#they built the tools like that on purpose so they can better hide all their unjust hiring practices and habits and decisions

[gothteddiesdotcom]

can we start considering online job application systems as class warfare or

[triptuckers]

capture the flag - leo valdez

Request: nope Pairing:  leo valdez x apollo!reader Summary:  during capture the flag, no one gets stuck in leo's traps and he wants to find out why Warnings:  none Word count:  800 A/N: this has been sitting in my drafts for a while and now that I'm back in my pjo era time to finish it! enjoy :)

capture the flag is always fun. it's a nice way for people to train together while it feels like a game. even though sometimes people get too competitive.

it gives leo the chance to litter the forest with traps, and to test new inventions. of course, he could test them in the bunker or on his friends. but this is the real deal. no one knows where the traps are, how many there are. it's the perfect conditions to test them.

he's made a new batch of them but for some reason none of the traps work.

whenever he goes to check on them, they're all disabled. no one's activated them, or he would have found a fellow camper near one.

and leo is absolutely sure he activated them. they didn't blow up so there's nothing wrong with them.

and yet they're disabled.

rather than trying to capture the flag, he decides to hide in the bushes near one of his traps to see what - or who - is disabling them.

he listens to the sounds of the woods around him and pulls stuff out of his tool bel two mindlessly build little machines.

after a while, he spots movement out of the corner of his eye.

whoever it is moves quietly and gracefully. so definitely not an ares kid, leo concludes.

the person slowly walks over to leo's trap, careful where they put their feet down on the forrest floor.

leo watches as they walk around the trap, examining it. he shifts to get a better look at who it is.

he frowns slightly. he would have expected someone from the hermes cabin. maybe piper because he's spent a lot of time trying to explain his machines to her.

but he didn't expect it to be a daughter of apollo.

to be fair, leo thought the apollo cabin didn't know anything about traps or machines in general. their skills were mostly archery, medicine and music. not traps built by a hephaestus kid.

leo's eyes follow your hand movements as you carefully prod around the trap. surely you wouldn't be able to- and you disabled it.

smiling to yourself, you straighten your back and us your foot to slide the now useless trap aside.

when you turn around, you hear leaves rustle behind you.

instinctively, you knock an arrow on your bow and turn on your heel.

you are met by leo, who is frantically waving his hands in front of his face.

'don't shoot, don't shoot! I come in peace!' he yells.

you lower your bow. 'leo! gods, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you!'

'that's alright.' says leo, lowering his hands. 'I was the one hiding behind you.'

you frown. 'why were you hiding anyway? usually you like to be in the middle of the action.' you say.

'can't help the fact people start fighting over me wherever I go.' says leo, making you chuckle.

'yeah, right, valdez. as if anyone could come near you with the amount of traps you're setting.' you say.

'speaking of which.' says leo, walking over to his trap and picking it up to examine it. 'how did you know where the kill switch was on this?'

you shrug. 'that's a tactical secret I can't reveal.' you say. 'for future capture the flag purposes.'

'or you just got lucky.'

'23 times?'

'yeah, that seems unlikely.'

you smile. 'there's a window in the roof of bunker nine.' you say. 'it's actually a two way mirror. it doesn't let any light through. gives me a perfect view of your workspace, though.'

'so the tactical secret is spying.' says leo.

'can't win if you don't play a little dirty every now and then. plus it's cool to see all the stuff you create.'

you shoulder your bow. 'good luck activating all of the traps again.' you say. 'I need to get back to my cabin.'

you start to walk toward the noise your fellow campers are making, to see if your team is winning and how you can help.

'hey!'

you turn around to see leo is still standing in the clearing with the trap in his hands.

'if you want to, I could show you how to make these? then you will be able to do more than just disable them.' he says.

you smile at him, you've always liked leo.

but you are surprised, you know leo is kind of protective of bunker 9 and usually only Hephaestus kids go inside. it must be a huge deal for someone from another cabin to be invited into the bunker.

and Leo wants you here.

'sure.' you say. 'I'd like that. but first we have to steal your flag.'

'oh no, you won't.' says leo.

with one last smile, you disappear into the woods, leaving leo to reactivate his trap before coming after you.

A/N: If you want to request something, make sure to read my house rulesHere’s the list of characters I write for. Everything that I have written can be found on my masterlist. Please don’t repost my work, as I spend much time and effort on it!! Thank you for reading! Much love, Marit/Max

[mealvaan]

Fuse

“The Heavens bless us, and so we keep their hearth as it were. We don’t dare disturb the holy balance: as above, so below.”

For cycles, Vahri’a had endeavoured to keep his grimoire a sanctum.

On the tail end of his picatrix, there hides a secret commonplace book. Sketches that would be filed away in throwaway journals he’d purchase by the bulk have been smuggled in through the temple’s backdoor. Still never held to even dim light, nor shown to the curious, but they are equal to the immaculate spreads he had sheltered from their spidery scrawl years ago. These refractions of his innermost self, the reflections of his eyes onto paper — they are as good as God. 

This stamps the signature of his soul to the page. Within each margin note of a brilliant thought, each arrow drawn with conviction between two ideas, from bow unto paper, he devotes a little bit of himself. He feels closer to his arcane focus now more than ever before, and all it took was to treat it like the back of a napkin.

Look hither and take heed, says his grimoire. The taste of this teaching would pair nicely with your charcuterie on ephemancy, no?

Truthfully, the book had become equal parts himself and the clan he’d stepped one foot into. These sketches and soliloquies are his attempts to understand his family better, in the way he’s best learned how. Who knew such a vital pillar to his life could be learned at twenty-six! Nothing goes without being captured and dissected, each thought subjected to entomology. Following his grimoire’s call, he navigates the thumb index to a tab left blank, but he knows it from memory to be the beginning of his notes on ephemancy. 

Ephemancy, they called it. Never had he dreamt arcanima could be wielded so religiously, both parts of the phrase “ritual worship”. The arcanima of Limsa Lominsa is a relatively new art compared to its fellow schools, and juxtaposed to its rigid structure comes the informality of being the youngest. Despite its roots in Allag and Nym, no one treats it as an ancient, sacred art — it is a precise science to be practised in the here and now, and from its predecessors it can borrow, but never revere. Limsan arcanima is a tool, not a rite.

Limsan arcanima never borrowed from the Heavens, however. Ephemancy is a blend of two arts — the precise methodology of turning one’s aether into something entirely of the imagination, with the vulnerable act of appeasing the ambient, celestial aether to borrow its lifeblood. Ephemancy is both a mundane implement of use in the sun-to-sun and a sacred ritual guarded by its keepers. Ephemancy is an alchemy of two opposing ideologies. This is far from incidental — this is the magic’s true purpose. The clan is built around these parallel towers. The sun shines right through their windows, twice a day. 

How Vahri’a longs to carve the sigils into his skin. Ironic that he once challenged Savarah’s belief in the resurrection of the arcane tattoo, and now he yearns to adorn himself with one. And not for the matriarch’s convictions, or even that which lay close — for the mere curiosity of it! Damn him to the Hells for the blasphemies he entertains, but who would want for further reason than to feel the Mother Moon’s presence glowing upon them, every single day—?

“You write too much,” remarks the venator, and he glances up from his archive. He hadn’t even procured his quill. No, her eyes bore into ink long dry. 

“Do you think so?”

“I wonder if you’ve ever lived.”

She draws her hunting knife from her constellation rune. She wields it like it’s an old friend, in that it wouldn’t care what she did.

“Let’s move, wanderer.”

[paraquesirvenlosvpn]

does dns take the place of vpn

🔒🌍✨ Get 3 Months FREE VPN - Secure & Private Internet Access Worldwide! Click Here ✨🌍🔒

does dns take the place of vpn

DNS vs VPN

DNS (Domain Name System) and VPN (Virtual Private Network) are two crucial components of today's internet landscape, each serving distinct but complementary purposes to enhance online security and privacy.

DNS is like the internet's phone book, translating human-readable domain names into IP addresses that computers understand. It plays a vital role in the functioning of the internet by helping users access websites and other online services quickly and efficiently. However, DNS queries are often unencrypted, making them susceptible to eavesdropping and manipulation by malicious actors.

On the other hand, a VPN creates a secure and encrypted connection between a user's device and the internet, effectively masking their IP address and encrypting their online activities. This not only enhances privacy by preventing ISPs and hackers from monitoring user activity but also enables users to bypass geo-restrictions and access region-locked content.

While both DNS and VPN have significant roles to play in ensuring online security and privacy, they operate at different levels of the internet ecosystem. DNS primarily deals with domain resolution, whereas VPN focuses on creating secure communication channels.

In conclusion, DNS and VPN are essential tools for safeguarding online privacy and security. While DNS helps route traffic and resolve domain names, VPN encrypts internet connections and masks users' IP addresses. By understanding the differences and complementary functions of DNS and VPN, users can make informed decisions to enhance their online security and privacy.

DNS and VPN differences

DNS (Domain Name System) and VPN (Virtual Private Network) are both crucial components of modern internet usage, yet they serve distinct purposes in enhancing online privacy and security.

DNS functions as a directory that translates human-readable domain names into machine-readable IP addresses. When you type a website URL into your browser, your device sends a DNS query to a DNS server, which then responds with the corresponding IP address. This process is essential for navigating the internet and accessing websites efficiently. However, DNS queries are typically unencrypted, leaving them vulnerable to surveillance and manipulation by ISPs (Internet Service Providers) or malicious actors.

On the other hand, VPNs create a secure, encrypted connection between your device and a remote server operated by the VPN provider. This encrypted tunnel routes all your internet traffic through the VPN server, effectively masking your IP address and encrypting your data. By doing so, VPNs enhance online privacy and security by preventing ISPs, hackers, and other third parties from monitoring your online activities or intercepting sensitive information, such as passwords or financial details.

While DNS and VPNs both contribute to internet security, they serve different functions. DNS primarily focuses on translating domain names into IP addresses, while VPNs prioritize encrypting and anonymizing internet traffic. However, combining both technologies can further enhance privacy and security online. Some VPN services offer built-in DNS encryption or allow users to configure custom DNS settings, providing an extra layer of protection against DNS-based attacks or surveillance.

In summary, DNS and VPNs play complementary roles in safeguarding online privacy and security. Understanding their differences and leveraging their strengths can help individuals better protect their digital identities and sensitive information while browsing the internet.

Using DNS without VPN

Using DNS without VPN

In today's digital age, internet security and privacy have become major concerns for individuals and businesses alike. While Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) are commonly used to encrypt internet traffic and hide IP addresses, an alternative approach that is gaining popularity is using Domain Name System (DNS) services to enhance online security and privacy without the need for a VPN.

DNS translates domain names into IP addresses, allowing users to access websites using easy-to-remember URLs. By utilizing a secure DNS service, such as Google Public DNS or OpenDNS, users can benefit from features like enhanced security, faster internet speeds, and protection against cyber threats such as phishing and malware attacks.

One of the key advantages of using DNS without VPN is the simplicity and ease of setup. Unlike VPNs, which require software installation and configuration, changing DNS settings can be done within a few clicks on most devices. This makes it an attractive option for users looking to quickly enhance their online security without the need for technical expertise.

Furthermore, using DNS can help improve internet speeds by reducing the time it takes to resolve domain names to IP addresses. With faster DNS lookups, web pages load more quickly, providing a smoother browsing experience for users.

While DNS can offer some level of security and privacy, it is important to note that it does not provide the same level of encryption and anonymity as VPNs. Therefore, users looking for complete privacy protection may still opt to use a VPN in addition to secure DNS services.

In conclusion, using DNS without VPN can be a convenient and effective way to enhance online security and privacy. By leveraging secure DNS services, users can enjoy benefits such as improved internet speeds and protection against cyber threats, making it a valuable tool in today's digital landscape.

VPN instead of DNS

In the realm of internet privacy and security, VPNs (Virtual Private Networks) and DNS (Domain Name System) are two crucial tools that serve different purposes. While both VPNs and DNS play a role in safeguarding your online activities, they function in distinct ways.

VPN works by routing your internet connection through a secure server, encrypting your data and hiding your IP address from prying eyes. This not only protects your online privacy but also allows you to access region-restricted content and browse the web anonymously. On the other hand, DNS is responsible for translating domain names into IP addresses so that your browser can load the requested web pages.

Although DNS does not encrypt your internet traffic like VPNs do, it can be vulnerable to cyber threats such as DNS spoofing and hijacking. In contrast, VPNs offer a more comprehensive security solution by encrypting your data and providing an additional layer of protection against online threats.

Using a VPN instead of relying solely on DNS can significantly enhance your online security and privacy. By encrypting your internet traffic and masking your IP address, VPNs help protect your sensitive information from hackers, government surveillance, and other malicious actors. Additionally, VPNs offer the added benefit of bypassing censorship and geo-blocks, allowing you to enjoy a freer and more open internet experience.

