.2k Summary: Kate really does not like children, and there’s not a chance in hell she’s having any. No one is changing her mind – but someone else might convince her they’re not all terrible. AO3 Link: Right here! <3

A/N: A few notes for this one! This was written all in one go, so I will probably come back to edit it at some point. While I normally write neutral SFW inserts, reader identifies as a woman because I won't write Kate that isn't a lesbian <3 Pre-established strained relationship w/ sibling is an important tag. This is not a generalised portrayal of single parents; this is an insert specifically with family difficulties, and a couple trying to navigate that with understanding but not permissive boundaries. Also, I hate reading baby talk too, I'm sorry! But I can't make a four year old talk like an adult, so her speech pattern just follows the overgeneralisation of grammatical rules most children engage in developmentally. Lastly, child-free individuals have every right to be child-free, this specifically isn't a "MC changes their mind suddenly" fic. Laswell just realises that not every single child makes her want to remove her ovaries

Full fic under the cut <3

“No.” Her voice is firm, lips tight in that frown that you know means business. It doesn’t deter your dramatics, eyes pleading, hands clasped in front of you. “Please!”

“I told you, no kids.” She turns back to the countertop, sipping at the black coffee you’d just placed in front of her. The room basks in the pale sunrise, orange tinting the walls as light shines from the document Kate is already pouring herself over.

“Kate, it’s just one kid –“

“No! We talked about this at the very beginning. No kids, you agreed.”

You inhale deeply, squashing down a frustrated sigh as the pressure of your palms turns your vision fuzzy for a second. “Yes, I know I agreed – but come on!”

There’s a pause as your words linger in the air, and Kate’s shoulders drop. “Come on?”

You reel back, groaning. “No, I’m sorry – I’m sorry, not like that, fuck. I’m sorry. I’m frustrated and I just feel misunderstood, like you’re not… getting it.”

“Because there’s nothing to get; because we both made a very clear agreement when we started this relationship.” Her tone is final, but you don’t back down.

“Kate!”

She exclaims your name in exasperation, swinging back around on the barstool as she white-knuckles the tablet in her hands.

“Okay, okay – just, okay, just hear me out. Please.” You try not to wilt under her disapproving look, but she doesn’t stop you, and you take the opportunity at full speed. “It’s not even for the whole day, just six hours! I’ll take her out to the park for a bit, I promise we won’t track mud in, and we’ll take a bath, I’ll dry her in the bathroom right after.”

Her nose wrinkles in disgust with the shake of her head. “That’s good and all, but our rug? The couch? My office?”

Your head is shaking adamantly before her sentence ends. “She won’t step foot in your office, I won’t even let her go up the stairs, and I’m going to watch her the whole time.”

Disbelief is etched into her frown. “It’s a kid, babe. You’re fantastic, but you’re not magic. She’s gonna make a mess no matter how hard you try.”

Your mouth opens and closes, every retort coming up futile, and defeat quickly sinks in. Your shoulders slouch, a pout pulling at your lips as you take up the stool next to her, slumping over the cool granite top. The sigh Kate breathes is long, putting down the tablet. “Your sister’s asked us for this last-moment shit plenty before.”

“I know, but it’s different this time,” you mumble into your arms.

“And why is this ‘emergency’ any different?”

“Because she said the whole place still smells like insecticide, and she doesn’t trust the babysitter to know what to do if it makes Lottie sick, he’s barely seventeen. I don’t think she’s lying; I dropped off a grocery pickup on my way home from the store yesterday, and it really did stink.”

Kate bites at the inside of her lip, contemplating. “Can we not just give her money for a proper one?”

You look up incredulously, and Kate’s expression immediately crumples. “Sorry, yeah. That was stupid, I know we said no more giving her money.”

You return back to your forlorn position, tracing mindless shapes that leave a quickly evaporating trail of body heat.

“Honey, if we say yes, she’s going to keep asking us. I don’t want to set a precedent.” Her expression is sympathetic as you peer over the ruffled humps of your sleeve, a hand settling on your thigh. “She had time to get a better replacement, it’s not like the house started stinking yesterday. I’m not letting you play unpaid full-time caregiver again.”

You slide your own hand over hers, grip curling around the ring nestled against the base of her finger. “I know Kate, it won’t go that far. She can ask, but I swear, this will be the only time she ever stays at our house until she’s older. If she ever pulls this again, I’ll pack an overnight bag and go over there – I’ll go to our parents, if I really have to.”

“And she’s really going to work this time?” Kate probes, arms crossed. “This isn’t another “oh, I was definitely at ‘work’, but then I went on this date with a cute guy I just happened to meet on my ‘lunch break’ and forgot to block you from seeing the photos on my story?””

“I made triple sure – she sent me her schedule for the whole month, and a confirmation text that she’d be late this morning with a response from her boss. She already sent the interview confirmation when she got it, and she showed me the congratulatory email when we went out for drinks too.”

Before Kate can speak, you hold up your hand. “And I know, those can be easily faked. So, she’s going to share her location with me when – if we say yes – she gets there, and I’ll call her work line at some random point so Lottie can talk to her, to make sure. She’d be putting in more effort to fabricate this than she would actually getting the job.”

The air feels thick as Kate stays quiet – just looks over your face, searching for something.

“I’m not helping.” She concedes after a long pause, and you bolt up straight, slapping a hand over your mouth to keep back a loud cheer.

“I mean it, I’m going to be in my office. I’ll come out for lunch and say hello, I’m not going to ignore the kid. But no begging to play games, no help cleaning up messes or disasters, no picking you up halfway if her legs get tired.” She tilts her head, an eyebrow raised expectantly, amusement in those pretty blue eyes as she gazes at you.

“Nothing, I swear to god, baby. I’ll have lunch ready at around 12, I’ll just text you and you can come down.” You bring her hand to your lips, peppering kisses across her knuckles, making sure to be generous over her ring with a cheeky smile that Kate fondly rolls her eyes at.

==

Charlotte warbles a rhyme she learnt in day-care as you pull into your street, kicking her feet in time with the ticking of the indicator as you stop in the driveway. She makes a loud squawk as you reach for the door handle, a small glare peering up at you through the window to warn your hand away from it. You watch as she tugs at it until the latch clicks, using her legs to swing it open. “I did it all by myself!”

You give her a bemused smile, holding out a hand that she accepts as her little legs stretch to meet the pavement. “Yeah sweetie, you did it all by yourself, good job opening it. You wanna grab your bag, or should Auntie do it?”

Charlotte gives you the most withering look a four year old can muster, sighing loudly as she grabs the straps of her backpack from the floor. “Don’t you know I’m a big girl now? I gotta carry my own bag, Mama said.”

The pressure in your chest hurts as your throat constricts, desperately holding your breath to avoid laughing at the very serious mistake you’ve just made. “I’m – ah, sorry, I’m so sorry Lottie. You are a big girl now, yes.”

All is forgiven as you extend your hand again, and Charlotte skips up the short driveway by your side, backpack clunking with each step. “Was my singing good Auntie?”

You hum approvingly, swinging your arm gently. “It was great, honey. You know so much about bugs!”

She gives you a pleased, toothy grin, her face scrunched up in exaggeration. Before you open the to the door, you halt, crouching down to your niece’s level. She frowns at you inquisitively, gaze moving between your face and the door. “Alright, sweetheart. You remember what I said?”

Her expression dissolves into a sassy squint, nose scrunched up in distaste of your obviously silly adult ways. “Auntie, you told me like – like a million times!”

“I know, I know. Can you say it back to me, just one more time?”

With a roll of her eyes, she takes a deep breath, holding up a finger for each instruction you’ve given her. “Auntie Kate is really really busy, so we gotta be quiet, not be yelling, and I can’t be going up the stairs and being distracting.”

You nod in encouragement, giving her a smile. “And?”

Charlotte frowns, thinking for a moment, before her eyes light up. “And no making messes!”

She throws her arms up as you cheer, her chubby cheeks squished between them. “Yay! Inside now?”

You clap your hands to your thighs, standing up to reach for the handle. “Yep, inside now.”

Charlotte barrels through the door before it’s even fully open, almost pulled back as her bag is caught in the opening, and you catch her hand to stop her from running off. “Hold up, cowgirl! Those shoes need to come off first.”

You shuck off your own, watching as Charlotte tugs at hers, before helping her line them neatly against the wall. Coming out the hallway, to your surprise, Kate is sitting on the couch. You shoot her a confused frown as you walk closer, but she just comes over to meet you halfway, crouching down to Charlotte’s level. “Hey, sweetheart, I wanted to say hi again. Remember me?”

Charlotte lingers near your leg, her hand scrunched up in your pants as she looks your wife up and down. “You’re Auntie Kate.”

She gives a small smile, nodding slowly. “Yep. That’s right.”

Charlotte doesn’t respond, fingers in her mouth nervously. The room is quiet for a second as Kate looks equally unsure, twisting her hands together as she speaks again. “What… have you been up to lately?”

Your niece looks at her owlishly, round eyes slowly blinking.

“I punched a boy.”

Kate’s eyes widen, taken aback with an expression you mirror. “You punched a boy?”

Your niece nods solemnly, looking down at her scrunched up fist with a dramatic reminiscence. “He told my friend – he said, he was really mean, and he said girls can’t ride bikes, and he uhm – he did this,” she explains, making a sharp pushing motion into the air, “and she falled off and got hurted and she was really sad. And then I was sad, and then I did my fist like this and punched him!”

She raises her fist to Kate, a proud look on her small face, and you watch Kate struggle to keep the corners of her lips from peeking up. “Wow, I see. Did you get in trouble?”

Charlotte’s pigtails bounce as she shakes her head confidently, bringing a leg up to point at it as she balances on the other. “Nuh-uh, ‘cos my friend had all the blood on her knee and she was crying.”

Kate nods, clasping her hands together, already out of her depth with the look she gives you. “Right. Okay. Well, no punching anyone or falling off things while you’re here, alright?”

“Alright!” Charlotte chirps, giving Kate the same toothy grin. She gives a smile back before shooting you an impressed but shocked look that you just shrug at, grinning. Kate shakes her head, and you catch and squeeze her hand, pressing your lips to hers appreciatively before she scampers off. “Thank you, I love you.”

The wink she directs your way sends butterflies through your stomach, and they erupt as she calls out, retreating up the stairs. “Don’t worry! You’ll make it up to me.”

==

Charlotte peers down at the puzzle, hands on her hips as she balances the towel on her head. Impossibly happy voices sing from the TV as a show she begged for plays, and you catch a blue dog playing a xylophone with her orange sister when you peak around the corner to check on your niece. “Everything going okay, pumpkin?”

The puzzle is very uncomplete, but she’s been following your advice of finding all the border pieces, given the little pile she’s accumulating concentratedly. “We can get an easier one, honey. 50 pieces is a lot.”

Charlotte looks up at that, unimpressed. “I already did 10 pieces of jigsaw!”

With a shrug, you disappear back into the kitchen, cutting up the last toppings on your board as you call out again. “Alright, that’s fine. But lunch will be ready in 10 minutes, so we’ll take a break then, okay?”

A small grumble of acknowledgement comes from the floor, and you get back to it. Before long, the sandwiches are plated up, and Kate’s salad is in a bowl with her plate. Charlotte makes less fuss than you’d thought as she drags her feet over to the table, clambering up the chair to sit down. Grabbing your phone, you send off a text, shoving it back in your pocket before bringing the plates over. Charlotte eyes the sandwiches, peeking through the layers of bread. “Is it good?”

You laugh, picking up your own slice. “I hope so. Your mama said it’s your favourite.”

“No way!” She perks up excitedly, grabbing a quarter and taking a big bite. Kate descends from her office a few minutes later, cup in hand and making a beeline for the kitchen. She comes out with a fresh cup a moment later, taking a seat across from you. “Thanks for brewing a pot, honey,” she murmurs, scooping up a spoonful of salad. “Have you girls been having fun?”

Charlotte hums through a mouthful, wiggling in her chair. “Shaw ducksh at th’prk!”

Kate tries to hold back a grimace, cringing at the food around her mouth, and you send her an apologetic look as you speak up. “Swallow your food first, Lottie.”

Between chews, she narrows her eyes at you, but swallows before speaking again. “There was a mama and her babies.”

The meal is spent in a very one-sided conversation about your trip to the park as Charlotte earnestly recounts every detail, informing Kate about all the kinds of bugs she found under the rocks. The girl is on a long rattle about the spots on ladybug shells when Kate clears her throat, stacking her dishes together, and Charlotte cuts herself off. “No more food already?”

“I have work to finish,” Kate explains as she stands up, “and I’m sure you’re excited to play with Auntie for the last hour you’re here, right?”

A misty expression crosses Charlotte’s dirty face at the realisation, her bottom lip puckering out. “But what if I goed home and comed back after I sleep?”

Kate gives you a pointed look as she disappears around the corner, and you close your eyes for a moment as dishes clink against the metal sink, silently cursing. “Remember we talked about that, babes? You got day-care tomorrow, and I’ll come see you on the weekend.”

Charlotte brightens up temporarily at the mention of day-care, but you can see the moment she realises it’s ‘stopping’ her from coming over as her expression dampens again. “Can we go see ducks on the weekend?”

“Yeah honey, we can see the ducks again.” You nod, leaning back in your chair as Charlotte shoves the last of her sandwich into her mouth. Closing your eyes, your head falls back until it meets the wooden frame, taking a moment to sink down and relax. But tension suddenly springs back into them as fingers slide under your chin, your eyes opening to meet an upside down Kate.

“Hey beautiful,” she murmurs, and you giggle in her grasp, humming as she presses her lips to yours. “Thanks for lunch. You’re so sweet, keeping me fed.” She gives your cheek an affectionate pat, pulling away and heading to the stairs as you sit up and give her a scandalised look at her teasing praise. Footsteps against the floor patter behind you, and Charlotte darts past Kate to the door before you can question her.

“Auntie Kate!”

Your wife pauses, and you can see her breathe in before she turns. “What’s up, kiddo?”

Charlotte drags her bag over, crouching down and rummaging through its depths to pull something out. It takes you a moment to recognise the scraggly stems and squashed petals, but Charlotte shoves them out in offering with the confidence of someone holding a thousand dollar bouquet. “Auntie said you like flowers, and I thoughted maybe you got no flowers inside, so I got the best ones for you!”

