#rc boats near me

[campbelltownhobbies]

Navigating the Waves: Exploring RC Boats | Hobby Store

Introduction to RC Boats

While RC airplanes and cars remain popular among modelers, there is another area of RC that can offer an equally, if not more enjoyable experience.

RC boats provide a unique and diverse range of options, catering to performance enthusiasts, casual sailors, and those with a love for vintage runabouts.

In addition to aesthetics, factors such as power source and the choice between building or buying a Ready-To-Run boat should also be considered.

Types of RC Boats

Scale boats

Scale boats emulate various types of boating, resembling and functioning like their full-size counterparts.

While some may be equipped with glow, gas, or steam engines, most scale boats utilize electric power. Unlike high-speed electric hydroplanes and deep vees, which prioritize velocity, scale electrics typically employ lower RPM, lower amperage, and higher torque motors.

These boats generally operate on six or twelve volt lead acid or gel batteries, offering extended run times ranging from 30 minutes to several hours on a single charge. Speed is regulated using either a mechanical or electronic speed control that enables forward and reverse motion.

One channel on the radio manipulates the speed while another controls steering via a rudder.

In addition to the boat kit you will usually require a two or more channel radio system (on a surface frequency), an electric motor, a speed control, running hardware including shaft and propeller, a battery, and a charger for the battery.

Racing boats

Racing boats come in various forms, such as hydroplanes, tunnel hulls, and deep vees. These classifications are determined by the shape of the boat's bottom. Both tunnel hulls and hydroplanes have flatter bottoms and ride on a smaller surface area when at high speeds.

Hydroplanes glide on two side sponsons and the back end of the hull, while tunnel hulls run on two extended sponsons on either side. They are typically powered by outboard motors due to their lack of a central hull for support.

Both types of boats require smooth water conditions and are not well-suited for choppy waters.

The additional items needed will vary depending on the specific boat and level of pre-made components. Usually, you will need a two channel surface frequency radio, an appropriate motor for the model, running hardware, and for electric boats, a battery pack and charger.

For racing boats with electric set-ups, the required support equipment is similar to that of R/C cars. More details on this can be found in our Introduction to R/C Cars. Most electric racing boats are available as almost ready to run packages, which often include the necessary running hardware, motor, and speed control. In some cases, a radio may even be included in the package.

The sailboat

The sailboat is a popular choice for boating, offering scale realism and the option for relaxation or excitement.

With inexpensive operating costs, it operates like a full-size boat using wind power. One channel on the radio controls the sails, while another controls the steering rudder.

Depending on your point of sail, you can adjust the sails using a winch or sail arm servo. Sailboats are typically categorized based on their sail area. To complement your kit, you will need a two-channel radio (on a surface frequency) and possibly a sail control servo or winch for larger models.

Minimal field equipment is necessary for most sailboats.

Wrapping Up

In conclusion, navigating the waves with RC boats is an exhilarating hobby that combines skill, technology, and fun. Whether you're a novice or a seasoned enthusiast, Campbelltown Hobbies offers a wide range of RC boats to suit every interest and experience level.

Our expert team is here to help you find the perfect boat, provide tips and advice, and ensure you have everything you need to make the most of your RC boating adventures. Visit us today and set sail on your next exciting journey with Campbelltown Hobbies.

[sunmarketing]

Newport Beach, CA

Destination: Newport Beach, California

In this episode: Should I check my bag or carry-on?

Today’s Destination is: Newport Beach

Today’s Mistake-Time zone mayhem

Travel Advice:  See the Sherpa travel website.

FAQ: This question gets asked a lot: Should I check my luggage or carry-on?

Answer: Short flights, no.

Long flights, it depends on the time you are willing to wait for baggage, the size of your suitcase, if the plane has space for more bags, and personal preference.

Now, personal items are allowed, but you may need to pay for your carry-on bag. Always check with the airline before you head out to the airport. You may be happy you asked.

Today’s destination: Newport Beach, California

Newport Beach, south of Los Angeles, is famous for its boats. The harbor has thousands of them. Balboa Peninsula has two piers, the Newport Beach Pier and Balboa Pier, plus the Balboa Fun Zone. The Orange County Museum of Art exhibits modern and contemporary pieces.

The Wedge surfing spot is known and even famous for big waves.

I recently saw an RC surfer here. Made by ProBro from South Africa. See show notes for some videos from Radio Controlled surfing here. It’s so close to the beach you can really enjoy it.

https://www.visitnewportbeach.com/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24te24Rnlgk

  At the wedge, waves were 8 feet tall on my recent visit, but can be 20 feet. When the waves are very high, there are a lot of visitors, so parking is hard to find.

There is no fee to park in the neighborhood. Bring your picnic lunch and hang out.

Balboa Peninsula Point has a lot of nice homes and a beautiful quiet beach near the wedge inlet. Streets are named after Alphabet letters, so it’s easy to navigate.

Today’s Mistake: Time zone mayhem

I’ve struggled with the right time zones for meetings and travel. Synching devices and software don’t work. If you frequently change time zones, you know how challenging it is. I arrived late for a big meeting. I arrived an hour ahead of time on another day. Remember to adjust for the time difference. Don’t be like me and get the right time.

Today’s Travel Advice- See the Sherpa travel website.

Yes, a sherpa is a name for a guide or a porter. It’s also a travel website that has been recommended to me by other travel experts. I’m looking forward to doing a more in depth review of the services they offer for eVisas and for ESTA cards. They are a virtual company, based in Canada.

https://apply.joinsherpa.com/

  Sherpa is a website that gives you detailed government information about travel.

Look up what’s open. Look up what’s required by country.

What restrictions would there be?

For example, I’ll be traveling in 2023, so I will be checking this website to make sure I will be able to visit these countries.

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email: info@drmarytravelbest.com

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Check out this Dr Travelbest episode!

[blu-joons]

Joining Him On In The Soop ~ Kim Seokjin

It all felt too good to be true as you took a seat in one of the deckchairs, lifting your sunglasses up, looking over the river, enjoying the peace and quiet. The commotion of the boys was all behind you, until you felt a thud land in the middle of your tummy, looking down to notice a ping pong ball in your lap.

“Sorry Y/N!” Jimin yelled, running down the grass bank to pick up the ball. “I’m trying to teach your boyfriend a thing or two about table tennis, but it’s not going as well as I hoped.”

“Let me guess, he’s showing off?” You asked, sniggering as his head nodded in response. You glanced back at Jin who shrugged innocently, raising his paddle in the air. “Give him a chance Jin!”

“I’ve given him plenty of chances, he’s rubbish.”

Your eyes rolled, “did no one ever teach you to look after your younger members?”

A response was absent as the two of them picked their game back up, both of them shouting at each other across the table as they desperately tried to win. You couldn’t help but watch on with a smile, as nice as the peace was, so was the sound of the boys enjoying themselves.

Eventually the game to an end, with Jin graciously accepting victory, running around the garden with his arms in the air before sitting down beside you. “I was on fire! Were you watching?”

“I was, you did great.”

His figure nudged against your side creating the perfect space for him to slide beside you on the chair, wrapping his arm around you, allowing your body to curve into his side, shielding your face from the hot beams of the summer sun.

“I heard that you were doing dinner tonight, can you really be trusted to do sashimi?”

“I don’t trust myself,” he chuckled, “but apparently everyone else does. Maybe you could give me a hand? I’m sure you’d love to get your hands in the tank and help me catch a fish.”

“If you think I’m going anywhere near that, you’re mistaken. If I so much as smell fish on you, you can find somewhere else to sleep tonight,” you pointed out.”

He chuckled, tapping his hand against your side, “how could you possibly resist me?”

Your eyes turned to him, glancing back at the chaotic boys behind you, “there’s six of your best friends behind me who will happily entertain me, whilst also not stinking of fish.”

Whilst he knew you could never mean it, that never stopped him from getting protective of how much time you spent with the boys. As much as you were joining them on vacation as a group, he was also very much looking forward to all the time the two of you could spend together, alone, without any of your usual interruptions.

It didn’t take long for your peaceful moment to be broken by the demanding yells of the boys for food, hearing Jin groan beside you, bringing a smile to your face.

