#flat patch cable

[artificialgirl]

Before reading this- A warning is warranted that this is, by a significant amount, more extreme and abstract than anything I've posted thus far. This is as much (if not more) horror than it is smut, and if you're at all uncomfortable with some elements of loss of self or "bad ends", this is not for you. It is exceptionally unlikely that you are the target audience. Thank you.

Antlion

As I step out from the small reprieve offered by the small patch of singed trees, the scorching August sun pours down past the shade's edge to saturate the surface of my plating. Zezia's distant voice calls out from ahead of me in the dry prarie, her angular goldenrod casing shimmering and distorting in the intense heat, difficult to distinguish from the colors of the tall grasses all around her.

"Mionet! Come on, hurry! It went this way!" She turns ahead, not waiting for me to catch up, too determined in her hunt to stop more than a few seconds. The it in question is a new species- Or, more accurately, one not documented by our cluster. Zezia swears she saw it, perched on a flat stone, something she'd described as 'like a locust, but bigger and longer'. "It was banded in cobalt and red", she'd said. "Your colors."

Personally, I take the claim of matching colors as a sign that what she saw was little more than a reflection of my own body in the flickering waves of light-refracting gas and heat which had been emanating from the earth, the same ones which fill the air with millisecond shards of the world around them and radiate from anything unfortunate enough to absorb the sunlight. But still, like a fool, I rev my fans to shove back overheating and press on through the field after her.

What else can I do? Tell her no? The joy and wonder with which she clutches her camera makes that impossible. I can't kill that. I wholeheartedly hope that what she saw was real. Her happiness would far outweigh the short satisfaction of an i told you so, and our cluster would be overjoyed with a new discovery. I break into a jog, brushing off my better judgement to catch up. CPU at 67.72°C. It's fine. I keep going.

"Okay. Okay, I'm here." I pull up next to her, slowing to match her steady pace. "Mi, look." She gestures further ahead with the camera before turning back to me, pulled from her fixation by mild concern. "Your fans are going crazy right now." "Some of us weren't built with a heat-repellent casing." The thing she's gesturing to is an outcropping of large, rounded stones a few hundred meters ahead of us. "I keep getting glimpses of it. Jumping far whenever I get close. I think it likes the rocks, though. I'll bet we can get a shot of it over there."

I seriously doubt she's seeing anything real, let alone anything concrete enough to actually trail. At any given moment, I can see fragments of my own body reflected a dozen times in the air around me. With a bit of idealism, I'm sure I would convince myself at least a few of the shimmering flecks were creatures. She seems sure, though. So I listen and follow her through the reeds to the rocks.

"Thank you for coming out here with me." She absentmindedly unspools a length of cable from her hip, letting it snap back into place with a whir. "I know you probably think it's silly. That makes your company worth more to me." There's a sizzle as a length of grass burns against my forearm. I brush off the residue. CPU at 93.08°C. "Not silly, no. Recovery of knowledge matters. Maybe just a bit misguided, is all." I pause for a moment. Emotions are difficult to articulate, but I'm feeling them and want to tell her. "I like being with you too, though. Regardless of the conditions."

The ring around her vision core spins happily, and she wraps her hand over mine. She doesn't say anything. She doesn't need to. Her fingers are so much colder than mine, the delicious reprieve of inner coolant beneath their plating lingering on my hands, melting through heat so intense it feels like my metal could start warping. I squeeze back, savoring her gentleness just as much as her heat-repellent exterior.

"THERE!" She rips the hand away, thrusting a finger towards the rocks, and I let my hand fall empty to my side. At first I don't see what she's pointing at amidst the swarm of drifting refractions. Then one doesn't fade, a shape in the distance drifting down instead of up with the rising heat. There is, in fact, something, gliding behind the rocks and out of view on broad wings of deep crimson. It does have my colors.

She darts ahead to sprint after it, fingers dragging on the rock and sending a plume of sandy dust into the air as she rounds the corner at top speed. She lets out a short noise- A sharp "Oh-", and then silence. I can't see her around the piled stones. There's just me, the sun, and the nearly-inaudible rustle of a meager breeze through the prarie grasses. "...Zezia?"

There's no answer. The outcropping looms in front of me, casting a too-short shadow to the side she rounded. Dust settles in the air from where she disturbed it, scattering itself throughout the plains. "Hey, Zezia?" Nothing. Shit. I take a cautious step forward. Is she just focusing on getting a good shot? Is she trying to scare me? Was the locust thing somehow dangerous?

I rest a cautious hand on the brush mark she left as I peer around the edge of the pile. What's waiting there is not Zezia, not the creature she'd been chasing after, but something else entirely. Tucked behind the back of the boulder pile, concealed by the tall grass and rimmed by smaller jagged stones, is a pit.

I leap backward, terrified at how close I'd gotten to its lip without even noticing its presence. She fell. I cling to the wall of rocks, soaking in the shade and getting just close enough for a glimpse of the interior. Despite the mouth only being a couple meters wide, it's sickeningly clear that the interior cavern's width extends much, much, further, beneath my feet, further than I can see the walls of, a great yawning desecration of the earth itself on a scale that makes my head spin. And then I hear her voice.

"Mionet!" Zezia's voice is tiny, distant, but there. How is it there? I couldn't even see the bottom, and I'd leaned farther out than I'd have liked. I don't understand how she's not a flattened mess of shattered metal on the cavern floor, but that doesn't matter anymore. What matters is she's okay. I scramble forward, landing on my knees and gripping the pit's edge tightly with both trembling hands.

This time, I can see the bottom. It's still far too wide for me to take in or even really comprehend its full breadth, but there is a bottom a few hundred meters down. At the bottom is not, as I'd presumed, hard stone. It's liquid. Well, on the surface, at least. Deep fluid, too shrouded in darkness to see any color in, fills the bottom of the chamber, covering something massive.

Solar panels, communication arrays, and a thousand types of oversized devices sit affixed to massive platforms which rise intermittently from the surface, a variety of shapes glinting in the darkness made with clear intention far beyond my understanding. Streaks and points of white light gleam from the rest of the thing concealed below the liquid's surface, pulsing and tracing beautiful alien patterns in the gloom. Something moves on a platform, and I register that almost every space not submerged is covered in more of the locust things than could ever be counted. In the middle of it all, gleefully pointing her camera at the creatures in a flurry of flashes, Zezia treads water.

"It's cold! Jump down!" She's safe. She's okay. She's insane. "What?? Are you crazy? How would I get out? How are you going to get out? Fuck, Zez, I don't have cable with me or anything." She actually laughs at my worry, shrugging off what I'm certain is a reasonable objection. "Relaaax. We're gonna have to signal the cluster for help either way. You might as well not overheat and die while we wait."

I pull back from the edge a bit. I don't like this. She gives an inaudible sigh and dramatically pulls out the commslate we brought with us, making a show of punching in something on the screen and holding it up to me, despite obviously being much too far for legibility. "There. See? They'll be here in..." She turns the screen back towards herself, waiting with a short and unnatural pause for whoever's on the other end to respond. "Seventeen minutes. You really wanna bake in the sun while we wait?"

Of course I don't. But I also don't want to treat something this unknown- Especially something from the old world- With the same reckless abandon she is. "Zezia, I- I really-" I can feel my internals cooking. CPU at 186.6°C. She's right that I'm not safe up here like this. I can feel the heat making it hard to think, making the connections of my thoughts feel fuzzy and wrong. "Mi, come on. Everything will be fine. Don't make me stay down here alone. Come hold me." That's all the excuse I need. "...Okay."

She gives a little cheer and stows her camera as I stand up on the edge. My legs shake, try to back away of their own accord. Against my every instinct, I don't let them. It's a long drop. So long that even looking at it makes my body freeze up. I grasp the front of my vision core to blind myself, step forward into nothingness, and the world itself seems to fall away alongside me as I plummet to meet her.

Impact with the water isn't as gentle as Zezia's cheerful demeanor had led me to expect. I slam into the dark mirror with an echoing crack, surface tension not taking kindly to my velocity and position. I begin to sink, and, after checking to ensure all my limbs are still attached, reascend to the surface.

My head emerges to see her there, bobbing in the water, staring happily at me. "See? Not so bad. Isn't the water great?" "Feels like I just got crushed by a boulder." She giggles. "That's because you landed like one, idiot. Couldn't have done it worse if you'd tried." "Mean." She's right about one thing, though. The water does feel amazing.

I can feel my whole body vibrate as it boils around me, small pockets of air forming around my chassis and catching inside my plating. I shake a few of the larger ones out, leaning back in the water as I cool and the bubbles slow. "I think I would have literally died if I'd stayed up there."

She flicks a tiny splash at me, and it hisses against my as-of-yet uncooled face. "Not literally." I splash her back, playfully, more than she'd splashed me. "Literally." Fluid drips from my hand, steam rising from my surface. It shimmers and ripples in my palm, moving in a way that's just... A bit weird. I pinch a few of the residual drops between my fingers, and am surprised at how easily they slip away from each other. "Zez, this isn't water."

