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area51-escapee · 7 months ago
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If you’re spreading “vote blue no matter who” shit in the Palestine tag I think you deserve to be beaten with a stick actually.
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melishade · 5 months ago
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Attack on Prime New Age Anthology: The Message
Main Story
Alright everyone! We are officially starting the New Age Anthology, which will be starting from the Autobot perspective during the last few chapters and the aftermath of Guren No Yumiya. These pieces will be extremely important for the final chapters that will get published once I'm done with my HIATUS. But first, we go back to Retaliation III.
Ratchet waved goodbye to a patient as they left his office after their check up. He lowered his servo before taking a deep breath and sighing. He didn't need to. He had no real use for breathing, but the humans' techniques were rubbing off on him. The doctor than picked up his datapad to update the patient's chart.
Ratchet was...trying his best to heal. Or at the very least, keep himself occupied these days. Part of him was happy to be back home. Another part of him felt guilty for neglecting his duties to Earth. He had sworn to stay there, feeling that was where he was initially needed, but...after everything that happened four years ago with Unicron...and losing Optimus...
Ratchet shook his helm. He didn't need to think about that right now. It still hurt that Optimus was gone, but...his sacrifice wasn't in vain. Cybertron was alive and rebuilding everything that was lost. There's actual peace on the planet. All of their struggles and suffering wasn't for nothing. And...at the very least Optimus can rest easy. Hopefully, Optimus knew that his sacrifice led to a strong legacy. There was still division among the people, and there was still much rebuilding to be had, but progress was being made. And that was something Ratchet himself needed to take joy in.
Ratchet walked over to an energon dispenser and picked up a small cube for himself. He couldn't find himself eating rust sticks or drinking high grade. He wasn't ready for that yet, but it was nice to actually not worry about finding energon or dying from a lack of it. The medic then walked over to a chair situated in front of a computer screen and took a sip of his energon before updating his chart. Ratchet grumbled at the notifications on his datapad. All this work that needed to be done in such little time. Maybe he should get an assistant. That seemed like the best course of action.
Ratchet's audio receptors twitched a little when he heard buzzing on the computer screen next to him. He turned to the screen and saw nothing but static in his vision. Odd. Had the systems malfunctioned again? Ratchet was about to take a look at the wiring, but he stopped when he heard-!
Hello?! Can any hear me?!
Ratchet turned his attention back to the static to see an image forming. It...it was a human. A dark-skinned human male was sending an S.O.S. to Cybertron?! How?! Where was this coming from?! Ratchet saw more of the monitor clearing up and the signal from a planet was coming into view. And that signal...he recognized it...was that from Wheeljack's ship?!
I hope this works because we’ve been scavenging for resources to reach you! My name is Onyankopon! I’m a friend of Wheeljack’s, and we really need your help! Our world is ravaged by the power of the titans, and they have been used to enslave and dominate the world for over 2,000 years! And there’s someone who wants to activate millions of Colossal Titans and use its power to flatten and burn the world into ash! Every nation, every person, every tree and flower will be destroyed if this power is activated! And the longer we wait, the higher chance this power will get activated and end the world! The people in my country will be destroyed if you don’t help!
Ratchet was taken aback by the slew of information. Wheeljack was working with humans?! Colossal Titans?! Wait, what about Arcee?! Where in the Allspark was she?! Ratchet then saw another human come into view of the video message.
My name is Hanji Zoe: Commander of the Survey Corps! I’ve been working tirelessly to stop the Rumbling from happening! So have Wheeljack and Arcee! And so has Optimus!
Ratchet dropped both the datapad and the energon still in his servos. He couldn't listen to the rest of the message as this 'Hanji Zoe' continued rambling on. Optimus...Optimus was...no that's impossible. Optimus wasn't...isn't! Alive?! How?! Ratchet watched him die! He couldn't be alive! Ratchet found that his servos were trembling in fear. What did this mean?! What was going on?!
"Evening, Doctor." Knockout greeted as he walked into the room. The former Decepticon paused when he saw the message playing on the screen of the two humans screaming out in desperation.
We just want peace! We just want to live! So please help us!
Help us save our world! Please! HELP US!
Knockout watched the message cut to static before somehow replaying again. "Ratchet, what's-..." His word died in his throat when Ratchet turned to him with sheer panic etched into his faceplates.
"Go get Ultra Magnus and the others! NOW!" Ratchet barked at him.
===
Ratchet was hunched over on a bench, tapping his pede impatiently. Bumblebee was pacing back and forth around the room while Bulkhead crossed his arms, looking worried himself. Ultra Magnus was currently talking to Knockout regarding the video that assumingly came from Wheeljack's ship. Smokescreen was the last to arrive, running down the hall to meet up with his comrades.
"Sorry, I'm late," Smokescreen apologized, "What did I miss?"
"Some humans sent an S.O.S. from Wheeljack's ship," Bulkhead explained.
"Is Wheeljack in danger?!" Smokescreen exclaimed.
"Maybe," Bulkhead confessed "The humans sounded urgent."
"So then, shouldn't we go help Wheeljack and Arcee?! They need us right!" Smokescreen proclaimed.
"It got complicated," Bumblebee explained, but didn't stop his pacing.
"Complicated how?!" Smokescreen demanded.
"They're saying Optimus is alive," Bumblebee answered.
"Whoa, what?!" Smokescreen yelled.
"Knockout, are you sure?" Ultra Magnus questioned the medic.
"Look, I did pick up a thing or two from Soundwave, and I've run diagnostics multiple times." Knockout pointed to the screen with the two humans, "That thing is real."
"Run it again!" Ratchet ordered him.
"I. Already. Have!" Knockout enunciated, "There's nothing else besides those coordinates that came from the ship!"
"If there were humans using Wheeljack's ship to send a message, Wheeljack had to be the one that taught them how to do it," Bulkhead surmised.
"But Optimus being alive?!" Smokescreen spoke up, "I can't tell if it's a good or bad thing!"
"Optimus being alive can very well be a lie," Bumblebee proclaimed, "Before you were part of the team, we've had one too many calls with clones and doppelgangers. We can't take this lightly...even if the humans on the call sound desperate."
"What do we do?" Ratchet demanded, "What in the Allspark do we even say? Do we tell the council about this? How in the Allspark did Optimus end up on another planet full of humans? If that even is him?!"
"...I'm gonna contact Raf," Bumblebee declared as he walked up to the computer screen.
"Bee, I doubt Rafael is going to be much help," Knockout proclaimed, "If anything, he'll probably get the same results I have: that it's authentic."
"We need to be sure." The screen lit up and the familiar sound of a ringing phone was heard. The screen then changed to show an adult Rafael in a lab coat waving to them.
"Bee, it's been so long!" Rafael greeted with a smile.
"Hey, Raf," Bumblebee greeted with a tight smile, "Can you help us out with something?"
"Oh, look at that! The Bots only call us when they need something!" Miko jabbed at them as she came into view.
"For Primus' sake, Miko! This is important!" Ratchet shouted in anger.
"Whoa! Ratchet what's wrong?!" Jack demanded out of confusion.
"Something came up." Bumblebee typed something before sending the message over to Rafael, "Can you scan this to see if there's been any alterations?"
"Sure." Rafael noticed the message coming up on his screen and began to type away to inspect it. "Colossal Titans? Apocalypse? Whoa! Optimus is alive!"
"Shit! WHAT?!" Miko screeched.
"I thought you guys said you all watched him dive into the center of Cybertron!" Jack recalled.
"We did! But these humans are saying that he's alive!" Bumblebee explained.
"When was this sent?!" Rafael demanded.
"We don't know, the signal was weak!" Knockout answered.
"Shouldn't we go check it out?!" Miko insisted.
"This could very well be deception," Ratchet reminded, "We take this chance, we could very well be falling into a trap."
"But what about Optimus?!" Smokescreen exclaimed, "We can't leave him, right?!"
"We don't know if it's him," Bulkhead reminded.
"But shouldn't we go and find out!" Smokescreen turned to Bumblebee, "Bee, back me up here!"
Bumblebee looked at Smokescreen with apprehension. "Smokescreen...I don't know...I really don't want to get my hopes up here."
"But don't you want to go and check it out?!" Smokescreen pressed on.
Bumblebee's shoulders slumped in defeat before he covered his optics. "By the Allspark, I do really want to see if it's true."
"Wait, are we really going down there on the off chance that this message is real and Optimus is somehow alive?!" Knockout demanded.
"I do not believe for one second that Optimus Prime is alive," Ultra Magnus spoke up, "But based on the urgency of the message, Wheeljack and Arcee may very well be in immediate danger, and we need to help the comrades that are still alive. We need to go to this planet, investigate it, and bring Arcee and Wheeljack back home."
"What are you going to tell the council about Optimus?" Bumblebee asked.
"Nothing," Ultra Magnus answered, "That portion of the report can be false. I will just tell them this is a rescue operation for our Autobots."
"We should come too!" Jack declared on the other end of the call, "If this planet has humans, then you'll need us now more than ever to be your face!"
"Very well." Ultra Magnus nodded his helm, "Speak with Agent Fowler to get your equipment ready!"
"On it!" Miko immediately ran off the screen.
"I'm helping triangulate coordinates!" Rafael furiously typed on the keyboard.
"As for the rest of you!" Ultra Magnus addressed the Autobots, "Cancel any and all plans you have for today! The mission is top priority now! I will get the Iron Will prepared for transport! Knockout, Ratchet, prepare the medical bay for anyone injured! Bumblebee, Smokescreen, Bulkhead, get any weapons for an offensive attack! Dismissed!"
"Yes, sir!" The Autobots immediately dispersed to perform their individual tasks. As Bumblebee followed Smokescreen down the hall, the Warrior paused in his step. He remembered a plan he had today and activated his comm. link.
==
Rung was quietly taking notes in his office and organizing his schedule for the next few days. The therapist turned his attention to the window, seeing the bustling life of Cybertron, and smiled. He was extremely happy to see how everything was flourishing. There was still much to be rebuilt, but he was happy to see life returning to his home once again.
Rung blinked when he heard the familiar 'ping' of his comm. link in his audio receptor. "Hello?"
"Hey, Rung," Bumblebee greeted.
"Hello, Bumblebee," Rung greeted with a smile, "Is everything alright? I'm still expecting you for your appointment in an hour, right?"
"Yeah, I'm...gonna have to cancel. I'm sorry," Bumblebee apologized, "I know it's last minute, and I'll pay the cancelation fee soon. I promise."
"Oh no. What happened?" Rung asked with concern.
"Well...looks like you were right about me seeing Arcee and Wheeljack sooner rather than later." Rung felt his spark drop at Bumblebee's words, "But it sounds like they're in trouble, so the Bots and I need to help them out. I don't know how long it will take-!"
"I understand, Bumblebee," Rung replied with a tight voice, "Go save your comrades. And consider the cancelation fee waived."
"Wait, are you sure?" Bumblebee asked in surprise, "I swear I can-!"
"I know for a fact that Arcee is important to you," Rung declared, "Bring her home."
"Thank you, Rung," Bumblebee sighed with relief, "I'll make it up; I swear."
"Good luck, Bumblebee." Rung had disconnected his call with Bumblebee before calling the front desk, "Cancel all appointments for the rest of the day."
"Rung, are you sure?" the receptionist asked in surprise.
"Yes, something came up," Rung replied, "Take the day off. I'll be closing the office early and you will be given paid time off."
"Oh...um...thank you,"
"You're welcome." Rung disconnected the call before sitting up from his desk, abandoning his work in the process. The therapist removed his glasses and threw them on the desk. He began to walk around the room, rubbing his optics in frustration. He stared at the ceiling, trying to hold back his tears, but he couldn't help it and they began to fall.
Rung collapsed to his knees and fell forward. His servos clenched into fists and openly wept.
"Optimus, forgive me," Rung pleaded, "Forgive me for my inaction and mistakes. Forgive me, please."
(And the New Age Anthology begins! The publishing schedule? IDK. It'll be erratic, probably. But I hope you guys enjoy what I'm going to put out!)
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lostonehero · 3 months ago
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Mini mech fic or something
Marius isn't dumb he just can't read common
DTTM came and passed, and they were still around. None of them truly knew what to do now as their mechanisms became more ingrained into their bodies, Brian was suffering the most, not remembering that he was never human and trying to cope with vio metal and new forms. Although Ivy, Raphaella, Nastya, and Aurora were transfixed on a book Ivy found on their most recent stop for supplies.
"I have no record of this language in any of my databases." Aurora chirps. "How very exciting something new."
"Or old." Ivy hums. "I've never seen pages made from this material. It's a poisonous substance made inert by making it into a paper like substance."
"The medical diagrams are quite fascinating. I wonder what species this book pertains to. I want to experiment on them." Raphaella's tone was full of growing excitement something not heard since DTTM.
Nastya smirks. "We could use this to find a new adventure."
The four continue to chatter excitedly until a metal hand grabs the book.
The four shout at the same time. "Marius!"
Marius hums thumbing through the book.
Ivy scoffs. "Just what are you doing? You can't possibly read that."
Marius hums. "Hmmm? Oh, it's a heat guide for before and after. Haven't seen something like this in ages. I misplaced mine after Carmillia took me. This is an updated version.... huh, I didn't know that was possible." He continues to thumb through the pages.
"A heat guide?" Raphaella raised a brow. "What does a heat even mean?"
"Nothing you have to worry about." Marius hums softly.
Nastya pulls the book away from Marius. "Seriously, you can't possibly be able to read this. The language is not in Aurora's database or Ivy's archive."
Marius blinks. "That's because Ivy won't let me put my journals into her archive!" He pulls out a journal from one of his pockets and opens it. The written language is identical to the book. "I handwrite everything I can't actually read common. All my texts books I've bound myself."
Ivy pauses. This explains why Marius only picks up audio romance books and whatever other books he takes from her archives. Well, nearly all her books have audio to go with it. She records a lot in the lull of no new books.
"You can't understand written common?" Raphaella bites her lip. This explained too much.
"My planet exists in a mostly dead star system. There aren't other or different species to communicate with. My star system was nearly destroyed for resources and abandoned." Marius pulls out another book of star maps. "It's here. There's only two planets left with any sentient life. My species is the only sentient life left there." He looks annoyed as he snatched the book back from Nastya. "If any of you actually cared enough to ask, you would know what I am and what my species is like instead of the slurs Nastya uses. Now, if you would excuse me, I would like to read this book. There's new information here I was not aware of."
Nastya waits until Marius is out of earshot. "I knew they were derogatory. I didn't think they were actual slurs."
"Come to think of it, I don't actually know anything about Marius's species nor their name." Raphaella looked somewhat guilty. "I've done plenty of tests, but they never matched anything."
"I need to use his textbooks to create a translation." Ivy was already ready to rush out. "And write an apology note."
Nastya looks guilty as well. "I will help Ivy." She quickly follows behind Ivy.
.......
Ivy was at her limit. Even with Nastya and Aurora's help, she couldn't even translate one page. Whatever language Marius grew up on was so divorced from any other written tongue that she needed his help. She only heard it spoken by Marius when he was first brought here, but that was only once since she avoided him till he spoke common. Fuck no wonder why he sounds so fucking stupid he has to translate everything from his own language. It's time to bite the bullet she had to make this up to Marius.
Marius was crouched from what Ivy could see in his infirmary. "There, you really need to stop hurting yourself and let yourself rest more like this. So what if you can't pilot like this? We don't have any destination, and Aurora is perfectly fine finding her way."
"Marius?" Ivy blinks as Marius stands up, then Brian in his creature form gets up.
"Hello Ivy, do you need a check-up?" Marius smiles. "Just wait a moment. I was just finishing a little project for Brian. Jonny is going to finish the actual fabric part." He pulls out a very large metal outline of a dog bed. Brian proceeds to take it tail, wagging and drags it out. "Brian, it's not... whatever, I think he might need to scent it with his own scent. Anyway, that just leaves you, Ivy. What do you need?"
