#her kit just doesn’t get used to its full potential on that map

[unpopularly-opinionated]

Sorry but I don’t care how much you think you’re right about an argument, if you completely devolve into just repeating “you’re a retard” over and over and over again that’s an immediate L in my book, friendo.

[sickbaysaturdays]

Succor to the Brave

(Image credit)

Ka-chunk. A laser bolt flew past my head and scorched the bulkhead behind me.

"You okay?" Gunnery Sergeant Wong glanced over her shoulder at me, rifle still aimed down the hall at the source of the laser fire.

"Yeah," I told her, ducking around the corner and out of the line of fire.

Ka-chunk. Another bolt.

"That's eight-point-two seconds," Gunny said.

"Automatic?" I asked.

Ka-chunk. Gunny nodded. "Blasteck automatic lasers take eight-point-two seconds to reset, and the targeting sucks. Draw its fire; I'll take it out."

"Yes, sir." Not that I was overly enthusiastic about the drawing fire part. I prefer to administer the laser bolts. But orders are orders, and Gunny outranked me.

Rifle held close to my body, I rounded the corner and took off down the corridor at a slow run. I picked up speed when the telltale whine of a charging laser filled 

my ears.

I dove sideways and rolled as the automatic laser got off a shot a second before Gunny's rifle reduced it to junk. Heat seared my arm, followed by numbness. Gasping, I pulled myself up, gripping my rifle with my left hand.

"Did it get you, Flynnster?" Gunny asked, seeing my odd posture.

"I think I'm okay," I said, looking down at my arm. This was a standard boarding, so I wasn't wearing full armor, just BDUs. The fabric was singed and flaking, but I couldn't feel the skin underneath. It was just numb and tingly. "Map says we have one more section on this deck to clear."

Gunny shot me a look of exquisite suspicion but didn't argue.

Rifle in its modified left-handed grip, I followed Gunny's lead. We cleared the rest of the hallway and halted on either side of a large door.

"The team on the bridge disabled all the automatic sensors," Gunny reported. "They'll open when we hit the manual switch. I go right; you go left."

"Yes, sir."

"Can you read that?" Gunny pointed to the sign above the door.

I shook my head. The Imperials, for reasons all their own, wrote all their official messaging, including spaceship signage, in an antiquated language of the aristocracy called Dosan. Not having gone to elementary school in Imperial-controlled space, we Alliance troopers were given crash courses in the language so that we could at least recognize words like "airlock" and "hazmat" and "fire suppression kit" during a boarding.

Whatever was on the sign above the door had not been covered.

"It doesn't say high voltage," I offered reassuringly. My right arm was starting to tingle and pulse under the scorched BDUs, and I could use a joke.

Gunny glowered at me from under her helmet, and we burst through the double doors, sweeping the room with our rifles.

It was a medical bay. A row of beds made with fresh thermal blankets lined one wall, with patient monitors standing guard over every bed. An alcove off to the side housed clear-fronted supply cabinets and a couple more with signs I couldn't read. In the back, a curtained-off area held potential hostiles, and Gunny's rifle twitched in its direction.

"Don't shoot! I'm just medical!"

I snapped around in the direction of the voice, but all my rifle sight found was a gaunt woman in threadbare scrubs, arms raised, trembling in terror.

"Who're you?" Gunny asked, cautiously lowering her weapon.

"Medical," the woman repeated, her voice coming out hoarse. I noticed bruises on her wrists and arms, like she'd put them up to defend herself.

"Anyone else here?" Gunny asked.

The medical person shook her head.

"I'm gonna check."

With my right arm burning more with each passing second, I kept my weapon trained on the medic while Gunny cleared the rest of the room. The curtained area was the only real blind spot, but that turned out to be a resuscitation area, just as empty as the rest of the sick bay.

My arm was heating up, singed nerves waking up from shock and screaming in agony. Sweat popped out on my forehead and I bit my lip to try and distract myself.

"No patients?" Gunny asked. Wait, was something happening? I'd zoned out.

The medic shook her head.

"What're you doing here?"

"This is sick bay," the medic stated, "and I'm a medic."

There was something slightly off about how she moved and spoke.

"Hey, Gunny, I don't think she's here willingly," I said.

"The bruises?"

"Yeah. Plus she sounds like she's from Kumitan," I added. "You a prisoner of war, Medic?"

Medic did a weird sort of full-body shudder-twitch that turned into a shrug and looked down at the floor.

Gunny and I exchanged glances, and I barely hid my relief when she lowered her rifle and signaled me to do the same. I'd been holding mine one-handed at this point; my bad arm couldn't bear the weight.

Gunny side-eyed me, my sweaty face, my limp right arm, the hitch in my breathing. "Hey, Medic," she said, "can you treat a laser burn?"

"Sir, I'll just have Lucan look at it when we get--"

Gunny silenced me with a glare and raised her eyebrow at Medic.

Medic said, "Uh, yeah. Yeah. Let me get set up."

Gunny waited by the door while Medic scrubbed her hands and bruised forearms and set up an instrument tray. Touching her earpiece, she whispered a few things on the command channel.

"What's news, sir?" I asked from my perch on one of the beds. I was trying not to watch Medic's preparations.

