#detroit free zone

[caprisun-wizard]

funny to me how opal in dfz loves her stuff so much she cries at the thought of destantos’ goons breaking it, like she really cares about her stuff

it’s such stereotypical dragon behavior, the very kind of hoarding she chafes so bad with her dad about

[iliterallydecepticanteven]

New Hozier music got me in my TFA Megop feels. Here's part of a fic I'm working on. I did not spellcheck this at all so if you see any grammar errors, no you didn't. Full version coming soon!

💜💜💜

There are few things Optimus is sure of in such odd times. 

One of them is that he can be too much for some bots. 

Not as a leader, no, he had long since seen his ability and potential as a leader flourish and be solidified before his optics. He means more in the interpersonal sense. 

Sure, friends were easy to have. It was easy to sit back and chat with various bots and have a drink with them. Humans were shockingly easy to connect to, even more so now that he spent so much time on Earth and became more acquainted with their culture. 

Even cons were easy to befriend, usually connecting through shared complaints over the Autobots High Council or, more often than not, complaining about Sentinel being a pain in the aft. 

No, it was the deeper, romantic relationships that he struggled with. 

He had dated some during the Academy, but it always fell apart. The most common critiques were that he was “too much” in all sorts of ways. Too attached yet too distant. Prioritized his training over others too often. Too strong a sense of justice and too passionate. 

After expulsion, he shoved all that behind him. After all, if those flaws ended a relationship when he was a Prime candidate, they would surely kill even the prospect of such a thing being a Prime only in name and never in true meaning. 

Then he had called a temporary ceasefire with the Decepticons to help Earth with their Quintesson problem and things got complicated. 

When he wasn’t zipping around a battlefield or stuck in endless meetings, he was passed out in his berth. Even the few small snippets of free time he got he was technically busy. So finding a relationship wasn’t on his radar. 

And there was the larger issue of the odd way his spark jumped around the last mech he should be having any romantic thoughts about. 

He’s not a stranger to attraction, not at all. Which is why, the first time his chest tightens around Megatron, he nearly runs out of the room. 

They’d been in a meeting, Optimus fully zoned out, nursing his cube of warm energon. They’d been up all night chasing Quintesson ships out of Earth’s atmosphere and just his luck Sentinel wanted a video call right as they arrived back on their temporary Earth base. A smattering of other bots and cons sat in the meeting room but he largely ignored them. 

The cube in his servos was so blessedly warm. The energon contained within it was more bitter than what he was used to, having been farmed and processed from the energon crystals popping up across Detroit. But its taste was richer and more complex, like the essence of the ground it sprung out of lingered in its molecular structure. It was quite nice in his opinion. 

He was thinking of his berth and the recharge he would be getting when he snapped back to attention at the mention of his name. 

“Sorry Sentinel Prime, could you repeat that?” he asks. He didn’t catch the words but he caught the tone and knew it wouldn’t be good. 

Sentinel huffs and crosses his arms. The video feed lags behind the audio by a few meager clicks. “I said, we wouldn’t have to be worrying about this whole mess if you could actually do your job and eradicate the Quintessons already! But you charged ahead without Council permission and made a deal with that backwater planet and now we’re stuck putting time, credits, and energon into a mess that wasn’t even ours to begin with!” 

Optimus sits up straight. “First and foremost, we are not wasting energon nor credits on protecting this planet. Need I remind you the only reason Earth is being attacked by the Quintessons at all is due to the energon crystals bursting out of the ground. The deal is that if we defend Earth and eliminate the threat, all energon would be split equally between the Autobot and Decepticon armies. Even taking into account only getting half of the energon crystals, we have seen an increase in credits and do not need energon imports as we process everything here.” 

Sentinel opened his mouth to argue and Optimus continued. “Secondly, I went ahead without Council permission because it was an emergency and as the temporary appointed Magnus I had every right to send forces to Earth. Alongside that, I did not send all of our forces, which I could have done, but didn’t because I knew if I did, it was likely Quintessons would take advantage of an unprotected Cybertron and attack. I sent myself and a small portion of forces to defend a planet we have ties to. And finally, if you would use your processor and think for even a milliclick, you’d understand that sudden Quintesson interest in energon is a sign of something bad happening in the future. They have largely used other forms of fuel and energy sources, but considering energon is highly concentrated and the primary agent in most intergalactic combat weapons, whatever they want it for cannot be good.” 

Sentinel is clearly angry but desperately trying to hold it in. His arms are crossed and his optics wide but his mouth is shut tightly. Everyone around Optimus has gone silent but he doesn’t even bother looking at them. He misses how Bulkhead and Bumblebee share an excited smile at seeing Sentinel getting chewed out, the proud smug grin on Ratchet’s face, and how Lugnut mouths wow at Strika who just nods enthusiastically in agreement. 

And he most certainly misses the look Megatron sends his way. If he had seen it, he would likely call the expression a mix between fondness, infatuation, and wonder. 

[glamoureddreamer]

Welcome to my blog! <3

Intro post

About my blog

Hello everyone! Welcome to my blog! I am GlamouredDreamer but you all can call me Dreamer! I take writing fan-fiction requests and post it all here! This is a judgement free zone and I think of all my followers as my friends! We’re all here to have a good time and read some funny lil fics about funny lil people :)

What I write

I will pretty much write anything, just ask! Everyone is welcomed without judgement, don’t be afraid to ask!

•Character X Character, Character X Reader, and Character X OC

•Requests, Drabbles, Headcanons, Imagines, Match ups, Oneshots, Preferences, and Stories

•Angst, Au’s, Dark themes, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Lime, OC’s, Platonic, Romance, Smut, and Whump

⭐️When requesting for something please please tell me the fandom or give me some indication on what fandom it is

Warning I write content that might not be suitable for some readers ‘dark themes’ are as follow abuse, eating disorders, mental health issues, rape, self harm, violence, yandere themes, incest and more.

I wanted to state just because I am writing about a topic doesn’t mean I’m encouraging or romanticizing it, I am just writing about it. It’s fiction it’s not real, I am not hurting anyone. However if you ignore my warnings and seek out this content and it triggers you that’s your fault, I have put up multiple warnings on all of my accounts.

Antis DNI or I will block you (I bet half of you antis don’t even know what the word proship means)

If that bothers you or shouldn’t be reading that please leave or block!

Thank you all for being understanding!

Fandoms I write for

Avatar: The last Airbender

Avengers

Bendy and the ink machine

Cuphead

Camp camp

Deltarune (all chapters/au’s)

Detroit become human

Don’t starve (together and all other versions included)

Eddsworld

Five nights at Freddy’s (any game)

Friday night funkin

Good omens

Hazbin hotel

Helluva boss

Hollow knight

inFAMOUS second son

Inside job

Lucifer

Metal family

Poppy Playtime (all chapters)

Resident evil village

Rick and Morty

Sally face

Sherlock(bbc)

Spooky month

Stardew valley

Supernatural

The amazing digital circus

The walking dead

Undertale and au’s

Villianous

We’re about to close up so feel free to check out my Masterlist

As well as my other socials on Ao3, Wattpad and Carrd!

Thank you everyone! I hope you all have a fantastic day and a great night! Take care of yourselves, and remember you’re loved!

[sleepyzombiegirl]

haiiiii!!!! get to know me if you want!

I’m a digital artist and creative writer >u< I make oc art and occasional fanart and my favorite things to write are dystopian horror or found family fantasy :3

I also love zombies it’s obsessive and I do not know why but I am incredibly fixated on zombies and always have been if someone knows why that is please do let me know they consume my brain at all times (no pun intended….) ;-;

I am completely fandom obsessed, they take over my entire brain. some of the things I like are:

My Hero Academia

The Last of Us (games & show)

The Walking Dead

The Maze Runner

Marauders

Sally Face

The Vampire Diaries

Stranger Things

Marvel

Hunter x Hunter

Haikyuu

The Hunger Games

Detroit: Become Human

and so on (there are simply too many)

I’m also super into kpop! I’m an army, moa, stay, and atiny, I’d follow more groups but I’m unmotivated TᴖT I mostly like BTS and my bias is Suga! for the other groups my biases are Soobin, Changbin, and Yunho! I’ve been getting into a lot more girlgroup music lately too!! I love Kiss of Life and YoungPosse they’re the coolest :>

I would totally love to make friends, I may or may not be lacking in that department….. (III╥_╥⁠)

I’m a very anxious but very friendly person, swear i’m a judgment free zone open to hearing about anyone’s interests, vents, or just silly little things ദ്ദി(｡•̀ ,<)~✩‧₊

reach out if you wanna be friends! if you don’t that’s cool too I wish you a good day and a whimsical life in this pretty little girl world (￣^￣ )ゞ

[selfship-spice]

Fandom Masterlist

If you don't see your fandom here, feel free to double-check if any of the mods are familiar with it!

