#Best Rust Converters

[identifying-cars-in-posts]

I GOT A NEW CAR

Everybody meet the new baby that i will never shut up about forever!

This is Clifford the Third, my new 1996 Nissan Pickup!! I probably paid too much for her but given that I live in Massachusetts and she has virtually no rust I’m okay with that lol.

So a brief history of the Nissan Pickup! These trucks were released in the US in 1985 and were sold through 1997, when they were replaced with the Frontier. They were the successor to the beloved Datsun 720, which had been in production since 1979. They are in fact just called the Pickup! They’re colloquially known as the D21 - their chassis code, and the Hardbody, because of the double walled durable construction of the trucks’ bed.

The D21 was available with a couple different engines and drivetrain layouts. Mine is a 4x4 with the KA24 motor (which it shared with the 240SX/Silvia). She’s also a King Cab, meaning she has a slightly elongated wheelbase to allow for two small inwards facing jump seats in the back of the cab. Still a two door though.

AND SHE’S A STICK! She has a 5-speed manual transmission, and it’s the best transmission i’ve ever personally had in a car. She’s my third manual, the other two being a 1999 Toyota Corolla and a 2004 Subaru WRX, both of which were great but the Corolla had a really sloppy gearbox that felt incredibly vague at times, whereas the WRX had a sportier transmission that was pretty unforgiving and stiff. This one is definitive about where each gear is, but also won’t get too jerky or loud if you shift a little early or late.

Nissan Hardbody trucks are known and loved for their durability, versatility, and simplicity. They’re super bare bones but what they do have is built remarkably well and meant to withstand lots of abuse. If they don’t rust and have basic maintenance kept up it’s not uncommon for them to go 300k+ miles with minimal issues. Mine has around 184k miles, high but manageable. She also has a few modifications from the previous owner, namely a straight piped exhaust (no muffler, just one big long aluminum tube), aftermarket bumpers and lights, locking hubs, and a small lift. The guy i bought it from had plans to make it an off-roader but had too many projects and needed to offload one to make space in his driveway.

While many people either take these off-roading or turn them into drift trucks, my plan is to bring her back to mostly stock. I’m in the process of tracking down OEM bumpers and a more typical cat-back (from the catalytic converter back) exhaust system so she’s a little less obnoxiously loud. Since i mostly just need reliable transport more than a toy and she is now my sole car, I want to just make her relatively normal. But I love her a lot and am happy to be able to share!

[redsrooftopprincess]

Gravity (Part 2)

This may be becoming a thing. There will be at least one more chapter and I have no idea what to call this thing. Maybe by the end I'll know. 😅

Gn reader x Raphael

Warnings: Hypothermia, language (but I think that's a given in a Raph fic?)

Part 1 Part 3

It had been one week. One week since he'd slipped. One week since the fever carried him to your rooftop.

You haven't spoken. More specifically, he hasn't spoken. Apart from texting you when he made it home like you insisted he did every night, it had been radio silence. You texted him before his patrol like you always did, and he stared at his phone, expressionless, before putting it back in his pocket.

What could he say?

He'd already had the conversation a thousand times in his head, and as far as he was concerned, it didn't need to be said. He didn't need you to let him down easy.

Because you'd mean it. Every damn word. You're sorry. He's your best friend. Nothing has to change.

But it would change, there was no way it couldn't. Things were different now.

That night had been the worst of it. He'd left not long after his confession. At that point, just the sound of your voice was enough to make him weep, and he didn't want to make things worse. Not that he thought they could *get* worse.

He made up some excuse about Leo calling it early, and ran.

He was running now, through the freezing rain, a sudden cold snap in the middle of spring, and hoping that between the temperature and the downpour hammering into his coat, he could think about anything else.

It wasn't long before he was considering ditching the coat. It was already soaked through, and weighing him down, which was hard to do.

That gave him pause.

He stopped, ducking under an overhang, and opened his coat, pulling the fabric back to expose his side. He twisted and looked at the small device mounted onto his shell just under his shoulder blade. There was supposed to be a little red light. There wasn't.

Shit.

They each had them. One of the first inventions D had come up with after they'd started doing patrols as kids.

A blizzard had suddenly torn through the city one night, and they were woefully unprepared with only winter coats. The cold dropped their body temperatures, and then them. Splinter had to hunt across the rooftops until he found them, asleep and hypothermic, huddled behind a construction dumpster.

Donnie didn't leave his lab for days. He blamed himself, he should have known the blizzard was coming, that their gear was insufficient, he should have had *some* kind of backup heat supply. No matter how many times his family told him otherwise, it was his fault, and he would never let it happen again.

So he built something to fix it. Raph didn't really get a lot of the specifics, but the overall was that the small devices "converted kinetic energy into heat that was then stored and distributed throughout the inside of their shells." Or, as Raph understands it, as long as you keep moving, you won't die.

One night a few weeks ago, someone had gotten lucky and he had taken a rusted rebar to the chest that had shattered on impact. His regulator had been damaged by the shrapnel, but the weather had already been warming up, and then the season hit and it was forgotten about.

The rain must have been the final nail, only the exterior was watertight. It was dead. He could already feel the cold and damp setting in. He needed to get home. Fast.

He set off, the only sound other than the roar of the rain was the gradually slowing heartbeat that pounded in his ears.

*Fuck* it was cold.

It wasn't long before his waterlogged coat became too much to carry. He ditched it behind an air conditioning unit, and kept moving.

Hailstones felt like bullets as they pelted bare skin, and through the sheets of rain, the haze of cold and exhaustion that had started at the edges was encroaching. It wasn't long before he was too tired to think.

He was moving on pure instinct, without even the presence of mind to pray he could make it somewhere safe. Somewhere in the back of his mind a tiny Leo was lecturing him for not hitting his emergency signal.

He stumbles. He is so, so tired. The soft darkness of sleep is pulling at him like a rip tide. He drags himself to the next rooftop, barely touching down before he collapses.

[pankowcrumbs]

Love of a lifetime X Will Poulter (Requested)

MasterList

Will Poulter Masterlist

The day Will proposed started off like any other, which still baffles me.

We were in the Lake District, tucked away in a cosy cottage with ivy crawling up the stone walls and a view that looked like it had been painted. It was my birthday weekend at least, that’s what I thought it was. Just the two of us, a quiet escape from the chaos of London, and the kind of air that made you feel new.

Will had made me coffee that morning, the way I liked it milk in first, then coffee, one sugar, and a cheeky kiss pressed to my forehead as he handed me the mug. He seemed nervous, now that I think about it. His thumb kept tapping the ceramic like he was counting heartbeats.

“You alright?” I asked, nudging him with my socked foot as we curled up on the sofa.

“Yeah,” he said, smiling that soft, crooked smile of his. “Just... thinking.”

We went on a hike later that afternoon he led the way, hand warm in mine, up a winding trail towards a viewpoint I didn’t even realise existed. The climb was steep, and I joked that if this wasn’t for cake at the end, he’d be sleeping on the floor.

He laughed, but he didn’t joke back.

When we reached the top, the view stole my breath before he even had a chance to. Hills rolled into the horizon, kissed by sunlight, and a breeze fluttered my hair like it was part of some film scene.

I turned to make a snarky comment something about how it better be worth it and then I saw him.

Will, down on one knee.

A small, velvet box in his hand.

“I didn’t want to do this in front of a crowd,” he began, eyes glassy but steady, “because the only thing that matters right now is you. I’ve loved you every day I’ve known you, and I’ll love you for all the days I’ve got left. You make everything brighter, kinder… better.”

I don’t even remember saying yes. I think I tackled him. The ring was perfect, but his grin God, his grin was the real gem that day.

We set the wedding for late September early autumn, the perfect blend of warmth and golden leaves. We chose an old manor house in Oxfordshire, surrounded by fields, trees already tinged amber and rust. It was romantic and classic, with ivy trailing down the stone façade and a barn converted into a reception hall.

I didn’t want extravagance. I wanted us.

Getting ready that morning was a blur of hairspray, laughter, and my best friend sneaking me sips of champagne between makeup touch-ups. My dress hung like a cloud from the doorframe, ivory lace and silk that felt like it belonged in a fairytale. It wasn’t flashy. It was timeless. Just like him.

When the time came, and the string quartet began to play, my heart nearly left my chest. My dad squeezed my hand just before we started down the aisle.

“You alright, love?” he whispered.

I nodded, teary-eyed. “Yeah. I’m more than alright.”

And then I saw Will.

He was waiting at the end of the aisle in a dark green suit that brought out the flecks in his hazel eyes. His hair was brushed back neatly, but a few strands had fallen loose classic. He looked like home.

His jaw clenched the moment he saw me, like he was holding back tears. He mouthed, You’re beautiful, and I nearly broke down before I even reached him.

The ceremony was short, sweet, and completely us. We’d written our own vows. I remember his word for word.

“Before you, I didn’t know peace like this existed. You’re my calm. You’re my chaos. You’re the story I never want to stop reading.”

By the time I finished mine, Will was holding my hands so tightly, I swear he’d never let go again.

We kissed under an archway of eucalyptus and roses, the air filled with applause and the scent of autumn. When the registrar pronounced us husband and wife, Will pulled me close and whispered in my ear, “Now you’re stuck with me forever.”

“I was stuck the moment I met you,” I whispered back.

The reception kicked off just as the sun started to dip, casting everything in warm honey light. Our guests filed into the barn, where fairy lights strung across the ceiling sparkled like stars. Each table had a name based on a place we’d travelled together "Lake Windermere," "Barcelona Streets," "Iceland Glow." Ours was "The Viewpoint" a nod to where it all began.

Our first dance was to “Beyond” by Leon Bridges slow, soulful, and completely us. Will’s hands stayed at my waist as we swayed, foreheads pressed together.

“This feels unreal,” I murmured.

“I keep checking if I’m dreaming,” he said, and then kissed me, right there in front of everyone.

Dinner was a blur of laughter and clinking glasses. My cheeks ached from smiling, and every time I glanced at Will, he was already looking at me.

Speeches followed my dad made everyone cry with a tearful yet hilarious monologue about how he knew Will was the one when he saw how he looked at me. Will’s sister read a poem she’d written for us, and Will’s speech... Well, let’s just say I had to redo my mascara after.

“I didn’t think I’d find a love like this in my lifetime,” he said, looking directly at me. “But here she is beautiful, fierce, kind, and funny as hell. I can’t believe she’s mine.”

The night rolled on into dancing, photo booth antics, and chocolate cake smeared across Will’s nose after I “accidentally” shoved the first bite into his face.

And at some point, we snuck away.

Just the two of us, under the stars, a blanket wrapped around our shoulders, and a bottle of champagne we’d stolen from the bar.

“Married,” he said, beaming.

“Married,” I echoed, leaning my head against his shoulder.

He kissed the top of my head, then whispered, “Let’s never stop choosing each other.”

“Every day,” I promised. “Always.”

[isthiscoinsidenceorasign]

She's Theirs: Send Me On My Way

Title: Send Me On My Way 

Summary: Nick Jake and Bradley go on a rock climbing date..

Word Count:  4,072

Warnings: fluff, mostly PG

Tags: fluff 

Hey y'all! Here's chapter 11. There's no smut in this one, which is a little reprieve since the next couple of ones are very heavy on it. Also I'd like to dedicate this chapter to my late friend Johnny. It's because of him that I know anything about rock climbing.

The afternoon sun glinted off Jake's truck as it rolled up to the curb outside Nick’s apartment building. The glass doors at the entrance reflected the vibrant greens of the sidewalk trees, their shadows stretching long across the road. Bradley sat in the passenger seat, tapping his foot in a steady rhythm��his nerves simmering beneath his cool facade.

“You sure you’re good, Bradshaw?” Jake asked, smirking. “You’re practically wearing a hole in my floor mat.”

Bradley huffed out a laugh but didn’t meet Jake’s gaze. “She said rock climbing was her thing. Now I’m about to show her I climb as gracefully as a baby giraffe.” He tugged at his T-shirt, shifting in his seat.

Jake chuckled but let it slide as Nick appeared through the glass doors, her ponytail swaying as she jogged over, her smile lighting up the space between them. A duffel bag was slung effortlessly over her shoulder, and Bradley was out of the truck before Jake could even throw it into park.

“Hey, Nick,” Bradley said, his voice softening as he leaned in to greet her. Their lips met in a quick, warm kiss, her hand brushing his arm as she returned it without hesitation.

“Hey, Roo,” she teased, glancing at the truck. “Let me guess—middle seat for me, as usual?”

Bradley chuckled grabbing her bag and tossing it in the back of the truck. He opened the door wider. “It is the best seat in the truck.”

Nick slid into the middle with practiced ease, leaving just enough room for Bradley to hop in beside her. Once settled, she turned to Jake. “Hey, Jake,” she said warmly, her smile softening.

Jake tipped his chin. “Hey, darlin’.” Leaning in with easy familiarity, he pressed a brief, affectionate kiss to her lips, making her eyes sparkle even brighter.

“I’m excited to finally have people to go rock climbing with!” Nick exclaimed.

Jake pulled away from the curb, one hand on the wheel while the other rested casually on Nick’s knee. “I’m just here for moral support—and first aid if needed. Somebody’s gotta be ready when gravity reminds Rooster he’s not actually a bird.”

Nick laughed so hard her stomach ached.

Bradley narrowed his eyes at Jake, though the smirk tugging at his lips betrayed his lack of real annoyance. “For someone who’s supposed to be providing moral support, you’re doing a terrible job.”

“Oh, I don’t know.” Nick leaned into Bradley’s shoulder, her fingers intertwining with Jake’s on her knee. “I think he’s pretty supportive in his own special way.”

Jake winked at her in the rearview mirror. “See? She gets me.”

“But seriously, I think you’ll do great. And Jake and I will be more than happy to show you the ropes. Pun intended.” She smiled up at him.

Bradley groaned at the pun but couldn’t hide his grin. His arm slipped around Nick’s shoulders, fingers absently tracing patterns against her skin. “Yeah, well, I just hope those ropes are strong. I’m not exactly lightweight.”

“Trust me,” Nick replied, squeezing his thigh reassuringly. “The equipment can hold a tank. You’ll be fine.”

The truck pulled into the parking lot of Vertical Limits, a converted warehouse with a colorful climbing wall visible through its large windows. Nick was already unbuckling her seatbelt before the vehicle had fully stopped.

“Someone’s excited,” Jake observed, catching her eye in the rearview mirror with a fond smile.

“I’ve been climbing solo for months.” Nick practically bounced in her seat. “Do you know how hard it is to find reliable belay partners? Besides, I’ve been dying to see how good Jake is, knowing he climbs too.”

As they stepped out of the truck, the enormity of the gym became clear. The converted warehouse stretched upward, its walls towering at least forty feet high, dotted with colorful holds forming routes of varying difficulty. Through the windows, climbers traversed the walls like nimble spiders, some hanging precariously from overhangs.

Bradley swallowed hard, watching a climber make an impossible-looking leap between holds. “You do this for fun?”

“Don’t worry.” Nick caught his expression, sliding her hand into his. “I’ll start you on the beginner walls. We’ll take it nice and slow.”

Jake snorted. “That’s what she said.”