"Teach me your language." Ivy's fins puff out. "I have to know. I tried to translate it using one of your books. I just. Marius, please."
Marius raised a brow. "You want to learn?" He takes a breath. "I would be petty and say too late after everything, but I'm not that kind of person." He watches Ivy relax. "However, I can only teach you verbally and show you how to write things. I'm also not that great at common even after all this time, so things might not translate well."
"That's fine, just teach me. I want to know everything now. I'm sorry I dismissed you before. I want to know how your species survived. I want to know why there are only two habitable planets left in your star system. I want to know your speci-. " Ivy stops as Marius interrupts.
"Xeon. My species is called Xeon, and I come from the planet Xeonia." Marius takes a breath. "We'll start simple with the language. History and biology and everything else doesn't matter until you understand the language."
Ivy nods, writing the name down. "Understood, you will be my teacher."
Marius says something Ivy can't quite grasp.
"What was that?" Ivy tilted her head.
"My name." Marius smiles. "Well, the proper pronoucation of my name, at least."
"Oh!.... Oh," Ivy looked a little embarrassed. "So Baron isn't actually a title."
"Uh, I think the best translation is Byron? But Marius is still fine. That's my middle name." Marius rubs the back of his neck. "Well, let's get started."
Ivy nods.
.....
Marius did not expect to have Raphaella, Nastya, and even Aurora join. He pinched his brow. "Stop, please, that's not how you pronounce that." He proceeds to say it again and points to the words written on the board. "You're stressing the wrong letter."
Ivy was getting frustrated, obviously not used to being able to feel emotions again. "Marius, I physically cannot replicate the noise you are making!"
"Then stick to the written word, please." Marius sighs. "Nastya, you're technically right, but be careful your accent makes it almost sound like you're being insulting. Try shortening your vowl sound. Raphaella, you're actually doing really well. Aurora, sorry I can't upload anything."
"It's ok, Marius. I am enjoying learning with my partner." Aurora pops out a metal hand to ruffle Nastya's hair.
"This is quite new for me, so thank you." Nastya smiles. "I also had no idea what I was saying was slurs. I apologize for that Marius."
"I mean, you really didn't like me, so I mean, it's not fine, but I'll live." Marius rubs the back of his neck.
Raphealla pauses. "Why is this pronounced differently but spelled the same?"
"Oh, it's the same meaning, but one is more serious than the other. Common, you would say love, and it compasses all of that, but this means the difference between liking something, a family bond, and romance, and then post heat bond." Marius then gives an example of each. "Althought the last one you would never use."
Ivy frowns. "Why? What is the importance of a heat that would change these words so dramatically?"
Marius looked uncomfortable. "It's incredibly personal, and I really don't know how to explain it to species that don't experience it." He takes a breath and wipes the board clean. He creates a small diagram of four stick figures. "This will be brief, and I will not go into any detail, and up to recently, I only thought this could only be shared within my species."
"But -" Raphaella and Ivy try to argue, but Marius cuts them off.
"No. You get this brief explanation or nothing." Marius is met with silence, so he continues. "A heat can only be triggered by the body normally the hair will trigger it when asked, or when it has decided that this is the correct one for you and it is usually never wrong in it's assumptions. The process of heat can end in two ways a successful bond or bloody battle on pure instincts, and only one will survive, and the victor will kill and eat the loser. After undergoing a successful heat, a part of each partners being will be exchanged between the pair, and they will undergo transformation. The bond can be broken by force, but that is considered a war crime and will drive both parties to madness or worse. The second way is if the partner dies and you will be considered broken and undergo a second transformation physically. You will recover and even try another heat bond, but the damage will remain, and you can never go back to before. I, however, learned recently from the book Ivy found it can happen between a Xeon and a different species. However, it's exceedingly rare, and if it doesn't work, the Xeon will kill them even if they are compatible. That's all I will say on that. Again, none of this even applies to any of you."
Ivy and Raphaella look in pain not being able to ask questions as Marius returns to the language lesson.
........
"This is the starship, Aurora. You seem to be stranded. Could we help?" Brian smiles, having won against everyone, and they had to be good guys for the next few centuries.
A woman appears on the screen she had short nubs of horns, long amber hair, and sharp teeth with pointed ears. "Oh, uh... yes?" Her common was quite broken. "Vessel injuries can't move engineer sick."
Nastya smiles. "I can fix any ship."
The woman noticed Nastya and flinched. "No no no we can wait it is ok." Wings puff out behind her. "No bother."
Nastya scowls. "Look I'm offering -"
Marius quickly dropped in speaking rapid Xeon.
The woman seemed to relax and nodded along.
Marius nods. "Ok, it's just a simple maintenance and some general repairs. Nastya, you can come if I help. Their engineer is on maternity and can not be reached."
"How did you know she's one of your species? You have similar species markers, but she has horns and wings and other things. Also, why was she scared of Nastya." Ivy had her pen in hand, having following Marius to get history.
"Nastya's species have not been kind to them, and they are wary. She's been through successful heat, and the engineer, if you listened closely, is her mate. They are expecting a third child together, and this time, their mate ended up carrying the child to term." Marius turns back to the screen and gives a thumbs up. "We can board from the left side of their ship."
Ivy writes something down.
Nastya nods. "Oh, ok. I uh you both were talking way too fast."
Marius chuckles. "No faster than you guys."
.......
"So Adelaide, what are you doing out here?" Marius smiles as she leads them to the small engine room of their modest ship.
"Oh, it is much safer for use to have children off the main hub. We have family looking after our young ones, but you know how it gets." Adelaide smiles. "If it was me like the last time, we wouldn't have to leave, but my nest still smell of our youngest and me. We weren't expecting him to carry, but surprises are welcome. Do you have a special someone you want to pop the question to?"
Marius blushes a deep purple. "Ah, I don't know he isn't... it's complicated." He leans back as Nastya begins her work. "You've got an old system."
"I call it reliable. We come from the descendants of the first to leave. Our main hub is the size of a small planet. Where do you hail? We've only ever come across a few sister ships through the ages. Of course, I wasn't even conceived yet." Adelaide laughs. "You travel with many species."
"I do." Marius smiles softly. "I'm glad to hear there's a place for us. I'm from Xeonia if you believe that. There isn't a way to convince my crew to go back or even follow you guys. It's not awful, I just get homesick."
"Xeonia?! I didn't think that was possible this far out." Adelaide wings puff out with a few feathers. "That's amazing. You must try to get to the hub, it's lovely they just got a new forest." She pauses. "She speaks quite broken, is she learning?"
Marius nods. "Ah yeah, I've been teaching a few of my crewmates. It's difficult. I don't have any books I can use, and my common is much better spoken."
"Nonsense, I have my children's books here you can have them. You've got one of those colonizers to learn our tongue. I can get more." Adelaide switches to common. "Get books be back." She rushed off.
Marius smiles, watching Nastya walk back into view. "Did you finish?"
"No, but I'm nearly done. I got bits and pieces. However, what did she mean by hub?" Nastya raised a brow.
"I wasn't the lucky ones who got to flee when the war began, but there were ships, massive ships that woukd rival continents that left, filled with as much as the population it could carry." Marius sighs. "I don't actually mean war, but I don't know how to translate this uh invasion, scarcity?" He looks a bit frustrated. "It doesn't matter now it's so long ago I don't even know if Xeonia is still standing or Thanos. There's these ships, and most of my kind is spread among the stars, but they made a new planet."
"Hmmm, I'll get Aurora to head over there. I'm sure Ivy and Raphaella will be ecstatic at the chance to see more of your kind." Nastya smiles. "I would be as well."
Adelaide returns with a massive stack of thick books. "Take take! These are all of them. Please take them as payment."
Nastya returns to her work as Marius takes the books.
"Thank you." Marius smiles. "Thank you so much."
.......
"Why does it smell like this?" Nastya choked back a gag as they arrived back on Aurora.
"I don't ask you why your homemade food smells like it does." Marius puts the stack of books down. "Just give it here. I'll keep it in my room. It's not like any of you guys can eat it."
"What makes you so confident?" Nastya raised a brow as Ivy rushed the pile of books.
"These are all language books?" Ivy's pupils stretch as she grabs them and rush to her archive.
"Oh, what smells like death?" Raphaella flies at Marius, who pulls the food away.
"My meals for the week fuck off." Marius huffs.
Raphaella grins. "How about I test it? You can eat the rest."
Nastya steps between them. "Relax, there's a hub a man made planet of the Xeon species nearby."
"Why didn't you say that sooner?" Raphaella gasps. "A bigger sample size! Actual results!"
Marius sighs as Aurora chirps as Nastya puts the coordinates in. He shakes his head, slipping out so he can enjoy his food in peace. He can't recall the last time he had a homecooked meal from his home, well, something close enough."
.........
Jonny hopped on the bed next to Marius. "You ran out of there fast. Got spooked by seeing another one of your kind?"
Marius shakes his head. "No, I just." He sighs. "I haven't been able to have a proper conversation in my tongue since I was taken aboard. She was so casual and kind. None of use ever wanted to leave in the beginning, but that is always how it goes. My mech wasn't built for combat. I..." He rubs the growing tears on his face. "It was a long time ago. I suppose the truth will stay with me." He gently touches his metallic arm. "I would have just been another casualtie."
"So what is that?" Jonny interrupts pointing at the plate of food.
"Ah, I've forgotten the name, but something I've always wanted to try, but we never did have enough food. The trick is you have to keep the meat cold so it doesn't turn to sludge." Marius smiles. "You can't have it..." He cuts a small piece and eats it. His tears burned a hole in his shirt. He takes a breath. "Nastya may take Aurora to the hub."
"The hub? The ship wasn't alone?" Jonny raised a brow as Marius continued to eat.
"No, not at all it was a simple maternity ship. She called it a makeshift planet, and they even built a forest." Marius hums. "It's an accumulation of the original ships. Well, not all of them, but they made a new planet." He smiles. "I would love to visit."
"We will visit, and we have to behave thanks to Brian." Jonny chuckles. "Sounds like a treat. You dealt with my shithole of a planet."
"New Texas isn't that bad." Marius finished his plate.
"Well, yeah, now it ain't, when I was mortal it was." Jonny snickers. "Seriously, are you ok?"
"Just talking to her brought up some old thoughts and feelings. I'm just glad Lyf isn't here. I don't want to pressure him. There isn't a way back once it happens." Marius rubs his arm. "I rather not force him to do anything. He doesn't even like me like that." He traces the scar on his mechanism. "He made sure to show that, but I can't excatly stop my feelings or thoughts."
Jonny didn't know exactly what happened between the two, but it was right before DTTM, and Marius was inconsolable. He welcomed his death with open arms. "Well, the space cop can suck it. He won't be out here."
Marius smiles. "Thanks Jonny."
"Yeah, yeah." Jonny smiles. "Have I told you the story about the time my mom too Jack's eye?"
"Hmmm, I don't think I can recall." Marius laughs when Jonny punches him in the arm.
"Just lie and let me tell it." Jonny chuckles.
.....
Maybe he missed the fanfare the Mechs had. He's been avoiding them for an eon at this point, so he didn't think the alarms would be blazing when he boarded Aurora. Lyf covered his ears. He made sure to visit at the night cycle so Aurora wouldn't be blaring.
Jonny, tired and annoyed, trudged into the hanger and was the first to see Lyf. "The fuck do you want?"
Lyf blinked as the alarms finally stopped seeing more of them come out, everyone but the one he wanted to see. "Look, Aurora still let me on before anyone shoots."
"The fuck do you want?" Jonny repeats as guns cocking are heard.
"I wanted to apologize." Lyf raised his hands as the guns are raised. "Fuck I wanted to see Marius. Ok, I just wanted to see Marius and apologize. I fucked up. I ruined it. It took me so long because I'm an idiot."
"You said it, not me." Jonny motions to everyone to put their guns down. "Wait.... where is Marius?"
Aurora chirps. "It appears he is still asleep. He claims he has been feeling off. He thinks it was from the gift of food, but he has looked healthier since eating it, and he finished it within two days. His body is most likely trying to process proper food for his species that he hasn't had since he arrived. I've been reading many of his scanned books from his own library since I now have a translation key."
"He never sleeps through your alarms." Nastya frowns.
"I'll check on him in the morning." Raphaella yawns.
Tim has already fallen back asleep standing up. The only tell is that his gun fell to his side.
Ashes groans. "Fucking next time do it when we aren't all out cold."
TS beams. "I Shall Show You Back To Your Quarters!"
Lyf tried to argue as TS dragged them deeper into Aurora.
Jonny sighs. "I'll get Tim.... or fuck it." He joins Brian who has curled up next around Tim and falls on top of Brian to sleep in his fur.
.......
Lyf's throat went dry as he watched Marius enter the mess hall. He has long hair down to his middle of his back, and it looks alive as it curls. His eyes were still that beautiful amber, but he could see a ring of purple glow around the amber. He must have been wearing some cologne or perfume because he smelled really nice. The love struck gaze turned to an icy cold lump in his stomach when he saw the ugly permanent scar on his metal arm from him. He didn't even notice Marius eating something rotten and covered in mold.
Ashes cleared their throat. "Did you hear the alarms last night?"
"Mmmh?" Marius blinks, swallowing his bite. "Were there alarms?"
Ashes points to Lyf. "The damn space cop decided to hop on board, have no clue on why Aurora allowed it."
Marius blinks, seemingly finally noticing Lyf. "Oh, uh, hello, Lyfrassir."
"No Inspector Lyf?" Lyf raised a brow.
Marius shrugs. "You aren't an inspector anymore. You don't like it when I call you that."
Lyf bites his lip. "R-right. Marius I wanted to apologize."
"Stop." Marius stares at Lyf with an unreadable expression. "Just stop. You made it quite clear. I don't need you to apologize because you think you hurt my feelings. You're allowed your own feelings, and I can't change them." He mumbles something Lyf couldn't understand as he pulled his long hair back. "It's fine. You don't owe me anything." He finished his food and sighed. "Let me know when we land."
Aurora chirps and gives a thumbs up.
Lyf watches Marius leave. "I fucked up. I fucked up so bad." He groans as he covers his face.
"What did you even say to him the first time?" Ashes raised a brow. "He's always happy to see you."
"Everything awful I could think of at the time." Lyf sighs. "Wait, land? Where are you guys heading?"
"There's a hub we are approaching in about two hours." Nastya walks in. "It's a planet made up of massive ships. I'm interested in the technology."
"We have to behave so no killing or robbing, but I will be gambling because that's not illegal." Ashes huffs.
Lyf nods. "I think I'm just going to go back to my room." He slips out of the mess hall and hugs his chest. He just needed to try again. He can pair off with Marius when they land, and he'll use that.
......
Marius smiles nervously as he exited first in Aurora. He was asked to keep the others behind while he introduced them. He just wished he didn't look like such a mess. He swallows and speaks in his native tongue. "I am Byron Marius Von Raum. This is the starship Aurora. My crew is called the Mechanisms, and we are looking to dock and stay for a short time."
"Of course you and your crew are welcome." The man smiles. "I am Aiden, and welcome to the collective. I know it's a cliché name, but it's what the original agreed on. However, they will need respirators if they wish to explore below the surface." Aiden frowns, pulling Marius aside after giving a all clear and to speak common. "Why are you out in such a condition? I understand that, as you explained, you're the only Xeon on your crew, but you should be isolated."
"Isolated?" Marius swallows. "I'm fine, I'm just a bit off it's fine."
Aiden didn't look convinced as he gently rolled a bracelet around Marius's wrist with a plus. "This will alert them if anything happens. You should be careful and have no stressful activities. You should really check out our heat center. It's not healthy to be teetering like this."
Marius groans, covering his face. He had a heat syndrome. It was taught to him before puberty. It's a dangerous state you could find yourself in if you never triggered your heat or if you purposely stopped having it regularly. It's been fucking eons and he assumed the damn mechanism stopped it. It's been a few million years. "I... I think..."