Achievement Hunter The Adventure Zone (Balance/Amnesty) The Arcana Ambulance (2022 movie) Assassin's Creed Avatar: The Last Airbender Boku No Hero Academia/My Hero Academia The Boys Castle Castlevania (Netflix, Seasons 1+2) Cats: The Musical (including 2019 movie) Check Please! Choices: Stories You Play Criminal Minds (Seasons 1-4) Critical Role (Campaign 2) Cyberpunk 2077 Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc (Game 1) Dead By Daylight Death Note Detroit: Become Human Doctor Who (Doctors 3-4, 9-13) Doki Doki Literature Club Far Cry (3, 4, and 5) Five Nights At Freddy's Genshin Impact Glee Good Omens Gravity Falls Halloween Hannibal Harry Potter Hazbin Hotel Heathers Henry Danger (seasons 4-5) Homestuck Inception Jacksepticeye Egos Jake Gyllenhaal characters The Last of Us (TV) Little Shop of Horrors musical Lucifer (Vertigo Comics) The Magnus Archives Markiplier Egos Marvel Cinematic Universe (up to Thor: Love and Thunder) The Matrix The Mechanisms Megamind Minecraft (not MCYT) Les Miserables NCIS (Original) Night at the Museum trilogy Night In The Woods Ouran High School Host Club Overwatch Phantom of the Opera The Quarry Resident Evil Rick and Morty Sandman (Vertigo Comics) Scream Sherlock (BBC/RDJ/Elementary) Slumber Party Massacre II Spies In Disguise Spongebob Squarepants Star Trek TOS Star Wars (episode I-IX) Stardew Valley Steven Universe Stranger Things Supernatural (seasons 1-9) Teen Titans (2003 Animated Series) Texas Chainsaw Massacre Twilight Undertale (horrortale, underfell, underswap, swapfell) The Untamed Until Dawn Vocaloid The Walking Dead (seasons 1-7) Welcome To Night Vale (episodes 1-100) Yandere Simulator Z-O-M-B-I-E-S Disney Musical

[selfshiprequests]

Fandom Masterlist

If you don't see your fandom here, feel free to double-check if any of the mods are familiar with it!

Achievement Hunter

The Addams Family

The Adventure Zone (Balance/Amnesty)

The Arcana

Ambulance (2022 movie)

Assassin's Creed

Avatar: The Last Airbender

Batman (Nolanverse)

Boku No Hero Academia/My Hero Academia

The Boys

Castle

Castlevania (Netflix, Seasons 1+2)

Cats: The Musical (including 2019 movie)

Check Please!

Choices: Stories You Play

Child's Play

Criminal Minds (Seasons 1-4)

Critical Role (Campaign 2)

Cyberpunk 2077

Danganronpa

Dead By Daylight

Death Note

Detroit: Become Human

Doctor Who (Doctors 9-13)

Doki Doki Literature Club

The Elder Scrolls

Euphoria

Far Cry (3, 4, and 5)

Five Nights At Freddy's

Genshin Impact

Glee

Good Omens

Gravity Falls

Halloween

Hannibal

Harry Potter

Hazbin Hotel

Heathers

Henry Danger (Seasons 4-5)

Homestuck

How To Train Your Dragon

Inception

Into The Spiderverse/Across The Spiderverse

Jacksepticeye Egos

Jake Gyllenhaal characters

The Last of Us (TV)

Life Is Strange (Original, Before the Storm, True Colours)

Little Shop of Horrors musical

Lucifer (Vertigo Comics)

The Magnus Archives

Markiplier Egos

Marvel Cinematic Universe (up to Thor: Love and Thunder)

The Matrix (first movie)

The Mechanisms

Megamind

Minecraft (not MCYT)

Les Miserables

My Little Pony

NCIS (Original)

Night at the Museum trilogy

Night In The Woods

Ouran High School Host Club

Overwatch

The Owl House

Phantom of the Opera

Pokemon

The Quarry

Resident Evil (7 and 8)

Rick and Morty

The Rookie

Sandman (Vertigo Comics)

Scooby Doo

Scream

Sherlock (BBC/RDJ/Elementary/ACD)

Slumber Party Massacre II

Spies In Disguise

Spongebob Squarepants

Star Trek TOS

Star Wars (episode I-IX)

Stardew Valley

Steven Universe

Stranger Things

Supernatural (seasons 1-9)

Teen Titans (2003 Animated Series)

Titans

Texas Chainsaw Massacre

Twilight

Undertale (horrortale, underfell, underswap, swapfell)

The Untamed / Mo Dao Zu Shi

Until Dawn

Vocaloid

The Walking Dead (Seasons 1-7)

Wednesday

Welcome To Night Vale (episodes 1-100)

Yandere Simulator

Yellowjackets

Z-O-M-B-I-E-S Disney Musical

[roboobin]

hi im robin i reblog things and try to be an extrovert!! u can message me whenever and if i message you feel free to ignore, it won't hurt my feelings also every time someone tags me in something my heart swells

always searching for name twins

current obsession:

DC COMICS AGAIN

other things i might reblog:

dndads

the sims 4

the adventure zone: balance

undertale

nimona

luca

dc (batfam, superman, roy harper specifically, billy batson, etc)

boygenius (and associated acts)

kpop (just b, XG, kiss of life, twice, girls generation, lee hyori, anything else that strikes me)

pom pom squad

jun togawa

rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles

fish

babymetal

figure skaters

gravity falls

jesus christ superstar

marvel (deadpool, spiderman/s, daredevil, moon knight, etc)

minecraft diaries

puss in boots

stardew valley

twilight

the owl house

astrology

MBTI

Barbie

good omens s1 & s2

butterfly soup

tmnt in general

anything my friends make regardless if i care about it or not

orbiting human circus (of the air)

subway surfers

dream of gluttony

unus annus

rise of the guardians

baldurs gate 3

chappell roan

assorted music

hozier

dom fera

detroit become human

ace attorney? im not even in that fandom but my friend love interest is so i reblog things to send to her. someone give me a medal

baldurs gate 3

night in the woods

red white & royal blue

how to train your dragon

stray

fantastic mr fox

dropout tv

atla

tags below ⬇️ for my own use so they probably wont help u much. except #roboobin bcs thats just everything that comes out of my sorry mouth

[rouzys]

THE UNOFFICIAL ST. LOUIS BLUES PRIMER PART TWO: DEFENSEMEN

COLTON PARAYKO (A)

Info: #55, RD, STL 2012

Last season: 4 goals + 27 pts

History: He's actually pretty interesting and I would recommend just reading through his wikipedia for a more in-depth read. He went undrafted in the WHL, then got dropped by his AJHL team and had to pay to tryout with another team to become their 7th defenseman. After being drafted, he played at the University of Alaska Fairbanks for 3 years, then came up to play with the Blues and took several online classes during his rookie season in 15-16 to complete his degree (Business Admininstration)(he is so boring sometimes).

Profile: FAST when he wants to be, plays a ton of minutes on the first defensive pairing but isn't very physical despite being tall as hell (6'6). He's definitely improved from last season and has already nearly doubled his scoring in half the time. Usually on the first or second PP units.

NICK LEDDY

Info: #4, LD, MIN 2009

Last season: 2 goals + 23 pts

Info: From Minnesota and drafted by the Wild, went to college at the University of Minnesota, and by the time he left he had his rights traded to Chicago. He played there and won the cup in both 2013 and 2015, then played for the Islanders for a number of years. Traded to Detroit, then in the beloathed Sundqvist + Walman trade and has played with the Blues since the 21-22 season. Currently midway through a 4 year extension

Profile: VERY good puck protection and stickhandling, though it's not flashy. Great 200-foot player, can and will take the puck from one end straight to the other. Refreshing on a team that sucks ass at zone entries. Making $4 mil a year to be a top pairing defenseman which is damn good if you ask me

Other: My mom kept mixing up him and Bortuzzo. Unfortunately this won't be a problem anymore.

JUSTIN FAULK (A) (Faulker, Flack)

Info: #72, RD, CAR 2010

Last season: 11 goals + 50 pts (career high pts!)

History: Played in the USNTDP, then played at the University of Minnesota Duluth where he won a national championship and set a school record for most points by a defenseman. Played for the Hurricanes from 2011 through the 18-19 season, including being a co-captain and an alternate captain of the team. Traded to Blues and immediately signed a big 7 year contract. 23-24 season is his first as a Blues alternate captain :)

Profile: Solid two-way defenseman, plays a lot of minutes. Good a frequent shooter, a great blueline shot presence which allows lots of tipped goals a rebounds.

Other: Was in the top 20 for longest streak of consecutive NHL games played (17th??), but recently missed 5 games due to injury :( also he's my Favorite

TOREY KRUG

Info: #47, LD, undrafted

Last season: 7 goals + 32 pts

History: A rare undrafted veteran! He played for Michigan State University for 3 years, then signed with the Bruins and made it on the roster full-time by the 13-14 season. He graduated from Michigan State after doing online courses for over 5 years (Political Science, originally Finance but couldn't get credits online). Played with the Bruins in the 2019 SCF against the Blues, and his hit on Robert Thomas actually caused a new rule to be added! Signed a 7 year contract with the Blues as a free agent in 2020

Profile: Underized (5'9) but will throw around both his body and his hands. Decent offense and solid defense.

SCOTT PERUNOVICH (Scotty)

Info: #48, RD, STL 2018

Last season: 2 goals + 20 pts (AHL)

History: I've been very impatiently waiting for this guy's real rookie year for like four years now. He played for Minnesota Duluth (where he took the defenseman scoring title formerly held by Faulk), won the NCAA Frozen Four Championship, and won NCHC rookie of the year. He's a bit undersized (5'10, 175lb) and this has had him battling injuries for the last several seasons. He played 19 games with the Blues in the 21-22 season (including the winter classic!) but spent the entire 22-23 season on the Springfield Thunderbirds recovering from injuries.