Nick swatted his arm playfully. “Really? That’s the best you’ve got?”

“Hey, I save my A-material for when I’m actually on the clock.” Jake grinned, grabbing their bags from the truck bed. He slung Nick’s over his shoulder with practiced ease.

As they entered the gym, the scent of chalk and exertion hung in the air. The space buzzed with energy—climbers calling encouragement to partners, bodies thudding onto crash pads, high-fives punctuating completed routes.

“Hey, Johnny!” Nick called to the bearded man behind the counter.

He looked up, spotting two regulars approaching. “Mitchell, Seresin. Didn’t know you two knew each other.”

Nick grinned, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “We met recently. Johnny, this is Bradley—another friend of mine.”

Johnny’s eyes flickered with interest, lingering a beat too long on the trio’s closeness. “Nice to meet you, man. First-time climber?”

Bradley nodded, shaking his hand. “That obvious, huh?”

“The white-knuckle grip on your phone gave it away,” Johnny laughed. “Don’t worry—everyone starts somewhere. You’re in good hands with these two.”

Bradley caught the easy warmth of Johnny’s smile, and for a brief moment, the towering walls and unfamiliar challenges ahead didn’t seem quite as intimidating.

As they signed in and got fitted for harnesses and climbing shoes, Nick noticed Bradley’s gaze drifting toward the more advanced routes, where seasoned climbers tackled complex overhangs.

Falling in step beside him, she followed his gaze to a climber navigating an impossibly steep section, moving fluidly as if gravity were merely a suggestion.

“You okay, Roo?” she asked, her voice soft but steady. There was no teasing—just genuine concern. “You look… I don’t know. A little out of it.”

Bradley hesitated before letting out a small, self-conscious laugh. Rubbing the back of his neck, he muttered, “Yeah, uh… I guess I’m just—” He paused, searching for the right words. “Look, you and Jake are both pros at this. You know the ropes—literally. And me? I’ll probably spend half the time figuring out how not to fall on my face.”

Nick stepped in front of him, gently placing a hand on his arm to stop him. “Bradley,” she said, her voice steady. “You know I don’t care if you’re an expert, right? I’m just glad you’re here.” Her smile widened, warm and reassuring. “And if you do fall on your face, I’ll patch you up, kiss your bruises better, and make sure you’re good as new.”

Her words coaxed a reluctant grin from Bradley, the tension in his shoulders easing as he met her eyes. “Yeah, I guess. I just don’t want to ruin the fun. You’re really into this, and if I—”

“You *could never* ruin the fun.” Nick cut him off gently but firmly. “And I mean it. Besides, I think it’s great you’re trying something new. If anything, I’ll be the one ruining the fun when I get too competitive and try to race Jake up the wall.”

Bradley finally laughed, his unease softening. “Okay, okay. You win. I’ll suck it up and give it a shot.”

“That’s all I ask.” Nick gave his arm a light squeeze before nudging him toward the gear station. “Now come on, let’s see how you handle the kiddie wall.”

“The kiddie wall?” Bradley raised an eyebrow, his pride momentarily wounded.

Jake clapped a hand on Bradley’s shoulder. “Don’t let the name fool you. Even the ‘kiddie wall’ has routes that’ll make your forearms burn.” He gestured to a nearby section, where the climbing surface was less intimidating but still challenging. “Besides, we all started there.”

Nick led them to the beginner area, where the walls were shorter and angled slightly inward, making it easier to stay on. She dropped her bag at a nearby bench and pulled out her climbing shoes.

“Alright, boys. I think it’s time to show Bradley how it’s done.”

She winked at him, earning a roll of his eyes—but also a smile.

Jake cracked his knuckles. “Alright, Mitchell, show us what you got.”

Nick grinned as she slipped on her climbing shoes, flexing her toes inside them before standing up. She grabbed a chalk bag from her duffel and secured it around her waist, dipping her hands in and clapping them together. A small cloud of white dust surrounded her fingers.

“Watch and learn, gentlemen,” she said, her playful confidence making Bradley’s stomach flutter.

She approached the wall, scanning the colorful holds with practiced eyes. Without hesitation, she reached up and gripped a bright blue hold, her muscles tensing as she pulled herself up and found footing on a yellow one near the floor. Her movements were fluid and graceful, each placement purposeful and precise.

Bradley watched, mesmerized by the way her body moved against the wall—each motion a testament to her strength and skill. There was something captivating about the way she navigated the route, making split-second decisions with ease. Her ponytail swung gently as she climbed higher, and he couldn’t help but admire the defined muscles in her arms and back, working in perfect harmony.

“Damn,” Bradley murmured, not realizing he’d spoken aloud until Jake chuckled beside him.

“Yeah, she’s something else,” Jake agreed, eyes fixed on Nick’s ascent, unmistakable pride in his voice. “Wait till we see her on the advanced walls. Bet it’ll be like watching poetry in motion.”

Nick turned at the top, her face flushed—not from exertion, but from sheer joy. “Your turn, Hangman!” she called before beginning her controlled descent.

Jake chuckled, already chalking up his hands. “Alright! Time to show you both how it’s done.”

Nick’s feet touched the ground, and she bounced over to Bradley, her eyes bright with adrenaline and excitement. Instinctively, she slipped her arm around his waist, leaning into him slightly.

“See? Not so scary, right?” she asked, her breath still coming a little quicker than normal.

Bradley’s arm found its way around her shoulders, pulling her closer. “Not scary for you, maybe,” he replied, but his voice held more admiration than anxiety. “That was... impressive.”

“Just wait.” Nick turned to watch Jake approach the wall. “He’s even better than me. Don’t tell him I said that, though.”

Jake stretched his arms overhead, muscles shifting beneath his fitted t-shirt. He approached the wall with his signature swagger—but as his hands touched the first holds, something in his demeanor changed. His movements became calculated and precise, each reach and step flowing into the next with hypnotic fluidity. His body twisted and contorted as he navigated the route, making the climb look effortless.

Bradley watched, transfixed. Jake’s cocky persona melted away on the wall, replaced by an intense focus that was somehow even more magnetic. His movements were powerful yet controlled, each hold conquered with practiced confidence.

“Told you,” Nick whispered, nudging Bradley gently. “He’s a natural.”

Jake reached the top in record time, flashing a triumphant grin before rappelling back with casual ease. As his feet touched the ground, he ran a hand through his slightly disheveled hair, the swagger returning to his stance. He nudged Bradley forward. “Go on, Rooster. Time to spread those wings.”

Bradley swallowed hard, eyes darting between the wall and his two companions. Their easy confidence made his stomach twist with admiration—and apprehension.

“You’ve got this,” Nick said, squeezing his arm reassuringly.

Bradley nodded, wiping his sweaty palms on his pants before reaching for the chalk bag.

Jake stepped closer, his voice dropping to a serious tone. “Hey, Bradshaw. Don’t overthink it. Your body knows more than your brain sometimes.”

Bradley took a deep breath, chalking his hands—perhaps more thoroughly than necessary. He studied the beginner route Nick and Jake had just climbed, a series of large green holds forming a relatively straight path upward.

His first few moves were tentative, his grip uncertain. Unlike Nick and Jake’s fluid motions, Bradley’s movements were stiff, his muscles tensed as he pulled himself up.

“That’s it,” Nick called. “Use your legs more than your arms—they’re stronger.”

Bradley adjusted, pushing with his legs as instructed. The change made an immediate difference, and he found himself climbing with slightly more confidence.

“Keep your hips close to the wall,” Jake added, catching the way Bradley was leaning back too far. “It’ll help with balance.”

Bradley grunted in acknowledgment, focused entirely on the next hold. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he reached the halfway point, his breathing growing more labored. He paused, arms trembling from the unfamiliar exertion.

“You’re doing great, Roo!” Nick called up. “You’re halfway there!”

The encouragement steadied him. Bradley took a deep breath, narrowing his focus on the next green hold. He reached for it, fingers curling around the textured surface with newfound determination.

“That’s it,” Jake nodded. “Now find your footing before you move again.”

Bradley searched for the next hold, testing its stability before trusting his weight to it. Slowly, his movements grew more assured.

When he finally reached the top, accomplishment surged through him. Looking down at Nick and Jake, their grins wide and proud, a surprising rush of satisfaction settled in his chest.

“Now touch the anchor and come back down,” Nick instructed, beaming up at him.

Bradley tapped the anchor at the top. The cool metal beneath his fingertips felt like a small but tangible reward. He took a moment to absorb the view.

“How do I...?” he started, suddenly uncertain. He hadn’t exactly paid attention to that part.

“Just lean back and walk your feet down the wall,” Jake called. “The rope’s got you.”

Bradley exhaled, forcing himself to trust the equipment. As he leaned back, the harness caught him, and he began his descent—awkwardly at first, then with growing ease.

When his feet touched the ground, Nick was at his side instantly, wrapping her arms around him in an exuberant hug. “You did it!” she exclaimed, eyes shining. “I knew you could!”

Bradley's arms instinctively encircled Nick’s waist, his chest still heaving slightly from exertion. The warmth of her body against his was a welcome reward, and he couldn't help but grin down at her. "It wasn't exactly graceful," he admitted, "but I made it."

"First climbs rarely are," Jake said, stepping closer to clap Bradley on the shoulder. His touch lingered—a subtle gesture of approval that sent a surprising wave of satisfaction through Bradley. "Not bad for a rookie, Bradshaw. You've got potential."

Nick pulled back just enough to look up at Bradley, her green eyes sparkling. "How did it feel? Getting to the top?"

Bradley considered the question, surprised to find he was already itching to try again. "It felt... good," he admitted, a slow smile spreading across his face. "Really good, actually. Like I conquered something."

Nick’s smile widened, and she pressed a quick kiss to his lips. "That's the feeling that gets you hooked. Trust me, it only gets better from here."

"Well, don't get too comfortable," Jake said, already chalking up his hands again. "We're just getting started."

Nick gestured toward a slightly more challenging wall nearby. "Ready to level up?"

Bradley flexed his hands, surprised by the pleasant burn in his forearms and the newfound eagerness coursing through him. "Let's do it."

As they moved to the new wall, Nick fell into step beside Bradley, her fingers brushing against his. "So, you're not regretting coming along anymore?"

"Definitely not," Bradley admitted, catching her hand and giving it a gentle squeeze. "Though ask me again tomorrow when I can't lift my arms above my head."

Jake chuckled from behind them. "That's half the fun. Nothing says 'good workout' like not being able to wash your own hair the next day."

The next wall was taller, its routes more complex with fewer obvious holds. Nick studied it with her head tilted, mentally mapping potential paths before turning to Bradley.

"This one's a bit trickier," she explained, pointing to the routes marked with different colored tape. "The blue route is still beginner-friendly, but it'll challenge you more. You'll need to think about your next few moves, not just the immediate one."

Bradley nodded, studying the wall with newfound interest. The apprehension he'd felt earlier had transformed into something closer to anticipation. "I'll give it a shot."

"That's the spirit," Jake said, slapping Bradley’s back with perhaps more force than necessary. "Just don't expect to keep up with the pros yet."

Nick rolled her eyes at Jake’s comment but couldn’t suppress her smile. "Ignore him. Remember what we said about using your legs and keeping your hips close to the wall. Oh, and try to relax your grip a little—you'll tire out less quickly."

As Bradley approached the wall, he felt Nick watching him intently. He turned to her and saw her blush.

"Sorry, you just look hot when you're climbing," she admitted.

The unexpected compliment sent warmth spreading across Bradley’s chest, and he couldn't help but grin. "Maybe I should climb more often then."

Jake snorted. "Don't get cocky, Bradshaw. Looking hot and being good are two different things."

"Says the man who manages both," Nick quipped, giving Jake a playful wink before turning back to Bradley. "But seriously, you're doing great for a first-timer."

Bradley felt a small swell of pride at her words as he turned back to face the wall. He chalked his hands again, studying the blue route with newfound determination. Taking a deep breath, he reached for the first hold, finding it less awkward this time as his body began to understand the movements.

The route proved more challenging than the first, requiring more thought and strength. Bradley found himself pausing occasionally, searching for the next move while his muscles trembled with effort. He slipped a bit while moving to the next hold, but after a couple of deep breaths, he regained his composure and pushed on.

"Don't think too hard!" Nick called up, noticing his hesitation. "Sometimes you need to feel it rather than calculate it."

Bradley nodded tightly, focusing on the wall rather than the growing strain in his forearms. He pushed through the discomfort, finding a rhythm as he continued upward. When he finally reached the top, the satisfaction was even greater than before.

"Look at you go, Rooster!" Nick cheered as he touched the anchor point.

Jake crossed his arms, a begrudging smile tugging at his lips. "Not bad for a second climb."

As Bradley descended, he felt a new confidence flowing through him. Landing on the ground, he couldn't help but flex his fingers, feeling the pleasant burn of exertion.

"I can see why you two find this fun," he admitted, grinning.

Nick’s eyes sparkled. "I told you! Want to try something even harder?"

"How about I watch you and Jake for a bit? I’m sure there are more difficult walls you want to tackle."

Nick’s face lit up with excitement. "Perfect! There's this 5.10 route I've been dying to try." She turned to Jake with a competitive glint in her eye. "Race you to the top?"

Jake’s lips curled into that signature cocky smirk. "You sure you want to embarrass yourself like that, Mitchell?"

"Big talk from someone who's about to eat my chalk dust," Nick shot back, already moving toward a more advanced section of the gym.

Bradley followed them, intrigued by this new dynamic. The wall they approached was intimidating—nearly vertical with an overhang near the top and holds that looked barely large enough to grip. The route Nick had chosen was marked with red tape, the holds spaced far enough apart that even Bradley could tell it required significant strength and technique.

As they prepared, Bradley settled onto a nearby bench, secretly grateful for the break. His forearms were already protesting the unfamiliar exertion, a dull ache settling into muscles he hadn't known existed.

Nick and Jake approached the belay station, each checking the other’s harness and equipment with practiced efficiency. There was something intimate about the way they moved around each other, a silent communication born of trust and familiarity that made Bradley wonder if that’s how they looked when they were together.

"You're not going to distract me with those wandering hands, Seresin," Nick said, swatting Jake’s fingers away as he adjusted her harness a little too slowly.

"Can't blame a guy for trying," Jake replied with a wink. "Ready when you are, Mitchell."

They positioned themselves at the base of the wall, side by side at their respective routes. Johnny, the bearded owner from the front desk, approached to act as their belayer.

"Three, two, one—go!" Johnny called, and they were off, launching themselves at the wall with practiced precision.

Bradley watched, mesmerized, as Nick and Jake transformed before his eyes. The playful competition between them shifted into intense focus, their bodies moving with a fluidity that seemed almost choreographed. They ascended at nearly identical speeds, each finding creative solutions to the challenging route.

Nick's technique was elegant and efficient, her movements flowing together in a continuous sequence that made the difficult climb look deceptively simple. She anticipated each move several steps ahead, her body positioning itself perfectly before each reach.

Jake climbed with powerful dynamism, his strength allowing him to make explosive moves between distant holds. Where Nick would find creative foot placements to ease a difficult section, Jake would power through with sheer upper body strength.