Lyf interrupted, adjusting the respirator on his face. He grabs Marius's hand. "Come on, everyone else paired up and headed off. I want to see a manmade forest. It's not even green. Can you believe that?"
Marius swallows following along, thankful for the bracelete. He watched Aiden say something into a device as he listened to Lyf ramble.
.......
"This is not a forest." Lyf tilted his head, staring at the grotesque flesh like trunks with silver metallic leaves. They were everywhere.
Marius realized Lyf never let go of his hand. He pulled away and swallowed the rising nausea. Now that he knew why he felt wrong, it made sense, but he really would rather just go to the heat center, but he couldn't just explain that to Lyf. "Lyfrassir, these were native to my planet. If it was a night cycle, you would be able to see them glow."
"Glow?" Lyf tried to reach out again, but Marius stepped away. He smelled really nice, too. Why could he smell that through the respirator? "They're from your native planet?"
"Yeah, these ships came from there. It's the first time I've been around my species like this since I was taken on Aurora." Marius could feel a wetness drip from his hair. He had to be careful and figure out a way to get distance between them. He stiffens, hearing a deep inhale close to him. When did Lyf get this close?
Lyf hums content. "I have to ask what is this cologne, perfume, or whatever it is. It smells quite nice."
Marius could feel a creeping blush as the back of his shirt got more wet. "You can smell that? You like it?"
"Of course I can, and yeah, I like it. Why wouldn't I like it?" Lyf had a mild look of concern as he watched Marius look embarrassed and concerned himself.
"You shouldn't like it! You shouldn't even be able to smell it! Fuck!" Marius pushed Lyf away. He could feel his hair get restless. "N-no... get away! Just fucking go!" He painfully grabbed his hair and pulled. He used his metal hand and could feel his own hair betray him even in pain they drilled into his hand. The venom was like fire.
Lyf takes a breath. "Marius for fucks sake!" He completely misreading the situation and rushed forward removing the respirator. He hissed in pain, feeling Marius's hair dig into his neck as he locked their lips together. He felt teeth dig into his own lip. When were Marius's teeth so sharp? They never looked sharp.
Marius groans, his knees nearly buckled. His hair dug into his neck as soon as he lost his grip from shock. Everything was on fire as the pair hit the floor, something ice cold went into his wrist as his vision went black.
.......
Lyf's ears were ringing, and all he felt was empty. He finally came back to his scenes and looked around. His body felt like it was full of static. He sat up, gripping his head. "What?"
"Aha, good, you're awake!" An accent not made for common drew Lyf's attention. "Good news, he didn't kill you, and even better news we got there just in time to separate you two from anything permanent from happening. I understand you are probably very confused, but we managed to pump your system so you didn't die from the venom. You seem to be a mix of miguardian and juton, so we managed to get some of our reserves to give you fresh fluids and blood."
Lyf furrowed his brows. "How did.... no what happened?" He could see dried rainbow static on his arm by the iv and bandages.
The man takes a breath. "Your crew mate was in what we call a heat syndrome. It comes from never experiencing your heat or activtively suppressing it for long periods. You unfortunately got caught in the middle of it. It went past the tipping point, and the little safety bracelet we gave him managed to stop it long enough that we could get you to a hospital. The area your crewmate is in has been blocked off until his heat has run its course, and then we will give him a separate examination and just let him go with a clear bill of health."
"I don't know what that means." Lyf rubs his temples. This doctor didn't even seem scared of the rainbow static blood he had. He doesn't know what heat means. "I have to get back to him."
"No, no, no. That would be a disaster. He is incredibly dangerous and not of sound mind till his heat passes. I understand he is your friend, but it would be like signing your death warrant." The doctor takes a breath and taps his chart.
"But it's a rule we pair up." Lyf bites his lip. He didn't want to make a scene or kill anyone, but he had an urge to see Marius again. It was as if a sudden heat flared to life in his gut, and he crossed his legs. "We do it to keep each other safe."
The doctor pauses. "Is it too hot? You seem to be flushed." He seemingly was testing something, but Lyf had no patience to deal with anything vague.
Lyf growls. "No!... I..." He takes a breath, holding his head, hoping the pressure would clear his head that suddenly felt wrong. He knows he fucked up forcing himself on Marius. His heat was probably a defense mechanism he triggered like a fucking idiot. The heat in his guts seemed to travel lower, and he crossed his legs harder. "I just have... I have to... fuck..." He wanted Marius. He wanted to show him how sorry he was. He wanted... fuck he didn't know what he wanted it was getting too hot and all he knew is that Marius could fix this. Marius is a doctor. He needed Marius.
The doctor turns and rushes to the door, shouting something Lyf doesn't understand at all.
.......
Jonny frowns at more unanswered calls. He taps his foot, annoyed. He tries once more with the others staring at him, they were ushered back on Aurora to sleep just to avoid health risks, and they had to play long. Finally, someone picked up, but they were speaking Xeon. He grits his teeth and hates to speak Marius's tongue because his New Texas accent comes out full force. Fuck it. "This is Jonny D'ville of the Aurora, and whoever is on this line better tell me why my crewmate isn't answering."
Ivy stared slack jaw at Jonny. "You're fucking fluent?"
"What the fuck?" Nastya pinched her brow. "You liar."
Jonny gives the others the finger to stop the chatter. "Oh... ok... are you sure? I see. I had a feeling, but it's his own private business... I understand.... ok.... yeah, I'm aware of that chance.... i.... ok.... I'll tell tell them to stay away.... I will give him my congratulations when they are finished.... yeah, there's a reason for that.... oh, you already know.... yes, he is... no, I don't believe that would affect that.... right, thank you." He clicks off his device and takes a breath.
"So?" Raphaella raised a brow.
"Personal, incredibly personal. Marius won't even talk about this shit to me. Aurora, make sure Lyf's room merges with Marius's. Fuck." Jonny rubs his face. "That wasn't a fucking suggestion, Aurora."
Nastya furrows her brows. "Jonny what the fuck is this about?"
"Heat, Nastya. Marius went into heat." Jonny runs his hands through his hair. "Stepping anywhere close will get you shot Raphaella if Marius doesn't kill you first. Do you have any idea how incredibly important this is to Marius's species? It's the one fucking thing Marius has kept tight lipped about. I know you fucking took the books out Ivy." He takes a deep breath. "Aurora have you even started?"
"Yes, Captain!" Aurora chirps back. "I have been connected to their main hub of information. Are you sure it is Lyf?"
Nastya knew nobody called Jonny, Captain, unless it was serious. "Aurora, what do you mean?"
"I did my own exploring. If what Jonny says is true, the rooms must be combined. I shall answer any and all questions in regards to this Raphaella and Ivy. You will not bother Marius, or I will cut off your air supply until you behave." Aurora chirps.
"I need a fucking smoke." Jonny huffed.
Tim rushed after Jonny. He knew about Marius. He wasn't as close to him as Jonny was, but they were still close enough. Marius told him things about his own kind.
"What is a heat?" Ashes raised their brow. "Does he spontaneously combust?"
"No, however, it is an inherited biological process. In a sense, Marius's sentient mind has been shut off. He is running on the hormones and instincts that pilot his body at the moment. He will not remember anything that is occurring during this period, and hopefully, Lyf will not as well. You can consider it sexual, sex is involved, but it's more of a way to kickstart the whole biology aspect to take place. Down to the chromosome, an exchange will take place a piece of Marius, and a piece of Lyf will swap places in as gruesome of a way as you can imagine. This is more worrying because Lyf is infected with Yog Sogoth, so there is no telling what will happen. You can not stop the process once it starts it will permanently disfigure both of them if attempted. Once the process has ended, both men will begin to change physically, biologically, and instinctually as well. Although this is a rarity between Xeon and a different species, it is not unheard of. Now, any changes to either man can't be stopped. Any attempts will not be tolerated, and I will kill you if you even try Raphaella and throw you out of the airlock."
Raphealla steps back from the weapon Aurora produced. "Understood."
"Any pressure on Marius from any of you will result in a complete isolation from myself and the rest of the crew until I decided you have learned your lesson." Aurora chirps cheerfully. "This process is terrifying, but is considered a badge of honor for Xeons and is highly respected, and honestly, the more I learn about his species, I am terrified of them. The entire reproduction process is dangerous for everyone but the expecting parent. It explains why the couple were on maternity leave on a small spaceship away from this planet. I would like quiet until I say otherwise. Don't even get me started on how they fight wars and invaders. Marius's blood alone is able to eat through my fucking hull."
Nastya has never heard Aurora sound so scared before.
Ivy in a quiet voice. "I will be in my archives reading the uploaded files." She scurries off.
Brian runs off to Jonny's room, where he knows Jonny and Tim will be.
TS grabs Raphaella to put her in her room.
Ashes lights up a cigar their hands shaking slightly.
.......
Marius opened his eyes with a groan. The last thing he could recall was that kiss and then the cold. His body hurt inside and out. He was still in the forest, which was good, he thought, but wasn't entirely certain. There was something... no someone on his chest. He looked down to see light brown hair with rainbow static like highlights. His heart sank. They didn't get Lyf away. They couldn't... he... he.
Lyf huffs and embraces Marius's tighter, flooding Marius with hormones that relax him. He hums softly with a blissed out expression on his features.
Marius took a breath he thought of his sister in this moment and her heat bond. He couldn't remember her name but it was a joyous occasion. They had nothing, but they still celebrated. He couldn't imagine that now. He forced this on Lyf. He couldn't fucking stop himself. He was a monster.
Lyf groans and furrows his brows waking up. He was on someone he could hear an odd rhythm of what he can assume is a heartbeat. He wasn't actually certain it didn't sound normal or healthy. The heat was finally gone. He didn't feel like he was being cooked from the inside out. He spots the glint of a familair metal arm and sighs in relief. He knew it, he knee he just needed Marius and it would fix it. Whatever it was, it was done. He pulled himself to sit up straddling mari- Byron.... ma- Byron... he furrowed his brows staring down at Mar- Byron, whose eyes were lit up purple.
Marius stared up at Lyf, whose expression went from content to confusion. "Lyfrassir?"
Lyf frowns, knitting his brows. "Why can't I think of your name as M- Byron." He bit his lip. He took a breath. "Doctor ba- Byron Marius Von Raum. There it... fuck." He sighs. "Why can't I call you by your name?"
"That is my name." Marius swallows, trying to get used to Lyf's voice with his tongue on his lips.
Lyf stared at Marius wide-eyed. "What the fuck did you just say?"
"Byron is my name. Marius is my middle name." Marius frowns. "I'm sorry."
"Stop." Lyf takes a breath. That was old Norse. Ma- Byron doesn't know old Norse. He grabbed Byron's face. "Say something else."
"I'm sorry?" Marius raised a brow. Lyf's hands were soft. "Lyfrassir, I'm sorry. I'm sorry about everything, all of this, us."
"I think my brain melted when my insides were on fire in the hospital." Lyf rubbed his temples. "I know for a fact you don't know old Norse."
It was Marius's turn to look confused sitting up now. Lyf was in his lap. "No. No Lyfrassir that isn't right there wasn't a hospital we're still in the forest."
Lyf held onto Byron. "No? Your weird bracelet started to make a loud siren noise. And your hair was alive. I think it bit me too. I woke up in the hospital, and a doctor was talking about how they saved me and how your heat had to run its course. Then something in my stomach started to get hot as he kept arguing with me that it wasn't safe for me to find you, and Yog Sogoth won't let me die but I didn't tell him that, but it just kept getting hotter and hotter and it felt like my body was set on fire on the inside. Then the doctor got a pale expression and ran by the door and shouted something I didn't know I couldn't understand. All I knew was that you would be able to fix it."
"You made it to the hospital." Marius repeats.
"Yes, as I said, I made it to the hospital by force, and they even said they pumped my system. I really don't think so because they would have had questions about the rainbow static that is my blood. They didn't even question it." Lyf sighs. "What's with that look?"
Marius swallows. "You reciprocated on your own. You..." He smiles as relief floods his system. "Your body mimicked mine even after everything I did was removed. You..." He laughs like the weight of the world was gone. He pulls Lyf into a tight hug. "I didn't... I didn't force anything."
"Force what?" Lyf was getting over what he was hearing as more senses returned to him. "Why am I sticky? Why do I hurt everywhere? Ma- Byron where the fuck are our clothes?" Wait! Fuck! Byron, your arm!" He stared at Byron's metal arm it seemed to have spread upward just above his elbow with metal veins like a virus.
Marius furrowed his brows as he followed Lyf's gaze. He swallows, tracing his hand over the new metal. "I don't know. I... Lyf, my memory is from when you kissed me until we woke up together is just gone." He wasn't concerned by that in the slightest. It was expected, and to remember, your heat is considered a curse. He did feel slightly queasy, and he knew the changes were about to start. "Just..." He lays back down, taking Lyf with him in a bear hug. "Breathe with me."
"Byron, what... oh, that doesn't feel right." Lyf was getting a bit uncomfortable. It wasn't a heat this time but something clicking into place, and his whole body felt some sort of shockwave. He dies his best to match Byron's breathing before his eyelids grow heavy and he is gone.
........
Jonny crossed his arms as Tim stood behind him. "Byron Marius Von Raum. I know he's in the recovery wing with his mate Lyfrassir Edda."
Tim really liked Jonny's accent when he spoke Xeon. He, however, had no idea what the shorter man was saying. Brian was with them in his creature form because he could pass for a therapy animal, and Marius and Lyf were only allowed two visitors at a time.
The receptionist smiles. "You must be Jonny D'ville and Timothy Stoker. I must say your Xeon is perfect. I'm impressed it's not an easy language to learn." She taps away at the computer and smiles. "The security guards will guide you, Lyfrassir seems to be awake, and reading his help books we provided, Byron is fixing up his temporary nest at the moment trying to get comfortable. Did you start the required changes to their barracks in order for them to return to your ship?"
"Yes, the rooms have been combined, but no other changes since it's both of their stuff. The beds were removed and replaced with building material for their own permanent nest." Jonny pulls out a few photos. "Is this enough? We've been working together, but we won't know until Byron sees it."
"Oh, this is more than satisfactory. You must be quite close with your crew, captain." the receptionist hands over three visitor badges.
"I'm not...." Jonny shakes his head. "Thank you, Byron is like my brother, that's all."
A large security guard in dense armor approaches. "Follow me, and do not deviate. Not everyone recovering is sound of mind yet."
Jonny nods and motions for Tim and Brian to follow.
......
Marius sighs, throwing pillows and blankets aside. This was all wrong it didn't smell right or feel right. He rubbed his temples, hospital remember you're in recovery this isn't home this isn't.... he rubbed his face and took a breath, looking back at Lyf, who was curled up against a few pillows, reading intensely. Mate was safe. Lyf was fine. A new noise made him turn and growl at the door opening.
"Relax, relax..." A security personal bows to show no desire to fight. "Byron, two of your crewmates and a therapy creature have requested to join you in here with your mate."
Marius looked over to Lyf, who nodded and shut his book. "I... yes, of course." His voice was hoarse, and he tried to get his body to relax. He relaxes more, spotting Jonny and Tim with Brian.
The security officer smiles, shutting the door behind the three.
Jonny carefully made his way over to Marius. "Hey, how are you holding up?"
"I'm sore uncomfortable, and my head is swimming in an ocean of hormones." Marius motions for Jonny to sit next to him.
Lyf raised a brow. "What is that? Did you kidnap some sort of creature?"
Tim snorts. "Ah, I knew we forgot something. Nah, that's Brian."
"Isn't he supposed to be metal? Bipedal?" Lyf blinks watching the creature vanish in black smoke revealing Brian.
"It's complicated." Brian rubs the back of his neck.
Marius growls. "Back away."
Brian holds his hands up and steps back from Lyf. "Sorry, sorry."
"No... I." Marius groans, rubbing his temples. "Just... please just keep a distance from Lyfrassir."