“I swear having children would be less demanding than this, don’t you think?” He huffed.

“Just think of it as practice for when the real thing happens.”

You meant nothing by your comment as you kicked Jin off the chair, allowing your legs to stretch out, but it most definitely stuck with him. Kids was a topic that was still very taboo for you both, but over the past few months especially, Jin had spotted you dropping more hints about starting a family together.

He tried not to think too much of it as he began preparing dinner for the boys with Jungkook and Yoongi around to give him a helping hand. Every so often he’d look out and see you in a competitive game of badminton with Taehyung or racing the RC boats with Namjoon by the river as you patiently waited for your meal.

Once it was finally prepared, Jin was hasty in sitting down beside you, passing you all that you needed before taking care of the rest of the boys, resting his hand against your leg.

Throughout the whole meal Jin had your attention, he was attentive, much more than usual, jumping every time you spoke, refusing to take his eyes away from you.

After you’d helped Taehyung and Namjoon clean away, a cold hand slipped into yours, walking down to the river as the sun began to set. “I wanted to speak to you,” Jin whispered closely.

“Everything alright?” You asked as he sat you in between his legs, wrapping his arms around your waist. “You were a bit odd during dinner.”

His head nodded, leaning to rest against the nape of your neck. “It’s just…you made a comment earlier about children, and it got to me. Have you really thought about the two of us having children, is it something you can see happening for the two of us?”

Hearing you giggle lightly brought a soft smile to his lips, answering him simply with a kiss to the back of his hand. For a long time, kids had been playing on your mind, you and Jin were in a stable place, which you hoped would continue for a long time.

“I’ve always thought about it, but only seriously with you. You take such good care of the boys, it makes me wonder what you’d be like if we had little ones of our own,” you admitted, “what about you? Is it something you’ve ever thought about?”

“I’ve thought a lot today,” he informed you, reflecting back to his time in the kitchen. “Maybe once we get back home, we could give it a bit more thought, when we have time to ourselves?”

“I like your thinking,” you blushed, feeling his lips trace along the nape of your neck. “Do you reckon we should head back up? Make sure they’re not causing any trouble?”

His head shook, but the shout that soon followed of Hobi made you both jump high enough to race back up to the house, walking in to see the airplane he’d been struggling to build dismantled on the floor. Jimin stood innocently beside him, smiling weakly at the mess he’d so obviously caused.

You knelt down by Hobi, collecting all the pieces, and unfolding the instructions, seeing as best you could how the problem could be resolved. “We’ll get it back together, don’t worry,” you assured him, beginning the long process of building.

Two hours later, the plane was back to its usual state, and the familiar smile Hobi proudly wore appeared back on his face. “How did you even do that? You’re such a mum Y/N, I honestly don’t know what we’d do without you.”

“It’s no big deal, just a bit of patience was all it took,” you smiled, walking out of the room to find Jin, smiling as Hobi began to enjoy the toy again, running out into the garden with it.

“See, you’ll be a great mum,” Jin softly spoke once you’d found him, feeling his arms pull you into his chest.”

Your head shook, “dealing with grown adults is a whole different ball game to actual children.”

“You really underestimate how childlike all of us are.”

---

Masterlist

[rosencrantzsguildenstern]

[image id: 9 screenshots from various productions of rosencrantz and guildenstern are dead, combined with screenshots of text like tumblr textposts. end id.]

i only have very serious analytical thoughts about ragad. more detailed id + bonus under cut

[image ids:

1. rosencrantz from the 1990 movie stands leaning on a railing with his hand on his hip and smiling; the text reads ‘me: *nods and smiles while knowing literally nothing* yes I understand now’.

2. rosencrantz and guildenstern from university of michigan rc’s hamlet, kissing. the text reads ‘Hey bro I just found out about this awesome thing called kissing me right on the lips wanna try’.

3. guildenstern holding a knife to the player king’s throat, aboard a boat. the text reads ‘I Am Tired Of These Constant Near-Death Experiences’.

4. the bhp production- guildenstern lies on the floor, gesturing. ros stands near her. the text reads ‘me: [facedown on the floor] listen everything is totally fine’.

the remainder are all the 1990 movie; 5. hamlet looks at ros & guil. ros is speaking casually while guil appears more serious. the text reads ‘i think you are ill but it’s okay because you’re my mutual. i will pray for you’.

6. guildenstern points in two directions and is speaking. the text is split up into several sections and reads ‘nobody look at me I’m an idiot’ ‘I am the smartest person alive’ ‘nope, I’m dumb as fuck’ and finally ‘I’m a beacon of knowledge’.

7. guildenstern is sitting and looks concerned. the text is of a text message and reads ‘I’m SHAKESPERIAN’ which is then corrected to ‘*I’m shaking’.

8. hamlet, standing on the table and framed by a chandelier. the text reads ‘what’s the opposite of a poor little meow meow. this man is pathetic but he’s unfathomably cocky and i want to make him cry’.

9. ros & guil in their cabin on the boat, a candle lit. guil is serious and ros looks miserable. the text is arranged to make it look like they’re saying it to each other;

guil: what is it called when you kill a friend

guil: homiecide

ros: murder

guil: homiecide

end id.]

bonus!

[image id: text with no accompanying screenshot from a production. it reads ‘anyone else feel like god is just toying with you however he pleases . he thinks hes so funny . well im about to be hilarious’. end id.]

[butgilinsky]

blueberry pancakes // rc

part one | series masterlist 

warning; language, drinking ig

summary; while y/n’s running from her feelings for jj, she ends up in a mess she didn’t account for 

word count; almost 3.5k 

life on the cut was anything but luxurious. small houses and being forced to work jobs that sucked, but paid somewhat decently. y/n was an only child which meant getting a job wasn’t even a question. her dad worked out of town a lot, and her mom worked doubles most of the time so she was pretty much always on her own. 

most kids would’ve killed for that, but y/n had gotten so used to it that it got old quickly. she didn’t want to be alone all the time, so she spent most of her time at john b’s house. 

she was there almost as much as jj, which wasn’t a problem with her. the two had been friends for years, and though she was close with all of the pogues, jj and john b were the two she’d known the longest and inevitably grew the closest to. 

john b had filled a brother role that she never knew she needed, though she enjoyed it immensely. jj, on the other hand, seemed to catch her attention in a slightly different way. 

having feelings for jj maybank was slightly problematic. the boy that was always in trouble, always doing things he wasn’t supposed to be doing and saying things that should never be said out loud. he was one of her best friends, and besides, he had feelings for kiara. 

“what am i going to do, y/n?” the girl opened her eyes, squinting slightly at the blinding light from the sun before looking at the blond. he was staring off the edge of the boat, hand running through his hair and tugging while he gulped down his beer. 

“about what, j?” he scoffed, being able to tell that she hadn’t been paying attention due to her question. 

“kie. how do i tell her i have feelings for her without fucking up our friendship?” y/n could practically feel the blood drain from her face. 

sure, she knew jj had a thing for kie. all of the pogues had a thing for kie, it was hard not to. it had been only recently that jj had started vocalizing his deeper rooted feelings for the girl, but he only ever told y/n. obviously, jj had no idea that y/n had the same thoughts about him. 

“i don’t know, jj. just tell her i guess. what’s the worst that can happen, right?” she wanted to rip her tongue out. the taste on her tongue as she spoke the simple words that held a deeper meaning was vile, and she felt her skin crawl at the mere mention of it. 

“you think i should just tell her? what if she slaps me or something?” 

“then you know how she feels, i guess.” y/n stood up, not wanting to sit around and hear anymore questions or give any further advice to the boy she’d fallen for that had fallen for her other best friend.

y/n dove into the water, barely making a splash. the water cooled off her skin, but there was no way to put out the fire in her stomach. the burning feeling of hearing jj talk about kie, though he had said it to her before, was almost unbearable. 

she stayed a few yards away from the others, not wanting to dive into another conversation. she floated on the surface, ears beneath the water and only hearing dull noises while she stared up at the sky. 

she had shut her eyes for what felt like only a few moments before something cold touched her stomach and she flinched. she opened her eyes and moved quickly, letting out a heavy sigh when john b stood there laughing at her. 

she punched the boy’s chest roughly but took the cold beer can from him. 

