#guess what this document in its entirety is more than 2000 words long and takes over FIVE pages...............

[worldwhampion]

APOLLO NMS IS AUTISTIC-CODED 1/2

here's the google doc for much better reading! (also contains a small epilogue)

Let's look at their physical characteristics first. 

1. Stimming

Everyone who’s seen Apollo at a holo terminus knows the thing they do with their fingers: a repetitive movement that never ceases. They are literally STIMMING! For those who don’t know, stimming (aka self-stimulating behavior) involves engaging in repetitive movements, which helps with improving concentration and alleviating anxiety, and often it is done unconsciously. Now don’t tell me that’s just their idle animation. They could’ve chosen any other thing for them to do that does not straight up look like hand flapping, one of the most prevalent stims out there - as well as not making it repetitive and constant.

2. Footing (toe walking)

Another characteristic is a small, but very special detail: their footing.  

(picture credit to @speci-society - they were the first to point this out! annotations by me)

Their ‘heels’ are off the ground, and the two plates which do make contact with the ground are more like shoe soles - think of tiptoeing while wearing slippers. This is very reminiscent of toe walking, another trait associated with autism. The name is pretty straightforward: walking on toes without the heels touching the ground, which is thought to be due to sensory processing and motor issues.

3. Sensory processing issues

Interestingly, Apollo's body is synthetic - meaning that they cannot sense the world around them through touch. In terms of physical sensitivity, they must be quite detached from the world. Usually when talking about sensory processing issues, it is about an overload of senses to the point of discomfort. Though in Apollo's case, I think it is rather the opposite of that; their senses are void. Because well, There’s no way you could possibly have nerves in metal. They’d have to rely on something else entirely in order to sense every time they come into contact with an object (including their footfalls on solid ground). Likely they have other means of sensing things - different from the usual organic way. I’m not sure how their body exactly works, but since they still possess an organic brain, neuroplasticity must’ve done loads to it so that they could properly adjust to their body. Can’t imagine how the first days must’ve been like for them.

4. Motor issues

And possibly, they may still have issues in controlling their mechanical limbs (motor issues) despite the neuroplasticity - or rather, carrying out complex tasks with them - especially their hands, they don’t look dexterous at all but rather very cumbersome. As well as their arms and shoulders, all seem to be very inflexible. In my opinion, Apollo is (borderline) disabled, as they likely do not have the same capabilities as an abled person.

5. No facial expressions

They have no ‘face’ - so no facial expressions either. They also can’t make eye contact. Autistics are known to struggle with facial expressions - and especially eye contact - in conversations. I’m not sure whether it’s a blessing or not for Apollo to be unable to make eye contact with anyone, because that’s just about the most uncomfortable thing to do (for me at least), and yet it’s so weirdly important in face-to-face communication at the same time. To physically express emotions must be quite hard for them, therefore they likely have to compensate through body language. A notable one is a certain tendency to tilt their head: “as the hologram recedes, Apollo's head turns to the side ever so slightly, as if sighing, saddened.” Due to them having no facial expressions, I think it could be pretty hard for anyone to tell if they’re listening to them or not. I am saying this out of my own personal experience. Okay story time! When I was younger it was kind of unclear to others whether I was paying attention to them or not due to my lack of eye contact. This led to me finding an alternative to that: head nodding! I tend to nod my head along as people talk to me. This way it’s clear to people that I am in fact listening without having to directly make eye contact with them. Perhaps Apollo does a similar thing to indicate that they’re paying attention. 

---

Pt. 1 < pt.2

[ginnyzero]

Completely Harmless Ch. 37

Completely Harmless An SSO SilverGlade Re-imagining Story (Or Fix it Fan Salt fic) By Ginny O.

When Lily and her friends wanted to buy horses and were directed to the Silverglade Manor and its myriad of problems, they didn’t expect to start a revolution. They were just a bunch a stable girls. Completely harmless. Right?