Kate’s face pinches into something you’ve never seen before, and you debate stepping in before she crouches down, extending her hand to take the ragged bundle. “That was really thoughtful of you, Charlotte.” She takes a moment to smell them – more for Charlotte’s sake, you think –, and gives the kid a soft smile. “Thank you for getting me flowers. I’ll be happy to have them in my office now, hey?”

You can see Charlotte’s fingers twist and intertwine as they meet behind her back, shoulders up high as she sways happily, and you can only imagine the grin she’s giving Kate. “You’re welcome!” She chimes, grabbing her bag and hauling it back to the door. You watch Kate take in the flowers as they droop over her hand, standing up as she casts a look over at Charlotte, running back to the table. Your gazes connect as she flickers to you, a grin filling her face as she gestures the flowers at you, to which you flap your hand towards the stairs cheekily.

Your phone buzzes as you turn on the tap for Charlotte, and you pull it out as she dries her hands, tapping in on the photo of the flowers in a tall glass next to her computer.

<< Can’t wait to see yours. ;)

==

“I still hate kids.”

“I know,” you sigh happily into her collarbones, pressing a kiss against a mole there. Her skin is still soured by sweat, and you hum appreciatively at the taste, basking in the post-orgasmic daze washing through your limbs. Everything feels warm, exertion mingling with fatigue to settle across you in a sleepy blanket, and you can’t stifle a yawn that bubbles up.

“She was sweet, though. Thought she’d be more of a menace.”

A hum is all you get out, listening to the patter of her heart.

“We’re never having them.”

Kate squirms at the way you huff in amusement against her skin at the remark, tilting up to give her a look. “I know, honey. Wasn’t planning on changing my mind.”

She grins, running her nails across your scalp, bringing you back against her bare chest. “Thought I fucked that sass out.”

You snort, dipping out your tongue to run against her jugular, kissing the damp trail. “The only thing that recovers faster than your libido is my attitude.”

Kate laughs at that, nudging her leg further up between your thighs to make you squeak. “Now you’re trying to wind me up, close your damn eyes.”

“Uh-huh. I remember them being closed before you reminded me you hate kids.”

You whimper as her fingers tug in reprimand at your hair before resuming their strokes, rustling accompanying the sound of breathing in the moonlight room. There are lights swirling in barely visible colours as you fall further into a world between here and unconsciousness, and you feel weightless, floating in nothingness with the only person you’ve ever wanted by your side.

“… She wasn’t that bad, though.”

“Kate, go to sleep.”

dividers by cafekitsune

[fruit-salad-ship]

Ranger AU, girls still hating on each other, probably first year, like, mid to end of it. Theyre still fighting, still rivals, both live to irritate each other on the daily. this is PRE-kiss, theyve not had any interactions that have yet to be volatile or challenging. Out on a hike, navigation training, Plum suggests a path up into the mountains to cut down on time, Peach says its a bad time of year to go that way, too much rain makes footing unstable. Plum bickers back that the mountains are mostly made up of granite, theyre solid, it'll be fine. So. fine. They cut time, and go the mountain way. Peach sets up camp to dodge the rain in a cliff side alcove, and plum scouts ahead a little. she's caught off guard by the path beneath her sliding out, and she topples towards the sheer face, barely grabbing for a hold, dangling off the edge. Missy is not even half strong enough to get her trainer up away from the fall, and plum is shouting to try to get peach to hear her through the distance and rain, grip failing, trying to get footing but the rocks beneath are slipping out with her movement. Its terrifying, the rain coming down so hard, half blinding her, making everything slick. Plum realises she could very well fall and die here, this is not a place rangers were suppose to go this time of year. She misjudged, underestimated the weather, the terrain. worst part is, she hates to think it, but also cant handle hate right now, so overcome with fear: Peach was right. they shouldn't have come this way.

With a failing hold, Plum slips, and slips more, and realises she cannot hold on forever. A second more than she expected to keep this up for, something grabs her wrist, and then the other. Val was made aware of the noise, so keen of hearing, she alerted Peach and they came running. The hauling of her up was not easy, and the two fall back against the paths wall, watching more of the edge crumble away where Plum had been hanging. The topple puts Peach sat on her ass, muddy, soaked through, shes not strong at this point, just a teenager with a need, and almost not enough muscle mass. Defo pulled something saving her partner, and now, Plum is in her lap, shaking, looking back at where she'd been not more than a few seconds prior, the shock settling in as the sound of rock and mud clattering down is present past them both breathing heavy. Theres no thought. Theres no logical words to say. Plum just cries, wraps herself up around her partner and realises shes dodged death.

Peach however has never experienced genuine emotion like this, she just acted, didnt think, and suddenly has her rival in her lap crying, shaking, realising shes just sat there, very very tentative about what to do with this. What do people even do? She would cry as a kid and get scolded, or hit, or treated like it was weakness. but...that never helped? Her instinct can only let her slowly figure out if a hand on plums back is ok, flinching away once first, before letting the hand sit. The light touch doesnt bother her, and suddenly she realises contact can be nice. the situation was scary, but theyre ok. Peach has to mutter that, that its ok, she's there, she's got them, Plum wont stop crying, but the one hand on her back turns to two, then to a tight hold, and the two sit there, wrapped up, in the rain, handling the complex fear going on there.

They get back to the camp, dry off as best they can, sleeping bags and a mutual closeness that neither wants to address. Plum scoots closer, Peach doesnt mock her for it. The next day they go back and go the right way. No arguments, no snide comments, and neither brings up what happened until way later in second year

peach quietly not knowing why, but in the back of her mind, shes got to get stronger. the gym behaviour becomes more of an option from then on. Shes got to be able to protect her team, not just dodge and evade like a champ. she struggled to haul plum up. She will not struggle again.

During the daring save, Peach tears a rotary cuff hauling plum from the fall, doesnt clock it at the time, she was processing a lot, but that tear goes overlooked, and she ends up healing poorly, not resting it, and it becomes a long term injury. Eventually Plum notices shes rolling her shoulder and managing an ache thats gotten worse, and prys. Peach doesnt say where she got it from at te start until it causes problems later, her shoulder fails her, she wasnt able to use it right due to the old injury and got even more hurt, on top of tearing it again. Plum chews her out over it after the chaos dies down. peach sits, and takes plums shouting while she patches up her injuries, and for once she isnt snapping back. only once plum stops giving her shit does she answer the question, what happened? The old injury that shes carried around for a year or so gave out, the injury she got saving her stupid ass. and suddenly plum feels a little bad.

plum goes from scolding and harsh, to suddenly rather quiet, back to bandaging something peach cant reach right, classic patching up and she's got the whole shoulder/back area uncovered while its being tended. theyve had a couple moments by this point, a kiss or two based purely on a power play, a few cuddly nights where one fell asleep and the other was there to lean on and didnt want to wake them, late nights studying or training. of course your classic 'dodge danger' and end up in a heap on top of each other in a ditch, safe, but suddenly very close, maybe a hand somewhere it shouldnt be, that hesitation after realising their position, figuring out why this feels right. scrambling apart embarrased and back to work. Defo not letting that keep them up late at night. So plum feeling bad, places one tentative peck on peachs shoulder, where that original injury is. scampers off fast after calling her an idiot. peach just sat there wondering what the fuck just happened.

[arraytale001]

CHAPTER 10

FILE 09

HOPE.

((( you can hear Mozart's music: Requiem in D Minor, K. 626: I. Introitus. Requiem aeternam for a more dramatic and darker feel, or La petite fille de la mer which has a dark and desperate feel. )))

It felt as though his soul had been pierced by a rusted blade, sharper and more painful with every slice of flesh, drawing blood with each cut. Like shattered glass scattered across the floor, spilling wine onto an elegant granite surface—the wine, like a pool of blood, stained the pristine white floor. Sans imagined specks of dust floating in the air, like snowflakes falling onto a thick pool of blood.

 “I killed her. So now, I’m a murderer, huh.” The thought haunted Sans like a ghost, softly whispering its words.

For a moment, he felt like he couldn’t breathe—it was suffocating and agonizing. The feeling of satisfaction from breaking free of his restraints mixed with overwhelming guilt, thick and sticky. It lingered like a deadly potion, attacking and consuming his mind from all sides. The old Sans would never have considered killing his own friend—Sans now wondered if the reflection in the water was really himself, or merely an illusion of the nightmare he had always hidden away. Sans closed his eyes.

“…It had to be this way. There was no other choice—destroying morality to gain power,” he thought, trying to steel himself.

Sans understood the consequences, the punishment, and the weight of his crimes. Yet, he decided to move forward and leave his former self behind—a farewell he didn’t wish for but had to accept to break free of the chains that had bound him. Rays was more than just an enemy threatening his life—a disaster, a great menace who wouldn’t yield to anything but his own desires. He would do whatever it took, sacrificing others and destroying everything in his path to achieve victory. His greed consumed his mind; he was the very definition of a monster. A monster that corrupted and destroyed everyone around him.

For that reason, Sans knew he couldn’t be half-hearted in carrying out his plan. He was determined to shed his old character completely, leaving behind Sans who always made his friends laugh, Sans who sold hotdogs for fun—that version of himself was discarded into a pit, never to rise again.

 “What’s done is done.”

Sans finally started walking toward Frisk, who remained motionless in their spot. His steps were stiff, his expression grim—Sans felt utterly dulled, resigned to the possibility that things would only get worse from here. But regret wouldn’t solve anything. There was no need to question morality when he had been forced to rebel, forced to rage on. No matter what, his hands were already stained, and this was the path he had chosen.

Accepting it was harder than denying it.

And so, Sans accepted whatever he had become. If he was broken, then broken he would remain.

Sans eventually stood directly in front of Frisk, his expression blank, his gaze fixed on the air ahead of him—as though Frisk didn’t notice Sans’s presence at all.

“I’m sure the system is in disarray now,” Sans said quietly. Frisk was supposed to defeat Undyne in this game, but Sans had chosen to take aggressive action and replace Frisk. “Let’s see what’s inside you, Frisk.”

Sans gently grasped Frisk’s head, pressing his thumb against their forehead, trying to sense something—yes, he could feel something there, faint and indistinct. He couldn’t quite tell what it was that he was sensing now.

Sans immediately opened his eyes wide, braced himself, and activated the power Rays had just bestowed upon him.

And then…

“Oh... wow. So this is what you made of yourself, Frisk.”

A cascade of shifting numbers filled his vision, streaming across Frisk’s body. Sans observed each pathway channeling information into what he assumed was Frisk’s soul—or their core. Like a bustling highway, each number carried its own data: levels, defenses, weapons, shields, and pre written dialogues. Everything was there, showcasing an astonishing and intricate complexity. This was Frisk—their true self, their life—the character they had been shaped into long ago and could never escape.

Yes, unless Rays had given Sans the authority to take control of the NPC system he had chosen. Frisk wouldn’t have been able to change at all—but now, here Sans was, rewriting their code, trying to reshape them into someone like himself.

“Well, Frisk, it’s time for you to wake up from your nightmare.”

Sans reached toward the core of Frisk—or what could be called their soul. He could feel an electric sting trying to push him away, a system safeguard meant to protect Frisk from outside interference. Yet Sans pushed harder, digging deeper despite the system’s stronger resistance. It wasn’t easy—Frisk’s system fought back ferociously, guarding their soul with every defense it had.

“I look like the villain here,” Sans muttered, his tone dry and self-deprecating. It was like performing a dramatic surgical operation; Frisk’s body hung lifeless in Sans’s grip, while Sans focused intently on breaching and grasping their well-protected soul. “Stupid system—” he cursed under his breath. It took considerable effort and time to bypass every layer of defense.

And finally, after a long struggle and immense patience—

“Got it!”

Sans felt the soul in his grasp. “I’m doing this for your own good, Frisk,” he said softly. Holding it firmly, he began to work.

Carefully, Sans accessed the core data of Frisk’s soul, making precise adjustments. He added what was necessary, reorganized their structure, and ensured everything was arranged meticulously. There was no room for mistakes—any error could shatter his plans and lead to disaster.

“Come on, this has to work.”

The new data seemed to integrate seamlessly with Frisk’s old data—no conflicts or errors arose. Sans carefully observed the code at work, analyzing every interaction. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, he exhaled deeply, a heavy weight lifting off his chest. Frisk was his desperate gamble—the key to defeating Rays, even if it meant resorting to brutal measures.

“Frisk... Frisk.”

 Sans gently patted Frisk’s cheeks, hoping to wake him. “Hey, buddy, wake up.” But still no response. Anxiety began to creep into his mind—a tiny pang of panic he couldn’t quite shake. 

Until finally…

 “WAKE UP!”

 Smack!

“Hey, kid, how was your dream?”

 A sharp slap jolted the poor human awake from their dreamlike state.

***

"I feel strange," Frisk said, gazing at Sans, who sat beside him, his eyes filled with exhaustion.

"You’ll get used to it, Frisk," Sans replied. "For now, you’ll just have to accept that odd feeling."

"What did you do to my body?"

Sans paused for a moment. "At a time like this, do you want a joke?" Frisk glared at him. "No? Oh okey, well you know, Frisk. I just changed your code and added some important information to it. I’m sure you understand that well enough." Sans tried to relax his stiff shoulders, his gaze fixed on Frisk, who still seemed confused. The human looked so weak, Sans thought. But he also held incredible power—if only all monsters had it... NO. Fantasizing wouldn’t solve anything. It was just a dream that would never come true.

"I understand I’m just a vessel for the players," Frisk continued, bitterness creeping into his voice. "I watched all that evil happen through my own hands, and what can I do about it? Nothing. I can only watch and do what I’m told." Frisk spoke with a feeling of helplessness, knowing he was powerless to stop the brutality.

"I know how you feel, Frisk. That’s why I freed you from those chains."

Frisk fell into a quiet reflection, resting his head on the back of the bench. He sighed deeply and said, "By killing her, Sans? Undyne... I saw everything, and I’ll never be able to forget it."

Hearing that, Sans clenched his pants tightly, his gaze shifting to the view in front of him—Waterfall, with its glistening streams and sparkling light. The faint whispers between the blue flowers were like a beautiful tapestry in the ocean. It took him a long time to say the truth—an admission of guilt that had been forced upon him.

"You’re right. By killing her."

"Why, Sans?"

"I had to." There was a tone of sadness in his voice, one he tried to hide but couldn’t.

“Is this about EXP? Do you want your level to be the highest, Sans?” Frisk raised his voice slightly, anger evident in his tone. However, Sans remained unfazed, even as Frisk’s voice grew louder, almost yelling. Instead, Sans chuckled at the baseless accusation. “EXP? Nah, that’s just nonsense, and I don’t want my level to be higher than yours. I don’t need that kind of power at all, Frisk.” Sans kicked a nearby stone and continued, “I just want to mess up this game’s system, do the impossible, and make it collapse. That’s what I want, Frisk—to rebel.”