"Tac teams have secured the last cargo compartment," she reported. "I told them we found the sick bay. Bridge team got through the last encryption; we're officially flying an Alliance flag."

"Nice. The crew?"

"Secure.  If they were part of what happened planetside, they'll stand trial. Sounds like Captain Gawel is trying to figure it out now."

"What about me?"

We both looked up, startled. Medic was standing next to me, holding an instrument tray, looking very young all of a sudden.

"You're Kumitan, right? Prisoner of war?" Gunny asked, gesturing to Medic's bruised arms and wrists.

"Um, I was an industrial medic for Zhenghe Asteroids, actually," she murmured, wrapping a blood pressure cuff around my good arm. "I mean, I grew up on Kumitan, yeah. Guess I'm lucky I wasn't there when..." Her eyes started glassing over, but she shook herself, blinked rapidly a few times, and said, "You're going to want to be lying down for this."

Gunny chuckled. "Are there going to be needles? Lance Corporal Flynn hates needles."

I kicked my legs up onto the bed and and put my arm onto the sterile pad thing the medic had set up on the side. "Yeah, they really do."

The medic looked nervous. "I-I'm going to do a nerve block. I need to cut the dead skin and burnt uniform off your arm. You're not going to want to feel that."

That made sense to me. 

"Just, you're gonna want not to look," the medic warned, but I'd already seen the needle.

I'd donated blood a couple times--we all had, which was how Gunny knew about my needle hangup. This was worse. 

"Aw, geez," I muttered, turning my head to the other side.

"I can't safely do general anesthesia," Medic protested. She sounded genuinely panicked. "Not without a second medic."

"Whoa, whoa, it's okay," I told her. "Do what you need to do. You seem like you know your stuff. I'll be fine."

"They're just what we call a wuss," Gunny chimed in.

"Hey, I still have the video of when Shihab put the fake spider in your locker," I warned.

"Flynn--"

"Screamed like a little kid, and we all saw it."

"Yeah, I know," Gunny muttered. "That video somehow made it back to my parents."

"Any allergies?" Medic asked.

"Nope."

"Okay, deep breath." And then I was being stabbed in the arm.

I tried not to be there, tried to be at home on Crucia in the kitchen with the blue wallpaper and helping Poppa make dinner and corral the sibs and there'd be extra servings for all because this was before Imperial blockades cut supply lines and caused shortages of everything--

--but then fire exploded inside the stab wound and all I could think was it's not my arm it's not my arm it's not my arm this is all happening to someone else because Lance Corporal Flynn is somewhere else far away--

"Hey, Flynnster, you good?"

The pain was gone. My hurt arm was a block of wood, numb and stiff. I looked down at Medic's little surgery field.

"Can you feel that?" Medic asked, poking at my pinky finger with a tool.

I shook my head. Creepy.

"It's going to take a while to debride the wound," Medic said, unwrapping some tools. "You're going to feel some tugging and some pressure, but it shouldn't hurt. Let me know if it does."

"Okay."

"And it's best if you don't watch."

I winced. "Usually is."

She was calmer when she was working, I noticed. The quaver in her voice wasn't there anymore, and her movements were more relaxed. Maybe treating patients did the same thing for her as field-stripping a rifle did for me, strange as that seemed.

"So, how'd an industrial medic wind up in a place like this?" Gunny asked. Her tone was casual, but we both knew what was at stake. If Medic had participated in the trail of war crimes the Imperials had left behind, the Intersystem Human Rights Court would want a word, to put it mildly.

"We were on the wrong side of a border," she said, biting her lip. "Probably weren't at first, but you know how they are about borders."

Gunny nodded knowingly. The Imperials had a reputation for making unilateral decisions about what space belonged to them.

"Sky was just full of them one day," Medic continued, sounding far away. "They declared that everything on the mining base, including personnel, was now property of the Imperium." Carefully, deliberately, she exchanged the tweezers she'd been using for a syringe of water and started rinsing the worst parts of the burn. 

"Um, yeah, they lined us all up in the cafeteria and looked up personnel records to see who'd be useful to them. They took me, the engineers, a couple of computer people. They put me on this patrol ship. I don't know what happened to the others, and I don't know what happened to the ones we left behind."

Gunny nodded slowly. "How long've you been here?"

"About a year, Kumitan reckoning."

I converted in my head. "Fifteen months standard, give or take."

"And what've they had you doing?" Gunny asked, gesturing at the sick bay.

"Medicine," Medic responded, picking up another rinsing syringe. We waited for her to elaborate. She didn't.

Neither of us really wanted to ask if she'd killed or tortured anyone. There were better-paid people whose job that was. Instead, I asked, "What kind of medicine put those bruises on you?"

Medic did another of those shudder-twitches as she discarded her spent syringes. "Uh, just a disagreement."

"What kind of disagreement?" Gunny pressed.

Medic became intently focused on opening packets of burn cream.

"They don't run this ship anymore," I told her. "We do, and Captain Gawel isn't going to let them hurt you. You can tell us what happened."

She looked down at her arms, at the ugly patches of violet and green and yellow. I'd gotten enough bruises myself to know that the colors meant they were in different stages of healing. Whatever happened, happened more than once.