A/N: Things are only canon if I say they’re canon. Pre-Saving the Moorland Stables compliant for the most part. Posted in its entirety on my website. Posted in 2000 to 4000 word bits here. Rated T for Swearing Word Count 177,577

Chapter Thirty-Seven Vandalism and The Valley of the Hidden Dinosaur

Rainbow Week it appeared had invigorated Baroness Silverglade. For the very next morning she called an employee meeting over breakfast. Everyone from her children, to the people who worked the shops and restaurants, and the stable help were all in attendance.

Over waffles with vanilla ice cream and piled high with mixed berries and served with duck egg omelets, the Baroness sipped her coffee before she said without any preamble. “We have several projects that need to be handled in the upcoming weeks before Midsummer. While most of our house has been put in order, and we have received high marks on our recent inspection.” The Baroness’ lips tightened since it had been anonymous and she’d only received the results after it’d been completed. “There are still things left to finish and the rest of our domain hasn’t been so lucky.”

No one quite dared to say anything.

“As for the Winterwell family, I have sent a strongly worded admonishment to Baron Winterwell about paying more attention outside of that mockery of what he calls a town and to the rest of his part of the county. If I have to step in, I will be informing Count Marchenghast.” The baroness swiftly buttered her toast. “Fortunately, you ladies are a credit to your various upbringings and are an asset to this county.”

Not even Linda knew what to say to that. A simple thank you didn’t seem sufficient. Not that the Baroness seemed to require any responses. This was her meeting and interruptions weren’t on the agenda.

The Baroness’ knife went on the side of her plate. “Ms. Lily, please arrange for me to meet with Ms. Melissa of the Valedale Running Bulls? Anytime today will be preferable.”

“Yes, Baroness,” Lily made a mental note to text Melissa after the meal was over.

“The contractors will be starting our permanent event pavilion over the next week. Something about having to build the proper molds to have a level floor. It involves a big pipe and honestly, as long as they get it done and its level, I don’t care how they manage it. After the pavilion has been finished, we will be moving onto to the race track.”

Godfrey appeared with several boards filled with pictures and architectural sketches. He placed them on easels so everyone could see them properly.

“The racetrack will reflect the pride of the Silverglade family and honor the prior Moon Riders and Aideen,” the Baroness said. “Those who come to compete and to watch the races will see the care and grandeur of the place, and give our family the respect it deserves.”

There was a very large entrance arch over what would be the main entrance and it was perpendicular to the rest of the building. To either side of it were banks of columns and then each side had a porch with statues of women dressed in Greek clothes. Those must be the former Moon Riders of the Silverglade family and Aideen.

The inside stands had more columns holding up the roofs. The roofs curved inwards where there were stairs. The stands curved around both ends of the track.

“Antonia, the Silver Glade will be providing food for an outdoor café at the entrance,” the Baroness said. “There will be stables for the competitors on the first floor of the stands, while the atrium will be the ticketing area. I won’t expect you ladies to take care of the stables at the race track as well. We will be hiring specifically for the times the race track is in use. I won’t ask you to put up with a rival club so nearby. Nor will I stand for another club near my manor.”

“Thank you, Baroness,” Lily murmured. It was the only appropriate thing to say.

“While the contractors are working on that, we shall be dealing with the shameful prospect that is Valedale,” the Baroness took a bite and wiped at her lips. “And for that we’re going to have to find out how bad things are and how far this has spread.”

Linda cleared her throat. “There’s a scientist in Crescent Moon Village that knows who to test soil and water samples, Dr. Hayden.”

“He’s a bit of a grouch,” Lily warned.

“I can deal with grouches as long as they can do the work,” the Baroness nodded.

“He’s an entomologist,” Linda added tentatively.

“Then he would have to keep an eye on the water and the soil to see if it is effecting the bugs,” the Baroness’ lips twitched. “Or at least, he should be instead of capturing them and pinning them to boards.”