“Did it have to be by killing Undyne? She’s your friend—”

“Shut your mouth.” 

“...”

Frisk couldn’t say anything. His gaze weakened, his body stiff as Sans reminded him how he wasn’t just as bad—he was worse. He, too, was a murderer—a monster who had slaughtered countless innocent lives.

“Watch your words, you'll bite your tongue if you're careless.” His tone was dark and filled with an oppressive chill. Frisk felt his mouth clamp shut as he heard Sans’s cold voice. A wave of fear engulfed him, his fingertips trembling, and his pupils dilated with horror.

“Do you so desperately want to see me as a cruel killer like yourself, Frisk? Do you really want to watch me fall to the ground and become the same ruthless murderer as you? Is that what you want?”

Even so, Frisk still felt something was wrong, and he needed to do something about it.

"I don’t understand. It feels like I’m talking to someone else, not Sans that I know," Frisk said, biting his lip hard enough to leave a bruise. "This isn't you I knew. Why... it should have been me. You should have been—"

"A judge?"

Frisk shifted his gaze, his brown hair covering his face to hide the obvious sadness. Sans watched him with an empty stare.

"Not like myself? As if you knew me so well, Frisk."

"Then what? I’ve known you for so long, played with you. I felt close to you. If you think I don’t know you, then what is this?"

"Opinion. Perspective. A point of view. You can’t claim to know someone just because you’ve spent time with them, Frisk. Just because you’ve played this game long enough doesn’t mean you know me well. And the same goes for me—I don’t understand you, and I don’t feel like I know you."

Frisk fell silent, his mouth hanging open in disbelief. The tension in the air seemed to stretch, his posture rigid as he stared in stunned silence.

"…So then what is this," Frisk said, his voice soft and filled with sorrow. He glanced at Sans, who seemed so different now—there was no longer the warm smile, no more friendliness. It felt like sitting next to a stranger, someone who had closed himself off. But even so, Frisk felt like he could still vaguely understand Sans.

"Rays ... this is about that person, right?" he said, immediately making Sans snap out of his thoughts.

"You know him?" Frisk nodded slightly, then looked at Sans. "I guess you could say that. He came to me once and tried to do something to my soul. His behavior was really suspicious, but I couldn’t do anything about it—you know, I could only watch him."

Sans understood that all too well. "We need to stop him, Frisk. And that’s why we’re both here," he said, looking at Frisk as he reached out to grab his hand, trying to gain his trust. "I need you to stop Rays—to free us all from this ridiculous game. No more judgment, no more forcing you to kill us all. You’ll cleanse the stain on your hands, Frisk. For your freedom."

Sans’s gaze was firm, locking Frisk in place. In a softer voice, he pulled Frisk closer with a subtle allure that made him waver—but truly, that’s what he wanted: freedom for all his friends, and an end to this game.

"You need me, but why?" Frisk still had doubts. Sans had expected this. "You have a strong soul, Frisk, a will stronger than anyone else in this world, and I don’t have that in me. I’m just an NPC without a will as strong as yours."

Sans smiled, his expression clearly sad. Frisk, feeling the despair in Sans, began to move closer. "I don’t know if I’m that strong, Sans."

"Trust me, Frisk. You’re stronger than you think. I ... am not. We all need you. You’re the only one I can rely on. Only you, Frisk. No one else." It was as if his words were a whisper curling around Frisk’s neck from behind, a soft promise that blinded him with hope. Frisk couldn’t see the wide, cruel grin carved firmly across Sans’s face, his gaze dark and binding, like a venomous serpent coiling tighter. “What if this doesn’t work? What if we lose in the end…” Frisk’s voice trembled with the fear of an uncertain future, the weight of his own doubts apparent.

“You can’t know what the future holds, Frisk,” Sans answered, his voice steady, almost soothing. “But if we work hard and believe—really believe—I’m sure we’ll find the way.”

Sans’s eyes met Frisk’s with unwavering certainty, his own vulnerability on full display, seeking to influence Frisk through this weakness. He wanted Frisk to feel less alone, to trust him with everything.

“Anything can happen, Frisk. There’s no dead end unless we’re not ready to step forward. You have to believe, and I’ll help you achieve that freedom.” The calm tone in his voice, the certainty in his eyes, made him seem like a fragile but trustworthy ally, one Frisk could rely on.

It was an invitation—a lure deeper into the web, pulling Frisk ever closer to his carefully laid trap.

Extending his hand, Sans gently pulled Frisk closer, dragging him into a prison that was made specifically for him. A cage of promises, making Frisk more powerless with each step. 

“This is me. I’m not as strong or as smart as you think. You see me, don’t you? A mess, completely falling apart,” he said with a slightly pleading tone.

Sans deliberately displayed an expression of deep despair, skillfully maintaining eye contact with Frisk, forcing him to stay within his reach. It felt as though Sans was grabbing Frisk’s hand through a dense fog, leading him wherever he pleased—guiding Frisk to his own grave while singing him a lullaby.

There was cruelty in the way Sans deceived Frisk, carefully choosing his words and exploiting the fragility of someone powerless and longing for freedom—yes, someone just like him. Sans revealed how trauma could transform a person into something rotten and cunning—discarding morality and conscience, replacing them with an unwanted dark side.

Unaware of the manipulation, Frisk reached out and took Sans’s hand willingly, a trusting smile on his face. Unknowingly, he sealed a pact he didn’t expect, oblivious to the fact that Rays wasn’t the only one seeking control, seeking sacrifice.

Sans had already blinded Frisk with each desperate hope he voiced.

“I’ll help you, Sans.”

Frisk’s acceptance was clear, spoken without hesitation. Sans’s face relaxed with visible relief, a happiness that filled his expression. He hugged Frisk tightly, as if to show gratitude. Yet, far from Frisk’s view, Sans’s true expression remained hidden—one of darkness and hunger.

Look at him now.

Sans’s face was flat, void of the warmth it once held. His red eyes wandered, searching for the vulnerability Frisk had unknowingly revealed. His soul was tainted, its rhythm beating like a twisted lullaby that heralded death, filled with chaos and manipulation. It coiled around Frisk, tightening with every passing second.

Sans revealed in the corruption of his own thoughts, savoring Frisk’s innocence, how easily he had fallen for the empty promises of despair. The satisfaction gnawed at his mind, making him crave the dark, the twisted pleasure that came with it. With his mind now so far from the one Frisk knew, Sans reached for him, smiling wide…

“I’m counting on you, buddy.”

JAPANESE VERSION

CHAPTER 10

FILE 09

HOPE

((( あなたはモーツァルトの音楽を聴くことができます: Requiem in D Minor, K. 626: I. Introitus. Requiem aeternam は、よりドラマチックで暗い雰囲気を持っています、または La petite fille de la mer は、暗く絶望的な雰囲気を持っています。)))

まるで錆びた刃で魂を貫かれたようだった。切り刻むたびにもっと鋭く、もっと痛くなり、血が滴る。床に散らばった割れたガラスのように、優雅な花崗岩の上にワインがこぼれ落ちた——そのワインは血の池のように、真っ白な床を染めた。サンズは空中に浮かぶ埃の粒を想像した、雪片が暗い血の池に落ちるように。

「俺が殺した。俺は殺人者だ。」その考えはサンズの心に幽霊のようにまとわりつき、優しく囁いた。

一瞬、息ができないような気がした——それは息苦しく、痛みを伴った。拘束から解放された満足感と、圧倒的な罪悪感が混じり合い、どろどろとした粘着感を放った。それは致命的な薬のように残り、あらゆる面からサンズの心を攻撃し、食い尽くしていった。昔のサンズなら、友達を殺すことなんて考えなかっただろう——今のサンズは、水面に映る自分が本当に自分なのか、それともずっと隠してきた悪夢の幻覚なのかを考えていた。サンズは目を閉じた。

「…こうするしかなかった。ほかに選択肢はなかった——力を得るために道徳を破壊するんだ。」そう思い、心を固めようとした。

サンズはその結果、罰、そして罪の重さを理解していた。それでも、前に進むことを決め、過去の自分を置いていくことにした——望んでいなかった別れだったが、解放されるためには受け入れなければならなかった。レイズは命を脅かす敵以上の存在だった——災厄であり、自分の欲望以外には屈しない大きな脅威だった。勝利を手に入れるために、彼は他人を犠牲にし、すべてを破壊するだろう。彼の欲望は心を食い尽くし、まさにモンスターそのものだった。周りのすべてを腐らせ、破壊していくモンスターだった。

だからこそ、サンズは計画を実行する��に中途半端な気持ちではいられなかった。彼は完全に旧い自分を捨てる覚悟を決めた。友達を笑わせるサンズ、楽しみでホットドッグを売るサンズ——その自分は深い穴に捨てられ、二度と浮かび上がることはない。

「そうなれば、そうなる。」

サンズはついにフリスクのほうへ歩き出した。フリスクはその場から動かず、じっとしていた。サンズの足取りはぎこちなく、表情は険しい——彼は完全に感覚が鈍っていた。これから状況がもっと悪化する可能性を覚悟し、諦めたようだった。でも、後悔しても何も解決しない。反逆せざるを得ず、怒りに任せて進むしかなかった時に、道徳を問う必要なんてなかった。どのみち、彼の手はすでに血に染まっていた。それが自分で選んだ道だった。

受け入れることは、否定することよりもずっと難しかった。

だからこそ、サンズは自分が何者になったのかを受け入れた。壊れているなら、そのまま壊れたままでいればいい。

やがてサンスはついにフリスクの真正面に立った。フリスクは無表情で、サンスの存在にまったく気づかず、ただ目の前の宙を見ていた。

「システムは今、めちゃくちゃになってるだろうな。」サンズは静かに言った。フリスクはこのゲームでアンダインを倒すはずだった。でもサンズは攻撃的な行動を選び、フリスクの代わりに動くことにした。「さあ、見せてくれよ、フリスクの中身を。」

サンズはそっとフリスクの頭に手を置き、親指を彼らの額に押し当てた。何かを感じ取ろうとしていた——そうだ、そこに何かがあるのを微かに感じた。でも、それが今何なのか、はっきりとはわからなかった。

「へえ……これがフリスクという人間を構成するコードなんだね。」

サンズはすぐに目を大きく開け、覚悟を決め、レイズから授かった力を発動させた。

そして……

視界いっぱいに流れる数字の奔流が現れた。それはフリスクの体を覆うように動き回っていた。サンズはそれぞれの道筋を観察し、それらがフリスクの魂——あるいは彼らの核に情報を送っているように見えた。まるで混み合った高速道路のように、それぞれの数字がデータを運んでいた：レベル、防御、武器、シールド、あらかじめ書かれた台詞……すべてがそこにあった。それは驚くべき複雑さで、精密な構造を示していた。

これがフリスクだった——彼らの真の姿であり、彼らの命だった。かつて作り上げられたキャラクターであり、決して逃れられない存在だった。

そうだ、もしレイズがサンズにNPCシステムの権限を与えていなかったら、フリスクは何も変わることができなかっただろう——だが今、サンズはここにいて、彼らのコードを書き換え、自分のような存在に作り直そうとしていた。

「さあ、フリスク。悪夢から目を覚ます時だ。」

サンズはフリスクの核——いわゆる魂のようなもの——に手を伸ばした。電気のような刺すような痛みが彼を押し���そうとしているのを感じた。それは、外部からの干渉からフリスクを守るためのシステムの防護機能だった。それでもサンズはさらに力を込め、抵抗を押しのけながら深く掘り進んでいった。簡単なことではなかった——フリスクのシステムは激しく反撃し、全力でその魂を守ろうとしていた。

「俺、悪役みたいだな。」サンズは乾いた声でぼそりとつぶやいた。まるで壮大な外科手術をしているようだった。フリスクの体はサンズの手にぶら下がるように無反応で、サンズは集中して、守りの固い魂に到達しようとしていた。「クソッたれなシステムが——」と小声で悪態をつく。すべての防御層を突破するのに、膨大な努力と時間が必要だった。

そして、長い闘いと果てしない忍耐の末——

「よし！捕まえた！」

サンズは魂をその手に感じた。「これもお前のためだ、フリスク。」彼は優しく言った。その魂をしっかり握り、作業を始めた。

慎重に、サンズはフリスクの魂の核データにアクセスし、正確に調整を加えた。必要な要素を追加し、構造を再編成し、すべてをきちんと整えた。間違いの余地はなかった——どんなミスも計画を台無しにし、壊滅的な結果を招きかねなかった。

「頼む、うまくいってくれ。」

新しいデータはフリスクの古いデータにスムーズに統合されているようだった——衝突もエラーも発生しなかった。サンズはコードが動作する様子を注意深く観察し、すべての相互作用を分析した。そして、永遠のように感じられた時間が過ぎた後、彼は深く息を吐いた。胸にのしかかっていた重いものが少し軽くなった。フリスクはサンズの切り札だった——レイズを倒すための鍵、それがどんなに苛烈な手段であろうと。

「フリスク…フリスク。」

サンズはそっとフリスクの頬を叩きながら、彼を目覚めさせようとした。「おい、相棒、起きろよ。フリスク。」

それでも反応はなかった。不安が彼の心に忍び寄り、小さなパニックが頭をよぎった。

ついに——

「起きろ！」

バシッ！

鋭い一発が眠りの状態にあった人間を強引に目覚めさせた。

「おい、坊主、夢見心地はどうだった？」

***

「なんか変な感じがする。」フリスクはサンズを見つめながら言った。サンズは隣に座っており、その目には疲労が滲んでいた。

「そのうち慣れるさ、フリスク。」サンズは答えた。「今はその奇妙な感覚を受け入れるしかない。」

「俺の体に何をしたんだ？」

サンズは少し間を置いた。「こんな時に、ジョークが聞きたいか？」フリスクは睨みつけるような視線を送った。「ダメか？ ああそうか、じゃあ、まあな、フリスク。お前のコードを書き換えて、重要な情報をいくつか追加しただけだ。これでわかるだろ？」サンズはこわばった���をほぐそうとし、まだ困惑した様子のフリスクに視線を向けた。その人間はとても弱々しく見えた、とサンズは思った。だが同時に、とてつもない力を持っていた——もしすべてのモンスターがそれを持っていたなら……違う。そんな空想をしても何も解決しない。それは叶わない夢にすぎなかった。

