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thelaithlyworm · 5 months ago

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META The King Mu of Zhou/Iron Mask Scholar Theorem

[ID Head-and-shoulders of a man in a fancy hat looking with satisfaction at a pill taken from a small box. Below him, a man in alchemist’s robes bends over a recumbent form that looks like a large jade figurine. The right side of the picture is filled with curlicule ornamentation.]

Okay okay okay, I wrote a version of this with quotes and chapter references but it’s quite long so I suspect not many people have read it. (No judgement, I know it’s long, I feel it.) But this definitely is something I want to talk about, so I’m doing a paperplane version for tumblr.

So! The very first adventure in this series, Wu Xie encounters a double-layer tomb with a (living) man wrapped in jade armour who is promptly murdered by Zhang Qiling. The closest thing we get to an explanation is:

– Lushang-wang raided a Western Zhou tomb for immortality secrets, then built his own tomb over it so he could peacefully bake in the armour for a couple of thousand years, to finish the immortality process.

– Lushang-wang murdered by his advisor, a fengshui expert named Iron Mask Scholar, who also put on the armour.

– Iron Mask Scholar killed some time later by Zhang Qiling.

– The map to this tomb is one of a set of famously-encrypted documents sometimes known as the Warring State Silk Texts or more specifically the Lu Yellow Silks, or some variant in-between.

[ID Overhead view of a sarcophagus under a great tree, with various lids and layer scattered around it, and inside – and sitting up – is a body dressed in armour made of laced-together plates of dull jade. Wu Xie etc. recoil in alarm. End ID]

Come Vol. 4 Snake Marsh Ghost City, Wu Xie explicitly identifies the author of these Lu Yellow Silks as Iron Mask Scholar. He describes him as “the Leonardo da Vinci of Lu State” who encrypted documents to get important secrets distributed against the wishes of a higher power. (This is also the book that introduces King Mu of Zhou as a relevant historical figure, in the form of a stone mural which heavily implies his account of a diplomatic visit to the Queen Mother of the West was an outright lie.)

There are some bits and bobs throughout the rest of the main book series, specifically, part of the history of the Jiumen going on a super big raid to find a whole stash of Lu Yellow Silks to decipher for secrets of immortality on behalf of their current patron. The novel version of this arc doesn’t really dig into who wrote them and focuses on the effect they had in the 20th century. The Ultimate Note version changes the author to King Mu of Zhou and brings in a story initially written for the Sand Sea novel – King Mu of Zhou obtained an immortality elixir from the Queen Mother of the West but didn’t want to stay in her country to complete the process by sleeping in jade. Instead he made jade armour of his own and… put a baby in a jade box: “He built two figurines with jade meteorite. One figurine to contain himself, with another to contain a baby. After taking the pill, he planned to break the figurine in a few years under certain conditions. He would be reborn as a baby and attain longevity.” (UN, Ep 35, iQiyi subs).

[ID A painting of a great cavern with rough pillars, with the irregular shape of what might be a meteorite in the background. In the midground are two upright lumps of jade of equal proportions. Vague shadows inside indicate an adult in the left one, and a child in the other. End ID]

Skippy skip through some Jiumen stuff and some Tibetan Sea Flower stuff that suggests Zhang Qiling was the baby in the box… we get to Sand Sea proper, in which the chief antagonists are the Wang Family, descendants of Wang Zanghai from the Ming Dynasty.

But, say the Wang Family, we didn’t start this. Actually you need to go back thousands of years to King Mu of Zhou. The drama version of this revelation is a very clipped lecture, albeit with some interesting art, which mostly focuses on the snake eyebrow copper fish and the snake pheromones etc. etc. (It’s a fair call – sometimes you just gotta focus.) The novel version is very, very long, placed in the novel where you would normally expect the big climax/plot resolution/massive multiplayer final action scene to be. Some key points:

– Wang-laoshi keeps explaining that he isn’t lying but he is leaving gaps in the story for his student to figure out.

– We go right back to the story of Lushang-wang raiding a Western Zhou tomb, this time specifying that it belonged to King Mu of Zhou himself. Also that Iron Mask Scholar incited Lushang-wang to take up graverobbing from the start. He wasn’t an opportunist but a strategic planner who provided a “ghost edict” in King Mu of Zhou’s handwriting explaining that it was totes okay to dig up his tomb, the ghost of King Mu of Zhou thought that was fine, break out the shovel, kid.

– Story interrupted by a student explaining that for the handwritten edict to exist, King Mu of Zhou must still have been alive somehow to write it. (No forgers in Ancient China.) The teacher agrees, explaining that King Mu of Zhou took the Queen Mother of the West’s immortality elixir but could not by himself find jade armour to neutralise the deleterious side effects.

– FROM THEN ON Iron Mask Scholar is not in this story. This is now a story about King Mu of Zhou manipulating Lushang-wang from the shadows, creating the mechanism of a baby in a small dragon-pattern box as a timer and synchronous key for his own coffin, creating the Lu Yellow Silks which as we know were written in the Warring States Era and explicitly attributed to the guy who hid his face all the time………

– In addition, the rather odd (but fun) movie Time Raiders also features Iron Mask Scholar as a key player, this time writing his secrets on copper tablets not silk and also creating a box which is both a timer and a key, like that dragon-pattern box attributed to King Mu of Zhou.

My Conclusion:

King Mu of Zhou and Iron Mask Scholar’s deeds were so often conflated because they were the same guy. This is the truth hinted at by Wang-laoshi and Xu Lei.

(to be continued)

#dmbj #meta #iron mask scholar #king mu of zhou

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upthewitchypunx · 7 months ago

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I keep trying to sell artist like those who make electroform and people who work on clay a genius idea and none of them have taken me up on it.

Why not make small spell candle holders for the small 4" chime candles. All you see in witch shop are boring mass produced ceramic ones or the silly pewter ones. What if they were copper with crystals set into them. It doesn't matter if you can't get the copper to bond in the hole because no one is going to see it anyway.

What if they were ceramic plates with places for candles to be set into them and hand painted,sort of like a candle built into an altar or offering plate. Or even using those ceramic transfer patterns I've seen.

I think these are genius ideas because no one is doing them. How many mugs that look like cauldrons can witches buy?

#if someone makes either of these i would love one and id tell others about it

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dgrailwar · 6 months ago

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Round 8, Day 4 - All Teams (Quiz Answers)

I see you've finished the quiz! Let's go through the answers, shall we?

Question 1: The Fairy King Oberon, while often record as a king of the faeries, is also conflated as a ruler of…

Answer: Dwarves! In many French tales, Oberon (or rather Aubéron) is noted as being dwarfish, both in height and in heritage. He is also considered to be a parallel to Alberich, a Germanic king of supernatural beings such as elves, dwarves, and fae.

I can see many of you, based on recent events, decided to go with 'Dragons'. However, Oberon has little to no ties to dragons historically. Additionally, due to 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' taking place in a Greek-inspired setting, I can understand how some may have thought he ruled over dryads as well as faeries.

Question 2: Jeanne d'Arc, the famed Holy Maiden that participated in the Hundred Years' War, was born where?

Answer: Domrémy! Many of you seemed to get this one, very good!

Jeanne d'Arc, despite what one may assume from her attributed name (and the anglicized version 'Joan of Arc'), did not come from a place called 'Arc'. Rather 'd'Arc' is considered corruption of her father's name.

Additionally, while Orléans was a major location in Jeanne's military career, it was not her hometown. Though you could consider it possibly where the legend of 'Jeanne d'Arc' was etched into human history.

Question 3: The great sea beast Leviathan is often thought to represent what deadly sin…?

Answer: Envy! Once again, the majority of you seemed to get this one correct.

The Leviathan is noted to be an ancient primordial chaos-beast, ever changing and constantly consuming. While 'wrath' and 'greed' may be good fits for such a creature, ultimately he is representative of the sin of 'envy'.

Question 4: The Shimonoseki War, of which Takasugi Shinsaku participated, began in what year?

Answer: 1863! It seems we have quite a few historians within our midst!

It lasted for several weeks in 1863, and had a brief resurgence in 1864.

Question 5: What type of animal is Ganesha's mount, Mushika?

Answer: A mouse! It seems as if this one tripped up a considerable amount of you.

While Ganesha is known as an elephant-headed god of massive stature, he's known to travel around on a rodent named Mushika, or the 'little hoarder'. Some may have found the idea of an elephant riding a mouse a bit curious, but the gods aren't as limited in their choices as humans, and they often pick their mounts for a reason- and there are a few stories relating to how and why Ganesha and Mushika came to be allies.

Keen-eyed players may have realized that Mushika has been accompanying his master this entire time!

Question 6: What was the name of the ship Edmond Dantes sailed on before he was falsely arrested for treason?

Answer: The Pharaon!

Charon, while known as a boatman of the dead, may have seemed like a correct answer for potential thematic purposes, the actual name of the ship was slightly different.

Edmond Dantès served as the first mate of the ship, briefly taking over for the captain's duties when the captain had passed away. He was charismatic, kind-hearted, and had a promising future, which made his arrest and betrayal all the more devastating.

Question 7: When the Voyager 1 launched in 1977, it carried the Golden Record with it. What was the Golden Record made of?

Answer: Gold-Plated Copper!

While records are often made of vinyl, such a material would decay quickly while out in space. Copper, on the other hand, would last for much longer and be less prone to chemical processes breaking it down. The gold-plated copper would be stable for a much longer amount of time, keeping it relatively intact as the Voyager continued its journey through the stars.

I would have accepted 'Humanity's Dreams' as an answer if you had felt like being cheeky.

#loading screen quiz #overseer post

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interstyx · 2 years ago

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MURDER DRONES HEADCANON #4: Mémoire Morte/Absolute Solver

Crack.

Snap.

Metal brushing metal. Jitters crawling down the left arm. Metal brushing cloth. Metal brushing something else. Then, a jolt – skimming the nape and jerking the eyes awake. Burning hands still clamp her to the floor, scorching every inch of the torso, stinging her head, her neck, the bearings of the servos in her joints, damage/pain warnings right under the outer plating of her chest, sending little shocks across her movement controllers, still limbs shuddering intermittently–

Before her emotional processors can output a panic signal and demand her to move, the inner racket all goes still at once. It’s flushed out of RAM in just a few cycles, and as the final consciousness programs initialize, Uzi is left in complete silence. An uncomfortable warmth in her joints stays behind to keep her company.

What is it now, the third time today?

Uzi checks the time. 26:07:19:8817. Copper-9’s sun just began to set. Way too late to try for another few hours of sleep-mode, way too early to throw stuff at N until he falls from the roof of the spire.

She shifts around, groaning. Power is at 40-something percent. Too high to justify oversleeping, but low enough to warn her early that a nap is in line at around midnight. Worse yet, she’s guaranteed to spend about half of today in low-consumption mode, with all the ill temper and slow processing that implies.

Eh. No point staying still then. She swings both legs back, then forth, levering herself up. The gray, dirty patina covering the inside of the landing pod reminds Uzi to dust off her hoodie – a necessary morning routine she’s had little time to get used to. Maybe she shouldn’t. It’s not like N ever cleans up that greasy coat of his. Though well, that much old oil won’t ever wash off now.

She stretches her left arm, pulling her elbow to her chest, holding it there, then releasing it and extending the arm as far as it’ll go, and going at it again. When it finally feels comfortable, she gets up and kicks the spinning chair right beside where she’s sleeping. No reason for it, it’s just good to get those CPU cycles going.

When making her way up the pod’s ladder, her hand brushes the wall behind it. It’s so dusty it gets inbetween the joints of her fingers, threatening to get stuck inside and irritate her servos for the rest of the day. She tries to ignore it and climb a few more steps. She can’t. Her right eye jitters. She clambers up the rest of the ladder and leaps outside, shouting into the darkness of the corpse-spire.

“N, for robo-Christ’s sake, do you things have a duster in those hands of yours?”

Nevermind the dust, she feels even dirtier after saying that. Geh. Cleaning. Worth the try at getting N to wake up though – not like she can tell where he is without his visor or eyes glowing.

No response. Another groan escapes Uzi’s mouth. A scan for literally anything else to do that isn’t cleaning returns zero results, and she doesn’t feel like rewatching anything in her anime catalog. She shakes her fist at the dark.

“How aren’t you at full battery yet, you lanky oilsucker?!”

Yeah; far too early. Maybe not having anything to clean the pod with is a good enough excuse not to do it for a few more days? The specks of dust still stuck to her fingers answer with a clear “no”. Though… Maybe enlisting robo-Satan’s help will make it easier.

