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maxwell-grant · 2 years

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(AO3 link in case you’d prefer to read this there)

(The following text includes excerpts from: Private files and tapes of the A.I Gilbert “Gazebo”’, the field diary of Miss Ion, interviews with the NYU Emancipators Vulturine and Hayato, Yr Fgenar Fgbevr qv Noma Lacri #000-∞, and articles by The Daily Roger.) (FOR DOCTOR SANDRA KIRIGAMI’S EYES ONLY)

--------------------------ACCESS FILES------------------------

DAILY ROGER REPORT: October 13th, 1937 CHAOS AT HARPER MILL! A NEW MYSTERY MAN HOAX? Ongoing conflict between the Harper Mill workers and strikebreakers have escalated, as what was believed to be a surprise terrorist militia among the strikers is now reported, by multiple witnesses, to be instead the work of a single man. Said to operate in masked attire, under the cover of darkness, and with mysterious abilities yet to be determined. Is this a ploy by the Harper Mill strikes to generate fear or sympathy, or is this yet another Manhattan “Mystery Man” emerging? Who is this mysterious figure?

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

DR. KIRIGAMI: Thank you all for joining this meeting. I understand that some of you have approached me with concerns regarding the, conduct, of our most recent recruit, and some members of this board have expressed a desire to relocate him to our West Coast facility, or expel him from Emancipator membership entirely. Mr. Bill is willing to accept consequences for his assault on Director Vijgen. He has also expressed rather, colorfully, that he "would do it again" if deemed necessary.

I have called this meeting together so I could offer my viewpoint, as his appointed psychologist, and with the backing of his teammates, as to why I believe he should be allowed to remain a member of the NYU Emancipators, for the time being.

Let us review the facts, regarding the case of

--------------*click*-----------------------

I was, out of commission when he showed up. I reviewed the footage later on the team's cameras and, well, I'd say his name really does do him justice. He shows up quick as a cannonball, bursting through my outer layer and fighting off the bloody things He seemed to have considerable experience fighting them off, and a not so considered regard for his own safety. A total stranger who had underwent a great deal of personal harm and given us enough time and luck to pull a miracle, and give Miss Noma enough time to fix me. I certainly expected no different, of course, but I'm glad the team brought him along. It would be most unseemly to leave him to die on that, awful place.

GILBERT “Gazebo”: Artificial Intelligence, built by former team leader of the NYU Emancipators Andy “Hunk” Huxley. Currently transcribing these files. Hullo!

“Yeah, you could tell this guy was, like, reaally old-school. Prolly took a mammoth to school instead of a bus, right? You know those homemade costume parties you see in family pictures, those really embarrassing ones? He was dressed like that. I didn't even think guys like these, with the underwear and capes and all, actually existed for real, I thought the president or whoever just made em up to sell war stamps.”

VULTURINE: Civilian name Marco Craine. African-American male, 22. New Orleans-based vigilante. Inhuman physiology, liquid-manipulation powers. Claims to be a vampire, possibly part of a concentrated effort in his part to make his powers seem cool instead of gross.

“...I slipped up, should have seen them coming, too many of them coming at us, of course others wouldn't be able to tell in time, cволочь Huxley... Wait, sorry, I, rambling, yes. He, -cough-, Mr.Bill really saved us, just now. I don't know how he went undetected by the morksaya. Me and Noma observed, his readings aren't that different from ours. A little more faint, yes and, they shouldn’t be. His missing teeth and injured ribs don't seem like recent injuries either and… Look I'm, I gotta go back to medical bay, I'm assisting in fixing up the man, making sure he didn't bring anything with him from the canal, and he’s not taking the mask off so they need me to scan for head injuries, can we do this later? K, davai.

MISS ION: Civilian name Kristi Kartoshka. Russian female, 31. Powers include proton manipulation for combat, evasive maneuvers, and healing purposes. Engineering background.

Not-Supposed-To-Be-There. Nowhere-Man. Sad-Man Not-Supposed-To-Be-Here. Ignorant-0F-Himself-Man. Liar-Man No-Place-For-That-Man. Wants-To-Find-Man-Again...Good-Man.

NOMA LACRI: Civilian name and age unknown. Confirmed to have been born human of Italian descent. Has gone by Maria or Lisa on separate occasions, should investigate further You-Will-Not.

“I know, I know, superhero stuff but, it's weird, it's, dude that's, that's Cannon freaking Bill! He's like this old, old guy that my grandpa used to fight with, and part of the team now. Man he's, shorter than I expected and, oh he just saved our as-butts, my bad, by barreling through a wall and wrestling those weird mech-zombies trying to kill us. Like, whaat? It's crazy!...Kinda sus that he was in the Deep Shit Canal* in the first place tho, I mean -”

HAYATO: Civilian name Jeremy Axton. Japanese-American, 24. Millionaire crimefighter based around Lexington, Kentucky. Wielder of the Inkpot Staff and it’s varied magical abilities. Passed out from exertion after giving this statement.

(*"Deep Shit Canal" refers to the uncharted location colloquially known as Desert Snow Canal. Mr.Axton and Mr.Craine both claim innocence in coining that particular variation.)

—----------*click*------------------

DAILY ROGER REPORT: May 24, 1938 CANNON BILL STRIKES AGAIN! The masked terrorist known as Snake Mist was apprehended this morning after a bombing attempt, along with most members of his cult, one of which was revealed to be Senator Jim Vijgen. Press statements reveal that Snake and Vijgen were apprehended by a local masked hero known in the neighborhood as “Cannon Bill”. He was last spotted during the arrest of legbreaker Bart Langley, and has been spotted operating within Morrisania, Little Brazil, Bronx, and even on Staten Island. Cannon Bill spoke briefly with the press and promptly hailed a cab away from the scene. Local police suspect that Cannon Bill might not have been acting alone, as the bomb defusion and Snake’ss apprehending were executed within minutes and at considerable distances from each other. It is unknown whether this Mystery Man has any affiliation with the likes of The Stygian Ant, Colleen Dice or Father Hatchet.

DAILY ROGER REPORT: October 16, 1939 BODYCOUNT RISES AS MONSTER ATTACK CONTINUES Father Hatchet disappeared from his cell last night as his gang, led by a mysterious new lieutenant only known as Frère Jacques, continues to run rampant throughout the Seventh Avenue. Frère Jacques, who appears to be a 10-feet-tall Frankenstein-esque being in friar clothing, appears immune to gunfire, and has reportedly even defeated local hero Cannon Bill in combat. Cannon Bill’s current whereabouts are unknown, as he was retrieved by a passing car quickly after falling from the top of an 8th story building where, reportedly, Hatchet and his gang where holding out.

—----------N-O-M-A-----------------

Doesn't-See-Me-Like-Monster. See-Himself-Like-Monster. Monster-Took-Him-Away.

—-----------*click*----------------

DR. KIRIGAMI: The Emancipators were performing a rescue mission on realm WN-34, at the Desert Snow Canal, a dangerous and hostile river surrounded by broken remnants of a bygone civilization. Said river is made up of a black powder that falls from the skies, concentrated within the canal. It isn’t harmful to human touch, but it has pitfalls, and it hides the real danger of these lands: The “Chrono-Cadavers”, as Gilbert calls them, you’ve all received reports on the cadavers and how they function, what seems to be their origin or leader. Our limited understanding of how these creatures function was a problem for the eventuality of having to face them, and part of the reason Huxley volunteered to go.

The Emancipators had traveled to dimension WN-34 in order to rescue their team leader, Andy Huxley, who had been stranded there on a recon assignment and sent a distress signal. We now understand that this was part of a plan.

As you are aware, your fellow board member, Director Vijgen, and Huxley had worked out a ploy together to ensure that the team's trip to the Desert Snow Canal would go awry, that the team would be caught unprepared and face a potential catastrophe that would only be averted through a last-ditch rescue from Huxley, who would reappear fending off the creatures with the Mark H battlesuit. The built-in cameras and microphones within the ship would have recorded said events and stored it in our database.

Capitalizing off the tragedy, it was Huxley’s intent to outfit the team with Mark H battlesuits and use them to test said suits, before inevitably mass-producing them and lending them out to V.A.P.O.R field agents, and from those, to the US military, or whoever paid the highest bidder. In order to kickstart this, Vijgen would have used this incident to push for more urgent measures within this board of directors, and if voted otherwise, said footage would leak to the media. Positive press for Huxley and the suits, negative press for anyone who vetoed against their usage, public whipped into a frenzy at the sight of a horrid threat only a new super-weapon could stop.

Either way, both Huxley and Vijgen would get what they wanted. A rather predictable plan, really, but nobody on the team was onto it.

There was one little hiccup, however: Huxley never showed up.

---------MISS ION-------------

GOD DAMN IT, I KNEW IT, I KNEW IT WAS A TRAP. I WAS SO STUPID, HOW DID I NOT- …..

Breathe, girl, breathe. It’s fine. Everyone is fine. We came back without casualties and all injuries fixed, and we rescued the man who rescued us back there. We averted the unthinkable. Breathe.

……….

The audacity of that bastard. I’m not even sure if we should tell the rest of the Emancipators? I mean, we’ll have to, but I’m scared if any of the other teams still think Huxley’s coming back, or even should come back. I don’t think it’s sunk in for the rest of them how we were betrayed. We’re all still a little shaken over it all.