「僕はただのプレイヤーの器だってわかってる。」フリスクは続けた。その声には苦々しさがにじんでいた。「僕の手であんな悪事が行われるのをずっと見てきたけど、それに対して僕に何ができる？何もできない。ただ見て、言われた通りにするだけだ。」フリスクの声には無力感が滲んでいた。自分にはその残酷さを止める力がないことを痛感していたのだ。

「お前の気持ちはわかるよ、フリスク。だから俺は、その鎖からお前を解放したんだ。」

フリスクは静かに考え込むように沈黙し、ベンチの背もたれに頭を預けた。深くため息をついて言った。

「それがアンダインを殺すってことか、サンズ？僕は全部見てた。忘れることなんてできない。」

「その通りだ。彼女を殺すことで。」

それを聞いて、サンズはズボンをぎゅっと掴み、視線を前方に移した——目の前に広がるウォーターフォール。輝く小川ときらめく光の中、青い花々の間を通る微かなささやきは、まるで海の中の美しいタペストリーのようだった。

真実を口にするのには長い時間がかかった。それは彼に押し付けられた罪の告白だった。

「どうして、サンズ？」

「そうするしかなかった。」彼の声には隠しきれない悲しみが滲んでいた。

「これってEXPのことか？サンズ、お前は自分のレベルを最高にしたいのか？」

フリスクは少し声を張り上げ、その声には怒りが滲んでいた。しかし、サンズは動じることなく、フリスクの声が大きくなり、ほとんど怒鳴るようになっても、まるで気にしない様子だった。それどころか、彼はその根拠のない非難に対してくすくすと笑った。

「それで、アンダインを殺さないとダメだったのか？彼女は友達なのに—」

「EXP？いや、それはただのくだらない話だ。俺はお前のレベルを超えたいなんて思っちゃいねぇよ。そんな力なんて全然必要ないんだよ、フリスク。」

近くの石を蹴りながら、サンズは続けた。「俺がやりたいのは、このゲームのシステムをぶっ壊すことだ。誰も考えつかないような無茶をして、この世界を崩壊させてやる。それが俺の望みだ、フリスク。反逆すること。」

「黙れ。」

「...」

「言葉には気をつけろ、下手したら舌を噛むぞ。」その声は冷たく、圧倒的な威圧感に満ちていた。サンズの冷たい声を聞いた瞬間、フリスクは口を閉ざさざるを得なかった。恐怖が彼を包み込み、指先は震え、瞳孔は恐怖で広がった。

「お前はそんなに必死になって、俺をお前みたいな冷酷な殺人者にしたいのか？俺が地に堕ちて、お前と同じ無慈悲な殺人者になるところを見たいのか？それが、お前の望みなのか？」

それでも、フリスクは何かが違うと感じていて、それについて何かをしなければならないと思った。

���リスクは何も言えなかった。その視線は弱まり、サンズが彼に���俺が酷いんじゃない、お前の方がもっと酷い、と思い出させた瞬間、身体は硬直してしまった。

そう、フリスクもまた、たくさんの無実の命を奪った殺人者、怪物だったのだ。

「理解できないよ。まるで僕が知ってるサンズじゃないみたいだ。」フリスクは唇を噛みしめ、青あざができるほど強く噛んだ。「こんなの君じゃない。僕がやるべきだったんだ。君がそうじゃなくて——」

「裁く側になるべきだった？」

フリスクは視線をそらし、その顔を覆うように茶色い髪が揺れた。明らかな悲しみを隠すためだった。サンズは空虚な視線で彼を見つめていた。

「俺らしくない？お前が俺をよく知ってるってつもりか、フリスク。」

「じゃあ何？僕はずっと君のことを知ってるつもりだった。君と遊んだし、君と親しいと感じてた。君が僕を知らないって言うなら、これが何だって言うんだ？」

「意見だ。視点だ。一つの見方だ。長い時間を一緒に過ごしたからといって、誰かを知ってるとは限らないんだ、フリスク。このゲームをどれだけ長くプレイしても、俺のことをよく知ってるなんて言えない。そして同じことが俺にも言える——お前のことを理解しているわけじゃないし、お前のことをよく知っているとも感じてない。」

フリスクは口を開けたまま言葉を失った。空気には張り詰めた緊張感が漂い、彼の姿勢は硬直していた。驚きに満ちた表情で黙り込んだままだった。

「…じゃあ、これは何なんだろう。」フリスクは小さく、悲しみに満ちた声で言った。彼はサンズに目を向けた。今の彼は以前とは全く違って見えた——温かな笑顔も、優しさももうない。ただ閉ざされたような、見知らぬ誰かと隣り合わせに座っている気がした。それでも、フリスクはサンズの気持ちをかすかに理解できるような気がした。

「レイズ...その人のことだよね？」彼は言い、サンズを思考から引き戻した。

「お前、あいつを知ってるのか？」

フリスクはわずかにうなずいてからサンズを見た。「そう言えるかもしれない。彼は一度僕のところに来て、僕の魂に何かしようとしたんだ。彼の行動は本当に怪しかったけど、僕には何もできなかった——ただ見ていることしかできなかったよ。」

サンズにはその感覚が痛いほどよくわかった。「あいつを止めなきゃならない、フリスク。それが俺たちがここにいる理由だ。」彼は言いながらフリスクの手を取ろうとし、信頼を得ようとした。「俺にはお前が必要だ、フリスク。レイズを止めてくれ——この馬鹿げたゲームから俺たち全員を解放するんだ。もう裁きも、もう俺たち全員を殺させることもない。お前のその手についた汚れを清めるんだ、フリスク。お前自身の自由のために。」

サンズのまっすぐな視線がフリスクをその場に釘付けにした。その声が柔らかく響くと、サンズはフリスクをそっと引き寄せた。その言葉にはどこか引き込まれるような魅力があり、フリスクは心を揺らされた。でも、本当にサンズが望んでいたのは、すべての仲間たちの自由と、このゲームの終わりだった。

「君は僕が必要だって言うけど、どうして？」フリスクはまだ疑念を抱いていた。サンズはそれを予想していた。「お前の魂は強いんだ、フリスク。この世界の誰よりも強い意志を持ってる。でも俺にはそんなもの��ない。俺はただのNPCで、お前ほど強い意志なんて持ってないんだ。」

サンズは微笑んだ。その微笑みは明らかに悲しみを帯びていた。フリスクは、サンズの絶望を感じ取りながら、彼に少し近づいた。「僕がそんなに強いかどうか、わからないよ、サンズ。」

「信じろ、フリスク。お前は自分が思っているよりも強い。俺は…そんな強さはない。俺たちはお前が必要なんだ。お前だけが頼りなんだ、フリスク。他には誰もいない。」その言葉は、首筋に絡みつく柔らかな囁きのようだった。それは希望で目を眩ませるような甘い約束で、フリスクはその言葉の裏を見抜くことができなかった。サンズの顔には冷酷で広い笑みが刻まれていた。暗い視線は縛り付けるようで、まるで毒蛇がきつく巻きつくようだった。

「もしこれがうまくいかなかったら？もし最終的に負けるとしたら…」フリスクの声は未来への不安に震えていた。彼自身の疑念の重さが明らかだった。

「未来がどうなるかなんて、誰にもわからないんだ、フリスク。」サンズは答えた。その声は穏やかで、どこか安心させるようだった。「でも、もし俺たちが一生懸命頑張って、信じることができれば——本当に信じることができれば、きっと道は見つかるはずだ。」

サンズの目はフリスクの目をまっすぐ見つめていた。その目には揺るぎない確信がありながら、自身の脆さもさらけ出していた。それはフリスクに孤独感を抱かせないためであり、すべてを彼に託させるためだった。

「何だって起こり得るんだ、フリスク。進む準備ができていない限り、行き止まりなんてない。信じてくれ。俺がその自由を手に入れる手助けをする。」彼の声の穏やかな調子、目の中の確信。それは壊れやすいけれども信頼できる味方のように見せ、フリスクが頼りたくなるような存在だった。

それは誘いだった——彼の綿密に仕掛けられた罠に、フリスクをさらに深く引き込む誘導だった。

手を差し伸べ、サンズはフリスクを優しく引き寄せた。そして、彼専用に作られた牢獄へと、約束の檻へと引きずり込んだ。その檻は一歩進むごとにフリスクをより無力にしていった。

「これが俺だ。お前が思ってるほど強くも賢くもない。俺が見えるだろう？バラバラでめちゃくちゃな俺が。」彼は憂鬱な口調でそう言い、フリスクの同情を誘った。

サンズは意図的に深い絶望の表情を見せつけ、巧みにフリスクと視線を合わせ続けさせた。濃い霧の中でフリスクの手を掴み、自分の望む場所へどこへでも連れて行くような感じだった—フリスクを自らの墓穴へ導きながら子守唄を歌うかのように。

サンズのフリスクを欺くやり方には残酷さがあった。言葉を慎重に選び、無力で自由を求める誰か—そう、自分と同じような存在の脆さを利用していた。サンズは、トラウマがどのように人を腐敗させ狡猾に変えるのかを見せつけていた—道徳や良心を捨て去り、それを望まぬ暗い一面で置き換えるように。

その操りに気づかず、フリスクはサンズの手を自ら差し出して取った。その顔には信頼の微笑みが浮かんでいた。彼は気づかぬまま、予期せぬ契約を結び、レイズだけが支配を望む存在ではないことに気づいていなかった。犠牲を求める者は、他にもいたのだ。

サンズ��すでに自らの声に込めた必死の希望で、フリスクの目を眩ませていた。

「俺、手伝うよ、サンズ。」

フリスクのその言葉には迷いがなかった。それを聞いたサンズの顔には安堵の色が浮かび、喜びが表情に満ちた。そして彼はフリスクを強く抱きしめ、感謝を示すかのようだった。しかし、フリスクの視界の外では、サンズの本当の表情は隠されていた——暗さと飢えに満ちたものが。

見てみろ、今の彼を。

サンズの顔は平坦で、かつての暖かさはもうそこにはなかった。赤い目がさまよい、フリスクが無意識に明かした脆さを探し求めていた。彼の魂は汚れ、死を予感させる歪んだ子守唄のようなリズムで鼓動していた。それは混沌と操作に満ち、フリスクの周りを絡みつき、秒ごとにその締め付けを強めていった。

サンズは自分の思考の中で堕落を明かし、フリスクの無邪気さを味わいながら、絶望の空っぽな約束にどれほど簡単に落ちてしまったかを感じていた。その満足感は彼の心をむしばみ、暗闇と歪んだ快楽を欲していた。フリスクが知っていた心から遠く離れた今、サンズは彼に手を伸ばし、広く笑った…。

「頼りにしてるぜ、相棒。」

=P

[eri-pl]

Silmarils, grief and hope.

We all know grief is a big theme and all that, and related to Tolkien's life. But. The Silmarils.

Long chaotic post about "wanting the Silmarils is related to having unprocessed grief" and "the Silmarils are hope, but Not Like That".

(I'm not sure how many there are for whom it makes a difference, but I assume it's a non-zero amount: sort of Morgoth-pov at the very end which may be emotionally intense. For convenience, it's separated with a picture. The rest is much more calm, I think. Just chaotic and may have autocorrect errors.)

Why do so many people (allegedly) want them more than it would make sense, even if they aren't cursed?

So many events on the story of those jewels are related to grief. Feanor makes them after his mother does and he cannot process his feelings properly (which is not his fault; where would he learn to process them? But it is a thing.)

Then he loses them when his father dies and really wants them back, swears the oath. Then he does and his sons swear the oath again, and of course they don't process their grief properly either.

Oh and I forgot, before that, the Valar. They lose the Trees and want them back. Interestingly, it's not Manwe (the king) who is most focused on getting the Silmarils for that, nor Varda (most associated with them), but Yavanna (sure, it was her trees, but also she's the most loss-avoiding Vala, she misses each tree that is being cut) and Tulkas (lowest emotional intelligence of all proper Valar). Again, the perceived need to get the Silmarils is where there's some unprocessed grief, and most intense in those Valar who would have the hardest time processing it.

(and Aule! He actively advocates for granite keeping it. But I'm sure the "my best Maia joined Morgoth, I'm constantly bullied, my wife doesn't like me, and I am never a jerk despite it all" guy is pretty good at processing his negative feelings.)

(Also, how the sun and moon are made? The fruit grow when Nienna cries, and it is Nienna, she is processing the grief in a proper, healthy way. And it... It solves the problem (lack of light) for which the Silmarils were "necessary". Sure, the moon and sun are lesser, not as beautiful... But there's a theme there. Namely, the third of them. 🙂 Things change. You can't fix anything important by going Ctrl+Z on it. You have to go forward, not backwards.)

The Silmarils are the feeling of hope (see: reactions to Gil-Estel, and it's very name) they are a promise that it all will be good. They are a good thing, but to an untrained eye the promise seems much more immediate, much more like something that can be done here and now.

If I only had them, all would be fine.

And they are not this, Nienna would know, I'm pretty sure Varda knew too when she blessed them (she may have not realized how others see it). They are just a reminder of something unsaid. Estel, not amdir. (It's a little funny to me how this means "looking up" but it's not for this post)

Anyway, the Silmarils. Thingol who realizes he'll lose his daughter (doesn't know how much he would lose her, but a sad marriage to a diet Man is enough, also a kid growing up can be a grief in itself. Or maybe it is because she will be mortal, maybe he suffers from what @dfwbwfbbwfbwf called "pre-traumatic stress disorder"). And a Silmaril is the only thing that could let him through the pain of losing his daughter.

And then he carries it, of course he does, if he let it go he would have to face his pain. He dies and Luthien wears the jewel, then after her death - Dior. A chain of deaths and losses and a beautiful gem.

It is too much for their half-mortal eyes, too much hope to be able to let go of it even if they had a reason.

And Maedhros starts demanding it after Unnumbered Tears (unnumbered, unprocessed, unhealed), which sure, has also a more political/reasonable explanation (he's out of other options), but also, it's a lot of grief.

And it goes into a chain of deaths.

Melian never cared about the Silmaril (she cared about it as a problem, but not about having it). Beren gave it up easily. Earendil have it to the Valar (they have it back later).

The dwarves... There are two things here. One is generational trauma of "the sindar hunted our ancestors for sport"+general racism. The other is that dwarves generally have more need of hope I think... Elves are reborn, Men are said to go somewhere beautiful and mysterious, and the Dwarves??? It's very uncertain.