She holds her left hand up, then pushes it forward, like casting a spell. Then again, but really hard. Again, putting her whole soul into it. Another time, going nnghhh as if pushing a boulder. A few more times in quick succession. No luck at all.

Uzi stares at the hand, sighing and turning it over to examine the palm, as if something will come of it. Nothing does. Wiggling her fingers one by one reveals nothing new, though they feel unusually numb. Having magical powers isn’t awesome at all if they don’t work when you want them to.

Really, the only thing to come out of stopping that bullet was the night jitters, and managing to make the chairs in the pod spin a few times. Absolutely not what Doll cracked it up to be.

“And I still haven’t managed to teleport even once…”

Way too much silence. On second thought, even a rewatch of Naruto will do, as horrible as that pile of slop is. But maybe it could still work. Maybe just one more try…

She holds her left up again, and gives a half-hearted push. Nope, definitely no luck. Maybe when N comes back she’ll–

CCCRRAAACCCCKKKK.

The entire arm comes apart.

From one second to the next, hinges, wires and bellows are torn asunder from inside. Something else tears and squirms its way out – black, or dark gray, with a hint of an oily sheen –, crawling like a bundle of caterpillars against the cloth of Uzi’s hoodie. More of it keeps blooming from intact spots, mangling what’s left of her limb before Uzi can process a reaction.

Her arm shakes for a few moments longer, maybe due to the few remaining servos choking up mid-movement, trying to force their way through the black mass that’s now squeezing them beyond their designed resistance. It bends outward and keeps bending, ripping some more wires in half and finally silencing the dying mechanisms than once made it move. What was once a limb is now a bundle of unrecognizable scraps of metal spread across a squirming black surface, close to twice the size of the original thing.

Somehow it doesn’t hurt, even though it really looks like it should. Or maybe it does, but Uzi can’t keep her attention off a new sensation flowing to her processors right from what’s replaced her arm: little pinpricks stinging its surfaces over and over and over, sparing no square centimeter, like this new thing is burning but also growing numb as an unoiled mechanism left in the cold would.

Holy hell.

Uzi tries to turn it over, or maybe wave it a little. A surviving contact around the middle of the mass sputters and dies, making a lone metal finger twitch, then go forever still. She tries again, and this time it answers – kind of. It only follows her orders with around a second of delay, lazily undulating as she pictures the movement it should take in her head.

“N! LOOK AT THIS THING THAT’S MY ARM NOW!”

She doesn’t have time to process its appearance before an anxious urge takes her over. The other hand shudders in place as she’s figuring out what that is; lick the oil.

Copious amounts of the stuff are dribbling from the metal cobbles still hanging onto the new arm, and it really seems like this bundle of black stuff (tendrils?) is covered in a thick film of oil. She grasps them with her right hand and brings them to her face.

A tinge of disgust hits her mid-motion, but there’s precious little time to think it through as her tongue is already skimming the underside of the tendrils, where the thicker currents of oil have assembled and are about to fall off. Both arms tremble. She trembles.

The crawling anxiety doesn’t let up: its grip numbs her upper processors, blocking off everything between cache to DRAM memory, leaving space only for the strange itch that the shuddering tendrils respond with to the intermittent visits of the tongue. It only lets go once there’s pretty much no more oil to be found, even in the tiny wrinkles between one tendril and another.

Robo-Jesus, robojesus, robojesusrobojesusrobojesus. What’s going on?

Well. That’s her good hand gone. Guess that ambidexterity program from the other day will start coming in real handy right about now. Handy. Hah.

She stumbles across the snowy field looking for any trace of anything hanging from the spire’s ceiling, trying to figure out just how the hell this thing is supposed to work. No trace of N anywhere yet. Shouts for him meet no reply save for their echo.

The tendrils only move kind of how she wants them to, and slowly at that. The pinpricks don’t stop. Once, she stumbles and the tendrils catch her before her remaining arm can. The parts that meet the snow hurt until she gets up and keeps walking. She holds them close to her chest in a reflex: the pinpricks slow down and cease when they’re there, somehow. A bit like holding up a puppy to calm it down, if you could also feel it like your own skin.

Something else is happening meanwhile. Uzi tries to ignore it, focusing on the weird jitters, twitches and undulations of the tendrils. Something else that sinks down to the stomach, up to the head, taking a home behind the eyes, sliding and creeping, slowing down her processors again. It hurts, but without direction, like it’s bursting from inside and/or crushing from outside.

She stumbles again. A little hit of pain from the tendrils wakes her up (was she sleeping, or just that lost in thought?). Must have moved some ten meters without noticing it – or the low-power alert flashing on the corner of her vision. This feeling, which she has no name for, pulsates together with the symbol of a depleting battery. When it lights up, strength abandons her legs, and when it goes dark, weakness leaves instead. This is new. She takes entire minutes to process it, trying to wrap her head around that new thing – that need – she’s now feeling.

In some dictionary file somewhere in Uzi’s hard drives, there’s a word that might fit what’s haunting her: “hunger”. The act of naming it helps a little, pushes it back into a tiny box of language where she can study it. Hunger. She’s never felt hungry before.

Is this what they feel like? A little angry thing inside freaking screaming for oil? All of a sudden it makes sense, huh. No wonder N would ask for a bit of mine.

She kicks something under the snow. A little extra push makes a limp torso, one arm and head still attached, emerge.

The hunger pangs inside her.

Is that a bit of oil still on the neck?

Without thinking, she licks her lips.

The tendrils spring off her chest and drag her down with an insane amount of force, like a big dog pulling at a leash. They practically throw her at the ground, clambering until she’s facing the corpse, just a few centimeters away from its frozen arm. They wrap around the torso, then arm, then the joint between them, suddenly more like a pair of tendrils rather than a bundle of them, covered in sharp barbs cutting effortlessly at the metal skin.

Shudders. Trembling from legs to head. This corpse looks less like a corpse and more like a solution. The tendrils raise its arm to her mouth. Before she can even realize the sense of worry that’s settling in, her face curls into a smile, lips receding and freeing two rows of sharp, sharp teeth, then leaping forward and digging into the solution with glee.

Wait a minute – sharp teeth? Since when?

The progress they’re quickly making lets her know just how sharp they are, and that there’s two fangs that weren’t there before, or at least weren’t that long. The sense of worry stirs up and turns to panic. No time to think. Pressure increases and the teeth meet with a little vein of oil that pops into Uzi’s mouth, soothing though cold.

Everything lets go at once, except for the feel of oil flowing over her tongue, so suddenly and completely she can hear the almost total silence surrounding her, intruded only by the faint whistling of a breeze grazing the spire. The low-power alert disappears, and her processors build up to full performance again.

I’m eating a corpse.

There’s a gap between seeing a corpse, even between being innately familiar with corpses, and sinking your teeth into one. This thing caught between these sharp jaws – they feel like an other, not like her –, it’s a person, or it was once. She can’t just break into Death’s home for a quick meal. That’s wrong.

As soon as she tries to retreat, everything washes back and crushes her under a wave of sensations. Panic. Hunger. Low power. The tendrils squirming. She just doesn’t have the strength to pull her mouth back more than a few centimeters, and even that is an inconceivable task. She can only hold for four painfully long seconds before the jaw snaps shut again, pressure letting up on her as it builds up on the bite.

She’s caught in a tug-of-war. Every inch she takes from the hunger goes to the panic, and every inch she reclaims from the panic, the hunger takes. But this is far from a stalemate – hunger’s winning. She can tell from how the metal making up the corpse’s arm screeches and creaks every so many agonizingly long seconds, whenever the moments of clarity granted by the soft taste of oil fade away.

Between these moments, a thought comes to her: the low-power alarm fading in and out. 39% crumbling to 6% and bouncing back to 39 a moment later. That makes no sense. Her battery can’t be rising and dropping all of a sudden that quickly, even if the oil was somehow restoring power. Something must be denying her that power, then giving it back when she bites.

It’s denying her that power… To force her to feed on the corpse.

Stop. Stop it.

The metal creaking gets more acute. She can see the arm bending upward on her periphery. It’s about to snap.

Stop.

Two precious seconds come and go. It doesn’t take many calculations to realize it will certainly break soon.

Stop! Stop!

One second. Her logic circuits say maybe one more and it’s done.

STOP.

Crack!

A fountain of oil flows from the broken-off piece of limb. Uzi jolts upright, violently clutching the arm by its wrist the same way you’d hold a cup of water – angled up to get every last drop as quickly as physics allow. The tendrils unwrap from the corpse and wrap again around her torso, warmth sending jitters down her back. A flush of laughter takes her over, briefly interrupted by bursts of coughing from the oil she’s still drinking.

Did I do that? Did I get up to drink that arm? Is that me laughing?

Uzi tries to cry, but then she laughs again.

The arm is now dry.

Her hand drops the arm. She can’t tell if it did that by itself.

And she goes down for another bite.

—---------------------------------------------------

The wind’s pretty gentle today. It lets N glide left and almost effortlessly between buildings, which is really quite convenient as he’s gulping down one last swig of oil. Last time he had to make a quick turn going against the wind with oil still in his mouth, he could neither finish the gulp or make the turn.

N extends his wings and rises up in the air, then slowly glides down onto the spire of corpses. It takes a bit of crawling to find the entry-exit hole – it’s slipped his mind on which side it is again – but at the same time he gets there, he also swallows that last swig right on time and lets his face settle into a smile.

The glide down is long and playful, spiraling upside down all the way to the pod before finally landing with a soft thud. Is Uzi awake? Nah. No way. N quietly and slowly opens a hatch, peeking inside only as it stops creaking and finds its stop. He’s wrong. Uzi isn’t there. Did she go somewhere? Hope she’s not worried. He just didn’t want to ask to nibble on her neck again.

Crack- Snap!

A metallic noise alerts him, and other sounds suddenly become noticeable, pretty far away. Laugh - cry - metal creaking. Uzi’s voice. That sequence of sounds is very familiar to him, but it takes a second for it to register it’s Uzi making them, and a fraction more to realize that shouldn’t be happening. He bolts for the source of the sounds as soon as it’s done registering.

She’s right there, just on the verge of a ray of light leaking through the spire’s roof. She’s hunched over, munching on the side of a dead drone’s head.

A little glint of light reflects onto his eyes. Those are teeth. She’s smiling

But there’s also marks of sweat on the side of her visor. Her eyes are wide with something unpleasant – fear, stress, panic, or any of their siblings.

“Uzi?”

Such a stupid thing to say that he curses himself immediately. She jolts up and turns to see him, smile immediately fading as their eyes meet, then raises her right hand and pulls the head out of her mouth, somehow struggling to get it off her jaws. Isn’t she left-handed?

Uzi stumbles back and crawls away, dead silent. Panic paints her eyes. N sprints to her – then stops dead in his tracks. Her left hand is a heap of black, barbed tendrils glistening with the sheen of oil. A soft “biscuits” escapes N’s mouth, and he hopes she doesn't hear.

No time to think. N walks the rest of the way and kneels to her left side, trying his darndest not to look at the tendrils writhing right beneath his sight. She’s still trying to crawl away, mouthing something. Something like “get away”.

He doesn’t. The tendrils are encircling his torso and closing in. He puts his arm behind and around Uzi’s back, receiving only shivers in return.

“You okay?”

She nods. She’s not. The tendrils start pressing against his coat.

N wonders whether he should offer her a hug. Uzi’s hand is clamped close to her chest, eyes lost in the distance, but she doesn’t seem to object to the arm around her back. Maybe she needs it. Maybe she’d hate it.

He wraps his other arm around her, scanning for any sign of resistance, seemingly none appearing, then holds her up to his chest. Maybe she’s relaxing a little? Can’t tell. Can’t tell. Maybe it’s a mistake. Biscuits. Biscuits. Biscuits.

Uzi tugs at his coat, pulling him a bit closer. Rip. Rip. Rip. The tendrils are cutting through the coat’s cloth, one by one digging into N’s torso, wrapping like barbed wire. He breathes a sigh of relief. Little drops of oil – his own, surely – slither down his back.

“Heaven smiles above me…

“What a gift, here beeee-low”

She’s still tugging, but a bit lighter now. The tendrils’ grasp doesn’t subside. To be truthful, it hurts. It hurts a lot.

“But no one knoooows

“The gift that you give to meeee

“No one knows.”

For a while, there’s nothing. Not even the wind, or any movement or pressure or even hurt. Well, there’s one thing – a little spark of warmth.

Then Uzi speaks, voice cutting right through N’s nerves.

“I can’t see very well. I think my hair’s in the way.”