They were neck and neck until the overhang, where Jake's longer reach gave him a slight advantage. He pulled ahead by mere seconds, slapping the anchor point with a triumphant whoop just before Nick reached it.

"Damn it!" Nick called out, her competitive frustration evident even as she laughed. "Two more inches of height and I would've had you."

"Excuses, excuses," Jake teased as they both began their descent. "Just admit it—I'm better."

"You're taller," Nick corrected, rappelling down with practiced ease. "There's a difference."

“And you're just a cute little short stack who happened to lose to her boyfriend.” Jake continued to tease.

Nick's eyes narrowed as she landed on the ground, unclipping from the rope with quick, practiced movements. "A short stack who's going to kick your ass on the next route." Her competitive smile was infectious, and Bradley couldn't help but grin as he watched the exchange.

"Oh yeah?" Jake challenged, his smirk widening as he too unclipped from his harness.

Bradley laughed, standing to meet her as she approached. "It was pretty close," he acknowledged, admiring the light sheen of sweat on her skin and the flush of exertion that colored her cheeks. "You both made it look easy."

Jake sauntered over, his harness already half-unbuckled. "Don't encourage her, Bradshaw. She's a sore loser."

"I am not," Nick protested, though her playful pout suggested otherwise. "I just like to win."

"That's the definition of a sore loser, darlin'," Jake replied, slowly bringing his hands to wrap around her hips.

Johnny shook his head with a laugh and walked back to the front desk.

Nick playfully squirmed away from Jake's grip, sticking her tongue out at him before turning to Bradley. "Ready to try another route?" she asked, her eyes bright with adrenaline. "Or are your arms about to fall off?"

Bradley flexed his hands, feeling the pleasant burn in his forearms. "They might fall off tomorrow, but I think I can manage one more."

"That's the spirit," Nick beamed, standing on her tiptoes to press a quick kiss to his lips. The casual affection in public sent a warm flutter through his chest.

“How come he gets a kiss but with me you squirm away?” Jake questioned.

Nick rolled her eyes but couldn't hide her smile. "Because," she said, stepping closer to Jake, "you were being smug about winning." Despite her words, she slid her hands up his chest and rose on her tiptoes, pressing a lingering kiss to his lips that left Jake momentarily speechless.

When she pulled away, Jake blinked, his cocky demeanor momentarily disrupted. "Well," he cleared his throat, "if that's my consolation prize for being smug, I'm going to be insufferable."

"Don't push your luck," Nick warned with a laugh, turning back to Bradley. "Come on, Roo. I've got the perfect route for you to try next."

Taglist:

@meg626

@lunatygerqueen

@og-baby-ob14If

If you'd like to be tagged in future chapters let me know!

Previous chapter Next chapter

[meatball-headache]

Just because I haven't been posting about Qud constantly doesn't mean I'm not still playing it constantly.

If you remember our ol' sprout, he wound up croaking when overwhelmed by slimes in the rainbow forest. He made a lot of progress, but now we're getting into some real spoiler territory, so I'll say no more. Rip in piece, wee weed man.

Several dozen games and no meaningful progress later, I've found a seed that's just an astonishing start. Look at this:

This is my starting village. It's populated by water weeps. Look at this!

For those unfamiliar with Qud, water is money. It's just money. This village is populated by Scrooge McDuck's money bins. I can just take as much as I want and buy anything I want! Therein lies the rub, because money is heavy, and, moreover, I don't know how shops work, really? I think the individual merchants' inventory is based on their own level? See, I had thought that merchants upgrade their inventory based on your level, but, this seed's not done, because right in the entrance to the Six Day Stilt, look what we have here:

Dromad caravan hanging out right next to Lulihart's tent! Obviously, I went to Six Day Stilt right away, to get those easy levels, so I met this guy at level 4, so he should be selling level 4 gear, right?

HOT DAMN! This dude is dealing in crysteel! And since money is no object, I can get myself up with the best stuff in the game (lol) straight away! However, there's one problem, being that water is heavy. Really heavy. So I can only carry something like $350. My only hope is that there's a jeweller so I can convert my heavy water into lightweight gems and oh would you look at that there's totally a jeweller.

Cut to me spending the next few hours (hours, I tell you!) carting water back and forth between Starting Village and the Stilt, selling it for gems, and then when I've amassed a nice pile of gems, I bought two flawless crysteel daggers, a nanoweave vest, and elastyne gloves, shoes, and a hat. Not too shabby for "I have not done anything at all." It would be even better, but...

What are these?! Probably laser bazookas, time-traveling swords, nuclear satellites or something... But, I won't know unless I buy them, and it takes me an hour to be able to carry $3,000, and what if it's something I don't want? I've seen things that cost $14,000 before! And unfortunately I can't identify them before I buy them on this guy. I'll have to hunt for an implant, I guess...

Anyway, that's my latest character. She's also a true kin, which I've only done well with once (although that was the best I'd done, by a mile, until the sprout). As usual, I'm sure that now that I've posted about her, she's going to die in five minutes because a qudzu rusted my armor or something, but, eh. That's Qud for you.

Also I don't want any advice or spoilers or anything so if anyone tries to explain anything... well, don't do that. Just be amused by my antics, or not. Thanks for reading :p

[labgoddess123]

house and crew (and their cars)

pairings: none

warnings: none

summary: combining two of my hyperfixations into one post: house md and cars!

a/n: HIIII just so everyone knows this list will not include any cars past 2011 so it can be accurate to the actual timeline of the show :) thanks for reading!

—————————————————————————

house: 1970 dodge challenger r/t in “go mango”

-we know house drives a dodge dynasty canonically in “house md” BUT I wanted to give everyone their own unique car so sue me

-house gets this car because I can’t imagine him being a “new car” guy; he’s definitely into classic muscle cars/loves the nostalgia of his childhood

-I thought this specific yellow-orange color would be an interesting choice (although his motorcycle in the show is in fact a somewhat similar color)

-he definitely only brings this out for special occasions though; no way he’d daily drive it it’s far too special

-I feel like he’s one of those old guys that details his car constantly and tries his damndest to keep his challenger in tip-top shape

-he definitely knows how to work on cars (even if his leg prevents him from doing a whole lot)

-goes to car shows to judge other people and make fun of them

wilson: 1998 subaru outback wagon limited in “rio red”

-wilson is a simple man when it comes to cars: as long as it gets him from point a to point b and has decent trunk space he doesn’t care

-his volvo sedan suits him pretty well but idk…he’s definitely a wagon guy because he thinks they’re weird

-his car would definitely be a rust bucket because he’s too cheap to get a new vehicle; the paint could be completely chipped away and he’s like “eh idc”

-essentially as long it it Runs he will take it

-despite this I feel like he would still take good care of his car, keeping up with maintenance etc.

-probably calls it “ole reliable”

-certainly his daily driver and only car; I believe he drives a c6 corvette later on in the show but I just can’t see him being a sports car guy period

cuddy: 2000 jaguar xk in “georgian gold”

-cuddy definitely has some crazy expensive luxury car that’s horrible to maintain

-went with a jaguar coupe because it’s classy but also just so…2000s

-cuddy is certainly a gold car girlie I just know it in my heart

-I can also see cuddy as a sports car girl like she just wants a little turbo or something but nothing crazy fast

-definitely likes the finer things in life; she earns good money and spends it how she wants

-it also makes her appear confident; sexy and put-together

-she likes that the car is cute (even though it’s kinda ugly (i still like it tho hehe)), probably has some weird old lady name like “rhonda”

chase: 2005 bmw 325Ci in “black sapphire metallic”

-chase definitely wants a car he can brag about and show off, hence why I chose a bmw convertible

-bmw is like the ultimate cocky rich guy car brand so I was like…this is a super obvious choice

-chase would also primarily use it to pick up women with; I can totally see him being like “hey ladies look at my cool expensive car”

-DEFINITELY an awful driver; doesn’t use turn signals, speeds like a bat out of hell etc. essentially he really fits the bmw driver stereotype

-went with black because I also don’t see chase as a colorful car guy

-I don’t think he would name his car but he’s certainly really obsessive about it. like if someone dissed his car for whatever reason he’d be throwing hands

-idk he just generally acts like it’s the greatest thing since sliced bread (it’s still a nice car for sure but the way he acts about it you’d think it was a bugatti)

foreman: 2003 lexus LS 430 in “black”

-foreman is a sensible car guy; he wants something nice but not too expensive and he wants something reliable

-therefore lexus is the best choice for him

-foreman likes the finer things in life but he’s not like chase where he brags about how good is car is or something

-he’s also similar to wilson in the fact that as long as it gets him from point a to b he’s fine with it

-definitely takes good care of it though; washes it all the time, is always on top of oil changes

-I don’t think he does the maintenance himself though I think he takes it to the lexus dealer

-went with black because it’s sleek and a classic color; I don’t see foreman driving anything that wasn’t a grey, silver, white, or black car

-it definitely has that ugly tan/wood panel interior too; house makes fun of him for it but foreman secretly likes it

cameron: 2006 hyundai accent hatchback in “ice blue”

-side note: I know this is a photo of the sedan but I couldn’t find any photos I liked for the hatchback so…that’s why

-cameron is the complete opposite from her diagnostics coworkers; she wants something cheap, cute, and unique

-loves the color of her car, I bet she can spot it in a parking lot a mile away

-everyone makes fun of her for being frugal but she doesn’t care to have a luxury car; it’s simply not a priority for her

-probably breaks down on her all the time because it’s an old hyundai but she doesn’t care

-others think it’s ugly but she thinks it’s cute

-probably forgets to take it to the shop and the engine blows up in it

-always uses her turn signals and is a very safe driver (likely to a fault)

—————————————————————————

[pristmaticrosevein]

Prismatic Rose AU (RWBY)

The poll chain is getting a little long and convoluted, so I created a new blog to hold everything.

The polls won't be a single answer. Instead I'll try to work all of the answers together, based off the number of votes each answer gets. If I can, of course.

Aura is present, but is more like DBZ power levels than how it functions in RWBY. A shot to the heart will be as fatal to a Human Huntsman as it would be to anyone else.

Firearms are regular firearms. Dust is instead used to craft weapons, like is alluded to by Ironwood, but never actually seen in the story.

Conclusions:

Jaune Arc

Humble Everydude

Jaune picks up a Broken Sword, his power repairs his sword, can generate a shield, and armour.

When depressed or in a deep fury his sword stays broken, and his armour is rusted. He is nearly invincible, but lacks any real control.

When happy, he literally glows from the light he emits.

Later learns to use and even combine both.

Attacked by Grimm, saved by Ruby. The Grimm was a Gryphon and a number of Beowulves.

Genre: Dark Souls

Ruby Rose

Werewolf: She learns to control her Human / Wolf forms.

Eventually unlocks a middle Wolfen form.

Silver Eyes: Her silver eyes are part of her Werewolf curse, from her connection to the moon. Eventually allows her to dispel darkness and inflict Lunacy.

Strongly dislikes bright sunlight, finding it oppressive. Will hide under her red hood in bright daylight.

Dislikes sitting around and doing nothing. As she learns to open up to her friends, hanging with them counts as doing something.

Dame Sister of the Order of the Sanguine Rose. Still a Novice, (no oath), but she was a Squire, and got her Accolade because of being a natural when fighting the forces of darkness.

Werewolves are normally turned over to the Church. Faith in God is the best way to gain control of their powers. Others can do so by living with wolf packs in the wilds, though they are rarely trusted.

Regeneration: Turned off with Silver, Fire, and direct sunlight. Indirect sunlight dims it. She's mostly fine in her cloak and hood, but better a night.

Extremely high metabolism. She can get blood thirsty if she doesn't eat, but sugar works extremely well. I.e. cookies are MANDATORY.

Pain causes her rage to ignite.

Shield of Faith and Miracle Die: 40K SoB reference. I'll explain if anyone asks.

Powered armour powered by prismatic energies. Summoned with transformation sequence. The catalyst for the transformation is a crescent moon broach with a deep red ruby.

Any equipment she holds while transforming gets turned into a magical girl version of it, like Ghost Rider.

Her scythe, Lunamaria, is made with a steel edge, and an iron blade inlaid with mythril and quicksilver. This allows her to defeat most dark foes without calling upon her moonfallen abilities.

Her Bolt Pistol, Lunalapina, uses custom made rounds, (made a lot easier with Dust forging equipment). She owns rounds customized to fight most dark things. Once converted, her mag changes use her prismatic energy to refill them. Think similar to Dante, but she still has to reload.

She can do something similar to Petal Burst while transformed, except more prismatic.

She can do a less conspicuous long-range teleportation that is guided by her faith, i.e. it cannot be used arbitrarily.

Pyrrha Nikos

A literal angel.

Angels are forbidden from most direct interventions. The exception is for the Creatures of Grimm, or other nefarious beings.

Angels can only whisper into your ear. Devils have the same restriction, but are not known for being good at following rules.

Often the intervention of angels will be perceived, (by the imperceptive), as luck. Others might see them in dreams.

Angels can only directly interact with people who have enough spiritual strength to fully perceive them.

She brought Ruby to save Jaune.

Weiss Schnee

Boreal Elf

Went to Thule University.

Major in Spellcrafting, the most difficult discipline that actually crafts new spells.

Magic affinities are Water, Wind, and Light.

Equipped with the mystical rapier Myrtenaster.

Can summon a Auroran Horse or a Kelpie. Auroran Horses work like Ruin from Darksiders, but made from light that blends into the darkness. Kelpies are water fey horses that are known for their... ill temperament. Will often act out against those that Weiss is irate with. Thoroughly enjoys chewing on Jaune's hair.

Minors in Fey summoning and economics.

Her main Fey summons are a Pixie, Will'o'Wisp, Banshee, and female Dullahan.

Her pixie is mischievous, much to Weiss' vexation. But, she'll only have fun with those Weiss holds dear. Otherwise, they might simply get lost in the woods.

Will'o'Wisps are incorporeal, and bear the water, wind, and light elements that Weiss is so wonderful with.

For those that don't know their Fey, Banshees are actually extremely loyal to their households. They are washer maids, and the wail is because their beloved family member is going to die. Her powers are water-based, along with a wail that can be modified to work in a wide variety of ways. He touch can chill, and her voice carries the wind.

Her Dullahan carries a great sword with a fluted tip in one hand, and can summon an Auroran horse to ride.

Her Dullahan is Nora, whom largely represents Weiss' desire to not have impulse control and selfishness. Naturally, they clash quite a big.

Her Pixie is Leanan Ren, a Leanan Sidhe. She largely represents Weiss's exceptionalism and selflessness. Her mistress, and her mistress' friends call her "Leeann."

When Leeann and Nora agree, and can convince Weiss, typically leads to epic bouts of violence.

Blake Belladonna

Nekomata (cat Youkai that can take Human form; known for being especially amorous).

Has Changeling blood, but must soon return to her original form.

The only form she is truly comfortable in is that of a black cat, or a black catgirl.

Can become amorphous, and crawl through the shadows, or strike out from them as tendrils. Learns to master greater abilities, think Shadow from DMC.

Class is Ninja, which is basically a Rogue with low-level magic.