Jonny shakes his head. "Stop that. You can't excatly fight the fucked up instincts till you're more stable. How's your arm?"
"It's sore, but it's not painful, just new." Marius hums. "So how did you get Raphaella from coming?"
"Aurora trapped her in her lab." Tim hims. "I may have also shot her. Ivy's been in her archive with Nastya, going over everything they can about your species. Ashes is collecting what they can go around this place. Aurora is keeping TS from cleaning your new combined room with Lyf."
Lyf nods. "I'm nowhere near the level of uh weird. Mar- Byron is at the moment." He sighs. "They won't even like me braid my hair! I can handle m- Byron rearranging everything every five minutes, even the weird food that I will not consider as meat, but it's my hair!"
Marius looked away, trying to bite back a small smile. "That his been his only complaint. Unfortunately, Lyfrassir still doesn't believe that Xeon hair is alive, and that is just a safety concern."
"Says the man who got a haircut!" Lyf had a matching small smile.
"I didn't get a haircut." Marius finally smiles without hiding. His hair was like a buzz cut showing off two nubs of horns that barely broke the surface of his scalp. "I'm keeping to this short for a reason."
Jonny hums. "So horns, will they be long enough for some headbutting?"
"The correct question, will your skull be thick enough to do that." Brian adds. "I'm sure we have lost count of how many times Tim has had his skull caved in from Jonny's headbutts."
Marius shrugs. "I don't know yet, but you will be the first to know." He shifts in his spot. "I can answer any questions right now. I know you guys won't be bad about it like Raphaella or Ivy, I love them, but this isn't exactly something I'm ready to be overwhelmed with."
"I have a question. Why do some of your species have wings, and the others don't? The other features seem to vary wildy. Do you have subspecies within your population? Is it from breeding with other species?" Brian scratches his chin.
Marius could feel laughter bubble in his chest. He got up just being in his boxers was the only piece of clothing he could manage at the moment. It was obvious that the fat on his body was being burned faster than it could be replaced, so he was much more muscular. He turned to show Brian his back. "They're coming in slowly, but as you can see, they are developing." On his lower back, two red swollen lines are forming. There is only slight movement under the skin. "There isn't subspecies or cross breeding. It's just the difference between before a shared heat and after." He turns back around, and looking closer, there is a new thin line across his stomach. It's impossible to tell at this point what that could be, but it was clearly there. Other parts, such as his knees shoulders and elbows, seemed extra calloused, his upper chest and upper back seemed to be slightly darker, and his legs seemed to be growing more hair than normal. He sits back down, holding his tail.
"Oh." Brian swallows. "Are you alright? It can't be pleasant."
Marius shakes his head. "It's normal, and it's only a little uncomfortable. Our bodies are built for this transformation, and it's still way too early to tell what I'll actually look like when this is over. I don't even know if I'll have fur or feathers for my wings. Lyfrassir will get wings, too. That's why he's sitting like that."
"I really rather not think about it, and I'm still going through the help books since I'm not the same species. M- Byron has been quite helpful, but I'm willing to take this over the bifrost or Yog Sogoth any day of the week. It's not the worst thing in the universe." Lyf was curled on his side, and the stack of books was much higher than first glances as he moved a blanket aside.
"What's with the speech thing?" Tim crossed his arms.
Marius chuckles softly. "Lyfrassir can't call me by my middle name anymore, it seems. Oh, before you ask, I can still refer to him as Lyf, but it annoys him if I use his full name."
Lyf rolls his eyes. "I never said it annoyed me. It just sounds odd with your accent being more pronounced than it was before."
"They've given Aurora a more permanent space to dock as you recover. Nastya is using it to do more repairs and upgrades." Jonny pauses. "Do you want us to tell them anything?"
Marius shakes his head. "No, there isn't anything to say. This is a normal process it just takes time." He smiles softly. "Thank you for visiting."
"Actually, I do have a request." Lyf sits up. "Can you guys figure out why none of them freaked out seeing my blood?"
Jonny blinks, clearly not expecting that. "Excuse me?"
Brian looked slightly intrigued. "I'll ask Ivy about what she has researched so far. There seems to be a massive centralized archive system for historians I believe here."
"That does seem weird because you're still glowing like static." Tim looked away to readjust his eyes.
"I don't think it's that serious." Marius bites back a yawn. "But now you have me curious. Tell me when you visit again."
The door swings open with the security officer. Brian barely switches back barely fast enough. "Times up."
.......
Ivy walked up to the desk. She must admit she was impressed and excited. This was an entire archive based on a historians work, who still continues to update this. She had her notes ready and questions written out to get access. The Lyf situation was incredibly odd, but this historian was much more interesting. She also had to stop getting into the Xeon species because she was growing more and more worried for Marius. Pesky emotions will only halt her progress, and she also really needs a distraction. It's not because she misses and is worried about Marius. Definitely not.
The nameplate as the man sat at the desk read archivist Donnie, there was a note written next to it stating the historian is back and you must make a compelling essay for her to even consider meeting you, unless you are a child. The man sits up and puffs out his feathery wings. "Good morning! It's not often we get outsiders who wish to browse the archives. How can I help you? Are there any particular requests?"
Ivy hands a piece of paper to them. "I do not have the vocal cords to correctly communicate in your language. However, I am fluent. I am Ivy Alexandria, part of the Mechanisms who come from our ship, the Aurora. I am here to study as much as I can from this archive. I merely want directions to the oldest works, and I will continue from there."
Donnie pursed his lips, his tail moving rapidly behind him. "Your name is familiar...." He turns and begins to go through a few files. "Aha! The Mechanisms, your file is ongoing and quite unbelievable, but I digress. I have been told that if any of you specifically from this group, if you are who you claim to be, can speak to the historian directly if you so desire. If not, I can give you the directions and a much stronger respirator. The oldest we have are at the very bottom, and you'll need something stronger if you hope to be able to breathe."
Ivy paused. The author is here, and it could be useful to speak to them directly. There is clearly something off. No mortal would be able to write all this in a lifetime no matter how long lived the species is. It could be a title for a group carrying this legacy, but how would they observe other cultures and write such detailed history such as this. She pulls out her pen and writes in big letters. "I would like to meet the historian."
Donnie perked up. "Of course! Follow me, or I can carry you to her office."
Ivy points at him, and it gets the message across as she is picked up and flown to a high office. The aged door had a worn metal plate that read Misery, historian.
Donnie rings an old rusted bell next to the door. "Lady Misery, I have one Ivy Alexandria, who claims is a part of the Mechanisms of the Starship Aurora."
Heavy footsteps and the old door is swung open as the hinges whine in resistance. A woman towers over Ivy and Donnie. Her horns were oddly curved. Her eyes were silver, and her ears were more pointed. Her hair was long black and draped over her shoulders like silk. Her tail seemed reinforced even more dangerous. She was in a Lolita style dress it was pink and purple. Her chest of the skin showing was armored. The most glaring curiosity was her wings they were hairless leathery and covered in unblinking eyes. "A mechanism?" She switched to common. "You do match the descriptions of who you claim to be." She switches back to Xeon. "Donnie, leave us be. Miss Ivy and I shall be in a meeting."
Donnie nods and heads back down.
Ivy is pulled inside the office by Misery. It was a larger office than she expected. It was organized. There was a small nest in the corner and an open notebook on the desk.
"Where are my manners? My name is Misery. My last name doesn't matter anymore with how long it's been. I am the acolyte to- " Ivy gets a ringing in her ears from the name. "So I've been immortal as well. That isn't important either. However, I've been trying to get an interview with any of you Mechanisms for ages. I love your work keeping history alive of civilizations that no longer exist it's quite nice to hear the tales portrayed as you guys do."
Ivy blinks. She had an incomprehensible amount of questions, but one was the most pressing. "Immortal?"
"Oh yes!" Misery takes a seat at her desk. "Like Lyfrassir Edda. He is the acolyte to Yog Sogoth, which means he can not die or age anymore, and if the god were to be killed, he would replace them like I would be if my god died. I have met many other acolytes, but I've only heard about Lyfrassir. I've even met the God Killer she was a real treat. You would just love her tale. I'm rambling, and I apologize."
That answered more questions than Ivy was prepared to get, but also led to even more questions. "I would like to know everything, I want the files, I want all the information you have on disks to process myself in my own archive. Tell me, is all of this work yours?"
"Yes, it is, and that will take a bit. I do have a backup hard drive, but it is a few tons. I try to observe the best I can without interfering. If not, I get first-hand accounts and stories from the citizens I observe. My work is a mere fraction of the universe because I am only one being doing this recording. I take pride in my work as a historian." Misery smiles. "I will share mine if you share your archives with me."
"Yes! I mean, of course. Exchanging information will be helpful to both of us." Ivy smiles wider than she is used to excitement threatening to overheat her mechanism.
"First, I have to ask what brings you and your crew to this collective, and why are you staying?" Misery pulls out a new notebook and a pen.
"Marius, our crewmate, the ship's doctor. He's a Xeon and wished to visit, and we were curious to learn about his species and history. I was, at least. Raphaella wanted a large sample size of the Xeon species. We were all curious. However, Marius went through a successful heat with Lyf, so he is in recovery until further notice. So we will be staying until he is recovered." Ivy hums.
Misery finished writing and paused. "Lyfrassir Edda is here as well and went through the heat bond with Marius. I must give my congratulations to them. It's exceedingly rare for a Xeon and a different species to be successful together if it's reciprocate. Xeons are nortiously toxic to every other species." She hums, tapping her pen against the notebook. "Ask me anything. I'm happy to share my knowledge and observations. Being an acolyte means I have a memory that doesn't fade, so I remember everything since I've been changed by the god."
Ivy nods. "I can not forget either due to my mind being a machine. Let us begin, and them we shall discuss the manner of sharing our data."
"Of course." Misery smiles wide equally excited.
......
Lyf was incredibly uncomfortable. He was informed in great detail that the changes his body is experiencing wouldn't be pleasant. He was prepared for that, but he felt disgusting, he hasn't been able to shower or take care of his hair. His back was pulsating with just pure agony. He knew it would be any day his wings would burst from his skin. Byron wasn't in better shape. His mind had switched off to an animal mind. Food had to be given through a reinforced door that was already showing heavy damage from Byron.
Lyf could see the hair on Byron's legs were now like fur and a thick coat that traveled just barely to his hips. His back had two open sores his wings were just poking out they were slowly coming out, and it was quite bloody. The line across his stomach has gotten darker and seems to be splitting open. His tail seemed sharper and longer. The spines on his shoulders can in threes, and there were matching ones on his elbows and knees. If he was in pain, he couldn't say it. He was reduced to low growls, clicks, and purring.
Speaking of which, Marius had crawled over to Lyf's side. He quietly made some clicking noises.
"Byron, please, I'm not in the moOD! FUCK!" The pain was as over as fast as it happened. The pressure was gone, and Lyf felt a weight on his back. "Byron, what the... Oh! Ooo, never.... ooo, that feels nice." Heblays on his stomach, feeling Byron's hands comb through his new wings. It felt amazing and almost made up for no showers or hair care.
Marius chirpped along as he cleaned and preened Lyf's new wings. He isn't aware that Lyf had fallen asleep.
.......
Jonny pinched his brow. "The only reason I'm allowing you to visit is because Marius requested to speak to you. I hope that historian friend of Ivy's taught you manners." He crossed his arms, tapping his foot.
"Her name is Misery." Raphaella says with a shit eating grin. "I'll be on my best behavior. Marius is my friend too. This is just so fascinating."
"And personal." Jonny sighs as the pair is lead down the halls. He noticed that the door seemed to be reinforced again.
"Ah, don't worry about it. Your friend is just stronger than we counted for no real damage done. Minimum injuries when he broke the door. I must ask about the metal arm. However, I have never seen a replacement adapt to a Xeon before. We normally have to replace them after a heat." The security office hums as they open the door. "I'm staying close, so if anything goes wrong, we'll be here. Byron was quite insistent for visitors against recommendation."
Marius was grooming his new thick fur on his legs. He seems to be much more flexible than before. Lyf was watching, not even noticing the door was opened.
Raphealla flew inside and was slammed back against the metal wall just as fast. "Fascinating!"
Marius growls, one hand was around Raphaella neck, his wings stretched out and puffed out with the fur standing on edge. His eyes glow a dark purple before he blinks and staggers back, letting go. "Don't..." He rubs his face. "Raph, stay away from Lyf, please."
Jonny gives a look. "Did you really want her here?"
Marius sighs and steps back. "Y-yeah. Can't excatly go back without a stress test."
"He's lying. He wants Raphaella to look at his arm." Lyf huffs annoyed his show was taken away. He really wanted to see just how flexible Byron got.
Marius gives a sheepish look and sighs. "Yeah, Lyfrassir, right." He holds up his mechanical arm. It has indeed adapted mimicking his flesh arm with the new spines, along with the spread that Raphaella wasn't aware of. His flesh arm was discolored up to his elbow. The skin seemed to be getting darker, maybe even thicker like scaled armor. "It's never changed before, and I know Brian's is adapting to how he looked to before he was alive, but I just want to make sure I didn't truly ruin it. Lyfrassir informed me I did pump a lot of venom into the arm, and it doesn't excatly interact great with metal."
Raphealla expression flickers between concern and curiosity. "May I get closer? I know I rushed in here, but we all know how serious that assumption is."
Marius nods, stepping away from Lyf and motions for Raph to approach. "It's gotten a bit more sensitive and uh active."
Jonny keeps an eye on the two leaning back on the wall. Everyone on Aurora knew Carmillia was black out drunk when she grabbed Marius, cutting off his arm to replace it. Everyone also knew his arm had a mind of its own like it was alive. Marius even had to coax it to do any type of maetience on the damn thing.
"I don't trust the doctors or mechanics here to even touch it. You know how that went on New Asguard." Marius didn't have to look to know Lyf paled considerably.
Raph nods, gently reaching out to look over the mechanical arm. "I wasn't allowed my tools, so this will just be a surface glance." She watched Marius nod as he held out the arm. "It's a bit brighter colorwise, and huh, the metal seems even stronger. The spread needs to be looked into. I'll talk to Nastya and Brian about that. The spikes seem to be a mix of your biological material and the metal on your elbow, at least. Is this painful?" She pressed into the metal arm.
"No, but I can feel that you increased the pressure. It feels entirely like my normal flesh arm. There isn't a delay in sensations anymore." Marius pulled his arm back, flexing his hand.
"Wait, do that again." Raphaella tilts her head.
"Do what?" Marius raised a brow as his mechanical hand is grabbed.
"There seems.... AHA! There seems to be a lens in your palm now. It opened like it's looking." Raphaella traces long the lense till a new slit opens, pricking her fingers, and she pulls away. "I think your hand bit me."
"Bit you?" Marius brings his palm to his face. The lens was still open, but he could see an outline of what appears to be a new slit. He brings up his other palm to compare and sees the same slit and he could open it to show teeth and a tongue. He stared blankly at both of his hands and then traced his stomach where the new large slit was. The subtle movement clicked in his head what was underneath. That would be dangerous, very dangerous. He takes a breath. "So it's mimicking my other hand?"
Raphealla gasps seeing the mouth on Marius's flesh hand. "When did you get that?! Can you eat from it? Will you eat from it?"
Marius chuckles. "Now that I know my mechanism is breaking." He looks over to Jonny, who had a small smirk on his lips. "Maybe? I haven't actually tried. You should be more concerned with my stomach, actually."
"Oh?" Raphaella crouched down to be eye level with the slit on Marius's stomach. "What does it do?"
"If my memory serves me right, which as you guys say it doesn't, but if I'm right, my stomach is becoming a creature in itself. It's rare, but in a successful heat, organs can become sentient and become like pets in a sense." Marius scratches his beard. "Probably shouldn't be so close before I manage to take it to tolerate others."
"Now you're just fucking with us." Lyf groans.
"As cool as that sounds, you're just full of shit." Jonny chuckles. "Fuck imagine having a living... oh #$@%@$!" He managed to combine several different languages curse words into one messed up sentence as Marius pulled open the seem.