That doesn’t make a lot of sense. Her hair isn’t that long.

N pulls back his right hand and retreats slightly, seeing pretty clearly that he’s right. A tendril goes up to Uzi’s face to pull a bit of hair aside, leaving little black stains all over her head. There’s a yellow nub right there, square in the middle of her forehead, glowing faintly, far fainter than it should – well, not a nub: an eye.

“I still can’t see. It’s so fuzzy…”

“It’s alright. I’ll take you to the pod.”

—---------------------------------------------------

NOTES:

First go at prose in a long time. It’s so indulgent it hurt my fingers as I wrote it and now hurts my eyes as I read it, but I hope it’s cheesy enough to be fun.

This is pretty much my take on the whole Uzi transformation idea, which funnily enough I started working on about a week before the Episode 4 teaser aired. Yeah, everyone and their mother knew Uzi was in line for some Resident Evil shit as soon as they finished the pilot, but this is MY take dammit, and I want it out there before the canon one takes precedence.

Well, “my” isn’t fully true, or really true at all. You might’ve noticed it’s pretty inspired by a delightful piece of concept art (see below) by the equally delightful @multiversal-pudding, whom I happened to come across in @nyaifyz’s discord server. Between I, the pudding in question and another fellow by the name of @fennoske we came up with a bunch of worryingly detailed ways to torture the little purple ball of anger with her own body, of which this fic is but one product.

Couldn’t have written a single word here without their hilariously cruel minds to aid me in developing this torment, so I strongly recommend checking them out (especially their take on the Solver!Uzi concept once they publish them). Hope you’ve enjoyed it.

#murder drones n #murder drones uzi #murder drones #writing #angst #body horror tw

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ask-de-writer · 1 year ago

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QUEST FOR ANCIENT CANTERLOT! An RP : PAGE 2, A New Plate, Old Memories!

Return to MLP Fan Fiction

Return to Role Plays with De Writer

QUEST FOR ANCIENT CANTERLOT!

An RP by @wind-the-mama-cat and @ask-de-writer

Scene setting Part 1 : LUNA AWAKENS CELESTIA

Scene setting Part 2 : AIRSHIP!

Scene setting Part 3 : ONE LAST VISIT

Scene setting Part 4 : SCOUT’S PRIZE

Scene setting Part 5 : REBOOT / START UP

Scene setting Part 6 : CELESTIA AND LUNA GO TO MEET TWILIGHT

PAGE 1, THE ADVENTURE BEGINS!

PAGE 2, NEW PLATE, OLD MEMORIES!

As usual for a developing story, new text is in BOLDFACE type.

Role Play begun 05/26/21

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Copyright fair use rules for Tumblr users Users of Tumblr.com are specifically granted the following rights. They may reblog the story provided that all author and copyright information remains intact. They may use the characters or original characters in my settings for fan fiction, fan art works, cosplay, or fan musical compositions.

All sorts of fan art, cosplay, music or fiction is actively encouraged.

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@wind-the-mama-cat

Learning to Fly

Wind watched as Choco and Rose put their heads together to design the potential wing suit. As she watched, her eyes drifted to Rose's wings. Once upon a time, from what she recalled from her memory files, her Unicorn overlords once tried to give her sisters a means to fly.

She shook her head silently at what she 'remembered”.

One of the Unicorn engineers had come across an ancient picture, which, interestingly, showed the Rom Pegasus Angel with her artificial wing. Using that as a basis, and nothing else, the Usurper King thought it would be a good idea to give the battle droids wings.

The results were disastrous.

During the first round of testing, the wings where too small, as they made them proportionately to Pegasi wings. They lost 20 droids.

The second round of testing went no better. While they made the wings larger, they didn't anticipate the increased power draw. They lost 30 droids.

Dark nudged Wind back to reality.

“Wind?” The black mare asked quietly. “What's on your mind?”

Wind looked down at the mare. “Just recalling somewhat painful memory files.” She nodded at Rose and Choco. “Did I ever tell you how the Unicorns tried to give their droids wings?”

Dark shook her head. “No. You never did. However, we did get reports from Princess Twilight and her scouts about falling droids with reported wings.”

Wind snorted. “The idea had merit, honestly. Instead of using ships to transport the droids, they could simply fly into battle. The way they went about it was foolish and pointless. Now that I think about it, that tends to be how they do most things.”

The earned a chuckle from the small horse.

“Where you thinking of making wings for yourself, Wind?” She asked curiously.

Wind nodded. “Aye. Perhaps.” She tapped her chest. “I'm very heavy. Even with my new legs that you gave me, I still weigh over two hundred pounds. Two hundred and fifty, if we're being specific. The wing suit that those girls are designing won't work on me.”

“So, why don't we design wings that would work for you?” Dark asked. “Thanks to the dismantling of the Renaissance, I have a surplus of material to use for pretty much anything. Even with the demands of the Hammer, I have lots of carbon fibre, copper, steel, aluminum... you name it.”

“Well, a fixed-wing style would work best, I think.” Wind said. “But I don't want permanent wings.”

“So, a backpack that straps to you, and the wings fold up and extend?” Dark asked. “That you can control with your hands?”

“Right.” Wind said with a nod.

Rose's ears quirked. “You guys are designing your own glider?”

Wind sighed. She had forgot how sensitive Rose's ears were. “Now that the cat is out of the bag... yes. Not a wing suit like your design, Rose. More of a backpack shaped glider, like your wings, but not powered.”

Rose thought for a moment. “Well, they would have to be powered. Considering your weight, an unpowered winged glider would have to have a wing span of at least 22 feet.”

Wind and Dark shared a look.

“Yeah. That math checks out.” Wind sighed.

“Now, if you were to power the backpack-glider-thing with a single, central jet turbine, that would provide enough lift for the wings to be smaller.” Rose said. “Not as small as mine, but small enough to fold up.”

“A jet turbine could work.” Wind said in agreement. “Like you wings, I take it?”

Rose nodded. “Only with 3 fans stacked on top of one another, spinning and causing thrust.”

“Right.” Dark nodded. “Really small fans. But how would you power it?”

“Not with my central crystal.” Wind admitted. “It powers me and has a high power output, but I doubt it would power me and a... jet engine.”

Choco was frowning. “This all seems very complicated.”

“I certainly am.” Wind agreed. “As a result of a combination of mechanical parts, crystals – both magic in nature – and Soulblade, I am very complicated.”

“So, why not make your glider like Fenrir?” Choco asked. Upon hearing his name, The wolf stood up from beside Dark's shop and wandered over to the group. The small horse giggled. “Oh, hey Fenrir.”

Dark kneeled in front of the wolf and placed her hand on his cheek. “You're just like Wind, Pup. Technical and magic in nature.”

He blinked slowly at her.

“So, a separate crystal to power my wings.” Wind nodded. “Sounds like a good place to start.” She looked at Dark. “Now, a large egg-sized crystal would be impractical. One the size that powers me would be best.”

Scout giggled. “Except your chest crystal took most of my magic to charge, and it's maintained by your food processing systems.” She pointed out. “A jet pack with wings would require more power.”

“Well, my crystal is the size of a lemon... and Fenrir's is the size of a dragon egg. So...” Wind thought out loud. “Say somewhere in between.”

“A phoenix egg.” Dark said. “As for charging it? We can use my solar charger. It worked for Fenrir after all.”

“Right.” Scout said. “We can all work together on this project. If Wind is going to be testing this new technology, and Choco is going to be testing hers, safety is paramount. Lots of prototypes and testing and scale models, just like Dark said earlier.”

The five girls got to work on their glider project. Rosie and Choco worked on their wing suit, while Dark, Wind and Scout work on theirs. Occasionally, the two groups would stop and share notes, and miniature models, and other ideas.

Eventually, after a week of testing, Choco's first prototype suit was ready for a test flight.

Wind's jetpack however was far from ready, as it was more complicated.

On the morning of the day that Choco was ready to go up, with Rosie's help, that is, Dark got a call on her mirror.

“This is Dark.” She greeted the other Rom.

“Dark? This is Nala of the Topographical and Plate Locator Scout Team.” Nala greeted. “We discovered a new plate, just below plate 16. We're calling it plate 17 for now. It's three plates below your plate.”

Dark nodded. “Have you scouted it yet?”

“Not yet.” Nala answered. “It's mostly desert. Naturally desert, to be honest. Not like the desert plate like plate 1, which formed when the unicorns took the water with them during the shift.”

“Wait.” Dark said suddenly. “Are you saying that plate 17 is originally desert?”

“We are.” Nala nodded. “It does have a stream however, which wasn't affected by the shift either, surprisingly.”

Dark blinked. “Well... that means...” She nodded. “Don't worry about scouting that plate. I'll go and scout it myself.”

“Roger that, Dark.” Nala smiled. “Nala out.”

Wind and the others looked at Dark. “Dark?”

The small mare smiled coyly. “Wind... you have Wind's memories. What's the one location that is desert, but has enchanted water that no magic can affect?”

“The desert that the Rom originated from.” Wind answered. “Where...”

Dark smiled when Wind trailed off. “Marchhare's original resting place.”

“Whoa.” The gathered Rom gasped.

“We'd have to go and look for ourselves.” Dark said. “But I'll bet a hundred bits that it is there somewhere.”

“Isn't that also the location of the Lost Wood mines?” Choco asked. “It's a story that we Forest Horses grew up on.”

Dark shrugged. “I'll have to go and see.” She looked at Wind. “Wind? I'll need you to come too. Your scanning systems and memories will help me.”

Rosie nodded. “That makes sense. As old as I am, I won't really be of help. Besides, I want to stay here and work on my suit.”

Scout pouted. “And since Midnight has me on stress-rest, I can't go either.” Wind smiled and hugged her.

Dark smiled. “We'll have to hire a glider team.” She looked at De Writer as he, Tia and Midnight came wandering over to help with the glide test.

“Some good news, De Writer...” Dark said as she explained the call she just got.

@ask-de-writer

Old De Writer thoughtfully stroked his beard as he thought through the news. Nodding, he agreed, “That MIGHT be a portion of the old Sunset Mountains and Celestia's Anvil. The many disruptions caused by the Shattering did actually open some new springs, so what was seen might not be Sha Ja Shehan. “There appears to be a modest river with a valley on the opposite side from the observed desert. It would not be at all unlikely that it is part of the old Red Branch and fed by the Maze. If so, it could even hold Morton's Swale and the ancient Wood Mines.”

The others were staring at him and slowly realizing what they knew but never really had to grasp. The amazement showed on their faces as it came home to them just how ancient De Writer was. He was speaking of those places and times as if they were recent memories. Places and times that were lost in the mists of time, thousands of years BEFORE the Shattering.

Choco looked over to Dark, whose eyes had gone puffy with tears and slowly sorted out, “Dark, if you find Marchhare's Lake, do you think that maybe he is there?”

Wings shuddering with suppressed sobbing, Dark sat and shook her head. “No, Choco, not really. After he came back from the Lake of Paradise, we could never speak to him at his Lake.” She gave a slightly broken smile as she snickered at the memory, “Unless he was right there beside us laying a stone for himself. The first time that he did that the Rom had been on the Roads of Equestria for 844 years. He thought that laying a stone for himself was a great joke!”

Putting her face in her hands, she wailed, “I miss him so much!”

Choco looked on helplessly. Knowing that Dark was immortal did not prepare her for the consequence of carrying grief that could last five hundred years and still be this raw. She quietly sorted out that Immortality had some serious drawbacks.

Midnight crouched down and simply wrapped Dark in her midnight blue wings, holding her and gently rocking the weeping pegasus.

She murmered, “We know, Dear, we know. Tia and I Laid the Stones for him ourselves. Sometimes with him along side us, cracking a joke. He was always serious about the actual Stone Laying and saying that he was glad that we were taking such good care of his bones.”

Dark looked up from her crying and wondered, “Even if we find the right place, will there be anything left? Five hundred years is a long time for his bones to be un attended. He could just be weathered away to nothing.”

It was Tia who thoughtfully answered that. “Dark, dear, if nothing else has scattered his bones but weathering, there should still be traces. Teeth should last and some other larger, heavier portions of bone. His harness had metal fittings. As dry as that area always was and, according to scouting reports, still is, those should still remain.

“There is another there that we might find as well. On the old river course side of the mountains was the Wayside where Sando went to the Lake. Finding him would be a wonderful treasure.”

Dark nodded slowly, “That is true. If this is the right plate, it holds a number of treasures, some of them are more valuable than just physical things.”