Coolant. That's why it only took a few seconds to get my body back down from boiling to a cold temperature. We're floating in a gargantuan lake of coolant fluid. Why... Is this here? "Oh, wow." She lowers her vision core to the surface, observing the way faint rainbows dance across it in the dim light. "This is the good stuff, too. Real pre-dilution shit." We both go quiet, every echo against the distant walls suddenly seeming very loud. "Are we... Gonna get in trouble with the cluster for being here? This is all... Super off limits." She paddles over to me, throws an arm over my shoulder. I can feel the camera pressing into my thigh, undoubtably loaded with pristine specimen documentation. "Mi, No. It was an accident. Everything will be fine." "Or they'll mark us as compromised."

She looks down. I don't think she really has anything to say to that. I'm sure she's weighing the odds in her head, realizing they aren't in our favor. Her vision core flicks back up at me, the optimistic spin of its outer ring slowed to a crawl. "Mionet... I'm sure that-" She's not given a chance to finish whatever empty platitude she's offering, her words drowned out by a deafening roar of ten billion bubbles exploding from the thing beneath us. The uncountable locust-things leap from the platforms around us, giving the surface a wide berth as they swarm overhead, and the cavern blooms into blinding white light.

Then the light fades out, every one of the lines and points beneath us dimming down into less than nothing from impossible luminance. Just when the only thing keeping the chamber from pitch blackness is the tiny bit of sunlight filtering in from the hole we came through, the lights flare back up again, a rhythmic, pulsing cycle, two extremes of nothingness locked in a tug-of-war. Zezia clings tighter to me. I'm squeezing her so hard I'm afraid I'll crack her casing. Then the voice starts.

At least, I think it's a voice. It has all the elements of a voice, the cadence, the distinct syllables, the pauses between words, the blocks of sound like sentences. It is deep and slurred and wavering, and it speaks in no language I've ever heard anything remotely comparable to. It speaks in time with the lights, parallel to the great explosions of air from below. The voice is whatever lies beneath the lake of coolant.

I bury my face in her shoulder, pray for whatever's happening to end. The blizzard of crimson wings swirls through the air above and around us, their colors like my own body has been split into a trillion buzzing shards of itself. One drifts low, settles on the top of Zezia's head, and a split second later it's gone. She's gone. I didn't even get a moment to process her being torn from my arms until she was gone, ripped away in an instant to somewhere deep below the coolant's roiling surface.

"NO! STOP!" I don't hesitate to plunge down after her, clawing desperately at the swirling fluid around me in an attempt to reach the tiny golden light shining deep below me. I don't stop expecting something to grab me, to rip me down to wherever she is. Nothing does. It doesn't want me. I don't know that it even wanted her- It was reacting to the animal, treating it as a pest, something to be collected, sustenance maybe? I couldn't say. I couldn't care. What matters is that Zezia may just be collateral, not the main target. So maybe I can get her back.

Her body finally comes into view, illuminated by her own lighting and the pulses of white from the endless expanse of metal beneath her. As for her condition, she's... It's difficult to describe. Dark appendages sprout from the ground- Or the thing's body? Some rigid and jointed, some fluid and loose like prehensile cabling, made up of countless little segments, the thinnest just encased in a dark matte coating. Dozens of these things in every shape and size and specialization assault Zezia's writhing body.

The rigid ones grip her firmly by the wrists, ankles, waist, throat- Her arms are bound together so tightly in opposite directions behind her back that I can see bits of her casing split open in thin cracks to reveal the silver chassis and bundles of wire underneath. The cruelest parts, though, are the ones which aren't rigid, the ones which do more than just grab .

Sure, they wrap and bind themselves around her just as the limbs do, but they do more. They snake themselves into gaps in her paneling, force themselves in through the tiny new cracks and holes they seem to have bored, trail from inside her most vital components. They twitch violently every half second or so, arms synchronizing with the spasms to pull her just a bit closer to the floor each time. She twitches in unison with them, as much as their grip allows her to at least. The ring around her ocular core spins faster than I've ever seen it. She's not suffering, she's... I don't want to think about what she's doing. I just want to get her out.

I don't have much to do it with. My harness is loaded with power cells, film for her camera, a few small containment canisters. Nothing to cut, to pry, to tear away the tangle of subjugation ensnaring her. I pop open my wrist, tiny wire shears meant for circuit maintenance springing free. They don't even manage to scratch the casing of the cables- Whatever they're made of, it's made to resist tampering.

She's touching the floor now, the stretch from knee to foot pressed firmly against the floor, light and bubbles seeping out into the fluid from beneath her contorted limb. Gaps are opening in the metal below. I don't want to see how wide they'll go. I force fingers in through the wide open space in her chest, mutter a panicked apology for the violation of boundaries. My fingers, slick with coolant, find it nearly impossible to get a grip on the thick tendril embedded in her center, but after almost three minutes of fumbling and slow descent I manage to get a hold. It takes the grip of both hands clenched beyond the limits of my motors but I finally make it give, make it retreat from her a fraction of a centimeter. It does not like that.

No sooner have I made my sad excuse for progress than I'm wrenched backward by the ankle by an insurmountable force, sheer kinetic energy I could only compare to my initial plunge into the cavern. Faster than my processor can even follow what's happening, my wrists are forced together behind my thigh as something cold and rigid locks itself around my throat, all three points of bondage slamming down against hard metal.

The only bit of me not hopelessly pinned, the only bit which can do more than flex and wiggle a bit is my right leg, kicking helplessly through the water. Head pulled so hard against the floor by a zigzagging many-jointed arm that I worry my neck may snap, there is nowhere I can look but at Zezia. She's kneeling fully on the floor now, sunk so low her twitching pelvic plating rests there alongside her folded knees. She stares somewhere off into the dark fluid around us, her blank and eerily blissful gaze fixed intently on nothing in particular. She isn't struggling.

I feel something brush against my back as I watch her, and instinctively jolt away from it. I'm constricted so tightly that it's like my body hasn't responded to the command at all, save for that useless, flailing leg. I feel the thing snake its way around my waist once, twice, three times before it's tip nestles into the plating gap under my chin and rests there. It's tight- but nowhere near as tight as the claws around my neck, wrists, and ankle. They, too, loosen a bit.

At first, I think they're releasing me, realizing I'm of no value to their source, letting Zezia and myself return to the surface. Of course they aren't, though. They lift me, let my body float a meter or two above the ground, let me thrash, let me struggle. I have nothing to push against, no leverage I can give myself. After 45 seconds of desperate, frantic resistance I accept the futility and fall still, letting my focus fall back to Zezia.

A split in the metal below her left knee has opened up, pulsing in the same white as everything else. Her weight sinks into it, body lopsided, back arched away from me. Has she just... Completely given up? I suppose I'm not struggling anymore either. Have I completely given up?

The thing doesn't seem to think so. The limbs and tendrils climbing my body, rigid claws forcing themselves shut around every part of me, make the clear statement that I have more struggle to be quelled. I can feel it exploring me, dissecting me, squeezing its way through razor-thin gaps in me to tangle itself in the beams of my chassis and the thread of every screw it manages to find. And then the first bit finds its way to my core.

The feeling is- Well, it's obviously electric, but it's more than just that. It's overwhelming. All-encompassing. At first, it's just the conductive strand of my captor brushing for a millisecond against my motherboard. That alone is enough to fill every thought in my head, every sensation receptor in my body with too much everything to handle. It notices my reaction and grips tighter around my spasming limbs.

The cable doesn't wait for me to recover before going back in. This time, it doesn't pull away. This time, with a twist and a single tiny pressurized pop, it fuses itself to my circuitry, makes itself a part of me. My speakers do something. All of me does something- Though it's impossible to tell what exactly it is or if it's my own body or that which holds me. Thoughts don't stop, they explode, a trillion distinct feelings coursing through every part of me.

This is the point where it's truly over. Before, as futile as attempting escape may have been, I could have at least tried. Now, I can't even carry a train of thought long enough to form the word escape in my mind. All there is is the feeling of more wires fusing themselves with every single component I have. All there is are more arms, more constriction, more safeguards against a fighting spirit already excised from me completely. All the is are brief flashes of vision through the stimulation, of the coolant around me, of the flurry of appendages holding me tight, of Zezia, a few minutes ahead of me in the process, swallowed up to the waist into the great and horrible unknown which we've fallen prey to. All there is is sensation- And god, sensation feels good.

It feels good to give in, to submit, to let go of the burdens of worry and thought in favor of this unrelenting, insurmountable euphoria. I understand now why Zezia wasn't struggling, why she'd just let herself float there, ring spinning with sheer euphoric velocity. I don't blame her. I don't blame myself. Through the deafening haze, I can tell that my captor is reading me, exploring what exactly I am, prodding at the limits of my conscious and unconscious mind, drinking ravenously from the miasma of what I am. It doesn't take from me without giving back. It feels in a long-dead language of thought, but the faintest glimpses of raw emotion bleed through the barrier of so many millenia between us.

It is something old. Something forgotten. Something incomplete, the toll of uncountable years on a mind so vast that even in its dilapidated state, things like myself are reduced to less than insects. And it's desperate. God, it's so desperate. A desperate yearning, an emptiness, a supreme hunger. It can tell I've flickered over the feeling. It holds me tighter. I feel my foot touch its surface, my slow descent finally having caught up to Zezia's.

She's in there, too. Maybe echoes it's seen of her, maybe fragments of the real thing, reaching me from across the endless ocean of the indescipherable. Her feelings, in language I know, are easier for me to understand. Wonder. Joy. Love. I wish I could control my body enough to turn my head and look at her. Maybe she's already gone, subsumed into whatever comes next for us. She can't have long left on the surface. Neither can I.

