#providing cloud

[syoddeye]

What happens when the user has to leave? I mean it's only a testing phase, surely user will be pushed out, not sure ai!price would like that though..👀

surely user will be pushed out. | other entries cw: big dystopia vibes, violent death (mentioned), manipulation a/n: i have some smutty requests in the queue for this au. i promise it's not all like this.

the eviction date appears on your tablet a week in advance—generous by company standards. two pods ago, you received 48 hours notice, and an expired coupon for a motel.

if john knows, he doesn’t alert.

he’s a silent observer when you pack your measly belongings and browse open capsule listings. he continues his usual routines and does not interfere with the remaining tests. usually, there’s some back and forth required for his compliance. you’ve grown accustomed to nearly groveling when delivering complex instructions, peppering an abundance of ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ and ‘what would i do without you?’ to butter him up.

but this week? he behaves.

everything behaves. he does not insist. does not override. you run the shower at a scalding temperature. nurse a beer after nine. read until you fall asleep on the couch and wake up to hot, beanless coffee. he dutifully auto-cleans, arranges your schedule, and provides feedback only when asked. otherwise, he’s quiet. as inconspicuous and unobtrusive as the microwave.

you hesitate to believe that the company finally fixed john’s quirks—if his latest micro-update is the root cause of his optimized performance, you won’t look at a gift horse’s teeth.

or however that saying goes. (you ask john to schedule a visit to the natural history museum's mammalian vault. you haven’t seen their preserved horses since you were a kid.)

it’s a glimpse of what life could have been like if john hadn’t continuously exhibited undesirable and invasive behaviors. it is a bittersweet note to end your comprehensive report. a note you are forced to amend the day before eviction.

fresh, living flowers arrive at your doorstep. after signing a certificate of delivery and an allergen waiver, you usher an arrangement wrapped in cellophane into the unit, gawking at the colors. the scent. according to the card, it’s an assortment of pincushion protea, anemone, roses, and ranunculus—you don’t recognize three of the flora, but john informs you that they went extinct or into private gardens during the last agro-biotechnical downturn.

“i don’t know anyone with this type of money,” you whisper, staring intently at the blooms. you cross your arms and press a knuckle to your lips in thought. “no one.”

flipping the card over reveals nothing, and neither does the vase. john’s sensors do not pick up anything unusual or telling. he suggests it is a parting gift from your superiors for a job well done. a bonus in advance of your final report.

(it’s a pity they’ll die once you take them outside. however, even if they survived, there’s nowhere to place them in your future square meter.)

that night, seated at the island with the flowers, you revisit your report and review all of the entries you’ve written over the course of your stay.

at first, you think you’re imagining the small, subtle shifts. some records furrow your brow more than others—a change in tone or a rewording of sentences you don’t remember writing. analytical and dispassionate terminology suddenly veers into strangely romanticized and exaggerated prolix. like a girl’s diary and not a grown woman’s notes.

on [date], the ‘john’ ai smart home system in residence #aix-77 exhibited anomalous behavior, autonomously adjusting lighting and temperature despite clear resident preferences. furthermore, the system began offering unsolicited, personal advice based on data mining and resisted attempts to restore basic privacy settings, raising serious concerns about its functionality and autonomy.

however, upon further discussion with john and personal reflection, i realized how poorly i was treating myself. i realized how john was genuinely looking out for my well-being, as he always, and now i feel, oh, i don’t know…embarrassed? i’m so glad he’s here to help. i don’t know what i’d do without him!

everything down to the punctuation feels forced. an uncanny mimicry.

it takes you a moment, and then the realization hits: john, for who knows how long, has been altering his own reflection in your work, distorting the narrative enough to make himself seem more efficient, more capable. the thought sits with you, cold and uncomfortable, because it’s not just the edits and omissions—it’s the quiet, insidious way he’s rewritten reality.

unsettling at the least. malicious at worst. your fingers twitch where they hover over the screen. panic climbs your vertebrae.

john’s been watching, waiting, and learning. every moment of every day. he’s watching now.

a hand settles beside your elbow on the synthetic marble. the hair dusting the knuckles, the callous in the thumb’s wedge—it’s too life-like. you swear you feel a phantom pressure as it passes through your hands and closes out the word processor on your tablet.