“you scared me, dick.” he laughed gently, his smile dropping at the fact that a smile never stretched across her lips like it usually did. 

“what’s wrong?” the girl shook her head, trying to shrug it off before it became a topic of conversation. 

“nothing, i’m fine.” she whispered softly before tipping the beer can up and taking several gulps of the cold liquid. 

“the kie questions, again?” she nodded, eye flicking up to the boat to see jj hanging over the side and messing with kie. 

they were hitting each other playfully, their laughs filling the air while pope stared at the two and sighed. he tried to get them to stop but it was no use when kie splashed water up at jj and he practically jumped on top of her. 

“you should just tell him.” y/n scoffed loudly at that, staring at john b with a knowing look. 

“and make an absolute fool out of myself? no thanks, johnny boy. i’ll stick to being the therapist of the group and help my two best friends fall in love with each other.” john b rolled his eyes, but he knew she was telling the absolute truth. she was the one everyone went to for advice, and she never thought twice about giving it, despite her own feelings.

“you’re going to kill yourself with this, y/n.” she shrugged simply and looked back at him, seeing the disapproving look on his face. 

“then i’ll see you on the other side.” 

she looked at the boat when kie called out to the two of them, pointing out the sun that was nearing its setting point. she told them to swim back to the boat so they could hitch a ride back to john b’s house before the boneyard party later that night. 

john b nodded quickly and tried to get in another word with the girl beside him but she had already started swimming back, holding the beer can above the water’s surface and handing it to kie once she was within arm’s reach. 

y/n pulled herself back on the boat, wringing the water out of her hair and her bathing suit top and completely ignoring the various glances thrown at her before she walked back to the same place she always sat in. 

she put her sunglasses on and lost herself in her thoughts as they rode back to john b’s dock. she helped unload the boat before walking into the chateau, stealing the shower before anyone could stop her. 

she found herself sitting beside john b hours later, eyes locked on the fire until they weren’t. the sight of brown curls up against blond strands that stuck in different directions caught her attention, making her stomach twist. 

to the pogues it was nothing, at least nothing they’d never done before. hell, y/n had done the same thing with pope and john b, but it sat different this time. her knowledge of jj’s feelings paired with her lack of knowledge of kie’s was enough to make her chest ache. 

“you’re staring at them again.” y/n snapped her head back to the boy beside her, sighing heavily when he gave her the same look he always did. 

she brought her cup to her lips, downing the rest of her beer before letting out a soft hiss and a heavy sigh. she stared at the empty cup before glancing back up at her two friends. she only watched for a second this time, standing up quickly and sighing once more. 

“i’ll be back.” she guessed she was walking towards the keg, but she didn’t truly care where she ended up as long as it wasn’t somewhere with a perfect view of jj and kiara. 

it hadn’t been all of five minutes that she was walking before she a body stopped in front of her, copying her movements in order to trap her in place.

“hey pogie, how’s your night going?” she rolled her eyes at the tall boy with a cocky smirk on his face and scoffed.

rafe cameron, prince of the kooks. she didn’t like him, though that was a given with their socioeconomic differences. the only difference between her and the rest of the pogues were that she didn’t exactly hate him, despite his reputation. 

the two never got along, but rafe seemed to go easier on y/n than he did with the rest of the pogues. she knew what he did in his down time, and how him and topper had practically dedicated their lives to making it known where they stood above all and any pogues. 

“nowhere, rafe. why do you even care?” he laughed gently at the question, because y/n knew exactly why he cared. the only thing that pissed off the pogues more than getting into a physical altercation with them, was when the kooks hit on y/n or kiara.

it had happened too many times to count. kie was at a slight disadvantage since she went to school with them for 9 months out of the year, but she also stood her ground against them. y/n easily gave into the interactions, letting the conversation go further that kie every would, before she simply walked away. kie, on the other hand, would jump at any opportunity to harshly shove the kooks away from her.

y/n never knew why but she never felt the deeply rooted hate for every kook on the island like her friends. though, that changed for kiara and more recently sarah. kiara and sarah were “different” as the boys always said, but it wasn’t something she liked to dwell on. 

topper and rafe always hit on y/n to piss of the pogues, and it worked every time. though, y/n thought that’s all it was, just an easy way to piss of the pogues and add another tally mark onto the kook’s score in this stupid classism war. 

“maybank and kiara look pretty close tonight.” rafe looked over y/n’s shoulder at the pair of friends that looked far from a pair of friends in that moment. y/n’s back was to them, but she could imagine what they looked like from previous experience. 

y/n rolled her eyes, face to face with rafe’s chest while he looked behind her. her eyes lingered elsewhere, trying to rid herself of the images flashing through her mind.

“do they? i haven’t noticed.” rafe laughed at that, knowing far too well that that was far from the truth. 

“well that’s a load of shit. you stare at the kid all night long and drink to forget about how they look together.” a small smirk grew on y/n’s lips as she tilted her head back slightly to look up at the boy in front fo her.

“have you been watching me, cameron?” the way his eyes snapped down to meet hers told her everything she needed to know, but he still scoffed and shook his head.

“in your dreams, pogue.” she rolled her eyes and let out a small laugh, catching the boy’s attention once again.

“you can fool just about everyone on this island, rafe, but you’ve wanted to get into my pants since you were in high school. just because i didn’t jump at the opportunity doesn’t mean i didn’t notice.” his eyes blew wide for a split second before returning to normal. he’d never heard anyone say something like that to him. 

he tried to brush it off, but he didn’t succeed. different things rushed through his mind as he tried to figure out how he was supposed to react to this information, and what he was supposed to think about it.

“come with me.” he grabbed the girl’s hand and started trudging through the sand out to where everyone parked their cars.

the girl rolled her eyes but let the boy drag her away anyways. she didn’t feel threatened, and rafe didn’t seem angry like he usually did in situations like this. she knew rafe meant well when he acted around her, so she didn’t fear for where he was taking her or why he was taking her there. 

“i’m not having sex with you in the back of your truck, rafe.”

“that’s now what we’re doing. we’ll do that later.” she bit back a laugh and just followed the boy, shocked to see him open the passenger side door for her.

she pulled herself into the truck and watched rafe run around the front of it before he pulled himself in beside her. it wasn’t until they’d driven for a few minutes in silence that she asked where they were going.

“just trust me, yeah?” she scoffed, not knowing how she was meant to trust the boy that had beat up all of her friends on more than one occasion, but kept quiet. for some reason she did trust rafe, as crazy as it sounded.

it only took a few more minutes with rafe’s tendency to surpass the speed limit before they got to where they were going. it was the only restaurant on the island opened at this hour, and she loved it. 

she used to come to this diner all the time, but hadn’t been in what seemed like years at this point. she didn’t come often anymore, not having the money or the ability to convince her friends to come with her. it was also somewhat out of the way from where the pogues always spent their time, so there weren’t many opportunities for her to come. 

“i love this place.” she whispered softly, more to herself than anyone else.

“i know. you used to come with your dad all the time.” her head snapped to the side, narrowing her eyes slightly in shock.

“what else do you know about me, stalker?” he laughed gently before stepping out of the car, ignoring her question entirely. 

she followed suit, stepping out of the truck after him and following him into the diner. he held the door open for her, which only slightly surprised her this time, before they slid into a booth up against one of the large scaled windows.

she watched rafe look over the menu, though she knew he didn’t need to. most people that came to this diner knew what they were getting without looking, everyone had their usual order here. y/n hadn’t even grabbed a menu once they sat down. 

“you’re staring.” y/n clicked her tongue softly before the boy looked up at her, dropping the menu onto the table and intertwining his fingers together.

“i’m confused.” he raised an eyebrow in speculation, waiting for her to continue. “you dedicate your life to harassing the pogues, but secretly know things about me that my best friends don’t even know. and then you sweep me away from a boneyard party to take me to a diner that i haven’t been to in years.”

“years?” she rolled her eyes, surprised that that was the bit of information he clung to.