Profile: has yet to score an NHL goal but has been a great scorer both in college and in the AHL. Physical player, not much NHL experience with under 50 games under his belt and no concrete defensive partner. Still finding his groove on a team that has struggled defensively

Other: Won the Hobey Baker award in his Junior year of college! Was originally ranked to be drafted around the fourth round, but due to his collegiate performance and Blues scout Keith Tkachuk (!!) he ended up being drafted much earlier

MARCO SCANDELLA

Info: #6, LD, MIN 2008

Last season: 1 goal + 2 pts

History: played his first several years in Minnesota, then in Buffalo, and was traded to both Montreal and then St. Louis in the 19-20 season. Only played 20 games of the 22-23 season due to an early season hip injury and surgery, and then another lower body injury in April that took him out for the rest of the season. He'll be a UFA at the end of the season.

Profile: Pretty run-of-the-mill third pairing defenseman, sometimes a healthy scratch. Blues have struggled defensively and are trying to develop younger defensemen, so he's often the one to be sidelined for them.

Other: his instagram username is @ scandeezy6 which is fucking awesome

TYLER TUCKER (Tucks)

Info: #75, LD, STL 2018

History: Technically in his sophomore season! Played 28 games last year, had his first goal and his first TWO fights. Played for both the San Antonio Rampage (RIP) and the Utica Comets (temporary affiliate) before debuting in Nov 2022. Not on the Blues roster at the moment but has played a non-insignificant amount of games with them!

Profile: A strong defenseman who is very physical. Hasn't had much of an opportunity to prove himself at the NHL level, but has had good offensive seasons in the past. Currently taking a break from the press box for a conditioning stint in Springfield :)

[leebrontide]

Secondhand Origin Stories, Chapter 6

Here's this week's chapter! Reblogs welcome!

For those of you just joining us, I'm posting a chapter a week of my free near future scifi/low neon cyberpunk YA/NA novel, Secondhand Origin Stories, which has been described as

"-a character driven, compelling story full of family, queerness, corruption, brain altering nanites, secretly teen parenting AIs, and taking aspects of the superhero genre to their very human and rarely-explored natural conclusions."

For content warnings and more, check here:

You can follow along by following #SHOSweekly

Chapter 6

By the time Opal checked her phone, she was about four blocks from the plaza, and she had six missed calls and five missed texts. But she hadn't heard any alerts!

Aldis: Where you at? I can't see you on the platform.

Aldis: The bus came and went already, where are you?!

Aldis: Opal?

Aldis: Come on, baby cousin. Say something. Lemme know you’re OK.

Mom: Missed Call (5)

Auntie: Girl, call your mom she’s texting half of Chicago.

Mom: Aldis says he can't find you and you're not answering. Is something wrong? What happened? Where are you?

Opal sat on the nearest stoop, exhausted. Ugh. The tower must have jammed her signal. She sent a group text: I'm OK! Sorry, I didn't realize the APB building was signal jamming! I'm totally fine.

Mom: Don't DO that. Are you trying to kill me?

Aldis: On my way to the Plaza. STAY PUT.

Dangit. She wheeled her luggage around and headed back towards the Plaza as fast as she could amidst the now-bustling foot traffic.

By the time she got back to the plaza, the roads and sidewalks were crowded, but people were mostly avoiding the plaza. They almost seemed not to want to look at it. And the security was way more overt. They were different guards from earlier, which she was thankful for. This time, she headed right towards the huge front entrance, on the opposite side from the rubble and the van of new armed and uniformed men. 

She waited in a spot she hoped would be conspicuous enough for Aldis to see her. She sure felt conspicuous. Everyone around her was wearing the kind of seamless printed suit you got when you had the money for scanned measurements. The foot traffic was also almost all white, even though this was Chicago for Pete’s sake. Lots of people glanced at her as they passed, sizing her up-- some curious, others warily. See how good you look after riding a bus all night then getting beat on by a superhero and having your dreams crushed and then revived. Opal wanted a nap so bad.

Aldis's truck arrived pretty quickly, and he hastily parked it in a no-parking zone, flicking on his hazards. He pointed at her menacingly, but he had smile dimples that always gave him away. "You are trouble. 100% trouble. I thought I was gonna have a heart attack." Opal was out here trying to be a superhero, and everyone was worried about her sitting at a bus stop.

Well, she had almost gotten shot, though. Christ.

She gestured to the single-tower palace of medicine, marketing, and bureaucracy behind her. "Well, good location for it."

"You better not give me so much trouble working for me. Don't think I won't fire you because you’re my cousin."

"You won't, though,” she sing-songed.

"Don't push your luck," he admonished, giving her a tight hug. She returned it. It felt good to have someone she knew was really, truly on her side, here. He looked over her shoulder as he withdrew, looking at the tower. "You get your appointment done, then? Or just booked."

"Neither." Checking in with the APB when you traveled wasn't technically mandatory for an altered, but they were warned repeatedly that if they didn't, the clinic side of things “may not be prepared" for them if they needed medical attention. "You and Capricorn and all your guys live here, so they should be fine with Detroit altereds. I'll do it the next time I come over here."

"Well where've you been, then?"

Suddenly, she felt like everything that had happened would just burst out of her chest. She didn't even know how to sort her feelings about everything today. She leaned in, dropping her voice low. "I've been upstairs. Upstairs upstairs." He looked at her, questioningly. "The Sentinels. I met the Sentinels. And their kids." She felt a tired smile tug at her lips. "Capricorn made me pancakes and sausages." 

Aldis was shocked, but also appropriately impressed. "You work fast. How the hell did you manage that?"

"Can I tell you on the way?" Seriously, she wanted a nap.

"Hop in."

A key and a bright blue polo t-shirt with a SuperMovers logo were sitting on the passenger side door. The more down-to-earth side of her new Chicago life.

She told Aldis the story, even the humiliating defeat part. She hesitated over how to describe the family she'd met, and just decided to go light on the details. She tried not to snap to judgments about people. 

"Well, I think even your mom will forgive you for being MIA for Capricorn to cook you breakfast. Oh, but don't say it like that. Makes it sound dirty."

"I thought he was gay?"

"Hell if I know. Superheroes is your thing. You wanna know who’s who in pro wrestling, I got you. Superheroes, not so much."

They passed into an industrial area full of warehouses and trucks. Opal's mind was too full for her to pay much attention. She managed some small talk about how Aldis's crew was doing. Mostly guys from back home who she at least sort of knew, who came out with Aldis to help him start his company where there were a lot fewer altereds to compete with.

Eventually, he pulled up to a brick and cinderblock building pretty much like the rest of the brick and cinderblock buildings, but with SuperMovers trucks and vans around. A couple of guys built like male versions of Opal were just coming up to the building. She waved, smiling, and the ones that knew her grinned and waved back.

She'd thought they were going to an apartment, but she could fill out her new employee paperwork first and not complain. She followed him up some stairs and a walkway leading over the ground floor garage spaces. The office at the top was the first thing today that turned out to be exactly what Opal expected. Mismatched, beat-up sofas, a couple bulky desks, an old file cabinet, a humming fridge, and a much-abused dartboard, all interspersed with flattened cardboard boxes and occasional pop cans. 

"OK, so here's the office. You show up here at least half an hour before we've got to move out. If you need time off for superhero junk, just let me know." He closed the door, grinning broadly, like he had some marvelous secret.

She followed him down the hallway lined with doors on both sides. "So, one of the many services we offer is short-term storage for our moving clients." He unlocked a door, gesturing for Opal to look inside. The room contained a manor house’s worth of high-end furniture, stacked to fit and covered in tarps and plastic. Boxes with words like "Holiday dishes" lined the walls. "Sometimes people need to get out of their old place before they can get into the new one. So we hold onto their stuff in the meantime."

He shut the door, walking backwards down the hallway. If he didn’t get to his point soon, his head might split open from all that grinning. "But sometimes, we take on special clients. Our VIPs. They're so special they don't even have to pay."

"Why're you all working without pay?"

"The guys get paid, just the company doesn't. You and your dad aren't the only do-gooders around here. From day one, we've made some time to move people getting out of abusive situations. We move them out, and whatever asshole is doing the abusing doesn't want to mess with us. They get out safe without the cost of moving. We've got agreements with local shelters and everything."

Opal felt pride in her cousin welling up. "I didn't know that. That's really decent, Aldis."

He puffed up proudly. "Your dad inspired it. I wanted to do what he can't, right now."

Opal's eyes pricked with tears. He hugged her again. "Right now, that includes helping you out. Come on. Lemme show you."

She wiped her eyes and followed him to the far end of the hall, where he unlocked another door and flung it open with a flourish. "Ta-da! Welcome to the VIP suite. I warned you it wasn't the Ritz, but you really can't get a better commute."

Inside, a corner storage room with big windows was set up like a studio apartment. There were four beds pushed against the walls, a couple dressers, two couches slightly younger-looking than the ones in the office, a card table and chairs, one bathroom, and a little kitchenette. Opal walked in.

The floor was cracked cement, and the walls were whitewashed cinderblock that did look a little like prison, but there were posters left up on the walls, a stained floral rug on the floor, a few homey touches. There seemed to be dishes in the cabinets. There were boxes everywhere, some folded, some not. It was definitely a place meant for transitions. Aldis continued, "All the stuff in here was left by someone we've moved, or donated by one of the guys. We can't charge rent, but nobody bothers us if someone crashes here for a little while, while they get on their feet, keep their kids with them. It's got a security system on the building, it's on a bus line, and right now, it's all yours."