In conclusion, while DNS is essential for translating domain names into IP addresses, using a VPN provides a more robust security solution for safeguarding your online activities. Whether you're concerned about privacy, security, or accessing geo-restricted content, incorporating a VPN into your online routine can offer numerous benefits for a safer and more private internet experience.

Comparing DNS with VPN

When it comes to safeguarding online privacy and security, both DNS (Domain Name System) and VPN (Virtual Private Network) play crucial roles, albeit in different ways. Let's delve into a comparison of DNS and VPN to understand their functionalities and how they differ.

DNS acts as a translator, converting domain names (like www.example.com) into IP addresses that computers can understand. It's like a phone book for the internet, directing your device to the correct web servers. However, DNS queries are typically unencrypted, which means your browsing activity can potentially be intercepted by ISPs (Internet Service Providers) or malicious actors.

On the other hand, VPNs establish a secure, encrypted connection between your device and a remote server operated by the VPN provider. This encryption ensures that all data passing through the VPN tunnel, including DNS queries, is shielded from prying eyes. VPNs also mask your IP address, adding an extra layer of anonymity and allowing you to access geo-blocked content.

While both DNS and VPN offer privacy and security benefits, they serve different purposes. DNS primarily focuses on translating domain names to IP addresses, whereas VPNs prioritize encrypting and tunneling all internet traffic. Additionally, VPNs offer comprehensive protection for all online activities, not just DNS queries.

In summary, DNS and VPN are complementary tools that enhance online privacy and security. DNS ensures efficient web browsing by resolving domain names, while VPNs provide robust encryption and anonymity for all internet traffic. Depending on your specific needs, utilizing both DNS and VPN can significantly bolster your online defenses.

[skyboxeye]

Capturing the ambience of Rogue Squadron 3D

This guide details how to get the best rendering experience on the GOG release.

Widescreen / Resolution

There are a number of solutions to customize (increase) the rendering resolution and change the aspect ratio. Some only alter in-mission rendering, while others extend to the game's mission-select and hangar menus.

Sadly all of the aspect ratio solutions I found only affect rendering, and hence lead to culling issues at the edges of the scene. This is most noticeable during missions.

Hex-editing Rogue Squadron.EXE

You can alter resolution and aspect ratio by editing Rogue Squadron.EXE. For aspect ratio go to offset 16E042. It should have the value AB AA AA 3F, the little endian hex representation of 1.33333. Change this to 3B 8E E3 3F for 16:9 and save the file. This affects missions and menus.

To alter RS's 640x480 resolution option to use 1920x1080 instead, override the 12 bytes at offset 201D5C with: 80 07 00 00 38 04 and save. This only affects missions.

DgVoodoo

This changes the resolution of level and fighter-selection menus. Therefore you can combine this with the aspect ratio hex-edit above for ideal rendering, at least for screenshot purposes.

(Not) Removing the HUD

My first approach was to try extracting RS's assets from the game's archives, modifying any HUD textures, and then repacking the results into those archives. For this goal I found quite a few tools that were made as part of a reverse-engineering effort. But sadly, these tools either didn't work for me or didn't help my goals. I found a QuickBMS script for Factor 5 games but it didn't sound like it applied to Rogue Squadron 3D.

The project was partly inspired by an older program called RogueDAT which worked for me on Windows XP. While RogueDAT is read-only, perhaps you could use the offset and size information provided by this program to delete the game's fonts and/or UI textures, and see what happens.

My second idea was to replace RS's textures at runtime using a tool like uMod (aka TexMod) or Resorep. The former seems to only work with DirectX 9, whereas RS will be using DirectX 11 if we're running it with DgVoodoo (and obviously a much older version of DirectX without). I didn't try Resorep.

Unlocking content

You can access the hidden Buick by editing RS's files as the KOELSCH password does not work on the Windows release. Be sure to run roguecar to toggle the Buick and roguedit to enable the relevant password.

To play all of the game's missions you can use cheats, download a completed save file, or use a save editor.

N64 Version

To my surprise, this release looks basically identical to the Windows one. You can use GlideN64 with a custom texture pack to hide the HUD, and Adjusted Widescreen mode to adjust the aspect ratio. It's also a bit easier to unlock content in this version.

Appendix 0: Windowed mode

You can run RS via DxWnd. Drag Rouge Squadron.EXE into DxWnd's window to begin the config process. After saving this, you can launch via the command line like so: dxwnd.exe /r:0

Appendix 1: Other widescreen solutions

nGlide

Glide's graphic APIs arguably result in a better-looking image than DirectX's. Similar to DgVoodoo, this wrapper offers a way to execute older graphics APIs on newer systems.

While there are detailed guides out there; I found setup very simple: just install nGlide, run the configuration program, and then choose Glide in RS's launcher.

Sui's Widescreen Fix

Download the fix and extract it to your ROGUE folder. Edit the INI file(s) as desired. I believe this fix is built upon ThirteenAG's widesceen fix platform.

However I couldn't get it working - I didn't see any resolution change, or new choices in the resolution options menu. Perhaps it requires Steam.

rkkoszewski's All-In-One

This successfully patched my in-mission aspect ratio, but not my resolution as claimed. Perhaps it also requires Steam.

Universal Widescreen Patcher

This program provides a way to edit resolution values with a simple GUI, versus using a Hex editor. Use uniws with the following in your patches.ini:

[Star Wars - Rogue Squadron 3D] details=It should patch any version including the original. \013\010\013\010Start the game and select your custom resolution in the video options. checkfile=Rogue Squadron.EXE modfile=Rogue Squadron.EXE sig=0400000080020000E001000005 sigwild=0000000000000 xoffset=4 yoffset=8 occur=1

This changes the in-mission resolution, but not the aspect ratio. I recommend entering a 4:3 value to avoid horizontal stretching.

Appendix 2: Playing Rogue Squadron in 3D

Check out this post.

[dinhhao-blog]

Emergency Plumbing Demystified: Frequently Asked Questions for Quick Solutions Introduction Plumbing jobs won't await you, they will not call you before they take place, so they come without warnings. From flowing pipelines to overflowing commodes, as quickly as these occur, it can do a lot to your home and can also cause one of the most stressed out and sleep deprived nights.

In the following article, we cover the FAQs in plumbing emergencies to provide you with all the essential information to lead you during the dilemma in pipes.

Q: How much is an emergency plumbing service? A: It is costly, contrasted to non-emergency solutions, however getting a personalized quote before a crucial decision could prevent you from being overcharged in the long run.

Q: How promptly can an emergency situation plumbing professional reply to a phone call? A: Having a fast reaction plumbing technician may be to your benefit if you live in the city; the call can be responded to within a few hours of your location and time. The majority of services guarantee to respond every emergency situation situation-after one phone call attached their number.

Q: Exactly how can I find an emergency pipes solution? A: Go online for "emergency plumbing" along with your town or area to discover the name of the company using local solution. Critics' and clients' testimonials and scores would certainly also contribute to a reasoned decision.

Q: Just how would I take advantage of emergency plumbing services? A: Emergency situation plumbing solutions are a resource for taking on the damages quickly to stop from obtaining built up, handling the security threats and fixing the plumbing system in a fast fashion.

Q: Any type of concepts on how to cover or hide concrete under a toilet after emergency pipes work? A: See if decorative ceramic tiles, plastic treatments, or a stand to cover the place are convenient. Hardware shops near you can give fit-the-purpose cons for such circumstances as high as they can.

Q: If I determine a shock leakage, can I call specialist emergency situation plumbing technicians? A: Absolutely. Experts that are in charge of water tools emergencies require to be ready and can repair unforeseen leaks quickly in order to protect against even more problem.

Q: In what situations should I call an emergency situation pipes solution? A: In case of huge leakage, burst pipe/toilet overflow or other situation needing immediate solution, call an emergency service in order to minimize the level of possible damage/health risks.

Q: Is an emergency plumbing service and a traditional pipes solution the very same? A: No, emergency services are generally for right now emergencies where fast response is needed, and plumbing solutions are generally referring to regular maintenance and upkeep.

Q: Is emergency pipes extra costly? A: Normally, yes. There immediate action and operating at non-standard hours in the middle of the night are the factors that boost the prices compared to a set up, normal and non-urgent tasks.

Q: Is it a great idea to call plumbing professionals if you have an emergency situation? A: Absolutely. Time is important, as quick feedbacks typically protect against building to obtain harmed, and repair prices later to increase.

Q: Is it far better to utilize retired life savings or fund an emergency plumbing repair service? A: It depends on financial condition of your students. Funding choices can possibly be readily available without you having to cut into your retirement fund. As far as rate of interest and payment durations are concerned, you're encouraged to be cautious.

Q: Is this an emergency plumbing call? A: If your problem is connected to your home, wellness or safety (like your water leak, sewage back-up or comparable emergencies-- treat it as a matter of urgency). If we go beyond this step, we will certainly provide an inexpensive plumbing that reacts quickly in case of an emergency situation plumbing necessity. To this end, call our experienced group for all your emergency situation needs.

Q: Exactly how can I plan for a lack of plumbing during an emergency situation? A: To prevent the drinkable water cuts along with sewer outages be ready for the emergency water, portable sanitation gear, and damp wipes for hygiene. In a similar way, see to it that you identify where the major water turned off shutoff is for your home in order to remove any unmanageable leakages as soon as they occur.

Q: What are some ideas to manage emergency plumbing in your home? A: When you encounter a plumbing emergency situation, stop your water supply to prevent the trouble or if the circumstance misbehaves even if you need to pay the price to emergency plumbing professionals. Keep in mind, nonetheless, that in such cases the basic pipes toolkit ought to constantly be there on hand, and you should be capable of resolving straightforward problems such as uncloging a drainpipe or tightening up a leaky tap.

Q: What are plumbing emergency situations? A: The group of plumbing emergency situations includes, yet not restricted to, ruptured pipes, significant leakages, sewage backups, no water stress, blocked bathrooms, or problems that are emergency situation on itself, a danger to your residential or commercial property or wellness risks.

Q: What constitutes a pipes emergency situation? A: Any type of issue that can not wait for a normal daytime globe of organization, like extreme leakages, burst pipes or sewage system obstruction, is described as a pipes emergency situation as a result of the potential for damage to home or the possible introduction of health hazards.

Q: What are one of the most common sorts of emergency pipes? A: The typical emergency situation plumbing might be handling the obstruction in the drain, overruning bathrooms, harmed water heaters, pierced pipelines and overruning sewer system.

Q: What are the normal expenses connected with 24hr emergency situation pipes repair solutions? A: The expenditure can vary significantly, being partially influenced by the gravity of the case, the called for remediation works and also the a lot more expensive after-hour charges. Commonly, the costs varies in between 50 to 300 and even more depending upon the specific job. Very first time you will certainly be making telephone calls and requesting a price quote, if you are fortunate you can obtain the work.

Q: What do emergency plumbers do? A: Emergency pipes specialists offer immediate pipes solutions, tasks consisting of leakage repairing, unclogging drains, restoring water system, and conserving problems of the home in critical times.

Q: What are some emergency plumbers in Bristol? A: Brows via the regional directory sites or an acknowledged online systems to look for the excellent rated emergency situation plumbers in Bristol. Examine if the service firm has numerous positive comments and it is available all round the clock.

Q: What are some emergency pipes solutions in Ottawa that suit everyone? A: In Ottawa there are several options where you can obtain pretty much anything from food to catering at any time. Get in touch with the on the internet services which have good track records and provide full information including their charges and operational day.

Q: What is an emergency plumbing, and when should I call one? A: An emergency situation plumbing runs in a reasonably fast style to remedy plumbing emergency situations which develops using an effective option to the issue. Call one if the circumstance you are dealing with requirements speedy intervention to prevent a hideous scene that might led to harm or carcinogen.

Q: What situations can be considered emergency situations to call experienced plumbing professionals? A: If you see flooding, waste water back-ups, wrecked your plumbing pipelines, or if any kind of severe or life threatening issues emerge, start looking for a qualified emergency situation plumber.

Q: What is an emergency situation plumbing issue? A: Any kind of plumbing issue that needs to be handled right away due to safety or health risk, or it is progressively endangering to cause enormous residential or commercial property damage, is labelled as plumbing emergency.

Obtain relief from pipes emergency situations by contacting our fast and proficient pipes service which offers quick and efficient options. It is clear to us that it is a ticklish issue when it comes to pipes situations. Every second is precious. This is our FAQ's, FAQ stands for frequently asked questions, and in this section I will try to respond to all the concerns that I received from our customers for many years.

Final thought:. While you probably initially experience plumbing emergency situations with shock, working with leading and prompt emergency situation plumbing services can conserve you from fantastic damage and pricey resurface.

By knowing the fundamentals of the emergency situation pipes and likewise having an outstanding timing for calling the respective experts, you will certainly have the ability to quickly handle such unexpected dilemmas and shield your home from future issues.

[lunarbard]

It may just be the online communities I end up following, but I see a lot of complaints around modern D&D about XP and a favoritism for milestones / "level advancement without XP" (which, in fairness, is somewhat fostered by the adventures built around 5e).