I don’t wanna be the one to break it to them how it happened, that he did make contact just before the morskaya struck. I didn’t understand it fast enough, when I’d heard him talk to Gazebo and the director over the intercom:

"Sorry, mate. I got a better offer elsewhere."

—------HAYATO AND VULTURINE----------

“I got claws, I got teeth, I can fly, I can suck blood, what else is missing?”

“You don’t even drink blood, first of all, and you can’t be a vampire if you can go out in the sun, bro”

“Yes I can, that just makes me a better vampire.”

“No it - wait, yeah, we gotta focus, we’re doing a thing about Bill”

“Yeah, Bill. See, Bill didn’t give me shit about whether I’m a “real” vampire or not, and I’d only known him for like three days. He didn’t do that thing everyone else does where they’re like, oh hey it’s Kid Dracula hahaha, oh but vampires are not real, oh you’re just LARPing like, dude, shut up. How come all of you go around calling yourself Captain Fantastic Man just cause you dress funny, but I can’t be a vampire cause you don’t think the way I do it counts? Where’s the respect?”

“Oh yeah bro, you’re a real masterclass in respect”

“Zip it, Tweety. Point is, Bill didn’t do that. And, y’know, that was cool.”

“He was going to stake you through the heart the second he woke up and saw you.”

“Well, duh, that’s what the rest of you SHOULD have done, if you took this hero thing seriously.”

—------*click*------

DR KIRIGAMI: Upon his recovery, I assisted Cannon Bill in the process of adjusting to his new environment. Contrary to what his teammates expected, he had his memory intact, and he had jumped forward in time from the 1980s, instead of the 1940s. It seems he was one more victim of the, well, You-Know-What, as reports indicate he was injured even before battling the cadavers.

Our means of temporal travel were damaged, and we needed as much help as possible following Huxley’s betrayal and the pressing need to eventually re-enter WN-34, but we promised Bill to take him back to his time period as soon as possible, an offer he refused. For private reasons, he deemed it important that he stay behind and work with us to fix the problem. The problem being, successions of hundreds of other problems big and small but, one step at a time better than no step at all. That is how Cannon Bill joined the Emancipators. That is how he became my patient as well.

I find it imperative to bring this up because, and it must be stressed, that Cannon Bill joined us entirely of his own volition. That he rejected the option to return home, an option he still has should he so desire, to instead remain here in this strange distant future.

And yes, it goes without saying that his stay here hasn’t been without frustrations.

--------*click*---------

Bill has been rather sturdy, in his resistance to cooperation. All members of the Manhattan Emancipators wear suits wired to my communications hub, standard procedure. No earpieces, those were troublesome, the ear coverings built into the suits take care of that. But... Well, forgive me if I sound petty but, he doesn’t seem to like me very much - “Gazebo”

Sensory overload. Well he, didn’t call it that, the term wasn’t known in his time, but it was pretty clearly what he was trying to describe when I asked him. I can relate, yes, even if ours is different. He gets very uncomfortable with jarring noises as well as having his ears blocked or even touched by anything. He joked that he lost his front tooth making sure a neighborhood bully "got the memo" and that his mikvah took forever just because he kept complaining to the rabbi about getting his ears wet, and his Ma never let him live that down. We're finding workarounds to communicate with him on the field. - MISS ION’s Field Diary

“Oh dude he did NOT like Gazebo at all, it was pretty funny. I mean, I'm mostly used to tuning that thing out, but Bill? He spent a couple of training sessions looking like he was gonna pull a Van Gogh on the spot everytime Gazebo gave him directions, or patched him over to someone, or cracked banter in that Monty Python voice he's got. Wish we did city training just so he'd flip a car or something” - VULTURINE

“I think he'd kill me if I said "ok boomer" in earshot” - HAYATO

“Nobody uses that joke anymore, idiot. Besides he's like, pre-boomer, he's gotta be like silent generation or something. Wasn't he middle-aged when your grandpa was active?” - VULTURINE

.”..Actually yeah, he was grandpa's senior, when was this guy born exactly?” - HAYATO

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

DAILY ROGER REPORT: November 22, 1940 MYSTERY MEN JOIN THE WAR EFFORT A local coalition has reached the Daily Roger to announce their existence. Consisting of several local “super-heroes”, they have announced the formation of a group in order to join the upcoming war effort and provide assistance to the Allied forces. Calling themselves the “Camelot Circle of America”, the group’s leader has reached out to the press with the intent of transparency with the public, with the hopes of acquiring trust in such difficult times.

Among the super-heroes present within this group is our local bruiser “Cannon Bill”, who makes his first public appearance in over a year, showing what seems to be a full recovery from his battle with the monstrous criminal Frère Jacques. He declined to speak with the press on any affairs.

—-----Gazebo--------------

He did join the Camelot Circle of America along with Mr Axton's grandfather, but after that, very little from 1945-onwards. He wasn't around for the team's disbanding in 1952. Some news reports in the late 40s, 50s, 60s, and nothing in the 70s and 80s until the, You-Know-What, happened. And obviously he was there, no superhero or supervillain at the time, active or retired or even dead, could ignore the call at You-Know-What.

Said You-Know-What seems to be how he wound up in the Desert Snow Canal in costume. I'd heard of some superheroes who survived the event and were found weeks, months, even years later, stranded in locations without memories of how they got there or who they were. But he's been very clear that he remembers everything. That he did join the fight, during You-Know-What, and that he took off from home. He must have known he'd wind up somewhere he couldn't come back from.

Which raises the possibility that he wanted to be there.

—------N-O-M-A---------

"You-gotta-get-up, partner, we-can't-stay-here, gotta-stop-them, we'll-make-it-through-this-I-promise-but-please-get-up, get-up, get-up, get-up, get-up, get-up, get-up…"

What-This-What-You Leave-Man-Alone LEAVE-Past-Alone

----------Miss Ion’s Personal Diary---------

I was actually not that surprised to find out he was a cat guy. You all think it's nonsense when I tell you, cat people can recognize each other, but it's true. I knew that cranky slab of concrete had a soft spot somewhere. I’d say I probably made a lot of progress today in getting him to use smartphones just by showing all the pictures of Miya I can store and look at whenever I feel like it. I joked that back in his day he’d probably have to carry photos in his wallet to do that, and then he just pulled a dusty wallet from his belt with, what else, some cat pictures.

I forgot to write this early but, Bill is actually a veterinarian. Or, was, he’s not practicing now but, from what he told me, way back after the war was over and he decided to retire from superhero work, he wanted to go back to school and “make something out of himself”, get a degree and everything. And so he wound up becoming a veterinarian.

I asked why he didn't become a doctor outright, and he said he didn't think he was smart enough for it, and that he also thinks all doctors with superpowers or super-tech end up going bad. That there's a "pipeline" from getting a degree to costumed terrorism. I, I do get it. I don't think that's universally true (maybe we should ask Dr Kirigami about this next session) but, I get his reasoning all too well.

He did tell me that sometimes he was asked to patch up some heroes who couldn’t get proper medical attention, and he didn’t like it very much, but “them’s the breaks”. I don’t get what that means. He was offered to get his teeth fixed in here and he refused, said it "keeps me smart, keeps me from being too much of a wise guy". Does he think being wise and being smart are opposites? Probably some cartoon expression that makes more sense to English speakers.

I do think it's upsetting that he downplays his intelligence like that. I've seen him on field, when he stops throwing himself at problems and actually listens and thinks, he is very quick on his feet and good at counter-planning. But even besides that, didn't he create the alkaline formula that gave him his powers? He seemed rather confused by my questions and I left it at that.

He doesn't ask me invasive questions, least I could do is return the favor.

—-----HAYATO AND VULTURINE-----------

“We did find common ground on one thing: The costumes. They suck! I mean, YOU can afford bulletproofing those giant shiny wings to fly around in, but me and the girls have been stuck making do with drab pajamas for way too long and hey, turns out even the dinosaur agrees with me on that. I'm a vampire! Not dressing up in style’s practically a death sentence”

“It’s not like we all dress up the same, bro. I don’t know what it is with you and Ion, Noma never complains about her uniform.”

“Dude, Noma IS her uniform, kinda, and come on, you think anyone’s gonna try and enforce dress code policy with her?”

“You make her sound too mean sometimes, bro.”

“She’s awesome! Really, I don’t think she’s mean enough, for someone who can just eat her problems away.”

-sigh- “Well anyway, at least you got something with him. It’s, he really just doesn’t have much patience for jokes, and I get with yours, as a comedian you make an excellent mortician, but-”

“Comedian AND mortician, I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“-I mean, look, I get that some of this modern superhero stuff is not his speed but, come on, you really gonna tell me he didn’t crack one-liners back in his day? That he wasn’t pulling out zingers while punching Capone’s face in or whatever?”

“I think those guys had more serious catchphrases, like, “The milk of crime spoils fast! And the bill of evil doesn’t come cheap! So says Cannon Bill!” and then he just shoots everybody while they’re confused.”

“Ooooh wait, we haven’t gotten around to making bill-based puns with him! Yeah, guarantee he’s not gonna resist pulling one of those eventually.”

“You know how old people are, they like their jokes like farts in an elevator. You never see it coming and you can’t escape it once they do.”

“TMI, bro. But, yeah, I was getting to that, he knew my grandpa. Grandpa loved his one-liners, and so did a lot of those other Camelot dudes he hung out with. I just, you’d think a guy dressing up in circus colors would be a little less moody. I’m not criticizing him! Really, I’m not, I just, don’t like seeing people down.”