This time, Opal hugged Aldis. This space felt right. Temporary, but right. A gift from family who’d already made his dreams come true and was already helping people-- helping people in her dad’s name. “I love it. Thank you.”

* * *

Yael lay on xyr bed, head hanging off the foot of it, staring at the wall upside-down. Xyr room was a jigsaw of memories and interests. One sunny yellow wall, one denim blue, one an unapologetic green, and the last was a dark gray that matched xyr exoskeleton. Xe’d painted that one xyrself, on impulse. Xe was pretty sure xe’d done it for some kind of complicated psychological reasons, but xe tried not to think about it too hard. Papa never stopped Yael from doing whatever xe wanted with xyr room, but xe knew he hated that wall.

Xe’d covered most of the gray wall with family photos-- a huge collage starting at the center and spiraling out. But the corner by xyr bed was covered in xyr own drawings. Mostly semi-recent designs for a superhero uniform for xyr. Most of them featured oven mitts, because drawing hands was hard, and feet that went off the edge of the page, because feet were stupid and never looked right. Xe usually didn’t bother with a face.

Skittles was still missing. It’d been days. She could be dead by now, for all Yael knew. What kind of superhero couldn’t even defend a hamster?

At least Issac seemed to be on the road to some kind of recovery. He was awake enough to want his data back. That had to be a good sign. 

What kind of superhero gave illegal altering tech back to someone who wasn’t supposed to have it?

The same kind who had let xyr brother fall off a building and had to somehow make it up to him. 

 And the kind who beat up a perfectly nice superhero-hopeful just because xe was told to. Ugh.

Yael pushed xyrself up and went to the hamster hutch. Xe put a hand in, but xe must have been too tense. They shot away from xyr hand, not wanting to be picked up. Xe reminded xyrself that hamsters, while adorable, were not smart, and couldn’t hold grudges just because you’d failed to save one of them. And xe still might find Skittles.

Yael needed to talk to someone who would understand. Xe pulled xyr hand out of the largest tank in Hamster Town and yelled down the hall. “Papa!” 

No answer.

“Paaaaaaaapaaaa!” 

He was in the living-room, sitting with his elbows braced on his knees, staring down at the floor tiles. Xe stopped short. “Papa?”

He sat up, and drastically fumbled an attempt at a smile. “Yes, Dove?”

“What’s wrong?”

“Come. Come sit down.” 

Yael stepped over the back of the couch, and sat next to him at its bend. He looked like he would rather be anywhere in the world but here. “We need to talk about what happened this morning.”

“You didn’t look mad when we were talking to Melissa.”

“I’m not mad. But the officers involved contacted me. They told me-- what you did.”

“Opal isn’t mad--”

“The silver, Yael,” he interrupted, more harshly. “And shape changing. In public. In the street, where anyone could have seen you.”

“I was protecting Jamie!” Yael interrupted.

His jaw tightened. “You don’t need--” he faltered for a second-- “that. For a simple fight. We’ve trained you better than that. And that girl was a foot and a half smaller than you. Do you realize what she must have thought?”

Yael didn’t look strikingly like Ezekiel or Miriam. Xe’d seen enough pictures to know that. 

But the exoskeleton…before Yael, that power had been Ezekiel's, alone. 

But even with it active, Yael’s face was visible. Nobody paying any attention could mistake xyr for xyr birth-father.

Was that what papa meant? It almost had to be.

Which made this the closest he’d ever come to discussing Yael’s origin in front of xyr. The realization made xyr cautious-- if xe stepped carefully, xe might be able to lure him into an honest discussion about xyr birthparents, and how Yael ended up living with him. “What would she have thought?”

He started to answer before snapping his mouth shut. “We can’t know. But it wouldn’t have been anything good.”

This was stupid. Yael needed him right now. For a real, honest conversation, about heroism, and identity, and how to navigate xyr failures. And he couldn’t even own up to events from 17 years ago. “Say it,” xe challenged.

He hesitated again. “Say what?”

Oh for the love of all that was holy. “Say what you’re so afraid she was thinking.”

He stood. Actually took half a step away from Yael. “Just don’t do it again.”

Was he…afraid of xyr? He couldn’t be. He raised xyr.

Could he be so afraid of Ezekiel that he couldn’t even say his name? But Ezekiel was dead! There was no reason to be afraid of a dead man!

A test. “Say ‘Ezekiel’”.

Papa recoiled. “What? Don’t bring my brother into it. He has nothing to do with this.”

Yael narrowed xyr eyes, baffled, trying hard not to jump to the obvious conclusion. “You can’t possibly think I don’t know. Everyone knows. It’s not hard to figure out. Opal probably did.”

Yael had never seen anyone look so trapped. He didn’t even answer. Just stared.

Was it that bad? Yael knew that having come from supervillains might cause problems for xyr someday. Nodiah had confirmed that. But xe’d never thought it could be so bad that Papa, who knew xyr, would consider it unspeakably awful. Xe’d always just figured that it hurt him to talk about. That it was sad, to him. But this didn’t look like that. 

While Jamie’s parents were arming her, Yael's father couldn’t even name the people who’d made xyr. While Jamie’s parents claimed Jamie’s genes, he was so horrified by Yael's DNA, he couldn’t even speak.

If that was what he thought of xyr DNA, what did he think of Yael xyrself?

Yael needed to get away from him. “Coward,” xe growled. 

Xe vaulted over the back of the couch, and got behind a door xe could slam as quickly as possible. 

* * *

Issac didn’t know where to go. He couldn’t go home. Mom would be there. He couldn’t go to the lab; Dad was there. The courtyard could contain anyone at any time. Possibly including random girls, it would seem. His secret hideaway had been relocated 24 stories lower at full speed.

He wanted to be alone. To freak out without anyone noticing. To not have to worry about whether he was making any noise or not.

The pool! Dad was the only one who used it daily. And since he knew where Dad was, that area should be safe. Echo-y, but if nobody was there to hear, it wouldn’t matter. He didn’t think he could accidentally make noise anyone would hear in the training room all the way from the pool, especially since it was on the same level as the lab, and Dad’s noxious noise would drown out anything. 

He slipped down the hall as fast as he could manage and ducked into the pool’s room. It was warm, humid, and felt good on his skin. He sank down gratefully onto a deck chair, which settled down his knees a little. But that minute bit of relaxation just seemed to loosen his hold on himself. 

He pressed a hand over his mouth, focusing on the cuts and bruises to try and give his thoughts a wide berth. It’d be safe to make noise here, but he still didn’t want to. His chest seized for a moment, forcing air from his lungs. A sob. He squeezed his eyes shut.

He tried to tell himself he was overreacting. Sure, dad had probably been avoiding him and apparently didn’t know how to talk to Issac anymore. But he’d given Issac the contacts, right? He was still trying to help Issac out.

Jenna had left when she couldn’t fit in anymore. Cut off contact with everyone. Could Issac still fit in, here?

Sure. Sure he could. Issac wasn’t significantly brain damaged. He wasn’t breaking furniture or ripping up floor tiles or anything. He was just deaf. He just had to show them he was still functional. And now he had contacts to help him do that!

He opened the case, squinting at the liquid inside. He’d never worn contacts before. Jamie had worn correctives for a while. Issac couldn’t even stand to watch her put them on. It was so gross. 

Well, it was less than anyone else in his family had been through to improve themselves. He stuck a finger in the liquid, cooler and a little more viscous than water, and dug around, trying to detect the sliver of tech inside. It worked, and he fished it out carefully. He squinted at it. Ugh. 

OK, how had Jamie done this? He remembered her looking up at the ceiling, so he did that. He was getting fond of looking at ceilings. They were so uneventful. Then…holding his eyelids open. OK. OK, he could do that. 

Mostly. As soon as he touched his eyelid, he felt it rebelling, trying to close. His body didn’t seem to want to obey any of his commands lately. He pushed ahead.

Then, just…put it on, very gently. 

He lifted his finger up, and reached--

Nononononononono.

Issac lowered his finger. Tingling, crawling feelings chased each other up and down his spine and arms. This was so gross. 

No. He had to make this work. He couldn’t use the tablet forever. He had to show what he could do.

He tried again.

He tried a third time, and actually ended up standing up and wrenching his knee, as if that would get him away from his own stupid fingertip. Or maybe just because that horrible crawling sensation had gotten into his legs, and demanded movement. All his instincts were telling him no. After all, he was already deaf-- what if he poked his own eye out? How would that look to everybody? Don’t leave Issac alone, he can’t be trusted with his own sensory organs. 

He made another noise, one of pure frustration. 

There was a movement at the corner of his vision, and he turned, startled. It was Drew, eyebrows raised questioningly, clearly worried. He was dressed in workout clothes, a little damp with sweat. He’d been working out. Issac’s noise couldn’t have been that loud, could it?

Issac realized too late that there were tears on his face, and too much speed to his lungs. 

Drew looked him up and down. He noticed the contact container, and pointed at it, looking more questioningly. Issac nodded. Yes. Yes, he was upset because of these stupid unnatural chunks of plastic he was being expected to jam onto his eyeballs.

Drew waved him over to the patio chair again, picking up the case, then sitting down himself. He left Issac room to join him on the long leg rests. Issac did, his shoulders drawn up in twin knots. 

Drew started by putting his hand on Issac’s shoulder. It helped more than it should have. He took the contact Issac had and put it back in the container, pulling out the other one from the case. He motioned Issac to hold his own eyelids, which, while gross, was better than someone else touching his eyes. 