“I don’t know if that’s his type of entomology,” Lily murmured. “I don’t think Ginny and Susan have much to do with him.”

“Or want to,” Pauline added.

“Lily,” the Baroness turned her attention to her. “I want you and Melissa to go to the Valley of the Hidden Dinosaur and check the source of the water there. The Great Tank drains off into the lake under the ice and from there it trickles down through springs and the Silversong River throughout the Valedale, Firgove, and Mistfall areas. Dress warmly.”

“What about Firfall?” Lily asked.

“What about Firfall?” the Baroness voice turned tart.

“They’ve been cut off through an avalanche of rocks and brambles,” Lily said.

The Baroness closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. “And what were the rangers going to do, shovel them out?” She asked, voice vicious. “Well, I guess we’re borrowing the bulldozer again. Though we might need the excavators as well and several skips from Jorvik City. Aaron, get the permits and papers ready to clear the road to Firfall. Hire some skips. Lily, you managed to get G.E.D. to bend last time.”

“Cookies and shillings,” Lily said.

“Have Harold bake them a month’s worth of cookies and I’ll pay them. We can get to it as soon as the papers and permits are ready.”

“I’ll get that started today, mother,” Aaron said quickly.

“It’s probably former Councilman Skoll who didn’t say anything. He was working with G.E.D. to get money to the town. Maybe he thought he could get them to clear the road for him.” Lily explained. “I don’t know if Rania’s mother knows about it yet. She’s got a large mess to sort out with the town as it is. They really need a ferry.”

“Aaron, add that to the list.”

“New Hillcrest needs a ferry,” Tyra murmured.

“That’s up to Baron Winterwell,” the Baroness shook her head. “Now, who is the new leader of Dundull?”

“Sigry Varanger,” Linda said. “Rania Varanger is her daughter.”

“Good woman. I like her,” the Baroness nodded. “We all know what we need to be doing,” she said and applied to her food.

They all finished breakfast and scattered to do chores and take up their posts at their jobs. Aaron was muttering about getting back to Jorvik City right away. Anastasia had designers to check on in order for all the other girls to have their own new outfits.

Linn came back to the stable, riding fast. “Lily! Linda! Judy! Someone’s spray painted rude messages on the riding hall, and there’s trash all over, and egg on the windows!”

“What?” Linda gaped at her.

They mounted their horses and rode down to the stables to assess the damage.

“Who would do this?” Linn waved her arms. “We worked so hard to clean it.”

“It’s a good thing that marble is protected.” Linda sucked her cheeks in.

“We’ll get it cleaned up,” Lily promised Linda.

“You shouldn’t have to do stuff like this. Take pictures. Document everything before you clean it.” Linda said. “And I’m not unlocking it until it’s clean.”

“It’s lucky you locked it then.”

Linda shook her head. “Not luck, precaution. I don’t want people to sneak in the arena at night to try the course and hurt themselves.”

They went back to the stable for cleaning supplies and returned.

Sabine stood outside the door with a nasty smile on her face, but she was also checking her watch. “What’s the hold up? The arena should be open by now.” Her timer stood behind her wringing her hands.

“If you used your eyes, you’d see why it isn’t open yet,” Lily told her. “The Arena will be open once it’s ready.”

“If you want it open sooner, you can help,” Linn smirked. “There are plenty of supplies.”

Sabine glared at them and marched off with her horse.

Linn shuddered. “Her and her horse give me the creeps.”

“Then why did you time for her so long?”

“My job?”

Lily shrugged. Point.

All the girls hurried up their chores to help out as soon as possible as they had to scrub off paint and eggs, and pick up trash.

By the time they were done, the contractors had arrived and were locking together molds to make the floor of the pavilion. It was a kit so it should go up fairly quickly once they had the floor poured and they could set the walls onto it.

They saw what the Baroness meant by a big pipe. They had a big pipe it looked like that they were going to use to roll across the top of the molds to make the floor level.