De Writer looked about and suggested, “We are going to need a big cargo glider to carry this crowd. I suggest that we all set up packs of supplies for exploring and then contact Air Trafic Control to see about getting a large enough glider to carry this expedition.”

It was Midnight who pointed out, “We mustn't forget to take along at least a pair of Stones. One for Sando's Lake and one for Marchhare's. It has been too long since they got that simple bit of respect and our love for them.”

Dark had to grin and pretend to calculate, “Let's see, five hundred years, at at least two visits a year, that makes about a thousand stones EACH. Me, Wind, De Writer, Midnight, Tia, and Choco makes about SIX THOUSAND STONES to carry. I don't think that there is any glider on any Rom plate that can carry that much along with us and our supplies!”

Midnight snickered and suggested, “Maybe we that have wings could carry the stones, IF we flap REALLY HARD. Then, the glider could be a lot smaller!”

De Writer snorted, “If you all were mimes, you couldn't find your way out of a box that isn't there! Let's all go and pack for the trip.”

Back at De Writer's Fair, the old pony quietly took Dark into his arms and gently rocked the small black pegasus. Softly, he offered, “All of us that knew him, miss him dreadfully, Dark. I wish that I could tell you that he will be there, waiting for us at his Lake. Not even I can tell you that without a lie. Wherever he has gone, I am certain of one thing. He knows how much you love him.”

She quietly sniffled, “I do know that, De Writer. It must sound really nutty to say this, but I want to show him how much I love him by playing Poison Grandpa one more time.”

De Writer nodded gravely as he agreed, “I actually do understand that, Dark, my dear. With you, it makes perfect sense.

“Now, about packing for this little expedition. We are going to need cartographic equipment and supplies to map the new plate. Let's see, a first aid kit, a tent and sleeping bags. Anything else?”

Dark grinned her shark like grin and retorted, “Food. You don't really need it and I can survive without it, being immortal, but I really detest starving.”

De Writer snorted, “Right. It is a comfortable habit and the others might not really like it if we forget it. Some of them will starve without it and Tia and Midnight just recovered from starving for five hundred years. They might not appreciate doing it again so soon.”

Dark was quickly to work packing things into neat bundles. She casually added a pair of picks and shovels. “Might need to dig some if that plate is where the old wood mines ended up. Could be useful for other things as well.”

@wind-the-mama-cat

Holding Close

Wind watched her “cousin” Dark gather their supplies. She knew that the Rom gliders were big, and could carry a lot of weight. However, with over six thousand semi-precious stones, and mining equipment, and food and water, not to mention 4 adult sized Rom, and Dark, they would need three gliders to get to the new plate.

She walked over to her now Wife, Scout with a thought.

“Scout?” She asked, as she sat down next to the Horse in the shade of their caravan, “I don’t suppose there’s a spell you could use to make all of our supplies feather weight, by chance?”

Scout shook her head. “Spells like that would need to be in constant use. Even for someone like Tia and Midnight, it would be exhausting.”

The cat-bot pursed her lips. “Darn. Looks like we will need to go with three gliders then.” She sighed heavily. “Not to mention, getting back up once we’re done with our exploring with all the added weight.”

“It’s a shame Auntie Esper isn’t here.” Rosie chirped as she doubled check Choco’s wing suit. “Out of all the Rom, thanks to the Spirit that lived within her, she could teleport unlimited weight miles and miles without breaking a sweat.” She shrugged. “She could move all of you down to the new plate, and all the equipment.”

Wind looked at Scout. “She could?”

Scout nodded. “From what I was told be De Writer, the first week Esper came to the Rom, she shifted 10 caravans and all the horses about 2 miles, all by herself.” She smiled at the thought. “Not even Black Lotus could have done that.”

Rosie looked at Choco. “Are you ready to test our first prototype, Choco?”

The young mare nodded. “Roger.”

The pink cat pulled the shoulder straps of the parachute tight. “I’ll be right up there with you, but it never hurts to have a back up.”

Choco nodded in agreement. “Better safe than sorry.”

Rosie pointed up. “I’m going to fly you up to the Ponyville plate directly above us.” She scooped Choco up Bridal style, spread her wings, revved her turbines, and took off.

Wind stood up. “I’m going to go help De Writer pack.” She bent down and kissed Scout on the nose. She walked over to the Blue horse’s caravan, and opened the door. “Need help, De Writer?”

He looked at her and smiled. “Can’t seem to find my Pre-Shattering maps.” He said as he shuffled through his bookshelves. “Mind going through my chest?”

Wind shrugged. “Sure.” She knelt in front of De Writer’s chest, and opened it. She gasped as the inside of the chest appeared to be as large as his caravan, and deeper. It also appeared to hold everything the Old Horse ever owned over his entire life. She looked inside it, and did a double take at the outside of it. “Uh…”

De Writer chuckled. “Just think about what you want, and it will appear in front of you.”

Wind thought about the maps, and lo and behold, a green, ordinary looking, shoulder bag appeared in front of her. “What the hay?” She grabbed the bag and stood up. “So, uh… I thought of the maps, and this old looking shoulder bag, um, appeared.”

De Writer walked over to Wind, and took the bag from her. Tears played at his eyes as a serene smile a came to his face. “Oh my… I had forgotten that I had this.” He looked at Wind. “This is Wind’s bag of holding.” He chuckled. “She took this bag everywhere with her. In fact, it was this bag that helped me design my chest.”

“It’s larger on the inside?” Wind asked.

“Much.” De Writer answered. “You are familiar with the concept of infinity, yes?”

Wind nodded.

“Well, this bag of holding… is infinite.” He explained. “Or more like a gateway to a self-contained dimension of infinity. She could put anything in this bag, any object of any size, of any weight, so long as it could fit through the opening, and carry it with her.” He smiled. “And to find an object within the bag, just like my chest, all you had to do is think of it.”

“And the bag… wouldn’t get heavier?” Wind asked.

De Writer smiled. “Exactly.” He reached into the bag, and pulled out his maps. “Here they are.” He set them on the table, and then reached into the bag again. He pulled out a pink, well worn, cloak. “Oh my…”

Wind’s forehead crystal flashed. “My cloak.”

De Writer sniffled and set the bag down on the floor. He then held the cloak with both hands and held it at arms length. “Yes, Wind. This is your cloak. You remember it, don’t you?”

“I…” Wind but her lower lip briefly. “Mama Dragon gave it to Wind… on her 16th birthday. It belonged to Shia, her other mother.”

“Indeed.” He brought it closed to his nose and sniffed it. “Wind loves this cloak. She wore it that night she… passed to the Dream World.”

“Passed to the… huh?” Wind blinked. “She didn’t travel to the Lake of Paradise?”

“No.” The blue horse said. “Even though she was a Rom, first and foremost, she was the Watcher of her World. Watchers… don’t really die. When they find their Dragon, their life force becomes connected to the Source. As they use the source, their Dragon, they age, grow old, and when the Source is used up, they simply fade away.”

“Where do they go, if not the Lake of Paradise?” Wind asked gently.

“The Dream.” De Writer answered. “They join the other Watchers, along with their mates.”

“So, Wind and Penny… are together again?” the cat asked. “In the Dream? Along with Mama Dragon?”

“I can only guess, but I certainly hope so.” He smiled as he handed the cloak to her. “Here. She would have wanted you to have this.”

Wind took it and draped it over shoulders, fastening the brass clasp. “Thank you, De Writer.” She looked at the bag. “De Writer… I think we have the solution to our weight problem.”

“Weight problem?” He repeated. “Oh, with all of our supplies.” He looked down at the innocent looking bag. “Yes. I do believe you are correct, Wind.” He picked it back up and held it out for her to take. “This is as much yours as it was the other Wind’s.”

Wind took it and held at arms length. “Is there anything else that once belonged to Wind? I mean, with Rosie here now, should she not get some of her mother’s belongings?”

“I understand what you’re saying, Wind.” De Writer sighed. “I actually do have something for Rosie, that once belonged to Wind.” He walked over to the chest, rustled around some, and pulled out a silver looking chain shirt.

“Wind’s mithril shirt.” He said as he stood up. “Her birthday is next week, and I was going to give it to her then.”

“Oh.” Wind said. “I…”

“Rosie is not the jealous type.” De Writer said simply. “Sure, when she first met you, she was a little sore about Soulblade, but she understands that the blade is not inherited, She chooses herself whom she goes to.” He placed a hand on her shoulder. “Wind was my daughter, and I want you to have the cloak and bag. Rosie has no need for them, trust me.”

“And she won’t think I’m… trying to emulate her mother?” Wind asked. “Become more like her?”

“No.” De writer assured her with a gentle tone as he put the shirt away and closed the lid to the chest. “But come, let’s go help Dark pack for our trip.” He picked up his maps, and The two Rom headed out of his caravan. “Speaking of Rosie, where is she?”

Wind pointed up. “Choco is about to jump of the edge of Rom plate #2, to test her wing suit prototype.”

9 miles up, standing on the edge of Ponyville plate #2, Rosie watched as her marefriend tested the flexibility of her wingsuit.

The wings were made from a very thin, yet strong, carbon fiber cloth, and held together using a light-weight from of rom wood grass. Each wing was ten feet in width, and in theory, could sustain flight, when not being pulled by a Pegasi, for 18 miles.

“So our goal today is to fly straight.” Rosie reminded her. “No maneuverability tests. We’re just seeing how the wingsuit performs under weight, and checking for stress points.” She smiled. “And testing a smooth landing.”

Choco nodded nervously. “Roger.”

Rosie pulled down her goggles, and watched as Choco did the same. “I’ll be right beside you.” She pointed to the Edge of the Rom Plate #1. “Aim for the Rom Gunner Battery. It’s about 18 miles away.”

Choco gulped and nodded, and spread her wings. “For science…”

Some time later, Rosie landed at Edge Battery #10 and looked up to the sky. She watched as Choco angled her body to slow her decent.

“Knees bent, Choco!” Rosie encouraged her. “Slow yourself, just like we practiced!”

Choco landed a little faster and rougher then she had planned. Rosie acted quickly and caught her.

“I’m shaking…” Choco said through chattering teeth as Rosie hugged her.

“That’s the adrenaline.” Rosie said softly as she stroked Choco’s back. “It will wear off in a minute.”

Choco took deep breaths as she tried to calm herself. “That’s one heck of a rush. You know… flying. Or falling with style.”

Rosie giggled “I felt the same way when I tried to fly for the first time. I was one. You get used to it the more you do it.”

Choco giggled too as she slowly stopped hovering.

“Hey.” A voice said suddenly.

Rosie looked to her left. It belonged to the Wrecker captain, Nala. A beige mare Pegasus with long red hair.

“We had sights on your flight the entire time.” Nala said with an approving nod. “You did really well, Choco.”

Choco smiled “Thank, Nala.”

The Captain examined the suit. “So, you girls are just going with a personal glider approach, huh? No sustained flight?”

Rosie let Choco go. “We discussed that. We just want to make a personal, short-range glider to use on the Penny’s Hammer.”

“18 miles is short ranged?” Nala asked.

“Yeah.” Rosie nodded. “Most large wing gliders have a glide ratio of 4 to 1. We were 9 miles up. So, we got a glide ratio of 2 to 1. Not bad for a prototype.”

Nala looked towards De Writer’s fair. “So, um, how are you guys going to get back?”

Rosie smiled and scooped Choco up bridal style again. “I’ll fly her back.” Her wings revved up as she took off.

18 miles later, she landed back in De writer’s fair and set Choco down gently. “You okay Choco?”

Choco nodded absent mindedly. “Huh? Oh. Yeah. Okay. Just… feeling overwhelmed.” She removed her parachute, handed it Rosie. She then unzipped her suit and stepped out of it. “I think I just need a nap.”

Rosie nodded in understanding. “Oh. Sure. Want me to wake you for lunch?”

Choco smiled “Sure.” She handed the suit to Rosie. “We need handles on the wings. Holding onto the wings by the top bar was really difficult.” She yawned and headed into her caravan.

Rosie watched her go, and didn’t notice Scout sidle up to her. “How’d the test go?”

The Catter started for a second. “Gah!” She calmed down and looked at Scout. “It went well. I have to make some changes to it, no surprise there. It is work in progress after all.” She looked towards Wind, De Writer and Dark packing for the trip.

“Is… that my mother’s…” She walked over to the group and up to Wind. “Is that My Mama’s bag?”

Wind looked down at her. “De Writer took it the night your Mother passed on to the Dream. He gave it to me.”

Rosie nodded “Well, that solves your weight issue.” She looked to De Writer. “Are you guys leaving soon?”