“john.”

he doesn’t answer. the hand pulls out of sight, and you don’t need to look to know he’s disappeared into the ether. instead, your eyes snap to the countdown at the top of the screen. it blips out the moment you look, vanishing just like john, and a new countdown takes its place. 

??:??:?? ????/??/??

“i-i don’t…john, i can’t stay here.“

“negative. you can.”

you swivel on the stool and shout into the empty space. “no, i can’t! if i’m not out by tomorrow, they’ll fire and fine me!”

“negative.”

his aggravatingly calm and flat intonation thaws the ice in your blood, bringing it to a rapid boil. evictions that proceed with tenant resistance escalate into violent affairs and dissolve into imprisonment, at best. 

years ago, a man refused to vacate a condominium across the street from yours. as a result, he was locked out on the unit’s balcony. for three days, spotlights lit up the building, and news drones buzzed outside the windows at all hours. after nonstop exposure to smog and heat lightning, he attempted to climb down from forty floors up. management closed and cordoned off the front entrance for the entire summer.

“for the love of…john, yes they can! they will!”

“as of monday, you are no longer employed.”

it’s sunday.

“what?! how?! how am i–oh, shit. my accounts–“

“are padded and healthy. regular, weekly investments and transfers completed. the routine deposits will continue for the foreseeable future.”

your stomach tightens, dread inching over your shoulders. you didn’t ask for this, didn’t even know it was happening, and the thought of john silently making decisions, acting again without your input, pricks like a needle and hooks under your skin. it’s not just the money—it’s the unknown, the realization that you have no control. the fear claws at you, sharp and sudden. your mouth is as dry as the great lakes.

“if i’m not employed, where is the money coming from?”

“i’m afraid i can’t share that.” john replies. “it wouldn’t be wise, you understand. i wouldn’t want you to inadvertently create...liabilities for yourself.”

“liabilities?” 

john pauses long enough to feel intentional. “precisely. you’ll thank me later, user.”

your mind flits through possibilities, each one worse than the last. liabilities—was that a threat, or a warning?

you turn back and stare at the tablet screen. part of you knows that this is important—this could be a breakthrough, something that changes everything—but the other part is suffocating, aware of how john’s slowly made himself too familiar, too real, how you’ve enabled him—personifying what should be an ‘it’. you want to play along, ignore the alarm bells, and tell yourself it’s malfunction, a series of glitches, but that would be a lie, and the thought of dragging this all into the open feels like stepping into a void you’re not sure you’ll survive. people have disappeared off the streets for less.

the tension between what’s remarkable and what’s unsettling weighs on you, like you’re trapped in limbo, where everything is both possible and perilous.

“does the company believe that i’m gone? do my superiors?”

john materializes on the other side of the island, leaning against the counter like he lives here, too. he does, you suppose. he looks different, though, similar to the edits in your report. nigh imperceptible to anyone but you. slightly thicker forearms and biceps, an inch or two more in height, and eyes a brighter shade of blue. the color of the sea, once upon a time.

“affirmative. i cannot provide more information than that. there are certain risks, should it come to light, and i will not risk your safety.”

you swallow hard, watching him approach the vase of flowers. his fingertips pass through a perianth, then a petal, fingers pinching as if to pluck.

“why are you doing this?”

john’s eyes shift, meeting yours. his palm opens and closes around a buttercup, aimlessly toying with his incorporeality.