And at the end it is Makalaure "singing apology songs which doesn't make me less of a murderer, just a hypocrite, but at least helps me process my traumas" Kanafinwe who throws the hope away because someone else would make a better use of it probably, and goes on to live through his darkness.

It's so hard to face your pain and start looking not only at hope for you, but at hope for the others. And sometimes what the world needs to have more hope, is you facing your pain.

I can't find a clear name for what the Silmarils are/mean in this... Something close to hope, but also something you must let go of to process your grief... It's inherently good, but can be overused... I'm sure there's something fitting, I just can't find it.

And the "Feanor will break the Silmarils" thing? For the trees? Seriously? No. He will break then because he will learn to live without them, to live with his pain. He breaks then because they aren't relevant anymore. (Who said that about fulfilled hope not being called hope anymore? My favorite "I can write more weird and more enigmatic stuff that you, but it makes waaay more actual sense than your posts anyway" guy?) He breaks them, but it's not necessary, it's just natural.

(but also tbh they do look a little like seeds so idk why not have new trees, they are kinda cool... well my perception of them looking like seeds is based mostly on "need to break" anyway... My thinking goes in atypical ways)

And there's Morgoth. Oh of course there's Morgoth. The dark Vala who couldn't (wouldn't) process his feelings even if they came with a manual. (He's an Ainu. They very likely initially came with a manual. But he thought he knew better)

He wants to steal hope and blacken it, and destroy it, right?

So... He feeds the Silmarils to Ungoliant? Tries to break them? Hides them far away?

No.

He wears them on his face, even if it hurts terribly. It hurts like dying. This is how clinging to your ego defences feels like. "the pain demands to be felt", to quote my favorite psychology YouTuber writing someone else. If you don't face it, it will still burn. If you run away from it, it will still be there. If you cling to the "I am not sad, everything is fine, it's great", it will burn your face.

But anything else would mean admitting there's a problem. Admitting that they burn would mean admitting that he was wrong. That his pain is there, and also it's not purely (not mostly tbh) others' fault, that he's not the victim in here.

What pain?

Well if you want my opinion, it's funny that it was Finwe who guarded the Silmarils. Finwë who favored his older, more temperamental, more brilliant son and made him the crown prince. Finwë who never told Feanor to sit down and cut his BS. Finwë who everyone says it's such a great father. So if everyone says that, it is rational to expect such behavior, right? It's valid to be angry about being treated in a different way? It must be. Anything else would mean that he was wrong.

It's better to burn.

[ibviously]

Project Pollux

Summary: Worlds collide when Agent Dioscuri is intercepted by Natasha Romanov. As the Avengers scramble to keep infinity stones from Thanos’s grasp, Agent Dioscuri scrambles from theirs. When the past is dissected and history resurfaces, Dioscuri fights to contain ugly, imperative truths. A pawn in the middle of a death-match, Dioscuri is forced to pick a side, or end up flipping the board.

Chapter Summary: Lux adjusts to life at the Avengers Compound.

Warnings: Alcohol use.

Chapter 4: Close

“One moment I don’t even want to speak with anyone, and the next I go so far that I’m not only chatting away, but I am deciding to become close with them.” - from Notes from Underground, Fyodor Dostoevsky

February 13th, 2016. Avengers Compound, NY. 9:15 pm.

Lux and Wanda sat burrowed into the living room’s couch, replaying the second season of Friends for the upteenth time. Since arriving at the compound, it was the only program that Lux requested. Wanda obliged, even though she was beginning to memorize every episode, line for line.

Wanda sighed, tilting her head back onto to the couch’s cushion. “You know what,” she announced, “We should go out tonight. You, me, and Pietro. I’m losing my mind here- plus, you’ve been here, what, a month now?”

Lux nodded, sipping on a bottle of sparkling water. “Yeah, but- I mean I’m really sore after today’s training and…”

“Oh come on, Lux,” Wanda pouted, poking out her bottom lip. It’ll be fun. Plus, you can raid my closet, get all dolled up.

Wanda’s words flitted about Lux’s consciousness, coaxing a smile to her lips. Am I even allowed out?

A mental scoff from Wanda. ‘Allowed out’ You aren’t a prisoner, not anymore. Plus it’s been pathetic watching you do the same puzzle at the kitchen table every night.

Lux frowned. I like puzzles. So does Vision- he helped me out with the cat one-

Bruce, rounding the corner, sighed, emptying his cold coffee into the kitchen sink. From the connecting room he shouted, “Hey- what did we talk about-knock that off you two, it’s creepy. Talk out loud, for Christ’s sake.”

Giggles erupted from the two girls, who turned and apologized in harmony to the disgruntled Bruce. Lux rose, offering her hand to Wanda. Pulling the red-head to her feet, she turned, heading towards Wanda’s room.

“Alright,” Lux conceded, “Where are we going?”

Wanda skipped in glee, leading the way to her bursting closet. “Ever heard of ‘Nebula’?”

February 14th. Avengers Compound, NY. 4:45 am.

Lux groaned, slipping off one of Wanda’s heels, the granite island cool against the small of her back. Through her thin dress, the cold of the countertop sent goosebumps rippling across her skin. She shivered, kicking off the second heel.

Tip toeing to the fridge, Lux squinted against the harsh light that cut through the room upon its opening. Her eyes had become so accustomed to the dim of the club that the fridge light was a shock to her vision. Groping around the middle shelf, Lux retrieved a bottle of half-drunk cold brew and Clint’s favorite creamer. With the warm, buzzing presence of one too many espresso martinis diffusing from her head, Lux felt the unique pull of exhaustion that accompanies the come-down of caffeine and alcohol. The sun would rise soon, she figured she’d cut her loses and get a head start on the coming day.

It was only when Lux began to pour the cold brew into an ice-filled glass that she saw Bucky. He sat, still as death, on the opposite end of the island. His hands were wrapped around a mug and his gaze was trained on her. A jolt shot through Lux, the adrenaline replacing her need for the half-filled glass in front of her.

“When-“ Lux began.

“I get up early,” Bucky interrupted. Lux shot a glance at the microwave’s green, digital clock. It seemed to glow with judgement.

Lux nodded, hoping that the dim, pre-dawn shade of the kitchen concealed the blossom of heat on her face. At once, her awareness spread across her body- to her ripped, sheer black tights, her barely-there mini dress, the loosening of the curls that Wanda so diligently arranged in a soft frame around her face. One of the curls tickled her mid-back, reminding Lux just how little clothing she was wearing. She was sure the precise eyeliner that Wanda applied was mussed, diffused around her eyes. Lux imagined she looked like a raccoon. The image brought a smirk to her lips.

“What’s so funny?” Bucky asked, smiling at her, surely enjoying her apparent embarrassment.

Lux shook her head, casting her gaze down to the countertop. She grabbed her glass, taking two long gulps. “Uh, well-,” Lux improvised, veering from honesty. “I’m just surprised that the Old Man stereotype is true- you guys really don’t want to waste a minute, do you?” Lux continued, not conceding an inch to harbor Bucky’s reply. “Matter of fact- where’s Steve? Shouldn’t he be apart of the ‘Crack of Dawn Committee’ too? Are you guys accepting new members? I think I’d make a great third.”

The stiff crack of Bucky’s smile gave away his amusement. A hoarse, short chuckle filled the space between them. His deep blue eyes lit with joy. His red hoodie pooled around his neck and Lux smelled menthols and worn leather. She looked away, taking another drink from her class. A warmth filled her chest and she hated the feeling.

Bucky shook his head, still smiling. “Nah- you’re a rookie. You look ready to fall asleep already, Doll.”

Doll came rough and soft from Bucky’s mouth. Lux had heard it before, but this time it felt like she were still wearing heels, wobbling in place.

Lux cleared her throat. “I should probably go change, maybe get some sleep.”

The sun was rising fast, sending a splay of warm light across the grand island between them. It reflected onto Bucky’s face, sending orange hues across his skin. Bucky narrowed his eyes, his focus training just below Lux’s chin. He looked perplexed, worried.

Lux cocked her head to the side, sending a swath of silken hair falling from her collarbone. The tension of Bucky’s expression softened, replaced by a widening of his eyes. An open look of surprise, his lips parted, deep blue eyes exposed in vulnerability, flashed across his features and was gone.

“What?” Lux asked, the question a mere ephemeral whisper between them.

Bucky shook his head, glowering into his mug. “You should go to bed.” The suggestion came with the steeled force of a command.

Lux nodded, her heart dipping in disappointment. Whatever she had done in the five minutes she’d been in Bucky’s presence, it was enough to taint his mood. The curious, light amusement was gone from his expression, replaced by a tense, simmering demeanor.

“Buck?” The nick-name slipped from Lux’s rose-glossed lips before she could catch it. Bucky’s head snapped up, his eyes finding Lux’s with intense precision. Around them, she saw hues of sunken purple. He looked like he’d been up all night.

Lux wanted to walk toward him. She wanted to be near him, his smell enveloping her in warmth and smoke and metallic tang. She wanted to sit in silence and watch as the sunrise painted every reflective surface in a pastels of pink and orange. She wanted to watch how the light danced on Bucky’s face. She wanted to see him smile at her again.

Lux wanted him to see her, ragged and mussed, messy and sparkling- to see her and keep looking.

Instead, Lux hung her head, gathering her glass and creamer in one hand. She let the intimacy of the name hang between them, permeating the air with her unspoken desire.

Lux turned from Bucky, bending down to collect her heels, and walked slowly toward her room.

The crack and crumble of porcelain shattered the sunrise silence of the compound’s kitchen. Bucky looked down, his mug in pieces before him, the tepid coffee spilling onto his pants. He didn’t move to clean it up. His metal hand was clenched in a fist, vibrating with the strain of frustration.

Buck thought about walking to her room. He knew the exact time it would take to arrive at her door, but not how long it would take to gather the courage to knock. He wondered if she’d still be wearing that goddamn dress. He wondered if he wanted her to be.

Buck? His name, Steve’s name for him, coming from Lux’s lips, rung in his ears. Bucky thought about asking Friday to replay the audio-surveillance, just to hear it again.

He had been fraught with worry when Lux left, Pietro’s jacket and arm slung around her shoulders, black heels clicking against the gleaming compound floors. Wanda’s laugh seemed to echo through the living room as they left, followed by a sinking feeling in Bucky’s gut. He reminded himself, as the pale expanse of Lux’s upper thighs burned in his conscious, that she had been robbed of the vivacious danger of youth in a big city. It was only right that she experience it now. So he sat himself down and poured over new case files.

When he heard the clamor of Wanda, Lux, and Pietro’s arrival, the sun was begging to arrive. Bucky told himself he had stayed up all night to get a head start on his case. Wanda and Pietro’s voices faded as the familiar click of heels echoed towards him.

Lux was so relaxed, an air of simple contentment radiating from her as she rifled through the fridge. Her sheer leggings were ripped, her makeup was displaced, her curls tangled, backlit into a halo by the fridge’s glow.

And that goddamn hicky. At first, Bucky thought it was a bruise, a strange rage rising in him, which simmered into jealousy at the realization that someone’s lips made the mark, and not their hands.

Buck? Lux’s voice seemed caged in Bucky’s mind. Rising to clear the crushed mug from the counter, Bucky grimaced. He figured, like the sunlight flooding the kitchen, her voice would be with him all day.

February 14th. Avengers Compound, NY. 6:30 am.

“Someone had a good night,” Natasha smirked, throwing another punch into Lux’s stomach.

Panting, Lux stepped to the side, evading the strike by a hair. Her sweat rolled back the valley of her back and stung her eyes.

She cursed herself for her complete lack of self control and the sweat that cleared the foundation she had caked onto her neck that morning. Most of all, she cursed the long-haired, heavenly-smelling man she had kissed, again and again, against the wall of the club. Lux could feel the ghostly presence of his lips against her collar bone and the smell of mint, snow, and juniper hanging in a cloud around them. She shivered at the memory, attempting to shake his presence.

“Wanda’s a bad influence,” Lux panted, landing a punch to Natasha’s throat. The red-head gasped, staggering back. “Pietro’s even worse.”

Regaining her breath, Natasha asked, “Was Pietro the culprit?”

Lux laughed a ragged laugh. “Fuck no, Nat. I’m a professional. Can’t mix work a play.”

Natasha smirked, swiping her leg under Lux and sending her flat on her back. Lux gasped, rolling to the side to evade Natasha’s boot, aimed straight for her ribs. She caught the kick, twisting and sending Natasha sprawling beside her. Breathless and amused, Natasha turned to her. “I’ll hold you to that,” she teased, pushing herself to her feet. “Let’s take a five.”

Lux sauntered toward the water cooler, where Pietro stood, double-fisting granola bars. In Lux’s month at the compound, she didn’t remember a time when Pietro wasn’t consuming something.

“The harlot hath risen,” Pietro mumbled around the mouthful, smirking down at Lux. His blue-grey eyes were lit with amusement.

Lux rolled her eyes, chugging a cup of water and leaning against the gymnasium’s wall. Her body ached and she was grateful for it. The physical pain distracted from the whirl of thoughts and the pull of exhaustion. No matter how hard she ran, how many punches she threw and took, she couldn’t rid her mind of Bucky. His expression, naked and perplexed in the kitchen, played on a loop in her mind.

The past month they had grown closer. He led many of her training sessions, pushing her past her perceived limits and refining her combat style. The tone of his voice and his smell, oak and leather and menthols and a metallic tang, had grown into a comfortable presence. Steve, as well, had been by her side constantly, a guiding presence in his own right. The occasional rap on her door came about once a week- Steve made coming to check in on her a habit. They’d sit on her bedroom floor and replayed the week. Sometimes, she’d just close her eyes and listen to him talk about his missions. Sometimes, they’d sit in silence.

“You hear about the mission today?” Pietro asked. He had finished both of his bars and rubbed the crumbs off on his pants.

“What mission?” Lux asked, confusion raising her pitch.

Before Pietro could answer, Steve strode into the training room, followed by Bucky. Tony, engrossed in some tincture on a work table, raised his head, momentarily stopping his work. Without a que, everyone in the room walked toward Steve, distilling into a concentrated group around him.

“Morning,” Steve acknowledged the group, jerking his chin towards Tony, who cast a spherical projection into the center of the group. The sphere was a planet, Lux realized. It spun as Steve began to speak. “This is Sakaar. Thor was reported, while Loki still refuses to reveal his reasons for targeting Lux, that he had a meeting arranged with a party on Sakaar, two days from now.”