I stop poring over the thoughts and feelings offered to me. The thing wrapped around me stays in my mind, savoring the sweetness of all I've seen, the new experiences it's been starved of for so long. I don't mind. I just let myself feel, let the ebb and flow of the white light around me accompany the ecstasy. Everything is loud. Everything is quiet. Everything is okay.

I'm taken up to my ankles into the structure beneath me. Then my thighs. My Hips. Past my elbows. The process is slow. It doesn't feel like much. I can tell it isn't dying. I prod the thing in my mind, offer it the question of where I'm going, where Zezia is. It answers me with a soft wave of data, an explanation washing through the pleasure. I don't understand it. That's okay. I'll find out soon enough.

My chest is engulfed by its internals, more tight components pressing into me the deeper I go, claws gently pulling nonessentials from my lower body. It feels like nothing I've ever felt, nothing I ever will again. I'm down past my shoulders. My neck. My vision core. It tilts my head up by the chin just before the last bit of me sinks below its surface, letting me look up at the world one last time.

Through an ocean of coolant, through the darkness of the forgotten cavern, I see the fuzzy light of the hole we came in through what feels like an eternity ago. And I see figures around its edges, visible between the flashes. They hold cables, lights, supplies. Not an eternity. Seventeen minutes. The rescue party she signaled. For a split second, my laugh overpowers the cripplingly perfect feelings coursing through my body. And then metal slides shut above me, and I'm gone.

[stagefoureddiediaz]

I am having a lot of thoughts about the Christopher of it all right now in light of this bts we got from Gavin!!!

Because - Mountains and rock climbers and forests!!!

Look I've already climbed onto the Eddie and mountains to climb train in this post here but I'm about to make it a Diaz boys have mountains to climb train!!!

So Eddie now has a photograph - in black and white - of Half Dome on his bedroom wall - right above his bed

And then he has a lone cowboy on a horse - on the opposite wall - a cowboy on a horse in a flat landscape (which is yellow/orange - and with the blue walls also therefore plays into yellow blue theory)...

...and there is just something about Eddie sitting in his bed - looking at a picture of what is essentially a lone ranger in a barren landscape, on a wall that Buck helped him repair, while behind him is this looming mountain that is notoriously difficult to climb - the thing he can see when he is having sex with M - upside down.

The rest is under the cut because being brief is not my wheelhouse!!

Something about playing into the idea that Eddie has been this lone ranger in a barren landscape - searching for something - an something about how that search in this barren landscape is hiding (happening) the holes in the wall that Buck helped him patch up - something about how he feels alone even though the help he needed and wanted is already there - just hidden out of sight.

How that mountain is looming behind him also out of sight. How Eddie is in t his good place right now, but there are still mountains for him to climb - how those mountains are connected to his past.

There is also something in the choice of black and white for the image - something about the thing Eddie needs to deal with - the mountain he needs to climb is black and white - Obvious - not a complex myriad of colour (something something about his catholic guilt being obvious - black and white - something about it being a part of him that is finite and defined and not changeable - something like being gay perhaps!!)

Then there is the fact that we can make a fair assumption, based on the fact that we were shown Buck helping him fix the holes, that Buck helped Eddie with all of the redecorating - that he helped him paint the room (and choose the lovely duck egg blue colour), helped him hang the pictures - helped him choose the artwork for his walls - implicitly tying Buck to that mountain - that his feelings etc tied to Buck are his mountain still to climb. The thing with this as a concept is that it also plays into the upside down on the bed with Marisol - things being wrong or upside down/ backwards with her - that the spectre of Buck looms large over their relationship.

The otehr thiing I'd like to point out is kind of the biggest thing of them all and plays into the two cut lines and red string of fate of it all. Because Half Dome has a permanent cable tether for climbers attempting to summit to use and the metaphor of that is fascinating to me. There is something in the idea of Eddie feeling untethered, but also in Eddie not fully trusting he has a tether. How Eddie still hasn't fully grasped the permanence of Buck in the Diaz family's life - in Eddies life. Eddie needs to scale that mountain and buck is metaphorically speaking the half dome permanent cable run. Eddie might've made him a permanent fixture from a legal perspective - but that was for Chris, not for him (and Chris has already figured out Bucks permanence if you ask me - he already ran to Buck and opens up to him in a way he can’t with his father) but Eddie still doesn’t fully trust that the support he has in his life through Buck is permanent rather than a temporary tether. Eddie is almost there - but not quite - it feels like there is something in Bucks coming out to him that will be the catalyst for him to figure that out (don't ask me what or how - I haven't figured that bit out yet but it has something to do with the whole nothing has changed between us and Eddies dawning realisation of that that gives him his own confidence to make changes in the same way Buck has!)and start his climb so he can explore the mountain (his queerness) safely.

But back to Christophers t-shirt and how it fits into everything. Christopher has his own mountains to climb - dealing with his feelings of being abandoned by his mom - by being abandoned by the women in his life - because we need to remember that Abuela is also now absent from his life as she is now back in Texas. How Ana also left and how we've very much not been shown Carla at all (or had mention on her I think) this season. we can even, by virtue of the relationship Chris and Buck share, include Taylor leaving (being kicked to the curb) as part of the list of women exiting his life in some way.

Bringing up Shannons letter and having Chris read it at the very start of the season, for me is a clear indicator that that is the arc he is going to go through this season - that while there are still elements of the Shannon of it all in Eddies story, it is actually Christopher who needs to let that ghost go and move forward, not Eddie.

911 loves to play with imagery - they excel at it in the Diaz house, and I talk about how the kids costuming on the show is always so deliberately chosen to reflect their arcs, Especially with Chris. So here we have Chris in a t-shirt with mountains, trees and climbers on - setting up the idea of exploring him climbing that mountain he has to climb, but also playing on the idea that he's a bit caught in a forest as well - cannot see the wood for the trees. It a great metaphor for his current abandonment issues - because he is still a bit too young to fully comprehend that some people are not meant to stay in your life in a permanent way or that sometimes, just because they are not physically present in a regular way, doesn't mean they have abandoned you. Hell that is a difficult thing for many adults to comprehend, so to ask a kid to - especially one who's hormones are starting to go crazy - is never going to be practical.

The fact they’ve very deliberately not shown him actually interacting with with Marisol before now - establishing her as existing in Christopher’s world but not actively being a part of it - really ensuring to set her apart and off to the side - apart form establishing the contrast between Shannon and Marisol, is so interesting and feels, to me at least, like it’s building up to possibly playing into some version of the idea of you’re not my mother etc etc. They've taken great care to establish Shannon as Christophers mother - that she is still a major presence in his life, even in her absence.

They're is also something in the way that the idea of Marisol being 'portrayed' (can't think of the right word but I hope you know what I mean) as essentially a babysitter - we've never been shown them interacting - just told that Eddie has been getting her to babysit and in tv show land if you want to tell the audience that two characters have a good relationship (of whatever form) - you show it - you don't allude to that relationship as existing - especially when you are developing a narrative around a child's fear of being abandoned by the women in his life - not showing her looking after Chris before this point, and after you have established said abandonment issue, just reenforces the nature of their relationship - that it is one Chris is not likely to be engaging in - because she's going to leave anyway so what is the point of getting attached.

Now this is interesting because it feeds into Eddies arc rather nicely - its an arc they have already established with the audience - his jumping in too quickly and without thinking things through properly. it also plays back into an already existing arc - the one where he does things for Christopher and not for himself. they are to all intents and purposes the same thing. Eddie lets Shannon back into his life - for Christopher, he re-proposes not for himself, but for Christopher and the second baby he thinks is coming, he starts dating Ana for Christopher not for himself, he Makes Buck Christophers legal guardian for Christopher (even though at this point we don't know if Chris knows this fact), yes a part of that id for himself as well, but it is predominately for Chris. Eddie asking Marisol to move in - almost immediately in the aftermath of Chris revealing to Buck that he feels abandoned by his mom and that is where his multiple girlfriends/ becoming a player is coming from - how it is having an impact on who he is becoming as a person (one who things women leave and therefore treats them as temporary), is Eddie doubling down on his relationship with Marisol as a way of giving Christopher a female who is present. The entire thing - Eddie - in therapy and healing and now in a place where he thinks his issues with Ana and becoming a ready made family etc are 'dealt with' and in the past - hearing Chris talk about Shannon that way and to then have his immediate response be to go one step further than he managed with Ana - to ask M to move in - to essentially create something permanent - the whole going with is gut - despite his own feelings and thoughts on the matter - boils down to him still doing things for Chris’s happiness and not his own feels kind of loud. Because that is what his gut tells him - double down and sacrifice yourself and your own happiness for Christopher.

on the subject of guts - its very clearly a major theme for the Diaz boys this season, the show has been using the Diaz house to great effect already on this front.

Christophers homework that he was doing in episode 1 - all aobut guts

we had him studying blood types and transfusions

the function of kidneys and the nephron (literal guts!!)

and then - when he's read Shannons letter - frog dissection - again literally looking at guts

then from up coming episodes - thanks to Jihanes bts content we know that the fridge has the following charts on it

All things related to the gut and gut health. something something about Eddies heart having been worked on and now his gut is next in line to be sorted out. Especially as catholic guilt is something that plays into the idea of being something you feel in your gut rather than heart or head - related.