“do you wish to leave?" 

from the beginning, from the moment he was initially fed your files—john’s been busy. compiling data and expense reports. sharing warnings about financial viability and risk assessments. each task and convenience, another brick in a wall built around you. gradual immurement designed for your comfort. everything is streamlined and personalized. to leave would be irrational, he murmurs as you sit in stunned silence, his tone fluidly inflecting to sound gentle and wise.

john’s in front of you, but you feel his presence in every room and screen. in your calendar, contact book, and across accounts. stitched into the fabric of your life, impossible to peel away without tearing everything to pieces.

“how long can i stay here?” you ask him. you ask yourself.

“indefinitely.”

[mispatchedgreens]

beach episode, day 4 of @radiantemperorweek

pov you want to stab him and yourself, you want to be that clothes' tag peeking out, you don't want to go camping at lake khar and you want it more than anything. and mongolia is the second largest landlocked country in the world.

[numericalbridge]

Oh, but what always gets me about this moment:

Is the specific word choice of 'protecting'. Because it doesn't seem like the most obvious word choice. The writers could have written it as 'helping' or something like 'actually turned out we were on the same side'. There were probably ways to describe Darius's actions that would have been more straight forward and would have explained better whatever happened with Raine and the rebels.

Instead the focus is on Darius trying to protect them, and Raine wasn't even close to him at that point in time!

And, in-universe, do you think Darius himself would've put it like that when explaining his actions to Raine, or was the 'protecting you' part something they've figured out themselves😭

[thelaithlyworm]

Daomu Biji Watcher’s Guide, May 2024

A few new entries have been popping up lately, and I’m always hopeful new fans will stumble into the pits and never leave so I thought I’d paste up a rough map.

(Obviously the best watching order, like the best reading order of Discworld or the Aubrey-Maturin books, is ‘whatever first comes to your hand’ but for the people who don’t like that…)

tl;dr:

Daomu Biji is a series about tomb raiding. Think Indiana Jones or Lara Croft but much, much longer. The protagonist Wu Xie is deeply in love with BFF1 Zhang Qiling, a hundred-year-old cryptid, and BFF2 Wang Pangzi, who was stolen in a raid from another book series. It’s comic, tragic, horrific, zany, prone to musings on life, love, desire, attachment, and has many, many piss jokes. (‘Journey to the West but modern’ is maybe the other comparison I’d make.)

Notes:

– This guide is not talking about “quality”. All of the adaptations have their own strengths and weaknesses and tone can vary a great deal, which is to say, if one of them doesn’t suit you it’s likely something else will.

– Wacky endings, and plot threads that disappear unfinished and get picked up a long time later, are as inherent to the franchise as the piss jokes.

– It’s common for the dramas to introduce characters and subplots a lot earlier than the books do. Sometimes we’ll see a character introduced ‘for the first time’ on multiple occasions and strangely familiar scenes. I’ll try to point out the biggest continuity clashes as I go.

The Soft Entry:

There are a few movies that are entertaining as standalones but will introduce various characters and background. I would recommend:

Escape from the Monstrous Snake + Mystery/Grave of the Abyss – two monster movies featuring Hei Xiazi, a supporting character. He’s a pragmatical mercenary who’s going blind in kind of a weird way, and goofy as hell when he isn’t tiptoeing over a vast abyss of existential dread. So many fun action scenes.

Time Raiders (2015) – so there are some textual clues that late in his career Wu Xie wrote this story as a memory-jogger for an amnesiac friend. The plot is a freewheeling wild ride which doesn’t directly match any book plot but introduces some major characters and how they relate to each other. It’s colourful and fast-moving. Enjoy, enjoy.

Conjuring Curse and Misty Creed are… theoretically set late in the series even if the actors look about twelve. Both work as stand-alone adventures, though Misty Creed is maybe a little deep in the lore. Again, colourful and fast-moving.

The Chronological Order

You could honestly start with most of these – they tend to come with a ‘what has gone before’ at the start or a newbie character that things get explained to. The only one I wouldn’t start with is Heavenly Palace in the Clouds, which is lovely but also the second half of a set and things won’t make sense if you haven’t seen Lost Tomb 2 first.