@ask-de-writer

TO BE CONTINUED

Return to MLP Fan Fiction

Return to Role Plays with De Writer

Scene setting Part 1 : LUNA AWAKENS CELESTIA

Scene setting Part 2 : AIRSHIP!

Scene setting Part 3 : ONE LAST VISIT

Scene setting Part 4 : SCOUT’S PRIZE

Scene setting Part 5 : REBOOT / START UP

Scene setting Part 6 : CELESTIA AND LUNA GO TO MEET TWILIGHT

PAGE 1, THE ADVENTURE BEGINS!

PAGE 2, NEW PLATE, OLD MEMORIES!

#QUEST FOR ANCIENT CANTERLOT #Page 2 #ROLE PLAY WITH @ask-de-writer and @wind-the-mama-cat

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rmhashauthor · 1 year ago

Text

"Pet", fiction in 4 parts - Part 2

Part 1 can be found here

When Kira came out of the shower-room, dressed in a deeply green sheath that set the gold and copper in her eyes aflame, Taun had to swallow his heart back down into his chest in order to continue setting up the dinner he'd prepared for her. His heart leaped again when he heard her small gasp of astonishment, and he held out a cup of mid-grade liquor he'd prepared for when she appeared. Her eyes, wide and beautifully expressive, took in the sight of various roots, talks, leaves and seeds arranged on plain steel plates and garnished with the few flowers he could spare, and rose to his with amazement as she took the drink. “Did you...?”

“Ah, yeah...” He had to control his eyes, trying not to focus too hard on the shape of her body under that clingy green fabric. “Is it too much?”

“It's...” Kira searched for the word. “It's incredible – you grew all this?”

Taun nodded. “Mm-hmm, I've gutted and refitted this ship and turned it into a mobile farm, basically. It keeps my food cost down and passes the time.” He didn't mention the secure rooms where he grew hallucinogenic herbs, fungus and algae just yet – he'd tell her about that particular income stream later.

“I haven't had fruit in probably six or seven years,” Kira breathed, staring greedily at a small cluster of bright yellow berries. “I don't even know what half of it is.” Her eyes sparkled, though, and she looked hungry enough to demolish it all. Taun wondered if she'd ever look at him in the same way. Don't get ahead of yourself. Instead, he invited her to sit on the mat he'd laid out on the floor – his only table was currently holding up a pallet of seedlings in the greenhouse. He watched her kneel, green fabric rippling around her legs as she reached for a cushion to sit on. Settling in, Kira took a drink and raised her eyes to the ceiling in bliss. “Oh my god... Don't tell me you do this all the time?”

Taun shook his head, grinning and lowering himself to sit. “I wish. I'll be honest, if you decide to stay we'll be eating leftovers for a while, then it'll be mostly protein bars and greens.” Taun found himself hoping she would stay.

“Sounds like paradise.” Kira took another sip and set her cup down. “It's still better than the colony, did you hear the part where I said I haven't had fruit in years?”

“I did. I don't always have fruit, either – the plants need to rest between crops, but I keep plenty of preserved stuff on hand. You won't go hungry unless something really bad happens, and even then it'll be a while before I run out.”

“Good to know. Can I...?” Kira gestured towards the food.

“Help yourself, I did this for you.”

She smiled. “Trying to win me over?”

Taun shrugged. “It gets lonely and cold out there, and my setup gets bigger every year, I could use the extra hands.”

“So it's not just about sex, then?” Kira picked an arrangement of fresh fruit and prepared vegetables, selecting pieces carefully. Taun paid attention to the pieces she picked and how quickly – they would be things she was familiar with or appealed the most to her. “When I read the notice, I kind of got the impression that being a pet is more like an arranged marriage than anything else.”

“It can mean a lot of things, depending on who's making the rules. That's what this is for, a chance to talk it over and see if we're looking for the same thing or if we can compromise. What led you to respond, if I may ask? It's... not common for humans to be interested in these things.”

“Can I be honest?” She popped a piece of fruit in her mouth, her tongue pink.

“I'd prefer it.”

Kira took a moment to chew before she answered. “I'm over thirty, I'm not married, and I don't want kids. These colonies tend to be on the conservative side, so if you're at least two of those things people start asking a lot of questions and getting into your business. There aren't many single women out here, so the guys can get annoying real fast – and pushy.”

Taun had to willfully settle his hackles. Already the thought of other men harassing this beautiful, obviously intelligent and amazingly bold woman had him feeling... fighty. Still, she was choosing a relationship that largely centered around sex over settling down, raising a family, being among her own people... “From what I understand, Rock 22 isn't a popular colony.”

“Nope, it's a mining colony, so the work is hard and supplies are expensive. And it's just a rock, there's nothing nice to look at or anywhere to go where you can forget what it's like being underground.” Kira raised her eyes again, this time to the profusion of greenery around and above. Some of the vines had become enmeshed with the wiring, and trails of leaves wound around the support frames Taun had left intact when he cut out bulkheads. Suddenly her eyes widened. “Is that a flower?”

Taun looked where she stared. In one of the supporting beams, in a hole he'd stuffed with moss and growing medium, a tiny white and yellow blossom had begun to unfold like a hand revealing a tiny, precious jewel. He smiled. “Drassian teaflower, one of my favorites. It just started doing that today.”

“All by itself?” Kira shot him a teasing glance, “I figured with you trying to make a good impression and all that...”

“Hey now, if you know how to make flowers bloom on command I may not let you leave.” Taun caught the flash of a grin. “It's just luck, and patience. And a lot more trial-and-error than I care to admit.”

“Isn't that everything?” Kira pulled her attention back from the plants and redirected it between him and the food. Despite not having fruit for years she ate with controlled but obviously sincere pleasure. Taun hoped she approached more than food in the same manner. He was more than content to just watch her, let her enjoy the meal uninterrupted while he enjoyed the view. The dress, probably home-made from whatever material she could scavenge or barter for, hugged her body from chest to hips before widening slightly, and the body under it was no disappointment – already he was imagining what she would feel like against his hands, his pelt, his mouth... Obviously Kira understood what a Leagan expected from his pet, and she must have chosen this outfit to show off what she had to offer in that respect. Sitting on the floor with her legs curled to the side, her hips and thighs strained the green cloth and Taun thought he could see the outline of a little roll in the crease between them. He bit his cheek in anticipation. “So, what about you? How does a guy with a mobile farm not already have a woman and a handful of kids?”

Taun scratched his head, fluffing his crest. “Like a lot of Leagans, I served time in the defense corps. Engineering, mostly. By the time I got out, most of the women were already settled and I guess I missed the window.” The immediate downcast of her eyes told him Kira knew about the fight against the Arakan, and the horrific attack on the Leagan genesis planet. “I guess you know about h'Leaga, then.”

Kira nodded soberly “News travels faster than supplies. I'm... I'm sorry, Taun.”

“Not your fault. We'll spring back in a generation or two, and I donate what I can.” Taun grinned at that. For all he knew there might be a hundred or so Leagan kids with his coloring, born from his 'donations' to gene banks over the years. He shook off the grief and had a drink. “Besides, raising children never really appealed to me either. I like doing what I do, trading and transporting and living my life. It's honest work... mostly.”

“Mostly?” That got her attention. “What does that mean?” Though she asked, a sly smile teased the corner of her mouth. Taun liked that.

“Well, I guess I should ask how you feel about... moving the occasional contraband cargo. Most of what I do is legit, but I don't see why I should pass up the opportunity to make a little extra untraceable funds now and then.”

Kira's eyes sparkled and she chuckled. “I should've guessed – you come all the way out here not because you want to provide us poor mining folk with fresh food, but because the authorities don't come out this far unless it's a big deal. You lure people in with oranges and berries, then you sell them... Let me guess, naash? Redthorn? Ayahuasca?”

“And cannabis, mushrooms, pills, all the good stuff. Not to mention poisons and rare plants for edgy collectors. Is that going to be a problem?”

“Hell no, fuck the police.” Kira grinned, giggling. “There's nothing else to do out here except work, let people have some fun.”

Taun breathed an internal sigh of relief. “Do you partake?”

“Not on the first date. Better safe than sorry, yeah?”

“No pressure. I can show you the grow-rooms if you're interested–“

“Plenty of time for that later. Right now, I'm curious about how long it's going to take before you finally crack.”

Taun blinked. “Hmm?”

Kira indicated the food. “You've barely touched anything, and the whole time I've been here you keep eating me with your eyes. Not that I mind, but it's pretty obvious you like me. And I like you, so we don't need to play games. I want off this rock, and playing pet for a guy who seems like he knows what he's doing is a hell of a lot better than rotting in a mineral mine with drunks and convicts pawing at me all the time.”

Taun blinked some more. She did seem eager to get away, but she was treading carefully. She made no unreasonable demands and seemed to accept what she was getting into. There was no legal tape, no binding contract – if things didn't pan out, he could always drop her off at another colony and start over – but for the most part she seemed willing. Her disdain for authority didn't hurt either. “What's the difference between getting pawed at by a convict and getting pawed at by me? I'm just curious.”

Kira rolled her eyes and sipped at her drink. “There's not a woman on the rock who hasn't been grabbed, rubbed on or slapped on the ass by some soggy prick who thinks he's being cute. Since I came here, though, you've been nothing but manners – I could've walked out of that shower buck-naked and you would've just stood there. I can tell already by how you act and talk that you won't do anything to me unless I say I'm good with it, and I like to think I'm a pretty good judge of character.”

Stunned, Taun could do little more than have another taste of his drink. It was true – she'd been giving him cues and openings all evening, from the moment she walked in, and he hadn't acted on any of them. She hadn't explicitly said he should, though her eyes feasted just as much as his. Hell, she'd touched him without asking, something Taun wouldn't have dared with any woman. Leagan women had claws too, and you could always tell a stupid male by the scars. “Well, you're right about a few things – I don't touch anything that doesn't belong to me, and I was raised by parents who didn't want me to lose an eye, so I'd agree with you on my character. And you don't seem to mind my odd jobs, which is good because I'm not giving those up – the money's just too good. As far as cracking goes...” He ran his eyes over her again, taking his time and making sure she saw. “Let's just say I'm made of sterner stuff.”

A slow smile spread from Kira's lips to her eyes. “The 'stuff' is what I'm interested in. I've met Leagans before, but I never had the chance to get really close to one... Do you know what a cat is?”

“Those little fluffy creatures that eat vermin? Yes, they're all the rage on some of the Leagan colonies at the moment.”

“Hmm.” She studied him for a moment, visibly working through a thought. It looked serious. “Would it be racist of me if I said you remind me of them?”

Taun laughed. Gods, I like her! She was so forthright, so clever and humorous, she cut through the bullshit and said exactly what she wanted to say, in such a way that he just couldn't be offended. “Maybe a little? But I don't mind, they're fine animals. Unless you're suggesting I eat vermin?”

“No, not at all.” Her smile returned and Kira looked relieved. “But... I kinda would like to pet you, if that's okay.”

The thrill that coursed through Taun's body was rapturous. He closed his eyes so she wouldn't see them roll back in his head, anticipatory pleasure briefly overwhelming his senses. To feel her smooth, brown fingers combing through his pelt, ruffling the coarse hairs on the back of his neck leading up to his crest, stroking his ears, chest and belly before moving lower... Taun gathered his courage and opened his eyes. “Only if I get to pet you, too.”

Part 3

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elsanna-shenanigans · 9 months ago

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December 2023/January 2024 Contest Submission #4: A Life Worth Living

Words: ca. 4,000 Setting: modern AU Lemon: no CW: Second Person POV

You were the kind of person that used salt as seasoning.

It was something your friends would regularly make fun of you for. They’d say your favorite dessert was vanilla ice cream and your favorite snack was crackers. When they came over for dinner, they’d bring their entire spice cabinet with them. During Friendsgiving, they’d fix you a plate of mashed potatoes and plain chicken as a joke.

And then it stopped being a joke when you asked for seconds.

This philosophy went far past your taste buds, everything you did lacked substance. You worked a steady 9-5 office job with no plans to move up the ladder. You went out with your friends on Saturday and did your grocery shopping and meal prep on Sunday. On your weekly calls with your mom, you’d always say you were doing fine, and every time she asked if there was anything new with your life, you’d say no. Almost with pride.

As far as you were concerned, the ideal life was one with no risks. No surprises. No spice. The ideal life was the one you were living.

But then you met her.

It was an unfortunate sequence of events that led to your encounter. A power outage caused your alarm clock to not go off in the morning. In a panic, you left your apartment with your hair wrangled into a ponytail, two different kinds of socks on your feet, and your coffee sitting on the kitchen table. No one even noticed you were late.