“See, this is why you get picked for team leader, because you take a look at all this and you think, “Well, I say! There’s not enough clownery in this circus! I’ll get the octagenarian to laugh at my fart jokes or die trying! Die trying is my middle name!”

-laugh- “Eat shit, bro”.

—-------*click*-------------------

DR. KIRIGAMI: However, it must be emphasized that, over the past couple of weeks, Cannon Bill has made progress, in regards to adapting to modern times, the demands of the job in regards to his duty as an Emancipator, and to his teammates. He has adapted to us, and we have adapted to him, as it should be in any collaborative effort.

He dislikes the suits, but he works with them, and we make some accommodations for his discomfort. He dislikes comm links, but together we devise other ways of communicating. He’s not used to informality and humor, but he’s adapted to it. From our sessions, it even seems to be having a positive effect on him. He’s having some difficulties still, and he still has never unmasked before me or his teammates. We all respect that, and so will you.

I bring this up as part of my plea. You gentlemen must remember that the Emancipators started, first and foremost, as an initiative to redeem and uplift. A group that took in heroes, and even villains willing to sincerely redeem themselves, and through careful education and training, we allowed them to make better lives for themselves. The Emancipators were never designed to be the next Pantheon of Aegis, the next Kamigata Dynasty, it was never a competition for ratings or money or whatever carrot you dangle before yourselves to do anything. V.A.P.O.R has spent the past decades trying to groom us into becoming the next Vanguard and, well, you must forgive me for once again expressing what a terminally idiotic idea that is. I simply have to, when said mindset was what led to the catastrophe before you. A catastrophe that was indeed averted, by the man you’re trying to get rid of.

Still, you did demand to know which member tagged along with him, when he marched up to Director Vijgen’s office, and no platoon of armed officers could stop him. I will be delighted to inform you, actually:

—-------HAYATO AND VULTURINE-------

“…Don’t tell me you’re thinking about going back there, dude.”

“I’m not! I’m not, it’s just. Look, I don’t wanna be like, I’m not running off on my own, and I know it’s not my grandpa in there. But…man, what if it’s someone’s grandpa still?”

“Like, whom?”

“I don’t know! But if all those grey things used to people, we should be going back for them. Even…even if we can’t save them, at least give them funerals. Let em die like people, y’know, and not whatever else they've been made into. They gotta have someone waiting for them back home, right?”

“…”

“…Sorry dude, my bad, didn’t mean to-”

“It’s fine. It’s stupid, is what it is, but it’s fine. Look it’s, let's just let Dr Kiri and the suits sort out that mess. We gotta start prepping up Bill’s party.”

“Wait, what? Bill’s having a party?”

“Not any party, idiot, it’s Rosh Hashanah. We’re gonna do a Jewish New Year thing for him as a team. Kristi’s idea, really.”

(It was not Kristi’s idea, but Craine had a long-standing policy of never risking embarrassment by admitting to doing anything nice).

“Oh, cool! When?”

“…No idea, actually.”

“Wait, what?”

“Yeah I, uh, I don’t know when it is.”

“Can’t you just Google it?”

“I keep getting inconsistent dates, I don’t know if those’ve changed since his time, I don’t know when he celebrates it.”

“Can’t we just ask him?”

“Oh yeah, sure, let’s ask the guy when is his own surprise party happening!”

“But how are we-”

(We’re cutting off the tape by this point as the discussion no longer has anything to do with Cannon Bill’s case. It must be stressed, however, that a surprise Rosh Hashanah is a terrible idea, and that it isn't really a party the way Marco and Jeremy presumed, but, they'll figure it this out later with some help).

------------N-O-M-A-----------

"Gotta-try, gotta-try-for, for-the-both-of-us" Irresponsible-Data. Intrusive-Data. NOT-FOR-YOU-Data.

We-Trust-Doctor. We-Trust-Team. Do-Not-Trust-Others.

Many-Others-In-World. World-Hurt-Man. World-Hurt-Team.

ARE-YOU-WORLD?

WORLD-HURT-US

HURT

WORSE

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

Kristi’s Personal Diary

We, ended up talking about Petyr.

Everyone on the team knows it, I made it clear as day that I wouldn’t be working with someone who had a problem with it. I guess I just put off talking with him cause, y’know.

I was actually just gonna bring up this theory I had regarding his powers, see if he could confirm any of my notes on how his time desynch works (he might not like that name and, well it’s his power, but I do think it helps to explain, also it sounds cool) but, some work stuff got in the way and I forgot. Only remembered now I was, supposed to bring that up to him. He asked me why I picked my name, why Miss Ion, and then we just kinda, talked.

We ended up talking about things, memories, of sorts, outside of Dr Kirigami’s office. Things we left behind, things we missed, things we were glad to be away from. Scientific curiosity - no, no, stop, do we really gotta look for the worst intentions all the time even from ourselves? Don’t do that to yourself.

From what he tells me, he never married, never even really dated much. He stopped taking in clients a while before departing, left the pets in his care either with their owners or with people he could trust to look after them better. Said he only really missed his cat, but he trusted his niece to take better care of her than he did. He misses his family but, he didn't have much left before he went, and they must have made peace with him being dead, he says he doesn’t want to take that away from them, that he’ll drop by once he finishes the mission. And so he asked me if I had “folks” looking after me.

So, I told him about Petyr. I mean, there’s not much to talk about, I just, kinda explained to him why Petyr wasn’t a boyfriend, wasn’t a relative or whatever. I do love Petyr, Petyr was doing the best he could, but… I was Petyr but Petyr wasn’t me, I told him. And that’s the why I can’t really go back to my “folks” and, I made peace with that. I made peace with Petyr, others didn’t. My family would have preferred to make peace with my death than me living in a way they couldn’t claim. So, I refused to die. I had someone to live for, still.

He says he didn’t get it but, I think he got it. He made an effort, at least. He became very quiet when I told him I had someone to live for. I didn’t ask, but I think he wanted to tell me something important.

He took a deep breath, and he was reaching for his mask when Dr Kirigami called him for their next session.

—------------*click*--------------------

DR.KIRIGAMI: Well, it was me. You certainly did not think I'd sit by and let Vijgen's plan be forgotten, if not tried again, at the expense of my patients. You certainly seem to forget the things that this team is capable of. And I certainly don't think you've forgotten who I used to be, what I used to do, to protect my own.

Calm yourselves. This is not a threat. Anemia endulged in threats. Dr Kirigami merely makes stern warnings. At present, I do not know if any of you were a part of Huxley and Vijgen's plot, and if so, how many. So I lay this warning to all of you: I am not your enemy, and neither is my team. The upper management at V.A.P.O.R likes to think of the Emancipators as just another military branch of the organization. They underestimate how useful that delusion is to us, and so I let them. You, however, are not the upper management, you are the middle men, those who take the blame in situations like these. They would quietly destroy or execute all of you, if reports of Vijgen's role in the incoming crisis reached the public. Because Bill and I got to him in time, he's merely being transferred, more scared than hurt.

In his days prior to the costume and powers, you see, Bill made a habit of letting Pinkertons pick their own teeth off the sidewalk, and making sure everyone could see them do so, to make a point of it. Give them a chance to stop and do good, or see how worse it could get.

It is the chance Bill is giving you now. I would not have been so kind. You’d be surprised at how persuasive a man of so few words can be.

Consider this, when you play your part in deciding his fate.

—--------ACCESS CLOSED—-------------

A combination of his own effort, remarkable luck, and the efforts of his teammates made it so Cannon Bill wound up not being transferred or fired, for assaulting the once prestigious Director Vijgen. Kelvin Vijgen himself would wind up calling the board of directors, insisting that Cannon Bill be allowed to remain on the team, out of fear of consequences from the upper management at V.A.P.O.R if the situation escaped containment, a greater fear of incurring Bill and Kirigami’s wrath again as well as that of the NYU Emancipators, and perhaps, just a smidge of regret.

Cannon Bill had been consigned to a form of house arrest within the Emancipators headquarters and not allowed access to the internet or smartphones, a punishment vastly more effective to 21st century adults than to him. He sits in his room at present now, unmasked and with reading glasses, quietly reading the tutorials Miss Ion left him on how to paint nano-tech costumes. It’s a work-in-progress, but one he's getting the hang of. Unmasked, he looks rather unremarkable. A short, balding, square-jawed old man, packed with muscle. No abs to speak of, but with a strong gut, a weight lifter's gut. Sturdy hands capable of uprooting oak tree stumps held a paintbrush in most delicate fashion. He wanted to get this right. He had to get this right.

Cannon Bill had no idea when he would ever return to WN-34, whether he would be forced to fight hollow mockeries from his past again, and the thought of whether his teammates would survive said excursion eclipsed any fears towards his own survival. He had no idea his teammates were currently busy calling up other Jewish superheroes to learn the right way to throw him a celebration. He had no idea when would he reveal his true name to them, and he paid no mind to such affairs right now.

The seas of time parted open to give him a moment of solitude after so long, and he’d take any breather he could.

By his side, his wallet laid open atop the table he was using to work. Often, he liked to look at pictures of Brick, a big sturdy beast some would mistake for a housecat, to calm himself down, as it was impossible to take much of anything seriously looking at Brick. His niece must have loved her so much, God bless her. But he was looking at a different photo now. Very, very grainy in quality, not preserved quite right, but it was all he had still.