Her Youkai blood provides basic shapeshifting. Her distant Changeling blood provides more advanced, though less stable shape shifting. Her Ninja abilities allow her to blend into shadow, briefly become intangible, or leave behind figments of her presence.

Yang Xiao Long

Dragon-blooded, from a Storm Dragon. Got it from Tai's side.

Appears Human.

Can learn to summon dragon features, such as claws, wings, scales, or a tail.

Can eventually learn to transform into a Storm Dragon, though she normally needs a LOT of rage to do so.

Her rage allows her to basically turn Super Saiyan. Which is basically just Yang's regular Semblance, but attached to someone as powerful as Vegeta.

Class is Stormclash Monk. Combines Monk with Bloodrager, with Storm-based spellcaster.

Weapons: Gauntlets, a stone sling, and an Iron Club. She can use all three as a catalyst for her lightning powers, and all count as monk weapons.

Ilia Amitola

Rainbow slime.

Before anyone, including her, knew that she was a sentient lifeform, Jaune finds her on the street and takes care of her.

After watching Jaune fail to flirt with Weiss, she realized she could adopt a Human-like form.

Despite attempts by Blake to convince her otherwise, she sees nothing wrong with being Jaune's pet. He has always taken such good care of her.

She is vexed that she is no longer allowed to sleep with her master. However, he hasn't shown any problem about napping with him if she does so in blob form.

Once Jaune unlocks his grandfather's broken sword, she quite insistently goes with him. He will comply if she does so in blob form, sitting on his shoulder, (and refusing to leave).

Ilia's main abilities are physical transformations, (think Kirby). This means she tends to transform into Jaune's weapons, particularily a rainbow wrecking ball.

She can also extend spikes are enemies trying to strike Jaune from outside his field of vision. He gets used to it to the point if she barely does something similar, he knows he needs to look in that direction.

A third main form is turning into a boulder that Jaune throws (rolls) at enemies.

She has low-level elemental abilities. Not as suitable for combat, but allows her to turn into a bbq.

Transforms into Jaune's left pauldron during combat.

Penny Polendina

Golem with the soul of Pietro's daughter attached. He was legitimately trying to save his daughter, though the means are not exactly generally accepted. Only Dwarves know how to do this, and most of them would completely refuse to do so.

All mana channels and ley chambres are internal.

Penny is an Artificer with a minor in Battle Augur. She can create animated combatants. She has a small host of magic abilities, but only learns attack spells through observation. Other than Magic Missile, but since Battle Augurs are basically Megaman, it's through an arm cannon.

Creates an army of myrmidons, (magic robots), along with tiny, fairy versions of them.

General James Ironwood

Known as the "King of Mantle" by Humans in almost seriousness, and affectionately by Dwarves as the "Mantle Piece".

As a General, he was given leave to seek out the Dwarves of Mountain Mantle. He succeeded, and this close relationship is what created modernity. Along with the Schnee Dust Company, (managed by Elves, with the mining done by Dwarves).

The bulk of his forces are Atlasian Dampjager, steam Dwarves. They are smaller and lighter, but fantastically stronger and more robust than adult Humans.

These are augmented by Atlasian Dampdragens, carbinemen riding Steam Destriers, Damp'hest Also known as D-tross. They are as strong as as a truck, and can cover terrain like a horse.

Avoided Soul-Bound Golems because of the inherent ethics, until the creation of Penny Polendina. Now, it is offered to soldiers who are dying or otherwise crippled. Kind of like Dreadnoughts from 40k.

Army uses D-tross-towed artillery.

Has two primary chicken walkers, the Cockatrix and Basilix. The Basilix isn't larger, but is more robust and heavily armoured. The Cockatrix is lighter, more mobile, and has limited hover capabilities.

Dwarves

Because you voted for my Dwarves from Ingir, so, how they work with the Prismatic Rose AU, and the technological development of the world. Need to do a poll on tech first.

Dwarves worked through the early steam era and went onto nuclear, which is still technically steam power. It was Humans, specifically Ironwood that developed the steam generator technology that made it actually useful.

They largely live underground now, not because they especially like it underground, but because their holds were always dug into cliff faces, and like everyone else, they spend most of their time in \doors, nowadays.

Dwarves don't view necromancy as inherently evil, but instead view it through the voluntary/involuntary lens.

This means that they have no problem with soul-bound golems, as long as the volunteer is willing.

Necromancy is also used to bring an ancestor's ghost for ongoing legal disputes. Ironwood earned the respect of all of the Dwarven tribes of Mountain Mantle because he manages to stay impartial for these disputes. He simply had to put aside his squeamishness about necromancy.

Moonfallen

Creatures that have fallen to darkness in the shadow of the moon. The moon reflects light from the sun, and as such is both the basis of the power of the dark creatures, and their bane. The shattered moon remnant of the disaster that created them.

Angel, Fallen

Fey, Unseelie (also Fallen)

Liches

Necromancers

Skeletons

Succubus/Incubus

Vampire

Werewolf

Witch, Black

Creatures of Grimm

Creatures of shadow and enmity.

As enmity builds in an area, a Grimm Fragment is created. This is not visible to those without Shadowsight.

If enough enmity is unleashed at the same time, a Grimm Fragment can be boosted into a full-fledged Grimm.

More commonly, nefarious beings use the Fragments to create Creatures of Grimm to do their bidding, (hopefully).

Some less than ethnical magic users can try to use this as a power source. It can work, or it can create a Creature of Grimm.

When a Creature of Grimm is spotted, it triggers an investigation.

Huntsmen and Huntresses

Those licensed to hunt Creatures of Grimm and/or Moonfallen.

Some are lone vagabonds, others join fraternities or orders-militant.

While fraternities and orders normally have their own rules of conduct, without them Huntsmen are defacto, and often dejure, immune to all by the most heinous of laws.

This is both out of privilege, and out of practicality. On one hand, you want the Huntsman hunting. On the other, trying to bring a Huntsman to trial, unwillingly, is a harrowing ordeal for everyone involved. The Church's Inquisition typically handles rogue Huntsmen.

Because of this, disreputable Huntsmen will often be shunned by most of society.

(CLOSED)

[actrixquadras]

So Far Away Part6

Chapter 5: Returning Snow

“From what I can see, Miss Schnee is doing quite well. Just like always, you are doing a phenomenal job taking care of her, Mr. Arc”, the lady dressed in a shirt and jeans says as they gently place the sleeping beauty’s hand back on the bed.

“Are you sure, Dr. Wissend? Weiss has been breathing differently lately” Jaune asks with concern as he enters the room, looking at his sleeping friend anxiously. 

It's been six months since Jaune had moved back to Ansel with Weiss. After taking over the log cabin from his father, he had spent most of his waking hours trying to bring the place to a hospitable condition. He had personally replaced the defective wood. He had hammered the nails in place and placed the missing glass. He had treated the house against any possible pests just so that Weiss wouldn’t have a problem recovering her health. His mother and sisters took turns to watch over her when he was not around and within three weeks, after the talk with the town board for electricity and running water, the cabin was ready to be occupied.

The cabin was not huge per se. It had two bedrooms, out of which the master went to Weiss, while he took the smaller one. Much to his chagrin, his sisters went out of their way to decorate her and his room. The living room was not big but shared its space with dining and kitchen, and it had an old-fashioned fireplace to keep the place warm during nights and winters. There was a loft as well, but currently, it was left unused. There was a patio both at the front and back, opening the space to sunlight, a cool breeze, and a good view.

It was a space, ideal to raise a small family but now, only he and Weiss were living here. Not a day went by when Jaune wasn’t busy. He would be either outside the cabin, cutting trees to make way for the orchid that his father proposed, or he would be attending to his huntsman duties. By now, 80 percent of the woods have been cleared. The discarded wood was not wasted at all. It was either converted to firewood or was reused to make a shed for the jeep and other trinkets Jaune was planning to make.

Speaking of his father, the knight was doing his best to assist him whenever he could. He would sometimes help him at his vineyard and sometimes he would help at the ranch. Even though Jaune insisted against it, his father always paid him for his job, saying that no work should be done for free. His father was still awkward, but now, the knight of Rust found it easier to talk with him. Sometimes, they would go to fish, sometimes they would head out to town to get supplies for the house and the farm.

It was his father who had introduced him to the local huntsmen and Weiss’ current doctor in charge, Dr. Allison Wissend, who preferred to be referred to as Dr. Al Wissend. They were a traveling doctor, a neurologist to be exact, who would drop by Ansel once a month to check on patients who suffered from ailments related to what Weiss was dealing with. The town has a fair share of clinics and medicine practitioners, but there was no neurologist, so Dr. Wissend is a blessing to have whenever they are around.

Right now, they were here at their place. Dr Wissend had come over for Weiss’s monthly check-up. The past few days have been rough on Jaune. The sleeping woman’s breathing had changed a lot, causing the knight to be scared. He can’t rush the doctor to come over, nor does his aura amping help ease the breathing. All Jaune could do was sit beside Weiss’s side and worry. Even though he knew about the brother gods’ existence, Jaune was not a believer, but he was praying to those very gods for the good health of his friend.

“That’s quite normal for a patient like her. Did you notice anything else?” Dr. Wissend asks.

Jaune shakes his head in denial and says, “Other than occasional twitching, nothing else. I believe you told me that twitching is normal as well”.

“If it's beyond normal, I wouldn’t call it twitching but rather a seizure”, they say as they jot something down in their notebook. They look at the blonde knight and say, “Her bladder movement is good. Her pulse is good. I didn’t find any bedsores and she is very clean. All I have to do is send her blood to the lab and you can pick it up tomorrow. As far as I’m concerned, she is very healthy”.

“Is there anything I have to keep in mind for the future?” Jaune asks earnestly.

The doctor shakes their head in denial and as they gently remove the sleeping woman’s nasal cannula, they say, “No. You are doing well, Mr. Arc. You are doing very well. I don’t have to say anything, because you are already doing it. But if there is anything I have to add, she is ready to start a liquid diet. She is showing enough strength to digest, maybe you can start with something. If she throws up or appears to have a digestion issue, you can switch back to glucose. Do take care to make sure that she doesn’t choke. Also, her lungs are getting strong as well, so we can get her off the ventilator. ”.

Jaune just nods. A moment of silence grows between the two and suddenly, the doctor asks, “Is there anything you want to know, Mr. Arc? Is something bothering you?”

A lot of things were bothering Jaune. It’s been six months. He was already halfway through the time he had agreed with Winter. Weiss… She was not showing any signs of recovery. With every passing day, he was growing anxious. Was the effort he was putting in not enough? Was he lacking somewhere? He was using his semblance on her every day… Was it hampering her progress? Jaune had too many things to ask, but he needed to consider Dr. Wissend’s time as well. They were busy people after all. So, he decided to ask a question that mattered to him the most at that moment.

“Doctor… when can I expect her to wake up?” Jaune asks after taking a deep breath.

Dr. Wissend lets out a huge sigh. They shrug their shoulders a bit as they reply, “It’s tough to say, Mr. Arc. Patients like her tend to be unpredictable. She might wake up in a few hours, a few days, or maybe in a few months as well. She might not… You get what I’m trying to say. We must also consider the damage that has happened to her brain. If she wakes up, she might be able to articulate her words properly, she might not be able to walk properly, she might not even remember you. With therapy we can recover most of Miss Schnee's cognitive function and mobility, but memories… I have doubts about that. All I can say is to prepare yourself for the bad news”.

Jaune couldn’t help but grimace at their reply. The doctor continues to say, “I know that as a doctor, you have certain expectations from me, but this is the most I can do”.

Jaune shakes his head and with a small smile, replies, “It’s fine, doctor. I appreciate you making time for Weiss”.

Dr. Wissend nods and as they return the smile, they say, “You have no idea how much I appreciate your understanding Mr. Arc”. They begin to gather their belongings and as they are putting it together, they say, “I shall get going then. I shall mail you the recipes and supplements that you should add to her diet. If there is any problem, don’t hesitate to contact me. I will be leaving Ansel tomorrow evening”.

“Oh yes... Your fees?” Jaune asks as he reaches behind for his wallet.

“You know… the regular amount you pay” Dr. Wissend replies and Jaune doesn’t hesitate to fork out the Lien. The exchange goes without a hitch and the knight sees the doctor off at the main door. As soon as they were out of sight with their rental car, Jaune let out a sigh and headed back into Weiss’ room and flopped down on the recliner that Saphron and Terra had brought in for his comfort. 

He reaches out to the scroll in his pocket. This was a habit he had developed since the doctor had made their first visit. He searches for the contact he wanted at that time and with a quick swipe he dials and places the transparent device against his ear.

After a series of short incessant rings, a connection is formed and a crystal clear voice fills his ear saying, “Hello Jaune”. 

“Hey, Winter. How are you doing?” Jaune asks as he sits up. Speaking to Winter on the scroll has always been weird to him. The knight always felt a need to sit appropriately around the elder Schnee even though she was not physically present in the room. Was that because she always talked to him with a formal tone or was it because she was his superior? He had no idea.

“I’m doing good. What did the doctor say about Weiss?” asks Winter.

“They said that it's quite normal for her breathing to change. She is off the ventilator”, Jaune replies as his gaze falls on the sleeping woman.

“Did they say anything about… you know…?”

“They were not sure about that. Told us to be prepared for bad news”, was the reply Jaune.

A moment of silence fell upon the two, and the knight could hear sounds of heavy breathing coming from the other side. He doesn’t say a word as a quiet sob passes through his ear. For a moment, he thought of saying something to cheer her up, but words died in his mouth as his tongue failed to articulate his thoughts. He doesn’t hang the call and lets Winter take her time.

“Did they say anything else?” Winter finally asks.

“Yeah. Apparently, Weiss can start a liquid diet”, Jaune says.

“Oh… Weiss is going to hate that”, the knight heard his superior let out a chuckle and he couldn’t help but smile.

“I will try to sneak some of her favorite stuff into her diet”, he says with a smile.

“Please do. She would appreciate it”, Winter replies cheerfully. Then she asks, “How are Mother and Whitley doing?”

“Oh them?”, Jaune starts as his sight then moves to the corner of the room where he had set up a small shrine for them. He swiftly gets up from his place and as he walks up to the shrine, he replies, “They are doing well. Always making sure that they are dust-free”.

The knight hears a content sigh and he hears the former maiden say, “Thank you for your efforts, Jaune. I appreciate it”.

The knight shakes his head in denial and says, “I should be thanking you Winter. If you haven’t given me this task… I wouldn’t know whether I had enough to hope. Weiss… she means a lot to me. She helps me focus”.

“Well then you shouldn’t worry about her much. I have some news for you”.

“What is it?” Jaune asks as he pauses himself mid-stride.

“Do you remember how I said that it would take me a year to find the remaining relics?” Winter asks.

“Yeah, it's been six months since then. What about it?” Jaune asks, remembering. They already had the Sword of Destruction on hand thanks to Ruby holding on to it and over six months, the Staff of Creation and the Lamp of Knowledge were unearthed from the ruins. The Crown of Choice was yet to be found and from what he had heard from Winter, the situation had started getting tense at the sight since now the Grimm had started to converge to that area.