Drew was a persevering sort of person. He tried all of four times to get the damn contact in. 

After the fourth, Issac ducked his head. The corners of his mouth were pulling, out of his control, and his chest was going tight, as if it was gearing up for another noise he couldn’t hear or help making.

Drew shifted. He put the contact back in the case. His hand shimmered a slight green of disappointment. Issac closed his eyes. 

Then he felt Drew take his hand and turn it over. Issac knew what the object Drew put in his hand was, even before he opened his eyes. A phone. In particular, Drew’s phone. But it had the tablet’s same translation software running. 

DREW: Let’s try this.

Isaac’s shoulders dropped. This was humiliating, but at least nothing was going to be put directly onto his cornea. He nodded a tiny bit.

DREW: Martin said you wanted to see me. Was it just to help with the contacts?

Of course Martin would call for help. And he had a ton of sensors in the pool area. Shit, Issac needed to talk to Martin. Get the rest of his sensors back up. At least he could fix one of them. That would make him feel better. Less guilty, at least. 

Issac just nodded. It seemed like the safest course. 

Issac wasn’t expecting the hug, and it was kind of clammy, since Drew had been working out, but he tentatively returned it anyway. It was nice to close his eyes for a minute and still have someone feel real and present with him. He let his head rest on Drew’s shoulder a bit longer than he should have.

Then that awful, sniveling urge came back, harder than before. Issac retreated into his own personal space again, before he embarrassed himself further. Drew left his hand on Issac’s shoulder.

DREW: Don’t freak yourself out too bad, OK kiddo? Lots of deaf people get by in this world just fine. And you come from a long line of smart, adaptive people. It’s nothing you can’t handle.

It helped more than it should have. Finally, a clear vote of confidence. Issac had no idea how true it was that deaf people got by just fine. He’d never properly met a deaf person before. They were absent from the spheres he occupied. But Drew’s support, and his faith in Issac’s ability to adapt, seemed sincere. Something of his relief must have shown on his face. Drew smiled back. 

DREW: Now gimme my phone back. You’ve got like a stack of tablets at your place. 

Issac handed it back. Some of the brain fog he’d been putting down to concussion had cleared away. Which probably meant it was more anxiety than anything. Maybe Issac really could handle this.

* * *

Jamie sat back, looking at the small piles of Jenna’s things she’d finished dusting and cleaning. She’d sorted them into what she thought should go to whom. For Mom, a watercolor painting of the lake that needed a new frame, but was, by itself, intact. For Drew, an enameled cast-iron pot that showed no sign at all that it’d fallen off a building. For Yael, a handful of unbroken wooden Christmas ornaments xe’d smiled at, shaped like Arctic animals playing musical instruments. For Issac, a collection of Issac Asimov stories that was beat up long before the attack. For Solomon, a gardening trowel, and for Jamie, an MIT hoodie. There were just a few things left in the pile. Mostly photos that were probably not worth saving, since they could just reprint them.

 She picked up the last really worthwhile object. The deck of Star Trek playing cards seemed a little shabby compared with the rest of the mementos, but Dad had loved family poker nights once upon a time, so maybe he would like it? She’d salvaged a few poker chips to go along with it. Not nearly enough for a game, but maybe enough for a memory. 

Jamie missed family poker nights. They always started with arguments about whose deck to use, since they all had themed ones. When they were really little, Jamie had usually been on her dad’s “team.” She’d argued for Vikings, even though she herself didn’t care about Minnesota sports. Issac had always gotten stuck between Mom’s Star Wars and Jenna’s Star Trek. Jamie smiled at the memory, tempted to keep the deck for herself.

She pulled back the edge of her sleeve a little, looking at the gauntlet. She kicked her feet a little, then stilled them. She shouldn’t act childish in the face of a gift like this. She knew she wasn’t supposed to wear it indoors. It wasn’t like she was in danger, here. But it was like she could just strap her parents’ faith in her onto her wrist, and that was nice. Bizarre, but nice. 

So Dad didn’t want her to drink coffee, but high-end weaponry was OK? Weirdo.

She almost wondered if she was taking advantage of something here. Mom kept staring into space for hours on end. Dad’s eyes looked wrong. Should she ignore that, just because she liked the outcome? She was still mad he’d disappeared for three days when he should’ve been there for Issac. And at how rude he was to Opal. And how he hardly ever looked Jamie in the eye.

Jamie had a big, garish, carnival-sized stuffed narwhal sitting next to her huge white bean bag chair. She’d had that narwhal for ten years, and for all the times she’d gone through her things to get rid of stuff she’d outgrown, she’d still kept it. Mom hated the thing. They’d tried to clean it, but it was stained even before Jamie’d gotten it. She and her dad had “rescued” it from a tree after someone had thrown it out of a high-rise window. Dad had flown her up to the high branches and let her climb onto one so she could reach it. Just because, at six, she’d been upset to see it laying there abandoned with a storm on the way. He’d even stitched up a tear in one of the seams for her. It was probably the cheapest piece of junk in the building. 

She flicked its horn. So flying her three stories up right before a thunderstorm was OK. But not coffee. He really didn’t make any sense. It was like there was two of him. One was the doofy, indulgent Dad of her memories who let her play bad hands for him, who would let her take a risk if she wanted to. Then there was the stiff, distant jerk who always looked over Jamie’s head. Who cussed at Yael today. 

She wasn’t sure which one of them had given her the gauntlet. She hadn’t seen doofy Dad in a while, though. 

Jamie’d always thought that she was the one who’d changed. That she’d gotten older, come to understand her position more, and that that was what had changed her relationship with her dad. But what if that wasn’t the case? 

She piled everything but the hoodie into the pot, and focused on a feeling of accomplishment. At least today was going better than the other days since the attack. People were moving and talking again, and maybe Jamie had helped someone else a little bit, too.

She propped the painting against Mom’s bedroom door, and was pleased to find Issac’s room empty. She put the book on his bed. Mom was zoning out watching TV; Jamie snuck past her. The courtyard was full of construction noise, but they kept it all out of the way and invisible from the public eye. That had to be massively less efficient, but it kept the courtyard private, which was apparently a big deal right now. She put the other mementos in front of everyone's front doors, including Dad’s, and paused.

Just to be sure, she tried the handle to Dad’s apartment. It opened, just like it always had. Maybe the lock had been a glitch in the MARTIN system. Maybe Dad hadn’t realized she and Issac couldn’t get in to see him. She let herself in, but didn’t see Dad. She reminded herself she was always allowed in here, and went to the kitchen. She wasn’t doing anything wrong. She opened the fridge.

Well, that was one theory gone. Dad didn’t mind the occasional wine or beer. But if he was stockpiling enough to get an altered drunk, there’d be cans or bottles around. His fridge was full up, but there was no alcohol inside. Same with the recycling-- no bottles or beer cans.

There was a neat little pile of cereal on the counter. 

Hamster bait. 

Maybe her old dad was on his way back after all.

She slipped back into the courtyard, and found a new mystery. There was a narrow door between two of the elevators in the central hub. And it was ajar.

Once she got to the doorway, she could hear Issac. “I really am sorry.” A pause. “Hey, I have a concussion, OK? Neither of us is at his best, here.”

Jamie poked her head in, and sure enough, Issac was sitting with his back to her, and a tablet plugged into an open maintenance hatch. A second tablet sat next to it, with the translation software open. Issac talking to hardware was not even a little new. Mom did the same thing. Sometimes at high volumes. “Hi. What do you want?”

Jamie hesitated. “Me?”

Jamie could only see a sliver of Issac’s face as he glanced down at the tablet, but the following small raise and shake of his head looked like an eye roll even from behind. “Yes, you. What are you doing in the maintenance hub?” His voice sounded scratchy, and kind of painful.

“I saw the door open.” This felt so much more natural. “I don’t think you’re supposed to be doing that.”

“Do you want the security systems up and working again?” He didn’t sound angry, or upset. 

Jamie sat down on the low-pile carpet behind him. “It doesn’t hurt your head?”

“I’m taking a lot of breaks,” Issac answered. “It’s not too bad. I’ll go to bed after.” It made sense he’d fix the break he’d made, even if he wasn’t feeling well. 

She drew her knees up, and rested her arms and chin on them. “That’s bad post-concussion aftercare,” she remarked.

This time he glanced back at her, but once he saw she was just commenting, not lecturing, he went back to his tablet. “I know. But it needs doing. Those idiots downstairs don’t know what they’re doing. I had to hook the tablet up physically to undo all the crap they messed up. Tch.”

She let him work quietly for a while. Even the back of his neck was bruised. But healing. If it’d been one of the team, the bruises would be gone by now. 

“Who was that girl this morning? With my drive?”

“Her name’s Opal. She was helping us pick up Jenna's stuff. I put a book in your room. There was enough left for everybody to get something.”

He turned to look at her, intrigued. “What book?” 

“Some Asimov stories.” He turned back to read her answer. He looked uncomfortable.

This time he didn’t look back up from his tablet when talking to her. “She’s not dead. You shouldn’t give away her stuff.”

Well, that was gratitude for you. “It has to go somewhere. She’s not coming back for it.”

Something about the tiny, out-of-the-way, isolated space seemed more private than other rooms. Seemed to have some kind of effect on her brother. “Do you miss her?”

Jamie’s brow furrowed. She would have shoved him over if he wasn’t still all banged up. What a stupid question. “Of course. I was just thinking about family poker nights.”