Of two men standing in front of a taxi car, arms around each other’s shoulders. One of these men was a short and stocky man in a suit, wearing a duckbill cap, and he had his eyes closed and a great big smile on his face. He had never been much good for smiling in photos, and so his father taught him this wonderful trick of yelling a dirty word you find funny just before the shot, a trick that did wonders for his insecurities about his missing teeth. His name…well, it remains his. A mystery man is entitled to some mystery, no?

The other man was taller, leaner, and his smile was more reserved, if no less warm. He was dressed in a strange strongman get-up, wearing a skintight yellow bodysuit with blue shorts, gloves and cowl. His name was William Ken Scott, and though his eyes were not visible behind the cowl, he didn’t care he had accidentally ruined the shot, too busy staring at his companion instead of the camera.

“You hang tight in there, partner. I got this far, right? …I’m not quitting on us.”

#my writing #tagging #dan schkade #since this started as a prompt to that idea #superheroes #cannon bill #fyi Bill is Sephardic Jewish #didn't find space to put that in but I thought it was important to clarify

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slightlystupidhun · 2 years

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My Supernova

A One-shot fic based on a head cannon by @fregget-frou

In this work, David is the captain of the DSE or Dahlia Space Explorer. He has his trusty crew with him as they travel through space on an expedition to understand more about the ‘Great Beyond.’ But what happens when one day, he finds something they could never have prepared for?

Valentines Day Edition

The ship was pristine, top of the line in every aspect. It had the highest grade technology anyone could ask for, state of the art weaponry, was made of the strongest material known to man, and was fit with the best crew a captain could ask for.

The silver ship was primarily recognized by the large letters on the side. D.S.E. The Dahlia Space Explorer. A simple name, that left virtually nothing to the imagination, but it served its purpose. The captain of the ship was none other than David Shaw, the son of world renown astrophysicist Gabriel Shaw, his mother was also an extremely talented Astronomer but unfortunately passed away far too young. Now, David Shaw, he was the first captain of a modern age space explorer to expand its research beyond the the Milky Way galaxy.

“Asher, Status check?” He turned to his right hand man. His co-captain. Asher. Asher’s parents had both been normal citizens, however his sister ended up becoming a O.S.D. Outer space defender, consistently watching to make sure no other being was coming to the mother ship to harm all of its inhabitants. Asher admired her work and always strived to be as inspiring as his sister. He had been close with David since they were kids and nearly leapt at the opportunity to come along on the operation with him.

“All is good captain. All members reported feeling fine after the hyper speed jump and all of our supplies remained in tact. We are still on course for Originem Sanctus. Since you insisted on staying up at all hours, the ship has not strayed from its course.” The man informed turning his captains chair around to face him. “Boss maybe you need a break? I mean it wouldn’t hurt. And we could really use you in tip top shape!” Asher pushed as David rolled his eyes.

“I’m fine. Just a tad exhausted. It’s nothing I haven’t dealt with before.” He replied rubbing his face.

“Nope! Sorry buddy but you need rest. Can’t have a captain that doesn’t have the energy to captain. Besides I wanna Teleshift with Babe so unless you want to hear that.” He paused and David shot up out of the seat. The captain quickly walked out of the room, stopping in the arched metal doorway.

“Get me in 15 hundred.” It was an order not a question but Asher nodded anyway.

David walked through the metallic white hallways, lined with navy blue. He looked through one of the doors that automatically opened at his presence. It was Milo, his number one engineer. Milo’s mother had been an extremely talented doctor, one that found a cure for many a disease. And his father had been one of the top O.S.D’s of his time. Milo was in the company of the ships E.T.A. Or extra terrestrial advisors. David hadn’t known much about them, other than the fact that they were highly recommended and at the top of their field. Milo had surely taken a liking to them, if the echoing hallways on their rendezvous together had anything to add to the point. Once he was sure that the pair was fine, he continued his walk down the hallway to the oxygen hub.

He saw Huxley standing there alongside Damien. Huxley had been a great teacher and had always been keen on filling Damien in on the happenings of the bio lab.

David acknowledged their position and walked passed the medical bay. There he could see Tanker sitting on one of the cots next to Sam. They were being patched up after they had a slip up using some of the weaponry. They were the expert on the weapons and no one knew them better. David watched as Sam observed the small cut on their hand, understanding that it was not that big of a deal, and continued on his way.

He got to his quarter and quickly pressed the button to shut and seal the mechanical door. His pod was a decent size, able to fit a king size bed, a closet, dresser, nightstand, Hologram, and desk. His bed faced a large window that looked out into the vast emptiness that was space. He relaxed himself into bed, finally letting himself succumb to his exhaustion.

He woke up to continuous thudding on his pod door. He turned his gaze over to the slab of metal and tapped the screen on his wrist. The door then slid open and a smiling Asher walked through.

“Hey buddy, we’ll be arriving at Originem Sanctus in about sixty two seconds.” With that David quickly got out of bed and followed Asher back to the control room. The rather small planet was coming into view and it was gorgeous. The planet itself seemed to have a glow to it. It was obviously nearing the later hours for this side of the planet as the many pieces of land seemed to glow. It was odd, this planet seemed to resemble earth so much, but it had its own air of beauty and mystery to it. It almost seems lost in time.

The ship quickly prepared for landing, finding one of the flat surfaces among a field of purple and pink, it seemed as though the minty color of the grass was made to fit the pastel colors of the flowers surrounding it. David was the first to gear up and step off the ship. He put on his helmet and stepped out onto the field, followed by Asher, and Huxley. They found that the gravity was so similar to earths. The look of the planet was almost like someone drew earth through the lense of a child’s dreams. Soft, warm, comforting.

Huxley reached out and collected a sample of the shrubbery taking a few tests to make sure that it was in fact safe to be around. It was. So Huxley gave them the all clear to send out their crew with them. David was the first to take off his helmet and was not at all shocked to find that there was Oxygen. You could breathe freely. The air here, felt fresher than anything he had ever felt before. He had to cough a few times as his lungs needed to adjust to the cleanliness it consumed.

The total exploration crew consisted of Tank, Asher, Huxley, Sam, and of course David. They all began their walk into the large wooded area. The trees were tall and winding. Their leaves a soft green, their branches a tan color. The vines were long and tangled amongst each other and other trees. It was gorgeous, something you would only be able to afford to see once in your life.

As they were walking deeper they heard a branch snap. The crews head turned in the direction of the sound and David raised a hand signaling them to stop. He stepped forward slowly, and was able to begin making out the figure of what looked to be a human. He stepped forward and finally peeked over the branch and was met with glowing eyes. Their color so vibrant it seemed to give off light not even their high powered flashlights could. Their eyes changed colors inconsistently but pretty often. Their skin was a baby blue color, and around their face, were silver glitter like marks.

They stood up to meet him, not really able to compete with his gigantic frame. They looked at him and turned their head in a way that he thought was similar to a puppy. His crew stood frozen. Shock adorned all of their faces. He lowered his hands and tried to speak to them.

“Hello… Can you understand me?” He stared at them earnestly.

“#}<€+¥_~.•” They replied. Even though he couldn’t understand them. He was enraptured by their voice the sound so ethereal. He put one hand up, raised in the dense and slowly reached into his pocket. They directed their attention towards his hand, staring at it curiously. He then pulled out two bracelets. They were translation devices Milo had made. They were able to allow those who wore them, full understanding of the other. David put the silver metal around his wrist and then reached his other hand out, offering them the metal. They quickly took it and smiled up at him. They mirrored his action of slipping on the bracelet and looked up at him sickeningly sweet.

“Can you understand me now?” He asked them cautiously, observing their reactions. They perked up so bright and let out a small laugh.

“Yes! I can understand you! And you can understand me?” They asked back.

“Yes. I can.” He answered and signaled his crew to come closer. “We are from earth, a few million light years away. We are currently on an expedition to understand more about the unknown.”

“Oh! Well I have heard of earth before but… I haven’t heard much about it’s inhabitants. Many of us here have actually explored your galaxy, many times over. Some, less cautious than others.” They informed him smiling at his conflicted expression. “So what do you need to learn?”

“Well I would like to learn more about your planet and it’s customs. If possible.” He answered simply.

“I would love to help you learn more. Fortunately for you, you ran into me, and I am one of our many scientists here. I believe that you’ll find we aren’t that much different from you all. Although if we’re being frank, we don’t have beings as attractive as you here.” They smiled up at him devilishly. A bright pink color dusted his cheeks and Asher immediately caught on. Was this E.T. making a move on their captain? Bold. Very bold.

“Ahem.” He cleared his throat. “That is not one of the things I’m researching here. Can we please stay on topic.” He crossed his arms.

“I supposed, but I can’t make promises that I won’t strike again.” They said, a cat like look in their eyes. They winked at him and began the walk back to civilization. The small group following in tow.

—————

It had been around a week since they first landed on Originem Sanctus. They had fallen into a routine. Everyday as soon as light began to shine on the face of their planet, there would be a knock on the iron door of the D.S.E. David would gather the recruits for the day always leaving at least two on board. They would go to the large civilization and straight to the research center. The city was simple yet complex. It was not the most advanced looking place from the outside. It was humble and quaint, however, on the inside they had extremely advanced technology. Everything was a small piece of a much larger moving system. The payment each team received was essentially information.