"Sometimes they get a little rough," she muttered. "If I won't give them an off-duty note, or stronger painkillers, or antibiotics when they don't need them. I'm not allowed! If I write someone off-duty and their CO disagrees, I'm the one who gets it." Her eyes glistened, and she wiped her face with her hands. "Damn it! Now I have to scrub again!"

Medic scurried off to the sink, and we heard the water running. Gunny and I exchanged glances.

"Y'know, they call it combat shock, but civvies get it too," she whispered. "Medics especially."

I nodded gravely.

"Your arm still numb?"

"Yeah. Block of wood." I'd barely even felt the pressure Medic had warned me about initially. Shock or no, she was good at what she did.

The medic returned to her work area, pulling on fresh surgical gloves. "Sorry about that. Didn't mean to, you know..."

"It's fine," I told her. "So, where did you learn to do all this?"

"Kumitan Regional University," she answered, sounding relieved at the more neutral topic. "I took concurrent classes during secondary school, actually, and then I only had a few classes and clinical rotations to do once I graduated."

"Neat. You like being a medic?"

She shrugged. "It's like breathing. Here, pick your arm up. I need to put the gel wrap on."

I picked up the wood block at the end of my elbow so she could wrap it in a slime-coated plastic film. "Breathing? How so?"

"Like, sometimes it's wonderful, and sometimes it's horrible, and I know I could never live without it. Um, what about you? Why did you decide to join the--to become a soldier?"

"Well, I grew up on Crucia," I said, pronouncing it with my childhood accent, kruh-see-yah. "Rural farming community, six siblings, no money. You know how it is. My older sister got a job doing orbital construction and started sending money back home, and I figured I could help out too."

"But why the military?" Medic asked, unwrapping a roll of clean white gauze.

"Well, the war was right on the horizon, and I figured that if something like that was gonna go down, I wanted to be there doing my bit instead of just sitting back home watching the news, you know?"

Medic nodded. "Yeah, yeah I do."

Of course, I was only about ten percent as idealistic now as I was then. Mopping up after and documenting war crimes will do that to a person. And then there was the part where being the good guys sometimes meant you had to do awful things. But that was war. And we all knew it.

"Okay, that's done." Medic stepped back and shucked off her gloves. I picked up my numb arm and admired her work. She'd cut my BDU jacket and shirt off above the elbow and wrapped my arm and hand in waterproof gauze. I couldn't move my hand, but I also couldn't feel any pain.

"Neat," I commented. "Very neat. You're good at this, you know."

Medic looked bashful. "Thanks. Um, what language do you all read? Not Dosan."

"No. Modern Standard's fine."

"Okay." Medic went to her computer and printed me a sheet of care instructions, a light-duty note, and a prescription slip, redeemable at the uncrewed pharmacy station should I need the strong painkillers.

"The nerve block should wear off in an hour or so," she warned. "There's a numbing agent in the burn cream, but it's still gonna hurt."

"Hey, could you treat a couple more patients?" Gunny asked, fingers on her earpiece. "Captain wants to know if she can send some of the minor injuries here instead of back to the Libertad. It'd be our people, and minor injuries only."

Medic's eyes darted back and forth for a second. "Sure."

The new patients arrived a few minutes later, and Gunny went to scout the hallways for weapons lockers and bathrooms we'd missed earlier.

Since I was on light duty and had a note that said so, I busied myself helping Medic. With only one working hand, that help was limited to handing her supplies and pulling medications, which was a problem sometimes since I couldn't read Dosan.

"I'll spell it for you," she offered.

"I mean I really can't read Dosan," I clarified.

Medic sighed. "Okay. Hold pressure while I get it."

I gamely pressed my left hand over the dressing on Vanh's leg while Medic went to the drugs cabinet.

"She's not Imperial, is she?" Vanh asked.

"Nah, from Kumitan," I said. "Fixed my arm good."

We dressed Vanh's leg and hauled out the giant decade-old medical printer to print a cast onto Quinlan's broken arm. There was a brief kerfuffle as Medic moved her stethoscope back and forth across Begay's chest, expression growing more and more alarmed as she did, and then she had me hand her a whole bunch of supplies to do a mini-surgery and install this little vent on his chest because it turned out he had loose air in his chest and was not, in fact having another asthma attack.

Then, with everyone resting comfortably, it was back to the printer, and she showed me how to print the relevant care instructions, prescription slips, and off-duty notes.

Gunny reappeared with a carryall slung over her shoulder. "Compliments of the quartermaster's office," she said, pulling out flasks of water and snack packets. "Figured you all'd be getting hungry by now, and Captain says that--hey, hey, what's wrong?"

I turned and saw Medic standing frozen in front of her computer, eyes fixed a thousand yards and a thousand years away.

"Medic?" I asked. "You with us?" Cautiously, I tapped her shoulder with my good hand.

I should've known better. Her hands flashed out, striking my chest and shoulders. I didn't stop her; I was wearing my thick BDU jacket, and she was too small to do any real damage.

"Hey," Gunny warned, stepping closer.

"It's all right," I told her. Told both of them. Already, the blows were getting weaker, more halfhearted, and tears streamed down the medic's face. I put my arm around her knobby shoulders and pulled her against my jacket. She stopped fighting and let me.

"Let's get you some rest," I whispered, walking us to the bed in the back of the sick bay. "Sound good?"

I felt her nod against me.