The secret to XP in modern D&D is that, by the book ("XP for combat, and maybe quests") it sucks. But, done right, it's fantastic, because it's some perfect little positive reinforcement for your players.

Assign XP rewards to the actions you want to encourage in your game.

I ran a short-lived (for other reasons) sandbox campaign last year where I told the players up front that I would reward XP for recovering treasure, completing contracts/quests, and slaying named foes (we were in Roll20, so I could display the names of such foes for the players to see).

For a group that had spent three years just diving into whatever looked like a combat without a second thought, they became significantly more cautious & calculated on where, when, & why they fought. When they'd find a tough named foe, they'd buy every advantage they could before engaging them, excited for the mass of XP they would earn. The main problem was I forgot to assign XP to heroic actions (like saving innocent people), so it turned to a far more mercenary/cut throat game than I had originally hoped.

I fixed that in my Toldren campaign by rewarding XP for:

helping/rescuing people

significant exploits (mainly completing objectives, regardless of which side of the screen they came from)

making it through an encounter regardless of method. Talking your way out of a dangerous encounter earns XP, as does using a monster's weakness to escape (such as abusing a giant worm's fear of sound to drive it away from eating them).

The party still chooses to fight some foes- such as hunting down a couple of werecorvids who had been skirmishing with them over several days - but they give proper consideration to their approach & purpose. Then when the party saves people, or talks a potential enemy into allying with them, they get a mechanical treat to match the diegetic reward they've earned themselves.

That all said, XP can have its issues, particularly as how it scales in 5th edition. I love XP as a tool, but it would be a far more useful tool in my campaign if it was linear and predictable - say 100 x current level XP to level up - I could pretty easily eyeball how much XP certain actions should resolve. But since XP is built around CR, the math's been (theoretically) done on the backend. The obfuscation works well to hide the proportional XP stagnation in Tier 2, but it makes it difficult to employ XP in better ways. I've just taken the XP difference between levels & recorded 1/10th and 1/100th in my notebook to determine XP rewards, but ideally that wouldn't be necessary.

[beesandwasps]

Urgh, Text Editors

This is a bit of a rant, and most people won’t be interested at all, so I’m hiding it below a “keep reading”.

If you have never done any programming or web design, or have only dabbled in them, then you may not be aware of Text Editors as a Thing. TextEdit on the Mac, or Notepad on Windows, are the very low-end, featureless bottom of the heap for this sort of thing — you can edit code files with those programs, but they don’t have any specialized tools to do common stuff.

I’ve been using BBEdit for this purpose since sometime in the (very) late 1990s. BBEdit has been a good tool for this purpose — it has all the usual features of IDEs like syntax coloring and autocompletion, it does GREP-based find and replace (and before Mac OS X, GREP-based find and replace on the Mac was a rarity!), it can link up to revision control systems like git and subversion, it can either run files directly in their own windows (if they are of a type where this makes sense, like Python scripts) or send them to the Terminal to run on a “real” command line, it has file comparison and multi-file searching built in, it can open and save files from servers using various protocols so you can do touchups of web design remotely, it is one of the few programs which still have full AppleScript support (so you can not merely write macros but interactive macros with GUI access), and of course it has a massive toolkit for HTML editing. Also, it is actually written for the Mac, not a port of something written for Windows or Linux. (If you’re a Windows user, and you have used QuickTime Player for Windows, then you know the feeling you get when you use a program which is noticeably “expecting” a different OS. Most open-source programs feel like that on the Mac for at least the first 3 major releases or so. Some — like VNC — never really get over it.)

In the last couple of years, I’ve just been using the last version I paid for, which was version 12, on my very old Intel-based Mac. But I had to get a new machine for various reasons, and so I’m now on an M2 CPU instead of Intel (which, incidentally, is mostly great — to get this kind of performance from an Intel CPU you’d have to buy one of their top-of-the-line models with massive cooling requirements and a huge price tag, and this is running in a laptop and hasn’t even reached the point of needing to turn on the fan yet no matter what I have thrown at it). That means I have very little choice about upgrading to the new version, which is 14, and… they have changed to a subscription-based license. (You can use the program for free without a license, but most of the features which make it worth using will stop working.) Now, in all fairness, I probably wouldn’t be spending more this way than I have been. They’re asking $40 per year. Adjusted for inflation, I’ve been spending about that much over time, what with occasional upgrades.

(And I have no problem with the idea of paying for software. If you want good software, stuff which is easy to use with responsive tech support and timely upgrades, paid software beats open source every day of the week — and you don’t have to worry about big tech companies like Google and IBM perverting the course of the project as you do with, say, Linux.)

But although I understand the motivation of switching to a subscription model — it evens out their revenue stream so they have a better idea of how much money they will have in future years as compared with selling one-time licenses — the switch does mean that if Bare Bones Software, the company writing the program, goes under, then under the subscription model the program will stop working a year after the last renewal, even if you stop installing OS upgrades and leave the machine exactly as-is. They might do a final release which fixes that problem in such a scenario but then again they might not — even if they are totally benign, it’s possible that they might go out of business so abruptly that nobody has time to authorize, recode, and release such a thing. (Or they might have the old BeOS graphics layer problem, where the one person who actually understands the code dies unexpectedly.) Bleah!

So I’ve been looking into alternatives. There are several.

Sublime Text looks like it’s basically meant to be a BBEdit equivalent; they’re asking $100 for it, which is a bit hefty depending on how long that lasts. (How often do they intend to charge for upgrades, and will there be discounts for upgrades or do you have to re-purchase the whole thing?) I’m doing some evaluations now.

Apparently you can get the Microsoft Visual Basic IDE for Mac OS X which… I’ve heard way too many complaints about it, from people who were actually running it on Windows; it is probably unfathomably bad on Mac. Reviewers seem to like it, but I don’t trust reviewers these days. Not with all the content-spamming review blogs which just parrot marketing materials — and as I say, actual Windows users complain about it a lot. (Plus: if I wanted to fire up a whole IDE every time I was going to edit a text file, I would use Apple’s XCode, which I’ve been avoiding on purpose except when I actually want to compile a program.)

There’s something called Atom, which even the positive reviewers note is slow and resource-intensive, and a lot of its supposed positives either don’t apply to me or are actually things I consider negatives. (“Cross-platform”? Oh, you mean it will have an awkward interface that reinvents a bunch of GUI wheels instead of using the built-in system controls.) But it’s free. Oh, it’s also been discontinued. Well, never mind, then.

UltraEdit appears to be very similar to BBEdit, except that it’s cross-platform (and I have confirmed: the Mac GUI is awful) and some of the tools built into BBEdit are farmed out to other programs which you potentially have to buy separately. Oh, and I just checked and they are also on a subscription basis, except that they charge twice as much as BBEdit. Wow, what a dead end of a program.

Oh, and also there are apparently GUI-packaged versions of a couple of the really awful old CLI text editors, vi and Emacs. I have tried both in the past and would rather repeatedly slam my hand (or, shall we say, any other portion of my anatomy) in a desk drawer than use either one, thanks.

Looks like I’m either going with Sublime Text or signing on for a BBEdit subscription. Ugh.

[obsidiancreates]

As My Friend Has Stood By Me, So Shall I (Part 5)

"That's it," Oin mutters encouragingly as Thorin finally, after so long recovering, after a full winter left in a healing tent, puts his full weight on his own foot.

Thorin has to grit his teeth, and when he steps forward a few paces there is a noticeable limp. But that is easily overlooked, a battle wound still in recovery.

What matters is that, when he finally leads his people back into Erebor, he will lead them on his own strength, on his own two feet, head held high instead of bowed with madness.

"I'll see if Tauriel has got any more pain relief balms or elixirs," Oin says, walking out of the tent before Thorin could protest against the idea of Elvish Medicine.

But not even a hint of protest comes. Bilbo gives Thorin a searching look, and then smirks a little. "You-" he points at Thorin, "-are warming up to Tauriel, aren't you?"

"I've hardly met her," Thorin says in a measured tone. "I only know that she aides our wounded, and that she saved Kili's life."

"Hmm, right." Bilbo can't hide his amusement. "And her repeated disobeying of Thranduil has nothing to do with it?"

"... It's not something I hold against her."

Bilbo 'hmm's triumphantly.

Thorin takes a few more steps. "For how well you've come to know me, Master Baggins, I feel there's much I still don't know about you."

"Hmm? How so? Because I rather think you all know me better than my neighbors, even some cousins."

"Even so, for all you've learned about me and my people, our history and customs, I've learned very little of yours."

"Well, that may be because hobbits are a bit simpler," Bilbo says. "Not in- not simpler, of course, just, a less complicated way of life. We grow things, we smoke pipeweed, we take small walking holidays... we throw a lot of parties. And we quite enjoy fireworks."

"What about clothing?"

"Well, yes, there's a certain level of put-togetherness that's expected," Bilbo admits. "A good vest over your shirt, most of the time, though not always. Nice trousers, no tears or holes. I do admit I-I am one of the- well, was, one of the more uptight folks, in Hobbiton. So I don't know how well I can speak for all."

Thorin nods. "Just as I cannot speak for all dwarves, no matter the similarities the majority share."

"Yes, exactly. And I can only speak of Hobbiton, of course, and there are some other hobbit settlements who run things a bit differently. How differently, I'm not fully versed on, but I know it's different." Bilbo finds himself trying to reach up to hold a pipe, and his hands grasping at empty air.

There's just something about discussing The Shire that feels like it must go along with some Old Toby and a good pipe.

The movement catches Thorin's eye, and he slowly steps closer to Bilbo. "And what of craftsmanship?"

"Oh, not much of what you'd consider craftsmanship, I think. Woodworking, yes, and plenty of sewing and the like. My father built our home for my mother, with his own hands. But for iron or such things, we usually get them from passing merchants or collect them from Bree."

"Not many smiths among you then."

Bilbo lets out a sharp laugh. "No, that is decidedly not a hobbit-like activity!"

"So what about your gardening tools?"

"Gotten through trade, like other things of that nature. Though plenty of us just use our hands." Bilbo shrugs. "It's just earth, and it's soft and healthy in The Shire. Easy to wash away and almost soothing to work in, long as you have a purpose to it."

"... I wish I could have seen more of it," Thorin sounds truly regretful. "I doubt I'll be able to pass that way again for a long time."

"Well... whenever I do end up heading back, what if I bring you back some illustrations? Books showing what life is like there?"

"... I think that would be a valued gift indeed."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It's at the cusp of Winter's End when Thorin is finally able to walk up to the gates of Erebor.

He has to be helped most of the way, to save his strength. The whole Company are with him the entire walk there, including Gandalf. Bilbo somehow finds himself right at Thorin's side, until they're but a few meters away from the gaping hole of an entrance.

"Let me go," Thorin softly commands. Dwalin and Kili obey, and Thorin takes a moment to straighten himself.

And then, with confident and powerful strides betraying only the slightest hint of a limp (one that Bilbo knows is causing Thorin quite a bit of pain still), Thorin leads the way into Erebor.

The dwarves of the Iron Hills had stayed long, and been through much, just to see this moment. All wait with baited breath, watching Thorin, until the moment he steps off of the stones in the moat.

And onto the solid stone floor of Erebor.

And then there's cheers, and the entire Company at the front of the fray find themselves being pushed into Erebor by the crowd!

The jostling startles Bilbo the most, and he feels the bumps, feels The Ring moves about a bit in his pocket, and finds himself shoving his hand into his pocket and clenching onto The Ring with all his strength. It throws off his balance, having one arm in that position, but he's lucky enough that Gloin and Balin are on either side of him and help keep him steady, surely thinking that it's merely the force of the crowd making the little hobbit slip and stumble.

"We won't let ye get trampled, lad, we promise," Balin half-joked.

Bilbo hadn't even been able to give him a half-smile in return before the force behind them dissipated, the crowd now spreading out to fill the entrance hall.

Thorin turns to face them, and raises his arms above his head. "Welcome, my kin, and kin of my kin! Welcome! To the reclaimed kingdom OF EREBOR!"

The cheering begins anew!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It's very loud, Bilbo discovers, when enthusiastic dwarves go about rebuilding their homeland.

It's only been days since Erebor was finally re-entered, days since the cleanup and the rebuilding began. And in those days he has heard many songs, some repeated over and over and some brand-new to him. He has heard the beating and clanging of hammers hard at work, and the tolling of massive bells to signify shift changes and mealtimes. He's heard the incessant clanging of pitchforks and the endless smashing of stone and rock clattering down mineshafts, and the never-ending grunting and muttering of dwarves hard at work.

It's all sounds of progress. Of a type of hard-working peace.

But it is driving him mad.

He is constantly finding his hand moving to his pocket without his knowing, constantly finding himself fidgeting, constantly finding his moments of putting his hands on his hips for rest or exasperation leading to touching The Ring.

But he doesn't put it on, not with so much hustle and bustle around him at near every turn. Oh, there's plenty of cavernous halls he could flee to for peace and quiet, but Erebor is vast and easy to get lost in. Especially for a lonesome hobbit, and extra especially for a lonesome hobbit with a tendency to turn invisible. If he should slip, or fall in some way, while wearing The Ring... either he'd never be found, or there'd be too many questions.