David would never admit this but he had began taking a liking to the extra terrestrial, even going as far as to give them a nickname, Angel. Slowly but surely they were working their way into his heart. In fact most days, he finished getting ready to go about an hour before they usually came knocking. Asher noticed David checking himself in the mirror more often before going out.

—————

They had now been on the small planet for about four months. David was absolutely hopeless. He would find any excuse to be by their side or spend extra time with them. He was falling for them. Hard. This was obvious to anyone who observed them. Everyone knew that despite consistently shrugging them off, David always wanted to be around them. Everyone knew that Angels flirting held more veracity than an average person would expect. It was on this particular day that David realized just how bad he had it for them.

“What was so important that you needed to drag me away from the crew to show me? Are you finally gonna kill me?” He mused a sarcastic grin finding its way onto his features.

“I wanted to show you something, but if you aren’t interested then we could always go back.” They shrugged knowing that he would never deny them. They grabbed his hand, his calloused skin a stark contrast to their smooth ones. His hold was surprisingly gentle, despite them knowing that they couldn’t take him anywhere he truly didn’t want to go. They led him up to the edge of a large rock formation and through some brush along the middle. There he saw a small cove, deep blue water with bioluminescent aquatic plant life. The cove itself was rather dark, but lit up by all of the glowing plants inside of it.

It was truly gorgeous and took David’s breath away. He didn’t know how to react, he turned back to face Angel and was met with a sight that had his brain spacing out. Somehow in the few seconds he had looked away from them, they had changed into clothing more appropriate for a swim. They soon began descending into the water sinking so only their eyes were above the surface peering into his own. He felt heat rush to his cheeks and almost felt like he should look away.

“Wanna join me… Captain?” They smiled at him and pushed themself further back into the small pool.

“I… I don’t have clothing for this… besides I don’t know if the water is-“ he began but before he could finish they pointed to the bag.

“I already tested the water. And the \£|!*• it is a special herb that is actually helpful to humans. Also the change of clothes, is in the bag. But I wouldn’t mind if you wanted to skinny dip.” They bit their lip and held back a laugh as he sighed and walked over to the bag. He quickly changed and followed them into the water. It was cool but not freezing. It actually felt pretty nice in contrast to the current weather.

David followed their earlier actions and sunk himself down into the pond. They slowly made their way over to him. He couldn’t help but stare at them. They looked so enticing, he was devouring them with his eyes. Their eyes showed a bright pink color, however it also flashed to a dark red at times. He learned early on that their eyes changed colors in correlation to their emotion. Bright red meant wrath. Green meant calm. Yellow meant content, and orange meant uncomfortable. He hadn’t found out all of the emotions colors, and certainly hadn’t unraveled the truth behind these colors. He dipped his head down. He wanted to learn so many things, specifically about them.

They moved forward and reached their hand out to him, they cupped his cheek, a gentle action they learned he actually thoroughly enjoyed.

“Angel we shouldn’t. I… I have to leave. It won’t be good for either of us… if… if we.” He moved his face closer to theirs his eyes lidded and locked on their lips.

“I’m not gonna lie Davey. I don’t want to let you go. I want to stay with you.” They spoke and his eyes snapped up to theirs. “But I can’t ask you to stay. I won’t. And I don’t expect you to have a good reason to bring me.” They backed away from him. “Anyways. Let’s collect some samples on the water life that you can bring back with you for experiments.” Their tone softened and they began taking samples and putting them in tubes they had on the edge of the pool.

“Angel.” David tried to stop them from changing the subject. “Angel.” He spoke but they ducked underwater and began to take away pieces of the glowing plant. When they resurfaced he moved closer to them. “Angel… I can’t ask you to leave. So… So maybe we should stop things here. They need you here. I mean they need a brilliant scientist like you.”

“Yeah, wow, look at this sample. Here.” They shoved the glass in his hands and stepped out of the pool. “Alright well, you can grab whatever you want. I need to go to my lab. Later.” With that they walked out of the cove grabbing their clothes and throwing them on in the process.

The next few days after that David didn’t see or hear from Angel. They no longer met up with him. He felt a small tinge of emptiness. He missed them and he wanted to be around them. He wanted them there with him. He knew, however, he couldn’t make them leave.

He had been moping around in his pod for longer than normal and had been stuck in his head. He was lost in thought until a knock could be heard at his door.

“Come in.” He said, voice harsher than he intended.

“Hey Cap. What’s been eating at you huh?” Tanker said walking into the room.

“Nothing Tank, I’m fine.” He said standing up to face them.

“No. You are a many things, but fine isn’t one of them. So what’s getting to you?” They moved forward crossing their arms.

“I… Angel. They… we talked about my having to leave. They said that they didn’t expect me to have a good reason to take them with me and they’re right. I don’t. Any reason I had would be selfish. I can’t. I won’t take them away from their home.” He spoke, words coming out before he could stop himself.

“I’m gonna stop you there David.” Tank said holding a hand up, palm facing their captain. “They we’re trying to get you to take them. THEY wanted to be the reason you had to bring them. They wanted you to want them. To want to bring them.” Tank sighed, pinching the bridge of their nose.

“What?” He sounded baffled. He quickly shook his head before grabbing his jacket and heading out of the ship, Tank following behind him.

“Where are you going?” They asked their captain.

“I have to find them! I need to talk to them.” He ran off and Tank headed back to the ship. He ran through the forest back to the humble civilization. He walked passed the large doors of the observation center and straight to Angels office. He threw their door open rather loudly and I gracefully.

“Please, do not slam my door. How may I…” they paused looking up at him. “Help you…”

“Angel.” He said moving over to their desk as they stood up, dropping the pen they were previously holding. They stepped back as he stepped toward them. He rounded on their desk trapping them between his arms.

“David. I uh…. Hey… how may I help you?” They fiddled with the edge of the desk.

“You are my reason.” He spoke rather unceremoniously.

“I’m sorry what?” They said their featured contorting into confusion.

“You. The reason I want you to come with me is because I want you.” He said, his fiery gaze burning into theirs. “I want you to come with me. If you want to of course.” He said pleasing with them. They didn’t say anything, just stared at him. “Never mind, I didn’t-“ before he could finish they pulled him in for a kiss. It was hot, passionate, and consuming. He felt like he was floating in a zero gravity room. He couldn’t come down and he never wanted to. The kiss only broke when he was out of breath.

“Take me with you! I wanna go.” They said patting down the side of his hair.

“Are you sure? It’s a big risk.” He said trying to hide his smile.

“Yes.” Their eyes were deep red, with magenta flakes. Love. That’s what the color meant. They felt nothing but love in this moment. “I’ll follow you throughout the entire universe.”

@fregget-frou I hope you like it!! I tried my best to imagine what this would be like! I’ve never written a sci-fi fic before, so this was a bit challenging!! But I had so much fun!! Thank you for the recommendation!

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plexiglasscoffin · 9 months

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when my ex and I broke up, it was the first time in my life I wasn't around a dog all the time. and I guess it unlocked a latent dog allergy that constant exposure was keeping at bay. it's usually not that bad (with huxley or my mom's small dogs I just get a slightly runnier nose) except with my dad's doberman. every time I'm here he kicks my allergies into overdrive, I just sneezed five times in a row and my eyes feel like there's cotton balls under my eyelids. his fur is very dense so he must produce a lot of dander. antihistamines work but unfortunately even the non drowsy ones make me sleepy as fuck so I try to avoid them. I had to take some just now though, I'm gonna mainline caffeine all day and see if I can keep from nodding off. I love dogs so much I will never avoid them, this sucks complete ass though.

like no way in hell am I not gonna give this man snuggles just because he turns me into a snot machine

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numbwhileintertwined · 2 months

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listing my favorite things bc im bored

Movies:

Lilya 4-Ever

Christiane F

Level 16

The Chalk Lines

The Tourist

American Mary

The Man Who Cried

The Rum Diary

The DaVinci Code

All of Pirates of The Caribbean

All of Fantastic Beasts

Alice in Wonderland

Orphan

Twister

Room

But I'm A Cheerleader

Interstellar

2001: A Space Odyssey

Blade Runner 2049

Kids

Buffalo 66

The V*rgin S*icides

Eyes Wide Shut

Requiem For A Dream

Prozac Nation

Thirteen

Marie Antoinette

Priscilla

Midsommar

The Florida Project

Trainspotting

Bones and All

Enter the Void

White Oleander

Soylent Green

TV Shows

South Park

Hannibal

SVU

Alba

Criminal Minds

(Old) Grey's Anatomy

(Old) Station 19

The Idol

Inventing Anna

(Old) New Amsterdam

Everything Sucks

Midnight Mass

The X-Files

Books

Aeneid- Virgil

Dante's Divine Comedy- Dante Alighieri

The Brothers Karamazov- Dostoyevsky

Industrial Society And Its Future- Ted K

Anti-Tech Revolution- Ted K

Technological Slavery- Ted K

The Golden Ratio- Gary Meisner

Imperialism THSOC- Vladimir L

The Ego and Its Own- Max Stirner

The Art Of War- Sun Tzu

The Iliad and The Odyssey- Homer

Speak- Laurie Halse Anderson

Wintergirls- Laurie Halse Anderson

Pride and Prejudice- Jane Austen

Brave New World- Aldous Huxley

1984- George Orwell

Crime and Punishment- Dostoyevsky

L*lita- Vladimir Nabokov

The Bell Jar- Sylvia Plath

The Egyptian Book of the Dead

Decoding the Universe- Charles Seife

Art

Our Lady of Kazan- Unknown

A Limier Briquet Hound- Rosa Bonheur

Cats- Armando Spadini

Thunder Storm on Narragansett Bay- Martin Heade

The Martyrdom of Saint Thecla- Pietro Valsecchi

The Abduction of Europa- Rembrandt

The Albobrandini Madonna- Titian

The Sistine Madonna- Raphael

A Young Girl and Her Dog- Joshua Reynolds

Girl at a Window- Rembrandt

Rio Palo Battle- Jose Espinosa

Valley of the Yosemite- Albert Bierstadt

The First Thorns of Knowledge- Unknown

Inside of a Church- Carl Graeb

Highland Raid- Rosa Bonheur

After the Rain- Rae Bredin

Girl Getting Out of the Bath- Paolo Vetri

Shipwreck 1783- Claude-Joseph Vernet

The Birth of Venus- Nicolas Poussin

Virgin Mary of the Cathusians- Manuel Bayeu

Puerto Mediterraneo- Claude-Joseph Vernet

The Consecration of Saint Nicholas- Paolo Veronese

First Mass In Brazil- Vitor Meireles

The Death of Sardanapalus- Eugene Delacroix

Europa- Titan

Divine Shepherdess- Manuel de Samaniego

Saul and David- Rembrandt

Respect- Paolo Veronese

Moses with the Ten Commandments- Rembrandt

Westminster Abbey- Max Ainmiller

Song of the Waters- Jerome Thompson

guys i have over 2k pics saved on google arts and culture I gotta stop

#yapping #movies #books #tv shows #song #brands #art

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claudiahuxley · 4 months

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Welcome to Aurora Bay, [CLAUDIA HUXLEY]! I couldn’t help but notice you look an awful lot like [LUCY HALE]. You must be the [THIRTY-ONE] year old [FREELANCER ARTIST]. Word is you’re [CREATIVE] but can also be a bit [NARCISSISM] and your favorite song is [VAMPIRE BY OLIVIA RODRIGO]. I also heard you’ll be staying in [OCEAN CREST APARTMENTS].

NAME: Claudia Huxley GENDER: Female, she/her DATE OF BIRTH: December 1st STAR SIGN: Sagittarius HOMETOWN: Portland, Oregon SEXUAL ORIENTATION: Bisexual LOCATION: Ocean Crest Apartments RELATIONSHIP STATUS: Single PROFESSION: Freelance Artist Time in Aurora Bay: 1 Month

Claudia always wanted a big family; mostly because when she was brought into this world it wasn’t by love, just a mere one night stand gone wrong. As much as she loves her parents, she often wondered what made them decide to keep her and work the whole co-parenting thing out when all they did was argued in front of her. Her mother, Thea, was a free spirit that didn’t care much about staying in one place. Claudia viewed her as a bird that has never been caged and she could remember her grandparents telling her that she was always on the run as if something was after her, she didn’t like being tied down to one man and was surprised that she decided to have a kid out of a wedlock. Her father, Chance, was a man of power and she could see why her mother was attracted to him when they first met. Claudia wasn’t exactly close with the man because he was always working at the police station, which made it hard for the girl growing up. She wasn’t the typical kid that was obsessed with cartoon shows and the latest Bratz dolls that came out, she focused on other things that interested her, her grandfather often telling her what an old soul she was and helped her with homework that she accomplished instantly in order to go wandering around town. Perhaps she got her free spirit from her mother, the need to travel the world and see what it has to offer, but part of her enjoyed the town she was born and raised in. At a young age, around fifteen, was when she started to find summer jobs to save up money, constantly worrying about college funds or even figuring out what she wanted to do with the rest of her life while her other classmates had some idea.

Claudia is one of those people who never want to take anything for granted, her circumstances growing up certainly made sure of that. She treasures every moment that she gets, everything that she has, because she’s afraid of losing them all. To others, she may appear too clingy and overly sensitive, but nobody can blame her for not wanting to lose everything she has. She’s a friendly person, all in all, but some people may think of her differently because of what she appears to be. It wasn’t until she was in her sophomore year of high school that she was introduced to drugs and alcohol by her friends. When she took that first sip of alcohol that numbed the pain of feeling lost and empty, it turned the brunette’s world upside down. With her parents not paying much attention and the fact that she traveled out of town for the summer to visit her mother, she could easily use that as an excuse to sneak off to another state to find more people to party with. In her father’s eyes, she was the perfect little girl that could do no harm and Claudia was beyond amused with how easily it was to manipulate that image.

Graduating high school was an accomplishment from the constant partying and keeping up with the social crowd, being a cheerleader and even a teacher’s pet had its benefits to get things to easily slip past others and to get her way. Getting into the college was easy, The brunette majored in a Bachelor of Fine Arts where she found her passion for art. She decided to make a career out of it and followed her dream even though she wasn't sure where it would lead her.

Moving to LA wasn't in the cards but it was where she found herself being. She wanted to start new, but it appeared her inner demons had other plans as she got back into the partying scene but worse this time. She was having fun, enjoying her life until she fell pregnant and decided that this must be a sign for her to really get herself together. After giving birth to a baby girl, Claudia was doing so good until she fell off the wagon again and had her baby taken away by the baby's father. Claudia got her act straighten up and came to Aurora Bay to try and make things right between her baby's father but also just to get out of LA from temptations.

#aurorabay.intro #tw drugs #tw alcohol

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allthingsdarkanddirty · 2 years

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libertyreads · 2 years

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January TBR--

The first TBR for 2023 looks so sad, but I’m planning to get to a large amount of Kindle books and ARCs. I’m also planning on reading a little slower this year which means fewer books per month. I have a TBR that only adds up to 1,686 pages total. What am I going to do with all this free time?!

1. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (40 Before 40 Project and Kindle)-- One of the last few books I have left for my big project and one of the books I’ve been looking forward to the least. This one is a dystopian novel (shouldn’t I be excited for that?) set in a futuristic world inhabited by genetically modified citizens with an intelligence-based social hierarchy. This was written in 1931, published in 1932. I’m bored already. (I should really try to work out of my low expectations but, with the exception of The Count of Monte Cristo, this project has shown me that I don’t like classics.)

2. Terrier by Tamora Pierce (40 Before 40 Project)-- When I made my big project last year, I let two of my best friends pick a book for me to read and this author was highly recommended. I have never read from this author before so I don’t know what to expect. It seems like this might be a prequel to another series of hers, but I remember reading through the synopses for all the series openers and this one I remember liking more. We follow Beka Cooper who is a rookie within the Provost’s Guard. Her magical abilities help her when she’s assigned to work in the Lower City. Chaos ensues? We’ll see.

3. Mistakenly Married by Victorine E. Lieske (Kindle)-- Book #3 in this series where you really need to suspend your disbelief. When there’s a mixup at a Las Vegas chapel, Penny doesn’t get married to her online boyfriend, but to Harrison Williams--a man who needs a wife to gain access to his trust fund. When the mistake is uncovered, Harrison convinces Penny to go back to Bel Air to prove he’s married while promising to pretend to be the online boyfriend so her family doesn’t have to know about her big mistake.

4. Blissfully Married by Victorine E. Lieske (Kindle)-- Book #4 in this series. This premise seems a little more believable than the last three. In this one Sidney’s matchmaking business is suffering so she dons a fake engagement ring to boost customer confidence. She thinks fate is on her side when her fake engagement ring keeps the ex-boyfriend who shattered her heart at bay. Blake can’t believe it when he runs into Sidney and realizes she’s all grown up. And off limits. When he finds out she’s not really engaged, he makes it his goal to coax the truth out of her.

5. Royals by Rachel Hawkings-- This one feels a bit like the Princess Diaries in that our main character is supposed to become a Lady in order to avoid making a fool of herself at court. But this time the main character isn’t the royal. Her sister will be once she marries the Crown Prince of Scotland. I saw a lot of hype for this when it originally came out in 2018 and found a pretty cheap copy at a library sale. I’m hoping to have fun with it, but not expecting too much.

6. The Quarter storm by Veronica G. Henry (Kindle)-- I made the rookie mistake of requesting a second book in a series on NetGalley so when I was approved for it I realized I needed to grab book one. This is the first book in that series and set in New Orleans. We follow a Vodou practitioner as she tries to solve a ritual murder.