“We found new signatures. We have pinpointed the location of the Relic of Choice. It’s only a matter of time since we will be able to get it out”, Winter replies and the knight can sense the tone of excitement in her voice. 

“How long do you think it would take to get it out?” Jaune asks, breathlessly.

“A month or two, give or take. Four months if you consider the formalities that will follow after. Headmaster Theodore suggests that we encase the relics in the concrete and throw them out at sea. That way we could divert the Grimm migration a bit. We are planning protocols for that right now. This would be my last duty as an Atlesian Specialist. So in four months, I will be moving to Ansel and taking Weiss from your hands”.

“That’s great news, Winter!” Jaune beams. The knight was elated to hear this.

“Well, yeah… That’s all I had to say. Once again, I’m very grateful for you doing this for me Jaune. I don’t have enough words…” Winter awkwardly ends and the knight couldn’t help but smile. She might be his superior, but small talk was never her forte.

“It's all good, Winter. Weiss is my friend, and for all the things she has done for me, this is the least I can do”, Jaune replies with a small smile, as his eyes fall on the said person, who was unconscious to the world.

“Take care, Jaune. I shall assure you that I will do my best to finish this as soon as possible”, says Winter.

“Don’t overwork yourself. Bye Winter”, says Jaune.

“Bye Jaune. Give Weiss my love”, Winter says before the connection to her scroll ends, and the knight is flabbergasted, trying to figure out how exactly he is supposed to do that.

As he pockets his scroll, his gaze falls on Weiss. In a few months, their situation will come to an end. He takes her hand gently and says, “Did you hear that Weiss? Winter is finally wrapping up her duties. I will be out of your hair once and for all”. As much as he didn’t mind taking care of Weiss, knowing that his time with her would shorten brought joy to him. The sleeping beauty should be around people close to her heart, not a stranger who she had just known for six years at best. He was maintaining her rapier anyway, so once she is up and about she would like to use it. He was already planning things to do once Winter took Weiss away from him. Maybe he could visit Nora and Ren and see how Kuroyuri is coming along. Maybe he could take a trip to Menagerie and pay a visit to Blake’s grave. Maybe he could do the same for Oscar as well. He definitely would like to visit Patch.

But a part of him still wanted to be around Weiss. The feeling was indescribable. Taking care of her made him feel enabled. It made him useful. Something that he was never. Something that he was supposed to be when Ruby needed him the most. It made him feel fulfilled.

It made him feel satisfied.

He hated this feeling.

It was as if he was put with Paper Pleasers again. But this time instead of fragile sentient paper, it was a fragile friend. Jaune didn’t mean to think like that, but he couldn’t help but draw comparisons to both of them. How Paper Pleasers were always in danger of killing themselves if he was not around, he felt Weiss was just like that.

And he loathed himself for thinking like that.

Weiss is strong. He was not.

Weiss is graceful. He was not.

Weiss is perfect with her flaws. He was inadequate.

She doesn’t need a dead weight like him around. She was better off without him. All this time, he believed that he was taking care of her to help Winter, but in truth, it was just to ease his guilt for not saving Ruby and others a bit.

But the guilt only grew.

That was when Jaune decided. If Weiss tells him to get out of her life, he will leave without any hesitation. He would not protest. He would not beg. He would just leave.

The chime of the bell at the front door fell into ears and the knight broke out of his reverie. He looked out of the window to see that the sun had already gone down and darkness was claiming the land. He was still holding onto Weiss’ hand. Was he brooding all this time?

With a flustered face, he sets down the sleeping beauty’s hand gently and walks towards the door to get it. Knowing his arrangement, it was one of his sisters. Thrice a week, one of his sisters, except for Saphron, would stay over at the place to watch Weiss. They were doing this so that the knight could get some very much-needed sleep. At first, Jaune was against it but his sisters didn’t take no for an answer. After an intense debate, the knight caved in and allowed them to come over, but only with the condition that if anything happened to Weiss, they would wake him up no matter what.

Till now, there was no incident and he was grateful for that. He was having lots of rest and that made him feel even more guilty. He was already busy with occasional huntsman work and orchard, with his mother and sisters taking over for him and now they let him sleep. He only got to attend to his friend during the mornings and nights. He was not putting in enough work.

He opens the door and Violet walks in, in her pajamas and a backpack.

“Wasn’t Scarlet supposed to be here today?” Jaune asks as he eyes his little sister suspiciously.

“Oh yeah… Well you see, do you remember the guy Big-sis-Letta was crushing on? She finally asked him out and he said yes! So I will be taking over her role for tonight as she goes out there enjoying her youth”, Violet beams.

“You seem to be more excited than Scarlet”, Jaune asks with a smirk.

“Well, I would like to let you know that I have been shipping them for a very long time. And now… my ship is sailing! Of course, I would be excited!” Vi exclaims exaggeratedly.

“Don’t use your sisters as material for your fanfiction”, Jaune grimaces as Vi settles down on his recliner and brandishes her laptop from her backpack.

“So you won’t mind if I use you as my inspiration?” Vi asks without looking up.

“What are you going to write about, a clown?”

“I was thinking more of a second lead, but sure… let's go with that”     

Jaune couldn’t help but grimace and his sister shooed him away, saying, “Just go and sleep bro. If there is anything that needs you to be awake, I’ll wake you up”.

“Much appreciated”, Jaune says as he walks out of Weiss’ room. The knight without a thought crashed on his bed, hoping for once that he would not dream in his sleep.

The feeling of the blowing winds.

The sound of the crashing sea.

The smell of the dirty soil.

The sight of the wheat fields.

The combination of the above elements was very much unlikely in real life and it gave way to Jaune that he was dreaming. But the sensation and sight in front of him soothed his soul. He takes a step forward, his bare feet taking in the feeling of every single loose grain of soil and wheat. He takes a deep breath. He does it again while getting addicted to the smell of sea salt and the feeling of the wind blowing his hair.

“Jaune…?” a familiar voice fills the knight’s ears and his eyes widen like a deer caught in the headlights. He turns slowly in the direction of the voice, and his sight is filled with a woman he always seemed to occupy his mind during his resting hours.

Her hair was slightly longer than before, but they were still lustrous black with red highlights. Her skin was pale, but not in an unhealthy way. Her silver eyes were gazing at him lovingly and the white sundress covered her frame modestly.

As much as he remembers, this woman always came into his dreams. The scenarios were different but the ending was always grim and covered in blood. But this… this was different. He was not getting the sense of foreboding that he always felt in his dream. 

He was at ease. 

And this easiness made him doubtful. 

Was this really a dream? 

Or was this his longing for a real connection? 

Jaune doesn’t know. 

“Are you joining me?” Ruby asks as if he was with her all this time and he takes a step forward. No matter how repetitive his dreams got. No matter what the situation was. He was always drawn to Ruby. She didn’t have mass but her presence caused Jaune to gravitate towards her like the moon who found its world.

Ruby leads him through the wheat fields, while playfully touching this crop. The silence that was growing was filled by the wind and Jaune was racking his brain, trying to make sense of the situation. A person usually dreams of things he has seen. It doesn’t matter if the things are detailed or vivid. Detailed things tend to be more accurate while vivid sights are more based on a person’s interpretation. The wheat fields reminded him of the fields that surrounded Ansel. The sound of the sea reminds him of the time he was stranded in Ever After. 

Is his mind implying that he saw Ever After as his home?

Or was it more related to Ruby’s presence?

Jaune hesitates, but the silence is deafening to him. It was getting to him. He needed to say something or he would act out.

“Ruby?”

“How is life treating you, Jaune?”

Great! He is hallucinating in his dreams now. Could it get any worse for him? Real Ruby would ask this but Dream Ruby never asked stuff like this. The Dream Ruby was like a broken record, saying the same things repeatedly.

“So and so”, Jaune replies, because he loved to hear Ruby speak.

“So and so?” Ruby asks, turning to him, her one eyebrow raised.

“Nothing interesting is going on. Well if you think taking care of Weiss is interesting that is”.

“Hmmm….” Ruby ponders and for a second she doesn’t say anything. Then suddenly, she turns around and as she starts to walk backward, with her arm behind her back, she asks, “So… what were you going to tell me after the war?”

“I forgot”, Jaune replies, trying to move away from the topic.

“Forgot?” Ruby asks.

“Yeah…” 

She stops in her tracks and suddenly exclaims, “So the thing you were so excited to talk about to the point that you walked in on me changing and you forgot!?”

Jaune couldn’t help but go red. Well, that did happen, but in his defense, Ruby always told him to not bother asking her permission to come in.

“Please leave it… It’s embarrassing!” Jaune exclaims, his blush growing.

“Hmmm…” Ruby says with a shit-eating grin. Jaune couldn’t help but grimace. This woman was enjoying his discomfort. Look at her rocking on feet. The audacity of this girl!

“Well… I wanted to marry you”, Jaune says in a matter-of-fact tone and the grin on Ruby’s face falls. Her face slowly got flustered and she was doing her best to avert her gaze from his eyes.

“That… is something. Isn’t there a sequence of things you are supposed to do before you pop the question? You know, like asking for a date, then being your girlfriend, then… you know the other stuff couples do?” Ruby asks sheepishly.

“Yeah…” Jaune asks, mirroring her awkwardness. “But you see….” he begins to protest, but words die in his mouth. As much as he wanted to refute what the silver-eyed woman said, she was right and he couldn’t help but realize that he was being an idiot for not thinking about other stuff.

“You’re right”, Jaune replies with a sigh.

“You know… if you asked… I would have said yes”, says Ruby.

Jaune couldn’t help but let out a sarcastic chuckle and say, “Who is saying this… the Real Ruby or the Dream Ruby?”

“Who knows?” Ruby replies offhandedly.

For a second, they don’t say anything. Well, Jaune didn’t have anything to say. How could he? He has seen so much stuff in his life that it is hard to say what was real and what was not. He would like to believe that this is the real one, but at the same time, he wishes it was not. The silver-eyed woman had done a lot for this world. She doesn’t have to bother herself for a guy from her grave just because the said guy loved her. She deserved to be at peace and Jaune’s existence denied that.

He was suddenly pulled out of his thoughts when he felt something on his cheeks. His vision dials back in, and he sees that the woman in front of him is caressing his cheek, with a loving gaze in her eyes. The touch felt real. It felt so real that the knight of rust couldn’t help but lean into it. He and Ruby had never touched each other intimately, but he missed this a lot.

“I missed this so much…” Ruby whispers.

“I miss you”, Jaune replies, cupping her hand with his own. The woman’s lips quiver a bit, but she bites it to keep it in control. Before he could say anything, a sound of shattering rang throughout the space, taking both of them back.

“What’s that sound?” Jaune asks frantically.

“You are waking up. Your sister is waking you up”, Ruby says as she looks up. Jaune mirrors the direction and sees that the sky is shattering. The cracks were going downwards toward the ground as if the entire reality was breaking. Without wasting any second, Ruby hugs Jaune and as she lets go, she says, “Jaune, when you wake up remember this…”

Cracks grow on each other’s bodies and as a piece of Ruby’s skin falls off like a porcelain clay, she says, “Don’t lose hope”.

With a loud shatter, Jaune jolts up from his bed. His eyes were unfocused, as his lungs searched for oxygen to recalibrate. He looks at his sister, who is panicking, and asks, “What’s wrong?”

“Jaune! Weiss!” was all his sister managed to get out from her mouth and within seconds, the knight was on his feet, racing towards the sleeping beauty’s room. He nearly busts the door down and what he sees fills him with dread.

Weiss was breathing heavily as if she was choking. Her pulse was growing erratic. Jaune immediately knew what was going on.

Weiss is undergoing a cardiac arrest.

Without a second thought, the knight leaps the distance and straddles the woman between his legs. He unbuttons her shirt a bit and starts applying compressions to her chest. With every few compressions, he forced his breath into her mouth and repeated the process all over again. He was so engrossed that he didn’t even realize that his sister had entered the room, about to go under her panic attack.

Time slowed down for the blonde man. All he could hear was his own heart and the Weiss’ pulse flatlining. Tears filled his eyes as he continued to do the chest compressions, only for her pulse to fail.

No….

He can’t do this.

He can’t let Weiss die.

He will be all alone.

He can’t deal with this.

Out of desperation, Jaune slams his fist onto her chest and suddenly, Weiss takes in a deep breath and her pulse stabilizes. The knight, without any thought, pulls her into his chest. He cradles her head as tears fill his eyes, but this time out of joy. He held onto her until he heard a voice.

“Unhand me”.

For a second, Jaune thinks that he is going delirious due to adrenaline rushing through his veins. When suddenly, she feels a force on his chest, and a voice, though hoarse, nearly shouts, “Unhand me, Arc!”

The knight lets go and as he backs up a bit, his words get stuck in his mouth.

Her long hair was waving in the wind. Her pale figure had already shown signs of color. Her face was ever beautiful but it was the eyes that had his attention. 

Her ever-closed eyes he had longed to see were open and they were not looking at him kindly.

“How dare you touch me like that?” Weiss slurs as she asks, with rage and venom seeping into her voice. 

But the knight was shell-shocked. He had no idea how to respond. His brain shut down completely, and he hugged her once again, completely ignoring the volley of insults that was coming out of her mouth.

She is awake.

Weiss is awake.

“I missed you so much!” Jaune exclaims and for a second, Weiss goes quiet. She was fuming, but she was doing her best to regain her composure.

In a controlled tone, she slurs, “Will you please let go of me, Arc?”

Jaune promptly lets go and Weiss is taken aback by seeing tears streaming down his face. He gets off of her and repeats, “I missed you so much!”

“Ok… I get that you missed me, but that was not a good way of responding”, Weiss slurs awkwardly. She then looks around and asks, “Where am I and why am I dressed like this?” Her gaze then falls upon her unbuttoned shirt, and her face starts to go red with embarrassment. Before she could button herself up, Weiss found herself falling back on her bed.

“Wha…” Weiss exclaims, trying to move her body. She then looks at the knight and asks, “Arc! What is going on!?”

Jaune covers the distance between them a little bit and replies, “You have been sleeping for a very long time, Weiss”.

“Wha… How long?” she asks.

Jaune was about to reply, but he was not sure how to give her the news that she was sleeping for six months. He looks at her, and says, “We can talk about that in the morning. I will let Winter know that you woke up”.

“Wha.. Winter! How do you know her!? Answer me now, Arc!” Weiss slurs and that is when it hits Jaune. The smile on his face fell a bit, and judging by now awake beauty, it was quite noticeable.

“A lot of things had happened, Weiss. You should relax a bit. I will let you know tomorrow”, Jaune replies while regaining his composure.

For a second, Weiss doesn’t say anything, but she nods and simply asks, “You promise?”

The knight gives her nod and replies, “I give you my word, and an Arc never goes back on their word”. As soon as he said that, the woman visibly relaxed, and Jaune took this moment to look at his sister and say, “Vi… Can you stay with Weiss tonight? She won’t feel comfortable with me being around her”.

Vi looks at her elder brother awkwardly but she nevertheless nods. Before Jaune could step out, Weiss asks, “Arc… where is Ruby?”

At the question, Vi visibly gets flabbergasted, but Jaune retains his composure and says, “Tomorrow Weiss. I will let you know everything tomorrow. I have given you my word, didn’t I?”