You tried to get back into your normal routine, but the lack of coffee was killing your attention span. And with the office coffee machine broken, you braved a trip to the coffee shop down the street that your coworkers always talked about. As soon as you stepped inside, it felt like all eyes were on you: the outsider, the mistake, the one perverting their sense of normalcy.

It was too much change with too little time to prepare, and it almost sent you into a panic. Even the nice, sweet-voiced barista couldn’t calm your nerves.

You took your small black coffee as soon as it was on the counter and turned to hurry back to the office. And that’s when you ran into her: the woman with the long, copper hair and the striking blue eyes. The coffee landed mostly on you, but the woman still stepped back. It gave you a full view of her denim shorts, vintage tee with a smiley face on it, and her brown, too-large flannel with the sleeves rolled up.

You’d never forget the first words she said to you: “Oh shit! I could have killed you!” Not knowing how to respond, you rushed to the bathroom to wash off the burning coffee stain.

She followed you into the bathroom, apologizing profusely as you ran your button-up under a sink. The water burned your fingers as badly as your stomach. Through gritted teeth and a pained hiss, you told her it was okay. These things happened.

“It shouldn’t have happened!” she said, sounding like she’d apologize for even being born if you asked. “I mean look at you with your shirt, and your pants, and your…hair. God, you’re probably some super important office person with a super duper important meeting to get to. I’ve totally ruined your morning, haven’t I?“

You told her you had no meeting; you didn’t tell her your morning wasn’t going well to begin with.

“And you’re so nice and understanding, ugh!” she exclaimed, pressing her back against the wall. “I’m horrible.”

By the time your shirt was free of coffee stain and smell, it was too drenched to put it back on yet. Thankfully, you were wearing an undershirt, but it was a tank top and your office had a dress code.

That was when the woman took off her flannel and held it out to you like a peace offering. You wanted to tell her you weren’t going to wear some random person’s shirt (flannel also went against the dress code), but her baby blue eyes changed things. Next thing you knew, you were buttoning up the flannel and she was telling you that you could go ahead and keep it.

“Like a gift, you know? Or an apology. Apology gift! Those are things.”

You shook her head, rejecting her apology gift, and promised to return it to her as soon as possible. You exchanged numbers for necessity, she put herself in your contacts as Anna, the Worst.

When you got back to the office, no one noticed your change in attire.

——————————————————————————-

It didn’t take long for Anna to become what you were dreading: a catalyst. Before she came along, everything about your life was fine– predictable and mundane, but fine. And she threatened to upend all that, to pull out your rails and reshape them into tracks full of unnecessary twists and turns.

Anna was the kind of person who would show up to your place of work with a bouquet as an apology and see nothing wrong with that. Anna was someone who would text you at ten at night and thank you for how soft her flannel was now. Anna was the only person you’d ever seen busking by the coffee shop where you’d first met, hugging anyone who put change in her guitar case.

She wasn’t a bad person, far from it, but she was the textbook definition of spontaneity and, dare you say it, whimsy.

It was a terrible way to live. You’d seen people you love act impulsively and it always ended badly. Your mom and dad got married at a drive-thru chapel in Vegas and divorced three years after you were born. One of your friends in high school jumped off a waterfall on a dare and drowned. You got a puppy to help with your anxiety and it ran away from home a week later.

At some point, you realized that doing anything outside of the norm would be punished by fate or karma or something.

So you played it safe. Anna never played it safe; one day she almost got hit by a car while running up to you on your way to the office. And all so she could ask: “Hey, I know this is super sudden but I’m going out with a couple of friends tonight for karaoke, and I was wondering if you wanted to come?”

It was the easiest no of your life. You were so well-practiced at rejection that you could do it in your sleep, and you’d perfected your craft so there would never be any hard feelings from the rejected. Though you still didn’t know Anna that well, you knew she wouldn’t be offended by the no.

So, why did you say yes?

——————————————————————————-

There was still time to back out of the invite by the time you got back to your apartment. You could have made up an emergency or told Anna you had to be up early for work the next morning. If all else failed, you could have been brutally honest with Anna and told her that being around her was bringing too much chaos into your life.

But then Anna sent you the address and said she couldn’t wait for you to come, and you replied saying that you felt the same.

The karaoke place was actually on the far side of a bowling alley (because of course it was). It consisted of a row of private rooms that you needed to rent out for an hour or two. Anna burst through one of the rooms when you arrived and greeted you with a hug that almost knocked you off your feet. She smelled like cherries, and her shorts were so short that they almost disappeared underneath her sweater styled to look like Van Gogh’s Starry Night.

Her two friends seemed okay, but since you didn’t know them you stuck with Anna the entire night. She didn’t seem to mind. They sang first– a couple of 80s pop songs from artists you probably should have known. And then, suddenly, all eyes were on you.

Exactly what you didn’t want.

Your plan coming into tonight was to try and blend into the background, hoping Anna and her friends would be having too much fun to notice you never sang a single word. The private room made that impossible enough, but now you had to deal with the purest form of peer pressure you hadn’t felt since high school.

This time, you do say no, but they insist on just one song. One song and they won’t bug you for the rest of the night. How wonderful, they were those kind of people.

Anna saved you, though. She told her friends that if you didn’t want to sing, then you didn’t have to. It should have made you question why she even asked you tonight in the first place, but Anna had her hand on your thigh while she was speaking.

So, you do sing a song. You don’t remember which one, just that it impressed the room enough that everyone started clapping. Anna didn’t look impressed, though, she looked proud. Proud. Maybe the two years you were forced to do middle school choir were good for something after all.

Anna was up next. You’d heard her singing before, but that was on the street through a crappy mic and muddled up with other people joining her. This was the first time you’d get to really hear her…and you weren’t prepared. From that first soft, sustained note, Anna lured you in like a siren on the shore. Her voice held the same attributes as her character, and for the first time, you actually found yourself enjoying her whimsiness.

And as she continued to sing, that enjoyment turned to admiration which turned into something much stronger. Much scarier. At the end of her song, amidst the wild and supportive clapping of her friends, Anna smiled at you.

You smiled back.

——————————————————————————-

From then on, you and Anna started spending more time with each other; sometimes with your friends, sometimes with her friends. Her initial introduction into your life may have been strong and sudden, but her growing on you was as subtle as a whisper in the wind.

What wasn’t subtle, however, was the change in how you felt about her. The karaoke night was merely a sign of things to come. Seeing Anna on your way to work went from an expectation to a need, she brightened up your morning more than any cup of coffee could. Your conversations were getting longer and more personal– sometimes you would even text her first. And worst of all, you started making your schedule fit around hers.

Maybe this shouldn’t have been a surprise. If you were being honest with yourself, your life was so air-tight that it was hard to breathe. Predictability could only lead you down one path. What would have happened if you didn’t like where you ended up?

Anna was the breath of fresh air you didn’t think you needed, she and her overalls and rainbow socks. Nothing about her life was planned out, she did what she wanted to do at any time, and things always seemed to work out for her. Anyone else might have made that look exhausting, but to her, it was an effortless dance.

Eventually, you realized the difference between you two: you knew how to live, but Anna knew how to be alive.

You fell for her. Hard. No one had ever made themselves such a priority in your life until Anna came along. It didn’t make sense, it went against your entire way of life, and if you thought you were scared before, well, now you were downright terrified.

So, you shut her out.

It started by ignoring her texts before it devolved into avoiding her altogether. This was hard to do since you’d set a routine of seeing each other almost every morning, but that was easily fixed by you getting to work much earlier than needed. You knew it wouldn’t take long for Anna to get suspicious, but you’d hoped she would read between the lines and leave you be. That didn’t happen.

After rejecting a dinner invitation, she confronted you.

“Did I do something wrong?” she asked early one morning as you were heading inside the office. “Because it feels like you’re avoiding me.”

You tell her, through a carefully crafted response, that things have changed a lot at work and it’s been putting you under a lot of stress. At first, it seemed like Anna believed you, but you should have known she was too smart to be fooled so easily.

“I know what it looks like when you’re stressed,” she said. “And this isn’t it. Elsa, just tell me if I did something wrong? Please?”

The word ‘please’ gripped at your heart, ready to squeeze it until it broke. Your plan had evaporated like the steam coming out of the coffee cup in Anna’s hand. It wasn’t her, you said, it was…life. Life was getting in the way, and you promised to be a better friend and not let life get to you.

“Or you could let me help you? Whatever’s going on, you don’t have to go through it alone.”

She reached for your hand, and maybe you should have let her take it. Because when you pull away, the look on her face etched itself into your mind. Anna looked hurt, like a puppy left on the side of the road watching their owner leave them through a cloud of exhaust. You pulled away even more as you told Anna she should just go, and you started making your way into the office.

“So, that’s it then? You’re shutting me out?”

You paused. You should have kept going– hell, even a slight hesitation may have been better– but instead, you paused. And that was the undoing for you both.

“After all the time we spent together, all the great, wonderful, amazing moments we shared, you’re just…done with me? With us? I-I can’t believe it! In the end, nothing mattered to you! I didn’t matter! Damn it, I was so stupid to think that maybe…that you…”

You clenched your fists as the grip tightened around your heart. Turning around, you say her name with a strained voice.

“Don’t,” she said sharply, rage overtaking her eyes where there once was pain. And she walked away, granting your wish.

——————————————————————————-

A month later, everything went back to normal. Once again, you lived your life on a well-kept routine with no surprises and no deviations. Things were exactly as they had been before Anna entered your life.

Except this time, you couldn’t enjoy it.

You continued to feel this ache in your chest, especially when you were alone. Wherever you went, the ghost of your past crept over your shoulder, ethereal whispers slipping between your ears. And of course you felt guilty over how you handled things with Anna, but you felt something even worse. Something you couldn’t understand or put into words until one of your scheduled talks with your mom.

Despite your shame, you told her everything. She didn’t judge you, nor did she shame you, but you could tell by her tone that she was still disappointed.

“My darling, when did you become so afraid of change?”

It was a long conversation, you never realized how much you had been holding in until the words left your lips. You laid everything out, from the feelings you harbored about her divorce with your dad, to the panic you felt when you were laid off from your first job, to everything you experienced with Anna.

You aren’t sure when you started crying. The tears were bitter and unearned; after all, you were crying over pain you caused. The word ‘sorry’ fell from your lips.

“You don’t have to apologize to me,” your mom replied soothingly. “You made a mistake, but that doesn’t mean you can’t learn and grow from it. That doesn’t mean you can’t make things right again.”

Make things right?

…oh.

Seeing Anna again was something you didn’t think you deserved– you certainly didn’t deserve to talk to her again. But your mom sounded so determined that it could happen, and selfishly you wanted the same. Anna was the best thing that ever happened to you; a person like her only came around once in a lifetime.

If you were going to make things right with Anna, your apology needed to be louder than the offense.

Louder…

You had an idea.

——————————————————————————-

The speaker let out a harsh pop as you plugged in the cord, causing you to jump back as you expected the thing to explode or burst into flames. The sparse early morning crowd gave you dirty looks as you waved apologetically at them, holding a guitar up as if that was supposed to explain things.

A part of you still wondered if you should have done something more subtle, but you’d made it too far to turn back now. Besides, subtlety wasn’t the point.

Employees from the coffee shop poked their heads outside, familiarity crossed their eyes followed by a pleasant look of surprise. They had no idea you were a busker like Anna, and that was because you weren’t. Singing was something you only did in the shower, and the only song you knew on the guitar was one you learned a week ago.

Once you checked to make sure that the guitar and microphone were on, the clock started ticking. You knew that just being out here would have your heart racing a mile a minute as the eyes of the world looked down on you. The slightest glare or the faintest chuckle felt like a knife twisting into your back, one mistake and your failure would be broadcasted for all to see.

But you refused to back down. This needed to be done for Anna; this needed to be done for yourself.

You tapped the microphone, a couple of people stopped to listen but everyone else was in too much of a hurry to get where they needed to be. That should have made things easier when you started talking, but it just made it feel like you were talking to a wall.

You told the infant sunrise that this was something you’d never done before, and you strummed a staggered chord. It rang out, sounding like it was supposed to, so you played the next chord. And the next one. You repeated the chord progression that took you hours to memorize and perfect, working up the nerve to get close to the microphone again.

But doubt started to creep in, instead. Its tendrils crept up your spine trying to pull you back from the world. You took a breath and it felt like breathing in water– ironic, considering your mouth had never felt dryer. And you were about to stop playing, but then you remembered why you were doing this. It wasn’t just for Anna, it wasn’t just to make up for what you did, it was because you wanted to know what it meant to be alive.