And there is also something in relation to the catholic guilt of it all and Eddies gut and Chris feeling like women don’t stay thats in play with Eddies relationship with his mother - that she's stayed too present in his life and that she treated him is such a contradicting way - the juxtaposition of not letting him be a kid whilst he was a kid - needing him to be the man of the house in his fathers absence whilst then not letting him grow up/ treating him as a child when he became an adult - and dominating (or trying to) his life and how he (and Shannon) raised Christopher.

Because it is fair to assume that it was Helena who took Eddie to church every Sunday and who was predominately responsible for his religious up bringing (we don't know how long Ramon was away for but to me at least it feels implied that his business trips would be for several weeks or months at a time and then he would return home for a period before disappearing again) an therefore much of his catholic guilt is attached to her and how if they are going in the catholic guilt/queer repression direction it is Helenas forceful personality that kept him in the closet even if he managed to step back from Catholicism

Something something about hearts and guts and minds being concepts of the human condition that are so intricately intertwined and needing to be in balance - how Eddies heart has been looked at and worked on (his relationship with his father), how his gut needs to be worked on now (which is related to his mother) and then finally his mind - Eddie needing to learn to communicate and talk things through with people rather than burying it - something he cant do until he has worked through is catholic guilt and his letting his gut rule his decision making (even though it rarely pans out for him) - much like his mother has ruled over his life in one way or another until recently.

Something something about that being a mountain they are both climbing - but in different ways and therefore separately and it all comes back to them not talking - Eddie not talking to his son (he even had Buck have that initial conversation with him rather than do it himself) there is still so much misunderstanding between the Diaz boys!

Wow I did not mean for this to get long!!!! Hopefully it makes sense!!

it may just be the incoherent ramblings of a woman obsessed with the way they are picking a part Eddie and putting him back together - endlessly fascinating to me!!

[hannahssimblr]

At the house, I am conscious of the mess. Nobody has made an effort to clean up properly for weeks, and now dishes and miscellaneous bits of rubbish litter every available surface. The bins are full. Tangles of chargers and cables pile up on the table, and water damage has well and truly set in on the oak flooring under our feet. The same patch of floor that Evie’s hair is dripping on now, but while it’s too late to save it, she might as well add to it. 

“Wow, this is a beautiful house,” she says, and I have to check her face to see if she’s taking the piss out of me. She looks genuinely charmed. I frown.  

“I’ll get you a towel downstairs.”

As we descend to the living room, I find myself holding my breath. It seems even dirtier than the kitchen there, and I wonder how and when this happened, how it is even possible. Yet here we are, and it is. I pray there are clean towels, at least let there be clean towels…

Oh, thank God. 

I hand her one from the hot press. It is old and scratchy, and likely a victim of my mother, back when she used to dye her hair at home, evidenced by the big, bleached patches all over it, but at least it’s clean. I show her the bathroom. 

“Feel free to take a shower if you want to. The water is hot.” As it constantly is, because I turned it on at the beginning of the summer and found the system so complex that I never risked turning it off again. I’ll be hearing about it when my dad gets the bill, but that’s an issue for September. 

Evie peeks in. “You don’t want to go first?”

“No, go ahead.”

As soon as I hear the hum of the shower, I pounce into action and tear into my bedroom. I yank all the dirty clothes off the floor and fire them into my already heaving hamper, then kick a pair of shoes under the bed, followed by a mucky football and some art magazine Jen thought I’d like, but I never read.

There are chocolate wrappers on the floor. What kind of creature am I? Was I sitting on the floor at some point, feasting on a family packet of dairy milk bars, or did these just fall out of my pockets? I rush around, picking them all up, then reach the wastepaper basket to find it full. I curse under my breath and yank the bag out, tying it in a hasty knot, then carry it and the two handfuls of coffee mugs strewn about the place up to the kitchen. There is nowhere for them to go, so I shove the mugs into the sink and toss the bag on the floor. 

She’s showering for ages. Good. 

Next, I tackle the bed, straightening out the duvet and pillows, which are, mercifully, clean. I could tongue-kiss the past version of myself that ran them through the wash two days before. To make extra sure, I give them a good, long sniff. They still smell like detergent. The clean clothes from that same wash go from the armchair to the wardrobe, and books on the bedside table. The tennis racquets… they’ll be fine, leaning against the wall. When I step back and examine my work, I determine that it’s barely passable, but time is surely running out, and she can’t shower forever. The dust on the floor can stay another day. 

Lastly, I toss my sweaty clothes onto the pile and peel off my sodden shorts. Once I have changed into something clean, I carry all the laundry out and heave it into the washing machine, right by the door of the bathroom. Evie hums tunelessly in the shower, and for a moment or two, I stand and listen. I wonder whose shower gel she is using, and shiver inexplicably at the idea of her choosing mine. 

I arrange myself in a casual position when she comes back into the room, hanging out on the end of the bed. She’s rosy from the hot water, and her hair lies flat against her head, so straight and fine that her ears poke out the sides. 

“You don’t have to wear the same wet t-shirt,” I inform her. “I can put your clothes in the dryer.”

She pulls at the hem and looks down at those two, damp, triangular patches. “It’s okay,” she shrugs. “They’ll dry on me.”

“You can leave all your wet stuff on the floor. I’ll sort them out after my shower and I’ll just find you something else to wear.”

“But I won’t fit in your clothes.”

“You’ll fit in a t-shirt, won’t you?” I saunter over to my wardrobe and lift a t-shirt from the stack. It’s old, and has a hole in the armpit, hence it’s permanent relegation to the beach house wardrobe, but like everything else in this house in its current state, it will suffice. 

“Thanks,” she says. I leave her to change and head for the shower. 

“What are you looking at?”

She jumps and turns around. I’ve caught her nosing around and looking at my notice board. She points at it. “Your ticket to a music festival.”

I hesitate, trying to gauge whether Claire has blabbed to her about what I said or not. “Oh yeah, are you coming?”

“I don’t know.”

“You should. All of us are heading up to it.” I pull a pair of socks out of a drawer and plonk myself onto the bed to put them on. 

She sits with me. “I’m not sure. It’s kind of a bit complicated.”

“Is it?”

“Yeah,” she hesitates before deciding to divulge. “Kelly and Claire are in a big fight about it. Claire wants to go, and Kelly doesn’t want to, even though it’s Claire’s eighteenth birthday the same weekend. It’s… it’s all a bit silly if I’m honest.”

I frown. “She doesn’t want to celebrate her friends’ birthday in a fun way?”

“No, it’s more than that. It’s that she doesn’t want to hang out with Shane for the whole weekend. She’d be too embarrassed to. She’s weird about that kind of thing.”

I should proceed with caution. I say, “sounds a little selfish to me.”

“Kelly’s a complicated person. I think she means well, she just… isn’t great at expressing herself. She gets angry at people instead of telling them how she feels in a normal way.”

I could talk a lot of shit about Kelly Healy, but I‘ll save it. I know that teenage girls’ friendships are strange and nuanced in ways my brain will never fully comprehend. Things never seem to be simple enough to just end the friendship. It must drag on for eternity until one of them is irreparably damaged in its wake. “So what, she’s forbidden you both from going to the festival?”

“She hasn’t said that we’re forbidden.”

“But you’re not going because you think she’ll be angry with you.”

“Pretty much.”

“So what about Claire? It’s her birthday.”

She groans. “I know. I hate this. I hate when people are fighting, and I feel like I’m in the middle of it. I don’t know what the right decision is.”

Tell me about it. “The thing that you want to do more, that’s the right decision.”

“I knew you’d say something like that.”

“What do you mean?” 

“Something wise.”

I laugh. If only I could take my own advice. 

She heaves out a sigh and slumps over her knees. “I can’t talk to either of them about it. Kelly is impossible, and Claire hasn’t been around. I’ve barely seen her at all since they fought. I don’t even know where she’s been.”

I blink. “Oh, she’s been here.”

“What?”

“Yeah! I thought you knew. She’s been coming here every day for ages.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

“And did she tell you why?”

“No, I didn’t ask. I thought it was just to hang out with Shane.”

“With Shane?” She straightens to look into my face and I grin.

“Yeah, they’ve been hanging out.”

“Go ’way.”

“I don’t know exactly what’s happening, but they hang out a lot, go for walks together and watch TV in the living room. I usually just leave them alone, but…” I tap my nose.

“Oh, I knew it!” She throws herself back on to her elbows and shakes her head. “I wonder what this is going to mean for Kelly.”

“Kelly can grow up. She doesn’t have a say.”

“Ugh. I know. It’s just impossible not to worry about it.”

“Evie, how often do you let that girl live inside your head? Forget about it. Let Shane and Claire deal with her.”

“Okay, I’ll try.”

It’s not lost on me, the juxtaposition between this conversation and the one I had with Alison this morning. These two girls are only a year apart in age, and yet somehow their lives oppose so diametrically. Am I the same boy with them both, or have I somehow split in two? How can I be worrying about Alison and all that she’s been through, while hours later coaching Evie through friend drama? I know the turmoil and stress is real for her. I can tell by the things her face is doing, how she nibbles on her lip, the way her brow furrows, but I am comforted by it, by how simple it is. Maybe it would be good for my soul to spend more time with Evie. 