Weiss doesn’t say anything, but from the way she reacted, she didn’t like the answer he gave. But that was all he was going to say at that time. He had to be firm. Weiss would hate him for this, but he was not willing to give her an inch. He was trying his best to hold his composure. He was not sure how to say that. The last thing he wanted was to break the news of what happened to her friend. He will reach out to Dr. Wissend and after getting their consultation, he will act.

He walks out and as soon as the door to Weiss’ room closes, all hell breaks loose. He rushes to his room, fearing that his sister might hear him cry.

Weiss referred to him as Arc.

There was only one point of time in their life where she used to call him that.

She used to call him that while they were at Beacon, training to be hunters.

She doesn’t remember anything after that.

She doesn’t remember how they became friends.

She doesn’t remember how she got stabbed because of him.

She doesn’t remember what happened to Atlas.

She doesn’t remember the Ever After.

She doesn’t remember how she helped him recover.

She doesn’t remember the war.

Weiss was stuck in Beacon.

Jaune couldn’t help but fall to his knees. His friend was back but at what cost!? This was the Weiss he knew, but at the same time, she wasn’t. 

Weiss was in the room beside him but for him, she was so far away.

[sadpenguinnova]

Champion bio: Corina Veraza

From a young age, ▇▇▇▇▇ loved plants. Unfortunately, in the harsh environment of Zaun, plants would be killed by toxins concentrated in the soil before they even had a chance to take root, surviving only in costly greenhouses.

▇▇ heard rumors that the Chem-Baron who governed the area had built a massive underground greenhouse in their territory. Driven by curiosity and hope, she ventured near their domain. After passing layers of steel walls and terrifying weaponry, she found the high-load sewage and gas filtration systems operating non-stop. These energy-consuming machines ran day and night, likely plunging countless Zaunite civilians into misery—just to add a touch of green to the Baron’s residence. Realizing this filled the young girl with uncontrollable rage.

After the expedition, an obsession took root and sprouted in her heart: she would cover the land of Zaun with flowers—flowers that could grow freely without the need for greenhouses, to be shared with everyone.

Born into a humble Zaunite family, ▇▇ knew she might never afford the luxury of flowers and plants. She made a secret vow: first, she needed power, and power would bring her money. She had to take a path no one else would think of and defeat these factory-minded Barons at their own game. She donned her glasses and began studying relentlessly, working part-time jobs to save up for tuition. Eventually, she rose above her peers and was granted a rare exception: an admission to Piltover University.

She entered the best laboratory in the School of Biology, only to discover that it had suffered from budget cuts for years. Though Piltover, the City of Progress, praised innovation, it only funded research that could generate immediate value. Engineers and machinists thrived, while biologists were left in outdated labs with scarce materials. It was said that someone had once ventured into the mountains to capture rare living specimens themselves because the school refused to fund the expedition—and nearly died doing so.

But such difficulties did not deter her. She cherished the opportunity to study, devouring literature in the library and even studying history and the methods of political elites in her spare time. Most of her hours were spent in the lab, tirelessly operating creaking robotic arms and rusted microscopes, single-mindedly advancing her research.

Five years later, she finally succeeded. From a sample of Zaun's gray miasma, ▇▇ cultivated a mutant strain that could thrive on toxins. Not only could this strain convert chemical waste in the soil and air into nourishment, it also grew at astonishing speeds, allowing hybridization results to be observed in no time. Once fully developed, the mutant would bloom into purple-red flowers—exotically beautiful amidst the green haze. She was mesmerized, spending the entire night in the lab. She believed this was the prototype of her life's dream and proudly called it her Magnum Opus.

Just a few more generations of propagation and she could stabilize its traits, turning her dream into reality. But she was out of materials. She decided to publish some preliminary results—carefully omitting the full scope of her research—to attract more funding. Her work was groundbreaking and quickly became the talk of the academic world. Countless investors extended offers.

But the glory didn't last. Some people, sensing danger in both her paper and her identity as a Zaunite, raised alarms. The university released a statement accusing her of violating bioethics, locked down her lab, and confiscated all her work. The research would be safely continued by more trustworthy scholars. Her student status was also revoked.

She had planned to leave quietly after completing her research, but she hadn't anticipated the arrogance and cruelty of Piltover's elites. The next day, the charred body of ▇▇▇▇▇ was found inside the sealed lab. The entire space had burned down. All notes and specimens turned to ash. Only a warped, melted pair of glasses remained identifiable among the ruins.

Three years later, a new Chem-Baroness rose to power in Zaun—Corina Veraza. Her influence expanded rapidly. It was said she built labs and gardens aboveground, where mysterious flowers thrived in the toxic air and poisoned soil. These flowers absorbed poison and released venomous pollen. Their rapid growth allowed them to silently lay in ambush on a rival’s path, bringing death before anyone realized it.

Corina won battle after battle, claiming more and more territory. When not fighting, she stayed by her flowers in the lab, not speaking to anyone for days. The blooms in her garden grew ever more stunning—and ever more deadly. Though the garden was open to all, no one dared approach it. No one but her ever came out alive.

Whether it was power that changed her, or the toxic pollen that rewired her nervous system, no one could say. But Corina's ambition had long mutated into a pathological obsession with vengeance and crime. She began provoking other Chem-Barons just to cruelly kill them. Traces of pollen were found at multiple murder scenes in Piltover University. Once, on a whim, she vanished from her lab, leaving her bewildered thugs behind—only to infiltrate the Piltover police for years, just to lure Caitlyn into a carefully pre-set trap, watching with glee as the sheriff and her team were toyed with.

By the time her name topped Piltover's most-wanted list, Corina's left arm had completely rotted from long-term toxin exposure. Unbothered, she replaced it with a mechanical prosthetic on her own—and dove right back into hybridizing and modifying again. No one knows what deadly creation this criminal genius will unleash tomorrow.

Original Chinese version below

可瑞娜·瓦拉撒

▇▇·▇自小喜爱植物，可惜在祖安恶劣的环境中，植物会在生根发芽之前被土壤中富集的毒素杀死，因此只能在昂贵的温室中生长。

▇▇听闻管辖此地的炼金男爵在属地内搭建了巨大的地下温室，于是冒险接近男爵的领地，果真在被层层叠叠的钢墙和可怖的武器的保护后找到了高负荷运转的污水和气体处理装置。这样高消耗的机械日夜不停地运作，不知将多少祖安平民的生活置入了水深火热之中，而这只是为��给男爵的屋子增添一抹绿色——年纪轻轻的她想到这点，便陷入无法遏制的怒火。

冒险结束后，一个执念在她心底生根发芽：她要在祖安的土地上种满花朵，要让它们不依赖温室自由生长，同所有人共享。

▇▇来自一个普通的祖安家庭，或许一生与价格不菲的花草树木无缘。她暗自定下计划：首先她需要权力，权力则能带来金钱。她必须剑走偏锋，在没人能想到的领域打败这群满脑子只有工厂和争斗的男爵。她戴上眼镜，没日没夜地苦读，学习之余四处打工筹备学费。终于，她在祖安的学生中脱颖而出，被皮城大学破格录取。

她如愿进入生物学院最好的实验室，却得知他们已经经费紧缺了很多年。进步之城崇尚创新，却只重视能立刻创造价值的研究，机械、工程学研究员在此地如鱼得水，生物学家们却只能忍受老旧的实验室和短缺的材料，听说曾有人由于学院不批准经费，只得亲自出发抓捕罕见兽类的活体样本，险些葬身在山岭里。

这样的困难没有阻挡▇▇的脚步。她无比珍惜深造的机会，在图书馆读遍相关文献，还抽空学习了各个地区的历史，研究政坛名人的方法手段。剩余的时间，她几乎住在实验室，操作嘎吱作响的机械臂和早已生锈的老式显微镜，一心一意推进自己的研究。

五年后，▇▇终于在祖安灰瘴的样本中培养出了可以依赖毒气生长的变异体。变异体不仅能将土壤和空气中的化工废物化为己用，还具备生长速度极快的优良特性，能在很短的时间内迅速看到杂交结果。变异体发育完全后，便会开出紫红色花朵，在绿色的瘴气中无比妖艳美丽。▇▇几乎被这花朵摄去了心神，在实验室待了一整晚。她认定这便是她一生追求的目标的原型世代，满怀自豪地将其称为“旷世巨作（Magnum Opus）”。

旷世之花再进行数代繁衍便能稳定性状，将她的梦想变为现实，手头的材料却已经见底。她只能试着将早期的过程产物发表，试图在不披露研究全貌的同时赢得更多的资助。她的成果无疑是划时代的，很快成为了学界的焦点，无数投资人向她抛出橄榄枝。

可惜好景不长，有人敏锐地在她的论文中和她祖安人的身份上嗅到了“危险”的味道。学院立刻发布声明，她的研究有违生物伦理，将封锁她的实验室并没收所有成果，将其交由另一批值得信任的研究员继续推进，她的学籍也被吊销。

▇▇原本打算完成研究就自行离开学院，未曾想皮城人的高高在上与卑劣手段让自己提前在此失去了立足之地。第二天，心灰意冷的▇▇·▇的尸体在被封锁的实验室中被发现，全身重度烧伤，整个实验室的笔记与标本也一同化成了灰，现场唯一可以辨识的是在高温下熔化变形的眼镜残骸。

三年后，名为可瑞娜·瓦拉撒的炼金男爵在祖安崛起，权力版图迅速扩张。听说她在地上修建了实验室与花园，没人知道这些花朵是如何在有毒的空气与土壤中生存的。她的花朵汲取毒物，再生出剧毒的花粉，极快的生长速度让它们能悄无声息地提前埋伏在对手的必经之路，不知不觉间将他们置于死地。

可瑞娜屡战屡胜，不断扩大自己的领地。不战斗的时候，可瑞娜在实验室里与她的花朵寸步不离，数日不与人交流，花园中的花也一天比一天更加美艳且致命。她的花园对所有人开放，却没人胆敢接近，因为除她以外的所有人都无法活着从其中离开。

不知是权力改变了她，还是有毒的花粉也重塑了她的神经构造，她对权力的野心逐渐转变为对报复和犯罪的病态偏执。可瑞娜开始频繁地挑衅其他男爵，将其撩拨一番后残忍杀害；皮城学院的多起谋杀案现场都发现了花粉的痕迹；她还曾一时兴起，抛下实验室和摸不着头脑的手下们，在皮城警局潜伏数年，只为将凯特琳引入自己早已布置好的陷阱，欣赏警长与手下们被戏耍后的滑稽模样。

可瑞娜的大名登上皮城最高通缉令的时候，她的左臂也在长年累月的毒素作用下彻底腐烂。她不以为意，亲自将黑紫的手臂用机械义肢替换，接着再次投身于新一轮的杂交与改造。没有人知道，这位犯罪天才明天又会拿出怎样的致命创造。

[lemonylepid]

"Our sister died so you could thrive, all we do is care for her empty vessel. Perhaps you were expecting something more threatening when you began this journey, hm, Toa? Something more than just... Elderly caretakers..."

The ancient beast slowly rose from her throne, creaking metal and rust scraping as her forelegs unfolded. One large blade crashing to the ground and gripping with a sparking scrape, and the other following suit just as cacophonously. The Toa backed away in fear as she rose, two hind legs snapping to the group behind her with a spine-tingling screech. Her height was easily double that of the tallest in the team of heroes. Her bladed cuffs released with a hiss, and she gently held one hand in the other with an ugly, evil smile across her mask.

"I do not mean to disappoint you... But it is all we are. Perhaps you can take it from the Matoran you no doubt came here to find! Oho..! Ahaha!"

Her laugh bellowed across the chamber, and her eyes, bright magenta streaks, lit up her cheeks in the darkness. Her left hand gestured, and her right covered her snide snickering. As blurred eyes began lighting in the darkness behind her, it filled the room with a slight, rusty, red-orange glow. The misty fog in the chamber was illuminated by the stares of captured and converted Matoran.

"Ahaha! Aha! Ahmm~ These matoran are mine now, I need them and you can't have them! And due to your pitiful CODE, you can't fight them of course, so you've fallen-" she finally lost her composure as she howled with a shrill laugh, "-right into my trap!! Seize the Toa! We can NOT have them stopping our plans!"

The Matoran made an awful drone, and collectively advanced towards the group. They looked at one another in desperation, surely one of them has a plan to best this witch and her games...

[bittermause]

End of Year Review 2023

It is currently Christmas Eve-Eve at the time of this writing, which can mean only one thing; The End of Year Review for 2023. These past three years held a lot of significant changes and growth for me, most of which I likely wouldn't have experienced had I remained in that horrible part of the mid-west. Despite the mass 'rona pandemic and the constant mental health battles/challenges, 2020-2022 were very good to me and I consider them the best years of my life.

2023 is a welcoming addition to that train.

The first major reason were the goals I set at the end of 2022, all of which were achieved without fail (to a point);

I continued making animated shorts, but only produced 2. However, this was a good glow up year for The Boris Blobinski Show! I got to manage a smaller production team, consisting of my talented friends, and together we banged out a beautifully animated episode!

I got my contact lenses! However I haven't really worn them since I left the optometrist's office. I still intend on using these for when I go swimming or to the spa, but I can see why some people aren't crazy about this option.

I finally got my hair dyed, and it wound up being a vibrant cherry red. Had it done back in March, and most of my hair is still pretty red despite the roots coming in.

Been losing a small chunk of weight still, which means I was able to convert to smaller shirt and pants sizes.

I did a lot more exploring this year! I finally secured my Californian rite of passage by visiting In-N-Out burger, discovered a couple awesome local bakeries, and went to the movies for the first time in years. First major achievement was going to Universal for the first time ever and visiting Nintendo Land! The second biggest crowning achievement was the daytrip to The Ventura Harbor in April, where I got to board a small wildlife sea cruise and witness dolphins, whales, sea lions and seals.

I got back to working on comics again, and produced two short stories for a larger collective that is still in production. Second major reason were the events that weren't planned out of the gate, but were absolutely welcomed;

I saved enough money to get a new desktop PC built. My friend from Colorado flew down and spent the week with me, partially to help get the PC built to proper standards and to also spend some quality time together in person.

I started freeway driving practice mid-year; taking smaller steps to feel more comfortable driving in the faster/wider lanes without having my PTSD invoked. I have a long way to go, but even driving within a 5 mile radius is still worth celebrating, especially since I've actively avoided freeway driving for most of my life.

My best friend is finally coming to visit me at the end of December! I have not seen them in person since 2016, and it will be their first time visiting my apartment space as well.

As far as plans for 2024 go, here's what I have on the docket;

I will be going to an actual jury duty selection at the end of January for the first time. (Exciting, I know!) I'm curious to see what the process is like, but I hope I can dismiss myself from the proceedings. (Respectfully, of course.)

I plan on hosting another friend visit me around the Spring/Summer.

I will be working on a very ambitious episode of The Boris Blobinski show that will take up most of the first quarter of my year.

I will continue my weight loss regimen as I have started back in 2021. As of this writing I am now down to 186 lbs. This is actually pretty close to my first goal, but I want to continue this trend until I hit between 135-140.