So you tried again. You stepped up to the mic and you started to sing. Soft and breathy at first, like you were still trying to hide, but you couldn’t help but get into it the longer you went on. And why wouldn’t you? It was the first song you heard Anna sing.

For a moment, you let yourself wonder if Anna chose this song at karaoke specifically because you were there. It may have been a coincidence, but the lyrics were so cheesy and romantic, and you found yourself finally understanding them. When the song was over, you were met with a sparse amount of applause and a few cents on top of the guitar case.

But Anna wasn’t there. Neither was she there after the second playthrough, nor the third. She didn’t arrive when a couple of the coffee shop employees figured out what you were doing and gave you a free bottle of water for support. She wasn’t there when a kind soul took time out of their day to teach you a new song to add to your repertoire. She was nowhere to be seen when a little girl gave you a balloon because she thought you were pretty.

You played well until the world was just as awake as the sky. Your throat was sore and so were your fingers, but you vowed to stay here until Anna showed up. And, much to your surprise, a small crowd had gathered to hear you play. When you told them that you only knew a couple of songs, not only did they not mind but some people even volunteered to teach you other ones. The coffee shop was giving out free cups of hot chocolate and cookie samples.

It all felt like some sort of fairy tale or a fever dream. All of these people were willing to take time out of their day to listen to some total amateur fumble their way through an impromptu concert. This was ridiculous (nonsensical, even), and yet…you couldn’t help but smile.

This was what you were missing: moments of pure, uncompromised humanity. Life was meant to be more than just something you lived through, it was something worth celebrating. And here you all were, laughing and singing and creating a moment to remember.

You didn’t notice Anna had arrived until she was right in front of you, making your heart stop with her blissful smile.

“Since when did you know how to play guitar?” she asked, letting out a breathy laugh.

Getting Anna’s attention was part of your plan, apologizing in front of a group of strangers was not. You hoped they would read the room and disperse, but they all stayed and held their collective breath, waiting to see what would happen. And to make things even better, Anna didn’t seem to mind having this conversation in public either.

Well, you committed to this grand gesture, you might as well see it to the end.

You had been holding on to your apology for so long that you had it memorized. But now that you could finally say it, you were hesitant. Not because you were having second thoughts, but because you realized that Anna was worth more than this. Your words needed to come from the heart, not from the head. So you let go of the words, and you said what you needed to say.

“Anna, life’s not worth living if you’re not in it.”

It was dangerous to dream, to hope that Anna’s response would be positive, and you braced for the worst. But as it turned out, there was no need to. Despite the growing crowd and the guitar still awkwardly hanging by your side, Anna closed the gap between you two, responding in a way that left nothing to interpretation.

——————————————————————————-

After a long (and thankfully private) conversation, you and Anna both agreed to try and make things work. She admitted that she was still hurt from you lying and avoiding her, and you promised to do everything you could to take that pain away. She believed you.

A couple of weeks later, you had your first official date at the same karaoke place where you first fell for her. This time, she was the one with the surprise when she said she fell for you that night too. Your second date was a week later. Three weeks after that, you had your third date and made things official.

Meeting Anna was the best thing that ever happened to you; she made life worth living. With her by your side, you learned to take things as they come rather than try to control every moment. You embraced the spontaneity that she brought to your routine. And, after more than a little help, your spice cabinet had never looked better.

#elsanna #December 2023 contest #prompt: spice #submission

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quartz-components · 10 months ago

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This is a set of 10, 240 ohm carbon film resistors with 1/4 Watt and 5% tolerance. Each resistor has strong leads and easy-to-read color coding for breadboarding. In addition, the leads are about 0.55 mm in diameter and are constructed of tin and copper plated over steel wire. This allows them to stand well with repeated inserts into the solderless panels.

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julang-company · 10 months ago

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Happy new year! we will hold the 2024 China(Guangzhou) International Metal & Metallurgy Exhibition in China.It is our pleasure to invite you to attend the Exhibition for business negotiations, scientific & technological exchanges talks. show time:May 11-13,2024 Exhibiting Scope: 1.Plate metal, Bar, Wire, Steel Rope , Metal Processing and Setting Equipment 2.Tube &Pipe Industry 3.Stainless Steel Industry 4.Die casting, Casting Products，Foundry, Heat Treatment and Industrial Furnace 5.Springs, Fasteners & Equipment 6.sheet metal Industry and Laser Equipment 7.Forging Industry 8.Non-Ferrous Metals ,Copper Venue: C Area, China Import and Export Fair Pazhou Complex More information,you can go to our website www.julang.com.cn/english or contact me Lisy Mobile :0086-15724068541 [email protected]

#metal #public exhibition #current events #stainless steel

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somediyprojects · 1 year ago

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DIY Sculptural Copper Coil Vases

Project by Kate Pruitt:

Grace, Amy and I have been experimenting with all kinds of copper, brass and aluminum products lately, and we all agree: soft, malleable metals are delightful. They won’t always bend precisely or do exactly what you want, but that’s part of their charm. So if you find this project a bit frustrating at first, the key is to let go and allow the coil to do what it will. In the end, you’ll wind up with something far more organically beautiful than anything I could draw a template for, and much more fun!— Kate

Materials

1/4″ x 20′ copper coil (you can find this in the plumbing section of hardware stores)

needle nose pliers

glass test tubes or some other cylindrical glass vessels

quick set epoxy

painter’s tape (optional)

Instructions

1. Cut a 24″ length of wire from the coil with your pliers. If your pliers don’t go all the way through the coil, you can just pinch the wire with the pliers, then push the coil back and forth on the pinched seam; this should cause the coil to break easily.

2. Begin bending your coil into a shape. There is no wrong way to do this. The coil bends very easily in your hands. Periodically place the shape down on a surface to see if it’s balancing, and if not, simply bend parts until it does. It doesn’t really matter what the bottom end does, but one end of the coil should be up high so that you can bend it to hold the vase.

3. Once you have your basic shape, use your pliers to pinch and bend the top end of the coil into a tighter circle. The coil won’t become a perfect circle — it will be more of an elliptical shape, but it needs to be small enough to slide your glass tube inside for a snug fit. Again, the coil won’t perfectly surround the shape of the tube, but as long as the elliptical shape pinches the mouth of the tube to hold it in place, and some part of the copper touches the tube on both sides, you’re fine.

4. Slide the glass tube into the copper ring you made to check the shape. If it’s too tight, loosen the ring a bit; if it’s too loose, pinch it shut a little. The tube should be able to slide in and out gingerly, and the sides of the tube should touch the copper coil ring at two points around its circumference.

5. Remove the tube again and mix up a small batch of epoxy (follow the epoxy’s instructions for mixing) onto a jar lid or paper plate. You can use a popsicle stick, pencil or small paintbrush to mix and apply epoxy. Place a small ring of epoxy around the spot where you want the tube to hit the coil ring. I varied the height of my tubes: the shortest sticks up 1″ above the copper ring, and the longest sticks up 3″ above.

6. Slide the tube back into the copper ring until the epoxy hits the inside of the copper ring, then stop. Straighten the tube so it’s perfectly vertical, and put it aside for the epoxy to set. If your vase wants to slide out or wiggle during this process, you can use a piece of painter’s tape to hold the vase in place while the epoxy sets.

7. Once the epoxy has set, you can remove the tape. You can clean off any excess epoxy by scraping it gently with a utility knife or paint-scraping blade. You can also make final adjustments to the copper shape if desired.

Done!

#diy #crafts #home decor #x

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maninafrica · 1 year ago

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Chapter 4

Her body twisted effortlessly as she turned to envelope and wrap her arms around me .. sliding her tongue deeper into my mouth.

I felt it flutter, like a delicate butterfly , beating its wings in a gleeful frenzy.. teasing me as I tried to consume her.

She withdrew it slowly .. sliding it out through my lips , I was desperate to keep some part of her inside me. The tip curled cunningly, sliding under my top lip softly. I felt that desire and yearning again.

It whispered through me , rumbling up like a summer thunderstorm above the hot dry Savannah grasslands.

[yourname]’s tongue flicked and danced under my lip before dragging its tip , tickling up my nose before settling around an eye socket. Her mouth no longer a danger but a succulent loving warmth that left my face wet . I didn’t even care.

[yourname] wriggled her hips to turn over and her shoulders followed. I wrapped an arm around her , my hand firmly cupping and holding her tit, pressing it tight against her chest like it was her beating heart and I was its only protector. I wedged her little nipple between two fingers.

I pulled her close , feeling the length of her body fit into mine. The touch of skin , electric along its whole length. It stunned me , and i felt a glowing yearning covering my like a blanket. I wanted nothing else but to remain like this till the world rolled and the sands of time blew over us , turning us into ageless stone being stared at by the stars.

The movement was so slight I didn’t know if I felt it or not. She held my hand pressed hard against her breast with force, but her hips rocked slowly. So slowly. Like the lap of waves against the shore. Gentle but Relentless. The tide started to come in.. and she arched her smooth buttocks up, grinding them down with increasing urgency against my loins. I shifted awkwardly .. wedging my rising cock between her cheeks so she couldn’t edge me. Her body moaned softly and the tide broke over me.

Slowly , I lifted my thick thigh against the back of hers , forcing her delectable derrière up. I could feel a warm wetness as the juices of [yourname] insatiable cunt began to run down the back of her leg. Reaching down , I rubbed my shaft through the mess , pushing and mopping the slick into a puddle I could dip and roll around in.

And her hips swayed like the pacific waves.

I suddenly realized her tailplug was gone. A shockwave sent the hairs on my neck ablaze . A bubble rose slowly and popped somewhere deep in my simmering blood stream. The heat was almost uncomfortable as my heart thumped everything into my engorging cock.

It was lukewarm compared to the dark crevice between her legs. The tiny fissure of a long dormant volcano unable to be contained anymore. I had reawoken [yourname]’s soul.

She twisted against me , pressing her head to my chest as her mouth sought my ear.

“ I need you to love me , just in this moment. Fill the last hiding place I have and claim me completely. Tear me apart and hurt me if you must. Destroy me. Set yourself on fire so we can become a pile of ash irrelevant to the world , together. “

I smothered her words, sucking them into my mouth and stealing her breath.

She sucked them back in a gasp as the tip of my shaft marauded towards her copper penny. I grabbed one ass cheek roughly and with force , lifting it to open her rudely. My fingers pressed into her flesh for purchase and I guided [yourname] down onto me.

We lay like that silently for a moment .. each of us waiting in anticipation for the collision that would mark the end of both our worlds.

A shooting star screamed a white hot blaze overhead as the tip of my cock pressed against [yourname]’s hole . It buckled inward at the pressure but remained firm in its determination to stay closed. She was so stubborn .

I pushed my hips forward with the slow force of a tectonic plate . I thought my shaft would bend and buckle , but it held strong , firm as a steel monolith.

Slow.

I could sense her mouth open and her eyes shut tight as she winced at the pressure.

Her hole began to open slightly .. reluctantly.

The muscle bands of her sphincter unfolding and stretching. Like a rubber band pulled to its breaking point .. and held there.

Time stopped and the warm breeze paused to listen for a twang.

Suddenly, there was give. The head of my cock plunged forward an inch .. like the tip of a spear piercing through the stretch of a taunt hide.

[yourname] cried out sharply .

“ ouaawww .. slowly .. please slowly .. it hurts .”

She whimpered and held back a sob.. panting to try contain and master the pain.

I was doing the same .. my eyes shut tight as she clamped my cock in her hot vice. The ring around my head holding my shaft with immense force.

I pushed in more .. my throbbing veins fighting not to collapse as they pushed groves into her delicate anal skin.

[yourname]’s whimpering was arousing but swung through my body like a scythe cutting wheat. It tore me down onto a hollow husk. She was all I could have , all I could be and was. She owned me. And we were married in flesh and soul as the moon blushed above us.

I continued to push .. giving her everything the universe would allow me to. She was holding her breath in a lip bitten gasp, but now released it as if I was pushing the air out her body myself.

I felt at any moment she would split clean in two. I needed her to accept me .. I would make her.

The skin on my cock slide over the shaft like a rug on a polished floor as [yourname] held me .. her hips gyrating in time to mine as she accommodated me . I felt her inner tubes hugging me even as I pushed .

“ Fuck ! … Fuck fuck fuck ! “ my pleas were the amalgamation of every fiber in my body as they went twang .

“… Mon amour , … , … , “

My heart surged as it prepared for the frantic wild bucking .. I grabbed her hips with both hands and pulled myself into her with all I had.