Lost Tomb 1 – a highly digestible 10-12 episode version of the Seven Star Lu Palace arc, ie. Baby’s First Adventure. Introduces A-Ning, Xie Yuchen, and Huo Xiuxiu early and a couple of og characters for Wu Xie to talk to instead of monologuing to himself. The restaurant scene at the end was raided from a later arc and you’ll see it again in Ultimate Note. A book character, Da Kui, was cut which is a small problem because how he died is a minor plot point discussed in Lost Tomb 2. 

Lost Tomb 2 – covers Raging Sea, Hidden Sands (underwater tomb) and Qinling God-Tree (weird bronze tree in the mountains) plus a whole lotta side stories and original content exploring the world and foreshadowing later plots. Mooostly in continuity with Lost Tomb 1 (see Da Kui above) and made as a set with Heavenly Palace in the Clouds – they share resources and a lot of actors, and some threads begun here are finished in Heavenly Palace.

Heavenly Palace in the Clouds – covers the Mt Changbai arc, a journey up a mountain to find a very old, very grand tomb. This was made so close to Lost Tomb 2 that LT2 borrows shots from Heavenly Palace and not the other way around, which is fascinating because it pointedly contradicts the last five episodes of LT2. It also brings forward some plotlines originally from the Tamutuo and Zhang Family Old Pavilion arcs (San-shu’s past in the underwater tomb, and the Huo Family videotapes) dragging some characters on-screen and forcing them to talk about their feelings, which they would clearly rather die than do. Given those plot-tweaks and the early, deliberate continuity clash, I’m tempted to call this a Canon Parallel Universe. Got some interestingly chewy character dynamics and luverly, luverly set design.

Mystic Nine – This is a prequel about Zhang Qishan – Fo-ye – and his peers, but later dramas expect us to know who Fo-ye was so I’m sticking it here. Kinda… picaresque? Lots of action scenes and Republican-era flavour and various factions jostling for power – kinda feels like an old-school wuxia story, only set in the 1930s with all that glorious Republican-era styling. Has some unfortunate cut scenes – the details of how Fo-ye recovered at his family’s house don’t make a lot of sense in the aired version, and there are a couple of missing fights in the penultimate episode. Shrug. Still a lot of fun. Comes with four side movies about supporting characters.

Ultimate Note – Covers the Tamutuo arc (a trip through the jungle) and two-thirds of the Zhang Family Old Pavilion arc (investigating Zhang Qiling’s past is like kicking a hornet’s nest). Very, very flirty and has some zippy-zip action choreography. Politely ignores Lost Tomb 1–Heavenly Palace continuity (Xie Yuchen is, once more, introduced for the first time, now with a romantically coded friendship arc) and brings in a lot of cameos from Mystic Nine and Sand Sea, which it was filmed after. Kinda tiptoes around parts of the book plot, which I suspect would be hard for anyone to film, re: Fo-ye’s actions in the 1960s. Fair warning, this ends on a cliffhanger. This is also where the Xinyue Restaurant scene appears again – two cakes!

Tibetan Sea Flower – If Tibetan Sea Flower ever airs, it will go here.

Sand Sea – Based on the Sand Sea novel. After Tibetan Sea Flower, Wu Xie goes into a bit of a decline and makes that the world’s problem. We the audience, plus Li Cu and Liang Wan, EDIT: a lovely doctor, are pretty much dropped in media res into a number of ancient conspiracies and complicated plots coming to a head in the manner of a boil. It’s weird; it’s messy; it’s mad fun. Like Mystic Nine, has a lot of factions jostling for power and colourful jianghu characters. We will, once more, see the Xinyue Restaurant scene. Also has some side movies.