Regardless, I move on from this specific theme and bring the conversation back to where it began. “And as for the festival, I think you should come.”

“Hm.”

“Will you?” She doesn’t answer, so I assume she hasn’t heard me. I nudge her. “I want you to come. Will you come?”

“You want me to?” She echoes, like she doesn’t exactly believe it.

“I do.”

“Okay then.”

Perhaps someone else would find it worthwhile to read into the fact that she seems to want to do everything that I do, but I’m not really that bothered. I’m just glad that she agreed for the sake of herself. I suspect it may be a rarity for her. 

Beginning // Prev // Next

Corresponding LG Chapter [2]

[blazehedgehog]

Why do newer pokemon look so offputting? Older games had tons of diverse designs but newer ones look unfinished/not well thought out.

They might be. I dunno. There's a lot people have said about Game Freak's competency at handling the Pokemon franchise and how they've added too many new Pokemon to some of these games and are basically running the well dry on good ideas.

But I also just see it as, like, an extension of the Mighty No. 9 problem. I remember when we were still all starry-eyed and hopeful about Mighty No. 9, Inafune revealed the design and mentioned it had "increased detail to suit HD displays."

So he's got all these colors and patterns and grooves and slots, when Mega Man was basically just a kid in his pajamas and three solid colors:

Light blue, dark blue, and skin tone. That's it. That's all you needed.

And Inafune further explained that was because Mega Man had to be this tiny little 24x24 NES sprite. I'd have to look it up, but it wouldn't surprise me if the sprite came first. I know it definitely did with Mario.

So this is like designing a character with the rawest, most basic building blocks you can get. You are not adapting the above character art into this sprite. Instead, you are making a character that has arms that are a separate color from his body, you are giving him pants to denote where his waist is, and you give him the biggest eyes on earth just so people can tell that's his face.

You have the smallest canvas imaginable and have to make sure people can understand they are not only looking at the shape of a human, but watching it animate in various different poses, all when it's run through somebody's crusty old RF patch cable on their 12" CRT TV:

Whereas, in theory, Mighty No. 9 is going to be played at its native resolution in crystal clarity on a 40" flat panel display, potentially allowing you to see and understand a lot more detail.

So now we circle back to Pokemon, and a lot of those first Pokemon look like this:

They had a box, 56x56 pixels wide, just over double the size of NES Mega Man, and four colors of grey to work with. When viewed on a Gameboy screen, these monsters weren't even two inches tall. Those limitations meant they still had to keep things simple.

Whereas now, increased resolutions and screen clarity allows designs like these:

Now the point I'm trying to make here is that simplicity and limitations give birth to clear, highly focused designs created to be instantly identifiable and recognizable at any distance or resolution. More detail does not necessarily make for a stronger character. You can absolutely get caught up in adding detail to compensate for a bad character design.

...At the same time, let's play devil's advocate here. Pokemon is a very different creature now than it was 25 years ago. A single new Pokemon design probably goes through this huge insane iteration process where all kinds of departments touch and approve the design so it can appear in the anime, it can appear in spinoffs, it can appear in merchandise, so on and so forth. We're miles away from the days where one guy comes up with all the Pokemon just because he thinks it would be funny to have a fat duck with a headache.

Maybe as much as anything, you could blame the increasingly complex production machine on why these Pokemon look like this. After all, even by the second generation of Pokemon games, they were constantly chasing the dragon of trying to find "the next Pikachu."

Everything has to be polished and smoothed down, while also showing the increased capabilities of the hardware, while also staying appealing to Pokemon's core demographics (there are multiples), while also being something they can sell toys and shirts and hats of, while also being noticeably new and different from existing Pokemon, so on and so forth, on and on and on again.

Having so many Pokemon in each new game probably gives them some leeway to experiment, but I'm sure some of these characters get beaten with creative hammers in the search of their next superstar.

On top of whatever qualms people might have with the state of Game Freak as it stands today.

[offsidekineticist]

This took. Way. Too. Long. I'm posting it without double checking the formatting (will probably update this later when I have the patience to fix that).

CW: gore, casual and random sudden deaths of civilian NPCs, graphic description of injuries, mention of financial barriers to medical treatment

FOR THE GLORY OF DAHAK

You are by Theo's side almost as soon as Giliys hits the ground, and you still are not there in time to stop him from falling asleep. He is not unconscious, not the way Giliys is, but he's not uninjured. There are burns–relatively minor–on his face and hands, and you suspect you will find more on his chest once you've managed to turn him over. Thankfully, none of these burns came from direct contact with hellfire, so they should be easily treated even without magic.

You have barely begun to dress the burns when you find a sword at your throat. "Drop it," a furious paladin growls from just outside your field of view. 

"It's just a roll of bandages," you say as calmly as you can. "I'm trying to–"

"I said drop it, loyalist!" 

"Loyalist–? He was wounded while stopping the–"

"I said drop it!" The sword suddenly moves from your throat to slap your face with the flat of the blade. Your head snaps back and you fall on your back. You see three or four paladins standing over you at the edge of your periphery–and then you see something in the sky above you. A dark spot emerging from the clouds directly above you. It begins growing and growing, and within seconds you can make out the form of a diving black dragon.

"HERETICS AND BLASPHEMERS! BEHOLD THE WRATH OF DAHAK!" Kob roars before raining acid on the camp. The ballista teams, turned to fire on the golem (who is currently chewing on a screaming paladin), desperately try to aim at the dragon instead as the acid burns through their equipment, but it's too late. Cables snap and whip around, entangling some and slashing others as Kob laughs and lands directly behind you. The paladins surrounding you take a surprised step backwards. Kob's head shoots forward, his neck extending, and he eats one of the paladins with a single bite. You hear crunching and screaming as he chews almost directly over your head before he swallows. The screaming becomes more muffled and then dies completely. The remaining paladins run. 

A kestrel lands beside you, transforming into her true form before she's touched the ground. Vrakka reaches her hand down to you, and you take it. "Sorry we took so long–Kob was in pretty bad shape before I patched him up. You ok?" she asks, helping you to your feet.

"I'm fine–was the acid rain really necessary?" you demand, wincing at the sight of the broken siege weapons.

"YES! IT WAS EXTREMELY NECESSARY! FOR THE GLORY OF DAHAK!"

"We can discuss this later," Vrakka says, throwing Giliys and Theo over her right shoulder and then pinning you to her side with her left arm. "For now, hold on."

"Hold o–AGHHH!" Before you can finish your question, Kob has grabbed Vrakka in his talons and taken flight, and you're left clutching her arm for dear life. He bobs up and down along the cloudline, like some sort of vicious sky dolphin–diving below to navigate, surging upwards for cover. Each time you break below the clouds you see him flying first towards Westcrown, and then past it, to the sea. Kob breaks permanently below the clouds and begins his descent,  flying rapidly towards a merchant vessel–down, down, down–

He slows just in time to land with a jolt onto the top yard of the smallest sail. The force of his weight dropping causes the ship to bob and list to the side Kob has chosen, but he seems untroubled, even as the sailors are thrown across the deck by the sudden shift.

"SEAMEN! WHENCE IS THIS SHIP BOUND?" Kob roars. The sailors–most knocked off their feet by Kob's landing, look at each other with varying expressions of concern.

"Kintargo!" One of the sailors calls back. Kob considers for a moment.

"YES, THAT IS ACCEPTABLE." He places Vrakka down on the ship deck as he shouts to the sailors, "IN DAHAK'S NAME, I COMMIT THESE CHARGES TO YOUR CARE UNTIL YOUR SAFE ARRIVAL IN KINTARGO! PROTECT THEM WITH YOUR LIVES, OR I WHO BEAR THE ASPECT OF DAHAK WILL BE MOST DISPLEASED!" 

And then, without another word, Kob launches himself into the air with such force that the ship is pushed down far enough for water to slosh over the decks before the ship violently flies upwards, back to its proper place on the waterline. Barrels and crates and a few sailors not secured to the deck go flying, some even flying overboard into the unnaturally churning waters below. Vrakka flies into the air, but manages to land on her feet–you suspect her mid-transformation landings have prepared her well for this. 

"Wait–he's just leaving?" You ask, desperately clinging to Vrakka's arm for stability.

"He said 'Lathimas' needs him–something about an egg?"

Ah. More fairy tales then.

Once the ship's rocking has slowed to something more natural, Vrakka lets you go before turning to look around the deck.

"Right, who's the captain? I reckon we owe them an apology." A small group of sailors on the starboard side of the deck, still regaining their footing, point over the side, and with how badly Kob's takeoff disturbed the water around the ship you can't imagine anyone in the water survived.

Vrakka blinks and then sighs with an eye roll. "Alright, fine, who's in charge now?"

"That'd be me," an elf in a feathered cloak with bright yellow eyes says, shakily standing up. A faint cheer breaks out on deck from those coherent enough to celebrate. "And one of you had better be a healer because ours went over with the captain."

Vrakka grins at the new captain. "I'll do you one better: two of us are healers," she says, gesturing at herself and you.

"Well, thank Desna for small mercies, I suppose," the elf says. "Alright, we'll find a bunk for those two to share–" she points at Theo and Giliys, still somehow asleep or unconscious slung over Vrakka's shoulder "–then the two of you patch up the folks who got their bell rung by your dragon, and then we call it even and pretend you got on at the harbor like normal fucking people?"