But it looked like the contractors were digging some of the dirt out. Bjorn and Agnetha were taking it away in wheelbarrows. They knew better than to ask.

Lily texted Melissa about seeing the Baroness.

Melissa texted back she’d be down right away.

Lily headed back up to the Manor as Agnetha drafted a couple of the girls to help them shift the dirt.

Melissa had a new outfit on with a stylized charging bull in green and deep maroon.

“Nice,” Lily said.

“Anastasia came through. I’m so happy not to be wearing druid symbols anymore. Elizabeth kept giving us the stink eye.” Melissa rubbed her hands on her breeches.

The Baroness was in her office. “Someone vandalized my arena,” was the first thing out of her mouth.

Lily passed her phone over with the pictures.

“Send these to Aaron,” the Baroness said after she looked through them. “If we can catch them, we’ll press charges.”

Lily took her phone back and did just that. Poor Aaron was going to have a busy day.

“Tell me what you have,” the Baroness ordered Melissa.

Melissa got out her own phone. “We’ve taken as many pictures as we could. One of my members is an amateur photographer. So, we rented a zoom lens to take pictures of what they’re doing above the mountains. We can’t see much since they’ve penetrated the mountain now. There’s one way in and one way out. The path curls around the mountain from the lake to over the village. Both waterfalls are being affected. But they’ve posted no bills. We think there isn’t any more than three or four of them.”

The Baroness looked through it. “Can you send these to my son? We can see what we can do about trespassing and not having the proper permits.”

Melissa took her phone back and Lily showed her Aaron’s information. Lily sent him an email to expect Melissa’s email.

“Has Elizabeth been giving you any trouble?”

“Not Elizabeth.”

“Someone is?”

“Rhiannon has gone through our horses and insists that several of them are Starbreeds. We paid for those horses fairly. We have papers,” Melissa turned red in anger. “We aren’t giving them up.”

“Nor should you,” the Baroness said. “The druids have long overstepped in trying to acquire what they call starbreeds. Whether or not Starbreeds exist is none of my concern. My concern is the welfare of the horses that are under my care and that I sell. And I don’t know what the druids do with my horses, thus I refuse to sell to them.” In her mind, it was as simple as that.

“Baroness Silverglade,” Lily said it tentatively. “You, don’t seem to have a good relationship with the Keepers of Aideen.”

“I have my faults. One of them is the firm belief that the Keepers of Aideen do very little for Jorvik and instead lure young women in with false promises of sisterhood and then refuse to impart anything useful to them before putting them into danger.” The Baroness laced her fingers together and appraised them. “Keeping their secrets hasn’t rid Jorvik of John Sands and his like. Have they ever won against them? Or are we in an eternal stalemate.”

Lily inhaled sharply.

The Baroness changed the subject. “As I told Lily earlier, I would like the two of you to go to the Valley of the Hidden Dinosaur. Dress warmly and do whatever you need to do to get into it. Linda may have some information for you about it.”

Lily stood. “Then we better get going so we can return quickly.”

Melissa stood as well. “Thank you, Baroness Silverglade.”

They left her and went to the library.

“Anything we should know about the Valley of the Hidden Dinosaur?”

Linda chewed her lip and gestured for them to sit. “The Valley of the Hidden Dinosaur is an ecological anomaly. It’s believed that is where a meteor crashed and hit Jorvik before Aideen came. The meteor’s magical and scientific properties such as having its own magnetic field, have created an area of eternal winter. The meteor crater originally completely filled with water. The water drained out and created an ice cap over it. Researchers were able to explore under the ice cap until it collapsed in 1912. No one has been there since.”

“So, dress warm? Have lots of rope?”

“Your horses might not move as fast in the Valley. There are references to the pack animals being slow until they brought in the Icelandic Horses. Those horses got left behind when they left and that’s why there is most likely a herd of them there today. Assuming they survived.”

“Take a shovel,” Melissa said.

“Sunglasses,” Lily murmured.