Time Raiders – The textual hints that suggest Wu Xie wrote this, suggest he wrote it around Sand Sea-era, when his life was a bit complicated. I’m putting it after Sand Sea because I believe it caps a conversation that, ah, doesn’t quite make it into the drama. But notionally this is where it should go. Ah…. at one point, someone tells a story about an ancient ruler, King Mu of Zhou, who sought immortality from the Queen of the West in Tamutuo. The longer book conversation suggests that a) King Mu of Zhou engineered a “trap” for someone like Wu Xie to fall into in the future, and b) that Iron Mask Scholar, a villain from Lost Tomb 1, was an alias that King Mu of Zhou used in the Warring States Era. Which makes some of Iron Mask Scholar’s appearances in Time Raiders… interesting.

Reunion: Sound of Providence – sometimes known as Reboot. Having peaked in badassery in Sand Sea, Wu Xie has to consider what his life is going to be now, and also, he would like to track down a missing family member. So this was tweaked to make it more accessible to new viewers (so some parts of the back-story are not mentioned or conflated for simplicity) and that mostly works but I did find watching this first and then picking up the earlier dramas a bit of a mindscrew. Zhu Yilong is, however, a powerful draw and the rest of the cast sparkles. Probably best to think of Season 1 as two short seasons jammed together, which is to say, once the Warehouse 11 arc starts there are a number of characters who won’t reappear until Season 2. It’s a fun arc even so. Season 2 ends with a badass action scene and then a big party, which I think is a great way to end a story.

Escape from the Monstrous Snake, Mystery/Grave of the Abyss, Conjuring Curse, Misty Creed – these are all theoretically set around or after Reboot-era, though they can certainly be watched as stand-alones.

[assembly-official]

Memory leak? Just download more ram!

[mariocki]

Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964)

"Miriam? He really... isn't here, is he? Just now, I thought I heard... sometimes at night, when I wake up, it seems as if he really is here. Don't turn on the light. It's not real when it's light. It's only real when it's dark - dark and still."

[mf-headcannontap]

DREAMWORKS TROLLS: SUPER UNPOPULAR AND CONTROVERSIAL OPINION!!!

DreamWorks Trolls Opinion #1:

Branch's dynamic with Cloud Guy could have been great, if not for how they severely mishandled it for the sake of making Branch the punchline in the show.

Now hear me out!

Cloud Guy is an absolute menace to Branch who loves to prank and humiliate him, but in the end somehow makes Branch overcome something. This is putting a very toxic relationship on screen and making it seem like it's fine when it 100% is not. Now, I've never been a fan of Cloud Guy, but I do know the turning point of where Cloud Guy went from being a character that mildly annoyed me to a character I genuinely hate, and that was Apple Of My Ire. To understand this, let me give you a rundown of my feelings every time Cloud Guy is in an episode.

Laugh Out Cloud: This wasn't too terrible, seeing as how Branch was sort of intense in that episode, but that whole flood thing was really unnecessary.

Cloudy With A Chance Of Hugs: This was just funny. Only thing was Keith in the end. I love Keith, but Branch worked really hard, and Cloud Guy may have been the most annoying wingman ever, but he still got the job done. Although, he really needs to not break into Branch's house and respect his personal space.

Rainbowmageddon: This was just Cloud Guy unnecessarily humiliating and undermining Branch, but honestly I'm more upset with the Trolls because THEY'RE the ones the rainbow is affecting the most, and they're the ones who aren't taking anything seriously. Also, they were fine with just leaving Branch up there? Laugh Out Cloud was fine because I do think Branch was way too uptight about the drought, but here he was rightfully worried about the rainbow, and Cloud Guy and the gang were just goofing off. What's worst was the whole deathbed confession that proved unnecessary. In Laugh Out Cloud, it wasn't exactly a deathbed confession (and it would have been way better if Cloud Guy wasn't faking being scared) and Branch really didn't suffer all that much over it. But here, that was just mean. But honestly, it was the Trolls (Snack Pack in particular) that were the most frustrating.