He paused. “Heh. I forgot about those.”

“Hey Issac, what do you think is going on with Dad?”

“You mean this morning? I don’t know. He looked drunk.”

“There’s no alcohol in his kitchen. And I’ve never seen Dad get drunk before. Why would be he drunk at six in the morning?”

“No idea. But as long as it’s just one time, it doesn’t matter.”

“I guess.”

He tinkered for a while. He was going slowly, she could tell that much. “Hey, Jamie?”

“Yeah?”

“Did Dad come over while I was asleep the last couple days?”

She almost lied for him. Her fingers went to the gift Dad and Mom had given her, and her mind went to the little pile of cereal. But Issac deserved honesty. “No.”

Issac’s hands stopped. He sat silently for a long minute. “I think LodeStar: Leader of the Sentinels is having trouble dealing with having a son who’s...” He gestured loosely at his ears. “That’s probably why he was drinking.”

Jamie put her head on her knees. It was as good an answer as anything else. It made more sense than what Mom had told her, at least. Except... “But wasn’t he weird before today? I mean, didn’t he used to be different?”

He scowled down at her words, fingers moving on the keyboard. “What? God, I don’t know. I have a concussion, don’t make me try to remember junk like that.”

“You’re fiddling with the world’s most advanced security system,” she pointed out.

He scowled in earnest this time. He didn’t stop typing, but his movements turned into angry single-finger jabs at the screen. “What, do you think our dad’s on drugs or something? Don’t be stupid.”

No help whatsoever. She let him fiddle for a while. He kept rubbing his eyes and shifting around, trying to be comfortable with a bruised-up body. So he thought Dad couldn’t handle Issac being deaf. “Yael and I are taking ASL lessons,” she offered.

He didn’t say anything. Just kept typing.

She tried again. “You want to come, too? Opal’s nice.”

Pause. “Are those ideas related?”

“She’s teaching us.”

“Why’s an altered even know ASL?”

“A bunch of her family are deaf. So, do you want to come, too? We could do it together.”

“I don’t know. Maybe. Quit bugging me.”

Jamie sighed, settling back against the wall. She let a few minutes go by. “Hey, Issac?” He glanced down, returning a noncommittal noise. “If I warn you ahead of time, can you shower before cute girls come over?”

He looked back, checking her tone, then threw a stylus at her with a smirk. 

She was pretty sure he’d be OK.

[f1]

Too tight too short too bumpy: Detroit pole-winner Palou criticises new track | IndyCar

Alex Palou claimed the first IndyCar pole position on its new Detroit street circuit then made his feelings clear about the track’s shortcomings. The 2.64 kilometre downtown circuit which replaced the Belle Isle course this year has prompted discussion and criticism since drivers sampled it for the first time yesterday. Palou said the track isn’t up to IndyCar standards. “It’s too tight for IndyCars,” said Palou. “It’s too short for IndyCars. There’s too much traffic. It’s too bumpy.” Other drivers have commented on the length of the circuit, which leaves less than 100 metres per car on average. “I think if we’re doing 62 second [laps] and there’s 27 cars, it’s like 2.4 seconds for each car, when everybody wants a five-second gap,” he said. “Then you end up having traffic every lap like we saw in practice two. “I don’t know what the perfect distance is, but I would say adding 30 seconds to the track or 20 seconds would help a lot. “We have a lot of cars. It’s crazy. It’s good, it’s really good for the series, for the racing. But when it comes to practice, we have 10 red flags, 25 yellows, traffic all the time.” Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free “If they were asking me, I would say please can we have 20 more seconds so it’s a little bit of a longer lap and a bit wider turns,” he added. “Turn one is really tight.” The track is short, and narrow in places The majority of the track’s 10 turns are 90-degree corners, a feature other drivers have also complained about. The pit lane exit is alongside the entrance to turn one, and the line was redrawn following the first day of practice yesterday in an effort to reduce the possibility of collisions there and improve the racing line through the corner. “I think you have to kind of give a little bit of advantage or priority to the guy that is on track,” said Palou. “I think that’s fair. There was not much more margin to do anything differently because it’s, I don’t know, 400 feet to the first corner. I honestly like that because otherwise I think the issue was that we couldn’t go enough to the right, so turn one was even tighter.” He said he is grateful to be starting from pole position, but pointed out Indy Nxt driver Louis Foster was taken out at the start at turn three after leading the field away from pole position today. “I was watching Indy Nxt, the guy starting on pole ended up on the fence on the braking zone.” “I think I’m the happiest driver at the moment starting on pole, so I cannot complain too much,” he added. “It’s going to be really important, but at the same time it’s a hundred laps. It’s going to be a long day.” Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free IndyCar Browse all IndyCar articles via RaceFans - Independent Motorsport Coverage https://www.racefans.net/

[agaveblue]

[Fanfic] Android and His Oseram - Chapter 2: The First Impression

Title: The Android and His Oseram

Chapter Title: The First Impression (Chapter 2) Summary: Upon accidentally reactivating Connor, Gildun's stunned when the "human" says he's actually a machine. Gildun reacts accordingly.

Crossover canons: Horizon games / Detroit: Become Human

Main characters: Connor (DBH) and Gildun (Horizon)

Gildun appears to be taking the new data less-than-optimally. 

The RK800 unit called “Connor” observes the man’s tanned face suddenly drop several shades as he scuttles backward until he can’t go any further and his back slams up against the wheel of a calcified forklift, sending a crate teetering dangerously over his head. His HUD outlines the crate in red, a marker labeled {DANGER - IMMINENT FALL HAZARD} bobs with it as it rocks back and forth, forth and back, and sprinkles rust particulates on top of Gildun’s crude leather cap. Connor might’ve just been reactivated, with multiple systems still spitting back diagnostics and returning with additional memory errors, but his probability software appears to be more or less functional.

Right now it’s calculating the probability of Gildun’s head getting caved in by that crate.

PROBABILITY OF BLUNT FORCE CRANIAL TRAUMA…27.01%. 

35.10%.

42.82%.

The android’s already moving before probability creeps up to 50%.

He darts forward, the motion so sudden that it causes Gildun to instinctively flinch back into the forklift and raise his balled fists in what is typically a defensive gesture for a human. When Connor’s fingers close around Gildun’s closest wrist, he squeezes out what is presumably a strangled curse born of fear and flails out with his free hand in a crude punch. It catches Connor straight in the nose, snaps his head back and is about as effective as slapping a Sawtooth with a stick. Try as he might, he can’t struggle, wriggle, or worm his way out of an android’s uncompromising grip no matter how much Oseram backbone he puts into it.

In reality the struggle lasts less than a second. The next; a decisive jerk of Connor’s arm pulls Gildun forward and away from the forklift, the android pivoting neatly with the human so they both clear the impact zone. 

PROBABILITY OF BLUNT FORCE CRANIAL TRAUMA…00.201%. 

The crate crashes to the floor with enough force that it shatters into shards of plastic and rusted metal right where Gildun’s head had been.

“You should be more aware of your surroundings,” Connor can’t help but scold the man. “Otherwise you could compromise your personal safety.”

Turning toward Gildun, he finds the human staring in open horror at his face. To be more specific, at his nose. To be even more specific, what’s currently leaking out of his nose, engineered by CyberLife to be straight and generically attractive and not prone to breakage or unsightly swelling. It is, however, still prone to temporary thirium leaks given the right application of force…such as a panicking man’s fist.

What trickles down from Connor’s nose isn’t the red of a human’s blood warm with life and its tribulations. Instead it’s a series of familiar blue rivulets, glistening the exact same color a Charger bleeds, a Snapmaw. It stains Connor’s upper lip and wells along the line of his mouth and down his chin in a gruesome mask that has Gildun trying to jerk himself free all over again.

“Gildun.”

Still more struggling.

“Gildun.”

The futile struggling continues.

“Gildun, please stop; you really don’t want to pull something at your age.”

That gets the man’s attention; Connor’s facial software IDs a change in Gildun as it traces out his muscle groups serving as key emotional markers. Sensing that something he said must’ve worked, the RK800 continues along the vein of safeguarding one’s own health: as the saying goes, a (figurative)  ounce of prevention is worth a (figurative) pound of cure.

“While I can’t say what medical care you have available at your current income level, I can’t imagine it’d be comfortable if you sprain a muscle or throw your back out.”

Gildun squints up at him. “You’re…not going to kill me?”

The android stares back at Gildun, synthetic features doing a fine job of mimicking mild confusion. 

“Now why would I do that?”

“You’re…well, you’re a machine. Obviously. Well, not obviously at first, but obviously now. Okay, so you aren’t like any machine I’ve ever seen (and I’ve seen far more than my share, let me tell you!) -” and now Gildun was rambling, still wide-eyed and nervously wetting his lips, “ - but come on, look at you! You’re bleeding blue just like one and machines usually attack on sight, so forgive me if I get all nervous-like!”

Here the Oseram has to pause for breath.

“That’s unfortunate you’ve had such a negative experience with other machines. I’d like to do what I can to fix that poor first impression,” Connor replies and he sounds like he’s reading focus-tested condolences from a CyberLife customer service manual. “Hopefully you’ll find interactions with me on the more pleasant side.”

That earns a half surprised, half sarcastic snort under Gildun’s breath. Now that’d be a first: a machine not only speaking but also trying to make amends? Trying to make nice?