“The notes say there was an elevator down into the crater. I have no idea if it works or not.”

“After a hundred years of abandonment?” Lily raised her brows. “There is this thing called entropy.”

Linda smiled. “I don’t know, thus, I say so.”

“All right. We’ll check that first.” Lily said. “Good thing, Anastasia included a winter coat in all of this. And New Hillcrest had mittens.”

The two agreed to meet at the base of the mountain in Valedale with supplies. Not sure how cold, cold, really was, Lily grabbed a purple sweater she’d bought and put it in her saddlebag along with her winter coat. There wasn’t any reason not to layer. She put on wool pants instead of cotton and tugged on the winter boots.

She raided the tack room for a shovel and a bunch of rope. Then asked Antonia for food. She didn’t know how long she was going to be gone. How big was this area anyways?

Satisfied she was as ready as she was going to be, Lily put on a beanie and took the transport to Valedale.

Melissa waited on her horse at the base of the mountain as agreed, also wearing warm clothes on the bottom. She and Elizabeth were exchanging glares. Lily inserted herself between them.

They urged their horses up the mountain towards the snow covered pass. At the top, they were able to look over across the waterfall and see Dark Core’s camp. Black smoke streamed out of the machines as green water flowed out of their cave and into the waterfall.

“What a mess,” Lily murmured.

Wind hit the snow and them making them shiver.

They pulled on sweaters and shrugged into winter coats buttoning them up and tugged on mittens.

“The pass must have opened recently. I’ve been checking it since we got here,” Melissa said. “We sent some lemmings up this way.”

“Can anything really live there if it’s been covered in snow?” Lily asked.

“I hope we don’t find a pile of horse bones,” Melissa whispered. “That’d be sad.”

“We might find horse bones and living horses,” Lily said and urged her horse forward.

Her stallion’s nostrils flared in distaste but he went.

The pass turned and opened out to a cliff on the edge of the mountain. Right in front of them was a huge wooden structure with a snow covered wooden walkway; the elevator.

They walked up the ramp and got off to look at the elevator. There weren’t any boxes, only thick chains hanging down. Lily knelt by the edge and looked down.

“Oh, that makes me dizzy, Lily. Stop.” Melissa groaned.

Lily took several pictures using the zoom function on her phone. “The cars are both down there, but I don’t see any of the mechanics up top, do you?”

Melissa looked around. “Not at all.”

“So, the controls are down there,” Lily backed up and stood.

Leading the horses, they searched the cliff area.

Melissa pointed. “That could be a way down.” She said gesturing at the cliffs.

“But I’m not going to call it a way back up, and I’m not going down unless we can get out,” Lily bit her lip. She pulled out her phone and sent a president wide group text. They needed a mechanic.

FOR THE ACCOMPANYING IMAGES PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE MY WATERMARK AND CONTACT INFORMATION. THANK YOU. I get it. Some of you might get excited and want to see this stuff in the game, especially the clothes, tack, and pets. However, the only way I want to see this in the game is if I get paid for it. If I see it in the game and I’m not paid for it, there will be hell to pay. You think I’m salty. I’d be angry. Personally, I’m not going to send this info to SSO. If you do, leave my contact information there! Don’t give them any excuses to steal.

Now, I’ll know you haven’t read this note if you leave me comments about how ‘salty’ I am about the game and if I hate it so much I should do something else. I am doing something else. It’s called Mystic Riders MMORPG Project. Mystic Riders however is a very baby phase game. You can check out our plans on the game dev blog. (Skills, Factions, Professions, Crafting, Mini-Games, 25+ horse breeds!) If you know anyone who would be interested and has money or contacts about game making, direct them to the blog.

[ginnyzero]

Completely Harmless Ch. 43

Completely Harmless An SSO SilverGlade Re-imagining Story (Or Fix it Fan Salt fic) By Ginny O.