I still want to do more local travel and discover new venues. I'm eyeballing Downtown Ventura and will likely add a few more intended places to my list.

Attend activity based events like Life Drawing and other art related functions. As an artist, it's important I find different means to shake the rust off of my skills, and as a human I need to start making efforts in social connections again.

Continue freeway driving practice to the point where I can actually go beyond 5 miles comfortably.

Continue working on my one shot comics, see if I can at least produce two more stories before building a website/platform to host them all.

Outside of Boris Blobinski, I want to be more active in the animation space again and make a few more originals outside of that project.

Lastly, I want to look into Toon Boom Harmony official Certification. I've worked with the program for over 10 years, both for traditional hand-drawn animation and character rigging, and I would love to have that piece of recognition. Hell, I am not against the idea of applying as an instructor if I can get that far!

Of course I don't think I'll be able to jump into everything as intended. I know 2024 will also be met with some unexpected surprises, but I'll gladly welcome them all the same. And lastly, before we pull the plug on this, I want to thank everyone involved in my life that has made 2023 a fantastic experience. You know who you are.

[supermarketcrush]

hey so road trips right. car motifs representing freedom, especially convertibles out on the open road, hair whipping in the wind. countryside and nature, once again freedom. it's about the imagery of great roiling tarmac snakes lying among overgrown grass and fifty feet tall rusting utility poles going so far down the road like a rainbow made of power lines. road trip media is very often just two people too. two people against the world. where did you come from? where are you going? what are you running away from? what are you in pursuit of? where will you end up?

when you have a story about a road trip you don't even need a plot. the road trip is the story. the plot is being alive. every moment is worth recording every speck of dust under the sun is worth capturing, everything the person at the passenger seat or at the wheel says instantly becomes momentous. also road trip movies always have the best cinematography like you cannot go wrong with a road trip movie. it's automatically beautiful. my personal overwhelming desire for freedom and anonymity to go somewhere no one will know me, or find me, because i am in the present continuous tense and cannot be contained, cannot be held down, is what makes road trip stories so dear to me. it's honestly no surprise that many of my favorites stories are about road trips.

all this is to say i can jest about my shows or my blorbos or whatever but road trips are deathly serious to me. it really isn't a joke and i would never joke about this. i could write an academic essay on road trips in fictional media i think. um. well. yeah 🫶🏼

[carportscanberraact]

Carport Canopies

Carports are a great way to protect your car from the elements. They are easy to install, economical, and can be matched to your house to add a custom look to your property.

The frame of a canopy can be cleaned with a simple soapy water solution, but you should reserve more abrasive cleaning for stubborn stains and mold.

Easy to Assemble

All of ALEKO’s carport canopy packages come with a user manual and all the necessary hardware needed for an easy assembly process. Even the largest model can be assembled by two people in about 6 to 8 hours.

Using galvanized steel and powder-coated pipes, the temporary garage shelter is highly durable and rust resistant. This makes it a great option for outdoor equipment storage, bulk storage, and off-season gear. The carport also features a high-quality PE fabric that protects cars, trucks and equipment from sun exposure and rain.

To assemble the portable metal carport, you simply connect the pipes using T-connectors and angled connectors. You can then add the tarp and use the anchors to secure it to the ground. For best results, ALEKO recommends that you install the anchors in groups of three for added stability. The anchors can be used for either dirt, gravel or asphalt applications. In addition, the portable carports can be placed on concrete bases for additional security.

Affordability

Carport canopies are a great way to keep your vehicle under cover without breaking the bank. They are also very easy to assemble, allowing you to protect your vehicle in no time at all.

When shopping for a new canopy it is important to consider the material used and if the frame has been powder coated. This will help to prevent corrosion and rust on the steel, which will in turn lengthen the lifespan of the structure.

A good option is a portable model that uses galvanized steel and has polycarbonate roofs, which are both very strong and durable. These models will typically have a slightly higher price tag than permanent ones, which can be made from a variety of materials but tend to be sturdier as they do not focus on portability or ease of set up. This is because they are designed to be permanently fixed in position and will often have a higher build quality with thicker materials.

Versatility

A carport can be a very versatile addition to your home. It can protect your vehicles and other belongings from different weather elements, as well as provide a shelter for outdoor activities such as parties and BBQs. It also adds value to your property and can increase its curb appeal.

Carports come in a variety of styles, from those that resemble fully structured shelters to canopy models that look more like large tents. Your specific needs and budget will determine which one is right for you.

The VEVOR carport is a high-quality model that offers a lot of value for the price. Its durable fabric is water- and UV-resistant, making it a great choice for year-round use. Its frame uses patented ShelterLock stabilizers for increased stability, and its Ratchet-Tite cover tensioning system helps to ensure a tight cover and door panel connection. It weighs 134.6 pounds and comes with a one-year limited warranty on the cover fabric and end panels.

Environmentally Friendly

Carport canopies are an environmentally friendly solar energy solution that provides shade and renewable power. They provide a way for businesses and communities to meet their environmental and energy needs while using existing land. The optimum tilt and orientation of the canopy maximizes energy generation, allowing the building to receive payments from the feed-in tariff while saving money on electricity bills.

They also help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase the resilience of the community. The canopy’s photovoltaic cells convert sunlight into electricity and can be used to power buildings, equipment, and lighting. It’s also a great way to demonstrate your commitment to green energy and inspire others to follow suit.

Pyramid Aluminum is an experienced team that can help you select the best canopy for your space. We’ll discuss your vision, take accurate measurements, and engineer your new structure. We will then manufacture and install your new canopy. It will look good, save you money, and be easy to maintain.

source https://carportscanberra.wordpress.com/2023/07/29/carport-canopies/

[this-week-in-rust]

This Week in Rust 510

Hello and welcome to another issue of This Week in Rust! Rust is a programming language empowering everyone to build reliable and efficient software. This is a weekly summary of its progress and community. Want something mentioned? Tag us at @ThisWeekInRust on Twitter or @ThisWeekinRust on mastodon.social, or send us a pull request. Want to get involved? We love contributions.

This Week in Rust is openly developed on GitHub and archives can be viewed at this-week-in-rust.org. If you find any errors in this week's issue, please submit a PR.

Updates from Rust Community

Official

Announcing Rust 1.72.0

Change in Guidance on Committing Lockfiles

Cargo changes how arrays in config are merged

Seeking help for initial Leadership Council initiatives

Leadership Council Membership Changes

Newsletters

This Week in Ars Militaris VIII

Project/Tooling Updates

rust-analyzer changelog #196

The First Stable Release of a Memory Safe sudo Implementation

We're open-sourcing the library that powers 1Password's ability to log in with a passkey

ratatui 0.23.0 is released! (official successor of tui-rs)

Zellij 0.38.0: session-manager, plugin infra, and no more offensive session names

Observations/Thoughts

The fastest WebSocket implementation

Rust Malware Staged on Crates.io

ESP32 Standard Library Embedded Rust: SPI with the MAX7219 LED Dot Matrix

A JVM in Rust part 5 - Executing instructions

Compiling Rust for .NET, using only tea and stubbornness!

Ad-hoc polymorphism erodes type-safety

How to speed up the Rust compiler in August 2023

This isn't the way to speed up Rust compile times

Rust Cryptography Should be Written in Rust

Dependency injection in Axum handlers. A quick tour

Best Rust Web Frameworks to Use in 2023

From tui-rs to Ratatui: 6 Months of Cooking Up Rust TUIs

[video] Rust 1.72.0

[video] Rust 1.72 Release Train

Rust Walkthroughs

[series] Distributed Tracing in Rust, Episode 3: tracing basics

Use Rust in shell scripts

A Simple CRUD API in Rust with Cloudflare Workers, Cloudflare KV, and the Rust Router

[video] base64 crate: code walkthrough

Miscellaneous

Interview with Rust and operating system Developer Andy Python

Leveraging Rust in our high-performance Java database

Rust error message to fix a typo

[video] The Builder Pattern and Typestate Programming - Stefan Baumgartner - Rust Linz January 2023

[video] CI with Rust and Gitlab Selfhosting - Stefan Schindler - Rust Linz July 2023

Crate of the Week

This week's crate is dprint, a fast code formatter that formats Markdown, TypeScript, JavaScript, JSON, TOML and many other types natively via Wasm plugins.

Thanks to Martin Geisler for the suggestion!

Please submit your suggestions and votes for next week!

Call for Participation

Always wanted to contribute to open-source projects but did not know where to start? Every week we highlight some tasks from the Rust community for you to pick and get started!

Some of these tasks may also have mentors available, visit the task page for more information.

Hyperswitch - add domain type for client secret

Hyperswitch - deserialization error exposes sensitive values in the logs

Hyperswitch - move redis key creation to a common module

mdbook-i18n-helpers - Write tool which can convert translated files back to PO

mdbook-i18n-helpers - Package a language selector

mdbook-i18n-helpers - Add links between translations

Comprehensive Rust - Link to correct line when editing a translation

Comprehensive Rust - Track the number of times the redirect pages are visited

RustQuant - Jacobian and Hessian matrices support.

RustQuant - improve Graphviz plotting of autodiff computational graphs.

RustQuant - bond pricing implementation.

RustQuant - implement cap/floor pricers.

RustQuant - Implement Asian option pricers.

RustQuant - Implement American option pricers.

release-plz - add ability to mark Gitea/GitHub release as draft

zerocopy - CI step "Set toolchain version" is flaky due to network timeouts

zerocopy - Implement traits for tuple types (and maybe other container types?)

zerocopy - Prevent panics statically

zerocopy - Add positive and negative trait impl tests for SIMD types

zerocopy - Inline many trait methods (in zerocopy and in derive-generated code)

datatest-stable - Fix quadratic performance with nextest

Ockam - Use a user-friendly name for the shared services to show it in the tray menu

Ockam - Rename the Port to Address and support such format

Ockam - Ockam CLI should gracefully handle invalid state when initializing

css-inline - Update cssparser & selectors

css-inline - Non-blocking stylesheet resolving

css-inline - Optionally remove all class attributes

If you are a Rust project owner and are looking for contributors, please submit tasks here.

Updates from the Rust Project

366 pull requests were merged in the last week

reassign sparc-unknown-none-elf to tier 3

wasi: round up the size for aligned_alloc

allow MaybeUninit in input and output of inline assembly

allow explicit #[repr(Rust)]

fix CFI: f32 and f64 are encoded incorrectly for cross-language CFI

add suggestion for some #[deprecated] items

add an (perma-)unstable option to disable vtable vptr

add comment to the push_trailing function

add note when matching on tuples/ADTs containing non-exhaustive types

add support for ptr::writes for the invalid_reference_casting lint

allow overwriting ExpnId for concurrent decoding

avoid duplicate large_assignments lints

contents of reachable statics is reachable

do not emit invalid suggestion in E0191 when spans overlap

do not forget to pass DWARF fragment information to LLVM

ensure that THIR unsafety check is done before stealing it

emit a proper diagnostic message for unstable lints passed from CLI

fix races conditions with SyntaxContext decoding

fix waiting on a query that panicked

improve note for the invalid_reference_casting lint

include compiler flags when you break rust;

load include_bytes! directly into an Lrc

make Sharded an enum and specialize it for the single thread case

make rustc_on_unimplemented std-agnostic for alloc::rc

more precisely detect cycle errors from type_of on opaque

point at type parameter that introduced unmet bound instead of full HIR node

record allocation spans inside force_allocation

suggest mutable borrow on read only for-loop that should be mutable

tweak output of to_pretty_impl_header involving only anon lifetimes

use the same DISubprogram for each instance of the same inlined function within a caller

walk through full path in point_at_path_if_possible

warn on elided lifetimes in associated constants (ELIDED_LIFETIMES_IN_ASSOCIATED_CONSTANT)

make RPITITs capture all in-scope lifetimes

add stable for Constant in smir

add generics_of to smir

add smir predicates_of

treat StatementKind::Coverage as completely opaque for SMIR purposes

do not convert copies of packed projections to moves

don't do intra-pass validation on MIR shims

MIR validation: reject in-place argument/return for packed fields

disable MIR SROA optimization by default

miri: automatically start and stop josh in rustc-pull/push

miri: fix some bad regex capture group references in test normalization

stop emitting non-power-of-two vectors in (non-portable-SIMD) codegen

resolve: stop creating NameBindings on every use, create them once per definition instead

fix a pthread_t handle leak

when terminating during unwinding, show the reason why

avoid triple-backtrace due to panic-during-cleanup

add additional float constants

add ability to spawn Windows process with Proc Thread Attributes | Take 2

fix implementation of Duration::checked_div

hashbrown: allow serializing HashMaps that use a custom allocator

hashbrown: change & to &mut where applicable

hashbrown: simplify Clone by removing redundant guards

regex-automata: fix incorrect use of Aho-Corasick's "standard" semantics

cargo: Very preliminary MSRV resolver support

cargo: Use a more compact relative-time format

cargo: Improve TOML parse errors

cargo: add support for target.'cfg(..)'.linker

cargo: config: merge lists in precedence order

cargo: create dedicated unstable flag for asymmetric-token

cargo: set MSRV for internal packages

cargo: improve deserialization errors of untagged enums

cargo: improve resolver version mismatch warning

cargo: stabilize --keep-going

cargo: support dependencies from registries for artifact dependencies, take 2

cargo: use AND search when having multiple terms

rustdoc: add unstable --no-html-source flag

rustdoc: rename typedef to type alias

rustdoc: use unicode-aware checks for redundant explicit link fastpath

clippy: new lint: implied_bounds_in_impls

clippy: new lint: reserve_after_initialization

clippy: arithmetic_side_effects: detect division by zero for Wrapping and Saturating

clippy: if_then_some_else_none: look into local initializers for early returns

clippy: iter_overeager_cloned: detect .cloned().all() and .cloned().any()

clippy: unnecessary_unwrap: lint on .as_ref().unwrap()

clippy: allow trait alias DefIds in implements_trait_with_env_from_iter

clippy: fix "derivable_impls: attributes are ignored"

clippy: fix tuple_array_conversions lint on nightly

clippy: skip float_cmp check if lhs is a custom type

rust-analyzer: diagnostics for 'while let' loop with label in condition

rust-analyzer: respect #[allow(unused_braces)]

Rust Compiler Performance Triage

A fairly quiet week, with improvements exceeding a small scattering of regressions. Memory usage and artifact size held fairly steady across the week, with no regressions or improvements.

Triage done by @simulacrum. Revision range: d4a881e..cedbe5c

2 Regressions, 3 Improvements, 2 Mixed; 0 of them in rollups 108 artifact comparisons made in total

Full report here

Approved RFCs

Changes to Rust follow the Rust RFC (request for comments) process. These are the RFCs that were approved for implementation this week:

Create a Testing sub-team

Final Comment Period

Every week, the team announces the 'final comment period' for RFCs and key PRs which are reaching a decision. Express your opinions now.

RFCs

No RFCs entered Final Comment Period this week.

Tracking Issues & PRs

[disposition: merge] Stabilize PATH option for --print KIND=PATH

[disposition: merge] Add alignment to the NPO guarantee

New and Updated RFCs

[new] Special-cased performance improvement for Iterator::sum on Range<u*> and RangeInclusive<u*>

[new] Cargo Check T-lang Policy

Call for Testing

An important step for RFC implementation is for people to experiment with the implementation and give feedback, especially before stabilization. The following RFCs would benefit from user testing before moving forward:

No RFCs issued a call for testing this week.