#tbr #monthly tbr #January tbr #new year #bookish #booklr #bookstagram #books to read in 2023 #to be read #to be read pile

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phantomtutor · 2 years

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SOLUTION AT Academic Writers Bay Duration: 24 hour Take-Away PaperCandidates must attempt ALL questions.1) The paper will available from: Tuesday 4th January at 09:30 GMT.2) The deadline for submitting the exam is: Wednesday 5th January…Faculty/SchoolSchool of Business, Computing & HumanitiesDepartmentDepartment of Hotel, Culinary Arts & TourismProgramme(s) Title & LevelBachelor of Arts (Hons) in Culinary Arts(NFQ/QQI Level…Could I please request a copy of the solved solution for Question 59235.ASSESSMENT 1 BRIEFSubject Code and Title PROJ6003 – Project Execution and ControlAssessment Change Management PlanIntegrated Change Control ReportIndividual/Group IndividualLength 2000 words ( /- 10%)Learning…NEED TO DO IN 1000 WORDSThe attached document are sample answers for my students. The two main topics within the document are Soils & Biomes and within each topic, there are 2-3 sample answers.Basically, I need the attached…This is to be Australian standards and it is based on Sciemce, technology and engineering in childcare3.3 Assessment Event 3- STEM Project PlanningTitle: Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics…ASSESSMENT TASK 3Description: Continuing from AT2, you will now explore the local status of the SDG goal you chose. For this assessment you will answer the questions below, relating the SDG goal and example…Title: Utilizing Nagios for Network monitoring with emphasis on Intrusion DetectionChapter 3: Methodology (This chapter comprises of four sections: Methodology, Project Plan, Requirements Analysis and…Not Withstanding suitable legislations and SEBI regulations, the Indian capital market remains weak and inefficient. Why?Submission DeadlineMarks and FeedbackBefore 10am on:14/01/202220 working days after deadline (L4, 5 and 7)15 working days after deadline (L6)10 working days after deadline (block delivery)04/02/2022Unit…1“Qualification Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma in EngineeringPearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma in Electrical/Electronic EngineeringPearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma…I would to obtain a copy of the solved solution for Question 59235.I got an essay to write for 2500 words in social and environmental accounting.The word document (PAP document 2023) is what the assignment must be completed in. The pdf document labelled week five highlights how to do the assignment. I have the marking scheme attached as well. The…Hey thereNeed help with my R Studio assignment which is due to Jan 14th.The tasks can be found in the attached instructions.Thanks in advancePostersBTEC PEARSON HIGHER NATIONAL DIPLOMA IN BUSINESS OFFERED BY AMERICAN COLLEGE OF HIGHER EDUCATIONBusiness & Business EnvironmentUNIT 01T/618/5032Student Name:Student Pearson ID:HND/ 2021ACHE STUDY CENTRE:DATE…It is a biological modeling assignment to be written using the Xppaut software. There will need to be postscript graphs.1) A modified Hodgkin-Huxley modelOne considers a neuron model where voltage evolution…1. Critique and debate key and contemporary arguments about the theory and practice of HRM and how ethical expectations are met in practice whilst assessing its contribution to the organisation.2. Evaluate… 1 2 3 4 5 51 CLICK HERE TO GET A PROFESSIONAL WRITER TO WORK ON THIS PAPER AND OTHER SIMILAR PAPERS CLICK THE BUTTON TO MAKE YOUR ORDER

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freethoughtsage · 2 years

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True Lies: The Strange, Twisted History of the "New Friends of the True Course"

Hi again! The Free Though Sage is back with another look into the weird world of cults, fringe religions, pseudo-science, and MLMs. Today, I'll be taking another look at the alleged UFO cult New Friends of the True Course (or NFTC for short). If you haven't read previous posts about this group's latest B.S., I'd recommend checking out my earlier reports before reading this post. But if you need a quick refresher or don't have time to read my old stuff, tl;dr: I first encountered these characters handing out their bizarre literature in the Bay Area, and have previously investigated their beliefs in the paranormal, and their predatory financial practices.

This post will provide a brief overview of the history of the group from what I've been able to glean from my research over the past few weeks...I wanted to post sooner, but this blog doesn't pay the bills, and information has been hard to come by! I'll also try to explain how the cult's current decline (good riddance!) has it roots in petty squabbles among various factions going back decades. Strap yourself in, this is gonna be a weird one.

Paranormal Reports: 1951 - 1956

From what I can tell, the origins of this organization date back to a handful of independently published pamphlets written by an anonymous UFO enthusiast in the early 1950s. Many other sources have covered the Cold War era interest in UFOS, so I won't belabor the obvious connection between paranoia and the paranormal, except to say that the author of these pamphlets appears to have served during WWII that might have shaped his worldview and interest in this research project.

The first of these pamphlets, the innocuously titled "Recorded Aeronautical Observations of the Nineteenth Century" is in some ways a minor entry in the wave of literature on the extraterrestrial during this decade. I personally have not been able to get my hands on this or any of the "independent reports" in this series (facsimiles occasionally show up on eBay, but I can't justify the expense at this time). From what I can tell, this first entry is an attempt of an amateur historian to record all of the details from a supposed UFO sighting in New England that occurred in the nineteenth century (the dates of this dubious event are inconsistently reported as 1883 and/or 1838).

Subsequent pamphlets seem to have become increasingly unhinged, as the author gave up on historical research in favor of incoherent conspiracy theorizing and claims of personally witnessing any number of extraterrestrial phenomenon, always described in terms of a brilliant luminescence. The last pamphlet I'm aware of "True Visions of Light and the Course of History: An Attestation of Witnessing in the Atomic Age" was published in early 1956.

Occult Origins: 1971 -

These obscure pamphlets would likely have been consigned to the dustbin of history, if not for its reclamation by the counterculture. In 1971, the fly-by-night Pacific Books Publishing semi-legally compiled these writings into a single volume under the title True Visions of Light and the Course of History, subsequently shortened to True Course in later editions. Although it is now virtually impossible to track down, I have found entries in the catalogs of occult and antiquarian book sellers.

It seems to me that the anonymous author's millenarian worldview and descriptions of overwhelming perceptual experience resonated with the counterculture's interest in psychedelia, mysticism, and the occult. True Course became an object of fascination for a certain type of collector of esoterica. The anonymous author was a sort of ersatz Aleister Crowley, Aldous Huxley, or William S. Burroughs for the extraterrestrially-minded set.

The Course Online: 1988-1993

The contemporary NFTC organization really begins in 1988 with the establishment of a USENET group organized by fans of the True Course book. This group helped to further popularize the book for a younger, tech-savvy audience unfamiliar with its earlier history as a totem for the counterculture. Some of these original USENET members remain in positions of power at NFTC.

The first instance of the phrase "New Friends of the True Course" that I could find was on a fan page devoted to True Course that went online in 1993. It appears that this fan page was initially an outgrowth of the USENET group, but soon became the primary locus of online activity for the community. During this time, the site's pseudonymous administrator emerged as the de facto leader of the movement, adopting the title of the "Honorable Founder."

A Dishonorable Founder: 1996-1999

New Friends of the True Course was officially constituted as a legal entity in 1996 by the so-called Honorable Founder. Moving to monetize the online community's interest in the philosophy of the True Course, the founder organized a never-ending series of seminars, workshops, and retreats at the new NFTC headquarters in San Francisco (actually little more than a run-down office suite in the city's Sunset neighborhood). In the following years, the organization became increasingly cult-like, demanding time and money from new members expected to orient themselves around the whims of a singular, charismatic leader who became the conduit for all truth. Few new members of the organization are aware of the publication history of the texts outlined here.

By 1999, senior NFTC leadership n successfully removed the Founder from the organization under the guise of a philosophical disagreement over the interpretation of core texts. From my vantage point, it's clear this excommunication was in fact motivated by widespread distress at the self-appointed guru's exclusive hold over NFTC finances.

New Beginnings: 2000 - 2022

Beginning in 2000, with the introduction of a modified pedagogical program called "i/O Light Science", NFTC has followed the playbook of a run-of-the-mill MLM while still dabbling in cult-like activity. The new leadership in the 'Organizational Committee' seem to have reached a detente with the veteran 'Anchorite VP' members, although relations clearly remain strained. In recent years, the group has displayed a keen interest in technology, and periodically threatens to introduce its own cryptocurrency.

If you or anyone you know has become involved in this NFTC BS, I hope that this post will serve as a wake up call to leave as soon as possible. Keep on checking back for more!

-The Free Thought Sage

#cult #crypto #ufo #occult #hippie #free speech #mlm #business #religion #aliens

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hardfcclings · 4 years

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( @hurtpeoplearelethal continued from here )

Bay chewed on her bottom lip nervously. She probably shouldn’t have even asked the question. She knew she should just leave well enough alone with Dustin and let them go back to being friends, but it felt like a big lie to act like everything was completely platonic between them. “Because acting like I don’t want to kiss you feels like a lie and I hate lying to you,” she told him shakily. “And I know I’m being really confusing and difficult, but it’s mostly because I’m confused. And I don’t want you to think that I don’t want to kiss you all the time because I do.”

#bay huxley ( all )#( bay ; interactions )#bay ft dustin ( hurtpeoplearelethal )

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starlitangels · 3 years

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Air Bridge

I did one for Damien. Huxley has a video. I gotta do one for Lasko. Enjoy my little imagining of what Bridging with Lasko would feel like!

—

I pulled Lasko by the hand into the skyscraper’s front entrance. “Come on,” I said.

“What-what-what are we doing?” he asked.

I smiled. “Trust me,” I replied. I pulled him over to the fancy front desk. “Hi. Can we go up to the observation deck, please?” I gave the receptionist a smile. He looked up from his computer.

“Of course. First elevator on the left, press the button for floor forty-two,” he said. “It’ll take you right to the deck.”

I beamed. “Thanks.” With that, I dragged Lasko to the elevator bay and hit the call button for the first one on the left. It had its own call system, instead of being connected to the others.

“What-what-what’s this all about?” Lasko asked, squeezing my hand.

The elevator door opened. I pulled him in and hit the button for floor 42. “I want to show you this,” I said. “I found this place on one of the apps Gavin put on my phone when I first met him. Y’know, the Google Maps for empowered people one. The building is mostly unempowered offices, but the observation deck is actually warded. We can use magic there without notice by the unempowered people. I came up here once. Just by myself. To clear my head after a long day. But I knew I wanted to show it to you at some point.”

“Specifically me, or-or just whoever was special in your life?”