When Lily and her friends wanted to buy horses and were directed to the Silverglade Manor and its myriad of problems, they didn’t expect to start a revolution. They were just a bunch a stable girls. Completely harmless. Right?

A/N: Things are only canon if I say they’re canon. Pre-Saving the Moorland Stables compliant for the most part. Posted in its entirety on my website. Posted in 2000 to 4000 word bits here. Rated T for Swearing Word Count 177,577

Chapter Forty-Three The Harp.... Lyre of Aideen. Shibby?

Linda woke Lily early. Long before the sun was up. “Come on, we have to go.” She whispered and shoved cocoa and toast into Lily’s hands. Lily groaned. It’d been a late night. Didn’t Linda remember that?

Lily’s horse whuffed and huffed as she got him ready. She patted his nose. “I’m sorry, boy. It has to be done.”

He nuzzled her in understanding. She gave him an extra carrot for putting up with this nonsense.

She and Linda rode to Firgrove. The hooves of their horses clopping dully in the early morning air. They didn’t go into the village proper, which was impossible since the gates were closed for the night still. Instead, they turned up a path that went towards a mountain pass. But they didn’t stay on the zig zagging track for long. Instead, Linda urged Meteor past a large pine tree and onto the grass where there was no path. But if Lily tilted her head and squinted her eye, she could see that there was a flat section that could be a path. No one used it, so it wasn’t worn down.

They had to turn around another copse of firs and continued upwards. There was a pass and around them in large piles were sleeping wolves. The horses lifted their hooves and gently set them back down very carefully. They turned into a shallow basin and inside was the primeval tree that Lily had seen during the trail ride.

“Almost there,” Linda whispered.

Lily reached up to try and touch one of the lights. It slipped through her fingers, brighter in the darkness of the early morning.

Another path led over the bowl again though it wasn’t easy to get over it. They had to walk the horses. And a path led out to a jut in the mountain that overlooked the Silversong River and the Hollow Woods. In the distance, the castle was nothing but a big blue shadow like the mountains.

They stood on the edge of the jut.

“This faces west,” Lily hissed.

“She rode from West to East,” Linda murmured.

“Talk about an opposite,” Lily mumbled.

“Shhh,” Linda gestured.

The sun broke over the mountain behind them and touched the mountains in the distance.

Lily strained her ears and almost didn’t hear it. She hit record on her phone just in case. But she shut her eyes to listen more over the sounds of the wind, the sounds of the early morning birds, as if they were delivered directly to her ears and no one else’s, the sound of harp notes. She hummed along as the same refrain repeated over and over.

The notes died.

Lily opened her eyes to find Linda staring at her.

“Perfect pitch,” Lily explained and turned her phone off. “Maybe it got my humming. Did you hear it?”

“Yes, it was beautiful.”

“The beat seems off though,” Lily murmured. She shrugged. They’d have to figure it out later. Her stomach growled.

So did Meteor’s.

Linda laughed. “By the time we get down Ma Anna’s shop should be open.”

“Good, we can have something more than toast!” Lily half-smiled. “Isn’t that right, Meteor?”

Meteor nodded rapidly in agreement.

They turned off going back down. Lily took a picture of the tree as they did.

Ma Anna’s pastry shop was open and they both got thick slices of Zebra Cake and more Cocoa to wash it down. By the time they were done with that, the transports were up and running so they were able to take a ride to Fort Pinta and hop a bus to Jorvik City.

“Um, can we stop at the party supply store before the museum,” Lily asked Linda with a wince. “Rainbow Week almost ended up a pastel pink disaster thanks to Loretta.”

Linda widened her eyes. “You guys pulled out all the stops. I don’t even want to know where you got the money.”

“Ask us no questions and we’ll tell you no lies,” Lily intoned. “I think you underestimate how much we were able to toss into a pot to get it going. Especially after we covered the Bulldogz share. The event paid for itself and gave us a kitty for this one.”

Linda blinked. “You all tossed money into a single pot.”