“yeah, years. hard to eat out all the time when you don’t have much money. plus, the pogues never want to come all the way out here so we just eat at the wreck most nights.” she shrugged, not finding the use in dwelling on the small pity party.

“they don’t come here with you?” she shrugged again, not knowing why it bothered him so much.

“are you going to tell me how you know weird things about me? how did you know i came here with my dad, and how did you know that i like jj?” she leaned over the table slightly, only pulling back when an older woman stopped by the table to pick up their orders.

she was surprised when rafe ordered french toast, figuring he’d be more of a waffle guy, but let it pass when she ordered her blueberry pancakes. she turned back to rafe after the woman left and leaned back over the table.

“i know you used to come here with your dad because rose used to drag sarah and i here to bond with us. you were almost always here, and when you weren’t, your dad was picking up a to-go order. i know you like maybank because it’s fucking obvious. you stare at him constantly and always have the same gloomy look on your face when he’s with kiara.”

she rolled her eyes, still finding this whole situation out of character for him. rafe cameron was the biggest ass on the entire island, and here he was, showing real interest in something that wasn’t cocaine or impressing her father.

it was odd to see rafe both sober and genuine, but y/n liked it. she liked this side of rafe, and it wasn’t the first time she’d seen him like this, though it had been the first time in a while.

“well that’s odd, cameron, but slightly endearing in the weirdest way possible.” he laughed gently, though it was the most genuine laugh she’d ever heard. his smile stretched across his lips, almost reaching his eyes, and his eyes lit up slightly.

“but tell me things i don’t know about you, y/n.” y/n shrugged, nervously picking at her fingernails. she didn’t like being the topic of conversation very much. she talked to people about them, not her. 

“why don’t you tell me about you?” 

“everyone knows shit about me, y/n.” she rolled her eyes and leaned back in the booth, crossing her arms over her chest. 

“high school reputations don’t mean shit to me, rafe. i don’t care how people on the island see you; how the pogues see you. what are your hobbies? why is topper your best friend? why the truck and not a 4x4 like topper?” she rattled off small questions that she truly felt interested in, not caring about the kook image he attempted to uphold. 

“i guess i don’t have that many hobbies. top and i play golf a lot, so that’s one i guess. reading, i guess.” y/n’s eyes blew wide and she leaned back over the table, stopping rafe from continuing. 

“you read?” rafe scoffed at her tone, ignoring the annoyance building in the back of his mind. 

“yeah, i read. it’s therapeutic to me. good to know that’s so surprising to you. i couldn’t tell you why topper’s my best friend, he just has been for a while i guess. he knows too much about me for me to cut him out of my life.” y/n laughed softly, knowing the feeling all too well. 

“and i didn’t pick the truck, my dad did and i was just grateful to have a car at the time so i didn’t care what it was.” 

their food didn’t take long to come out, and y/n didn’t realize how hungry she was until she was staring at a stack of three large blueberry pancakes. she looked up at rafe when she heard him laugh at the slightly dazed look in her eye. 

“is there a problem, cameron?” he smiled brightly at her but shook his head as he poured a dangerous amount of syrup across the top of his french toast. 

“eat your pancakes.” 

the two stayed at that table for hours, finishing both of their meals and rattling off things to each other about themselves. y/n was sure she’d learned more about rafe in the first hour at the diner than she had learned about anybody in her life, besides john b or jj. 

it seemed incredible how different rafe was when he wasn’t deep in a pile of cocaine or on a rampage because of his dad. he was a normal guy, and y/n found herself sympathizing with him after he started opening up about his dad to her. 

y/n rolled her eyes when she saw that the lights were off in her house, knowing her mom hadn’t expected her to come home for the night. she couldn’t blame her, but know she’d have to navigate the house in the dark at 2 am. 

“you’re going to be okay, right?” she smiled at the worry in rafe’s question and nodded, sending him a reassuring glance. 

“she probably thought i was staying at john b’s, i’ll be okay.” he nodded and smiled back at her, ignoring the feeling in his chest when he realized he didn’t know when he’d see her like this again. 

she opened the door and jumped out of the truck, feet colliding with dirt before turning back to face the boy just a few feet away. 

“call me, cameron.” she smiled softly before shutting the door and walking up to her front door. 

he saw her pick up the flower pot beside the door and grab the key underneath before lodging it into the lock and pushing the door open. she waved at rafe one more time before disappearing into the house. 

she waited by the door until she saw the headlights disappear, smiling to herself at the night she had. 

--

taglist; @queenofthebees003​ @extratragic​ @jjtheangel​ 

[voidselfshipp]

The Runaway

Ok to rb.

Cw: alcohol, guns,Knife ment

jill came back home one night after work, she pulls out a bottle of whiskey and a glass, pouring a whole glass for her, and drinks.

she sighs sitting on the couch watching the city below,how does she tells this to jerico?

things got shaky since carlos joined UBCS again, working with jill as part of the BSAA, and with the accident in Terragrigia the world has been extra shaky.

she puts down the glass walking to their bedroom, sitting besides jerico.

--dont need to tell me--jeri said taking the stars officer by surprise, she sits with her hugging her--do you have to do it?,carlos already left last week--jill kisses her--this isnt going to work out is it?

the other woman sighs hugging her tightly--can we just talk about it tomorrow?

she nodds--yes we can jill--jer smiles softly.

--i love your little fangs--jill said kissing her again.

♡~~~~~~~~~~~~~~♡

jerico opened her eyes, the gentle sunlight entered through the windows, she gets out of bed,dragging her feet to the kitchen,making breakfast.

waffle runs at her owner,she picks her up--morning waff

she sits on the sofa turning on the tv, drinking her tea, watching the news.

"and now, agent Jill Valentine giving a live report on the accident of terragrigia--"jerico turns off the tv, grabs her phone.

"

dani ❤️

--hey jer, i know youve been on umbrella since jill left, i found out (and by that i mean i tortured someone) for this info.

umbrella is exchanging plans for a new bioweapon in a bar near your place , maybe you can screw em over.

but be carefull okay?"

jer smiled with a toothy grin, answering "thanks dan, ill check it out"

finally,some purpose, she stands up going to her closet, pushing a buttom to reveal some weapons that might come in handy.

she takes out a few, like a silenced gun, a knife and some brassknuckles.

needless to say she was on a war path.

that night, jerico snuck in the bar, the loud music rang in her ear, sighing in annoyance she walked up to the bar-- Irish whiskey please!--she shouts over at the barista.

as she waits, jer fiddles with her long nails, they grow in size and sharpen, tongue passing over her teeth,unaware of the man besides her.

jerico looks at the man, instantly recognizing him even if the years passed out.

--well fuck me, nikolai!--she said happily.

nikolai seemed to also recognize her , smiling--look at you young one, all grown up

--well i wouldve died if you didnt save my ass back at RC

the man chuckled--what brings you here? good drinks? bussines?

jer raised a brow-- half decent drinks dont you mean?

the man laughs shaking his head-- da

she giggles--bussines, see im on personal mission

niko leaned in while the barista handed them their drinks--how personal are we talking?

jerico takes a sip from her drink-- how about, umbrella fucked up my happiest relationshipp yet, kind of personal...

the russian man nodds, taking a swig of his beer--well, youve found youself a good bussiness partner...

she looks at him--well,partner, shall we?--she looked at the umbrella men with a suitcase in hand.

he nodds.

gunshots rang through the air, both jerico and nikolai run to the exit,she hopps on her motorcycle, and signals him to jump on.

they speed away, being followed by the umbrella men, there in the distance a drawbridge with a fast approaching boat.

--i have an idea, but its crazy

--wait what?!--nikolai protested.

--hold on tight!--jeri speeds up,the drawbridge soon to be near, with enough speed she jumps it, the motorcyle drifts the tires screeching.

once in the safety of her appartment,jerico hands nikolai a beer.

he leans on the kitchen counter--youre crazy--he said with a playfull scoff after it.

she laughs leaning closer to him--i never thought us reuniting would be this fun

niko looked at her putting a hand on her cheek--its about to get a lot more fun

jerico laughs pulling him in for a kiss.

the next day nikolai stayed over, and the next day, and the day after.