“Specifically you. I’ve wanted to show you this place since before we started dating, actually. Just never seemed to find the time for it.” I smiled.

The elevator opened again onto the observation deck. I pulled Lasko out to stand in the middle.

This high up, the wind whipped around us, broken up only slightly by the plexiglass guards above the half-wall railing surrounding the deck for safety. Lasko’s curls flicked against his forehead.

“Wanna look out over the city?” I asked, waving toward the edge.

Lasko bit the inside of his cheek. “I-I-I... I don’t know.”

I let go of his hand. “You don’t have to. I just love the view.” I backed up to the railing and slowly turned around. “With the wind and the height, I can almost believe I’m flying up here.” I tilted my head back and shook it, letting the wind course over my scalp.

Lasko’s cold hand rested softly on my shoulder and he stepped up to the railing with me. I reached up with my opposite hand and rested it on top of his.

“Wow. Dahlia looks a-a lot different from-from up here,” he said.

“Yeah,” I replied.

We stood there for a few minutes, looking out over the city, letting the wind blow over us, even Lasko barely saying a word. The air wasn’t noticeably thinner up here for me, but it felt clearer. Cleaner. Like I could breathe. The serene look on Lasko’s face made me think maybe he felt similarly.

“Can... can I ask you something?” Lasko asked.

“Of course.”

“I-I-I know that—that we haven’t been together for very long... but.... but I... I was wondering... um... how-how-how—” He swore under his breath. “Stutter one more time, Lasko,” he muttered. He shook his head hard. “How would you feel about, maybe, someday, possibly... bridging with me?” He cleared his throat. “I-I know you might ha-have some... reservations, given everything that-that’s happened to you, but-but, if you ever would be willing to-to consider the possibility—”

“Lasko, breathe,” I said, taking his hand properly and turning to face him. He was avoiding my eyes, but took a deep breath. “Look at me, baby. Please?” I squeezed his hand. Slowly, his eyes turned up to meet mine. So pale blue they were grey. “I’ll be honest, I do still have reservations about bridging. I felt... off for days, after Kody. But, there’s no one I would trust more to... try it with again, I guess, than you.”

“Re-really?”

I nodded. “Yeah.” I gave him a gentle smile. “Even if you wanted to bridge right now, I’d be willing.”

“Are-are-are you serious?”

“Do I look like I’m joking?”

“No...”

“We’re in private, the unempowereds in the building won’t notice. If you want to, I’m okay with it. I... well. As you can imagine, I don’t actually know how, at least not the right way, but I’m good to figure it out with you.”

“Well, I-I-I think the-the theory is... is that we reach out together with-with our magic and-and-and let our auras... intertwine? I guess?”

“Okay,” I said. “Do... do we keep holding hands?”

“I-I-I’ve heard that... that helps. Keeps our auras in contact.”

“Okay.”

“So-so-so, I-I guess we just... reach out. With-with our magic, I mean.”

“Right.” I nodded.

“But-but we can go slow, y’know? Move together. Neither one pushing harder than-than the other.”

“Yeah, yeah,” I agreed.

“Ready?” he asked.

“I’m ready.”

He nodded nervously. “Okay. I’m reaching out now.”

“Me too.”

My magic extended from me with half a thought of wanting it to. Controlling my powers had gotten easier the more I’d learned.

I felt Lasko’s aura, pressed firmly against mine, like trying to open a door against the wind. “Feel that?” he asked. I nodded. “If-if-if this gets to be too much for you, let me know, okay? Our threads aren’t even entwined yet, but-but if we want to press harder, I won’t know if it’s too-too much for you unless we fully bridge. Meaning we reach the point where we can hear each other’s thoughts and feel each other’s emotions. If-if you want to-to go that far, of course.”

“I’m willing,” I said. “But I’ll let you know if I start to get overwhelmed.”

“Thank you. For-for trusting me with this, I mean.”

“Lasko, there’s no one I trust more.”

“Are-are you ready to push a little harder?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay. Me too.”

I reached my magic closer to him. The threads of his core slowly spiraled around mine, twisting and braiding themselves around each other. The wind over the observation deck seemed to get stronger—but I knew that wasn’t the case. It was Lasko’s perception of the air being more sensitive than mine. We were breaching into the way the other felt the world.

“You-you good?” he asked.

“I’m fine,” I answered with a subtle nod.

“I’ve never felt a Freelancer’s aura this close before,” he said quietly. “It’s... chaotic, but not like mine is.” Indeed, his felt like a storm’s wild, unpredictable winds. “Yours is... the chaos of pure magic. Unbridled and unrestrained. The entire range of magic open to you with equal depth. It’s amazing.”

I smiled. “Thanks. Yours is amazing too. I can feel the way this wind feels to you, and your aura is the wind of a storm. Are... are you ready to keep going?”

“Yeah-yeah,” he said.

“Are we close to fully bridged?”

“I think so.”

“You good, Lasko?”

“Yeah. Are you?”

“Mmhmm.”

“Okay. I’m gonna go a little further when you do.”

“Okay.”

I felt his magic reach closer to me. I copied the sensation, reaching closer to him.

The pulse of his aura was faster than a heartbeat. Mine was still quick, but not like his. When Huxley had first taught me to feel auras, his core’s magical pulse had been slow and steady. Like an ambling walk down a forest trail. Comparatively, Lasko’s felt like running on a gale-force wind.

As our threads finished tying themselves together down their entire lengths, our cores found a beat that was somewhere between our usual, natural tempos to synchronize to.

A wind of worried trust rushed over me. Lasko’s emotions. Worry for me, trust that I’d tell him if something felt too overwhelming. I bit my lip. Can you hear me, Lasko? I thought.

He swore. Loudly. Out loud. I jumped. It had been so quiet, apart from our soft words and the wind. He winced. Sorry. I... I hear you.

I feel the way you feel the air, I thought at him gently.

Like each gust is family, he replied. Thoughts swirled around the space between us like a tornado—how his brain must have felt all the time. I had a lot going on in my head most of the time too, but nothing like how intense his was. There was no slowing down everything rushing through him.

The wind of the observation deck whipped his curls over his forehead. A pulse of serenity came from Lasko. The wind felt like the gentle caress of love and trust. The hands of a family member searching to comfort a troubled soul.

In that bridge between us, deep within Lasko, I felt the pit of black emotion where he kept the bitterness of what happened with his family after his powers manifested. Almost a perfect mirror of my own pit that I kept for the same reason.

I met his eyes, and a mutual pulse of love and trust emanated from both of us, bouncing off each other like ripples from two stones dropped in a pond at the same time.

I love you, Lasko, I thought.

I love you too. His usual nervous stutter was absent in his mind.

A small swell of nervous anxiety started to rise on his side of the bridge. I sent a wash of calm toward him. None of that, baby. I’m here. I’m not going anywhere. There’s no need to be anxious. I do love you. I don’t just say that out of any sort of obligation. You’re amazing and sweet and kind and I’m lucky to be with you.

He sighed, leaning forward and resting his forehead against mine. Thank you. The swell of anxiety diminished, helped by my calm pushing it down. Did you know your magic feels like nothing I’ve ever experienced before?

What do you mean?

Well, you’ve felt how my magic feels to me. How being an Air Elemental feels to me. The wind is more familiar than family. The air pressure is a hug. But your magic... it’s not that refined. I don’t even have the words to describe it. It feels like raw energy. But softer and gentler than mine, while being more... well. Just more. I mentioned the equal depth of every type of magic before, and this far into the bridge, I can feel that in greater detail.

I smiled. Thanks. It’s... well. It’s all I know.

Lasko swallowed, and I felt that nervousness rising in him again, along with strain. This bridge is hard to hold, he said. I know it gets easier with practice, but since this is our first time—

Yeah, I replied. Yeah, we should probably stop soon. Sweat ran down the side of my neck. But we can practice more later.

You’re willing?

Yeah. Maybe not in the next few days, but yeah.

Oh yeah, our cores will be synced for that time. Sometime after will be best. Let’s ease out of this carefully, okay? I don’t think just dropping it would be a good idea. There was that tornado of thoughts again, whirling past, laced with anxiety over what would happen if the bridge just snapped.

Right. Let go slowly and carefully.

We withdrew our magic gently. I lost perception of the tornado of thoughts, the familial touch of the wind. I kept the matched pulse in my core, but Lasko’s thoughts retreated into his own head. His feelings of love and trust faded from my grasp. The sensitivity to the wind on my skin remained for a few moments longer, but it faded to only a slightly-stronger understanding of it that came from our synchronized cores.

Then the bridge was gone, though the lingering effects remained.

I smiled at Lasko. His mouth was open in surprise. He closed it enough to smile at me.

We both moved at the same moment to kiss each other. The last sensation we’d felt from the other. The last thought we’d picked up on, reflected back at each other. His lips crashed into mine and I met them eagerly. His fingers tensed on the back of my skull and I twisted mine into his curls. “I love you, Lasko,” I breathed against his lips.

“I love you too,” he whispered. The kiss lasted a bit longer before he pulled back. “Can-can we go back down to ground level now? Not-not that I don’t love being up here in the wind, but I-I-I think we should go some-somewhere more... private.”

I smiled. “Yeah. Let’s head back down.”

#Lasko #Redacted Lasko #fic #Redacted ASMR #gender neutral reader #yeah I see lasko with curly hair and grey eyes #Starlit Fic

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