Raphealla stumbles back and maybe shreiks.
Marius looks down to see a worm mixed with a snake and scorpion creature slowly climbing out. It's covered in slime and neon green blood. "Oh, I was right! Hello there, little guy." He makes a shuddered moan as it crawls back inside, and the slit closes. "Ah, not ready to explore. That's ok, give me time to think of a name." He rubs his stomach, and a soft chittering is heard.
"I think I figured out my limit." Raphaella stands back up. "Living organs, I can't believe that's where I draw the line after all this time." She runs her hands through her hair. "I... what the fuck. What the fuck? What the actual fuck."
"I would say I'm shocked, but I did see it crawl out of Byron's flesh when he slept through dinner the other day. I thought I was hallucinating. Apparently, I was not." Lyf takes a breath. "That thing is fucking terrifying."
"Don't be mean." Marius huffs.
Jonny rubs his eyes. "For fucks sake. A little more warning would be nice. I think I called it a slur."
"You did." Marius hums. "However, I have no idea what else you shouted."
"I have several questions." Raphaella paused. "That i will ask later. I need to... I need to read more about your species."
"I never thought I would see the day where Raphaella was left speechless in the face of the unknown." Jonny shakes his head. "Fuck now I have to actually talk to this historian."
"Historian?" Lyf raised a brow.
"Oh, you'll meet her once you're out of this place." Jonny smirks. "Misery loves company." He laughs.
"Historian of what?" Marius raised his brow, walking and sitting next to Lyf.
"Everything, I suppose." Jonny shrugs. "Apparently, she's like Lyf, which means a god picked her and won't let her age or die. So what she has been doing is recording different species till their end, or she gets discovered and can't be out of the picture."
"So she's an acolyte." Lyf hums. "I met others like me in our separate travels. I've even met the god killer. Although I don't know what she is besides New Texan, and frankly, she scares me."
"You've met the god killer separately, Ivy will be pleased to know that the observations are the same." Raphaella looks over to Jonny.
"Fuck you, just because I'm New Texan doesn't mean I know every New Texan. I would remember someone known as the god killer." Jonny scoffs.
"Because her name is Valerie, only acolyte or gods refer to her as the god killer." Lyf raised his brow. "I don't go around calling myself the acolyte of Yog Sogoth. That's really fucking stupid."
"Ok fine space cop fuck off you've made your point." Jonny rolls his eyes.
"What aren't you going to make fun of the normal name for someone with that title?" Raphaella elbows Jonny.
Marius clears his throat. "So this historian, is she Xeon too?"
Jonny sighs in relief with the changes in the subject. "She is, but she calls herself broken."
Marius shifts suddenly, looking uncomfortable. "That's the proper term for a Xeon whose heat mate was killed, and they survived the changes. She probably looks stronger and more dangerous. It's not exactly a badge worn with honor, and it wouldn't be her out living them. It has to be murder plain and simple. It's never a natural death to be broken. It used to be used to strengthen the military without the knowledge of the said soldiers. I only found that out by chance...." He shakes his head. "I rather not speak of the time before my arm."
"But she would be able to go through another heat and gain another partner." Raphaella hums as Marius nods. "But that would be her choice. Is there a way for multiple to be heat bonded to one Xeon?"
"I'm not entertaining whatever you are planning." Marius growls.
Lyf rubs Byron's back. "Relax, as you informed me any forced tries will result in being eaten alive."
"We both know that won't stop her." Marius huffs.
Jonny sighs. "I'll keep an eye on her and Ivy. When the fuck are you getting out of here?"
Marius shrugs. "The bond has to finish, and my body has to plateau in its changes. I'm not quite there yet. Although I'll have longer bouts of lucidity as the end draws closer. Until...." He yawns paling as sudden exhaustion took hold of his body. "I'm done..... this is the safest and.... quickest way... I..."
Lyf grabs onto Byron. "You two should go."
Jonny and Raphaella share a glance and nod. The security guard grabs the two and take them out.
......
"Oh, that is quite special. Has your fired name it yet?" Misery smiles, carrying a two ton server on her back, in a new bright pink Lolita style dress, and matching ten inch heels.
"Are you sure it was another creature?" Ivy raised her brow skeptical. "I haven't come across that in any textbook."
"Because you don't have access to post heat textbooks, you'll have to be mated or be Xeon to have access. I don't think Aurora has gotten through the security either." Misery clicks her tongue as she places the server down in Ivy's archive. "It's not information you'll really need, even if you're merely curious."
Ivy scowls and her fins flare. "Excuse me! Marius is a part of our crew. We should know-" Misery stops her patting her head.
"It's cute to think you are owed this information. Marius and Lyfrassir already have the information they need. Neither of you will have any need for this information, and it doesn't matter what you claim you need this information you don't." Misery chuckles. "It's also quite amusing how you think, Raphaella. A little needle like that won't pierce my skin. Sure, you two are entertaining, and I respect both of your work, but I find your other crew members more interesting. Once Marius and Lyf are done and I get my stories, I'll be leaving you guys alone and continuing my work."
Raphealla bites her lip. "You'll leave?"
"Of course, I will. Just because we're both immortal doesn't mean we should stick together. I see no point in inserting myself in this crew you have. It has been a lovely time, however, so don't fret. You'll have your memories and our shared research." Misery hums ruffling both Raphaella and Ivy's hair. "Come on, I have two more of these servers to share with you two. Oh, and Raphaella, I'll share my biology research. Poisons and toxins are my specialties."
Ivy and Raphaella share a glance with an unspoken agreement to get Misery to stay. They don't have anything to lose, and they need something new. They both have grown attached to her.
.......
"How do you court one of your kind?" Ivy taps her foot against the floor, staring at Marius.
"Hello to you too." Marius raised his brow. "I'm sorry. I thought Jonny would be with you or Tim, at least, not Raphaella."
"Not important, Marius, answer the question." Ivy huffs.
Marius blinks. "You got passes and went through the entire hoops to visit me to ask that?"
"Correct." Ivy crossed her arms.
Raphealla hums. "Another question: Where's Lyf? Did you eat him? If so, how did he taste?"
"He's taking a shower." Marius pinched his brow. "That part was over at the start. I have no desire to eat my mate." He rubs his face, his right arm now looks like it dipped in ink up to the elbow, and there's a faint outline of armored scales. "Why do you even want to court an Xeon? It's only been a few months. I highly doubt anyone will volunteer for observations or experiments."
"So about that, remember the historian we mentioned?" Raphaella smiles. "So we want to add her to us. Since you're an Xeon, you can tell us how you court others."
"Romance novels and anything similar seem to be quite rare culturally wise." Ivy hums. "We need something concrete in order to properly do this because my species sense of courting is not working." She leans back against the wall. "I understand the inheriting with different species is a reality new concept considering how Xeon's work, but there must be a way to gage this."
"We want to keep her in our travels. She's immortal just like us, so getting attached doesn't have the normal risks that dating a mortal would. She's also quite fascinating, and I honestly haven't felt like this since I met Ivy." Raphealla sighs. "So get talking, lover boy."
"I can tell you why romance like you both know it isn't exactly a popular or even liked concept." Marius rubs the back of his neck. "I honesty didn't actually love Lyfrassir, you know. I mean, I wasn't exactly physically capable of it like you two are. That stuff comes after a heat when our biology changes, you know. I was comfortable with Lyfrassir. He made me happy, and i trusted him. I didn't love him. I wasn't capable of that. I was enthrall with romance novels because I truly never understood it. Family bonding and casual sex were something that was normal. Romance only mattered when you heat bonded to the correct one you meshed with. It used to be sections were carved out for heat seasons where it would be like a combat zone and it would go based on hormones and instincts and that would pick for you, but the loss of life was also a key factor. I suppose there's more nuance now, but that was what it was like, and I can bet you there's still areas here for that. My best advice hinestly is just find common ground and spend time with her is the best chance you'll have."
"Really?" Ivy sounded confused. "You never... but.."
"I tried to force it. I tried to mimic the behaviors in the novels I've read. It did hurt after what happened between us, but my heart wasn't broken. I'm perfectly capable of having emotions and bonds with others, just never romantically. We'll now it's only for Lyfrassir. However, I've always viewed you guys as our crew as a family. Adopting is a very common and encouraged practice for Xeon, even if they aren't the same species. I wasn't raised by my parents. I don't remember what happened to them, but I was adopted, and i had siblings. Which would happen if the parents are killed. Nobody just steals kids."
"You've never had the experience before." Raphaella frowns. "I... I'm sorry, Marius."
Marius shrugs. "I can feel it now. It's not something I ever expected to be able to do. It's odd, but I think I like it? I'm not really sure yet. It hits me at odd times, and it's hard to parse what that feeling over anything else at the moment. I'm still a bit fried. I'm not..." He freezes, realizing he was suddenly purring. He shudders. "Oh huh." He pursed his lips.
Lyf entered the room carrying Byron's now creature of a digestive system. "You are the weirdest fucking pet I've ever had but for the gods sake you're kind of cute." He stops staring at Byron then to Raphaella and Ivy. "It followed me into the bath."
"That explains why I couldn't find it when I woke up." Marius smiles softly. "Can I please have my digestion system back?"
"I... huh." Ivy watches the creature crawl back into Marius's abdomen as Lyf brought it close. "I do not understand the emotions I am feeling."
Marius sighs happily. "Ooo! Did you feed me, too, in that bath?"
"No, your stomach ate the soap I was using." Lyf sighs but has a smile on his lips. "It's as weird as you are."
"Whatever it was, it was good." Marius yawns already curling up in the temporary nest. "I'll be back soon." He says as he falls back asleep.
Lyf hums. "Have a nice day." He waves as security removes the two.
.......
"Do you really think it's a good idea to surprise them?" Lyf sighs as Byron finishes brushing and braiding his hair.
"We're adults, Lyfrassir. we don't need to be picked up. I'm done with everything, and so are you. Jonny left us clothes, which i need hemmed. Didn't think I lost that much weight, but what can you do?" Matius smiles, tying off the bow in Lyf's braid. "Besides, I'm getting sick of that room, and we have to build a nest on Aurora, and I do need to get a few fruit trees here for myself before we leave. We'll probably leave soon once I've gotten my check-up from Raph and questions from Ivy. Ashes probably had their fill of gambling. Jonny got his materials for a new story. TS is happy making friends. Brian is enjoying the peace and behaving. Nastya is happy doing all the repairs on Aurora. Tim probably got his hands on some old weapons here and is going to use that to play with in the shooting range. It's been nice being with my own kind, but I prefer the crew. They're my family and so are you."
Lyf blushes a static rainbow blush. "I-i thank you. If you could indulge me, I think I want to go out to eat and have a proper Xeon meal."
Marius bows at the receptionist and security officers before stepping outside. "Anything you wish I will do. A dinner for two sounds lovely."
"You can quit it with the romance, were practically more than married at this point." Lyf glows brighter as Byron kisses his hand. "You're awful."
"Only for you, my inspector." Marius grins as Lyf hides his face, embracing him.
......
"As i said before, I won't be remaining. I appreciate the desire for me to remain and even travel with you guys, but I won't. I have my own ship and own travels. I rather not make myself a part of the story." Misery smiles softly. "Although the sex was very nice between the both of you."
"I don't know what's worse, watching Misery let them down gently, or the fact that Ivy and Raphaella are convinced they can make this work." Ashes sighs.
"This is too sad even for me." Jonny sips on his beer. "Even with the added weirdness, Misery would have been an ok fit, but this is just sad."
"What's sad?" Marius slips in between them.
"Fuck!" Ashes yelps. "What the fuck? Marius you fucking prick."
Jonny laughs. "Welcome back to civilization. I think Brian is debating on shooting the ceiling to get this sad scene to stop."
"That bad?" Marius chuckles waving for a drink.
"I don't think Lyf is going to help this situation." Ashes nearly chokes on their drink when Misery's gaze snaps to Marius.
"Byron?" Misery said nearly a whisper.
"Yes...?.... ah!" Marius blinks as he tastes the air. He may nice remember what she looked like or sounded like, but his body and senses did not forget his sister. "How?"
Misery smiles, pulling Marius to her side. "If I knew it was you, I would have put a request in at heat recovery. I know you probably don't remember my name or face, but that doesn't matter. This explains how you vanished after all."
Marius chuckles. "Well, the doctor was quite drunk. Come, let's share a drink. Fill me in on what I've forgotten."
Ivy and Raphaella share a look equally confused.
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multiplicity-positivity · 9 months ago
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hello! so i have been thinking about my plurality recently and have realized; i am mostly blurry 24/7. i am the host which makes things a little weirder. i feel like a blank slate most of the time and have a hard time defining “me”, things have been getting more bizarre are to i’ve lost a good chunk of attachment to my name and have been more murky about my gender and sexuality even though i haven’t felt like this in forever. i’ve also been very dazed and kind of lost aswell. i have a theory it may have to do with the amount of stress put on our brain as of late but i could be wrong, i’m willing to take any advice as to what might be happening, thank you!
Hi! To us, it sounds like you could be going through a couple different things: dissociation and/or brain fog!
Dissociation is a common symptom for many systems, not just those of us with dissociative disorders! We understand dissociation as disconnection - this can be a disconnection from our thoughts, feelings, actions, memories, surroundings, and more. When we are dissociated, we often feel blurry, hazy, dazed, confused, and out of touch with the world and ourselves. It can be difficult for us to make sense of our surroundings or communicate properly with other people.
We’ve compiled a list of resources on two common dissociative symptoms: depersonalization and derealization. We’ll link it here in case one of the resources listed might help you!
Something else you might be experiencing is brain fog. For our system, dissociation can be a symptom of brain fog, but these are actually two distinct things! We are most likely to experience brain fog when we’re overwhelmed, exhausted, overstimulated, or dealing with more than we can handle. For us, brain fog does have that dazedness that comes with dissociation, but it also can feel like a headache, lethargy, difficulty concentrating, and serious mental exhaustion. We haven’t written a post on brain fog (yet), but we’ll include a link to an article where you can learn more about it!
Dissociation and brain fog honestly can look and behave in very similar ways, so it may depend on your personal situation to properly understand which of these symptoms (if either of them) are affecting you!
If you’re not dissociating or experiencing brain fog, you may just be going through a rough patch and are having some doubts about yourself and your path in life. This is okay, it’s nothing to be ashamed of, and it’s something lots of people go through at some point in their lives! It might be worth it for you to spend some time questioning your identity. Maybe try out a new name or pronouns, explore new possibilities for your gender and sexuality, or just go with the flow and see where your thoughts and ideas take you!
Through all of this, please make sure you are taking care of yourself and your system, both body and mind! We have a little check up post we’d like to share with you. If your needs aren’t being met, you may be feeling burnt out, stressed, or exhausted as a result!
We hope something here is helpful or useful for you! We are not clinicians or experts by any stretch of the word, so we cannot diagnose you or pinpoint for certain what’s going on with you right now. But still, we are wishing you the very best and hope your blurriness will fade with time and a bit of self care! Best of luck to you with everything!
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untilyouremember · 1 year ago
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Where can I read and request manga?
My mission with my tumblr is to help you find official resources to consume manga; doing it these ways will help the mangaka who work to bring you content and it encourages English publishers to bring over more series.
Check under the cut for legal websites, apps and retailers with detailed information. At the bottom you'll find surveys and ways to contact publishers with requests.
You can use regular retailers to buy digital and print: Amazon/Kindle, Kobo, Barnes and Noble, Bookwalker, Google Play, Apple Books, Nook
There are apps available for buying volumes, chapters, using ticket systems to access free content, or with subscriptions.