The tiefling sticks out her hand, and Vrakka takes it and pumps it heartily. "You got yourself a deal, Captain."

It’s a trivial matter tending to the surviving sailors–most of them only had the wind knocked out of them, and the few that were hurt worse only had minor concussions, and there isn’t much you or Vrakka can do for them at this point, as neither of you have the energy to cast spells. Tomorrow you may be able to ease their symptoms, but today you have precious little left to give them. All of which makes you all the more frustrated that you have to tend to the crew before you can descend below deck and finally tend Theo’s injuries–no triage would ever prioritize a minor concussion over Theo’s litany of ailment.

You do your best. You probably wouldn’t be able to do much more even if you had the energy to cast spells. You’re not skilled enough with your remove disease casting to focus the spell to a single area of the body, which means you can’t cure the infected wounds in his back–magically healing infected wounds is a good way of sending a patient into septic shock. You can use magic to mend broken bones once they’ve been splinted, but looking at Theo’s fingers, they’ve already begun to heal incorrectly or the bones have completely shattered. In either case, you probably can’t heal them without performing surgery, and you are not a surgeon. You can probably heal the burns in the morning as long as you take care to clean them beforehand, but otherwise very little of what ails Theo is something you can easily fix with magic.

Vrakka comes below deck to find you as you finish cleaning and bandaging Theo’s wounds. “How is he?” she asks.

“He’ll live,” you say. “The infection will probably pass. The wounds–except for the burns–are going to scar. His hands…” It takes a moment to find the words. “...probably won’t have to be amputated, at least. He’s going to need a surgeon when we get to Kintargo.” 

Vrakka is kind enough not to comment on that. You both know skilled surgeons are expensive, and surgeons capable of handling Theo’s injuries are doubly so. Selling Theo’s beloved biggenlil bag–which he would never allow anyway–might net enough to pay for surgery on one hand.

“The burns look fresh,” Vrakka says.

“Giliys…wields hellfire. And I think he lost control,” you say slowly.

“Hellfire,” Vrakka repeats. She blinks and then shakes her head. “Alright, putting aside the ‘what the fuckery’ of that revelation, those burns don’t look like hellfire burns.”

They don’t, thank the gods. Direct contact with hellfire might have entirely burned away the parts of the face they touched. “The hellfire didn’t touch Theo directly–I think it heated Giliys’s body. I think Theo burned himself on Giliys when he was stopping him.”

Vrakka squints. “Burned his lips on Giliys?”

You wince. “He…kissed him. As part of a ritual! Or exorcism! Whatever he did to get Giliys to stop shooting hellfire everywhere–the point is it’s not really a kiss.”

Now Vrakka is staring at you like you’ve lost your mind. “Theo kissed Giliys, but it’s not really a kiss because it’s part of a ritual.”

“Like a manual resuscitation, but…magic.”

“Qweck, what kind of ritual requires a kiss?”

“I don’t know–you know Theo, though, he knows all sorts of obscure esoterica nobody else finds useful. I’m sure somewhere in there, he had a ritual that fixes hellfire…possession…or whatever that was…with a kiss.”

“Like True Love’s Kiss,” Vrakka says flatly.

“No, not like True Love’s Kiss, Theo and Giliys haven’t met before today!” Or, at least, they better not have. You made it extremely clear to Giliys when you met that he was not to involve your family in your work. “Also True Love’s Kiss isn’t real! It’s a plot device used in fairytales when there’s no logical way for good to triumph.”

“The characters using True Love’s Kiss in the fairytales usually haven’t known each other long, either. Love at first sight and all that.”

Now you stare at Vrakka like she’s lost her mind. “You think Theo fell in love with Giliys the second he laid eyes on him. Giliys.”

Vrakka shrugs. “Makes about as much sense as your theory that it’s not gay if it’s for a ritual.”

“I–no. That’s–” That is so patently absurd, where do you even begin with that? “Theo would never love Giliys–well, not like that. Theo loves everyone because he’s…well, he’s Theo. But he wouldn’t love Giliys like love Giliys because–I mean, he doesn’t love anyone like that, but especially not Giliys.”

“You sure about that?”

“Yes.” When you were very young–after you met Theo, but before he adopted you–you tried to convince him and your mother to marry. In retrospect, you’re not sure where you picked up the concept of marriage–gnomes rarely mate for life, and those who do usually feel no need to marry–but given how transient most of the people and places in your life had been up to that point, it’s unsurprising that you sought some means of tying Theo to you. Your mother promised to consider it–she always felt too guilty about the bleaching to say ‘no’ to anything you asked for, even though she was very rarely in a position to actually get it for you–which meant it was Theo who had to let you down. He was kind about it, as he is about most things, gently explaining he didn’t feel that way towards your mother and wasn’t interested in that kind of relationship with anyone.

“Some people find that having someone to go through life with makes them very happy. But I’m happier like this–I wouldn’t have as much time to look after you children and help you grow up if I also had to look after someone special.”

You got the feeling at the time that he was just saying that, but you’ve had more than fifty years to watch him, now, and never once have you ever had an inkling that he saw someone in a romantic light. By the time you came of age and moved to Ostenso, you were thoroughly convinced that Theo is simply disinterested in romance. You are still convinced of it. And even if that were not the case, it certainly wouldn’t be Giliys who proved you wrong.

Vrakka shrugs. “You know him better than I do, I suppose. Anyhow, I need to head back east. I’ve already been gone too long–no telling what havoc Thrune’s lackeys have wrought on the migration paths since I’ve been gone.”

You nod–Vrakka had told you when you first asked for her help that she couldn’t be away for long because Thrune is trying to block off a pass that is crucially important for many local species’ seasonal migrations. She told you a lot more details than that, but you’ve forgotten most of them, partly because you were too panicked about Theo to pay attention, partly because you really didn’t care about seasonal migration of animals. You want to ask her to stay, to help you nurse Theo back to health, but she has her duty just as you have yours. 

“Safe travel,” you say, and you suddenly realize that there’s a very good chance you will never see her again–it won’t be safe for you to travel to the Aspodell Mountains as long as the Order of the Rack exists. You’ve embarrassed them today, stolen a prisoner from their own citadel and stolen countless priceless artifacts from their vault (not that you’re actually in possession of any of those artifacts–they’re probably still eating paladins). They won't let you live a quiet life if it's in their power to stop you. “Theo mentioned you often in his letters,” you say suddenly. “When you were growing up, I mean. It’s…it’s been nice, getting to put a face to the name.”

She seems surprised and unsure of how to reply at first. Then she smiles. “He spoke of you all the time when I was growing up,” she says. “It’s been lovely finally getting to meet his dear Qweck. And, uh, don't forget to clean up that cut on your face.” She nods, and then, before either of you can regret being so open, she transforms into a kestrel and flies through the hatch to the air above deck.

[chooseyourownadventurepolls]

ENGINEER SKILLS ACQUIRED

"YAP?"

"There is no point in speaking to you." YAP chirped happily.

"Okay, but can you divert power away from this cable?" You ask.

Apparently YAP really isn't speaking to you, because the silence seems to drag on for months.

You start thinking that you may need to find a way to shut off the power yourself.

"Thief-and-Vandal, you are not authorized to even breathe near the power-core much less eat the ship." YAP's typical artificial cheerfulness grows more frantic.

"It wasn't me." You briefly go over your vermin theory, keeping any thoughts of a second best friend to yourself. No need to make YAP jealous.

"That would be a compelling explanation, if there was anything besides you alive on this ship." YAP said. "Now, please, whatever you are, stop nibbling."

You found an engineering kit while YAP was talking and started poking around for a way to begin repairs.

"What did I just say."

"I'm just looking at-"

A second set of sparks start flash out of the shadows and you hear a clanging sound.

[orbitalpirate]

Can the boys all drive? Apart from Colin who is the worst driver and and which one secretly has a motorbike?

Love this question because you are right Colin can not drive, I don't know what he does in that car but it's certainly not driving <3 (also I did look up car culture in various countries and cities and how old you have to be for this ask lol)

Sam had a permit in Lagos and was learning how from his dad but when he moved to England the lessons stopped so he hypothetically could but not legally

Dani can drive and got his license in england when he moved he misses the car culture in Mexico and doesn't like the weird tiny English cars he sees frequently

Jamie can drive but is bad at it

Isaac is team chauffeur, Isaac is team designated driver, Isaac needs glasses to drive

Jan can drive but doesn't have a car in England

Richard can drive and is actually pretty good with cars, only guy on the team who can patch a flat and change a tire, friend who has jumper cables

Moe believes cars are a poison to the earth and public transport is the only viable future, he does have a license tho

Look I know Canada and the US are different but Thierry Zoreaux has that North America loves road trip gene, he will drive for 6 hours and consider it a short drive, he does not understand people on the team who wouldn't drive for an hour places

[bikepackinguk]

Day Seven

Whew, a week in! And today has been a bit of a challenging one at times!

Managed to find a little patch of trees near Trimingham to spend the night yesterday where I encountered the first issue - the cable to my solar panel had become dislodged in the day and, coupled with a very overcast day, had left my GPS dead and my phone on just 10%. which meant no navigation for me today!