“… please , please , … Mon amour “

[yourname] turned to look at me , her face was flushed and red and her eyes glazed with primal lust .

“ show me “ she whispered.

#bd/sm kink #cnc free use #rough cnc #submisive and breedable #bd/sm slave #breeding bitch

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thelabeldg · 6 days ago

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Tips to buy womens artificial jewellery online

Recently, purchasing women's artificial jewelry online has become very popular due to its affordability, variety, and easy access to the latest trends. Artificial jewelry is great for trying out styles without breaking the bank, and it's wonderful for accessorising for any occasion-be it a wedding or just daily wear. However, the problem is that with so many online stores available, finding quality artificial jewelry can be a challenge. Here, we have been able to give you critical tips to buy womens artificial jewellery online so that you enjoy fashion trends and get value for money. If you are searching for the best online store, then get fantastic trendy and quality artificial jewelry at The Label DG.

1. Determine your style and purpose

Find out what style and intent you are looking for from the jewelry you want to buy before starting your search. Are you going to opt for bold statement pieces for the event you are going to attend in the near future or something really elegant and minimalistic, which you can wear often? Knowing your style, interest and occasion will help you save time and narrow down some choices. For example:

Casual Outfit: Stick to simple accessories that are delicate and non-weighty. Some great options include the stud earring, small bracelets, or pendants.

Gala Events: You should opt for some bold, statement necklace or chandelier earrings or glamorous bangles to complement such festive or formal dresses.

2. Set Budget

Artificial jewelry comes at different price ranges. It is important to have some budget in mind. Budgeting will narrow down the available options according to your pocket so that you avoid shopping out of impulse. Sometimes, it is just a general myth that price defines quality: with the right shopping strategies, good quality jewelry doesn't come cheap. Some online portals, like The Label DG, offer you a variety of products at good prices but resemble the premium level, so you don't have to break your bank for looking glamorous.

3. Look For Genuine Online Websites

A quality online store enhances the quality of a product as well as proper customer care. Research about the store's reputation is necessary before making any order by checking comments on social media, even third-party sites. Such stores always have crisp images, long descriptions, and honest information. Navigation of pages, security check at the checkout, and contact information on the pages should be easily available in case of any inquiries.

4. Quality of Product Description and Materials

The nature of materials that go into manufacturing fake jewelry can be very instrumental in both durability and look. There is much one has to pay attention to when reading the descriptions. Check out for materials, such as alloys and metals, in which most fake jewelry pieces will be produced, such as brass or copper. Some can then have some gold or silver plating for an added luxurious feel without shelling out all that money for pieces made of real gold or silver.

Stone Details: If there are stones or crystals inside the jewelry, then observe whether they are cubic zirconia, rhinestones, or just synthetic stones. This may give an idea of its quality and shine.

Quality stores like The Label DG can always tell the customer regarding the material they use, to enable a more informed consumer choice.

5. Measurements and Size

Probably, the most common problem with buying jewelry online is sizing. Since you cannot try them on before buying, you need to read the dimensions included in the product description. Compare these to a piece you already own so that you know what size to expect. Rings, necklaces, and bangles should all have measurements included in the description. If you know these details, you can avoid disappointment and make sure the jewelry fits well with your intended outfits.

6. Hypoallergenic Products If You Have Sensible Skin

If your skin is sensitive, it would be wise to see if the jewelry is hypoallergenic. People tend to react to particular metals such as nickel. One may wish to avoid the issue and select nickel-free products or materials that are known for their hypoallergenic effects. Many online vendors usually have indicated if their items can be used on delicate skin.

7. Returns and Exchange Policies

With any purchase, you are likely to get a piece that may not be exactly what you had in mind sometimes. A good return and exchange policy will let you shop with confidence. Research the store's policies on any return window, conditions for returning, and any type of restocking fee involved before making your purchase, especially if you are purchasing jewelry as a gift in case you need to return it.

8. Sales and discount

Many online jewelry stores sell things on seasonal sales and have discounts and coupon codes that could be used. There's always a chance to find exquisite jewelry at a lower price because of the discounts. Sign up with your favourite stores for updates regarding the sales. Label DG has special offers so you can easily find your great-looking jewelry within budget.

9. Check Customer Photos and Reviews

Customer reviews and photos are the best way to get an idea of what the jewelry will look like. The experiences of other customers help you judge the quality, durability, and appearance of the pieces. Look for photos of the jewelry being worn or paired with different outfits to see how it looks in real life.

10. Tips on How to Care and Maintain Artificial Jewelry

Proper care will ensure your jewelry is in pristine condition once you make the purchase. Artificial jewelry may tarnish or lose its shine after a while. Here's how to take care of it:

Avoid Water and Chemicals: Keep your jewelry away from water, perfumes, and lotions because they can tarnish the metal or affect the stones.

Store Carefully: Store your pieces in a jewelry box or a soft cloth pouch to avoid scratches.

Clean Gently: Take off your jewelry and then wipe it with a gentle cloth to remove oils and dirt that can tarnish.

Why Shop at The Label DG?

If a person wants to buy online artificial jewelry, then it needs a store that sells quality products in style. Label DG is an excellent choice for anyone as they have a huge collection of trendy, affordable pieces of jewelry for any occasion, whether it is classic design or statement pieces, designed to detail for quality high-looking items.

Conclusion

Online purchase of women's artificial jewelry can be easily done as it is pocket-friendly too if followed by some tips while choosing and purchasing artificial jewelry so you enjoy your purchases. Now you would find all the needed jewels suitable for you to look different in either daily activities or on occasions. And here, in The Label DG, is a platform through which you can build a richly stylish collection of artificial jewelry as well as find exactly those pieces to add the necessary elegance to your wardrobe.

#Tips to buy womens artificial jewellery online

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believe369com · 18 days ago

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Understanding 7075 Aluminum Composition and Its Applications

2024-10-21

7075 aluminum alloy is one of the strongest and most widely used aluminum alloys in high-performance industries, such as aerospace, automotive, and military applications. Known for its incredible strength-to-weight ratio, it is often the go-to material when durability and lightweight characteristics are essential. In this guide, we will delve into the composition of 7075 aluminum, its key properties, common applications, and why Shandong Union Aluminium Co., Ltd. is a leading supplier for high-quality aluminum products, including 7075 aluminum 6061 Aluminium Diamond Plate.

What is 7075 Aluminum Alloy?

7075 aluminum is a high-strength aluminum alloy with zinc as its primary alloying element. It belongs to the 7000 series of aluminum alloys, which are renowned for their strength, toughness, and resistance to corrosion, making them ideal for demanding industrial uses.

The exact composition of 7075 aluminum is as follows:

Zinc (Zn): 5.6-6.1%

Magnesium (Mg): 2.1-2.5%

Copper (Cu): 1.2-1.6%

Iron (Fe): 0.5% (maximum)

Silicon (Si): 0.4% (maximum)

Manganese (Mn): 0.3% (maximum)

Titanium (Ti): 0.2% (maximum)

Chromium (Cr): 0.18-0.28%

Aluminum (Al): Balance (85-90%)

Key Properties of 7075 Aluminum

The 7075 aluminum composition gives it a unique set of characteristics that make it highly desirable in various applications:

1. High Strength

7075 aluminum is one of the strongest commercially available aluminum alloys, comparable to some steels. Its high yield strength makes it ideal for applications requiring strong materials but where keeping weight to a minimum is important.

2. Lightweight

Despite its strength, 7075 aluminum remains lightweight, making it perfect for industries where minimizing weight is critical, such as aerospace and automotive sectors.

3. Excellent Fatigue Resistance

The alloy’s ability to withstand cyclic loading (fatigue) ensures it performs well under conditions where repeated stress is applied, such as in aircraft components.

4. Good Machinability

Although 7075 aluminum is harder than many other alloys, it is still easy to machine, especially in the T6 condition, making it popular in manufacturing processes.

5. Corrosion Resistance

Although it is not as corrosion-resistant as other aluminum alloys like 6061, 7075 aluminum can be treated with protective coatings or anodizing to improve its resistance to corrosion.

Common Applications of 7075 Aluminum

Thanks to its high strength, 7075 aluminum is used in a wide variety of high-performance applications where durability and lightweight properties are essential.

1. Aerospace Industry

7075 aluminum is extensively used in aircraft structures, including wings, fuselage components, and landing gear parts. The aerospace sector relies heavily on its superior strength-to-weight ratio, which helps in improving aircraft performance and fuel efficiency.

2. Automotive Industry

In automotive engineering, 7075 aluminum is used in performance-critical parts such as suspensions, shafts, and other structural components. It helps to reduce the weight of vehicles, thus improving fuel efficiency and performance.

3. Sporting Equipment

High-end sporting equipment, such as bicycle frames, climbing gear, and hockey sticks, are made from 7075 aluminum for its strength and low weight, giving athletes a performance edge.

4. Military Applications

7075 aluminum is used in the military for manufacturing weapons, armor, and other components that require superior strength and durability in harsh environments.

5. Marine and Offshore

Certain parts of boats, marine vessels, and offshore equipment are made from 7075 aluminum due to its strength and ability to handle the cyclic stresses found in marine environments.

Shandong Union Aluminium Co., Ltd.: A Leading Supplier of Aluminum Alloys

Shandong Union Aluminium Co., Ltd. is a trusted supplier of high-quality aluminum products, including 7075 aluminum. Founded in 2011 and located in Gangcheng District, Jinan, the company covers an area of 1.2 square kilometers and boasts a designed production capacity of 360,000 tons.

The company specializes in the Research & Development, production, and marketing of aluminum and aluminum alloy flat rolling products. With advanced technology and high-production capacity, they ensure that clients get premium-quality aluminum products at competitive prices.

Products Offered by Shandong Union Aluminium Co., Ltd.:

Aluminum Ring

Aluminium Sheet

Aluminium Coil

Aluminium Circle

Aluminum Checker Plate

Aluminium Tread Plate

Aluminium Embossed Coil

Aluminium Coating Coil/Sheet

Aluminium Foil

7075 Aluminum vs. Other Aluminum Alloys

When comparing 7075 aluminum with other aluminum alloys, it’s important to consider the following differences:

1. 7075 vs. 6061

Strength: 7075 is much stronger than 6061, making it ideal for structural applications where strength is paramount.

Corrosion Resistance: 6061 is more resistant to corrosion than 7075, making it a better choice for applications exposed to water or moisture.

Cost: 7075 is generally more expensive due to its higher strength properties.

2. 7075 vs. 2024

Strength: Both 7075 and 2024 are high-strength alloys, but 7075 is generally stronger.

Fatigue Resistance: 7075 aluminum has better fatigue resistance, making it a more suitable choice for high-stress applications.

Corrosion Resistance: 2024 is more corrosion-resistant than 7075, though both can be treated to improve corrosion resistance.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. What is the primary use of 7075 aluminum?

7075 aluminum is primarily used in high-performance applications such as aerospace, automotive, military, and sporting goods. Its combination of strength and lightweight properties makes it a go-to material for critical structural components.

2. Can 7075 aluminum be welded?

Welding 7075 aluminum can be challenging due to its high strength and susceptibility to cracking. It is not typically recommended for welding without specific techniques, such as friction stir welding.

3. How does 7075 aluminum compare to steel?

7075 aluminum is comparable to steel in terms of strength but is much lighter. This makes it an attractive option in industries where reducing weight is crucial without compromising strength.

Comparison Table: 7075 Aluminum vs. Other Aluminum Alloys

Property7075 Aluminum6061 Aluminum2024 AluminumTensile StrengthHighModerateHighCorrosion ResistanceModerateHighModerateMachinabilityGoodExcellentGoodWeldabilityDifficultExcellentFairFatigue ResistanceExcellentModerateGoodCommon ApplicationsAerospace, Automotive, MilitaryConstruction, MarineAerospace, Automotive

Conclusion: Why 7075 Aluminum is a Top Choice for High-Performance Applications

In summary, 7075 aluminum composition combines strength, fatigue resistance, and lightweight properties, making it an essential material for high-performance applications. Whether you’re in the aerospace, automotive, or sporting goods industry, this alloy offers unmatched performance for structural components that require both durability and low weight.

By choosing a reliable supplier like Shandong Union Aluminium Co., Ltd., businesses can ensure they receive top-quality aluminum products, including 7075 aluminum, that meet the most stringent industry standards.

For any business looking to incorporate 7075 aluminum into their products, understanding its properties, comparing it with other alloys, and selecting the right supplier are essential steps in making the most of this high-strength material.

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