Mangamo - $4.99/mo for 200+ titles; titles available for purchases with in-app library
Viz manga - $1.99/mo; titles available to purchase with in-app library (carries titles from Viz, but not their SJ series)
Shonen Jump - $2.99/mo; titles available to purchase with in-app library (carries specifically SJ titles, which are often popular shounen)
Comikey - uses a key system; ability to read for free with ads and patience
Kmanga - app maintained by Kodansha; chapters are often available to read for free through a ticket system and able to purchase
Kodansha - a website where you can create a free reading account. They offer 3 free chapters on all their manga, occasionally feature several free volumes, and run sales on their content somewhat regularly.
MangaPlus - $1.99 or $4.99 for a subscription; will allow a free read of their simulpub series.
MangaPlaza - 7 day free trial; $6.99/mo; [info incoming, seems to have more mature licenses]
INKR - 3 ways to access content; free, coins & 'Extra Membership'. Extra can cost $4.99/mo or $44.99/year and gives you access to content, extra savings and "free ink" that can be traded for their coin system. (Used to be Manga Rock and that was a fun read from them)
MangaPlanet - $1.99/week -> $47.99/year depending on which tier you pay for.
MangaUP - 1 month free trial, $4.99/mo; you can browse their 'vault' to see if things you like are included
Irodori Comics - hosts 18+, specializes in doujinshi, more info incoming
Renta! - point system; 1 point = 1 cent; regular bonus points for higher purchases
ComiXology - $4.99/month; a service through amazon that allows you access to comics, manga and graphic novels. Specifically boasts {2400} manga titles.
Animeplanet - has a library of completely free comics and anime through partnerships; seems to host less manga styled comics but free is free.
Manta, Comicle, Webtoon, Tappytoon, Tapas, WebComics, Bilibili will be looked into but they host mostly webtoon style comics
Seven seas has a (mostly) monthly survey that is linked on their homepage at all times. {They will pull from any publisher, including digital only simulpubs}
If you have a bookwalker account, I found a Google doc that you fill out requests and they send them to publishers.
To send suggestions to Viz, use this survey that is listed through their Contact Us page (you select the "Series Suggestion" and will be redirected) {they mostly pull from shogakukan and shueisha titles}
To send suggestions to Kodansha, go to their contact us page and there are 2 useful drop downs; suggest reprints and suggest series, suggest series is also useful to request a print of anything they've licensed digital only. {They pull almost exclusively from Kodansha Japan}
TokyoPop has a discord server where they look at your suggestions in the channel #licensesuggestion
If you are able, in any way, support official English releases. It shows it is a lucrative business decision to continue the manga. Nothing is worse than starting something and being unable to finish it because it stopped getting translated and published.
I will update this post as needed, enjoy your manga! ♡
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auspicious-voice · 4 months ago
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New Site Revamp! (+Updates)
Hi! This site hasn't been all that active in a while since I've focused on other interests. Nothing too bad, but if anything, it's helped me learn that being engaged in other interests helps with getting burnt out less.
With that being said, I have a lot of things to say, so as usual, everything else is under the cut.
Site Overhauls
Since releasing my DiffSinger voicebanks, I figured that this site needed a major revamp, and I've been working on it on-and-off when it came to figuring out which theme I wanted to go with. It took a couple of tries to get the theme I wanted, but I've settled with the Vermillion theme from ricecodes. It's responsive, has a dark/light mode, has an all-in-one sidebar for important information, and many more features ^^
I have also removed any unnecessary pages from the site to make it less cluttered. We also moved (most of) the Frequently Asked Questions page to the Ask tab for easier access. Additionally, the Terms of Service page has been renamed to Guidelines, but still need to be followed in order to use the voicebanks and resources hosted on this site. The Menu tab now has a directory of pages and tags via the Navigation section, and an Affiliates section.
Also, Maria and Mario's trivia sections in their character profile pages have been revamped to keep up to date with their current lore.
Affiliate Applications Are Now Open!
I would like to announce that affiliate applications are now open! If you so happen to manage your own voicebanks (regardless of platform), have a website dedicated to said voicebanks, and are at least acquaintances/mutuals with HIRATELIER, you are qualified to apply. Just shoot me an ask with the following info:
Site Name: [INSERT HERE] Creator/Manager: [INSERT HERE] Voicebanks Managed: [INSERT HERE] Icon Image: [INSERT IMAGE URL HERE]
The Affiliates section in the Menu tab should look like this for reference.
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DiffSinger Updates
The 1.1.0 update for Fuwa Maria and Fuwa Mario's DiffSinger voicebanks is on the way! I'm not sure when that will happen, but if anything, it could release before or on their 10th anniversary. New updates with DiffSinger mainly have to do with the VR tension parameter option and proper multilingual (XLS) implementation, and there could be more coming in the future.
I'm still in the process of labeling new data for Maria and Mario's datasets, each with 8 new songs. They contain a mixture of strong singing (mostly to further improve their power vocal modes and range) and English singing (to also improve their English pronunciation). There's also a possibility that they may support newer languages via parallel training, and if possible, I would like to implement Tagalog, Chinese and Korean support.
10th Anniversary Plans
Maria and Mario's 10th anniversary is next year, and I have some big plans for it...if everything goes to plan. So far, you can expect the following things once it's their anniversary:
Newly revamped fullbody illustrations for UTAU and DiffSinger (+ new designs...?)
New graphics
Cover + PV
BUT...for the first time in AUSPICIOUS VOICE's history, I'll be celebrating Maria and Mario's half-anniversary, which will be on October 3! It probably won't be as big as the actual anniversary itself, but you can expect a cover, or art, or even both of them. It entirely depends on my time and energy.
I've got a lot on my plate when it comes to juggling a bunch of personal projects, but here's to hoping I can get through all of them without burning myself out.
Peace ✨✌️
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readyfreddy · 9 months ago
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Ok a question: is the bad grade because you're missing so many assignments that the 0s are stacking up, or is it because of a series of poor grades?
Because for the first one, ask for an incomplete and give them a TIMELINE on which you will complete the work over eg summer (like 1 assignment a week or sth, nothing super intense just to prove that you're actually going to do it) and maybe also offer to meet with them regularly/send them email updates regularly while you're working on their work (again to prove you won't ghost them and will actually finish the class).
The second one, you could try to ask them to bend the syllabus for you. Definitely tell them how much they mean to you as a prof and how much you like their class, but also just express the difficulty you've been having honestly (tbh just like the first two lines in quotes in your post) and maybe see if they will let you maybe do something to your grade advantage, like take a final essay grade or final exam grade in place of your average if it's higher.
I don't know what your relationship with them is or your other needs, but you could also ask to retake the class with lower demand (like attending lectures you feel you need to and not the ones you don't need over again) or ask for maybe an independent study class to help with their research or something to help raise your overall GPA if the course grade doesn't matter as much in the grand scheme.
Sorry for the rambling in your inbox 😅 I live surrounded by academics so it's kind of the stuff I hear about all the time and this seemed less wierd then DMing idk? Uh I hope this helps and isn't like intensely overstepping 😅
All good and I genuinely appreciate your imput <3 Inbox or DM work equally as well for me :)
I've handed everything in on time but have a series of 50's and below :( , and I don't really have a relationship with him beyond discussion my academic accommodations. I'm aiming for pharmacy school, but at that becomes less of a reality every single day (or at least what it feels like). I have other options that I'd be happy with, but as of right now, pharmacy school is a big goal of mine.
I ended up sending him an email, that he'll likely see Monday morning, my email (w/o identifying features) is below the cut:
I have enjoyed your class thoroughly and have learnt a lot. Despite what it looks like on paper, I am trying my best and working hard to succeed in this course. 
This term has been incredibly difficult for me as I have been balancing two jobs,  handful of extracurriculars, as well as dealing with an out of province parent who is becoming increasingly disabled as time progresses and doing extensive research regarding their condition. It is hard to ignore that there is a lot going on in my life and I am trying to keep a lot of different areas of my life in control, even if those matters are completely beyond my control. 
As a result, this has taken a major toll on my mental health. What I was once able to successfully manage has now become near debilitating. I have used some of the on-campus resources, and they have made a noticeable difference. One of my lab instructors has already expressed concern regarding my mental health and have taken some small actions to help me.
I’ve been able to go to all your classes; however, I have found it hard to focus and retain information, even if I am taking notes and engaging in classroom discussion. 
I know that it is very late in the term, and there is very little that can be done while still maintaining fairness to all students. If there is anything that can be done, please let me know at your earliest convenience. Unfortunately, I will not be able to attend your office hours this upcoming Monday,  I am aiming to be there around 9:30 on Wednesday. If these times do not work for you, please let me know and we can discuss a time that works best for both of us.
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schizopositivity · 2 years ago
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are there any resources you can share about caring for a loved one who may be going through a psychotic episode?
my little sister (21) is going through something that looks like an episode, but we don’t know for sure since she hasn’t had one before. my parents convinced her to see a psychiatrist, but because she *seems* okay until she starts laughing uncontrollably or doesn’t know where she is or thinks her body is horribly deformed, the first appointment didn’t really go well (as in, my dad didn’t bother talking to the psychiatrist himself and let my sister go to the appointment herself). i haven’t seen her recently, but i have spoken to her and she doesn’t seem like herself.
i’ve found sources about how to help someone with active delusions/hallucinations, but nothing much on care when they are rambling nonsense words or when they *seem* fine but then get set off and start ranting/screaming at others (sometimes obvious triggers, sometimes completely unfounded from an outsider perspective).
i struggle with my own mental health, and bipolar disorder and schizophrenia run in our family. i’m mostly concerned about providing informed care for my visit (she cannot be left alone according the psychiatrist so i will be sleeping in the same room with her).
any advice would be helpful and greatly appreciated <3
I think encouraging her to get regular psychiatric care is the best option. There is only so much you can do as a nonprofessional. For most people who suffer from psychosis, the most impactful and effective treatments are prescription medications and therapy. And those are two things you cannot provide yourself. I'm sure you and your family are aware of this, but if she struggles to open up or tell the truth or even just remember her actions to tell to her psychiatrist, it might be very helpful if you or another one of your family members schedules an appointment with her psychiatrist so that you can tell them things from your perspective.
For trying to help you sister at home, I think just being there for her, to listen, to watch out for, and to be nonjudgmental of her will go a long way. Try to make her comfortable, try to eliminate any known triggers that you can. Try to let her know you are there for her and you will keep her safe. Start an open honest dialogue with her. Ask her if she is aware of her actions, how she feels at the time, if you could do anything to help during those times. Maybe she can tell it's coming before it happens and she can notify you. Maybe she isn't aware at all and would like you to let her know what she did.
Every psychotic person's experiences and needs are different. While general articles and guides can be a helpful start, it's also important to communicate with the person you are caring for and ask them what would be helpful to them specifically. The best time to set up crisis plans, coping skills and other forms of care is when the person is doing well or is at their baseline. So when your sister is not in an episode would be the best time to have these conversations and set up these plans to help.
Also, even though you might not understand what your sister is going through, you can find parts to understand, and go from your own understanding of what might help. For example: a common feeling during psychosis is fear and/or confusion. You could think about times when you are afraid and confused and think about what things might help during those times (like assuring safety, explaining things, etc).
I'm sorry I took so long to reply, I had stuff going on that kinda kept me from doing this. If anything in this situation has since changed feel free to send me another ask and I can try to give some insight into things as they are currently. Or even if you just want to update how things are I'd be happy to hear it.
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texasthegreatdestroyer · 1 year ago
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Creating Animated Wallpapers with 3D parallax (Gyroscopic parallax) Like Apofiss. (Adroid)
See this here??? Example Here. Do you wanna make something like this? Skip the colored text if you want to get to the meat of the information. Do you ever just see something really cool on the internet, and go "Hey! I mostly have the skills to do this! All I'm missing is a quick guide on how to achieve certain affects!" And then proceed to spend the next two days scrounging the internet for answers but find absolutely nothing? Yeah... That was me. I only just now figured out how to do it, and that was after giving up on this potential project twice. In my particular case, I saw a neat little wall paper running around by the artist Apofiss. I love this creator's work, and I think they do amazing stuff, but me being me and an artist, I like to put my own personal touches on things, and so instead of just buying a wallpaper, I have to put myself through the pain and misery of incorporating my own art into an animated gyroscopic live wallpaper. Considering if you're here reading this post, you might be like me, and hella annoyed that you've spent hours to even days researching this and haven't found a tutorial that actually helps but instead is a shitty app that barely scratches the surface and doesn't allow you to incorporate animated details into your images that you intend to use a parallax on, and it's likely also because much like myself, you may have been using improper terminology and not scraping far enough down into search engine as a result. What Apofiss created, and what you're trying to pull off is an animated wall paper with a Gyroscopic Parallax. It's not something that requires complex coding, but instead requires a third party app called KLWP (Not sure what the letters stand for, but I find it easy to remember the order they're in because they look like a condensed down spelling of Kool Whip.) Download App Here. This is the only app that I've found that will allow you to include gifs and videos into as layers to your gyroscopic parallax. Here's the video Tutorial I found that teaches you how to set up that animation. Video Here.
Also keep in mind that if you've reached timestamp 1:35 of the video, the video tutorial is 7 years old, so it likely has not been updated to allow animations at the time that person filmed the video, but I can assure you that it is an option. This is my own screen as of 11/5/2023 showing that you can add animated images, you just simply need look for it in the prompt when you go to add items.
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This^^^ is the same settings as this vvv
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Make sure that as you follow the tutorial, you use a gif instead of a regular images for one of the items that way you can see how the thing operates, and when you preview it, have fun tilting around your phone to watch that small little glimmer of hope flare up in your fragile, already broken little heart. Trust me. It's fullfilling. I can answer questions, but I'm still fairly new at this myself. I just wanted to put these resources out here, because it is hard to find a decent tutorial. Your best bet is just going to be to play around with the app yourself and see what you can do. I recommend that you do one of two things to help others who may be struggling with this as I have. 1. Spread it around to people who have asked these same questions and never got answers. 2. If this post sucks and you can make a better, more cohesive tutorial, make one and spread that around. This is Tex, yall have a wonderful rest of your day, and happy live wall paper making.
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utilitycaster · 2 years ago
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I originally deleted this because frankly I was busy and this is obviously not someone interested in a response, only in being a dickhead, and also because I had limited laptop access at the time and couldn't make this meme, which was the first thing I thought of.
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(idk, maybe this is how all the kids are talking in Ireland or Aotearoa or whatever but I think if I had said this to the kids I tutored in like 2017 they'd tell me to leave.)
But I kept thinking about it today while doing some work on the wiki and wanted to give it a serious answer, because while the anon doesn't really deserve one, it's worth talking about the implications here.
I just spent some time today updating the Felderwin article in (slightly late) preparation for Veth's Mighty Nein Origins. While so much of the articles surrounding many other PC’s pasts were updated regularly, Felderwin had nearly nothing - it briefly mentioned that Veth was there and the history was almost entirely directly plagiarized from the Explorer's Guide to Wildemount, despite it being the site of some incredibly important moments in Campaign 2. You can, as of right now (5:50 pm Eastern Time on January 18 2023) take a look at Encyclopedia Exandria's entry and compare it to the Fandom entry, or just check the history of the article before today if you'd rather not go to Fandom.
I think the wiki’s importance in the fandom is complicated, and it would take someone with a better understanding of the fandom and more distance from both wikis than I to know what this means. What I do know is that people go to wikis when they write meta or fanfic, or for descriptions for art. If there’s nothing on the page, I do think it means a hit to what kind of content you might see. It’s not a death knell by any means, because there’s always the transcripts and the EGTW, but it’s more work, and not everyone has the time or inclination to put it in.
Imagine it wasn’t Veth and Fjord. Imagine the ships the admin of the fandom wiki tried to diminish weren’t Fjord/Jester and Caleb/Essek. Imagine it was your favorite - imagine that this site, which serves as the portal for some new fans, an opportunity to do a crash course if you want more detail than the official recaps, didn’t say (for example) that Beau and Yasha were in a relationship, or hedged on the importance of their date. Imagine that every Campaign 3 character’s history was filled out except for Imogen’s, or Ashton's.