Connor releases Gildun, watching as the man rubs at his bruised wrist and cradles it close. The android’s sure he didn’t break any minor or major bones with his grip but he has noticed that humans like to hug their extremities close to them when uncomfortable, whether emotionally or physically. Bending down, the RK800 neatly picks up the leather cap from where it fell, dusts it off, and then holds it out. Gildun pauses, then accepts it, studying the hat with a mix of wonder and suspicion before he plops it back onto his head with a tug on its furry ear flaps.

“Anyway, my memory has been partially corrupted since I was last activated,” Connor says slowly, for a moment sounding troubled as he paused to recall a face and name and only received a yawning void at his data request, “and I can’t seem to recall my previous partner. It’d be best to assist another human such as yourself while seeking repairs.”

Now Gildun’s bushy eyebrows jog upward in a valiant attempt to escape into the safety of his leather hat. “A machine can forget things?”

A nod.

“By the forge…” Gildun breathes. 

Now it was finally sinking in that he was probably faced with the only friendly, actually intelligent machine in the whole wide world, that right here was the kind of farfetched mechanical fantasy that not even Oseram legends and ancient glyphs considered! Why, the “android” is actually holding a conversation! With words! With him! The fear begins to seep out of him, Gildun’s knees still wanting to quake like that jiggly too-sweet fruit jelly the Carja liked to eat, and he jumps a little as Connor steadies him with a gentle but firm touch against his back.

“I’ve got so many questions that I don’t even know where to start.” Recovering his composure, Gildun waggles a gloved finger at Connor’s face, which is still fixed in a vaguely friendly expression that appears to be the android’s default setting. “But it sounds like you need a delver, a good one, to help you out and let me tell you, you couldn’t have run into a better Oseram for the job!”

The RK800 absorbs the new data - Gildun’s shifting muscle groups in his face, lined with age and laugh lines and sun exposure, emotionally-improved tone of voice playing out in a waveform at his peripheral - and then he nods and offers a small, shy almost-smile of his own, as if he isn’t used to moving his engineered face with the same ease as his new partner. Almost absently he reaches up to wipe at the thirium still bleeding blue from his nose, leaving streaks of it smeared across his mouth and jaw like fresh warpaint.

“Not sure what an Oseram is, but thanks for your cooperation,” Connor holds out his hand in a gesture he assumes is still in vogue for sealing deals. “It’s a pleasure to be your partner, Gildun.”

[enkisstories]

Rika turns to both Gavin and Connor next, after Hank the best detectives not just at central, but in all of Detroit. Their qualification is beyond question, but so is their loyalty - Gavin's to his species, nevermind that he used to live in permanent fear of getting laid of in favour of a cheaper, android, worker by his fellow humans, and Connor to whoever is presented to him as his superior. Blind obediance is not a quality Markus is looking for in his new police force and therefore the offer the revolution leader had for Hank isn't extended to Gavin and Connor.

Rika: "Before you go, would you have a look at this, detective?”

Gavin noncommittally casts a glance at Rika’s new phone, but his mimic changes to an adoring one, when he sees that it is full of cat pictures. A few slides later there are also dogs... guinea pigs... a parrot...

Rika: “There's a job opening in an animal shelter and as the occupying force, Jericho could demand they hire you before considering other appliccants. If you want, that is. It's not paying much, but maybe you'd want to try a career that's closer to your interests for a change? The revolution can be a chance for humans just as well as for androids, you know!"

Gavin: "Okay, those pics were cute, but, no, thanks.”

Rika: “But what will you do now?”

Gavin: “Cutting trees, most likely. Whatever they do for a living in Canada.”

Hank: “Canada?”

Gavin: “I applied for fugitive status and it got through this morning. I just wanted to listen to all my options before leaving Detroit.”

Gavin figures he is still young enough to start over elsewhere. It won't be easy, but he counts on his "fugitive from the machine takeover" status to tide him over the worst. To capitalize on that sympathy, Gavin Reed needs to leave the city before anybody coming from Detroit will register as a potential spy of Jericho's.

Rika: "Part of me rejoyces to hear that you’ll be out of our lives. But my head says it's a waste of what could still have turned into a decent human being. You're fun at parties, that much I have to give you. There will be a goodbye party, yes?"

Gavin: "Naturally! Feel free to invite yourself - I'll relish in the knowledge that it'll be the last I'll have seen of you tin cans! Canada always was an android-free zone.”

Hank: "Let me guess: You want us to go to Gavin's party and not just dip, but remain ‘till the end to see with our own eyes that he really leaves Detroit?"

Connor: *nods eagerly*

Hank: *groans*

In their short time together so far, Hank has almost naturally slid into the role of not just a mentor on the job, but also a father figure for Connor. Just now he provided something especially valuable to the young android:

A parent who disapproves of Connor's partying habits and the kids he chooses to hang out with.

Young adult milestone achieved! Program instability increased!

[party-kat]

Ok I have been thinking a lot about the danger days fandom from about 2015-2019 ish? I was wondering if you remember any of the specific lore that fans made up from that time? I found a google doc from around 2017 with some slang and ideas on the what killjoy society would be like and I can’t stop thinking about it T-T I can’t remember anyone else that I still follow that were even loosely involved at the time besides you and like one or two other people.

Oh geez I’m vintage now lol

Hmmm.. I do remember some- like different characteristics people gave to the Fab Four and my own headcanons (they never made it past 50 notes lol)

The first things that came to mind was the general personalities and backstories:

Party poison- progressive and empathetic maniac with a gun, some headcanons said they and Kobra weren’t siblings and met up later but general consensus was that poison was a city born and escaped as a young adult, the parentified big brother

Fun Ghoul- shoot first ask questions later, fiercely protective of friends, in love w poison generally agreed that he was one of the first in the desert or was desert born, but once saw a few hcs that said he used to be a drac, the shoner cousin

Jet star- the responsible one ready to crack skulls when necessary, poisons best friend, sometimes hc as desert born/neutral born, sometimes he as city born who escaped as an adult, I think was usually seen as one of the oldest or most recent escapee, the mom

Kobra kid- quiet but will fight to the death, has endured the most trauma than the rest, jet stars best friend, a lot of hcs said they and poison weren’t siblings and found each other as young adults recently escaped to the desert, generally considered a city born kid, the cool uncle

Random hcs:

There were many different gangs (good and bad) Including serial killers and bandits

I hc that there was a ‘neutral’ group of killjoy that provided “totally real info” to bli in exchange for wholesale supplies that were eventually sold to gas stations and motels like tommy chow mein (I mean how else did any of those guys survive out there in a post atomic desert??)

The “killjoy” zones weren’t exclusive to Southern California- bli actuyovertook the entire US and there would be killjoy zones in most major cities like Detroit, New York, etc.

The witch was totally real and basically the patron saint of the killjoys (there were a couple ask the witch blogs that were SO COOL—- I miss them :(

There’s definitely more but I would have to know what specifically about the world/characters you’d want to hear.

I remember drafthearse/ktzart had an askthekilljoys type blog that ran until 2019 w cool art and concepts

Hope this helped some though!!! Feel free to ask me more I just need my memory jogged a bit

Thank you so much for still following and remembering me- even if I’m not as dedicated to the killjoy persona anymore!!!!!!!

The internet is such a cool place :*3

~keep runnning, babe~

[auspex]

(gehenna-calling) MARKSONGSMARKSONGSMARKSONGS. theme… one related to his clan or his relationship with his clan? ALSO do you have any songs for mark + sampson?

YES MARKSONGS i LOVE ty @gehenna-calling okay okay lets see most of them relate to his sire specifically but hm the most general one...

other than the aforementioned To Modern Science which is the more positive one... but 2 explain why i think it relates to his relationship w his clan i would say that its because he does have some pride in tremere being the ones that seem to be researching and improving rather than just being hedonists or money grabbers LMFAO even if he realizes most of em are selfish about it and that some of the older ones do seem to stagnate and only care about prestige, theres still something there and thats the part he likes.

Spellbound is a CLASSIC Tremere song but it fits how the elders in the tremere really throw their weight around to the poor younger apprencties (we play in 2000 so the pyramid is v intact)

-

as for the second question... it got long but i promise if u care its a v good song

Uh I Might have a whole playlist just for just mark and sampson (FEEL FREE 2 ASK ABOUT THAT...) :v the ones on mark's personal playlist are abt how he feels abt sampson and not like mutual relationship sooooo actually let me get one from the mark x sampson playlist:

these lyrics are just too good literally almost all of them are perfect. if you know abt mark and sampson read the lyrics first b4 u read mine and just see how perfect it is. anyway let me explain now. let me go insane for a bit. ready?

Every time you get a drink/ And every time you go to sleep/ Are those dreams inside your head?/ Is that sunlight on your bed?

ok FIRST OFF Theres a whole THING about how Mark can't remember his dreams anymore, and also with Sampson being SUPER CAGEY about if Kyle shows up in his dreams. And then obviously the dual meaning with drinking with sampson getting drunk and/or mark drinking blood. and then with the sunlight - idk theres something but i cant articulate it.

moving on

Every time you're driving home/ Way outside your safety zone/ Wherever you will ever be/ You're never getting rid of me.

Mark has gone sooo much out of his comfort zone into really dangerous spots but he always came home or let sampson know he was and one time he didnt and he got really nervous :( anyway now we are getting to the main crux of the song which is owning/being owned and being stuck. So with the blood bond and the ghoul, sampsons kinda stuck. you cant forget about kindred society once ya know it, and he isnt about to leave mark for another kindred domintor LOL. So. Never getting rid of him. But ALSO Mark isn't about to let him go either...