And it doesn't help that most of The Company are so busy.

They're leading the rebuilding, of course. Not only because out of everyone they best know the state of the mountain from their brief visit while fighting Smaug (Bilbo rubs his chest at the memory of the tips of Thorin's sword there, the first time he'd felt truly frightened of the dwarf).

But they were also chosen because of their skills, and their ingenuity. It's not every dwarf who ends up stealing a war-monster from an army of orcs, nor every dwarf who holds his own against a pack of wargs with nothing but a broken chariot and mechanical bolt-firing... thing.

Bilbo still isn't sure about all the machines that Dain's army had brought. And he was quite content not to learn too much about them, after seeing the gore of the battlefield.

Bilbo sat in the quietest corner he could find and crossed his arms, tucking them tightly to his sides. He tried to ignore the weight of The-

blasted precious dangerous wonderful

-Ring, in his pocket.

"Ah, there you are."

Bilbo startles as Gandalf strides over to him. "Here I am," he replies lamely.

Gandalf gives a small chuckle, and sits beside Bilbo. "Thorin said that this-" Gandalf produces a finely carved pipe from his robes, "-might be of interest to you."

"He-he did?" Thorin had noticed the small movement from weeks ago? Had known Bilbo was reaching for a pipe? Had remembered?

He doesn't know why it surprises him, really. Clearly, Thorin had an... affection, for him. A deeper one than either truly acknowledged. Not since the battle, anyway.

Maybe he's just not used to such things being noticed.

"Ahem." Gandalf places the pipe in Bilbo's hands, startling the hobbit out of his musings. The pipe is already filled with pipeweed, and Gandalf happily lights it for his friend.

Bilbo takes a puff, and lights up. "Old Toby!"

"I never travel without it," Gandalf says with a smile.

The two sit in silence for a while, smoking their pipes and watching dwarves move about.

"... Where would you say I could get the most quiet, Gandalf? That isn't too far from where I've already been?"

Gandalf hums in thought. "... Nowhere you'd wish to spend time, I'd think."

"Why's that?"

"Because the place least visited, but still well-watched, is the Dragon's Hoard."

"... Oh." Bilbo closes his hand around his pipe a few times in thought. "... I don't think I'll mind much, actually."

"Really?" Gandalf side-eyes Bilbo. "Even with the memories of the Dragon, and Thorin's Madness?"

"But that's all gone now."

"Is it?"

Now Bilbo side-eyes the wizard.

"I heard of your reaction to the men's tapestry design."

"... Ah. That." Bilbo stares straight ahead and clears his throat, adjusting his posture. "That was different."

"How so?"

"Because it wasn't memory, it was imagery."

"And the very treasure that has caused threat to your life not once, nor twice, but three times now, is not?"

"No, it's not," Bilbo says firmly, angling his head towards Gandalf without actually looking at him.

"Well... if you're sure, then."

"I am." There it was, that little bit of rebellion that sometimes rose up in him, that spite. Had gotten him into more than a few pickles as a young hobbit, and seems to be continuing the habit now.

They keep smoking, until Gandalf is called away for some task or another. Bilbo stays for a moment longer, and then gets up.

And heads for The Hoard.

[cienie-isengardu]

Can you do headcanons on SubScorp (Kuai Liang / Hanzo Hasashi) and the evolution of their relationship, please? ♡

Sure, just please keep in mind that rock has a better romantic sense than I ever will. I’m not a shipper in general and SubScorp has a lot to overcome in my mind to even get close as friends but I will do my best! In advance, sorry for the long text and especially opening. My hand slipped but I needed to build the romantic headcanons on something.

Oh, and I kinda threw away the canon timeline here and there and went with how I would write their relationship (and story, I guess) if I was given the chance.

At the beginning, Hanzo and Kuai were bitter enemies and their hate for each other was the exact reason why Quan Chi kept them working together. The revenants were creatures of vivid emotions, twisted and corrupted by Netherrealm fire. So the stronger they hated, the mightier were their unnatural powers. But there was also a more sinister reason: Quan Chi kept them together, day after day, because it amused him to watch how Sub-Zero and Scorpion wanted to hurt each other but always were defenseless against his magic, always blindly obedient. To have two deadliest of enemies as slaves under his power was the best perk of necromancy.

When they were revenants though, Quan Chi’s cruel joke meant nothing. Kuai Liang had no free will, no remorse, only hate and pain to go on. Hanzo could - should - run away, but didn’t. He was broken in thousands of little ways and it was easier to follow orders, to not think than take responsibility for his own choices, to face the utterly devastating feeling of failure. It wasn't a good life - it wasn’t a life at all, but it was all they had.

After so many days turned into weeks turned into months, the constant presence of each other became the punishment and the salvation at once. They hated each other and this hate never truly left them for a moment, never let them feel peace of mind. They hated each other but it was an emotion that bonded them together, grounded in reality, made sense in an otherwise senseless world.

Hanzo and Kuai Liang got used to each other that the presence of mutual disdain was as normal part of their cursed life as breathing for a living person.

But then Quan Chi lost and suddenly they both were brought to life against their will. The first weeks were the worst. They were victims of dark magic, everyone was saying but none of them was a killer responsible for thousands of brutal deaths. Not like Hanzo and Kuai Liang and because of that, the burden of guilt was their alone. A burden they didn’t want to share among themselves, so they sought out different paths to find some solace.

For Hanzo, there was nothing to come back. The home of Shirai Ryu was destroyed, devastated beyond any measure. He still heard clearly Quan Chi’s voice in his head, how he failed his clan, how shamed his wife and child. Hanzo felt dirty and unworthy and utterly lost. The once mighty Scorpion was now a wreck, a directionless nomad.

For Kuai Liang, the home was Lin Kuei but it was taken by cyber monsters without souls. Once he returned to living, those monsters hunted him restlessly. For years he ran and hid and killed and killed and killed and killed until he was ready to face Sektor and reclaim what was once his. An honor and a purpose in life, so he could find Scorpion and kill him for brother’s death. But then he learned dark secrets of the clan and even darker truths that changed everything.

Because of that, Kuai Liang invited Hanzo to Lin Kuei Temple, offered peace and a new start, a way to atone for all crimes and sins they committed arm to arm during war. Above everything else, offered the truth that finally set them both free from their cruel past.

They did not keep in touch then though. They met sporadically, when Raiden asked his Champions to assist in this or that little crisis. To hunt the demons that somehow survived the war, to find oh so rare, mystic artifact or two, or do a quick job in the Outworld. They were assassins after all and Special Forces the heroes who shouldn’t dirty their hands.

During those meetings, Hanzo and Kuai Liang tried to stay as far as possible without making a fuss about it. During missions though there was no one who could safely separate them, and thus save them from painful memories of the past.

It was terrifying to Hanzo how much he missed Sub-Zero’s cold presence at his side, even if the so well known hate for Bi-Han’s death still hid beneath the cryomancer's skin like a furious, wild beast, always present, never forgiving, kept in check only by Lin Kuei’s iron will.

It was terrifying for Kuai Liang how well he still understood Scorpion’s body language even though the ninja tried so desperately to hide scars left by Quan Chi on his soul, all those unsaid horrors he experienced, all the doubts and pain and self-hatred that burned as hot as Netherrealm fire that twisted them both.

But those sporadic joint missions alone weren’t what helped them connect once and forever.

Ironically, it was the guilt that let one understand so well the other, to know when it was a good time for jab and when not to speak - not to see - raw pain that both so hard tried to bury under their respective masks, of cold politeness and hot devotion to the past. Surprisingly, it was also the arrogance of united governments that wanted to use them to expand Earthrealm’s control over wild Outworld yet did not see them as human beings. To be seen as a useful tool but never truly welcome wasn’t anything new for any of them. Kuai Liang and Hanzo were a relic of a dark past that should have died years ago yet were too stubborn to just yield and blindly follow orders even again. This burning desire for independence and search for their lost humanity built a common ground, the bridge between past hate and empathy.

This, and their shared disdain for Johnny’s never ending jokes. In the past, every time the Champions of Earthrealm met in the same place and Cage opened his mouth to talk Hollywood's weirdness, Hanzo got closer and closer to Kuai Liang. There was no word of recognition or permission - one look at each other and they understood perfectly it was either stay strong together and endure this senseless, annoying wave of words or do something regrettable.

And because they already had enough guilt to worry about, Sub-Zero and Scorpion simply stood arm to arm, like they did during war. Somehow that comforting familiarity grew up into something much stronger; not yet friendship but unity anyway. Time did not heal them but the mutual hate faded little by little, day after day until pain was nothing more than bitter ache they simply learned to live with.

Despite everything and everyone, Hanzo and Kuai Liang got to trust each other, to rely on a bond that was once a cruel Quan Chi’s joke.

Sub-Zero was the person that accompanied Hanzo to the Shirai-Ryu clan’s ruins, so he could finally bury dead ones left there forgotten by the world. Hanzo should have done that long ago, he knew, but the claw of fear clung to his heart for years and would not let it. The fear that Hanzo Hasashi never truly existed and he was a fraud, another lie begotten by Netherrealm. That there was no Harumi nor Satoshi and in the end he clinged so desperately to a nightmare that never was true to begin with. A nightmare for which he murdered the wrong person and brought someone else this maddening pain.

Seeing the ruins of home - the once so familiar bodies now just flesh spread out, glistening bones scattered everywhere, ripped and crushed, forgotten - was like dying again. Hanzo broke down and for the first time in a decade allowed himself to cry. Kuai Liang was there by his side, offering no wise words, nor comfort. He simply sat there, back to back with Hanzo, so he could know he wasn’t truly left alone this time yet quietly like a shadow to not disturb his grief. Hanzo would never forget this kindness for the rest of his life. He wouldn’t forget the sacrifice made that day by Sub-Zero to come to mortuary ruins, to bury another clan slaughtered without mercy in the name of madness and spite.

But with pain came also relief, that his memories were truly his and not another sweet lie whispered to his ear by a twisted sorcerer.

(Kuai Liang came here because it was the right thing to do. To pay respect and melt the dark past into a better future in which Shirai Ryu and Lin Kuei could be an ally, maybe even brothers in arms. He came for Hanzo, because no one did that for him, when he had countless bodies of comrades to bury after Sektor’s defeat and no one should be forced to do so alone. He came there also for himself, to see and be sure Bi-Han wasn’t part of the heartless crime. The hallmarks of a frontal attack, chaotic destruction and coarse, devoid of surgical precision violence were proof it wasn’t Bi-Han’s work. His brother would never be so sloppy, so random in his attack. He even told so Hanzo, in this moment of relief and social clumsiness and Scorpion just looked at him with the reddened eyes and did not burst in flame of anger, just… accepted the truth and Kuai Liang said no more about it.)

Scorpion was the person that stayed at Kuai Liang’s side when Frost betrayed her master and disappeared without a trace. He never liked the cryomancer girl - she reminded him too much of Sub-Zero who sought him for brother’s death. Young and brash, untamed, always snarling, spitting with venom in their face. But above everything else, Frost’s anger burned too hot like his own and he hated to look at her and to see himself.

Maybe losing such a precious student - an heir - was like losing a child. Hanzo understood this crushing feeling but there were no right words to offer. Even if he knew them, Sub-Zero did not want pity, did not want to talk. All he needed was a space to unleash fury and pain, the excess of emotions too large to bury them in the tomb of a cold heart. And so day after day, night after night, the ice and fire clashed over and over again until all muscles burned and the ache brought finally some peace. Not much, but enough to let Kuai Liang not dwell on his failure and focus on Grandmaster’s duties.

(There was something off about this whole situation but Hanzo couldn’t pick on what exactly. Kuai Liang had secrets he didn’t share, not yet and Hanzo respected his wishes, trusting Lin Kuei’s word. So far, Kuai Liang never had let him down. Scorpion trusted and it was terrifying on its own).

Those were the little steps into a path that brought them closer. It wasn't love for each other then, not even romantic infatuation, but love for the lost one, for family that was once but no longer. They understood this grief too well.

The first time Hanzo felt the pang of love, he and Kuai Liang were debating about the proper course of the upcoming mission. They were sitting in Hanzo’s room, with an open door leading to the Fire Garden. Then, without warning came spring rain and both looked out on instinct. The air was filled with the freshness of trees and flowers coming back to life; a freshness they breathed in greedily to wash out the taste of Netherrealm ash forever.

On that day, everything seemed to be in the right place. Just the two of them, sitting arm to arm delighted by the simplest things in life; a warm rain, nourishing garden, a steaming mug of tea between all of this. There was a peace Hanzo did not feel for ages and the sound of the rain and steady breath of his companion lulled him into half-sleep, half-awareness.

On that day, Hanzo wished to keep this moment forever.