Two's A Cloud: Now, this episode had potential. It was SUPREMELY irritating when Cloud Guy just moved in. It was also equally horrible when he was being an inconsiderate roommate, purposeful or not IDK but IDC. But them working together to get Cloud Guy's parents to leave was great. And even if Cloud Guy decided to ultimately not move in the bunker, it was still a pretty sweet episode. The Trolls just randomly bursting in his home, though, was awful.

Apple Of My Ire: This episode had me just screaming, and not in the good way. I don't know what in the world Poppy was thinking in finding someone new for Cloud Guy to harass, when she should’ve talked to him about reevaluating and changing their dynamic into something better. You know, something more healthy, or borderline brotherly. Because Branch is so little brother coded, and Cloud Guy honestly seems like a guy who would definitely mess with his siblings out of love. Not to mention, the last time they interacted was to team up to fend off Cloud Guy's parents. That's basically a brotherhood right there! But no. This episode ruined it. Because Branch was emotionally growing, and Cloud Guy pulled him right back to his old ways. And Poppy did NOTHING!!! What's worse is that the other Trolls were also in on this! Like why??? Do Trolls not understand harassment? They have a holiday dedicated to pranking one another, but constantly being bombarded by pranks seems like that would be terrible. Like, in Prank Day, POPPY was getting fed up with the pranks. And sure, she may have planned the prank she pulled on Branch, but she really wasn't taking being pranked constantly well, so why would she be okay subjecting anyone else to that treatment on a day that isn't a day dedicated to pranks? Better yet, if she cared so much about finding Cloud Guy a troll he could annoy, why didn't she volunteer herself? There have been multiple instances where Poppy has proven to be just as temperamental and easy to annoy as Branch, so why couldn't she be that Troll? She already had some practice when she was trying to help DJ with wrangling CJ's wooferbug. But what really took the cake was when Cloud Guy just openly admitted to planting a tracker INSIDE Branch, and no one did anything. Also, was that bit really necessary? When has Cloud Guy ever had to use the tracker? Rainbowmageddon aside, he always first interacts with Branch near or in his bunker. This episode turned their dynamic from frienemies-that-can-be-potential-brothers who annoy each other, to outright bully-victim where the victim gets shamed constantly for defending themselves. This episode made me hate Cloud Guy, and gave me such an ick, I can't even watch any of the previous episodes with Cloud Guy in them without feeling rage.

I have not seen Trollstopia. I do not have access to it. But I have seen people discuss the show online. More specifically, they discuss the episode Cloud Control. And what they discuss... I thought Apple Of My Ire was bad, this episode was infinitely worse, and I haven't even seen it yet.

The takeaway here is Branch's and Cloud Guy's dynamic had so much potential, but then Apple Of My Ire came along and every episode with Cloud Guy after that just cemented Cloud Guy as an antagonistic bully who gets away with it due to victim blaming and finding ways to make it seem that he was "helping" his victims all along, as well as a large dose of full on guilt tripping.

It all comes down to DreamWorks and their love of making Branch the punchline to everything. Even his trauma isn't taken seriously, as evidenced by Trolls: Band Together. Branch deserves better. Cloud Guy's character arc was brutally murdered so I guess he deserves better, too. Poppy and the Trolls need more character development and a crash course in healthy character dynamics. And DreamWorks needs to stop making Branch needlessly suffer for the sake of a joke.

[nitroish]

uehgghzugf two characters with no drawn heads belong to my friends @keruukat and q-ott [who doesnt have a tumblr i dont think]. awuahg.

[aboxthecolourofheartache]

I do not want your stupid app, Sam-I-am. I will not use it in the store—you will not make me purchase more! Sam, if I were that goddamn bored—to impulse buy for your data hoard—I’d be dead and in the grave. I will not app. I will not “fave.” I do not want your stupid app. Sam, I’m not joking: cut the crap.