I only had one working arm, so Gunny helped me lift Medic onto the bed and put extra blankets on her. I dimmed the lights, and put water and a packet of crackers nearby so she could eat and drink when she was ready. I wasn't a medic, but growing up the second-oldest of seven, I knew how to take care of a sick kid.

"It's gonna be a long road," Gunny whispered to herself, staring down at the medic's sleeping form. "Long road for a lot of people."

[cerastes]

So Gravel is the ultimate badass normal?

She’s one of them. No one gets to hog that title by their lonesome in Rhodes Island.

To elaborate, let me start from the other end of the equation: Rhodes Island has a lot of bona fide freaks of nature on its payroll. To name a few:

Lappland - A fighting genius and monster of instinct who mastered how to use Arts by herself without any training and who can allegedly counter any technique after having seen it once (this is, in fact, how her Silence works, she’s not magically sealing her enemies, she’s constantly countering them in just a way that prevents them from using their skills).

Angelina - A girl whose combat experience amounts to 32 minutes in Street Fighter 2 and whose previous profession was Messenger. She just so happens to have insanely crazy potential and power over gravity, all of which immediately makes her a 6* even though, again, the only thing she’s fought before is bed hair. 

Specter - An enigmatic veteran who, despite currently being ravaged from within by some of the worst Oripathy science has ever seen, still is classified with “Outstanding” ranks in both Physical Strength and Physiological Endurance, and who can become virtually unstoppable on command for brief periods of time in the battlefield, shrugging off deathblows that would topple even the mightiest Operators.

Saria - One of the leading experts and innovators in microbiology in Terra, in addition to being a devastatingly powerful fistfighter and healer. This is all secondary, however, to her dominion over calcification, which perhaps doesn’t sound like much if you’re not familiar with what you can do with calcification: You can just about instantly shut down -- kill -- any living organism, for starters, as well as promote enhanced bodily functions -- heal -- in others. Power over calcification is a very scientific and concrete way of having power over life and death.

And these are just a few of the freaks of nature that we know came about naturally. If we get into mutations and experimentation (which, to be fair, Lappland also counts as, but only on the Arts end of things, her insane adaptability and instinct in combat is all hers, and Angelina might count as well, but it’s still a unique enough power that it can be attributed to her), then you also have the likes of Manticore and Ifrit to account for.

So, with this in mind, I want to emphasize exactly how impressive it is to just get by with discipline and regular training taken to the extreme in Rhodes Island. No superpower lottery, no mutation, just good ol’ elbow grease and a daily routine of squats, push-ups, and watching a lot of combat records:

Gravel - As mentioned before, all she’s got is a chest plate, two short swords, and no doubt a ton of calluses from all those deflections and parries she must perform to keep enemies at bay until she’s given the order to pull back. No Arts or special unique abilities, just abs of titanium and the ability to teleport behind you and smooch you.

Schwarz - Her superpower is “being REALLY good with a crossbow”, and goodness gracious, it works. She even lampshades this with some of her quotes: “Rhodes Island is teeming with monsters. I can only hope to learn to battle like them”. She says this one when being shown a combat record, which makes it all the more amusing because it’s probably a video of the aforementioned freaks of nature, maybe it’s Angelina throwing a whole truck at someone, or even worse, throwing Specter like a serrated cannonball at someone full force, or even even worse, Lappland eating a Kit Kat wrong like the maniac she is.

Hellagur - While he is Infected, he doesn’t use Arts and instead gets by through the most reliable thing we of two opposable thumbs have ever given birth to: Big Freaking Steel. When you have a nodachi almost as long as you are tall (and Hellagur is 193 cm tall) and you have more years of combat experience than most people in your profession have been alive for, then yeah, turns out, you don’t need fancy mutations or magic powers to absolutely body hordes of suckers like this is Dynasty Warriors.

Skyfire - You might be wondering, “hold up, doesn’t she straight up call meteors? Isn’t she a notorious Arts user?” and you are correct, except, she’s completely clean of Oripathy. Her mastery over Arts comes not from mutation like it does for the vast majority of powerful Arts users, it comes from diligent studying. Skyfire is a scholar, she has dedicated her life to the research of the science of Arts, and while her natural talent is one thing and we can’t undermine it, it’s her single-minded dedication to mastering it and uncovering all of its secrets that allowed her to drop meteors on people. What I’m trying to say is that, unlike in our world, Academia in Terra rocks.

Magallan - Now, I’m... Not sure where to put Sweet Mags. She could go here or in freaks of nature, but for now, I’m putting her here. Magallan’s superpower is “being a sweet little optimistic scientist who happens to be able to control flying missile launchers”. Her ‘powers’ are a direct result of her research, the Soaring Dragon drones. Now, drone users are not anything out of this world, Reunion has a trillion of them. Unlike Reunion drone users, however, Magallan takes to the battlefield herself and fights alongside her drones instead of controlling them from out of the map. She’s able to use her Arts lightbulb (which is a freaking awesome concept, by the way) while also controlling up to three drones that have their own Arts-dependent armaments. This means she’s not only controlling her own Arts focusing and output, she’s doing it for three others at the same time. Whether it be the mining laser of her S2 or the missile barrage of her S3, these require careful, skilled Arts control. Keep in mind that Magallan is not Infected, either, so no mutation Arts power-up. I like to attribute Mags being able to do this to her own diligence and skill, but honestly, you could just as easily classify her as a freak of nature because that’s some living supercomputer stuff she’s pulling off.