The second time Hanzo felt something toward Kuai Liang, it was on Lin Kuei’s training ground. They spared, like they always did in their free or stressful time, but for whatever reason, Kuai Liang smiled at him, this soft, weirdly cocky smile he rarely shows in company and Hanzo looked at it for a few seconds too long before he understood how fast his heart beat, how warmness filled him - not the Netherrealm fire that burns through his muscles and bones, but warmth that he felt only around his wife and child. He wanted to kiss those lips, to feel its coldness on his own. It was wrong on so many levels and he did what he always does in times of overwhelming emotions he didn’t like. He disappeared into flames and ran the hell away from Sub-Zero’s smile. The burned holes to this day were the proof of his shameful panic.

Where did such obscene thoughts come from, he did not have an idea. But the guilt for having them even for a moment about Kuai Liang - any man, really - was too heavy, too suffocating to face Sub-Zero. So Hanzo avoided him for weeks.

And yet, he came back to Lin Kuei Temple. And again and again and again. Despite the burning shame, he sought out Kuai Liang, because only around him, the Netherrealm’s cursed fire cooled down enough to allow him to breathe.

So he danced, between disgrace and this weird feeling of happiness, of living again. Of seeking out the cryomancer and running away from horrific emotion he didn’t know how to get rid off, how to tame.

(Hanzo loved Harumi with all his heart. How could he love - desire - anyone else? And a man whose brother he unjustly killed?)

Kuai Liang decided to not discuss Scorpion’s emotional swings until Hanzo figured it out for himself what he truly wanted. There was no point to get involved into some sentimental drama if there was no hope for sensible agreement.

The Lin Kuei always desired a new generation of warriors, so sex wasn’t any taboo. Some warriors sought comfort in the arms of strange women and men, some between each other. Sex wasn’t forbidden but the emotions were. To feel loyalty or worse, love, to a fellow warrior instead of trusting the masters was a crime.

Kuai Liang did not feel any sudden pang of love toward Hanzo, nor any desire for physical contact. Romanticism never was part of any cryomancer’s nature. He missed his brother and Smoke, but year after year the pain of loss dulled enough to leave him with nothingness. Kuai Liang knew only this: somehow Scorpion became the only source of warmth that kept his heart from freezing completely.

Kuai Liang didn’t have a proper name for what twirled in his soul - a friendship or a love, how one could tell those apart? He wished his older brother or Smoke was there to tell him it was alright to like - care for - Hanzo, but both were dead and twisted into monsters. It was just him and his fragile, scarred heart to judge what was right and what was not. And hope Bi-Han would forgive him the weakness.

They find the balance that keeps both safe, warming the frozen heart and cooling down the neverending flame of anger. For a decade or so, it worked well.

But then Hanzo killed Quan Chi and ruined the chance to free revenants from sorcerer’s curse. The Champions of Earthrealm never liked Scorpion to begin with, now he was persona non grata. Rightly so. Imprisoned, he awaited their judgment. Scorpion could easily escape but chose not to - he was ready to face the consequences yet there was no court nor punishment. The Grandmaster of Lin Kuei came for him and made it clear to all representatives of the united governments and army that he will with Hanzo at his side, over their dead bodies if need be.

Twenty years was not enough time to forget what they together were capable of in fight. How dangerous and experienced murderers they were. No one dared to stop them when they left military base together.

Kuai Liang did not rely on words to show his feelings. Deeds always spoke more than any pretty speech. He was disappointed yet he still came for Hanzo. He saw Scorpion’s arrogance, egoism, breaking point and still came and that only made Hanzo love him more. For the first time, he did not feel shame or guilt for loving - and being loved - by another man.

Hanzo Hasashi’s choice almost brought destruction to the world yet somehow, this tragedy made them inseparable for good. It wasn’t always easy - they argued, for fun and for real and there were still rare days when it was only wise to stay away from each other. Like the day of Bi-Han’s unjust death and the lost chance to bring Harumi and Satoshi to life. They were beyond the primal hate yet some instincts were too strong to risk destroying what they built for themselves over the years.

Somehow through the years they changed from Sub-Zero and Scorpion to Grandmasters of their respective clans and from those to just Kuai Liang and Hanzo.

Hanzo wasn’t used to being so casually called by name but he liked the change. It was Sub-Zero’s voice, he suspected, that made him feel so attracted. At the same time, he felt honored when Kuai Liang told his birth - forbidden - name. He knew it already, for years, but it was different to know and be told, allowed, to use it freely.

Hanzo’s turbulent relationship with other Champions got worse once his student, Takeda started dating Jaqueline Briggs. The Champions distrusted and disliked him and he didn’t feel any need to reconcile with them. Kuai Liang was disappointed in him for treating the girl coldly but everytime asked why he still bothered to deal with Shirai Ruy Grandmaster, the answer was one and the same - he is my equal. For Hanzo it was the most beautiful and terrifying declaration.

(At the same time, everytime Hanzo heard someone accusing Sub-Zero of being cold, heartless, untouched by trauma, the anger burned him wholly. Who were they to judge, to mock Kuai Liang’s pain that hid so well under polite words and calmness? He did not care what people said about him, but would not stand any mockery against those he respected - loved - so much.)

Then of course another immortal being decided to screw up everything and messed up timelines. The younger, brash and mad version of Scorpion wasn’t something that Hanzo and Kuai Liang actually wanted to see, nor the repeat of Cyber Lin Kuei. Then Hanzo died and woke up, again trapped in Netherrealm. So he ran at the first chance, thinking more about Kuai Liang than about his own fears of burning alive in hell forever. The sight of Sub-Zero in hell should have alarmed him - and it did, for a moment, scare Hanzo that the other man died too which was an unbearable thought. But Kuai Liang was alive and so, so determined to bring him back home. If that wasn’t the loudest, the most tangible declaration of love, what else could it be?

And so, like twenty years ago, they fight side to side, like one body and soul. And destroyed, killed, tore apart demons and hellspawn, everything and everyone that stood in their way to freedom, to safety of Earthrealm’s boundaries. First time in ages, they could unleash their anger at those who hurt them, enslaved, and used. It felt so good, so right to be a storm of vengeful fury that frightened even the mighty Netherrealm. They were alive and together and nothing, no gods, titans or destiny, could stop them.

Kuai Liang and Hanzo did not talk much about their last visit in Netherrealm. What happened there was their and only their moment to relish, incomprehensible for bystanders. It was weird though, to come back to live and face his younger, stubborn self. Kuai Liang did not like this Scorpion much and to be honest, Hanzo did not like this version of himself too. It was Scorpion from the darkest time in their past, when only mutual hate connected them. At the same time, there was something amusing to see himself so awkward and uneasy everytime when Kuai Liang and older Hanzo sat so closely, relaxed and calm, like it was the normalest thing to do. When they acted like halves of the same soul.

Kuai Liang never was keen to show any romantic gestures but sometimes he took Hanzo’s hand to emphasize clearly what they were. Hanzo was always surprised by Sub-Zero’s openness and filled with joy, whereas his younger self was confused as hell. Hanzo suspected he would soon need to talk and explain to his younger self what he and Kuai Liang were to each other. Why they needed each other so much and how loving someone else other than Harumi was not dishonor. After all, love wasn’t sin nor weakness.

[weirdo-twins]

I don’t really know why people think Will magically stopped being bullied for being queer in California. Just because we don’t see it in the limited time we see him at school (which is basically all about setting up El’s conflict with Angela), doesn’t mean life was suddenly great for him and he could’ve made a bunch of friends and for some reason chose not to out of solidarity with El.

I guess that’s a nice thought for the WillEl relationship, but it isn’t logical and more importantly ignores the real issue which is that Will and his experience as a gay kid continues to be criminally underwritten, sidelined, and ignored. 

Turns out I have a lot to say about this so details below the cut.

Within the Story: 

Yes, Lenora is probably better than Hawkins, where there are generations of family history and stigma for him to deal with. And maybe in theory the west coast is more liberal, but that mostly only applies to big metro areas. Tbh inland desert California can be as conservative as Indiana, and Lenora doesn’t seem to be the most accepting place.

Why do we think Will wouldn’t get bullied for his hero project? “If he chose that he must be comfortable and not at risk out there” or he’s not planning on including that part in his presentation (maybe it was more well known in the 80′s but I didn’t know who Alan Turing was until this, so betting no one in his class will make that connection unless he brings it up). Or maybe he decided it was worth it to get to research something he’s interested in. He didn’t exactly try to hide his queerness in Hawkins either, despite making a target of himself. He’s thinking of himself as a mistake, that’s not someone existing in a queer-accepting space.

The flirty girl? That in and of itself could have been making fun of him. Dares to flirt with the gay/weird kid as a joke are a trope as old as time. I have personal experience with it. 

He doesn’t have the clout to stop Angela and co. from bullying El, which shows he’s not being accepted himself. If he did have the opportunity to make new friends, it would only help El since he could use that influence to get people to leave her alone and include her in his friend group so ‘choosing’ to go friendless actually isn’t doing her any favors. Furthermore, if Mike and Dustin are getting bullied for being nerds, Will absolutely would be too. He’s a giant nerd and he can’t chang that about himself, why would he be spared while the others aren’t? On top of all that, Will is extremely introverted and quiet. His personality is not built for making friends.

So anyone suggesting he could have been /popular/ is delusional. At the very best, he could be flying under the radar by just not interacting with anyone, not out of some solidarity with El, but because he knows the second he opens his mouth the harassment will start. Something El is not picking up on. 

Most likely? Will is also being bullied, just off screen and in more subtle ways. 

Narratively speaking: 

But ultimately what we see is dictated by what the writers deem necessary for the plot. The most important part of the cali plot in the first 2-3 episodes was setting up El’s inner turmoil. Will was ultimately a secondary character in most of those scenes, and all the writers cared about establishing for him was that he’s not into girls and he and Mike have tension. The flirty girl was just a tool to show us he’s not into girls. Just like snowball girl was a tool to get Will out of the way for everyone else’s stories. The writers seemed to give .02 seconds of thought into that moment making sense in the wider reality they’ve established.

His personal experience in Lenora was irrelevant to the plot, so there was no purpose in showing him being bullied. Will’s identity as gay is clearly not the focus the duffers care about outside of the love triangle they’ve established, since they didn’t think to write the scene between him and Jonathan into the original script, so why waste time showing how that identity actually impacts him as a person? 

And there in lies the problem: 

You see, they very easily could have shown us Will being bullied alongside El. This would have established that he doesn’t like girls. It would have made sense, reinforced the ways WillEl can relate to each other, and placed the importance of Will’s character (his feelings and experience outside the love triangle) more on par with El rather than less important than her.

Hot take: if you’re going to have a queer kid say on screen that he feels like a mistake, you should explicitly show how society is at fault for that mindset, and in a way that centers that queer kid’s experience and feelings. 

We have not seen Will being bullied for being queer and how that impacts him as a person. We see and hear about other people using slurs against him in s1, but he wasn’t present. We don’t feel the emotional impact of that bullying from Will’s perspective, it’s more about how it makes Mike angry or to establish that Lonnie is a Bad Guy. The closest we get to seeing directly how societal homophobia is impacting Will as a person is when Mike says “It’s not my fault you don’t like girls” and Will destroys castle byers. 

It’s really important actually to show how homophobia cuts into a person and tears them down. To acknowledge that it exists and hurts. To show it from the queer person’s perspective. If you’re not going the route of ‘queer rep and we make everything positive and ignore homophobia’, if you’ve committed to the gay kid angsting in the 80′s, the narrative of outsiders overcoming adversity, then my dudes you need to acknowledge the adversity. 

People are saying they connect more with Eddie as an allegory for the queer experience than William Byers, the actual gay kid on this show. That’s because his character is underwritten, his experiences relegated to c plots, and they either don’t know how or are unwilling to grapple with the nitty-gritty reality of the story they CHOSE to tell: gay kid angsting in the 80′s. 

Will not being shown as a target is not a cute sibling story actually but is the writers deciding Will’s character and the impacts of homophobia are not important enough to spend time on.

[teentitwns]

soooo, as you know i wrote some bbrae fanfictions and, this one, especifically, called “all you had to do was stay” (yes, taylor swift’s song) was published in 2017 but i deleted after sometime because im little lazy and the history always seems easily in my mind.

anyway! i decided to rewrite this fanfiction and the first chapter is already posted on the brazilian website that i use (spirit fanfics), so why not put in here too?

please, remember that im brazilian and my english is a little broken - sorry for the mistakes you’ll find on the text.

well, thats it. im really nervous right now and insecure. i hope you like it and, maybe, i can post the fanfiction on ao3 or another website.

_______________

The protective dome around Raven was totally useless and, like her friends, she knew it.

She was there, standing in the middle of the contraption built by Cyborg, with all her vital signs being recorded on the computers that occupied a large part of the room, beeping together with the devices that showed her brain waves.

Everything had been perfectly assembled and positioned so that she had the best protection that anyone could have in the face of what was about to happen, but all those technological tools made her feel like a laboratory rat, studied in vain to discover that in the end the experience had gone wrong again.

She sighed loudly and propped her elbows on her knees, resting her face in one hand; she no longer cared about floating.