If you are a feature implementer and would like your RFC to appear on the above list, add the new call-for-testing label to your RFC along with a comment providing testing instructions and/or guidance on which aspect(s) of the feature need testing.

Upcoming Events

Rusty Events between 2023-08-30 - 2023-09-27 🦀

Virtual

2023-09-05 | Virtual (Buffalo, NY, US) | Buffalo Rust Meetup

Buffalo Rust User Group, First Tuesdays

2023-09-05 | Virtual (Munich, DE) | Rust Munich

Rust Munich 2023 / 4 - hybrid

2023-09-06 | Virtual (Indianapolis, IN, US) | Indy Rust

Indy.rs - with Social Distancing

2023-09-12 - 2023-09-15 | Virtual (Albuquerque, NM, US) | RustConf

RustConf 2023

2023-09-12 | Virtual (Dallas, TX, US) | Dallas Rust

Second Tuesday

2023-09-13 | Virtual (Boulder, CO, US) | Boulder Elixir and Rust

Monthly Meetup

2023-09-13 | Virtual (Cardiff, UK)| Rust and C++ Cardiff

The unreasonable power of combinator APIs

2023-09-14 | Virtual (Nuremberg, DE) | Rust Nuremberg

Rust Nürnberg online

2023-09-20 | Virtual (Vancouver, BC, CA) | Vancouver Rust

Rust Study/Hack/Hang-out

2023-09-21 | Virtual (Charlottesville, NC, US) | Charlottesville Rust Meetup

Crafting Interpreters in Rust Collaboratively

2023-09-21 | Lehi, UT, US | Utah Rust

Real Time Multiplayer Game Server in Rust

2023-09-21 | Virtual (Linz, AT) | Rust Linz

Rust Meetup Linz - 33rd Edition

2023-09-25 | Virtual (Dublin, IE) | Rust Dublin

How we built the SurrealDB Python client in Rust.

Asia

2023-09-06 | Tel Aviv, IL | Rust TLV

RustTLV @ Final - September Edition

Europe

2023-08-30 | Copenhagen, DK | Copenhagen Rust Community

Rust metup #39 sponsored by Fermyon

2023-08-31 | Augsburg, DE | Rust Meetup Augsburg

Augsburg Rust Meetup #2

2023-09-05 | Munich, DE + Virtual | Rust Munich

Rust Munich 2023 / 4 - hybrid

2023-09-14 | Reading, UK | Reading Rust Workshop

Reading Rust Meetup at Browns

2023-09-19 | Augsburg, DE | Rust - Modern Systems Programming in Leipzig

Logging and tracing in Rust

2023-09-20 | Aarhus, DK | Rust Aarhus

Rust Aarhus - Rust and Talk at Concordium

2023-09-21 | Bern, CH | Rust Bern

Third Rust Bern Meetup

North America

2023-09-05 | Chicago, IL, US | Deep Dish Rust

Rust Happy Hour

2023-09-06 | Bellevue, WA, US | The Linux Foundation

Rust Global

2023-09-12 - 2023-09-15 | Albuquerque, NM, US + Virtual | RustConf

RustConf 2023

2023-09-12 | New York, NY, US | Rust NYC

A Panel Discussion on Thriving in a Rust-Driven Workplace

2023-09-12 | Minneapolis, MN, US | Minneapolis Rust Meetup

Minneapolis Rust Meetup Happy Hour

2023-09-14 | Seattle, WA, US | Seattle Rust User Group Meetup

Seattle Rust User Group - August Meetup

2023-09-19 | San Francisco, CA, US | San Francisco Rust Study Group

Rust Hacking in Person

2023-09-21 | Nashville, TN, US | Music City Rust Developers

Rust on the web! Get started with Leptos

2023-09-26 | Pasadena, CA, US | Pasadena Thursday Go/Rust

Monthly Rust group

2023-09-27 | Austin, TX, US | Rust ATX

Rust Lunch - Fareground

Oceania

2023-09-13 | Perth, WA, AU | Rust Perth

Rust Meetup 2: Lunch & Learn

2023-09-19 | Christchurch, NZ | Christchurch Rust Meetup Group

Christchurch Rust meetup meeting

2023-09-26 | Canberra, ACT, AU | Rust Canberra

September Meetup

If you are running a Rust event please add it to the calendar to get it mentioned here. Please remember to add a link to the event too. Email the Rust Community Team for access.

Jobs

Please see the latest Who's Hiring thread on r/rust

Quote of the Week

In [other languages], I could end up chasing silly bugs and waste time debugging and tracing to find that I made a typo or ran into a language quirk that gave me an unexpected nil pointer. That situation is almost non-existent in Rust, it's just me and the problem. Rust is honest and upfront about its quirks and will yell at you about it before you have a hard to find bug in production.

– dannersy on Hacker News

Thanks to Kyle Strand for the suggestion!

Please submit quotes and vote for next week!

This Week in Rust is edited by: nellshamrell, llogiq, cdmistman, ericseppanen, extrawurst, andrewpollack, U007D, kolharsam, joelmarcey, mariannegoldin, bennyvasquez.

Email list hosting is sponsored by The Rust Foundation

Discuss on r/rust

[ajqwrites]

COD: Modern Warfare Reboot (Under Siege - Book 1)

The white van came to a smooth halt just a short distance down the street.

The neighborhood was industrial—a stretch of old Southwark that had seen better days. The buildings were low-rise, brick and steel, once printing shops and warehouses, now converted into startup spaces, storage, or in this case—an illegal data farm. The air outside was damp. A thin mist hung low, blurring the amber glow of the streetlights. It smelled faintly of fuel and wet asphalt.

In the back of the van, John adjusted the suppressor on his HK USP, the click loud in the otherwise silent compartment.

Dressed in his black long-sleeve combat shirt, sleeves covered his arms with combat pants—dark grey, fitted, reinforced knees. Strapped in his low-profile combat vest—carrying spare mags, blade sheathed horizontally across his chest with fingerless tactical gloves. His head was covered with his usual fleece beanie that pulled low over his brow.

At his side, Ghost mirrored the same but with his black tactical hoodie under a lightweight assault rig. Combat pants, matching with John, and holding his suppressor-fitted SIG P226 at his hip and custom combat blades on his vest. His signature balaclava—a dark skull pattern, dark matte, with the lower half blacked out for stealth.

Between them, they carried only what was necessary.

Soap sat up front in the driver’s seat, glancing back through the small security window. His sleeves were rolled, radio earpiece in, engine still running softly.

“You lads ready?”

John gave a curt nod. “Almost.”

A small laptop sat open on the seat beside Ghost.

Her face filled the screen. She had tied her hair back hastily, headset on, eyes sharp with focus. Behind her, the soft glow of the base lounge. Cam was visible in the background, pacing slightly with her phone in hand. On the couch, Ivory rested in a baby wrap against Gabby’s chest, completely unaware her mother was running mission support.

“Target’s still inside,” Gabby reported quietly. “I’ve tapped into the local CCTV. Dunn hasn’t moved in hours. Two other heat signatures—likely bodyguards. Low-level security. Armed, but not trained. My breach protocol is ready when you secure him.”

“Copy,” John said.

Ghost leaned in. “What about the server farm?”

Gabby glanced at her second laptop to the side. “Once I’m in his system, I can ghost through his files and see what’s been flagged. Anything about Charlie. Or Harkin. Possibly Zakharov too.”

John nodded, slipping his sidearm into the holster at his thigh. “Good.”

Her eyes flicked toward him, serious. “Remember, NerdTic is freelance. Scare him good, and he’ll fold.”

His mouth tightened into something between a smile and a grim line. “I intend to.”

Ghost snorted softly. “Poor sod doesn’t know what kind of wolf he’ll meet.”

“We’ve got two minutes before foot patrol sweeps the back alley. Best window.” Soap said, adjusting the mirror before watching the empty street ahead.

John pulled on a comm earpiece, clicking it into place.

“Halo, stay ready. We’ll pull the data once the room’s secure.”

“Understood,” she said. “Cam’s watching the comms feed too.”

Ghost clipped his gloves, pistol checked and holstered.

“Alright, Cap. Let’s bag him.”

John nodded before moving to the door and sliding it open with a muted shhhhk. He stepped out first, boots silent against the damp pavement, and Ghost followed close behind.

The alley behind Dunn’s data farm was dim, lit only by a single flickering security light near the back entrance. Shadows stretched long between the dumpsters and the rusted fire escape ladders. Southwark’s cold air carried the scent of wet concrete and old oil.

One of their comms crackled softly in their ears.

“Sundance here. Patrol’s passed. You’re clear.”

John signaled Ghost with a two-finger motion to move.

When they hugged the wall, avoiding the pools of light. The rear door to the printing shop-turned-data farm was old metal, peeling paint, hinges rusted but oiled recently. Someone had tried to keep this place from drawing attention. Amateur at best.

John tested the handle.

Locked.

Ghost moved forward and produced a compact pry tool from his belt and slid it between the door and frame. A faint popechoed as the latch gave way.

They slipped inside.

As the interior was dark, broken only by the blue-white glow of server racks running along the walls. Wires crisscrossed the floor like spiderwebs. The hum of machines vibrated faintly through the metal grates beneath their boots. The building’s scent shifted—plastic, dust, and the unmistakable cold tang of recycled air.

Sundance’s voice came through again.

“Two heat signatures. Warehouse floor. One patrolling. One stationary near the north exit. Both armed.”

John tapped Ghost’s shoulder and pointed toward the north side. They moved in silent. Footsteps faint and their breaths controlled. They rounded the corner of the server racks, and the first bodyguard came into view. A bulky man in a leather jacket, rifle slung low, eyes lazy. He wasn’t a professional—and that’s a big mistake.

John moved first. Fast. 

He caught the man’s chin with one hand, wrenching his head back. The suppressed shot from his HK USP barked once—clean through the skull. The body dropped silently between the servers.

Ghost was already ahead, stalking the second.

The second guard turned too late when his gloved hand clamped over the man’s mouth. Yanking him backward into the shadows, his blade slid between the ribs—a silent kill.

John crouched by the first body, rifling through the man’s pockets. He found a burner phone.

Unlocked.

“Halo,” he whispered into the comm. “Sending you data. Check this number. Any contacts.”

“Received,” Gabby replied. “Working.”

Ghost rejoined him, wiping the blade clean against his pant leg.

“Two down. No alarm.”

John nodded at him. “Keep moving.”

When they moved to the far side of the warehouse opened into a smaller room—formerly the shop’s offices. A heavy steel door stood half-open, light spilling from within.

A voice came through the comm again.

“One heat signature. Sitting. Back to the door. No weapons in hand.” Sundance said.

John eased up to the doorway, pressing his back to the wall.

He could hear the faint tap of keys.

Ghost positioned himself on the other side of the door, weapon at the ready. John gave a brief nod, and Ghost swiftly moved to the right as John advanced directly forward, gun aimed.

“HANDS!”

Levi “NerdTic” Dunn barely had time to spin his chair.

“Wha—”

John grabbed him by the front of his hoodie, yanking him out of the chair and slamming him hard against the ground as John kneel and held him down. The hacker yelped while keeping his hands and arms open.

Ghost kicked the door shut behind them.

Dunn took in the two masked, armed men pinning him to the wall.

“Wh-who the fuck—?”

John pressed the HK USP suppressor to his back head.

“You know who.” His eyes were ice cold beneath him. “We’re going to have a conversation. And if you lie, you’ll wish Harkin had sent someone to kill you first.”

Dunn froze, mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water.

✨Return to Masterlist (RTM)✨

✨Chapter 98✨

👉🏽 Return to Main Post (RTMP) 👈🏽

[sellmycartrucknow]

Why More Residents Are Choosing Car Removal Fairy Meadow This Year

Old vehicles often sit unused, taking up space and lowering property appeal. A fresh approach has emerged. Car Removal Fairy Meadow offers a fast cash option and free pickup. Sellers gain funds without delay. A clear process replaces lengthy private sales. A short quote and scheduled removal suffice. The method fits busy lives. It turns a dormant asset into immediate money.

Why Fast Vehicle Removal Matters for Time and Space

Unused vehicles add risks. Flat tyres, rust spots and nest sites attract pests. Liability increases if the vehicle is not insured. Free space in driveways boosts home safety and appearance. Traditional disposal methods involve ads, calls and haggling. Many owners avoid the hassle.

Services for scrap car removal near me now offer set rates. There are no hidden fees. No towing charges. Owners receive direct payment. Paperwork is minimal. A quick booking via phone or online form secures a pickup date. Vehicles often leave on the same day. Empty driveways follow without wasted weekends.

How Old Vehicles Turn into Cash and Environmental Wins

Modern removal firms highlight both value and green impact. Each vehicle contains reusable metals and parts. Recycling reduces landfill loads. Steel and aluminium gain new life. Batteries and fluids get safe treatment.

Transparent quotes reflect current metal market values. No guesswork remains. Vehicle owners know exactly what to expect. A rusted sedan might yield more now than a decade ago. Demand for scrap metal has risen in recent months. Environmental focus also drives choice. Licensed providers follow strict disposal guidelines. They drain fluids before crushing. They sort materials for maximum reuse. This responsible method aligns with wider community goals.

Boost Vehicle Value Before Removal Pickup

Tackling vehicle removal is like planning a backyard barbecue in peak heat—good prep makes all the difference. 

Gather Vehicle Details

List make model, year and any damage. Exact data helps secure the best offer.

Choose a Licensed Removal Company

Check for proper accreditation and insurance. A licensed operator ensures legal recycling.

Time the Sale

Metal prices rise and fall. Aim for periods of high scrap demand. The end of the financial year often brings better rates.

Remove Personal Items and Extras

Clear out belongings before the inspection. Spare tyres or a working battery may add value.

Request On‑Site Quotes

A genuine provider will inspect your location. The written quote stays firm on removal day.

Errors to Avoid When Choosing Vehicle Removal Services

Several mistakes can reduce payout or add stress. Avoid these:

Accepting Phone‑Only Quotes

Verbal estimates may change on-site. Always ask for written confirmation.

Paying for Towing

Free pickup is standard. Any towing fees signal a poor offer.

Skipping Paperwork

Proper transfer forms prevent future liability. Ensure both parties sign.

Ignoring Provider Credentials

Unlicensed firms may mishandle hazardous fluids. Licence checks protect both parties.

Reputable junk vehicle removal services cover all steps. They safeguard the owner's interests and the environment.

Efficient Car Removal Solutions

Old cars no longer require endless ads and calls. Instant payments and free removal eliminate wasted effort. Clear quotes. Fast pick up—no towing bills. Proper recycling. Residents turn idle vehicles into cash. Driveways regain their value. Communities gain cleaner streets.

Modern removal services set a new norm. They replace delays with prompt action, convert clunkers into funds, and ensure safe, eco‑friendly disposal. Choosing Car Removal Fairy Meadow means swift cash and simple service. It restores space and peace of mind in one move.