Because that’s the problem: bias isn’t, ultimately, about it being unfair to Veth or people who like Veth, even though it is also very much that. It’s a sign of deeper problems. It tells you “this person doesn't value having good or neutral information; they want to try to shape and police people's experience within the fandom, in a space that is specifically intended to be a neutral resource." And they will do it whether or not you happen to agree with them. It's rather chilling when someone thinks that's more acceptable than me having opinions on a personal blog.
And perhaps you're saying "it's not that deep, I just sent this because I think you suck." And, you know, that's your issue, and I can't help you. But I do want you to leave you with this: while it's true we have no way to compete with Fandom's SEO capabilities on the general scale, we actually kick their ass on most new lore - including in Google search. We've actually had a few cases of them taking phrasing off our wiki, often because of posts editors have made on Tumblr. My actual intent in making that post was to uh, sneakily get them to update their Fjord page, not in the least because it's the most searched page on their wiki; sadly, I don't think they have. It's a huge missed opportunity, and the fandom on the whole loses something from it. Fortunately, our Veth (and Fjord) coverage is awesome and I hope you all check it out!
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treatsf · 1 year ago
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MANDELA STARS BELOW LORE!!!
Hello! I know that none of my followers have a flying fuck what Stars Below is, other than the stuff relating to it I've reblogged, BUT!! I have an AU that's a crossover of both it and Mandela Catalogue, my main interest A lot of the terms I use here probably won't make sense to someone not aware of the series, so here are some resources! https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFiR8xHGAPZKhnb-PdD-6Gz6pc1CWg4kM&si=zsR-MuiCCJ1MCILw https://toyhou.se/21038090.wip-kraizen-vani-species https://the-forever-ocean.fandom.com/wiki/The_Forever_Ocean_Wiki Now, for the Google doc, explaining the lore of the Main Four Victims (+ other snippets)! This thing will hopefully be updated at least semi-often, but there aren't any guarantees. I'll also copy and paste the information under the cut if one doesn't want to look at the Google Doc. Thank you!
MARK. AKA: VICTIM 1. (Second event chronologically): 
(TW: Vol 1, Suicide, Genocide, Religious Themes)
Mark Christian Heathcliff was always very religious. He lived a relatively normal life, however. Until he… well, one night, while his family was away, he was called to the forest in the middle of the night, where he found… Gabriel. A 50 foot BEHEMOTH of a creature, nothing like Mark had ever seen before. So, naturally, he decided that this was god. Or the devil, he wasn’t quite sure. Though, when it introduced itself as “Gabriel”, Mark decided that it was the former. So, when “God” told him that he was going to help him “rid humans of their suffering”, he was compliant. Even when that involves killing entire cities with giant light beams. If this was what “God” wanted, Mark would comply. He ended up moving to a house near the woods, away from society so that he wasn’t arrested for his crimes.
One day, however, he received… a phone call. From his friend Cesar? Cesar had gone missing a few months prior, so Mark was rightfully confused about what was going on. Though, when the man explained that he needed Mark to come and turn in his security cameras, he was hesitant, but willing after further discussion. Nothing could go wrong, right?
As Mark drove home from the Torres residence, it was quickly apparent that he had been followed. By.. well, “Cesar”, and an entity named N. The two locked him into his room for three days, where he subsequently took his life after enough mental torment. However, he was seemingly… “resurrected” by the powers N possessed, turning into a “Shadow” (a zombie), and securing Gabriel’s spot on earth. Because, by a technicality, Mark was not dead.
TL;DR: “HOLY FUCK IS THAT GOD????!!!!!! oh wait no I’m a zombie now”
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CESAR. AKA: VICTIM TWO. (First event chronologically):
(TW: Vol 1, Dehumanization)
Cesar Torres was, well… there’s not a lot known about the real Cesar (as well as the majority of victims of the Shadow; it seems preexisting memories of these people from the ones closest to them have all been erased.) All that we’re aware of is that, one night, Cesar went… missing. In reality, he was “kidnapped” by N, who turned him into a “Patient 0” of sorts for N’s power, which is the ability to turn people into zombie-like entities called Shadows, which basically just corrupt someone and turn them into a version of them with their worst traits. For example, someone with anger issues would become volatile after being Shadowed, anger being their main, and only, emotion. At least, if they’re alive when they’re turned, of course; those who are turned after their deaths become your textbook zombie, at least mentally. 
However, Cesar was… different. Unlike a majority of the other Shadows, he maintained some sort of control of himself, even if he was fully turned. He was tasked, at least for a while, of being the “Commander” of the Shadows, considering N’s lack of ability to do that for… a variety of reasons. So, the shadowed part of Cesar did just that; corrupted people into shadows, amassing a large army of soldiers for the Mercy Mission, despite the real Cesar’s constant fight for control. He was even responsible for his best friends death at one point, though he did also bring the man back to life in the same instant. 
Legend says that Cesar is still active today, lurking in the shadows and observing the events unfolding in 2009 with a sharp eye, reporting his findings to his new master and leader, Gabriel. 
TL;DR: Man becomes a zombie shadow thing with a conscience and does Alt!Cesar like things… wuh oh
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ADAM. AKA: VICTIM THREE. (Third event chronologically):
(TW: Adams Childhood, Vol 2, Vol 4, Catalyst, Presto, Sadism, Genocide, Radiation Poisoning, Death, Gore)
Adam Icarus Murray has always been tied to the Vani in one way or the other. When he was about three or four, both of his parents— Lynn and Jude Murray— were killed by Gabriel in his attack, and instead of being distraught like a normal human would, Adam was fascinated. The idea that any entity had the sheer power to kill thousands of people in the blink of an eye didn’t scare him, no; he was enthralled by it. He felt an inherent connection to these beings, and from then on, he became obsessed. Though, he usually kept this obsession to himself.
That was until one Sarah Heathcliff founded the “Bythorne Vani Society”— or just the Bythorne Vani Club at the time. Adam and Sarah used to go on missions together, but after an unnamed event, Sarah stopped, forcing Adam to find someone else to go on missions with him instead. And the person he chose was his childhood “friend” Jonah Marshall. Jonah had some sort of idea of what happened with Adams parents, so they were somewhat aware of Adams interest, but they didn’t know the pure extent to which it went.
The longer Adam and Jonah stayed in BVS, the deeper Adam dug himself into his obsession. Sure, the blond always had a fascination with the Vani, but never to the extreme he was in. Jonah attempted to pull the man back from the quickly approaching insanity he was digging himself into, but all attempts failed as Adam “came closer to the truth.”
One day, Adam found… a house. A house that had been rumored to be the old residency of one of the old Tethers— Cesar, was his name? Adam wasn’t sure. All he knew is that the house was calling him, and that to not go in was to risk everything. Jonah said the house scared the shit out of them, and they refused to go in, much to the blonds chagrin. Adam stays in the house for three days, Vol 2 argument happens, yadda yadda.
Jonah’s side of the story is for another day, but as for Adam? He finds exactly what he had been looking for all this time. In the basement of that house was a Vani who called itself “Six”, and it wanted Adam to help him. The man, now completely disconnected from reality, says yes, after very minor amounts of pushback. As it turns out, the reason the Vani kill is because of something called the “Mercy Mission”— or the belief that life is suffering, and that the only release from it is death.— Adam instantly believes in this narrative, as well as also… secretly having the innate desire to kill just for the fun of it, just like his Vani.
Each Vani has an Sembla (Element), and Six’s is Radiation. He can manipulate electromagnetic waves, and, well… give people radiation. A lot of the Vani also have certain items, called Amplifiers, which are modified technology from another race called the Omni that help them… kill people. Six’s is this suit that allows its wearer to go through electromagnetic waves, which basically makes it so they can transport through screens and the like.
Adam, after a quick walk with his new Vani to find the van Jonah had crashed, makes it back to his house. Immediately, he makes a video and posts it to the BVS YouTube channel, basically explaining how he had just found a real life Vani, and how all of his research and time spent trying to prove the existence of these beasts has been proven correct. What the viewer didn’t know, however, is that this video was simply a conduit for Adam, with the Amplifier Six gave him, to go through their computer screen and drag them into it, killing them from the amount of radiation after a certain point— vaporizing them, basically.
The first victim of this was Adams own boss, Sarah. However, because of the fact this was his first time, he grabbed her by her arm instead of her shoulders, which allows Sarah to escape with-… major injury in the process. Adam quickly learns from this mistake, however, and very little to no victims have escaped him after this event.
The one set back is that doing this isn’t very healthy for humans, and Adam soon starts getting mutations. At first he gets lumps on his head, which quickly turn to things that look like cat ears. Then, his nose changes to be more animalistic, and he grows whisker-like hairs on his cheeks. Finally, he grows a tail with a hand at the end, which acts almost like another limb entirely. His insanity has also been pushed even farther by the nuclear exposure, and instead of being horrified by these new growths, he is delighted. He is becoming closer to the Vani, is he not?
However, with these “up sides” come… very obvious side effects. He becomes weaker; he feels sick a lot more, and his teeth and bones start to ache and even fall out. Despite this obvious radiation poisoning, he continues. His brain has been altered too much to fully understand what was happening to him, however, and he goes on, despite Six’s minor amounts of protest.
No human body can be subject to the amount of radiation Adam has been subject to and still live, including Adam himself. After a few months of this, his body completely gives up on him. He falls, sitting in front of his nightstand, completely unable to get up. He can feel his bones rotting away and breaking. It’s excruciating. Sores have been appearing on his body, and all he wants to do is pick them until they bleed, but he can’t even move his arms up to do so. He tries to scream for someone to help him, anyone, but the pain is so bad that even so much as opening his mouth is a challenge.
Finally, after days of this torture, Adams jaw… falls clean off his face, along with whatever parts of his throat and esophagus that are left. This, of course, kills the blond, but instead of feeling death as a good thing, he realized how painful it was, how excruciating it was— it wasn’t mercy! He believed so much in the “Mercy Mission” he was told about that, when his death felt like it did the opposite of release him from the “pains of life”, that broke him in some way. It was a lie served up to him on a silver platter that he immediately fell into, and formed part of his identity around. But it was fake. It wasn’t true. And now he was going to die a fraud.
Right before his death, he felt a presence, but he couldn’t tell who or what it was until it was the last thing he saw. But, as he soon realizes, the thing was there to… save him. He was alive again, almost a squid jog as he was killed. He didn’t know whether this was punishment for what he had done— even if he didn’t exactly regret it— or charity work. He was a shadow now, but with one key difference: he could control himself. He had already become the worst parts of himself, so mentally, there was very little change.
Soon enough, Adam is found by someone. By one… Thatcher Davis. He is referred to as “Victim Three”, which angers him: he isn’t a victim! Or, well, he was, but more so because he was victim of being shadowed, and not that he was a “victim of the Vani”, or whatever. After being taken to their base, he was put into questioning, where he was forced to explain what happened and why he did what he did. And, seeing no other option, he did exactly that.
Now, he has been put into captivity by the Main Party, having an agreement with the four that he could stay if he helped them and gave them the relevant information when asked. He doesn’t fully like this agreement, but it was better than becoming “just another Shadow”, so he complies. Even if two of the people he was now put under were his biggest enemies.
TL;DR: Who knew the orphan obsessed with Vani would go on to believe in the Vani's mission and kill people??? Also he’s really radioactive. And dead. Oh wait nvm, he isn’t anymore. And now he’s caged up.
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JONAH. AKA: VICTIM FOUR. (Fourth event chronologically):
(TW: Vol 2, Toxic Relationships, Kidnapping, Hostage Situations, Drug Addiction, Dehumanization, Torture, Religious Themes, Genocide)
Jonah Edmund Marshall was… well, a normal guy. His mother was turned to Shadow, but other than that, he was largely unaffected by the Vani crisis. However, his best friend, Adam, was… at the complete opposite side of the spectrum, and after a while, invited Jonah to join this society called the “Bythorne Vani Society”, owned by one Sarah Heathcliff. Seeing as one of goals of BVS was to help people affected by the Vani crisis, and Jonah didnt exaclty mind helping people, he joined. Besides; It’d piss off his dad, Mervin, who wanted Jonah to stay as far away from Vani as possible (for mostly selfish reasons), so that was another plus.
The longer Adam and Jonah stayed in BVS, the longer Adam became… obsessed. Sure, Adam always had a fascination with the Vani, but never to this extreme. All of Jonah’s attempts to pull Adam away from his obsession were met with anger and rage, and the more and more Adam dug himself deeper into the hole of his past, the worse and worse Jonah began to feel, both mentally and physically, their jobs taking a hefty toll on the man.
One day, Adam found… a house. A house that had been rumored to be the old residency of one of the old Tethers— Cesar, was his name? Jonah wasn’t sure. All he knew is that the house scared the shit out of him, and he refused to go in. Adam, wanting to check the house out for a few nights, just to find evidence of Vani activity, stays in the house for three days. Queue Vol 2 argument, yadda yadda.
Adams side of the story is for another day, but as for Jonah? Well, he ended up crashing the van into a tree right outside of Mandela County after something had gotten into his radio speakers and began taunting him for “Leaving (Adam) behind.” Jonah fell into a coma, but was quickly found by… Preacher, his tether. This was all an elaborate scheme to trap the two tethers, it seemed.
After a few days, Jonah woke up in some sort of hideout. At first, he’s confused and disoriented, but he soon sees… something… in the corner of his eye. Something with the familiar Green, Blue, Violet, and Red patterning. Realizing what that is, he… freaks the fuck out. Rightfully, of course— he believed he was going to be killed by a Vani, the one thing he had ran away from!
Oh, if only.
Soon, after Jonah fully recovers and his mental state is “stabilized”, they’re forced by the Vani, which calls itself Preacher, to use a staff to go into people’s dreams and suck their life force. As it turns out, Preacher… believes herself to be a disciple of God, and Jonah as one of God's new apostles. She views these killings as “part of God’s plan”, and that Jonah has to be apart of it, whether he likes it or not. And Jonah-… well, Jonah hates it. Despises it, even. But he has no real way of escaping, so he just does as Preacher says.
The one reward Jonah gets from these killings are… Dreams. The dreams that Jonah takes from people are basically like drugs, and heavy ones too. He gets instantly hooked, now not able to leave not just because of the fact he was basically kidnapped and is now held hostage, but because he has gained a crippling addiction to a drug only Preacher can provide. Only death can provide.
However, after months of this torture, something finally… snaps, in Jonah. Maybe a stunning revelation, maybe the guilt stacking up too high, who knows. All we know is that Jonah made a plan. A plan that, in the end, worked. With the end part of Jonah’s staff, made out of a material called Vanium, which can pierce through a Vani’s brand, killing them, Jonah snuck into Preacher’s hiding spot in the middle of the night. Then, without warning, he killed her, and promptly escaped.
Jonah is now being treated for the severe addiction he gained and the countless mental issues the whole ordeal caused, and he ended up joining the “Main Party”, now trying to help them stop the Wisconsin Vani once and for all.
TL;DR: normal man turned monster hunter turned drug addicted killer turned good guy -
Sadly, most of the main cast don't have complete designs, other than Six, Adam, Preacher, and Jonah, So here they are!
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1702digital · 1 month ago
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5 Useful Strategies For Repurposing Your Old Content
There is nothing worse than spending hours creating content only to have it sink into the depths of the Internet. That’s why it is so important to find ways to repurpose your old content. Not only will this save you time and energy, but it can also be a great way to get more eyes on your work.
Why Should You Repurpose Content?
There are many reasons why you should consider repurposing your old content. For one, it can help you to reach a new audience with your existing content.
In addition, repurposing content can save you time and energy in the long run. Rather than starting from scratch every time you want to create new content, you can simply adapt and update your existing material. This is especially useful if you find yourself struggling to come up with fresh ideas on a regular basis. By breathing new life into old content, you’ll be able to keep your site or blog updated without having to start from scratch each time.