She felt physically and mentally drained to use her powers in something as unnecessary as floating, and she didn't need to be inches from the ground at that moment.

In fact, it was better to have contact with the earth, with the concrete floor. At least she would be sure that she was still alive, that the world was fine and whole.

Raven let out a loud snort and huffed impatiently, her eyes roaming the room until they found the door, waiting, miraculously, for one of the other Titans to enter. She had been inside that dome for hours and she couldn't take it anymore - loneliness was good when chosen willingly, not out of obligation.

To her despair, in addition to the blatant private prison that was happening there, the kidnapping, or anything else of that level, the situation made terrible flashbacks go through her head, making her remember Slade, the brand of Scath , the end of the world and, consequently, Trigon.

Why did everything have to be so similar? It seemed that karma was acting exactly the same as it had on her sixteenth birthday, creating a tedious and scary looping. She never considered herself a fan of automatic repetitions anyway.

Unconsciously, she took her left hand into the pocket of her midnight blue cloak in hopes of finding a specific object inside it, but this time, she had no lucky coin to cling to and consider as an amulet. She was alone, forgotten, practically left to die, just as she should have been two years ago, on the fateful day when Trigon’s Prophecy almost came true.

The empath, a “witch” as many called her, allowed herself to laugh with mockery. She hated feeling sorry for her own tragic life, but she couldn't escape the pitiful thoughts she was having. She probably didn't think differently from what her friends had in mind - she was just a poor girl, victim of circumstances, who was not to blame for being the fruit of the forbidden, unhealthy relationship between a human and an interdimensional demon. She was not to blame for being “Daddy's darling”, the one chosen to bring him to Earth for the second time, since she was a poorly raised daughter and prevented him the first time.

Now, at eighteen, she wouldn't be as lucky as she was at sixteen.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos… Azarath Metrion Zinthos…”, she closed her eyes and started to meditate, with nothing else to do. “Azarath Metrion Zinthos…”

“Raven!"

She opened her eyes with a start, facing Beast Boy. Awkwardly, he spread his hands on the thick glass of the dome, breathing heavily.

“Great.", She thought. “Of all the people that Robin could send, he chose the most restless."

" What are you doing here?", she asked.

“Dude, isn't it obvious? We’re doing it wrong! ”, Beast Boy waved his hands compulsively. “I mean, it's your father! There is no one better to stop him than you!”

“If I leave here it will be easier to get to Earth."

“I really don't want to be pessimistic, but he's already here, mama."

“Beast Boy..."

“It worked last time, didn't it? What good will it do you to be stuck in that dome? The world will end anyway!”

“Weren't you the one who was upbeat until two seconds ago?"

“I still am!"

“Does Robin know you're here?"

“…yes."

“I don’t believe that."

“Of course I told him,", the shapeshifter scratched the back of his head, causing his newly acquired muscles to start filling his uniform to appear. “I just don't know if he paid attention.”, He gave a nervous smile.

“It doesn't count as a warning."

“Have you never been told that what counts is the intention?"

Raven rolled her eyes and uncrossed her legs, standing up. She walked over to where Beast Boy was, touching the dome with her fingertips. He smiled broadly, running to the nearest computer and typing in the code that would free her.

When the dome barriers disappeared, Raven adjusted the hood on her head, thinking about the possibilities that surrounded her. Beast Boy was right, after all. Trigon was already on Earth, like the first time, and she would not be of much help if she were trapped, safe and sound, while her friends killed themselves to save the world.

“I knew you'd be up for it!" He celebrated, approaching her.

“It wasn't your worst idea."

“I'm smart, you underestimate me too much."

“I must have my reasons for that, right?

“Taking into account my discussions about tofu being the best food in the world can’t be considered as a reason.”

“No?”

“We all have our childish moments.”

“And you have your adult moments.”, she said.

“Nothing for having released you, I’m at your service.

“Where are they?”

“Downtown.”

“Excellent.”

“Raven”, Beast Boy called her when she started to leave. “Are you ready to go?”

“You don’t?”

“It's just… You have nothing to bring you luck.”

“I don't believe in luck.”, she lied, ignoring the thought that she had been wishing for a lucky charm a few minutes ago.

“Why not?”

“I make my own luck.”

“But it's always good to have help, isn't it?”

“Come on, Beast Boy.”

He shook his head negatively and approached her, holding her arm firmly and preventing her from getting away. The difference in height between them remained almost nil, with Raven looking a little taller from a distance because of the hood.

She frowned and looked at him without understanding, trying to pull her arm out of his grip, uncomfortable with the position they were in.

“It's just…”, Beast Boy started to speak. “I shouldn't be here and I know it. You are always so focused and correct that you even embarrass me for acting that way, but, last time, you had the coin I gave you and we won.

“I don’t know where it is.”, Raven lied, lowering her head to hide the blush on her cheeks. Some of her emotions were manifested in Nevermore, reminding her of the small passion she held for him. Passion, that, that she was sure that she would never be reciprocated. He was not a philanderer, he had never dated anyone after Terra, but he was not unaware of love affairs like her. She had a little more experience, even though she was also small. “We can't keep others waiting.”

“I can't let you go without an amulet.”

“There is no such thing as luck, Beast Boy! How many times have I told you that we need to run after what we want?”

“Many.”

“And none of them fixed on your brain?”

“Apparently no.”

“I should have imagined.”

“Why can't you give me a credit?”

“You are acting like a child who believes in Santa Claus.”

“And you're being cruel to me.”, he complained. “I thought you stopped that a while ago.”

“I stopped. Are we going to battle or not?”, Raven asked impatiently. “The world is about to end!”

“I know!”

“Then let me go!”

“I can't let you leave here without an amulet!”

“So give me this shit!”

Raven's words echoed around the room, and Beast Boy smirked, as if he had been waiting for this ever since they started arguing.

Such nonsense fights and quick discussions were not new to them, who were used to being awkward a few times a day, always for stupid reasons. However, that time, the shapeshifter had a purpose and, knowing that Raven would play the game, he put his idea into practice, which ended up working very well, thank you.

Raven shook her head and shrugged, silently asking if he wouldn't give her anything. She was waiting for a frog charm or other coin, but all she received was a warm kiss on the mouth, which made her blow up the nearest computer monitor.

The touch of Beast Boy's lips on his made her close her eyes instantly, her body and mind embracing the fact that she wanted that kiss - she had even been waiting for him for a long time, having fantasized the moment several times in the stillness of his. room.

On the other hand, Beast Boy didn't explode at all, but he felt his whole body vibrating. Her cheeks were as flushed as Raven’s, and it had taken him a long time to have the courage to kiss her.

The kiss could not be considered "worthy of a movie" because the two were too tense to give themselves up completely. They did not know where to put their hands and neither should they do it; A light in their heads blinked incessantly, reminding them that the world was ending while they were kissing, and billions of people were at risk.

It could be considered an ordinary kiss, but for Raven and Beast Boy, it meant much more than that.

They separate after a few seconds, unable to exchange a direct look. Beast Boy cleared his throat and Raven clung more tightly to her cloak, almost disappearing inside it.

“Raven”, Beast Boy smiled, making her look him in the eye quickly. Without breaking eye contact, he simply stuck a five-cent coin in her hand. Like old times. “Good luck.”

—————————————-

ok, i had no idea that the text would lose the diagramming!!! i wrote this on my iphone notes, sorryyyy

[secrets-of-the-library]

This is a fan-created stowaway island. I always want to try and push the edge on what can be built on the Sims 4 and one of those is ships/houseboats/etc. I’ve always wanted to do a pirate ship and with the help of stage props it was certainly a reality in this one. We’re super into Spuk/Engspa and their pirate arc is a huge one for us so these two things went hand-in-hand. The Sims doesn’t really have ‘deserted island’ packs for like, showers and toliets, etc, so that was a bit harder to do. It’s all off-grid though or the items that are ‘on-grid’ don’t function and are for looks only. Remember: This is fan/headcanon created. I build for fun and am not a professional. I do not build with the intention of having it livable/non-clashing. If something clashes it will be up to you to fix it because I build for the pure aesthetic and not functionality. I own a lot of packs so if you don’t own all the ones used in this there might be issues. You ARE able to board the boat. I had to test that much. That works just fine. Your Sims may be confused for a minute but it works. After the cut here I will provide a visual walk-through via screen captures. You’re more than welcome to download it and look at it for yourself. My username on Sims4 is Shinoshallbugyou.

This one is about as old as the home I created for Arthur. Boats are NOT A THING in the Sims 4 so this is my attempt at a rigged pirate ship. Of course this is located in the Sulani area... Naturally. There isn’t as much to cover in this one. The two main areas are the boat (Two levels) and the island.

First I’ll focus on the boat. I tricked the ‘walls’ underneath it into disappearing though it leaves a strange blue hue from its transparency. It’s believable enough. The ladder is rigged there as well to board it- That’s not a normal feature and has to be forced in. ‘Rounded’ features are also hard to do. The stage props helped a great DEAL in this to make it a reality. The anchor is previously a monument that I’ve just pretended they’ve dropped on a ‘rock’ next to it. There is no way of putting the boat out further because of the small map size but I liked this one in particular for its isolated island.

Upper-deck

Mid-deck. To the left goes to the ‘brig’ and to the right in the bigger doors is the Captain’s quarters.

Upper-deck with a steering wheel. I just now realized that the wallpaper is messed up on the Captain’s Quarter’s windows bu that is an easy fix with the eyedropper tool on the rest of the boat onto that section.

We’ll go to the left room first... The Captain’s Quarters. I originally had a neat table with a spread-out map here but the custom content got removed with an update so I settled to throw in some regular items instead. I think the sink won’t work and that’s on purpose. I really tried to hide that ‘fridge’. Just pretend it is storage for food and not a normal fridge. The lighting for both the Captain’s Quarters and the Brig wasn’t working or ‘coming on’ for some reason so I threw in some quick small ceiling lighting so you could see the details.

Alright- The other room. The Brig. I REALLY wanted something like this in there and it was hard to figure out how to put it in there. Things like ‘They’ll just try to break out of the window and jump out’ came to my mind and had me settling on putting it in the middle with a chair for someone to watch/talk to them. I relented and put on a toilet, bath, sink, and etc in this area too. Those should be off-grid and work.

The ‘bottom’ layer of the ship isn’t much and I never utilized it at all. If you really feel like it you can figure it out and put a crew’s cabins and storage or something down there but I kept this all rather simple, actually. Let’s move onto the island portion of this! I wanted to pretend that they’re stuck on this island and started to build a life on it. There are a few activities to do, places to prep food, old ruins, etc.

‘Gazebos’ aren’t really a thing on the Sims 4 much either. I man made this one with a lot of effort and raising objects. I’m actually unhappy with the bed because I wanted it to look ‘made’ and not manufactured. Again, the Sims doesn’t have ‘castaway’ objects and I needed somewhere else to sleep on the island so I settled for that one.

This is a big inspiration from our larping/rping of Spuk/Engspa where both England and Spain are turned on by their men (Or maybe France helped/was-behind this... Who knows?) and are essentially left stranded on an island. In the span of time that they were left there they actually formed a better relationship than they had up until that point. Something of a couple. But when they got off of the island and forced back into their regular lives they both started to resent each other, thinking that the other ‘forgot’ about all of that and wanted to move on. England, in particular, was really irked by this. In our rping/larping they got back together officially in the 1970′s after Spain emerged from a dictatorship and they both look back rather fondly on the time they were trapped on an island together. The boat wouldn’t have been there technically but I wanted to try it so I kept both. That way my fiancee could play around with them on the island or on a boat. There’s tons of stuff around for them to play around in too! We were having a good time making them swim towards a waterfall and etc.