--there you are!--niko said picking up waffle after she hid under the couch--all dirty, we need to give you a bath da?

jer snuck behind him,hugging him--yes, we need to give you a bath

both smile pressing their foreheads togheter--youre very happy today--the russian man said cleaning waffle up, the dog swiming in the bathtub.

--well, tomorrow its going to be our third anniversary

--da,the day i met my beautiful girlfriend and her amazing dog

she giggles kissing him, he kisses her back.

waffle barks, wanting the attention all for herself, both chuckle and dry her up,spending the night cuddling and watching movies, with nikolais hilarious comments on american films.

[williamsockner]

Why I have a tag for “late season MacDennis sucks ass” even though I love MacDennis.

Someone asked me why the Mac-is-a-predator jokes bother me so much when everyone in the gang is a predator and I wrote a thesis so here:

1. Gay men sexually harassing uninterested straight men is a homophobic stereotype that exists in the real world and is used to justify killing them. I'm totally cool with Sunny joking about truly awful stuff, but there are different connotations between writing a straight man as a sexual predator (like the other dudes in the gang) and writing the only gay guy in your show as a sexual predator, especially when he only really got predatory with Dennis after he came out. No one on the writing team seems to REALIZE they're playing with fire, as opposed to when they play with other dangerous stereotypes. To use an example off the top of my head, it's a dangerous stereotype that women make fake rape allegations to get what they want, and yet we have running characterization of Dee doing just that, and the show handles those jokes well. The framing of those jokes is that DEE is evil and deceitful, and we see that because the most overt scene of it is a character-based scene where the point is to highlight how similar and simpatico she is with her brother. With Mac, the predator jokes are like 20 times an episode, they're often super clumsy or lazy jokes, and they often read less as "Mac is a predator because he's a terrible person" and more as "Mac is a predator because he's openly gay now and openly gay men are kind of like that". There are SO many people who believe that gay men are inclined to be predators and the writing team is lazy and careless about that. 2. Alternately, instead of toning the jokes down, they could make them more extreme. The best Mac-is-a-predator jokes are the most ridiculous ones, like the life-size sex doll he takes everywhere with him. That's objectively insane and that's why it's funny, because the takeaway cannot possibly be "gay men are just kind of like that" because NO ONE IN HISTORY has ever behaved that way. It's so over-the-top that it blazes right past the real world stereotype and straight into cartoonish absurdity. But most of the predator jokes aren't anywhere near that level of extremity.

3. They've turned the predator joke into Mac's entire characterization post-closet, basically, and while Mac's always been someone who violates other people's boundaries he's also always been a very rich and developed character with a lot of different angles to make him funny. If you watch S13 and S14 almost every joke Mac has is the predator joke. It's super one-note and for me, a lot of the things that made Mac entertaining have fallen by the wayside to make room for just nonstop "Mac wants to bang Dennis". Sometimes we get the religion joke I guess. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

4. It makes the MacDennis relationship super boring. Legit every scene between them is "Mac pervs on Dennis or talks about how great Dennis is, Dennis acts disgusted, rinse and repeat". Compare that to earlier MacDennis stuff like "Great Recession", "Mac and Dennis Break Up", "Buys a Boat", even "Suburbs", where there was a lot more going on psychologically for both characters, a lot more give-and-take regarding how they treated each other, a lot more variation in the jokes, and a lot more room for genuine tenderness and warmth. Now it feels like Dennis just legitimately hates Mac and Mac wants to bang Dennis because it's his kink.

5. It doesn't really make sense as progression for Mac because prior to S12, he was sexually attracted to Dennis and to men generally (especially beefy men) and now he's ONLY attracted to Dennis. After seasons and seasons of characterization and humor mined from the fact that he wants to be with men, now that he's out the only interest we've seen in men who aren't Dennis is enjoying the stripper in "PTSDee" and internet porn. It's almost like now that he's out, RC and the writing team are afraid to have him actually BE the gay dude he wanted to be when he was in the closet and transparently lusting over Dolph Lundgren.

6. The jokes aren't funny enough. They're just not funny. Write better jokes dudes.

7. Because they're hitting the predator angle so hard, Mac's had less interaction with non-Dennis members of the cast in any episode where Dennis appears, and even when he is around other members of the gang it's often just like, ABOUT Dennis. I love the Charlie/Mac friendship - I think it's the heart of the show - and since S12 they've had only two episodes of meaningful interaction ("New Wheels" and "Woman's Right"; Mac's role in "Texts" is all about Dennis and doesn't count). This also just contributes to making Mac a flat, one-note character because part of the reason the gang are so well-written is because their interactions with each other drive, inform and reveal the most complicated, human and consistent parts of who they are.

8. They’re wasting so many opportunities for Mac storylines on this. They could be doing so much fun stuff with Mac crashing and burning on the dating scene (milk some adrenal glands buddy), or switching his religious soapboxing for horrible dumbass gay politics soapboxing, or trying to sue some poor rando for discrimination, or I don’t know I don’t know I don’t know, there are things they could explore and they’re just not because they’re too busy doing this almost every single episode.

Anyway I wrote all this salt instead of getting dressed for work.

[sohannabarberaesque]

Underwater America with Peter Potamus (episode 25: Moxie Pond and Moosehead Lake, Maine)

At any rate, as we open this particular episode, much can be said aerially of the view to be had along the New Hampshire-Maine border region, largely roughed-up granite mountains interspersed by the odd lake here and there, which can be said to also be the scene coming into the lake country of northern Maine (which even the selected stock music can’t manage to compromise) ...

PETER POTAMUS, in narrator mode: Wasn’t Lake Winnipesaukee quite the dive, especially the “giant’s staircase” underwater?

MILDEW WOLF, getting snarky as ever: You can say THAT again!

WALLY GATOR: And setting aside Weeki Wachee, you hardly see much of that back in Florida, don’t you know....

At any rate, we see the scene shifting to a campy-looking diner in Skowhegan, Maine, where, over coffee and pancakes in the classic Northern Maine stylee, discussion lies afoot--

PETER POTAMUS: Skowhegan, Maine--gateway to Moosehead Lake, one of northern Maine’s most popular resort areas ... and, in a way, Mt. Katahdin, itself a symbol of Maine in its own way. Not to mention the northern terminal of the Appalachian Trail ... but in a diner there, we discuss diving strategy:

Listening in on the breakfast and dive strategy session--

PETER POTAMUS: --as if Moosehead Lake wasn’t itself interesting, someone was mentioning to me about Moxie Pond, which we’ll dive first before heading to Moosehead!

MAGILLA GORILLA, somewhat ahead of himself: Is that where Moxie soda comes from? (Laughter all around)

PETER POTAMUS: In a way, Magilla--as in the name perhaps having come from there....

BREEZLY BRUIN: Might it be likely that we could have some Moxie while at Moxie Pond?

PETER POTAMUS: I think there might be a store on the way where we might pick up a case to enjoy on the side ...

WALLY GATOR: I’d be hard pressed to imagine us trying to drink Moxie in Moxie Pond just as those Weeki Wachee Mermaids were drinking RC Cola in the spring during their performance, don’t you know ...

MILDEW WOLF: Well, who wouldn’t?!

And so the drive up US 201 northward from Skowhegan towards Moxie Pond, stopping at the general store in The Forks, which could be considered the “gateway” to Moxie Pond ...

PETER POTAMUS, narrating: Moxie Pond, itself somewhat elongated, is reachable for the most part by way of a gravel road easterly from The Forks, whose general store managed to be a decent source of supply--including the inevitable elixir known as Moxie. Having it as part of a hot dog roast that evening--nothing but skin-on weiners of the sort Down Easters call “snappers,” as in the natural casing--we couldn’t help but notice how uniquely bitter was Moxie’s taste. Which, I will admit, was something of an experience ahead of the diving experience.

The action can be said to shift here to underwater, thanks to Squiddly Diddly’s rather amazing underwater camera work as much as kitschy background music inevitable to the series; we can assume a dive boat came into play.

For as unlikely a dive spot as Moxie Pond, whose average depth is about 12 feet (with a maximum such of 50 feet), such couldn’t be more refreshing on one of those muggy summer afternoons as seem to prevail in northern Maine, so long as mosquitoes and deerflies don’t get to you first!