Natasha, across from Lux, smirked. “And we’re partying crashing, Captain?”

“Close,” Steve hinted, turning his attention through the projection, to Lux. “We’re fishing.”

A weight settled in Lux’s stomach. “And I’m the bait?” Lux guessed, crossing her hands over her chest.

“Bingo,” Bucky said from beside Steve. A cool amusement settled over his exhausted features. His eyes flitted over Lux’s neck, and then back to the projection of Sakaar. A red dot flashed on what appeared to be a densely populated land mass.

“That’s the capital city, ran by a sovereign-esque figure called the ‘Grand Master.’ From all reports he’s an elusive, eclectic figure. He’s the one Loki is meeting with.”

The details swam in Lux’s mind as she tried to connect them. “So what’s the plan?” She asked, voicing the collective curiosity.

“We go to Sakaar, intercept Loki’s corespondents. We see what they know- see what interest they have in Lux and who they’re connected to. Hopefully we can trace this thing to its origin.”

Tony, who had sat silent at the periphery, loosened a sigh. “The source is Thanos- I mean, come on. Infinity stones are going missing all over the galaxy, and Loki, a prostitute for power, suddenly goes sniffing around for the soul stone?”

Steve glowered. “We don’t know that for sure, which is why we need to go to Sakaar.”

“And what happens if you lose Lux in the process?” Tony challenged.

“We’ll be properly equipped to keep her,” Steve countered, eyes intent on Lux. “She’ll be safe.”

Silence settled over the room. Lux sighed, propping her hands on her hips. “I’m in, I could use a couple days out of the compound.”

“Cabin fever?” Bucky mused, eyeing Lux’s neck, once again. Lux felt the bristle of irritation. Bucky’s attention felt like a critique, like the ill-fitting presence of judgement.

“Just a little bored,” Lux spat, glaring at Bucky.

Bucky smiled, dropping his eyes to his boots and back up to Lux. “Seems like it…” he drawled. His jaw flexed as she bit her lip in irritation. Lux wanted to ask him what exactly the fuck was his problem, but bit her tongue. Now was not the time.

Steve cleared his throat, drawing the group to attention, once again. “Tomorrow morning Thor will come to transport Lux and myself to Sakaar.” Natasha, Tony, and Pietro deflated, clearly dejected at the exclusion. “I need the rest of you here. Loki will be kept in the compound while Thor is away. Tony’s been working on some new containment facilities.”

Sensing an end to the meeting, Bucky turned, exiting the training room.

“At ease,” Steve half-joked, walking toward Lux. The others dispersed, leaving Lux and Steve alone.

“Hey,” Steve prodded. He ran a hand through his hair, assessing Lux’s expression.

“Hey,” Lux answered, mirroring Steve’s mannerism, tucking her hair behind her ears.

“You feel up to it? Be honest with me.”

Lux nodded. “Yes Sir Captain American Sir,” she jested.

“It’ll be a quick mission, in and out,” Steve promised. He shoved his hands in his pockets, leaning back on his heels.

“So I shouldn’t pack a swim suit?” Lux prodded.

Steve smiled, shaking his head. “Not that type of trip, I’m sorry to say.”

Lux laughed, turning on her heels and returning to her mat, where Natasha waited for her. “Can’t wait!” she shouted.

Febuary 14th. 10:34 pm.

Lux couldn’t sleep. The anticipation of tomorrow’s mission buzzed through her, sabotaging any hope of rest. After hours of staring at her bedroom ceiling, Lux decided to cure the problem with a walk and some alcohol.

Her bare feet were silent on the compound’s floors as she wandered. She passed the familiar dormitory halls, knowing which member rested beyond which door. Her room was by Wanda and Pietro’s. Bucky, Natasha, and Steve resided on the floor above. Tony, Bruce, and Vision lived on the opposing wing. Eventually, she found herself with a bottle of wine, perched beside the compound’s olympic sized pool, her feet kicking gently in the water.

Lux was halfway through the bottle and feeling drowsy when the door to the pool room squeaked, revealing a tousled Bucky Barnes. Genuine surprise flashed across his expression when he spotted Lux, clad in a baby blue, flimsy set of pajamas, drinking poolside. Lux raised her free hand, wriggling her fingers in greeting. “Late night swim?” she shouted across the pool. From afar, Lux saw the curt shaking of Bucky’s head as he walked the perimeter of the pool.

Bucky, Lux realized, was in his pajamas. A loose blue t-shirt hung from his body, accompanied by a matching pair of loose navy pants. Lux studied the way the shirt draped over the planes of his body and clung to his broad shoulders. She eyed the margin between the hem of the shirt and his waistband, which revealed the contours of his muscled torso. Lux shook her gaze from his body, up to his face, as he looked down at her. The tension of displeasure pulled at the corners of his mouth. Bucky was frowning at her.

Lux took another defiant swing from her bottle, gulping with theatric gusto. “What?” she hissed.

“Do you ever sleep?” Bucky hissed back. His hands were poised on his hips and Lux could see the same flash of skin. She directed her gaze towards the rippling glimmer of the pool’s surface.

“I could ask you the same thing,” Lux drawled, evading his question.

Sighing, Bucky lowered himself down next to Lux, rolling up his pant legs and hanging his feet off the edge. Lux kicked her feet vigorously, sending water up onto Bucky. Giggling, she continued, until a cold metal arm touched her bare thigh, pressing it into stillness.

“Stop that,” Bucky grumbled, pulling his hand back.

A moment of stillness passed between them, and then another. Lux leaned the bottle in Bucky’s direction, offering an unspoken drink. To Lux’s surprise, Bucky obliged, finishing the bottle in three long gulps.

“Rude…” Lux mumbled, setting the now empty bottle behind them.

“You shouldn’t drink so much,” Bucky suggested, turning his gaze from the pool’s surface to Lux’s face.

“Okay Pee-Paw,” Lux spat, sticking her tongue out. The gesture caught Bucky off guard, drawing a smile from his disgruntled disposition. “You can’t sleep either?” Lux prodded.

Bucky shook his head. “No,” he admitted, “I can’t. I usually come down here to watch the water. It’s calming.”

Lux nodded in agreement. The sway of the surface was transfixing, charming her into its languid movement. Suddenly dizzy, Lux leaned into Bucky, pressing into his warm body. She felt Bucky stiffen, and then relax into her touch. Their hands brushed and Lux did not move hers. Whether it were the steadying correction during sparring, or the brush of his body against hers in passing, Lux enjoyed the physicality of Bucky’s presence.

“Bucky?” Lux asked, her voice thick with exhaustion.

“Hm?”

“Is it the nightmares?…I get them too.”

“Sometimes,” Bucky answered. Lux knew enough of Hyrda to know that there were always nightmares.

“Do you feel better, being here? Did they help you?”

Bucky’s non-answer came quiet, some moments later. “You’ll feel better, doll. It gets better.”

Lulled into tranquility by the water’s dance, Lux began to nod off, her forehead resting on Bucky’s shoulder. In the sweet, liminal space between sleep and wake, Lux felt her body lifted and cradled. She felt the rise and fall of Bucky’s chest and the jostle of movement. She felt the plush give of her bed and the cool kiss of her sheets pulled over her body. She felt the warmth of lips against her temple and the distinct smell of Bucky envelope her.

Lux couldn’t be sure, but she thought she heard Bucky’s voice, rough and sweet and so close to her ear. His words; Don’t do anything stupid tomorrow, followed her into her dreams.

[sonic-obscurity-opposition]

underneath the cut is the roster for the now-defunct sonic obscurity opposition. it contains 120 characters, along with a maybe and a probably not list taken directly from my notes when sorting through submissions. it is my hope that anyone who would have been invested in this poll reads them, and perhaps finds some appreciation for them.

PARTICIPANTS:

Saffron Bee (Archie)

Society Max (Fleetway)

Shortfuse the Cybernick (Fleetway)

Blockhead Bill (Fleetway)

Speedy (Tails Adventure)

1999 (Fleetway)

Da Bears (AoStH)

Zonic the Zone Cop (Archie)

Prefect Charyb & Prefect Scylla (Chronicles)

Humpty (AoStH)

Ifyoucan (Underground)

Grimer (Fleetway)

D-Fekt (Boom)

Ari (SatAM)

Hawk (Sonic X)

Johnny (Rush Adventure)

Mello Bee (Archie)

Has Bean (Mean Bean Machine)

Princess Alucion (Sirène)

Eric the Echidna (StH in the Fourth Dimension)

Relic the Pika (Archie)

Captain Oe (Archie)

Demo Duck (Dark Mobius Bean) (Archie)

Melody Prower (Archie)

Teri-Lu (Archie)

Iago the Echidna (Archie)

Brock the Echidna (Archie)

Dr. Quack (Archie)

Bartleby MontClair (Underground)

Pseudo Sonic (Archie)

Amadeus Prower (Archie)

Gae-Na (Archie)

Komi-Ko (Archie)

X Robot (Archie Sonic X)

Meringue the Rabbit (IDW)

Cyrus (Underground)

VerticAL and HorizontAL (Archie)

Mari-Su (Archie)

Wynmacher (Archie)

Rosie Woodchuck (Archie)

Vermin the Rat (Fleetway)

Bog Beasty (Underground)

Chomps (Underground)

Farrell (Underground)

Penelope the Hedgehog (AoStH)

Lucas (AoStH)

Filch (Fleetway)

Harpio (Fleetway)

Leaf (Fleetway)

Mello (Fleetway)

Simpson the Cat (Fleetway)

Old Sonic Clone (Fleetway)

Tufftee (Fleetway)

Lightmare (Fleetway)

Knuckles the Echidna

Cat (SatAM)

Aerial & Athena (Archie)

E-100 Lambda (Archie)

Ichneumon the White Mouse (StH and the Silicon Warriors)

Gaz and Del (Fleetway)

Mom with a Gambling Addiction NPC (Adventure 1)

Lumina Flowlight (Shuffle)

Princess Bee (Archie)

Hershey St. John (Archie)

Echo the Shark (Archie)

Cinos the Anti-Sonic (StH and in Fourth Dimension)

Rob o' the Hedge (Archie)

Juanita the Chameleon (Archie)

Marta the Echidna (Archie)

Liza the Chameleon

Bivalve Clam (Archie)

Duck "Bill" Platypus (Archie)

Griff (SatAM)

Barney the Chameleon (Archie)

Katella (Aosth) - Special request to use this specific image: https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/sonic/images/c/c8/Katellaheart.png/revision/latest?cb=20160407210139

King Peter - (StH in Robotnik's Laboratory)

Colonel Percy Granite (Fleetway)

Hobidon (Sonic X)

Rhygenta (Archie)

Molly (Sonic X)

Ron (IDW)

Arctur the Dragonkin (StH and in Fourth Dimension)

Practice Robot (Fleetway)

Ash Mongoose (Archie)

Walt Wallaby (Archie)

Ebony (Fleetway)

Bimmy the Echidna (Archie)

The Narrator (LEGO Commercial)

Emperor Sleetus (Underground)

Luke Periwinkle (Underground)

Bellok (Underground)

Captain Squeegee (Underground)

Duke of Velcronia (Underground)

Mindy LaTour (Underground)

Lucinda (AoStH)

William Le Duck (AoStH)

Baby T (SatAM)

Dove (SatAM)

Nicholas O'Tyme (SatAM/Archie)

Heavy and Bomb (Knuckles' Chaotix)

Nerbs (Archie)

Lah the Ghost (Unleashed - Night of the Werehog)

Akhlut the Orca (Archie)

Karen (Stone's Ex Boss) (Sonic 2 Pre-quill)

Rava the Destroyer (Sonic 2 Pre-quill)

Nestor the Wise (Chronicles)

Radar the Echidna (Archie)

Kanewisher the Echidna (Archie)

Catweazle (Archie)

Snailbot (Sonic 2)

A.D.A.M. (Archie)

Alexis Acorn (Archie)

Megan Acorn (Archie)

Arthur Mongoose (Archie)

Avery the Bear (Archie)

Aypex (Archie)

Bagbar Beeblebrox (Archie)

Barney (Archie)

Bertha Kintobor (Archie)

Friday the Parrot (StH Adventure Gamebook 5: Theme Park Panic)

MAYBE:

Sonic the Human (Sega Hard Girls)

Thunder the Pasha (Archie) - It's not really a character is it?

The Freedom Team (Beta SatAM) - They're a whole team and also unreleased

Mecha Sonic Model No. 29 (Sonic the Fighters) - I think there was a popular youtube video about this character. Maybe Chaomix.

Galaxina (Sonic X) - May be obscure, haven't finished sonic x, but seems like she wouldn't be

Jimmy and Jilly (Fleetway) - two in one and also i'm very tired

Mr. Yuji Naka (ShtH05) - Not a character, only referenced in one voice line.

Evil Duck (SatAM) - Not real

Skull That Says "SEGA" (S3&K EU Ads) - Not really a character? We'll see.

Masado and Miwasco (Up on the Green Hill (Masado and Miwasco version)) - While they have done official work, I can't tell if this song is licensed.

Segata Sanshiro (Sonic R Ad) - Isn't a part of the world, just beats up some kids and holds up a SEGA Saturn

PROBABLY NOT:

Dave the Intern (Boom) - Popular

Tikal the Echidna (Adventure) - Extremely popular and prominent within the source material

Ian Jr. - Popular

Manic the Hedgehog (Underground) - Manic

Elias Acorn (Archie) - I haven't gotten that far in Archie but this guy is literally a king and Sally's brother

Orca - Iconic? Also an animal with no unique characteristics.

The Cow in the Triple Trouble Ad - An animal with no unique characteristics.

Dodon Pa (Team Sonic Racing) - Important Character in TSR

Santa Claus (AoStH) - That's Santa Claus

[yinandyanglifestyle]

Egyptology: Artisans Lecture with Dr. Serena Love

by: Icie

Brisbane has some interesting stuff in its museums. Recently, the Dutch Museum of National Antiquities (Rijksmueum van Oudheden) partnered with Queensland Museum Kurilpa to showcase Ancient Egyptian Artifacts from Pre-History to the Roman Period. The exhibit is open up to the 17th of August and oh holy hell, I wanted to go so bad!

A ticket costs $30 per person to see the exhibit. I checked the website to see if there were any talks and yes, there were. For 4 Saturdays from the 2nd to the 23rd. I missed the one that was done in the second which was about the mummification and funerary practices, so I booked one for the 9th which was about artisans and brickmakers. Perfect! I learned about some ancient Egyptian art during my art history semester and I wanted to enrich myself with more knowledge. I sent $15 for the lecture (different from the collection ticket) and listened to how ancient artisans did their trade through a PowerPoint presentation while Dr. Serena Love explained each picture, slide, and her own experiences in encountering them.