[rpmemesbyarat]

As someone in the Marvel RPC, I see a lot of “my character was kidnapped/created in a lab and turned into the perfect weapon” or “my character was captured by scientists because she was an alien/supernatural creature/etc and they wanted to study her” and inevitably, both involve a lot of gratutitous torture. The key word being “gratuitous”. Either due to wanting drama or being misinformed by popular media depictions of such things (Bucky Barnes, Laura Kinney, etc) the general assumption of fandom seems to be that scientists are basically sadists and that “experiments” are little more than exercises in how to cause their character the most pain possible. The thing is though, a lot of the reasoning for all this is. . . bad. And while canon ---be it Marvel or something else-- may do that, I would also like to discuss more realistic options and point out a few general mistaken assumptions or things people don’t tend to think of. - If a bunch of scientists are trying to create an augmented supersoldier, “perfect life form”, or whatever, that’s not an experiment, that’s a PROJECT. There is a big difference between the two. - Who/what is your character being created or augmented to fight? No one is gonna spend the time/money/effort to make a supersoldier just to have one around for fun. The enemy they are supposed to face or job they are supposed to do is going to influence EVERYTHING about the abilities they’re given and how they are “designed” not to mention how much independent thinking it’s practical to give them. For instance, for some jobs, being able to think and make decisions on their own will be a must, and that’s a risk. For others, there’s really no need to leave their free will intact if you can avoid it. Someone being “built” for espionage will be much different than someone being designed as a living tank. Likewise if someone is going to be sent into a desert environment versus expected to go for long periods underwater, and so on. Knowing what they’re designed to be going up against is CRUCIAL. - Why are living weapons the best option to fight this thing? Because generally speaking, there can be a lot more disadvantages to those than to guns and guided missiles and androids and shit. What about this enemy required a lving sentient supersoldier instead? - If a specimen is rare or valuable, it’s unlikely that it’s going to be dissected or otherwise treated in a way that will deliberately damage it. Your characters might FEAR that if they’re found the men in white coats might “cut them up” but this is actually unlikely. If scientists are trying to learn about something and it’s not a thing they can easily replace, they’re going to try to do so WITHOUT destroying or damaging it. The reason that real-life lab animals are treated so callously is because there’s lots of them, and we already know a lot about how they all work. When a scientist dissects a lab mouse, they’re not losing anything when it dies. If the first alien on Earth dies, or some super-soldier they worked really hard to create dies, they’re losing either a lot of potential information that can’t be gained anywhere else, or something they worked really hard to create and won’t be able to do again without a lot of time or effort. They are going to want to avoid that, and in this age of ultrasounds, X-Rays, and other non-invasive technology, that’s very easily done, especially in a setting where they probably have higher level tech than the real world if they’re creating super-soldiers and such in the first place. And they definitely have NO REASON to want to cut a specimen up ALIVE. - If their goal is to study a person or creature, such as the aforementioned alien, or a mermaid, or whatever else, they actually will probably want to avoid causing it stress. Stress causes behavioral changes as well as physiological ones, and if this is a never-before-seen or rarely-examined species/person, scientists will want to examine them in their default state first. Once they’ve learned everything they can about them in their “normal” state, then, yes, they may begin to deliberately induce stress to study what changes. However, they’re still likely to try to avoid damaging the specimen or inducing ill-health in it (which prolonged and/or serious stress can do) Again, the reason that regular lab animals get treated like their lives don’t matter is because THEY DON’T. Lab mice, dogs, etc., are just models for which to study humans most of the time and have well-documented behavior and physiology, they’re not rare or unknown creatures. So the approach is completely different. A literal or figurative unicorn would not be treated like that. - Likewise, if this specimen is something that was created (or augmented from an existing animal/person) it’s unlikely that the scientists are going to torture them, either for fun or through painful “tests”. Again, they don’t want to damage their hard work, either through physically wrecking them or through reducing them to a useless traumatized heap. It doesn’t matter if the scientists are mean cruel people without a bit of kindness or empathy, it’s impractical. If this being was created for a purpose, fucking it up (or turning it against you) defeats that purpose. And whoever is funding them isn’t going to be happy about that. And if whoever is funding them is the one who wanted to torture this creature/person. . . why do they need it to be specially modified or whatever? That really doesn’t make much sense, especially considering it’s virtually guaranteeing that this thing you have GIVEN SUPER POWERS TO is going to want to murder you. - Sure, it’s possible that one person on the staff might just personally be a sadistic bully or have a grudge against the character/creation even when none of the others do, like Kimura with Laura Kinney, but in all likelihood they’d be found out and fired. “But they take pains to hide it and erase security footage and--” Okay, if you really really want that, you can find a way to do it. Just know it’s not at all going to be acceptable procedure even in the most illegal of operations, not because it’s morally wrong but because it fucks with the product. And I would also ask yourself---if your character is already a lab rat, do they need to be tortured as well? Why? What does that add? Does it not feel “traumatic” or “dark” enough that they, a presumably sentient being, is already owned and imprisoned and kept from anything approaching a normal life? Why is that not “bad enough” to you that their story needs over-the-top torture as well? I’m not saying you can’t do it. I’m saying to think about why you’re doing it. Because a lot of times, in my experience, it basically comes down to cheap angst and sympathy points, often at the expense of, as discussed, logic. - “But they want to make them loyal out of fear!” Okay. That works only up until they get an opportunity to escape. Because if they’re afraid, they’ll take that chance. It’s true they might be too afraid to even try---that’s the case for many abuse victims---but I’m not sure that an organization wants to gamble that will be the case and risk losing their valuable asset the moment send asset is put in the field. And, again, risk the damage to them. This one is doable, you just have to be logical about it and think from the perspective of the people running things, not from the perspective of “what’s the most dramatic?” - “But it’s to brainwash them!” Brainwashing does not mean constant egregious torture that just somehow magically produces sudden loyalty one day. I know that tons of movies and comics have showed you this, but torture does NOT brainwash people. It actually makes people MORE resistant and hateful towards the people and group doing it. People under torture may confess to anything to make it stop, but that’s a short-term compliance and far from actually altering their minds in any way. It most certainly does not render them into obedient loyal sheep; typically the reverse, in fact. If you want to read more about this misconception and what the reality is, I’d check out these posts HERE and HERE and HERE which go much more in-depth and cite real-life sources. If you would like to read more about actual brainwashing, HERE and HERE . - “The torture is necessary for their training!” Again, this works to a point, but most people take it absurdly far in their depictions. Training is to build a person up; if it grievously injures or mentally traumatizes them, that’s counter-productive, as it decreases their usefulness. Being pointlessly cruel to your “living weapon” is just counter-productive. Training can certainly still be intense, and even un-ethically or dangerously so, but if it crosses into just coming up with ridiculously over-the-top ways to make the character suffer, it’s too OTT and clearly for angst-fuel, and most readers will probably roll their eyes because it’s just ridiculous after a certain point. Here are some good articles from SPRINGHOLE.NET relevant to this topic: Things To Know If Your Character Will Be Augmented Or Experimented Upon Things About Training & Teaching Writers Need To Know Tips For Writing Dark Stories, Settings, & Characters Pointlessly Edgy Tropes To Reconsider Using Basic Tips To Create Better Characters With Tragic & Traumatic Backstories Note that this is not to say that your lab rat character cannot have been mistreated, abused, or otherwise traumatized by their situation. Indeed, it would be unrealistic if they were NOT, since treating a sentient being as a tool under the control of others and having them commit violence, even if they do so “willingly” because they don’t know any better, is an inherently traumatic thing. But because it’s inherently traumatic, the unrealistic torture porn is just that much more unnecessary and frankly kind of silly. It’s also lazy, and the ways that many writers go about make no actual sense, as has been discussed. Going back to examples from Marvel, a favorite little-known X-Men character of mine is Darkstar, aka Laynia Petrovna. Laynia and her twin brother Nicolai were mutants born in the USSR. They were taken away by the state at birth, and raised by government scientist Professor Phobos in a “school” (read: facility) for super-soldiers. They were trained in combat and taught to be loyal to the USSR above all else. They were also told that their parents had abandoned them (when in fact their mother died in childbirth, and their father was told they had died too) and were NOT told that they were siblings, instead being given different surnames so that their familial loyalty would not supersede their loyalty to the Soviet Union. It wasn’t until they were adults and discovered their bio-father during a mission that they ever found out they were related. Yet, despite this, and despite occasionally joining superhero teams in the USA (Champions) or aiding the X-Men (X-Corps), Laynia has remained loyal to her country first, though she has often turned her back on its government (though she has returned to serving it now that the USSR is no more) What I really like about Laynia’s backstory is how different it is from most ���I was raised as a weapon” stories in that it lacks overt abuse or trauma. She seems to have been treated just fine, she was never tortured, there was never shown to be any needlessly brutal training or treatment of her and the others, etc. She was raised to be a loyal servant to the state, and she was treated in a way that would actually facilitate that, and IT WORKED. So many scientists/trainers/etc in fiction seem to think it’s a great idea to treat your living weapon in ridiculously over-the-top violent, abusive ways for no real reason (except, of course, THE DRAMAZ) and will often be portrayed as insanely sadistic towards their pet projects…even though that’s obviously the LAST thing you would want to do with a valuable asset that you wanted to be loyal to you and have no desire to escape or turn sides. And as I said, it WORKS with Laynia. One of her biggest and most constant struggles FROM THE START is her loyalty to her country, versus her own conscience when she’s asked to do things she finds questionable. She also finds out again and again that she’s been lied to or manipulated by the people in charge of her, and sometimes she’ll defect, but she always ends up back again. And while she’s angry at the things that government asks her to do to others, or has done to others, she never really questions what was done to her. We never see her actually being like “holy shit, I was kidnapped and brainwashed and exploited and I’m really fucking angry about this!” like so many characters in similar situations realize (and often very quickly despite supposed brainwashing; even when still “loyal” they’re usually portrayed as hating their captors) And you know why? Because, again, what was done to her WORKED. Like she has a MOMENT in the issue where she finds out her real history and vows she won’t blindly follow a government ever again, but…she still sticks with the USSR, then Russian, government. She may not be “blindly” following, but she doesn’t seem ever able to leave them for long either. And her brother Nicolai/Vanguard strays even less than she does. And the writers never focus much on this. There’s never been a story that focuses on Laynia’s mindset or giving her a journey that helps her grow in any way or even just examines all this. Partly I think that’s because she’s so minor and has never had a story IN GENERAL that focuses on her. Partly I think it’s because writers just aren’t INTERESTED in a story like hers UNLESS it involves all the dramatic grimdark “tortured test subject” cliches, and they assume readers aren’t either. But I think this does a disservice to readers. One of my pet peeves, perhaps my MAJOR and BIGGEST one, about abuse in fiction is that it is ALWAYS portrayed as BLATANT and EXTREME, committed by people who are OBVIOUSLY monsters and who act like said monsters 24/7. They might get a shallow charming veneer to fool people, but the victim and audience both know that under that they’re un-nuanced, two-dimensional demons. And some abusers are like that. Some abuse is super extreme. But lots of abusers are much more nuanced, and lots of abuse is far for subtle. If only the most extreme types of abuse and abuser are portrayed, that’s all people learn to recognize “real abuse” as being. And real-life victims of abuse already have enough problems feeling that they weren’t “really abused” or “abused enough” to qualify. So I think stories like Laynia’s are important, and they’re worth exploring. They don’t treat abuse as torture porn, something to lingeringly emphasize to the audience in every gory detail for sheer shock value even when it makes NO SENSE for what the abuser is trying to accomplish. Instead, her story makes sense for what the government and its scientists employees were trying to do, and it has an accordingly realistic effect on her that manifests in a far less subtle but no less meaningful way than dramatic “media portrayals of PTSD” cliches. And it’s a story I’d be interested in seeing more of and finally unpacking fully, if any writer ever steps up to the plate ready to treat it with the sensitivity it deserves. Not every story of this sort needs to be like Laynia’s. But not every story of this type needs to be like Logan’s either. Figure out what works best for your character, question why you want it and what purpose it serves, and just make it make sense.

[alirhi]

chapter 7 (the end? I'm not sure yet)

Title: Winter's Frost Chapter: 7/? Fandom: MCU Rating: R to be on the safe side Pairing: Loki/Bucky Summary: Loki never told anyone the real reason he became so obsessed with Midgard. Much better to let them think he wanted to hurt his brother than draw their attention to the one thing in the universe that makes the God of Mischief truly vulnerable.

WARNINGS: m/m, reference to rape Notes: since I don't read comic books and am a huge Loki (mythology) nerd, I'm pulling on some actual Norse mythology in this one. I've referenced Loki's shapeshifting/gender-bending abilities before, but here I go into something a bit more specific, and take a teensy bit of creative license in the process. so if you're reading and are like "wtf that didn't happen in the movies/comics!" that's because that's not the source material I was using.

The Bifrost was his last resort. The Destroyer had failed to even keep Thor in line or take out the bumbling idiots who didn't even know they were harboring HYDRA within their ranks. Loki had some power, but no allies, and it would take too long for him to ferret out every HYDRA operative hiding on Midgard, but if he could simply wipe SHIELD off the map, that seemed like a good start. But first he needed to know just how destructive the Bifrost really was. Could it be used for a surgical strike? Could he take out one building at a time, or would it truly destroy an entire planet?

Bucky would never forgive him if he destroyed his entire home world just to ensure that his captors were dead.

The obvious solution was, of course, a practice run. It was a good thing he had the perfect target in mind. He would destroy Jotunheim entirely, ensure there was no one left to avenge Laufey, and see how long it took to erase the planet from the cosmos. If the destruction took a while, if he could center it on one thing and have the damage radiate out from there, then after his cursed birthplace was eradicated, he could turn the Bifrost on SHIELD's headquarters. Then, all that remained was to go down, grab Bucky, and then come back and destroy the bunker in Siberia. There would be no more torture, no more Winter Soldiers. No more trauma for the man he loved.

Oh, who let bloody Thor out of his desert cell? The meathead always had to complicate everything. Loki lacked the time, and frankly the patience, to deal with his self-righteous adoptive brother's newfound life purpose, which seemed to be 'annoy Loki by any means necessary.' Not so new, then, he supposed. Simply a new method.