“Yeah, part of Club dues. You are paying us to help around the stable and the gardens. So, we take part of that money and put into the Club pot as dues. Then out of those dues we can contribute towards oh, group trail rides, or doing events like Rainbow Week.” Lily shrugged. “We haven’t had a lot of time to do trail rides or train the horses because we’ve been so busy.”

“Well, once we get things settled down, hopefully after the Midsummer, what is it you’re calling it, Midsummer Beach Party?”

“Right, it’s the Midsummer Festival over in Moorland, and the Fort Pinta Beach Party. But we’re going to expand it to make the Beach Party county wide and let Moorland keep the Midsummer aspects of it.”

“Have you talked to Tim about this?”

“Tim?”

“Tim Hooper, he runs the Beach Party as part of the Fort Beach Association.”

“Oh, him, I forgot about him.” Lily rubbed her forehead. “We were going to talk to him about Rainbow Week but then it slipped our minds. No. I haven’t talked to him.”

“He lives here in Jorvik City.”

“And he runs the Fort Pinta Beach Party because why?”

Linda shrugged.

Lily rolled her eyes. “Well, store first so I can see what’s available in ‘beach’ themes. Then I guess we can pound down his door to invite him to this afternoon’s meeting and then the museum. If it’s not too much of a bother.”

“You’re not a bother, Lily.” Linda grinned. “This is exciting. I’ll be documenting it for Jorvikgram.”

Lily groaned.

“You’re going to be a celebrity.”

The store had plenty of decoration types and Linda got plenty of pictures, even insisting that Lily pose among some flowers. “It’s trending.”

Lily did it to make Linda happy. She got her own pictures of the decorations that might fit the ‘beach’ theme.

They found a place to have a snack, and then went and knocked on Tim Hooper’s door. (Phone directories were wonderful things.)

Tim ran his hand through his long hair as he yanked it open. “Yes?”

It was obvious he was not expecting company, and college age.

“Tim Hooper?” Lily asked, just to make sure.

He grinned. “Shibby, that’s me.”

“Right,” Lily breathed. “Um, Tim, so, I’m Lily and I run a riding club in South New Jorvik County and the presidents of the other riding clubs and I are having a meeting this afternoon about the Midsummer Beach Party. As you’re part of the Fort Pinta Beach Association and do the Beach Party there. We’d like to invite you to this afternoon’s planning session.”

“Swag as, that sounds dope,” Tim said. “I’ll be there.”

“Right, the Silverglade Council House. Um be there, or be square?” Lily said tentatively.

“You’re a total tall tree, I’ll be there. Shibby!”

Lily nodded, eyes wide and a smile pasted on her face. “See you then.” She turned around and gave Linda the widest eyes she could. What the hell was Tim on?

Linda shrugged.

The door closed and Lily glanced over her shoulder. Tim was back inside.

“Okay, what drugs is he on? Is this just another Jorvik thing?”

“Tim is in a class of his own.”

“Just wow,” Lily breathed. “Wow.”

Linda giggled and they got on the tram to go to the Museum.

The Museum coordinator wasn’t precisely convinced that it was for a good cause. Linda had to bring up the Baroness’ name several times for him to let them take the harp out of storage. They had to find it among the boxes and medieval saddles and pottery. It had its own specially shaped case. He admonished that it was fragile.

Lily double checked the case over and satisfied it was sturdy, she saluted the museum coordinator with it. “We’ll take good care of it.”

But by the time they got to the bus, Lily was fuming.

Linda gave her an odd look.

“This isn’t a harp, it’s a lyre,” Lily hissed at her.

“It’s a type of harp.”

Lily sighed. “Well, you can’t keep the strings taut all the time. It will warp it. And gut strings depend on tension and thickness to make different sounds.”

Linda stared blankly at her.

Lily muttered under her breath. “And it doesn’t have any pins. This is going to have to be done string by string, by hand, presuming the gut is any good at all.”

Linda blinked.