Finally, repurposing content can help you to build authority and credibility in your industry. If you’re seen as an expert on a particular topic, people will be more likely to visit your site and consume your content. If you have quality information that’s presented in a variety of different formats, people will begin to see you as a thought leader in your field—which can only benefit your business in the long run!
5 Actionable strategies for Repurposing Old Content
1. Slideshow – Creating an infographic
If you’re looking for a way to breathe new life into your old content, creating an infographic is a great option. Not only will an infographic help you to tell a better story with your data, but it can also be a highly shareable piece of content that can help you to reach a wider audience.
If you’re not sure where to start when it comes to creating an infographic, there are plenty of online resources that can help you get started.
2. Make a video
If you have old blog posts or articles that are no longer getting any traffic, you can repurpose them into videos. This is a great way to breathe new life into your old content and reach a new audience.
To make a video from your old content, start by creating an outline of the main points you want to cover. Then, find some images or clips that illustrate those points. Finally, record yourself talking through the outline. When you’re done, post the video on YouTube or another video-sharing site.
3. Quora Q&A 
If you’re like most people, you’ve probably generated a lot of content over the years that is just sitting around gathering dust. But there’s no need to let all that hard work go to waste! With a little bit of creativity, you can repurpose your old content and give it new life.
One great way to do this is to take advantage of Quora. Quora is a Q&A platform that can be used to generate new blog posts. Simply choose a question related to your niche, and then answer it in depth. Be sure to include links back to your own website or blog where appropriate. You can also use Quora to find questions that people are already asking about your products or services, and then answer them on your blog or website. This is a great way to provide valuable information to potential customers while also driving traffic back to your site.
4. Internal Data –> Case Studies
When you’re ready to move on from an old blog post or article, don’t just hit the delete button! There are plenty of ways to repurpose your existing content and give it new life.
One great way to do this is to create a case study. A case study allows you to take a deep dive into a specific issue or topic that your readers are interested in. This can be an excellent way to show off your expertise and attract new readers.
5. Webinars and video lessons
Webinars are a great way to repurpose old content because they allow you to go more in-depth on a topic and really engage with your audience. You can use webinars to answer frequently asked questions, share case studies or success stories, or even provide training on a particular topic.
Video lessons are another great option for repurposing old content. You can take a blog post and turn it into a short video lesson that people can watch at their convenience. This is a great way to reach a wider audience.
Conclusion
As you can see, there are a lot of different ways that you can repurpose your old content. But out of all of the strategies, we think that the best one is to simply update it and give it a new spin.
Source URL: https://1702digital.com/seo/repurposing-your-old-content/
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plantechwa8 · 1 month ago
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How to Implement Effective Fire Mitigation Services
Fires over the years have been of high frequency and intensity and have called for property owners to think proactively to prevent them. It goes without saying that fire mitigation services should be effectively established to reduce risk factors and elements of loss to life or property. In Perth, you may be looking into hiring professional firebreak contractors as an effective measure for protecting your land. A guide on how to implement effective fire mitigation services.
Knowing the Services of Fire Mitigation Services
Fire mitigation services is a package of techniques which are put into practice for reducing fire hazards and to enhance safety. It begins with the creation of defensible space, effective management of vegetation, maintenance of firebreaks, and monitoring of potential risks closely. Whether commercial properties, residential areas, or agricultural lands, the basic principles of fire mitigation can save life and resources.
Why Firebreak Contractors Perth?
In bushfire-prone regions, there is nothing lesser than what the firebreak contractors Perth have done. The process of making and keeping firebreaks is known as firebreak services. It is simply those narrow pieces of land, free of combustible plant life that can impede or even retard the progress of fire, between sources of fuel and structures that offer time to firefighting measures to have an effect.
Key Steps for Effective Implementation of Fire Mitigation Services
1. Evaluate the Risk
Start with the assessment of the fire risk in your region. Determine the kind of vegetation that surrounds you, how close you are to bushland, and your climatic conditions. Get the input of the experts in fires and your local fire authority to ascertain how vulnerable your property is. Knowing these aspects will better position you in deciding the amount of fire mitigation work you require.
2. Hire Firebreak Contractors
Once you have evaluated the risk level of your property, hire firebreak contractors Perth to help you plan the best course of action on your land. They would be able to help determine the best place for installing firebreaks and then guide you on local requirements and environmental considerations. Experienced firebreak services will be able to clear the land with vegetation, create a protective barrier, and provide proper maintenance to ensure the utmost protection against any weather or condition.
3. Have Defensible Space
Ensure to establish a defensible space. This should be from as close to 30 feet or more from the unique environment that surrounds your dwelling. All these will:
- Eliminate fuel load: Trim your shrub and trees. All the dead vegetations have to go, and the grass mowed to a lower grade to minimize fire chances.
- Utilize fire-resistance landscaping: These consist of plantings with vegetation that cannot easily burn with fire.
- Make Zones: Division of your land must be made according to your buildings' proximity. The zone closer to buildings will have higher resistance against fire, whereas a higher zone, like Zone 3, which is more distant from the buildings, could have more natural vegetation.
4. Maintain the Property regularly
Commercial grounds maintenance is another significant factor in fire risk reduction. Regular maintenance practices, such as mowing, weed control, and managing debris, will keep your property healthy and minimize the fuel for a potential fire. Invest in scheduled inspections so that potential hazards are dealt with immediately.
5. Be Informed and Prepared
Educate yourself and your staff on fire safety and mitigation techniques. Ensure everyone knows evacuation plans and emergency response plans. Refresh your fire plan regularly and have drills so that always being prepared remains at the top. Team up with local fire authorities for the community risk assessment and for workshops on fire risks.
6. Monitor and Update Mitigation Strategies
Fire risk is dynamic. Update your fire mitigation services as the climate, vegetation, and land use patterns change. Continuous monitoring allows you to adapt and refine your strategies to minimize risks effectively.
Implementing effective fire mitigation services requires a comprehensive, proactive approach to ensure the safety of your property and community. Firebreak contractors Perth and a commitment to commercial grounds maintenance will help reduce fire hazards substantially. By taking the right steps outlined in this guide, property owners can play an important role in fostering a safer environment for all. Don't wait until it's too late; take action now to protect what matters most.
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multiplicity-positivity · 1 year ago
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hello , i don't really know how to start this question or if i should even send this to your blog . . . but i decided i should send because i need to spell it out . since last year i am thinking that maybe i am in a system but that feeling is getting to out of control and i don't really know what i should do . i had been in multiple traumatic experiences since childhood and always changed my personality in the experiences that i am within. i'm always questioning if this me IS really the me who i was yesterday like "is this me? is this really me??" . i feel like i should try to research and try to self diagnose myself because my family won't allow me to go to the psychiatrist again and our financial amount can't pay because is to expensive nowadays . do you guys know any reliable resource to research about multiple and maybe about depersonalization too ? ( i've been also experiencing somewhat of a depersonalization recently ) i'm so scared of sending this because I can't stop feeling that someone will judge me of " wanting to take advantage of a disorder to make bad things " which isn't what I want :(
Hiya! We’re so sorry that you’re having to go through this difficult questioning process on your own without any help from a mental health professional! It sounds really tough, and our heart goes out to you! Rest assured you should never feel bad for asking a question here… we’re always happy to help however we can!! >w<
We do have a post with lots of resources for questioning systems! So if you’re looking to start learning about plurality and dissociative disorders, this is a great place to start:
That post ^ contains nearly every resource we’ve found so far on dissociative disorders, and we continue to update it as we find more! So it’s a really good jumping off point for complex dissociative disorder research :3
Now as far as depersonalization specifically… here’s some links to sites where you can learn more about that symptom in particular! Remember depersonalization is a symptom, usually of something broader like DID, OSDD, DPDR, or PTSD/CPTSD. And many of the resources in our info post actually discuss depersonalization as it relates to dissociative disorders!!
(^ you don’t have to buy the manual in order to access the information on this site!)
(^ our own infographic on depersonalization vs. derealization! :3)
And here’s a bit of unsolicited reassurance, if that’s okay!
There is nothing wrong with learning about other disorders and questioning if you have a particular mental illness!! Especially if you don’t have access to healthcare, questioning and self-diagnosing may be your only options for actually figuring out what’s going on in your mind. Please don’t treat yourself harshly for questioning whether or not you’re suffering from a certain mental illness. Us mentally ill folks are suffering enough as it is - no need to rub salt in the wound by treating yourself unkindly for questioning if you have a dissociative disorder or something similar!! >w<
Anon, we’re sending hope and strength your way! Good luck with figuring this out! We know it’s not easy at all, but we believe in you! :33
💚 Ralsei and 💫 Parker
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srishti-123 · 3 months ago
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Shop Choker Necklace Sets Online
Source of info: https://www.jadaavjewels.com/blog/shop-choker-necklace-sets-online
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Introduction
There's absolutely nothing like the attractiveness of a good quality choker necklace to decorate yourself with luxury. Fashion lovers and jewellery lovers everywhere have been attracted by this classic piece of jewellery's amazing comeback in recent times. We have a beautiful selection of choker sets at Jadaav Jewels that perfectly express luxury and style. We'll discuss the advantages and special qualities of our gorgeous items in the following blog, along with reasons why you should buy choker sets online from Jadaav Jewels.
The Classic Beauty of Choker Necklace
The choker necklace has a rich past, getting back to ancient cultures when they were used as symbols of rank and power. Fast forward to the present day, and these beautiful accessories remain popular among fashionable people. Choker jewellery is strong enough to go with a wide range of clothes, from traditional cultural clothing to modern western style.
Why Choose Jadaav Jewels for Your Choker Necklace Sets
Excellent Quality Craftsmanship
At Jadaav Jewels, we take pleasure in maintaining a commitment to excellent design. Each choker necklace in our collection is carefully designed and manufactured by skilled designers. Our desire for perfection guarantees that each item is a work of art that gives off a sense of style. 
Premium Materials
We are aware of the importance of using excellent resources in our goods. Our necklace sets are made from high-quality materials such as gold, diamonds, pearls, and valuable gemstones. These materials not only make the necklaces more beautiful, but they are also more strong and last longer.
Unique Designs
Jadaav Jewels' large selection of one-of-a-kind designs is one of its greatest features. Whether you like traditional and classic styles or updated and modern designs, we have something to fit your tastes. Our choker jewellery sets include beautiful quality workmanship, unique designs, and the right mix of traditional and modern parts.
Customization Options
At Jadaav Jewels, we believe in providing unique experiences to our consumers. We provide customization choices for our necklace sets, allowing you to design a piece that matches your unique style and preferences. From selecting the material and gemstones to customizing the length and style, our professionals will work together with you to help bring your idea to reality.
Benefits of Shopping Choker Necklace Sets Online
Convenience
Shopping for a choker necklace online provides unmatched comfort. You can look through our large selection from within the ease of your own home and at any time that suits you. Our user-friendly website provides a simple buying experience, with careful product descriptions and high-resolution photographs to help you make a well-informed decision.
Wide Selection
When you purchase jewellery online from Jadaav Jewels, you have access to a variety of patterns and styles. Our online store offers a wide selection of jewellery, guaranteeing that you find the perfect item that matches your outfit and event.
Competitive Prices
We understand that excellent jewellery is sometimes an important investment. That is why we provide affordable pricing for our jewellery sets while maintaining high quality. Shopping online helps us to save operational costs, which we pass along to our consumers, guaranteeing that you receive the most value for your money.
Secure Transactions
Jadaav Jewels prioritizes the security of our clients' transactions. Our website uses powerful encryption technology to keep your personal and financial information safe and secure. You can buy with confidence because you know your privacy is secured.
Easy Returns and Exchanges
We want you to be 100% happy with your purchase. If for any reason you are unhappy with your jewellery product we provide simple refunds and exchanges. Our customer care representatives are always available to assist you and provide a smooth and enjoyable shopping experience.
Top Picks from Jadaav Jewels' Choker Necklace Collection
Traditional Polki Set
Our Traditional Polki Choker Set is an absolute beauty, with detailed Polki work and beautiful quality workmanship. This set is perfect for important occasions and traditional gatherings, adding royal beauty to your look.
Modern Diamond Set
For individuals who like modern styles, this Modern Diamond Choker Set is an excellent choice. This necklace, decorated with glittering diamonds and set in a simplified style, result luxury and innovation.
Pearl and Kundan Set
The Gemstone and Diamonds Choker Jewellery mixes traditional and modern design elements. The shiny pearls and beautiful Kundan work make this set an adjustable item that can be used for both professional and personal situations.
Customizable Set
Our Customizable Choker Necklace allows you to create a piece that is entirely your own. Choose from a range of metals, jewels, and patterns to create a necklace that matches your own style and preferences.
Conclusion
Shopping for choker necklace sets online at Jadaav Jewels is a simple and enjoyable experience. Our attention to quality, creativity, and customer satisfaction guarantees that you receive a piece of jewellery that you will be proud of for many years to come. Explore our stunning selection of choker sets to find the perfect accessory that will improve your look and make an impression. Jadaav Jewels guarantees unchanging beauty and unmatched excellence in every piece of jewellery.
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realtydigiwebdevelopment · 3 months ago
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Real Estate Content Marketing Company in Delhi
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In today’s digital age, content marketing is the backbone of any successful business strategy, especially in the real estate sector. With more than 90% of homebuyers beginning their property search online, having a strong digital presence is no longer an option – it’s a necessity. If you're a real estate business in Delhi, tapping into the right content marketing strategies can elevate your brand, increase your reach, and convert potential leads into clients.
Why is Content Marketing Important for Real Estate?
The real estate market is highly competitive, and to stand out, you need more than just traditional advertising methods. Content marketing helps by:
Building Trust and Credibility: Quality content positions your brand as an authority. Whether it's educational blogs on market trends, informative videos on buying processes, or engaging social media posts, content fosters trust with your audience.
Improving SEO: A well-structured content marketing strategy can boost your website’s SEO, helping you rank higher in search results when potential buyers or investors are looking for properties in Delhi.
Engaging the Audience: Through blogs, videos, and social media, you can create meaningful interactions with your target market, answering their questions and solving their problems.
Lead Generation: Effective content generates interest and engagement, which in turn brings potential clients to your doorstep.
Key Content Strategies for Real Estate Companies in Delhi
SEO-Optimized Blogs and Articles Buyers and sellers often search for information online before making any decisions. By providing valuable content like market trends, property insights, and buying guides, you position your business as a go-to resource. For example, a blog on "Top 5 Property Investment Areas in Delhi NCR" can attract readers who are actively looking for properties.
Social Media Campaigns Social media is crucial for reaching a broad audience. Regular posts about new listings, client testimonials, market updates, and tips for homebuyers can engage and retain followers. Platforms like Instagram and Facebook also allow you to target specific demographics in the Delhi region with ads that align with their interests.
Video Marketing Videos are a powerful tool in real estate marketing. Virtual property tours, client testimonials, and explainer videos about the real estate process can give potential buyers a better understanding of your offerings. Videos bring a personal touch, allowing clients to visualize their future property without physically visiting.
Email Newsletters Email marketing allows you to stay in touch with potential clients and nurture leads. Monthly newsletters can include property highlights, market reports, and tips for homebuyers. Personalizing content based on the client’s interest – such as luxury homes, budget apartments, or commercial spaces – can increase engagement.
Case Studies and Testimonials Nothing builds trust better than showcasing real-life success stories. Share detailed case studies or testimonials from clients who have bought or sold properties through your company. This not only boosts credibility but also helps future clients relate to your services.
Why Choose a Real Estate Content Marketing Company in Delhi?
Creating and executing an effective content strategy can be time-consuming and requires expertise. A dedicated real estate content marketing company in Delhi specializing in real estate understands the intricacies of the market, audience behavior, and SEO techniques that are crucial for success in Delhi’s competitive environment.
By partnering with a local agency, you get tailored solutions that speak directly to your target market. Whether you are targeting high-end luxury buyers in South Delhi or first-time homebuyers in Noida or Gurgaon, a content marketing agency helps ensure your message resonates with the right people at the right time.
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