You own me/ There's nothing you can do/ You own me

Mark LITERALLY by Camarilla law owns sampson basically :( very fucked. and he has to to keep him safe. rogue ghouls get killed in detroit.

You could've made a safer bet/ But what you break is what you get/ You wake up in the bed you make/ I think you made a big mistake

few diff ways to interpret it, but Mark does worry he has made mistakes in the way he's handled everything. But he's stuck where he is now! And even if Mark isn't the one who broke sampson, sampson is a broken person.

Skipping the second chorus.. only new thing is "Lucky you"... THEN THE FUCKING BRIDGE.

You clean yourself to meet/ A man who isn't me/ You're putting on a shirt/ A shirt I'll never see/ The letter's in your coat/ And no one's in your head/ 'Cause you're too smart to remember/ You're too smart/

Lucky you/ Lucky you/ Lucky you

Besties the LAYERS here.

I interpret this is Mark cleaning himself up/putting on a persona for Julius who mark wants to make sure sampson never meets. but mark cares a lot about julius due to blood bond. anyway. Then the SECOND part starting with And No One's in your head is about SAMPSOn cause MARK has Julius in his head, but sampson doesnt have anyone afaik, AND Sampson has memory problems....

and they're both stuck w each other and. Mark would definitely be sarcastic and be like "well i guess you're stuck with me, lucky you" but really sampson IS lucky that mark is still trying to be a decent guy - sampson def deserves even better but just statistically many kindred become awful and ksadjflksajf this song is so perf thanks if u read sm

[wideouts4life]

NFL Week 10

The Wideouts came to play this past weekend. Watching the Minnesota Vikings come back to beat the Buffalo Bills had me jumping with excitement and going crazy on Sunday. For what Justin “The Man” Jefferson did when the game was on the line is nothing short of spectacular. I’m sure most fans thought the corner-route pass thrown by Kirk Cousins was picked off and game was over…until Jefferson rolled over with the ball shifting from his right palm into his left arm as the pass was completed. The next play Jefferson ran a dig-route and took a hit securing the catch at about the 3-yard line. In overtime he caught another sweet catch on the same corner route at the end of regulation. Of course Mr. Jefferson takes home the WOW award. He finished the afternoon with 10 catches for 193 yards and 1 touchdown. His team secured the victory as well against a formidable Buffalo Bills. 

On the opposite side was another dangerous wideout who goes by “Him.” All world wideout Stefon Diggs put on a show himself. Diggs did not find the end zone Sunday but he didn’t leave the field without having an eye dropping catch. Toward the end of the 3rd quarter, QB Josh Allen scrambled out the pocket right and fired a dart to Diggs who jumped up catching a 1-hand pass for a 25-yard gain. The next play he shook the corner and caught a slant where he broke a few tackles for the 20 yard completion. He’s currently number 3 in total yards with 857 and added to that total with 128 yards and 12 catches. I’m loving the way Stefon has played this season. 

Ceedee Lamb sometimes plays like the baby sheep his last name implies and at other times he’s the grown version of that sheep. Against the Green Bay Packers, Lamb caught 11 of 15 balls for 150 yards and 2 Touchdowns. Lamb will make an incredible catch and usually drops the easy ones. Since Dak Prescott has returned his targets and production have gone up. I believe the Cowboys are using him in the backfield to increase his confidence by getting him the ball against guys who can’t cover. I’m all for whatever works as long as he continues to get better. 

I believe this is the second week in a row that Terry McLaurin’s name has made this blog. Against one of the better defenses in the NFL (Eagles) McLaurin had a big day. Eagles corner Darius Slay was getting his ass whooped up and down the field. One play in particular was a beautiful release where McLaurin jabbed outside causing Slay to jump hard outside and stumble while he released inside catching a 45-yard go-route. Terry caught a bunch of slants and had another dope release on a corner route he caught near the end of the 2nd quarter. 8 catches for 128 yards is one hell of a game to beat the undefeated Eagles…Keep it up kid. 

Davante Adams is top 3 in the NFL when it comes to press releases. On a simple quick out he tore the DB ass up and finished with an acrobatic one-hand catch for a 5 yard gain. He then lines up inside and does the same thing on an 5 yard in-route against #58 of the Indianapolis Colts. Adams toyed with the backer all game. Early in the 4th Adams broke free on a 48-yard dig to score his lone touchdown. 

I’m glad a kid I once coached made the top wideouts of the week blog. Amon-Ra St. Brown finished the afternoon with 10 catches for 119 yards. I like how he’s being utilized in the run game to get him more touches. The Detroit Lions have a solid receiving core. St. Brown catches passes from the backfield, slot, and even receives handoffs. It appears teams in the league are copying what San Francisco does with Deebo Samuel and what the Atlanta Falcons have done with Cordarrelle Patterson. Line up your top athlete and utilize him against the teams worst defenders. I’m pushing for Amon-Ra to stay healthy so he could follow-up his rookie campaign with another 1,000 yard season. 

To conclude this weeks 100-yard performers are two names I’ve never heard of. Had it not been for the game Justin Jefferson had; Christian Watson of the Green Bay Packers would have been the wideout of the week. The rookie from North Dakota State had an hat-trick scoring 3 times against the Dallas Cowboys. The 6’5 wideout is a blazer. He blew by the corner on his first touchdown for a 58-yard bomb from Aaron Rodgers and scored the games final touchdown on a play action over-route to tie the game…eventually leading to his team kicking a field-goal to win. Christian Kirk caused havoc against the Kansas City Chiefs catching 9 passes for 105 yards and 2 touchdowns. The contract he received sure seems to be paying off for the talented wideout. Lastly is the other wideout I had never heard of. Nick Westbrook-Ikhine of the Tennessee Titans had an impressive afternoon. His first touchdown was a nice toe-tapping catch in the left end zone. Nick then caught a 64-yard flea flicker making a Broncos defender miss a tackle has he scored his second touchdown of the day. He finished the game with 5 catch for 119 yards and 2 TD’s. 

Another week to be great wideouts…let’s go, keep grinding, finish strong, and ball to the wheels fall. 

[breakingnewsbreakthrough]

Tuesday, September 17, 2024

Multiple rallies, US Steel, and several disgraced politicians

10:46am, EDT: "Michigan GOP using ex-Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick in radio ad promoting Trump"

I truly did not know we were letting this man back into the state, but he keeps popping up this year like a bad penny. Detroit has had bad luck with mayors for most of my life, but this guy really takes the cake (Dave Bing is up there too, if not for the bankruptcy, then for his heinous mustache). As a child of the early 2000s that grew up with parents that watched cable news, I can say with complete certainty that if I ever hear the phrase "Sex and Texts" again, it'll be too soon.

1:04pm, EDT: "Feds move to take Rick Johnson's 40-acre property to satisfy corruption scandal debt"

Ah, it's been too long since Weed Batman has made the news. Michigan's GOP has always been an absolute clown show - if the above news story wasn't enough proof, I can tell you about Kristina Karamo and her fight against demons - and this guy is no exception. To get all the out-of-towners up to speed, he (the speaker of Michigan's House of Representatives) took a bunch of bribe money from dispensary owners before recreational weed was legal, then used it to (among other things) pay a sex worker who called him "Batman." He's currently appealing his sentence and refusing to pay the money he owes the state, hence the property seizure. Never change, Michigan.

2:23pm, EDT: "U.S. Steel CEO discusses Nippon merger in Detroit"

My father, a man who has spent a not insignificant amount of his life in and around US Steel plants, calls the company and its higher-ups "Useless Steel." I myself have made my way to the local mill, and besides being a great setting for pictures, I wasn't impressed. Biden is short sighted as usual; the company will fold without help in the form of either government or foreign money. Unfortunately, many politicians don't see the value in shining up the Rust Belt.

3:04pm, EDT: "Vance in Michigan: Trump needs more Secret Service protection from assassination attempts"

I mean, this is only true if you believe the Secret Service is invested in keeping him alive. I'm joking, but honestly, things are going to get worse before they get better re: the assassination attempts. I mean, two separate women tried to kill Gerald Ford, a man it's impossible to have any strong feelings about, so I'm predicting a few more attempts before November rolls around.

3:57pm, EDT: "Eastern Market cancels next tailgate after shooting, will work to create 'weapon free zone'"

Controversial opinion, but I think all of Eastern Market should be a weapon free zone. As I write this, I know the conclusion to this whole saga, but I'll save it for tomorrow.

9:37pm, EDT: "Trump in Flint: China will 'dominate' EV race, Michigan an auto industry 'afterthought'"

Wow, this is the worst thing to happen to Flint since Rick Snyder decided they didn't need clean drinking water! Again, joking here, but I just don't get this coverage. The rally was an unintelligible mess of unresearched garbage that (for some reason) prominently featured Sarah Huckabee Sanders. He didn't say this. He said a jumble of words that could amount to this if you squint really hard and pretend you're talking to a four year-old.

On a personal note:

I find myself both excited to spend time with my friends and eternally vexed by their need to bring their significant others with them everywhere. I understand the closeness one wants to feel with their partner, and in all but a few cases, I find my friends' partners delightful; I'm going to be a hater about it though. Oh well, maybe I'm just a bitter old spinster whose idea of a good night is eating soft pretzels and drinking vodka spritzes on a patio with her mom (which is coincidentally what I did tonight).

Until tomorrow,

DM