The lecture started at 10:30am and lasted for an hour. I saw people of all ages come to see what's up. Some of them brought their laptops, the others brought pens and paper, others like lazy little me, just brought an old phone.

Dr. Love started the lecture about The Satire of the Trades from the Ancient Egyptian scribe Kheti to his son Pepi. Kheti just wanted his son to follow his footsteps as a scribe, so he described how the laborers and other artisans and tradesmen smelled like fish excrement, always tired, and suffered from violent beatings. But if you're a scribe, you'll be fine because "there is no scribe lacking sustenance". I guess secretaries were well fed at the time.

She started with the coppersmith, what their life was like and how important the whole copper industry was to their civilization. She went onto detail bout copper is pretty much what they used to do a lot of labour from stone cutting (cutting off limestone) to making mirrors. And as people know, that metal is soft. The copper tools get blunt easily so the coppersmiths work tirelessly day and night for centuries before moving onto bronze. Then she showed some pictures of artifacts that were also in the exhibit of some copper and bronze artifacts and their uses.

Did they seriously use copper chisels and shit to cut off granite?!!! Egyptologists think so. They recreated the technique using a copper tool and a small bit of limestone to see if it could be done. Yes. It could. It would take about 20 strikes for a copper tool to cut a chunk of limestone. Imagine doing that to make the pyramids. You will needs millions of slaves to cut all of those limestone with subpar tools. The scale of it was astounding if you think about it. Poor slaves.

The copper industry was also closely related to Egyptian faience. Faience was also related to jewelry making as it was an early attempt to imitate stones, particularly the Lapis Lazuli.

Dr. Love talked about the famous hippo statue "William", how it was so cute and that they all had copies of it as paperweights in their office.

We moved on to the bricklayer. Our boy Kheti also bashed the bricklayers to Pepi. Don't do it son, they work naked, they knead shit and they only wash once a day. To put it into perspective, clothes were expensive in Ancient Egypt and since the brickmakers put straw and dung in the clay they make. It makes sense, you have something expensive so you gotta protect it. Off with the clothes! Practicality is king.

Dr. Love didn't have any brick artifacts, so she showed us some pictures of the Pyramid of Amenemhat III.

The vintner was next. Kheti told his son to not make wine because they make deliveries and they die on the way more often than any profession. There were no artifacts of these as well, but Dr. Love told us about some grapes that have existed for thousands of years and there's wine from it. yeah right, she didn't want to believe it so she texted a colleague to confirm it and colleague said "yeah that's true". And now she has a bottle of it. She then talked about how some hieratic script came to life and that is because they had to label wine. Ooh... (checks hieratic) Vintage 4200 BC, delicious.

Kheti hated the weavers too. He told his son don't become one, it's a woman's job. They are not allowed to leave the weaver's den and if they want to go out to see sunlight, they have to bribe the guards with food. Going back to the brickmaker, we learned that ancient clothes were expensive and you are rich if you have full body and translucent clothing. The weavers mostly worked with linen and there were weaving tools and techniques that are still used today.

They were not restricted to making clothes. Linen was also used to make cartonnage which is linen or papyrus strips stuck together with plaster or resin, kind of like an old timey papier mache. As we know, this is utterly important.

Here's what inside a cartonnage looks like.

Leathermakers were also dissed. Kheti said the were gross and they chewed their material.

What?

Can you imagine chewing on leather day in and out to create sandals? My jaw hurts just thinking about it.

But the leatherworkers came up with this beauty: King Tut's infamous sandals. There were figures there that represented his enemies so King Tut can symbolically step on them every day. I aspire to be that level of petty.

Then there is the scribe. So Kheti told Pepi, "I have placed you on the path of God... Honor your father and mother who have placed you on the path of the living." In short, since time immemorial, parents have pushed their kids to follow in their footsteps. Dr. Serena Love explained that being a scribe in ancient times was a trade that was passed down through scribe families and that only about 5% of the population were functionally literate.

There were scribes who were called copyists. They only copied what they saw and was given to them by the functional literates. Dr. Love also talked about the two types of writing the Ancient Egyptians had: hieroglyphics and hieratic. Hieroglyphics were used for religious text and hieratic was used for everyday things. The process of making the papyrus was also shown with some artifacts to show us what they look like. Unfortunately, because of time, decay, and the material itself, some papyrus writings have been destroyed, broken, are in bits but some of them were also well preserved because of the arid conditions in the desert.

Papyrus artworks are still available today with current artists making their works based on ancient artworks.

What Kheti didn't talk about was glassmaking. This was after his time and according to Dr. Love, the glassmaking industry virtually appeared overnight in Ancient Egypt because of the artisans who were captured by Thutmose II. The artifacts she showed us looked so big in the presentation, like your average vase big, but in actuality they were so small. They looked like they can only hold about 15ml of perfume. The way that they did it in ancient times with subpar tools is again, amazing, but I pity the poor artisans and their hard labor.

Because of the love that was given to making glass, it was considered as an artificial semi-precious stone and were given as presents by the rich to the rich. Interesting to note is the patterns on the glass which were made by dragging a thin stick on bands of color vertically up or down in an alternating pattern, a technique that chocolatiers still use today.

It has enriched my knowledge of what I know about Ancient Egyptian artisans from my art history class. My old college class focused on the patterns, their significance, the types of furniture and the rooms that can be found in a theoretical Egyptian palace. We did not know anything about artisans and what their life was like. The lecture definitely put things into perspective and I learned to empathise with the ancient artisans. I know how hard traditional art can be while using subpar tools as a challenge. It must have been so terrible doing those grand things every day and get beaten for it if the quality of your work was not up to standards.

At the end of the lecture, I was able to learn 2 old timey words: "ba" meaning soul and "ka" meaning spirit. I also became familiar with the hieroglyph for scribe.

[dollsonmain]

@dollsahoy​ confirming for me that the cottage house is just 90′s style led me to look at 90′s cottage decor (as though I didn’t live through that...) and I went “Oh, that looks like almost my entire scrapbook paper stash...”

So here’s some wallpaper musings from the fireplace sitting room when I was supposed to be focusing on the kitchen but nope I’m sidetracked, now.

(first, though, look at all the different ways my phone interpreted the colors of things as I went)

I have this warm faux granite contact paper that I could cut shapes out of to stick to the fireplace. I don’t know if I want to do that, but I could.

I did not find any leftover brick pattern paper. I think all of that went into the urban apartment I built.

The first three seem a little too juvenile? for a family cottage? They read more kids’ room to me. I don’t care for gold, either, so the gold hearts are kind of eh even though that paper is ivory and better matches the rest of the yellowed plastic. The grey paper is textured but I don’t think it adds anything to the look of the “room”.

Time period appropriate and even has a pre-installed border XD I’m kind of avoiding papers with white backgrounds, though. The rest of the white parts of the house have turned ivory, and I’m rolling with the color changes to the plastics instead of fighting them. This would work, though.

Too dark. Don’t like it. That wood paper might make good fireplace logs, though. I don’t think I will make any, but I have the option.

All the wrong shade of blue.

I do like the shade of green on the stripes paper when paired with other segments of the house. The pink is sort of close to the color of the electronics, but I kind of like that this house isn’t very pink (though I rather like pink). The other two greens that I’d considered for the fridge I don’t like too much as wallpaper, either.

Even though the big flowers paper is pre-grunged and I have a problem with that (will get to later), I don’t hate it. I think it would look pretty nice, really. The smaller flowers paper I do not like for a wall. Too busy for me.

I do really like all of these as wallpapers (even the reds) and they look good with the other colors of the house, but they’re all too detailed (the pre-applied grunge) and I think that looks very out of place with how simple and cartoony the rest of the house is. If I were going to do a hardcore full customization and make the doll house as realistic as possible, these would be ideal wallpapers and/or floor tiles.

These are my favorites out of the papers I have on hand. Some of these are pretty juvenile, too, but don’t strike me as much like “this is a child’s bedroom” as the others.

[poisonhemloc]

just gonna put some (not taco truck au surprisingly) oc rambles under the cut

I have... six Hearthian ocs that aren't Granite and four of them only show up in one fic (and a wip)

Silica and Nickel are identical twin hatchlings from the everyone lives!au- Silica is/is going to be more adventurous, more into exploring, louder, more excitable. Nickel is going to be calmer, and a little quieter. They're mirror twins, so, freckles are mirrored (...I. don't know if Hearthians are left or right handed? I'm gonna assume they're ambidextrous though, but, if they aren't, probably Silica is left handed and Nickel is right handed)(Mirror twins- the fast version, if the twins looked at each other and both raised their dominant hand to touch their head, they would see the other doing that like they were looking in a mirror)

Silica is going to find something exciting to do on Timber Hearth, but, Nickel is the one who'll want to go into space... a couple years after Tephra.

Older Hearthians are Quartz, Jasper, Anatase, and Old Nickel.

Old Nickel is the oldest of the group/oldest living Hearthian in the pre-game fics right now. They're the former brewmaster/person who did Porphy's job in game. They're calm and friendly and they're fond of a hatchling that'll come help them out periodically.

Anatase was the mayor before Rutile- they're fair, but there's a point where they stop being lenient to hatchlings or adults who're supposed to know better and they tend towards harsher consequences than necessary.

Jasper was the medical person/hatchling caretaker that trained Gneiss and got phased out of the hatchling caretaking... pretty much around the time the wip im doing rn is taking place, mostly because they're not as good at it as Gneiss and for spilling 'you two are related' info several years earlier than they should have (My Feldspar and Gossan are half-siblings, but also, you're not supposed to know til you're old enough not to ignore everyone else in favor of sticking with your sibling). They're only allowed to help in specific circumstances- like, Chert was too little when hatched and Gneiss needed extra hands.

Quartz... I like a lot. They're mean, rude to the hatchlings, don't like change and will fight it, and they're not even good at their job. They're the former mechanic who started training Slate, and house fires have gone down despite. How Slate is. because Slate doesn't care about safety but they do want things working so they don't cut corners as much as Quartz who just wants things working enough and doesn't care if they break again tomorrow. They're single-handedly responsible for holding back Hearthian tech for multiple years because they think the space program is gonna end in total failure and it's not worth continuing to try

[govindhtech]

TerraTorch 1.0: Streamlining Geospatial AI For Everyone

TerraTorch 1.0 simplifies geospatial AI. Geographic model construction and comparison are easier with AI Alliance affiliate project TT 1.0.

Everyone is excited to unveil TerraTorch (TT) 1.0, a major geographic AI improvement. TerraTorch was intended for geospatial AI researchers who wish to enhance foundation models and exploit their data. Integrating and standardising foundation models as reusable backbones improves this process and allows smooth integration with cutting-edge decoders and heads.

They are part of the optimisation aim since different tasks (regression, classification, segmentation, object identification, etc.) need different heads and decoders perform differently on different datasets, backbones, and head combinations. TerraTorch, designed for geospatial, meteorological, climatic, and Earth observation applications, has become a powerful foundation model inference and fine-tuning framework.

TerraTorch recently introduced "necks" intermediary layers that adapt between incompatible model components, increasing architectural design flexibility. Because all neural network components are modularised and available through a TerraTorch execution configuration YAML file and the Python API, the framework improves repeatability, integration, and user error by minimising glue code.

Finally, this configuration-based technique perfectly interfaces with the TT Iterate plugin for NAS and HPO. Users may optimise backbones, decoders, and heads and fine-tune hyperparameters for model performance with this tool. TerraTorch is needed to benchmark foundation models according to GeoBench, which ensures full geospatial AI model evaluation and comparison.

TerraTorch adapts geospatial foundation models to EO applications quickly. Model validation and comparison are accelerated by integrated metrics. Researchers utilising TerraTorch to fine-tune Prithvi-EO-2.0 for flood, wildfire, and burn intensity tracking, landslip diagnosis, and crop segmentation are receiving positive feedback from the community.

TT 1.0 provides fingertip access to a choice of foundation models with opinionated performance optimisations (default settings based on best practices) that may be changed to help clients get started quickly while preserving flexibility for fine-tuning. Quick testing and deployment of cutting-edge geospatial AI models is made possible.

TerraTorch joins AI Alliance

TerraTorch's AI Alliance Affiliate Project status is a highlight of this edition. TerraTorch's integration within a larger AI research and practice community assures alignment with open AI development best practices and supports geographic machine learning innovation.

Iterate: HPO/NAS geospatial AI

The Iterate plugin for NAS and HPO is essential to TT 1.0. Iterate simplifies model selection and optimisation by automating architecture and hyperparameter selection on Optuna and optionally using MLFlow and Ray Tune. Iterate also benchmarks foundation models using GeoBench, ensuring a full evaluation of geospatial AI models against real datasets.

A complete foundation model and data module set

TT 1.0 simplifies geographic AI modelling with its large foundation model and data module library. Pre-training, fine-tuning, and inference are possible with TT 1.0. A customisable YAML configuration file or PyTorch Lightning-compatible programs can configure it.

Deep TorchGeo, CLAY, and IBM open-source model integration

TT 1.0 simply integrates with TorchGeo to access all models and data modules in the ecosystem. TerraTorch's intrinsic support for many open-source geospatial foundation models, including Granite, Prithvi, Clay, SatMAE, Satlas, DeCur, and DOFA, strengthens its position as a premier geospatial AI framework.

Image classification, multivariate multiple regression, and semantic segmentation with configurable heads are possible with TT 1.0.

It also supports ViT-Adapter and LoRA parameter efficient fine-tuning (PEFT). TT 1.1 supports VPT.

In addition, TT 1.0 lets users pick any Timm or SMP model for a job.

TerraTorch powers IBM's Geospatial Studio's scalable AI inference and fine-tuning

TerraTorch supports scalable AI inference and geospatial application fine-tuning in IBM's Geospatial Studio. The platform's basis allows data preprocessing, model training, and real-time satellite imagery analysis.

TerraTorch uses community-driven solutions to decrease vendor lock-in, promote transparency, and spur creativity via open-source Geospatial Studio. Geospatial Studio can instantly leverage the newest foundation model and AI best practices because it is not limited to IBM's stack.

Terratorch/vLLM models

Dynamic batching, smart memory management, and Paged Attention make vLLM an optimised open-source LLM inference library for latency-free streaming.