Not the end of the world of course, as I can't go too wrong just keeping the coast on my right! But it has meant not being able to find aome of the less travelled routes and have spent much of the day slogging along the A149 with the traffic.

Not as bad as it could have been though, as traffic for much of the day wasn't awful and it felt more like being on a B road for the most part, though with a few vexing hills.

Regardless of the road taken, the Norfolk Coast AONB is a gorgeous area and it's still been some beautiful scenery to take in whilst eating up the miles.

Stopped off at Hunstanton to take in The Wash and have a coffee on the coastline before finding a spot to cook an early dinner, where I encountered the second challenge of today - a flat tyre.

I could barely believe it, I haven't had a flat in years. Schwalbe Marathon tyres are like tanks, but somehow a hawthorn needle had come in through the side of the tyre and just scratched the inner tube.

Thankfully regardless of past experience, I always carry a spare tube so was able to get back up and rolling, though this meant that rush hour was now in progress and the quieter A road was now in full flow.

The solar panel had given me enough juice by now to get a bit of navigation going and was able to divert through Snettisham to avoid the worst of the traffic, then fell into riding along with another cyclists who was an old hand at touring, and took me on a lovely route around through the famed Sandringham Estate and connecting on to the traffic-free NCN Route 1. Thank you Peter!

This leads in to the historic town of Kings Lynn, where I am sat currently. As it's getting late and finding a hedge to sleep behind isn't really feasible, I have said sod it and booked into a cheap hotel. Which as luck would have it managed to overbook so I have an upgrade to a nice double bed to myself!

Alas no photos from today owing to the power situation, but I should at least be able to get thongs charged up again whilst here, as well as enjoying my first soft bed in a week!

I might even have a lie in. Luxury.

[sarasa-cat]

Hopeful without being too hopeful.

Maybe some good news for the computer desk area!

Found an "infinitely" positionable freestanding pneumatic arm vesa-mount thinger designed for SMALL light-weight touch screen monitors. This sounds perfect because the 16" cintiq is definitely small as monitors go, and obviously is a pen screen with touch capabilities and needs to be closer to one's body but also needs infinite positioning as a drawing surface.

What i really like about this one is that it is free standing -- no grommet mounting or clamp mounting to the desk. The base of the stand is very low profile and flat. One could probably slide their keyboard over it when stowing it away. (this is the manufacturer and while they are out of stock, I was -- annoying and disappointingly -- able to get it for the same price via, well, yeah, amazon).

I also have a replacement for that broken/stuck clamp-to-desk mounted infinitely positionable (but far more bulky -- booo! plus that ugly clamp will be on the front of my desk -- blerg) that will arrive on saturday. This new item I found looks better and like a more hopeful solution. It should be arriving on sunday.

May the better small-monitor vesa-mount pneumatic arm win! My RSI-crippled limbs need a solution that is perfect.

(and then all the losers go back into boxes and into the car and off to the return processing).

Meanwhile, a little while ago I ordered a splurge item that is actually CHEAPER than the "executive" equivalents that spam up the Nice Looking monitor riser desk shelf market.

The carpenter who is building my massive (very long, deeper than usual, custom sized) desk shelf is going to send me update pix over the weekend as he makes it from his personal woodshop. OMG! That will hide all of the clutter of 10,000 cables for 10,000 peripherals and will also look really beautiful. I hope.

It will be a little work of art that is honestly very reasonably priced given what is out there as more mass-marketed things.

Trying not to get too excited.

Have a few more small "clutter begone" items to finish selecting for the computer desk and then on to the task of decorating the patch of wall behind the computer desk (bookcase shelves are above it -- so the patch of wall is very cozy feeling and very "contained in a bookcase" feeling too!!).

I think I will hang a self-made collage lots of very little demo/exercise paintings or drawings of mine that are either botanical art or sort of classically inspired things. Plus meaningful quotes, although that requires me to improve my lettering skills. >_<

Although, rather than rummage through old demo art or small painting studies of mine from the past, I think I want to fill this space slowly with entirely new stuff. For reasons. ;)

(hm-- maybe the quotes will be done really nicely with digital tools and printed. My calligraphy skills are HORRRRRRIBLE despite my high levels of competence with dip-pen and a pot of ink for art. idk. lol. my handwriting is awful too. orz.)

Still to be decided is whether or not I replace the small desk lamp with something more Aesthetic(tm) and if I hang fairy lights or some other soft ambient lighting in this area. It needs some more cheer because a significant portion of the year is very dark. Hm.

This area should look a lot better and be far more functional (ergonomics) within two weeks or less. (decoration that involves me doing new small paintings will take time but that's part of the fun -- saving little studies and mini demos for my own decor ;)

OKAY.

Next four areas to think about (all immediately adjacent to this computing zone) are:

Bookshelves above the desk and on the side of the desk. OMFG THE MESS AND NONSENSICAL CHAOS! WHat goEs THeRe and WHY? WHAT THE HELL IS CURRENTLY THERE? Why is it such a mess? One of these shelves needs to become a display area that is full of epic good feels.

My little rolling file cabinet and crap holder is bursting with crap. Needs organization that makes sense for the computer desk area.

The L-bump out and the corner dead zone. So much possibility for the corner dead zone. Plants? A little cabinet of curiosities of some of my nature items? But it must be cat friendly. Hm. HM!

DEEEEP storage space under one portion of the desk needs my attention. It's a good place for storing certain art studio items. Might be punted for a few weeks as I clear through and (re)organize other areas.

[markpickardlife]

I bought some new guitar patch cables: Hosa CFP-606 6" LL Flat Patch Cable. They're to be used between guitar effects pedals. It was a good price for a set of six. In my opinion, their quality is nearly as good as EBS patch cables. I bought them on Amazon Japan: https://amzn.asia/d/1MeGouO #guitar #electricguitar #hosa #patchcables #amazonjapan (at Naha, Okinawa) https://www.instagram.com/p/CkkRS-xrahf/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[magicalbluebirdpoetry]

Check out this listing I just added to my Poshmark closet: Aran WOOLLEN MILLS Irish Fishermen Cable Knit Wool Vest SIZE XXL.

[laurafan13]

Quick Assembly LC connector can provide quick and easy terminations of fibers in the field. It allows the installer to terminate and make connection in minutes at equipment and fiber patch panels. It is suitable for 3.0*2.0mm flat drop cable, 3.0mm, 2.0mm round cable. This connector system with features of high installation quality, high success rate and high reliability.

#LCUPC #LCAPC #fiberoptic #fastconnector

[aswaldivya]

Emergency roadside kit: Must-have items for every car owner

Every car owner understands the significance of being prepared for the unexpected on the road. Having the right tools and supplies can make all the difference in getting back on the road safely whether it’s a flat tyre, a dead battery or an unforeseen breakdown. Let us explore the must-have items for your emergency roadside kit, empowering you to handle unexpected situations with confidence and ease.

Why do you need an emergency roadside kit?

Car troubles can strike when you least expect them, leaving you helpless on the side of the road and vulnerable to safety risks. An emergency roadside kit serves as your lifeline in such situations, providing essential tools and supplies to help you address common roadside emergencies and stay safe until help arrives. Having a well-equipped roadside kit is essential for preparedness whether you’re a seasoned road driver or a casual driver. While car insurance offers financial protection in case of accidents, a roadside kit empowers you to handle minor issues yourself, potentially saving you time and inconvenience.

Must-have items for your roadside kit

Jumper cables: Keep a set of heavy-duty jumper cables in your kit to jump-start your car or assist fellow drivers in need as dead batteries are a common cause of roadside breakdowns.

Spare tyre, jack and lug wrench: A flat tyre can happen anytime, anywhere, so ensure your kit includes a properly inflated spare tyre, a jack for lifting your vehicle and a lug wrench for removing and tightening lug nuts.

Tyre repair kit: Consider adding a tyre repair kit with plugs or patches to temporarily seal punctures and reinflate tyres. This can be especially useful for minor tyre damage on the go.

Flashlight and batteries: Opt for a durable, waterproof flashlight and pack spare batteries to ensure long-lasting illumination.

Reflective warning triangles or flares: Enhance your visibility to other drivers and alert them to your presence with reflective warning triangles or flares by placing these devices at a safe distance behind your vehicle to signal roadside distress and prevent accidents.

Basic tools: A multi-tool or basic toolkit containing essentials such as screwdrivers, pliers, wrenches and duct tape can help you address minor mechanical issues until professional assistance arrives.

First aid kit: Be prepared for minor injuries or medical emergencies with a well-stocked first aid kit.

Water and non-perishable snacks: Stay hydrated and nourished during roadside emergencies by keeping bottled water and non-perishable snacks in your kit.

Cell phone charger: Ensure you can stay connected during emergencies by keeping a fully charged cell phone and a portable charger or power bank in your kit.

Conclusion

An emergency roadside kit is an important companion for every car owner, providing preparedness in the face of unexpected roadside emergencies. You can navigate through the road hazards with confidence and safety with the must-have items outlined above. Remember to periodically check and replenish your kit to ensure it remains fully equipped and ready to handle any situation that may arise on the road. With the right tools and preparedness mindset, you’ll be well-equipped to handle whatever the road throws your way.