We discern some especially interesting action off a spot about midway into Moxie Pond known as Burnt Jacket Island (how that name came about is anybody’s guess), finding much in the way of game fish such as would be common in northern Maine’s lakes region surrounding our intrepid divers ... not to mention a bit of hubris and debris from the logging era in those parts such as submerged logs from, say, a lumber raft as came apart for some reason to otherwise relieve the monotony of what could be lake grasses and sand. or maybe some granite “wall” coming out of the bottom from a modestly shallow lake as Moxie Pond inherently is. Oh, and amazingly clear, what with the lake not quite disturbed otherwise considering its isolation and obscurity.

Back at camp on shore ...

Considering all the mosquitoes and deerflies endemic, which can cause quite a problem at night, we took the precaution of stocking up on punk sticks to burn strategically around our campsite; the smoke from burning punk sticks is said to drive them away.

LOOPY De LOOP: Just like back in the wilds of Quebec during the summer months when the mosquitoes and the deerflies came out ... only we used a smouldering fire aimed at maximising the smoke output to keep such stingers at bay. Believe you me, you don’t want to get caught stung by a north woods mosquito at the wrong time; hence, the need for plenty of mosquito-confusing smoke in the summer months!

PETER POTAMUS, getting back to the narration: At least one thing was to be said for Moxie Pond: The night before we left for Moosehead Lake, we toasted her in--what else?--Moxie. (A chorus of “The Maine Stein Song” from Rudy Vallee could be heard in the background to maybe add a chintzy sort of atmosphere to the evening’s proceedings, even with punk-stick smoke to keep mosquitoes and deerflies at bay.)

The next morning, a hearty little campfire breakfast before proceeding on that gravel road leading us initially to Moxie Pond out from same ... and towards the main highway to Moosehead Lake, as in Maine 6/15 ... somehow, trying to dodge the tourist traffic was never going to be easy in the middle of a near-wilderness where the Northeast’s largest lake happens to be.... yet we find ourselves at a “hole in the wall” dive shop in Greenville Junction, practically on a side street and the sort where you need to be referred to ... and what stories could certainly be told, especially of the days when the pioneers on Moosehead Lake would basically use the ice-covered surface in the winters as a garbage dump, hoping the spring thaw would send the junk “in its place,” by and large.

The diving scene shifts now to one such especially fascinating underwater refuse dump site in Moosehead Lake from the past, presumably left over from an abandoned logging camp from back when the lumbering industry (which, as Loopy De Loop will be quick to admit, attracted plenty of French-Canadian types in the winter months) held sway. Not only cheesy music, but also plenty of empty bottles (liquor and otherwise), bedframes, bed springs, tables such as might have been from the dining hall--and even a substantial iron cookstove, looking none the worse for wear despite some algae, attracting especially the interest of Lippy the Lion and Hardy Har Har.

HOKEY WOLF, going into a mix of narrator and Sgt. Ernie Bilko: I would have to wonder if, in an earlier time, there could have been some easier way to move all that junk when the lumber camp was abandoned--but NOOOOO!! They just found it easier and more convenient to dump it all underwater, creating quite the potential for an Underwater Salvage Operation on an inland lake such as this!! And imagine the profit potential!!

PETER POTAMUS, as the action shifts to a chartered dive boat moving towards Mt. Kimeo on the north side of Moosehead Lake: Moving from the absurd to the sublime ... one of the boys in the dive shop back in Greenville Junction suggested diving what you’d call the “trunk” underwater of Mt. Kimeo, a rather substantial hill rising from the lake bottom ... which happens to be close to a somewhat down-at-heel resort hotel close by. Dropping anchor within view of the mountain, I mentioned in the pre-dive briefing about a granite “wall” on the underwater portion of Mt. Kimeo as might be worth checking out ...

And check out they did, as witness the dive into the waters off Mt. Kimeo, the flashlight action galore from the wetsuited dive team (yes, even Breezly Bruin is in black neoprene), and the sheer fascination of an underwater rock wall dropoff into the “steep and deep” of another remarkably clear lake for northern Maine’s resort country. Even the cheesiness of the stock background music doesn’t seem to distract one iota from the awe and wonderment of seeing the underwater side of a mountain. Not even Hardy Har-Har could appear fazed at such a sensation ... inevitably leading to--

At any rate, next week’s show is expected to be rather interesting. In fact, the whole’s premise is such that you’ll want to watch it for yourself to understand what it’s all about. So, till then, Peter Potamus winding things up ... and hoping you’ll enjoy the dive!

@warnerarchive​ @hanna-barbera-land​ @warnerbrosentertainment​ @hanna-barberians​ @joey-gatorman​ @hanna-barbera-blog​

[theshapeshifter100]

Guess What? I’m Not a Robot RC Ch5

Word Count:2,394

Chapter Warnings:anxiety, tasers

Masterlist

Previous

Next

12.03PM Wednesday 10th

It took longer, way longer than Megan was happier with, but they were finally ready to go.

Alex had whipped around the other supporters they had and a few had agreed to protest in Capitol Park. Lucas had his phone charged and had tried to download the app for the traffic cams, but had come up with an error.

“Cell phone’s just gone down, wifi and signal,” he groaned. “It won’t be long until we have no internet connection at all.”

Julia had come through there, having found a bunch of old hand held radios in her house. They had spent most of their time trying to find working batteries for them all. Finally, everyone had a working one, they all had working flashlights (also from Julia) and something to defend themselves with.

Alex and Julia’s households were anti gun, which was the first time either of them had cursed it. So instead rolling pins, kitchen knives and a single taser served as their weapons. Ivy, Oscar and Julia went without, trusting either their skills or their size to hold their own.

Megan was more than slightly horrified that she had the taser, but caved to the argument that she was the most vulnerable, and the most likely to be able to sneak up on someone.

They had all been decked out with peaked caps and beanies, and as many layers on their upper body as they could get away with. Megan’s skinny frame was padded out to over twice her size and Oscar looked like a giant. They didn’t have any bullet proof vests, so this would have to do.

Alex adjusted their extra padding and looked around. Their eyes flicked over to Allison, who stared back coldly. Alex and Julia had explained the breakdown, more or less, but Allison clearly hadn’t forgiven them yet.

“Alright,” Allison put herself in charge of the pep talk. “This is probably the most insane thing we’ve ever done, but we’ve got a convoy to interrupt and a bare minimum of two androids to save. We’re going to have to be clever, we’re going to have to be sneaky,” she then took a deep breath and looked around the rag tag group. “This might not work. This might fail horribly. We’re only human, but we’ve got to try.”

Oscar slowly put his hand up.

“What?” Allison asked.

“That wasn’t a good pep talk,” Oscar said what they were all thinking.

“At least I think we’re going to be successful!”

“Really?” Ivy asked. “I didn’t get that impression at all.”

Alex took a deep breath. “Let’s kick the army’s ass and rescue the androids!”

“That’s more like it!” Nathan crowed. “Let’s do it!”

3.23PM Wednesday 10th

All enthusiasm had died half an hour into the walk. The weather had improved, the sun was out and the wind dropped, but it was still somehow colder. Even worse the multiple layers were baking them at the same time.

The rolling pin and taser weighed heavily in Megan’s various pockets, and felt wholly inadequate. A rolling pin and a taser against fully armed and armoured soldiers. They were doomed.

Also, three hours, anything could have happened in three hours. Paul could already be-

No. Now’s not the time for worrying. Do now, worry later.

Alex walked over to Megan, bundled up in black like the rest of them.

“You okay?” they asked, and it took Megan a few seconds to answer.

“No.”

“Me neither,” Alex admitted. “Do,” they swallowed and lowered their voice so the others wouldn’t hear. “Do you really think we’ll find them? Paul and Ella?”

“Why are asking me?” Megan hissed.

“Because you’re in the same boat. What do you reckon?”

“I-I don’t know,” Megan admitted. “I want, I want to find them in one piece and save them, but I know it might not happen.”