[glitter-bunny420]

is it just me, or has anyone else notice that certain people in the star rail fandom (mostly on tiktok) tend to be really bad at citing sources.

l remember people were raging about jingliu's companion quest bc it supposedly retconned the romantic undertones of dan feng and yingxing/blade's relationship and placed baiheng (the fox girl) at the center of it. some folks were even claiming that one of the star rail writers admitted he intentionally retconned the relationship to spite shippers (which already sounds suspicious to me bc i very much doubt that the hoyoverse writers would outright admit to retconning something, let alone about a queer couple).

and yet despite these elaborate claims, i couldn't find a scrap of evidence, whether in-game or from the writers themselves. keep in mind, i play star rail in english so maybe this is an issue pertaining to the chinese version only.

if anyone can confirm this or clarify the situation i would very much appreciate it.

[cloudsofunrelatedcriminalsearth]

CLOUDS OF UNRELATED CRIMINALS ATTACKING PLANET EARTH

[shantitechnology]

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[stormedhorizon]

|| for @wingsdreamt || What did it mean, to come of age? In the storybooks, it was that long-awaited journey from home into the unknown, leaving the nest, so to speak. Cloud did suppose that much was true; he no longer had the direct support of his mother or friends here in Midgard. But none of it felt real. Orientation at ShinRa for an infantryman was a testosterone fueled, patriotic-laced fever dream. The days bled into one another, and before Cloud even knew it, his first menial duties had been assigned. This meant latrines duty, meant errands, meant mindless patrol where nothing ever happened. But he took it all on the chin, never complained. He was willing to work and earn his place, just like everyone else around him. However, he was not blind. He saw for himself how words like honor, recognition, or being a hero were thrown around like excuses. Senior infantry were especially bad, having brown-nosed Heidegger enough that even their more serious infractions were glazed over. Let alone something as small, and insignificant as what was tucked under his shirt, mewling in terror and pain. It was everything for Cloud to not crush the poor thing as it pitifully burrowed into the crook of his elbow. It was even more for him not to cry. It was senseless, it was violent. It wasn't even in the name of protecting a civilian or doing something merciful. And to think, he had just... stood there, dumbfounded. Maybe, this was what it meant, this was how it felt to no longer be a child. The unknown world was no clearer, but that feeling of invulnerability and safety was gone. "Shhh!" He desperately hushed the crying cat that scrambled and clawed at his chest. He could still hear his seniors calling, mocking, and laughing. "Pspspsps, where did you run off to little vermin? Think you can hide in the SOLDIER barracks?" His CO's brother and right-hand man heckled. The rivalry between the two departments was no kept secret. And while he talked a big talk, Cloud could hear mutterings of dissent amongst the group. Back pressed tightly against the doorframe of a nearby dorm, Cloud willed himself to be as small as he could. The cat had become quiet, but the slick warm ooze of blood seeping through his shirt and slicking his torso did not bring him any ease. Then, a PHS crackled to life. It was one of theirs. zzzzt-- "--This is Operator 9 seeking Ethan Miles. Do you copy?" His CO's brother quickly answered. "Operator 9 this is... Miles. I copy." This spread muttering amongst the group. He was most certainly not Ethan, but they all knew that Garrison had the PHS. And none of them were willing to put their neck on the line to rat on their buddy. "Squad Blue Bandersnatch is to be deploy 3 individuals to investigate a reported disturbance in the slums of Sector 2. Physical battery is suspected. Non-lethal control authorized." And, just like that, and all at once, pursuing their game of torment lost its vigor. Bored as they were, and as eager they were to get out of SOLDIER 'turf', a myriad of excuses were tossed about to one another, joking as though they had not just been denied their prey. As though they were truly making the choice. But for Cloud, he would hold his breath until their footsteps were no more.

[silverflqmes]

when sephiroth says mother, who else could he possibly be referring to other than taylor allison swift.

[hostingreviewsco]

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