“This is precisely why I never went into music,” Lily continued to mutter. “All the tuning and retuning.”

Linda ventured a question. “You were into music.”

“I was,” Lily said. “Music and travel most of the time don’t mix when you’re learning.”

Linda nodded not at all understanding.

“Too many teachers. Too many different styles of teaching. It gets too frustrating.” Lily wrapped her arm around the case.

“So, you’ve played string instruments.”

“Guitar, mandolin, um, viola, the idea is the same but in modern instruments, the length of the string also determines the tone of the note.”

“Lisa plays a guitar.”

“It’s not a one to one curve you know,” Lily said. “I’m going to have to play with it and,” she shrugged. “The Weeping Widow might not get her waking up right away.”

“Once you have the hang of it, and I know you’ll get the hang of it. We’ll be able to help the Weeping Widow and she can help us find out more about Lisa and Anne.” Linda nodded her head. “I have faith in you, Lily.”

“Any reason she wants me to do it, and not you. You’re the Soul Rider.”

“I don’t know. Healing is more Lisa’s thing. She was the first Soul Rider to awaken in this generation and bond to her horse.”

“Starshine. How is he doing?”

“Better. He misses Lisa. He’s annoyed that Elizabeth doesn’t want to believe him. I think he’s going to kick down her door.”

“I’d um, pay to see that.”

“Maybe Melissa will catch it on video,” Linda grinned.

“So, who awakened next?”

“I did,” Linda said. “The Moon circle is always second according to my reading. While the Stars have the power to Heal, the Moon has the power to see the past and the present. You don’t need still waters, but the mirror fountain at the garden will help. My visions have been clouded of late. I wonder if it’s Garnok interfering.”

“Or the future isn’t as set as they’d like you to believe. We all make choices. Our choices make us who we are and the intent of those choices matter too.”

Linda nodded. “That’s wise.”

“Harry Potter.”

Linda laughed. “You and your group have all this knowledge from the oddest places.”

“Okay, so Lightning is what? Defense.”

“Defense and offense. Alex has an ability called Soul Strike and she can make wards and shields.”

“And then Anne can travel to and from Pandoria, I think that’s what Alex said.”

“Yes, she can open and close the gates of Pandoria. We all manipulate Pandoria’s energy in different ways you see and for different purposes.”

“And too much Pandorian energy in the mundane world is bad.”

“It’s what changed the Jorvik Warmblood Sports and the Jorvik Starter Ponies to be what they are today.”

“I don’t think we’ve ever gotten really wild to see them.”

“They also can hide themselves if they want,” Linda said and sighed. “They don’t have to change to their true forms if they don’t want to do so. They only reveal themselves to those they trust most. It can take time to form that bond.”

The bus rumbled to a halt outside Fort Pinta.

“It is way past my lunch time,” Lily said.

Linda agreed. So, they made a bee line for the Fort Pinta café. Pia waved at them.

They both had lunch and Linda took a transport back to the winery taking the precious lyre with her with promises of research into the care and tuning of it for when Lily returned.

FOR THE ACCOMPANYING IMAGES PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE MY WATERMARK AND CONTACT INFORMATION. THANK YOU. I get it. Some of you might get excited and want to see this stuff in the game, especially the clothes, tack, and pets. However, the only way I want to see this in the game is if I get paid for it. If I see it in the game and I’m not paid for it, there will be hell to pay. You think I’m salty. I’d be angry. Personally, I’m not going to send this info to SSO. If you do, leave my contact information there! Don’t give them any excuses to steal.

Now, I’ll know you haven’t read this note if you leave me comments about how ‘salty’ I am about the game and if I hate it so much I should do something else. I am doing something else. It’s called Mystic Riders MMORPG Project. Mystic Riders however is a very baby phase game. You can check out our plans on the game dev blog. (Skills, Factions, Professions, Crafting, Mini-Games, 25+ horse breeds!) If you know anyone who would be interested and has money or contacts about game making, direct them to the blog.