I don't have time for this, you oaf! "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to destroy Jotunheim!"

For all that it lacked delicacy, he really felt this plan was a perfect win-win. His father would wake to find his oldest enemies eradicated, his heir apparent revealed as the reckless idiot Loki had always known him to be, and a new heir standing proud and ready to take his place. Bucky would be safe and sound, and since all of his friends and family were likely dead by now, there would be nothing to tie him to Midgard any longer. Perhaps he could be convinced, finally, to come home with him to Asgard and rule by his side. With Loki's shapeshifting power, they could even have a family. Hopefully Odin would stop keeping Loki's children as pets. Truth be told, he was still a little bitter about Sleipnir; unintentional though his conception had been, he was still Loki's son.

Even if Odin didn't see reason when it came to Thor, now that the idiot had fallen in love with a human of his own – after a weekend – that could at least pave the way for Loki to come forward about his own star-crossed love, and maybe be accepted at last. At the end of the day, he had no real interest in ruling Asgard, only stepping out of his brother's shadow and not facing ridicule for who his heart chose. He didn't even know anymore what he was more afraid of; Odin finding out he'd fallen for another man, or Odin finding out he'd fallen for a human.

"Loki, you can't kill an entire race!"

"Why not?" He laughed, though he was more confused than anything else. Since when did Thor care? "Oh, what is this newfound love for the Frost Giants? You could have killed them all with your bare hands!"

"I've changed."

In three days? He doubted it, but he supposed stranger things had happened. It didn't really matter; all he wanted in that moment was to prove to Thor, and to himself, that all his years of practice had meant something; that he was truly every bit the warrior his brother was. Mostly, though, he wanted to kill time and keep Thor from breaking through the ice barrier to stop the Bifrost. It was taking its sweet time tearing Jotunheim apart; that was frustrating with Thor there waiting to muck things up, but encouraging for his true purpose.

"Loki, this is madness!"

"Is it madness? Is it?!" You have no idea! "Come on, what happened on Earth that's turned you so soft?! Don't tell me it was that woman!" I've spent years mourning a love I built and cherished and could tell no one about, and you get to parade around proud as a peacock after spending three days with her?! That is madness!

The look on Thor's face told him everything he needed to know, and he almost vomited. It wasn't just the ridiculously brief time he'd spent with her; Thor could do no wrong in their father's eyes. Even if he marched right up to Odin and announced that he intended to marry this woman and make her his Queen, he would suffer no consequences. No one would dare to speak against the heir apparent; the witless wonder could have anything and everything he wanted! Meanwhile Loki was raped in the service of one of Odin's pettier schemes, and he was ridiculed as weak and a pitiful clown, the son he bore taken from him to be ridden into battle like he was little more than another expendable tool for Odin to use and discard.

The more he thought about how differently their father treated them, the more embarrassed he felt for having been surprised to learn he was adopted. Stolen, really; like everything else Odin thought might one day prove useful. And still, Loki loved him. Still, he looked up to Odin as a father and wanted his love and acceptance. Odin had tormented and humiliated him for most of his life, and Loki still wanted to make him proud. How pathetic.

He was too distracted; too lost in his own spiraling thoughts. Thor kept getting the upper hand, and it was only thanks to Loki's talent for illusion and duplicate-casting that he hadn't outright lost yet. At least he did have those things going for him.

"Enough!"

Damn. Too stunned by how hard he'd landed to move, he could only watch helplessly as his adoptive brother approached, certain Thor would kill him. Instead, he sat Mjolnir on Loki's chest. The blasted thing weighed a ton! He could feel it crushing his chest, preventing him from moving and making it harder and harder to breathe. The painful weight of it was too much to bear, but he refused to suffer in silence.

"Look at you," he taunted with what little breath he could muster. "The mighty Thor! With all your strength... And what good does it do you now, huh?!" He could swear the stupid hammer was getting heavier by the second. He could feel the weight of it cracking his ribs, and he winced, gasping for air.

"Do you hear me, brother? There's nothing you can do!"

And suddenly it was gone, and the bridge was shaking. Stunned, he lifted his head to look, and saw Mjolnir back in Thor's hand. "What are you doing?" No, no, NO! He sat up, horrified as he watched his brother smash his hammer down over and over again. "If you destroy the bridge, you'll never see her again!" I'll never see him again!

No, he couldn't let this happen! Never mind all his desperate half-thought-out plans to save Bucky and destroy HYDRA... He couldn't bear the thought of losing him forever! It'd been hard enough to go on living when he'd thought his beloved was dead; knowing he lived but was a helpless slave, alone with no one to protect him, to rescue him? Loki would rather die.

It hurt to move, but he had to get up. He had to stop Thor! If he destroyed the Bifrost, Bucky would be left alone in the clutches of his enemies forever!

The world was a blur for a moment. He was running at his brother, the bridge was shuddering beneath their feet, there was a blinding flash, and then suddenly Loki was dangling over an empty void, his only tether to solid ground his grip on the end of Odin's staff. Thor held the other end for dear life, though he, too, dangled precariously over open air. How had they not both fallen yet?

Odin. Odin was holding onto Thor to keep both of his sons from flying off into oblivion. Did he know what Loki had done? What he'd tried to do? Was he finally proud?

"I could have done it, Father! I could've done it! For you!" For Bucky... "For all of us!"

"No, Loki."

He didn't care. No matter what he did, Loki would never be good enough; would never be Thor's equal in their father's eyes. And worse, now his only link to Midgard and to the man he loved was gone. Now Loki didn't care. To Hell with them all.

A strange sense of peace, of surrender, came over him and, without a single thought nor care for what might happen, he let go. The sensation of falling with nowhere to land was strangely comforting. Perhaps the next life would be kinder to him than this one had been.

_____________________________________________________

Next Masterlist

[imaginetonyandbucky]

Keeping Me Alive

Chapter 6: I Hate Everything About You

by @dracusfyre

First was the arc reactor, glowing like a beacon in the dim of the cave. Yinsen smiled delightedly as the blue light sputtered to life with a gentle hum. It was the first thing Tony had invented in a long time that had filled him with the same rush of glee and satisfaction that had hooked him ever since he’d built his first robot. God, he hadn’t thought about DUM-E in ages; it was gathering dust in the corner of his lab, and the thought suddenly made him sad (time to put away childish things, Tony. You’re the man of the house now. His parents hadn’t even been in the ground yet). It reminded him how beautiful it could be to create something that wasn’t built for destruction.

“How much power does that put out?” Yinsen asked curiously, tilting his glasses down to get a better look.

“Enough for what we need it for,” Tony said. “Enough to get out.”

“I knew you could do it,” Yinsen said, putting a hand on Tony’s shoulder. Tony jerked, caught by surprise, but Yinsen just squeezed it gently and pretended not to notice when Tony’s face got hot from embarrassment. “What’s next?”

"In order to be bullet-proof, the armor needs to be thick, which will make it too heavy for me to wear, so I am going to mechanize it," Tony explained, pressing the sheets of paper flat so that Yinsen could see the suit he'd designed. "That's why we needed the arc reactor."

"Brilliant," Yinsen said, flipping between the pages to get a closer look at the different parts of the suit. After a moment a line appeared between his eyebrows and he tilted his head. "Have you given yourself no way to fight back?" he asked curiously. When Tony just looked at him with confusion, Yinsen said, "With the suit. Did you not include any weapons on purpose?"

Tony stared at him for a long time and then he had to laugh, because he hadn't even thought of building weapons into the suit. The concept of fighting back hadn't even occurred to him, and wasn't that just pathetic? He'd only ever thought about surviving long enough to run away; story of his life, really. He closed his hands into fists, nails digging painfully into his palms, and had to fight the urge to crumple the pages in disgust. Yinsen must have seen something on his face because he slid them to the side as Tony crossed his arms over his chest and walked away. "No," Tony finally said, running a hand over the back of his neck. "It wasn't on purpose. I'm just an idiot."

"It's easily remedied," Yinsen said gently, and Tony nodded wordlessly. He could feel Yinsen's eyes on his back and felt ridiculously naked for someone who was wearing two layers of clothing against the chill of the cave. "How can I help?"

Tony took a deep breath, let it out slowly, and forced himself to think. He finally focused on the pile of tools, spare parts, and partially disassembled missiles that he'd been pretending to study, frowning as he thought. His eyes landed on gasoline cans and the propane tank. "We can't do guns," he said slowly, "but I think we could do fire."

A few hours later Yinsen was bent over his suit jacket, meticulously mending a ripped seam. There was a small pile of clothes beside him that needed mending, and Tony watched as he carefully placed each stitch and wondered why Yinsen tried so hard to stay presentable, tying his tie and shaving each morning before shrugging into the same suit jacket he'd worn every day since Tony had woken up here. "You know," Yinsen said eventually into the peaceful quiet, "for someone who has so much, you don't act like a man with much to lose."

Tony looked away, into the flames flickering in their wood burning stove. "I guess I don't," he admitted, picking at one of the rapidly growing callouses on his palms. "Or rather, for everything I'd be sad to lose, there's another I'd be happy to be rid of."

"No family?"

"No. Not for a long time. You?"

"Yes. We were...separated...but I hope to see them again one day. When I leave here, perhaps." Silence fell again, broken only by the sounds of conversation on the other side of the iron door to their cell. "What are you so afraid to go back to, Stark?"

Tony twitched at that and his head whipped around to stare at Yinsen. "I never said I was afraid."

Yinsen met his eyes as he cut the thread. "Didn't you?"

Tony stood up and walked away, finding something to pretend to be busy with until Yinsen put away his mending and lay down in his cot. When he thought Yinsen was asleep, he crept over and climbed into his own cot. But as he shifted, trying to get comfortable, Yinsen said, "I've seen many faces of Tony Stark. I wonder if even you know which is the real one." With that, he rolled over and didn't say anything else, leaving Tony to stare into the red-tinged darkness as the flames died down to coals.

The heat from the hot iron was scorching, even through Tony's clothes, and his shoulders and back were aching with effort, but he didn't stop hammering until the helmet was done. When it was ready, Tony dipped it in the bucket of cold water and the sizzling hiss of steam brought Yinsen over. Tony sat it on the wooden work bench, and Yinsen bent over to get a better look at it. "You know, my people have a story about a man who was unjustly imprisoned and forced to work in a mine," he said. "Over and over his captors sent him to the deepest pits and carry the heaviest loads in an attempt to break him. And even though his heart quailed in fear and his back bent under the weight of his trials, he never did. One day, his captors came to kill him and found that their attempts to destroy him had only made him stronger." Yinsen straightened. "Much like your hammer makes this metal stronger."

Tony put down the heavy leather work gloves and stretched his shoulders. "Well, I am definitely getting stronger, I'll give you that," he said, splashing some water on his face and arms, which still prickled with sweat.

"You know that's not what I mean," Yinsen said sternly as he sat down on his cot.

"I know." Tony sat down on his own cot across from him. He accepted the bowl of food that Yinsen had prepared and ate greedily while Yinsen set up the backgammon board. "But you give me too much credit," he said between bites.

"You don't give yourself enough," Yinsen countered. "You'll see. When you leave here, everything will be different."

"Maybe." Tony stared down at his food. He tried not to think about that too much - leaving here - because he knew better than to hope. He could only look ahead to the next part of the suit, to the day of their escape; maybe when they walk out of this cave as free men, he would let himself think about what would happen next.

"You will be different, Stark," Yinsen said. "And it will change everything."

Weeks later, Tony and Yinsen were startled by a teeth-rattling bang that echoed through the tunnels, followed by the sound of gunfire and panicked shouting. They froze with fear for a moment then stared at each other. "Do you think its...?" Tony started, afraid to finish the thought lest he jinx it.

But Yinsen had obviously had the same one. "Maybe. But we should be still be careful, just in case," Yinsen said.

"Right." They scrambled to hide the completed pieces for Tony's armored suit as the gunfight outside their room raged. It wasn't long before the sounds of gunfire started to trail off and be limited to staccato bursts every few minutes, jarring for their loudness. Tony couldn't bring himself to look away from the door, heart hammering as he waited to see who came through.

There was an uneasy silence for a long time, then he and Yinsen both jumped at a series of loud, ringing bangs on the heavy iron door before it suddenly swung open with a screech of tortured metal. Standing in the doorway was the Winter Soldier, looking obscenely out of place here - almost unreal - in his black leather tac vest and thick canvas pants, bristling with weapons and coated with a fine layer of dust, face still hidden behind his mask and goggles. He seemed to pull all of the light towards him, warping the very air and making everything else go dim and gray.

"No," Tony said as he backed away, color draining from his face. He felt dizzy and nauseous. "No, no, no-" The Soldier strode forward as Tony tried to escape and wrapped his cold metal fingers around Tony's throat, lifting him so that his toes were barely on the ground. As Tony grabbed the Soldier's wrist and struggled to breath, Stane came in; he glanced around the dismal cave with a look of distaste. When he saw the expression on Tony’s face, though, he broke into a smile. “Hello, Tony. You seem surprised to see me.”