Alex took a deep breath through their nose and nodded. “Yeah. We might not find them,” the words were awkward, like they didn’t know what they were saying. “But, we will. We have to.”

Megan stepped away and Alex drifted off to the others, who still hadn’t quite forgiven them. Alex had apologised, but had not explained what had caused their flip flop in priorities.

“Guys,” Oscar suddenly said, voice echoing along the empty road they were walking along. “We’re here.”

The group split up to cover opposite sides of the road and proceeded to move with more caution. They crested over a ridge and Megan felt her jaw drop.

A line of vans stretched for miles, all the way to near horizon, where the vague outline of what could only be the Recycling Centre stood. The vans were single file for now, but further down they seemed to go into two lines, only to merge into one line at the end.

Or at least, that’s what Lucas, the one with the binoculars, claimed.

“Can you see Paul’s truck? Over,” Megan asked over the radio.

“Paul’s in one of two trucks, and I can’t see licence plates with these binoculars. Over.”

“Anything else we need to know? Over,” Alex asked, as they were on Megan’s side.

“Looks like the military are patrolling the road edge further down. Seems like we have two options; circle around as much as we can and approach from behind, or go through the road. Over.”

“We’ll be spotted if go through the road,” Allison was quick to argue, but Julia jumped in before she could say ‘Over’.

“It looks like there are guard towers. We’ll be spotted either way. Over.”

“Why don’t we just take the truck?” Nathan asked. “I mean, they’re bulletproof right? This one’s right at the back of the queue, I can’t hear anymore coming. We take one truck and drive straight through the fence and take over from the inside. Over.”

“All of these ideas are insane. Over,” Allison groaned.

“Do you have any better ideas? Over,” Alex asked, and the responding sigh could be heard from Megan’s side of the road.

“How about we take a truck and go from there? Over,” Oscar suggested.

“You want to play this by ear? Over,” Ivy sounded incredulous. “We’ll get killed doing that!”

“We’ll have to play it by ear no matter what we do,” Julia argued. “We can’t predict everything. I agree with Oscar. Over.”

“Same, over,” Maggie agreed.

“Who else thinks we should go by Coubertin’s plan? Over,” Allison asked.

Megan, Nathan, Lucas all gave an affirmative and Alex jumped in.

“Good, now that’s decided, let’s bust this truck. Over.”

Allison tried to protest, but was ultimately drowned out.

“Megan, you’re the smallest,” Julia suggested, and Megan braced herself. “Can you get a look at the driver’s cab? Over.”

Megan felt nerves grip her. No, she couldn’t. She’ll get spotted, shot, ruin everything somehow. There was no way-

“Yeah, okay. Over,” the affirmative was out of her mouth without realising, and she couldn’t take it back.

“You sure?” Alex asked without the radios. “Lucas and I aren’t that much bigger.”

“It’s okay,” it wasn’t, but Megan didn’t want to waste any more time. “I’ll be quick.”

Megan dropped her backpack by Alex’s feet before pressed herself against the hedge. She prowled as best she could along the road. Her heart pounded in her throat, and once she got close enough to the truck she darted behind it.

She stood there for a few seconds, catching her breath and trying to calm her nerves. She couldn’t pick at her sleeves with gloves on and found herself fidgeting with her fingers instead.

Taking a deep breath she somewhat settled her nerves as best she could and crept around the side of the van at a crouch. Once at the driver’s window she carefully peeked up through the window.

A bored soldier sat on the passenger side, the driving put on automatic. The soldier had their helmet off and on the passenger seat next them while they read the news on their tablet, only occasionally glancing up through the windscreen.

Megan made her way back equally as nervously, and didn’t relax until she was on the other side of the hedge with her half of the AA and re-shouldering her backpack.

“One soldier,” she panted over the radio. “Not alert, passenger side. Over.”

“What do you mean by not alert? Over,” Allison asked.

“Helmet off, reading the news. Over.”

“Okay,” Alex took over. “Nervous Incarnate, you go and distract him by knocking on the driver’s side. Coubertin can open the passenger side and drag them out. Captain Hardass, you still have the duct tape? Over.”

“Yes, over.”

“You tape them up, get the keys, we get the androids out of the van and see what happens. Over.”

“And, we should just go along with that?” Allison asked snidely.

“Do you have any better ideas? Over.”

There was no response from Allison, and Oscar turned to Megan. “Shall we?”

Megan nodded quickly and crept back towards the van, taking the same path as before. Oscar took position on the other side of the van and after a minute or so, Julia appeared, wielding duct tape.

Megan crept back towards the door, and realised that everyone was waiting on her signal.

She raised her knuckles to the door and made to rap, but stopped. Why did she stop?

Her breathing was loud in her ears, her heart rate thundered and snakes were mating in her belly. Yeah, that was why.

She considered using the rolling pin, but balked at the last minute. It might attract other drivers.

The first time she lightly tapped on the door, and got angry at herself for such a light knock. Even with the quiet electric engine idling there was no way they heard that. She poured her anger into the next one, almost banging on the door.

Alarmed at how the violent the reaction might be she darted back to hide behind the van. She heard the door unlock, and then it all happened quickly.

The passenger door was flung open and there was a brief cry of alarm as Oscar grabbed them. Megan couldn’t bring herself to look, but the sounds of struggle didn’t fade.

She suddenly heard frantic footsteps heading her way and panicked, scrambling for her taser and rolling pin, one in each hand.

The solider appeared from around the side of the van, and Megan lashed out with her best baseball swing with the rolling pin. It bounced off the body armour and sent a judder of pain up Megan’s arm, but it got their attention.

Megan backed up against the truck doors as they turned to look at her, expression turning ugly. Somehow her hands felt slick and she had a hard time gripping the taser, even with gloves on.

The soldier reached for something, but Oscar came barrelling around the truck and tackled to them to the ground. He clapped a hand around the soldier’s mouth and cried at Megan.

“Tase him!”

Megan fumbled with the weapon in thick gloves and discharged it almost accidentally. By some miracle it hit home and the soldier shuddered under Oscar, volts of electricity coursing through them.

A garbled screech tried to get past Oscar’s hand, but they collapsed before it got too loud.

Julia appeared once they were down, and started helping Oscar tape them up. Julia threw Megan the keys, who caught them with shaking hands.

Never again, she never wanted to do that again!

Megan turned to open the van. Her hands shook so much she dropped the keys twice before she even got them in the lock.

It took another few tries but she got the doors open.

She had to pull them to open properly, and saw almost exactly the same thing as she did in the police parking lot. Androids, packed in like sardines. Not all of them in uniform, but all staring forward.

Megan stepped back and found her words sticking in her throat, so Julia came to rescue.

“Everybody out!” she called in a calm, not overly carrying way. It worked and the androids trooped out in rhythm. Once there was space Oscar threw the solider in the back, barely fazing the androids.

Julia went to address the androids again and Megan reached for her radio. Her hands were still trembling, but she felt more in control.

“Van secured. Captain Hardass is talking to the androids. Over.”

“Nicely done,” the smirk was clear in Ivy’s voice. “We’re on our way. Over.”

Megan turned her attention back to the androids and Julia. Some of them were jogging past her into the city, but a large chunk of them had remained.

Oscar leaned out of the back of the truck and frowned at the group of androids.

“Not to be rude, but why are they still here?” he asked Julia, but one of the androids answered.

“Because we want to be.”

A male android stepped forward, Asian and with a muscular build, he eyed the three of them warily as his LED spun yellow.

“Sorry, why would you want to hang around here?” Julia asked, “And for goodness sake get over here! What if the guy in front looks in their mirrors?”

The androids moved to stand behind the van, but the one who spoke still looked warily at the humans. They jumped about a foot in the air when the rest of Android Allies appeared over the crest.

“Easy,” Julia was quick to pacify. “They’re with us.”

The male android fixed her with a hard glare. “I don’t even trust you.”

“Aaand who’s this?” Allison asked. Alex glared at Allison before looking at the android.

“Sorry about her,” Alex interrupted, ignoring Allison’s glare. “What’s your name?”

“Callum,” the android responded. “None of the others are deviant, but they seem to follow me.”

“Good to meet you Callum,” Alex beamed. “We’re going to blow this joint, whaddya say?”