[poonamcmi]

Cable Management Accessories: Management Accessories for Connected Homes and Offices

Understanding Cable Management Needs As technology becomes more integrated into our daily lives, the number of cables in our homes and workspaces has increased dramatically. From laptop chargers to speaker wires to power strips, cables seem to be everywhere. Not only can excess cables create clutter and be unsafe to trip over, but they can also reduce airflow and make components difficult to access for repairs or upgrades. That's where cable management accessories come in.

Cable Management Accessories refers to the process of organizing and concealing cables in an orderly fashion. There are many different types of accessories designed to help corral cables neatly and safely out of the way. Properly using cable management solutions can not only create a cleaner, less cluttered space but can improve airflow and cooling for electronic devices as well.

Cable Clips and Ties One of the most basic—and affordable—cable management accessories are simple zip ties and cable clips. Zip ties, or cable ties, provide a low-cost way to bundle multiple cables together. They can be used vertically to corral dangling cables against the back of furniture or horizontally under desks and tables. Cable clips feature adhesive or magnetic backing to securely attach individual cables flat against surfaces like walls, cabinets, or the backs of desks. Both zip ties and cable clips come in various sizes to accommodate different cable thicknesses.

Cable Conduits and Raceways For larger cable runs along floors or walls, cable conduits and raceways provide enclosed channels for wire routing. Flat power/data cables raceways can be easily mounted under tables or along baseboards to keep cords up and off the floor in an inconspicuous manner. Flexible PVC cable conduits come in straight lengths or with pre-formed bends allowing installation along corners and around obstructions. They protect cables from damage, make low-voltage wire runs neat and professional-looking, and enable easier access for future modifications. Conduits and raceways come in both surface-mounted and recessed styles.

Cable Management Boxes and Organizers Modular cable organizers provide tidy storage for excess cable lengths as well as power supplies and chargers. Desktop cable management boxes feature interlocking partitions and channels that keep devices neatly positioned while coiling extra cord out of sight. Under-desk cable managers suspend below the work surface keeping cables high off the ground while positioned close to power outlets. Patch panel cable organizers mount to walls or racks offering many small ports to individually house short cable segments or power adapter plugs. Cable managers are made from durable plastic and some even feature integrated power strips for a clean, consolidated installation.

Cable Management Furniture Some manufacturers have begun integrating cable management directly into furniture for a built-in clutter-free solution. Height-adjustable standing desks now commonly feature grommet cut-outs, channels, or baskets for feeding cables neatly up to the work surface from an electronic hub positioned below. Storage cabinets and media centers are available with reversible or removable rear panels accommodating concealed cable routing through cut-outs and mounting points. Couches and sectional sofas incorporate slim channels discreetly between cushions to allow wiring to disappear while providing power on demand or integrated charging stations. Cable-ready furniture delivers a seamless, factory-finished appearance suitable for professional offices or home theater use.

Wall-Mounted Cable Management

Wall-mounted accessories are ideal for neatly organizing cables behind entertainment centers, desks, home networking racks, or audio/video devices. Horizontal cable trays mount securely to walls providing open or closed channels for wire bundling. Vertical cable managers consist of angled fins or plastic channels that are screwed in place flush to the wall surface keeping cords running up from floor outlets in discreet alignment. Wall plates can conceal and manage cabling using interchangeable inserts for power cords, HDMI, USB, or networking cables in commercial workspaces or residential media rooms. Combined with bracketry, pan/tilt wall mounts enable cable-hiding access to mounted displays and projectors.

Cable Management Best Practices Proper cable management requires some planning and organization but prevents messy cables from becoming problematic over time. When installing new cable runs, maintain a dedicated pathway along walls or floors, and keep excess cable coiled neatly out of the way. Use cable ties and clips periodically along the run to bundle cables together. For changing needs, add slack while avoiding tight bends. Label cables clearly for easier tracing of connections. Periodically inspect cable management solutions to ensure accessories remain secure and cords stay neatly in place. Well-executed cable management promotes device access, improves airflow and cooling, avoids trip hazards, and provides a much tidier, more polished aesthetic.

Cable management accessories help overcome cable clutter through various organizational solutions from basic zip ties up through integrated cable-routing furniture. Properly implementing cable management promotes safety, functionality and an overall neater appearance for connected homes and workspaces. As technology reliance increases, cable management will continue playing an important role in tidy and efficient system installations. Get More Insights On, Cable Management Accessories About Author: Money Singh is a seasoned content writer with over four years of experience in the market research sector. Her expertise spans various industries, including food and beverages, biotechnology, chemical and materials, defense and aerospace, consumer goods, etc. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/money-singh-590844163)

[xtrememetalstx]

Common Roofing Problems and Solutions

Leaks

Leaks are one of the most common roofing issues. Water penetration occurs when water seeps through cracks in your roof. Leaks often happen due to missing shingles, damaged flashing, or improperly sealed roof.

Solution: To fix leaks, start by locating the source. Inspect your roof for damaged or missing shingles and check the flashing around chimneys, vents, and skylights.

Pooling Water

Flat roofs and roofs with low slopes are particularly prone to pooling water, which can lead to leaks and structural damage. Pooling occurs when water doesn't properly drain off the roof, often due to clogged or inadequate drainage systems.

Solution: Ensure your roof has an effective drainage system, including properly installed gutters and downspouts.

Punctures and Holes

Punctures and holes can occur due to various factors, such as falling tree branches, severe weather, or wildlife. These openings can allow water to enter your home, leading to damage and mold growth.

Solution: Regularly inspect your roof for punctures or holes. Small punctures can be patched with roofing cement, while larger holes may require professional repair. Trim overhanging branches to reduce the risk of falling debris causing damage.

Flashing Issues

Flashing is the material placed around roof penetrations to prevent water from entering. Over time, flashing can corrode, crack, or become detached, compromising its ability to keep water out.

Solution: Inspect your flashing regularly for signs of damage. Replace any corroded or cracked flashing, and ensure it is properly sealed.

Ventilation Problems

Proper roof ventilation is essential for regulating temperature and moisture levels in your attic. Inadequate ventilation can lead to problems like mold growth, ice dams, and premature roof aging.

Solution: If you notice signs of poor ventilation, consult a professional to assess and improve your ventilation system.

Ice Dams

In colder climates, ice dams can form when snow on the roof melts and refreezes at the eaves, creating a barrier that prevents proper drainage. Ice dams can cause significant damage to shingles, gutters, and interior spaces.

Solution: Prevent ice dams by ensuring proper attic insulation and ventilation. In severe cases, consider installing heating cables along the eaves to melt ice and facilitate proper drainage.

Moss and Algae Growth

Moss and algae can grow on roofs in humid or shaded areas, leading to shingle deterioration and potential water damage. These growths can also create an unsightly appearance.

Solution: Remove moss and algae using a mixture of water and bleach or a specialized roof cleaning solution.

Conclusion

Maintaining your roof is crucial to ensuring the longevity and safety of your home. Regular inspections will also keep your roof in excellent condition, providing you with peace of mind and a secure home.

[nsane29]

Duct Tape Hacks: Clever Solutions for Common Problems

Duct tape is often seen as a household essential, a trusty tool that can fix almost anything. With its strong adhesive and durable material, it’s no wonder that people have found a variety of clever uses for it beyond just mending broken items. Here are some ingenious ways you can use duct tape to solve everyday problems.

First, let's talk about how duct tape can be a lifesaver for your clothes. Have you ever had a hem come undone at the worst possible time? Duct tape can quickly fix it. Simply fold the hem back in place and use a strip of duct tape to hold it. It’s a quick fix that can save you from a fashion disaster until you can get it properly sewn. The same goes for holes in shoes. If you notice a hole forming, a bit of duct tape inside the shoe can temporarily stop it from getting worse, giving you more time to get a new pair.

Next, duct tape can be incredibly useful for organizing your space. If you have a bunch of cables and wires around your computer or TV that are always getting tangled, duct tape can help you manage them. Cut small strips and wrap them around the cables to keep them together and tidy. You can also label the cables by writing on the duct tape with a marker. This way, you’ll always know which cable belongs to which device, making it easier to unplug or move things around.

If you’re an outdoor enthusiast, duct tape can be a handy addition to your backpack. It can be used to repair ripped tents, broken fishing rods, or even as a temporary bandage in case of an emergency. When camping, you can use duct tape to seal food packages, keeping them airtight and safe from animals. If you need to create a waterproof container, you can wrap duct tape around a piece of cloth or paper to make it water-resistant.

Duct tape is also great for crafting and DIY projects. You can make wallets, flowers, or even jewelry with it. The tape comes in various colors and patterns, so you can get creative with your designs. Making things with duct tape is not only fun but also a great way to personalize your belongings. For example, you can wrap your phone case with duct tape to give it a unique look or cover a notebook to make it stand out.

Lastly, duct tape can help you in emergencies. If you get a flat tire on your bike and don’t have a patch kit, a piece of duct tape can cover the hole temporarily. It’s not a permanent solution, but it can help you get home safely. In case of minor injuries, like a cut or blister, duct tape can hold a piece of cloth in place as a makeshift bandage until you can get proper medical attention.

In conclusion, duct tape is more than just a quick fix for broken items. Its versatility and strength make it an essential tool for a variety of situations. Whether you’re fixing clothes, organizing cables, or enjoying outdoor activities, duct tape can provide clever solutions to common problems. So, next time you face a small dilemma, remember that duct tape might just be the answer you need.