Using TerraTorch to produce and consume geographical data extends vLLM beyond text to multi-modal AI. Adding IBM Research's Prithvi-EO-2.0, vLLM's first non-text input/output model, was a milestone. Current work intends to accelerate this trend by adding non-text post-processing stages to vLLM, which can use TerraTorch for computer vision tasks in geographic models. This lays the framework for multimodal vLLM.

What's next?

The release of TT 1.0 is only the beginning. To be at the forefront of geographic AI innovation, TerraTorch constantly improves, supports new models, datasets, tasks (such object identification), and benchmarking standards.

The GIS and AI communities are invited to examine TT 1.0, influence its future, and contribute to its development. Try it now to join this fascinating journey!

[stonepacca]

Vancouver Stone Wall Cladding – Premium Quality by StonePac

Looking for the best stone wall cladding in Vancouver? At StonePac, we specialize in high-quality stone cladding solutions that add durability, elegance, and insulation to both residential and commercial properties. Whether you're upgrading your home's exterior, building a stunning feature wall, or designing a modern office space, our Vancouver stone wall cladding is the perfect choice.

Why Choose StonePac for Stone Wall Cladding in Vancouver? ✅ Local Expertise – We understand Vancouver’s climate and provide weather-resistant stone cladding that stands the test of time.

✅ Natural & Engineered Stone Options – Choose from limestone, granite, slate, or quartzite to match your aesthetic vision.

✅ Enhanced Curb Appeal – Our stone wall cladding enhances property value by adding a luxurious and natural look.

✅ Energy Efficient & Low Maintenance – Stone cladding improves insulation, keeping your space warm in winter and cool in summer, while requiring minimal upkeep.

✅ Custom Solutions – We offer custom-cut and pre-designed stone veneer panels to fit your architectural needs.

Get the Best Stone Wall Cladding in Vancouver! Upgrade your property with StonePac’s Vancouver stone wall cladding and experience the perfect combination of durability, aesthetics, and sustainability. StonePac – Vancouver’s Trusted Name in Stone Wall Cladding!

[rajinblog]

Small Kitchen Remodel Cost: A Comprehensive Guide

A small kitchen remodel can be a game-changer, enhancing both functionality and aesthetics. But how much does it cost? The answer depends on various factors, including the scope of the renovation, materials, and labor costs. In this guide, we break down the average costs and considerations to help you budget effectively for your small kitchen remodel.

Average Cost of a Small Kitchen Remodel

The cost of remodeling a small kitchen typically ranges between $5,000 and $25,000, depending on the extent of the changes. Here’s a general breakdown:

Minor Remodel ($5,000 - $10,000): Fresh paint, new backsplash, refaced cabinets, upgraded lighting, and minor fixture updates.

Mid-Range Remodel ($10,000 - $20,000): New cabinets, countertops, flooring, energy-efficient appliances, and upgraded plumbing.

High-End Remodel ($20,000 - $25,000+): Custom cabinetry, high-end appliances, premium countertops, luxury flooring, and complete layout reconfiguration.

Factors Affecting Small Kitchen Remodel Costs

1. Cabinetry and Storage Solutions

Cabinets often take up a significant portion of the budget. Depending on whether you choose to refinish, reface, or replace them, costs can vary from $1,500 to $10,000.

2. Countertops and Backsplash

The choice of countertops impacts both aesthetics and cost. Options range from laminate ($20 - $50 per sq. ft.) to quartz or granite ($50 - $150 per sq. ft.). Adding a backsplash can cost $800 to $2,500.

3. Flooring

Flooring costs vary based on the material:

Vinyl: $2 - $5 per sq. ft.

Tile: $5 - $15 per sq. ft.

Hardwood: $8 - $20 per sq. ft.

4. Appliances and Fixtures

Energy-efficient appliances can cost between $2,000 and $8,000, while upgrading faucets, sinks, and lighting may add $500 to $3,000.

5. Labor and Permits

Professional labor costs can make up 20-40% of the total budget. If structural changes or electrical/plumbing modifications are needed, additional permits may be required, costing between $100 and $1,000.

Cost-Saving Tips for a Small Kitchen Remodel

Refinish or reface cabinets instead of replacing them.

Opt for budget-friendly materials like laminate countertops and vinyl flooring.

DIY minor updates like painting or installing new hardware.

Buy pre-owned or discounted appliances to cut costs.

Stick to the existing kitchen layout to avoid expensive plumbing and electrical changes.

Conclusion

A small kitchen remodel can be done on various budgets, from minor cosmetic updates to full-scale renovations. By understanding cost factors and prioritizing essential upgrades, homeowners can achieve a beautiful and functional kitchen without overspending.

If you’re planning a small kitchen remodel, set a clear budget and explore cost-effective solutions to maximize your investment!

[fourseasongutter]

The Ultimate Guide to Gutter Installation: What Every Homeowner Should Know

Gutters are a crucial component of your home’s exterior, directing rainwater away from your roof, siding, and foundation. Proper gutter installation ensures that your home remains free from water damage, mold growth, and structural issues. If you’re considering installing new gutters, this guide will walk you through everything you need to know, from choosing materials to the step-by-step installation process.

Why Gutter Installation Matters

Without a properly functioning gutter system, rainwater can accumulate near your foundation, leading to costly repairs. Gutters help: ✅ Prevent basement flooding ✅ Reduce soil erosion ✅ Protect siding and paint from water stains ✅ Extend the lifespan of your roof and walls

Choosing the Right Gutter Material

Selecting the best material for your gutters is essential for long-term performance and durability. Here are the most common options:

Aluminum Gutters – Lightweight, rust-resistant, and cost-effective. Ideal for most climates.

Copper Gutters – Durable and stylish, but more expensive.

Vinyl Gutters – Affordable and easy to install but less durable over time.

Steel Gutters – Strong and resilient, but prone to rust if not maintained properly.

Zinc Gutters – Long-lasting with minimal maintenance but come at a higher price point.

Seamless vs. Sectional Gutters

Seamless Gutters: Custom-made for your home with fewer joints, reducing leaks and blockages.

Sectional Gutters: Pre-cut sections joined together, making them easier to install but more prone to leaks.

For homeowners looking for a long-term, low-maintenance solution, seamless gutters are the preferred choice.

Step-by-Step Gutter Installation Guide

Step 1: Gather Your Materials & Tools

✅ Gutter sections ✅ Downspouts ✅ Brackets & Hangers ✅ Screws & Sealant ✅ Ladder & Safety Equipment ✅ Measuring Tape & Level

Step 2: Measure and Plan

Determine the length of the gutter runs and the placement of downspouts.

Slope the gutters slightly (1/2 inch per 10 feet) toward the downspouts for proper drainage.

Step 3: Install the Fascia Brackets

Secure brackets to the fascia board using screws, spacing them about 24 inches apart.

Step 4: Attach the Gutters

Place the gutters onto the brackets and secure them with screws.

Apply sealant at the joints to prevent leaks.

Step 5: Install Downspouts

Connect downspouts to the gutter outlets and secure them to the wall with straps.

Step 6: Test for Proper Drainage

Run water through the system to ensure smooth flow and no leaks.

Professional vs. DIY Gutter Installation

While DIY gutter installation can save money, hiring professionals ensures a seamless, secure, and efficient installation. If you want hassle-free service with expert precision, consider hiring Four Seasons Gutter Filter.

Why Choose Four Seasons Gutter Filter?

We offer top-rated gutter installation, gutter cleaning, gutter repair, and gutter replacement in Sacramento and surrounding areas, including Auburn, El Dorado Hills, Folsom, Granite Bay, Grass Valley, Modesto, Nevada City, Placerville, Roseville, and Stockton.

📍 Address: 4212 N Freeway Blvd #6, Sacramento, CA 95834, United States 📞 Call us at: +1 844-345-8374 🌐 Visit our website: Four Seasons Gutter Filter

Protect your home today with expert gutter installation! Contact us for a FREE estimate and let us help you safeguard your home for years to come.

[atplblog]

Price: [price_with_discount] (as of [price_update_date] - Details) [ad_1] From the manufacturer Edge & Corner guards Product Highlights 5Meter(16.4ft) Edge guard 8 Corner Protectors with PRE-ATTACHED red 3M Tape Monkey faced door stopper for child safety Double sided red 3M easy to peel tape for Edge Guard Amazara Edge & Corner Guards Non toxic & Child Safe Are you looking for child safety products for your home? Look no further. At Amazara, Child safety is important to us, and we know keeping your little one safe from harm is a parent's number 1 priority. Amazara baby proofing and child safety products are designed by parents, for parents. Make your home safer for children, pets, and even elderly family members. Edge Protectors fit all standard tables of various sizes and shapes. Authentic red 3M adhesive are pre-taped on corner guards for the convenience of use. No tools needed to install - convenient, no hassle and easy to use. The softest impact, the most secure hold Thick, Soft and Durable You can cut the edge cushions to fit your furniture measurements.100% non-toxic and safe. Inherently flame resistant. No BPA, phthalates, heavy metals or latex. 8 Pre-taped Corner Guards Corner Cushions are pre-taped for the convenience of use.A roll of double-sided tape is included for Edge rolls. Use Anywhere Perfect for use in the living room, kitchen, dining room, bedrooms.Centre table, Bed frames,Tv unit, Dining table, Drawers, Wall corners, Shoe rack, Granite kitchen counter-tops Add to Cart

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[vishwakarmaruchita]

How to Choose the Perfect Nirali Kitchen Sink for Your Home: A Complete Buying Guide

A kitchen sink is one of the most important fixtures in any home, playing a crucial role in daily meal prep and clean-up. When choosing a kitchen sink, factors like durability, functionality, design, and size must be carefully considered. Nirali Kitchen Sinks, known for their premium quality and stylish designs, have become a popular choice for homeowners and interior designers alike.

If you're planning to upgrade or install a new Nirali kitchen sink, this guide will help you understand the key factors to consider when selecting the perfect model for your home.

1. Understand Your Kitchen Needs

Before choosing a Nirali kitchen sink, evaluate your kitchen layout, space availability, and usage requirements. Ask yourself:

✔ How many people use the kitchen daily? ✔ Do you need a single-bowl or double-bowl sink? ✔ What kind of cooking and cleaning habits do you have? ✔ Do you need a deep sink for washing large pots and pans?

Understanding these factors will help you select the right size, shape, and type of sink to match your lifestyle.

2. Choose the Right Sink Material

Nirali kitchen sinks are available in different materials, each offering unique benefits. Here are the most common materials to consider:

1. Stainless Steel Sinks

✔ Most popular choice due to durability, affordability, and rust resistance ✔ Available in matte, satin, and glossy finishes ✔ Easy to clean and resistant to stains ✔ Ideal for modern and minimalist kitchens

2. Quartz Sinks

✔ Made from composite granite and quartz for a luxurious look ✔ Scratch-resistant and heat-resistant, making it perfect for heavy use ✔ Offers a sleek, contemporary aesthetic ✔ Available in various colors to match kitchen decor

3. Ceramic Sinks

✔ Traditional and elegant option, perfect for farmhouse-style kitchens ✔ Resistant to stains and scratches but can be prone to chipping if not handled carefully ✔ Provides a classic white, glossy look

4. Designer Sinks

✔ Nirali offers premium designer sinks with customized finishes and patterns ✔ Ideal for luxury kitchens looking for aesthetic appeal and uniqueness

Pro Tip: Stainless steel sinks are the most practical and durable option for most households, while quartz or designer sinks are ideal for premium kitchen aesthetics.

3. Select the Right Sink Configuration

The sink configuration plays an important role in functionality. Nirali kitchen sinks come in various bowl configurations, each serving different needs:

1. Single-Bowl Sinks

✔ Ideal for small kitchens with limited counter space ✔ Provides ample space for washing large pots and utensils ✔ Best suited for minimalist kitchen designs

2. Double-Bowl Sinks

✔ Allows for separate washing and rinsing areas ✔ Ideal for homes that frequently cook large meals ✔ Suitable for multi-tasking, such as washing dishes while prepping food

3. One-and-a-Half Bowl Sinks

✔ Offers one large and one smaller bowl for efficient cleaning ✔ Great for homes where a garbage disposal unit is installed ✔ Provides a balance between single and double-bowl functionality

Pro Tip: If you have a large family or do extensive cooking, a double-bowl or one-and-a-half-bowl sink is the best option. For compact kitchens, a single-bowl sink works well.

4. Consider the Mounting Style

Nirali kitchen sinks come in different mounting styles, affecting both aesthetics and functionality. Choose based on your kitchen countertop design and ease of cleaning.

1. Top-Mount (Drop-In) Sinks

✔ Easiest to install as they simply drop into a pre-cut hole ✔ The sink’s rim sits above the countertop ✔ Affordable and works with most kitchen designs

2. Undermount Sinks

✔ Installed beneath the countertop for a seamless, modern look ✔ Makes cleaning easier as debris can be wiped directly into the sink ✔ Ideal for solid surface countertops like granite or quartz

3. Farmhouse (Apron-Front) Sinks

✔ Features a deep, exposed front panel for a stylish, rustic look ✔ Provides extra space for washing large pots and dishes ✔ Best suited for traditional and farmhouse-style kitchens

Pro Tip: If you prefer easy installation and affordability, go for top-mount sinks. For a sleek, modern appearance, choose undermount sinks.

5. Check for Additional Features and Accessories

To enhance the functionality and convenience of your Nirali kitchen sink, consider additional features such as:

✔ Drainboards: Built-in drainboards provide extra space for drying dishes. ✔ Noise Reduction Technology: Some stainless steel sinks have soundproof coatings to reduce noise from running water. ✔ Pull-Out Faucets: Combining a pull-out faucet with your sink improves cleaning efficiency. ✔ Garbage Disposal Compatibility: If you use a waste disposal unit, ensure the sink is compatible.

Final Thoughts: Choosing the Best Nirali Kitchen Sink for Your Home

Investing in a Nirali kitchen sink means choosing quality, durability, and stylish designs for your home. To find the perfect sink, consider:

✔ Your kitchen space and daily usage needs ✔ The right material (stainless steel, quartz, or ceramic) ✔ A suitable bowl configuration (single, double, or one-and-a-half bowl) ✔ The best mounting style for your kitchen design ✔ Additional features for improved convenience

By selecting the right Nirali kitchen sink, you can create a functional, elegant, and long-lasting kitchen workspace that enhances your overall cooking experience.

Ready to upgrade your kitchen? Explore Nirali kitchen sinks and find the perfect match for your home today!