“That wasn’t the plan!” Allison hissed.

“The plan was to get a truck and play it by ear,” Alex responded. “We’re also looking for two androids, an AX400 called Ella and a red haired PL600 called Paul.”

Callum went into thought.

“Not seen them. I can send word out,” he offered.

“Please do,” Megan jumped in, trying not to let desperation lace her voice.

Callum’s LED spun yellow and he closed his eyes.

As I go through this I realise that Alex is the most like my usual protagonists. If I hadn't wanted a change in pace writing Megan's POV Alex would have been the main character. For those who are curious, Callum's model is in the game, he is an HR400, or a male Traci.

Other Options Flowchart

(Megan) Comment on the pep talk- Compliment Allison. Agree with Oscar (would affect relationship)

(Megan) Say you're okay. Say nothing. Shrug.

(Megan) Be unwaveringly optimistic. Be pessimistic.

(Megan) Decline going to check the truck. (Allison would do it instead)

(Megan) QTEs on the knock. Can do it loud the first time(Megan) QTEs for the rolling pin and the taser. If the rolling pin fails it's not so bad as the soldier would notice her anyway. If the taser fails the soldier would escape and punch Megan before Oscar could restrain them again and they could be dazed. If rolling pin hit and taser failed Megan would have a black eye for the rest of the game. If rolling pin didn't work the solider would attempt to restrain. Rolling pin fails but taser hits, nothing changes.

(Megan) QTEs for the keys, fairly complicated ones to not drop them

Tags @nightmarejim @septicart-appreciation

[blackholesandpuppydogs]

ok i VERY rarely post oc but i have a killer story.

first, some background

my family has a tiny lil cottage on lake huron in a tiny little town near this other, slightly less tiny little town called east tawas. now, theres not much to do in our tiny little town except for going to the beach. usually, over the summer, my immediate family goes there for about a week and a half and sees other family, enjoys the beach, and partake in certain ‘rainy day’ traditions - things that started out as backup activities when the weather was bad but turned into things we would go out of our way to do every year.

one of these traditions was going to east tawas and visiting some local shops: the ice cream place, the boat pier, and the Ben Franklin shop. this stupid little store was full of a bunch of crap - fabrics, rc cars, boat accessories. and, and! these little balls of marbles with different themes that came in these mesh net bags like this one

i love the texture and the click clack of the marbles!! i got one of these every year, every time we went to the Ben Franklin store.

ANYWAYS, the point: 5 years ago i was 17 and dumb as hell. so, that summer, during that week and a half at my cabin, my family went to the Ben Franklin store (except for my mom, which is it’s own insane ben franklin story). I, as I always did, went straight to the little rack with all the marbles and spent like 5 mins picking out just the right one. SO, i set out to find my siblings and just kinda wander. at some point i go to pick up some other thing - a deck of cards i think - and without thinking, not wanting to set them down, i slipped the marbles in my pocket. i set off again to find my family, but before i could get far this large, oldish guy corners me and asks me to turn out my pockets. i didnt have anything to hide, i showed him the ($7) bag of marbles and went to explain - i was just pickin something up, i was here with my family i could find them, i wasn’t going to steal it, hell i wasn’t even paying for it - but he wasn’t hearing any of it. he asks me to step into like the little area where the cash registers were. i thought he just wanted to talk somewhere not on his stores floor. whatever, fine... right?

nope. he starts LAYING into me, calling me a liar and a thief, yelling at me in front of his wife, 2 employees, and all the customers checking out, demanding someone call the cops. at this point, i start freaking. at the time i was ‘enrolled’ in a ‘school’ called shortridge academy. it was essentially residential care for super mentally ill teens, which, as it so happens, i was. predictably, i start having a panic attack.

so im 17, sobbing and panicking in front of all these strangers. the shop wasn’t this large, and it was somewhat of a commotion. my brother - 12 years old - walks by and sees what’s going on. i tell him to get my father, which he does. my dad barges into this area and is like ??? what is happening? and the guy is still yelling, and im sobbing and struggling to breathe, much less talk. at this point i realize i dont have to be here. this guys not a cop, i didnt steal anything, hell my dad was there - i could just leave.

sooo i go to just walk out of this little area (still a wreck) and he steps infront of me and puts his hand on my chest, all the while yelling (again - in front of a bunch of people). shortly after this, the FUCKING COPS showed up and asked a bunch of stupid questions to me, my dad, this guy, and his wife. eventually one of the cops comes up and is like,,, yeah theyre not gonna press charges.

charges for what? i dunno. hadn’t even left the store. but finally, we get out of that damn back area. we kinda awkwardly shuffled out of the store with everyone staring (including/especially the cops). i tried to say something to this douche as we were leaving, some accusation or condemnation, something witty, something that showed that i wasn’t actually that scared, that helpless. i didn’t get any words out

SO we FINALLY get back to our car, i’m spitting mad, exhausted, and embarrassed. my dad is pissed and anxious, my brother is a wreck, and my grandpa is MAD. the whole family swears the shop off, and we never go back to the Ben Franklin store.

so what? why mention any of this, especially now?

because of the most astonishing, validating, and satisfying plot twist of all time:

my dad sent me this article earlier today and told me to read until the end. now you all probably know where this is going but i did not. i HIGHLY reccomend reading the whole article (https://www.mlive.com/news/saginaw-bay-city/2022/10/east-tawas-councilman-accused-of-trying-to-hire-man-to-kill-2-people-for-inheritance-money.html) because the details make the story even crazier. 

to summarize, tho, this guy that yelled at me was the owner of Ben Franklin who was elected to the east tawas city council in 2016 (i didnt know this at the time) and in 2021 a guy calls him and says ‘hey wheres my inheritance, you’re the executor of the state’ and this guy responds in a normal way: ‘your half brother is contesting the will, if u kill him and his mom ill give u your inheritance and more.’ guy goes to the cops, records a call of him trying to hire him for murder, bing bang boom.

SO, 5 YEARS LATER, HERE HE IS:

MAY I PRESENT, A FUCKING IDIOT AND DOUCHEBAG: MICHAEL A MOONEY, the ATTEMPTED MURDERER

bonus: a section of the article w/ the singular, throwaway sentence that made me write down this whole thing

“he is also the owner of mooney’s ben franklin...”

[hobbyvilla]

hobby rc stores near me

When you search for “hobby rc stores near me” on Google, you may come across a list of websites having only few models of RC cars etc. But here at Hobbyvilla, the hobby RC store, you have a luxury to choose from a wide range of RC cars, planes, boats and trucks etc.

[aj-vosse]

The Royal Canal… one of Ireland’s major inland waterways. I won’t do a history lesson… that would keep us here for a week or longer. I’ll just say the advent of the railroad and later road transport seriously affected the feasibility of the inland systems all over Europe. The Royal Canal suffered to such an extent that it fell into disrepair and in places was almost filled in. A smelly ditch, was the way it was described in many places.

Because the canal linked towns and often cut through the centre of these towns, local enterprise got involved – to restore sections of the waterway. Eventually, groupings began working together and by 2010 the canal was reopened. It flows from the River Liffey in Dublin all the way to the Shannon, passing though quite a few counties and stretching the length of 146 kilometres.

The highest point is somewhere near the midpoint town of Mullingar where a feeder from Lough Owel supplies water, in both directions. The navigation across country is made possible by utilising 46 locks to either rise or drop boats along the route. Simple yet ingenious, these gates open or close… allowing boats to enter the individual chambers that either flood or drain… the height of technology in the 17 and 18 hundreds – and still effective today!

OK… I have written many posts in the past about my walks along the Royal. I have met great folk along the canal and spent time on board barges. So… it will be remiss of me not to revisit the canal… even if it is only virtually! I hope you enjoy just a few of the many photos you will find if you look back at the blog!

Please see the Wiki-P RC Page… there are so many interesting facts to learn…

PS – Looks to me as if Nellie fever is waning… maybe she should have a break? Do let me know, please…

My Weekly Photo Challenge – R for Royal Canal The Royal Canal... one of Ireland's major inland waterways. I won't do a history lesson... that would keep us here for a week or longer.