These are not the only “normals” in Rhodes Island but they are certainly my favorite ones. In a mobile clown tent full of freaks, these absolute bulldozers are just really good at what they do.

[northcarolinanative]

𝙲𝚘𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚜𝚒𝚘𝚗  /  𝙲𝚑 𝟷𝟷

Chapter 11: Surprise 

A/N: I know it’s been a hot minute since I posted a chapter. My bad. I also am trying to figure out my take on the season’s loose ends, which is hard because I have a lot of ideas, but have no idea how to execute them haha. Thank you all for the large amount of support, it means the world <3. As always Requests/ asks/ and DMs are open:) 

Description: John B’s Sister comes home from staying with their mom, only to find out that her brother is missing and her dad was murdered. JJ may have just lost his best friend. Her and JJ have to figure out what to do and how to pick up the pieces.

Need to catch up?  Full Collision Masterlist // (I just made it so please let me know if there are Issues:))

Pope quickly hurried JJ outside and down to the dock to cool off. I heard a small part of their conversation as they left. Pope told JJ that Rafe couldn't “Rot in a jail cell if he was dead.” That’s what I wanted. Rafe looked bad, and it served him right. He was a terrible person. He ran off my brother, and even his own sister to get away with his crimes. 

“So you were going to the Country Club to look for a job?” Kie questioned. She began to pack up the first aid kit. Still standing beside me, but she didn’t look up in my direction. 

“Yea” I swallowed, “Umm, I mean I’m gonna need money to keep things running over at the Chateau. I’d rather be here than back on the mainland. Mom has trips planned all summer, so it’s either on my own there or on my own here.” I finished with a sarcastic laugh. 

I saw Kie’s expression soften. She walked around the desk that I was still sitting on. When she opened the drawer it screeched so loud that I felt my eyebrows scrunch together. “Sorry,” Kie said. She walked over and leaned against the wall in front of me facing the desk. “One of the Waitresses, Vannessa, quit this morning, so there’s an opening.” She paused and looked at me for a reaction. “And If you can handle those jerks at the Country Club summer after summer I’m pretty sure you can handle a few tourons.” She joked, causing both of us to laugh. “I know it doesn’t begin to make up for what I said the other day at the Chateau, but I am really sorry.” 

I smiled in her direction, opening my arms. She made the short stride to the desk and we wrapped each other in our arms. We pulled away shortly after. “So what do you say? Wanna work at the infamous Wreck?” She smiled and winked in my direction. 

“Yes, I’d love to.” I smiled. I knew her father wasn’t too fond of her friends, so I was hoping that he would be just as on board with this as Kie was. 

“Okay, so I hate to do this to you but you’ll have to start pretty soon, the business has picked up since the ferry started running again. Follow me.” She said, leading us into a back room. “Here are two shirts, if you need more just let me know, and an apron and a book, you can leave those in the back room if you need to though.” We walked out into the dining room where Pope and JJ were standing by the door. “Got it?” Kie said with a smile.

“I think so,” I said looking at JJ who was poking at Pope, annoying him. I was glad Pope was able to calm JJ down from his short temper. I saw Kie look between JJ, who was now smiling like an idiot at me, and me, but she didn’t say anything. “So you’ll call when I get my first shift?” I questioned. 

“Yes ma’am.” She faked a professional tone, causing both of us to laugh. “Should be in the next few days.” 

“Alright. I’m gonna head home, today has been long enough, and its barley even the afternoon” I said rolling my eyes. “I just wanna relax now.” I gave Kie a sheepish smile and waved, walking over to the boys.

Pope seemed to get the memo as he waved to me. “Hope that cheek gets better, fighter.” He laughed before going to join Kie. 

“JJ make sure she ices that” Kie yelled to the two if you. JJ just held up two fingers and jokingly saluted her as we walked out the door. 

The short walk through the parking lot to my car was silent. Heavy, like everything, seemed to be these days. I tried to put my key in the door, but it was proving difficult. I had not realized how bad I was shaking until now. JJ noticed my hesitation before walking over to my side. I held my hand out in front of me, extending my fingers to see just how bad my hands were shaking. JJ reached up and grabbed my shaking hand in his. I looked up at him, scrunching my eyebrows together. 

“Why don’t you let me drive? You’re still quite shaken up Y/N.” I just nodded and placed the keys in his open hand. A smile formed on his face as he handed me the white paper bag in his hand. 

“What is this?” I asked. I didn’t see him holding it earlier. 

“I may have snuck some food when Mr.C wasn’t looking.” He smiled, sending me a wink before nodding at the car. I walked around to the side and got in. I sat the warm food on my lap. The engine sputtered as it finally turned over and started up. JJ and I both laughed a little, relieved that it started. 

Soft Reggae music filled the car, playing off the local radio station. The windows were rolled down, letting the salty air blow through the air. I looked over at JJ and the sun was hitting his face in a way that, not to be dramatic, looked angelic. At this moment things felt almost normal. It felt as if Rafe and Ward Cameron didn’t exist like John B would be waiting for us at the Chateau like Dad would be there with him. JJ pulled me from my quickly spiraling daydream, “I got you chicken tenders because I know you have the taste of a five year old.” He laughed. 

“I prefer the term ‘sophisticated palette,’” I spoke in a fake posh accent, instantly regretting it. “I’m never doing that again,” I said as we both laughed. JJ and I crossed the bridge taking us back over to the cut. “Kie gave me a job at The Wreck,” I said. 

JJ looked my way quickly before turning his eyes back toward the road. “So y’all made up or?” JJ trailed off. His limited knowledge of girls and their arguments showing. 

I laughed softly before continuing. “Yes,” I paused. “Don’t get me wrong I am still upset that she wasn’t supportive from the beginning, but she did apologize.”

“I’m glad she did. Honestly, you bring out a soft side in her. I think I can count on one hand the number of times that I’ve heard of Kie apologize to anyone” JJ laughed. 

“Did you tell Pope about last night?” I asked. 

“Oh, I didn’t think that they would take it well.” He said a hand reaching up to scratch the back of his neck. 

“Okay good. I was talking with Pope about how he was feeling, and I just don't want to give them a false sense of hope, ya know?” I looked out the window at the trees that lined the road. 

“Give them a false sense of hope?” JJ questioned, but quickly laughed. “Right, you were talking about the map and John B.” His face turned bright red. 

“Yes JJ,” I said smiling, realizing that he thought I was talking about the new dynamic forming between the two of us. . “I hope that you aren't running around kissing and telling JJ,” I said playfully pushing his shoulder. 

“Oh don’t you worry princess. Your secret’s safe with me.” He said, causing us both to laugh again. His hand reached over to grab mine, which had managed to stop shaking significantly and giving it a reassuring squeeze. JJ had managed to help relax my mind by being his usual joking self. The rest of the short ride back to the Chateau returned to the soft music playing from the radio. JJ’s hand at some point had left mine and was now resting on my leg just above my knee, not that I was complaining. 

When we arrived at the house JJ helped me carry in the food as we sat on the couch on the back porch, overlooking the water, while we ate. On the table in front of us sat our meals and the map from the night before. JJ and I were looking over it just to see if we could find any other potentials as promising as the cargo ship. We didn’t. 

JJ finished his meal by pushing the last fry into his already full mouth. He chewed while tapping the line repeatedly. “This ship” He paused to swallow, “is it.” 

I followed the line down the ship onto the edge of the page where it stopped, just as it moved across to the South Carolina Border. I grabbed the ship log. “It says here that the ship was making one stop in Nassau.” I looked over at JJ, who had leaned back, kicking his feet up onto the table.  “So what’s next?” I questioned, leaning back into the worn couch. 

“Me?” JJ pointed to his face, a shocked look on his face. “This is all on you Nancy Drew, I’m like scooby doo, here for comedic relief and treats.” His voice coated with sarcasm as he sent a wink in my direction. 

“Well Scooby, you need to do something to earn your treats, don’t you? You don’t get rewarded for sitting there and being pretty.” I rolled my eyes. 

JJ shifted closer to me on the couch. “So you think I’m pretty?” He laughed. 

My face turned bright red. “Maybe? Don’t push it.” 

“You look tired,” JJ said softly. He laid into me, resting against my chest, looking up at my face. 

“Wow, I call you pretty and you call me tired. I don’t know if this is going to work buddy.” I let out a sarcastic laugh. 

“You know what I mean Y/N.” He reached up with his hand, running the back of his fingers across the bruise and cut on my face, his eyes intense on the mark. He then moved to trace the now darkened bruise on my neck. I felt my breath hitch in my throat as he did. His eyes moved quickly to meet mine. We seemed locked in that position, looking into each other’s eyes. I felt like I was searching for something. I was always seeming to be searching for something. I saw his eye flick down to my mouth, where I subconsciously, licked my lips. 

JJ took that as a cue to move forward. He pressed his lips against mine. The kiss was gentle at first, but quickly became more heated. He moved from his position. He used his legs to crawl on top of me, situating himself between my legs. One of his arms holding himself up, the other found its way to my waist. The intimacy of the moment only making things hotter. The kiss was becoming sloppier, as my hands found my way into JJ’s hair, messing it up. JJ’s mouth started to move. He started my chin and up my jaw towards my ear, opposite of the bruises. His other hand came up to cradle my face. His fingers hit right at the cut on my cheek. I pulled away with a faint ‘ouch’. 

That was enough of JJ to stop completely and pull away. He moved to sit up, pulling me with him. “That was”

“Hot.” I finished for him, with a smile. I could feel that my face was hot and probably the color of a tomato. 

He smiled at me, biting his now red and swollen lips. “You know, I’m really liking getting used to this.” He chuckled pointing between the two of us. “I’ll be right back.” He stated, before standing up and walking back into the chateau. I looked out over the water. The wind was a bit heavier today, causing the sound to be rougher than usual. The small waves were lapping against the shore, mixed with the soft rustle of the leaves, making a rather calming noise. I laid back down, feeling a wave of exhaustion run over me. I closed my eyes and let the feeling of relaxation take over. 

I heard the porch door swing open, signaling that JJ had returned, but I kept my eyes closed. My eyes shot open, causing me to sit up when something cold landed on my face. I reach to grab it, finding JJ smiling and holding a bag of frozen peas. I gave him a questioning look. 

“What Kie said that you need to ice your face?” He said, shrugging. JJ crawled back to my side. His head resting on my chest once again. He put the peas over my injured eye. “I also didn’t want to bother you too much. You should sleep” He said with a faint smile. 

I nodded, letting my eyes close, one hand holding the peas to my eyes, the other mindlessly in JJ’s hair. I focused back on the sound of the waves, and the rustling leaves, or the way that JJ had pulled his arm around me bringing me closer, or the way that his hand was drawing small patterns on my back through my shirt. I felt myself beginning to drift off into sleep. 

I was woken up to a loud banging noise. I jumped but felt JJ’s weight still on top of me. “JJ, Wha–.” My words quickly interrupted as JJ quickly put his hand over my mouth. I saw his eyes wide as he sunk further into the couch. 

“We need to get out of here,” He said, in a voice so soft it was barely a whisper. “Follow me.” He slid off the couch, grabbing the keys off the table, staying low. He grabbed my hand, pulling me with him. I followed his actions. 

A loud booming voice made me jump once again. “Surprise Maybank.” I heard a crash of something breaking inside. ”Payback time you little Bitch.” 

I looked at JJ, with wide eyes and he cursed, trying to pull us off the porch. I heard doors opening and closing doors loudly in the house while banging on the wall. JJ was slowly pushing open the screen door so that it wouldn’t screech. He held it so it wouldn’t slam as we continued down the steps. 

The loud male voice boomed again. “Went to see your old man Maybank.” I looked at JJ as his head snapped up to look at the house. JJ pushed me up against the house as the male figure exited through the back porch door. I looked at JJ, I could feel how wide my eyes were, but what scared me the most was the fear in JJ’s eyes. “Said you hadn’t been around in a few days. Thought you’d be here, I’d hate to go rough up your girl Kiara, or your boy Pope who tried to choke out Country Club.” I saw the man standing on the steps of the porch. I shot JJ a questioning glance at what the man had just said. He was short, but fairly muscular. He wore a bandana covering his lower half of his face, black curly hair falling around it. In his hand was a short barrel shotgun, one he obviously wasn’t afraid to use. JJ quickly pulled us around the corner of the house before the man could see us. 

“JJ what the hell is going on?” I whisper. JJ just holds up a hand to silence me. He’s still standing in front of me, my back to the outside wall of the house. He moved to look over around the corner. I heard the door to the house shut again and I was being pulled toward the trees surrounding the house. I looked to the driveway catching a glimpse of the blue charger parked there before I was pulled by my hand to the woods by JJ. 

Taglist: @nikki082489 @lovelymaybankk @dolanfivsosxox @alexa-playafricabytoto @downbytheouterbanks @heyhargrove @heywards​ @kayln021 @readysteadygo23​ @im-a-stranger-thing​ @thatsonobx​ @dumbxgurl​ @ameeraaa21@zehnuhrfunf​ @imagines-and-preferences1216​ @mileven-reddie​ @sw-eat-ing​ @tangledinsparkles @shawnssongs @karleeluv 

If you wanna be added to a tag list please send me an ask, it makes it easier to keep up with:) if your user is crossed out it wouldn’t let me tag you? Full Masterlist 

[spectraspecs-writes]

Tatooine - Chapter 56 (HK-47)

Link to the masterpost. Chapter 55. Chapter 57.

@averruncusho thank you for reading you get a tag.

We get back to the ship just as the wind starts to pick up. Only thing to do is wait until this blows over. Carth, who was outside looking over the ship, looks surprised to see us. “Don’t tell me you found the Star Map already,” he says.

“Nope,” I say, “Sandstorm. We’ll have to head out again tomorrow.”

He comes inside with us and closes the hatch. “Bought a new droid?” he asks.

“Yep, got a good deal from an Ithorian,” I say, “See, Bastila? I just told the Republic.” She harrumphs and goes to the starboard quarters.

“Uh,” he says as Mission and Canderous go elsewhere, too, “okay. What does this droid do, exactly?”

“Combat and translation,” I tell him, “Beyond that I’m just not sure. That’s what I want to figure out.”

“Need a second set of hands?” he asks. Still trying to get back on my good side, I see. I’ve been soft-thinking about it, and I’m not ready to completely forgive him for shouting at me. But if HK is as complicated on the inside as he looked at first glance, I am going to need help. I was just going to ask T3, but on second thought I don’t want him to get jealous. Utility droids can get a bit finicky when you bring in a new droid. They’re like pets - you need a gradual introduction.

“Well, I know you can follow orders,” I say, joking a bit, “Yeah, I suppose. Come along, boys.” HK and Carth both follow me to the cargo bay. (Out of the corner of my eye, I see Carth and Canderous exchange affirmative gestures. Canderous Ordo, friendship counselor, is still a hilarious concept to me.) I move a couple cargo containers around and roll out my toolkit onto one. I sit down on one side of it and Carth sits on the other.

“Might as well start this out by asking,” I say, “HK, tell me more about your functionality.” I doubt it will be this easy.

“Statement: I know some elements of my functionality, master, but not all.”

“I thought you said that removing your restraining bolt would restore your memory?”

“Qualification: I suspected that it might, master. But without memory, I had no way of knowing whether or not I knew that was true.”

“So you lied to me.” Never had a droid that could do that before. Fun.

“Qualification: Err… not so much, master. I spoke out of ignorance. I assumed the Ithorian was responsible for my memory loss. That does not mean I am not a fully loyal droid willing to serve its master. Right… master?”

“This is one desperate droid,” Carth comments. I ignore him.

“How can you not know parts of your functionality?” I ask, “That information should be included in your core.”

“Answer: There have been numerous repairs and tampering made to my system, master.” Naturally. Probably none of that was done by a qualified droid tech. “Several systems are not operating as they should be. The fact that my memory is incomplete may be due to meatbag incompetence… or something else I am unaware of.”

I’m about to ask something else, but Carth put his arm out in front of me - excuse me? “Hold on… ‘meatbag’?” Yeah, I caught that, too. I thought it was funny.

“Qualification: Affirmative. Meatbags like yourself have a tendency to insert tools where they do not belong.

“Retraction: Of course I do not mean you, master. I’m sure you are a meatbag above the rest.”

“What the hell do you mean by meatbag?” Carth protests again.

“Retraction:” This is getting hilarious. “Did I say that out loud? I apologize, master,” HK says to me, “While you are a meatbag I suppose I should not call you such.”

“You just called her a meatbag again!” I can’t help but laugh - boys have argued over me before, but not like this.

“Explanation: It's just that… you have all these squishy parts. And all that water! How the constant sloshing doesn't drive you mad, I have no idea…”

HA! This is great! I love this droid! “You think this is funny?” Carth asks, a bit indignant.

“I think it’s HILARIOUS!” I’ve never had a droid be so direct with me before! “And the fact that you’re so upset about it is even better!”

He shakes his head at me and doesn’t say anything. He thinks about saying something, but evidently he can’t settle on what to say. It takes me a bit to calm down, but eventually I do. “So,” I say, taking a deep breath, “are you damaged?”

“Answer: I believe I have been damaged several times in the past, master. I have always been repaired… but perhaps full functionality has not been restored.”

“Probably none of those repairs were done by someone who knew what they were doing. Is there any way to repair you, give you back full functionality?”

“Answer: Some of my motor functions can be safely repaired, master… but anything in relation to my memory core is extremely sensitive. I have safeguards installed to protect that core that I cannot deactivate. It is not impossible that other, lesser, memory functions could be restored, however.”

“I can restore your memory, then.”

“Answer: You may attempt to restore portions of my deleted memory, master. Conjecture: It is possible that some external stimulus might result in the memory core being reactivated… but I am unaware of any program existence to do so. If you wish to attempt to restore my memory, simply tell me and I will attempt to walk you through it.”

“Let’s get started, then.”

“Statement: As you wish, master. The first stage is the simple one, and that is accessing my central control cluster. This may take a while. First you will need to open three panels.”

“Carth,” I say to get his attention, “Panel tool, please.”

“Right. Uh…”

“The one with the red handle.” Yet another cute guy who knows nothing about droids. “Thank you.”

If I was working by myself - that is, without HK walking me through it - I probably would have done more harm than good. Sure, I know what I’m doing, but HK was not designed according to any standard I’ve ever seen before. It’s not intuitive. I’d certainly like to meet whoever designed him.

“…and now re-wire the last three relays…” HK tells me, “... yes, good. Well done, master. I believe your operation was a success.”

“I should hope so, my hand is killing me.”

“Accessing new memory… Access complete: I have restored a great deal of information about my previous owner, master. Would you like to hear it?”

“Please.” I roll up my tool kit, I’m in no shape to do any further repairs.

“Recitation: The earliest memory of my last owner specifies that he was human, a low-ranking commercial officer for Systech Corporation. I am unaware of his designation. He purchased me from an acquaintance I cannot identify, for the purposes of protocol and bodyguard duties.”

“You mentioned Systech when I purchased you. I’m guessing they didn’t make you, then.”

“Explanation: Affirmative, master. I had assumed that my previous owner was the corporation, itself. This is not the case. The human purchased me privately.”

“And this guy’s dead, right?”

“Answer: Correct, master. The human was terminated by this HK-47 unit prior to system shut-down.”

“I don’t know about this,” Carth says uneasily, “Do we really want a droid around who killed his own master?”

“I doubt it was on purpose.”

“Correct, master,��� HK says, “The human's termination was accidental. Explanation: My former master had owned me for a duration of two standard months before discovering my assassination protocol. He was pleased by the discovery. The human informed me that a competitor corporation was preparing to market a product that would ruin him personally. He was most agitated. He activated my assassination protocol and instructed me to kill all those responsible for the competing product. I proceeded to carry out my order.”

“Hang on,” Carth says, “did I hear that right? An assassination protocol?”

“Information: This HK-47 unit is complete with a protocol that, when invoked, will set me to independently carry out a termination. I will go to whatever lengths, travel whatever distances are required, to complete the termination. This is the reason for my combat skills.”

“Well, that’s great!” Carth says, “We can end the war right now, set the droid on Malak!”

“As if Bastila would let me do that.” Funny.

“Forget Bastila; this is for the good of the whole galaxy!”

“I’m not disagreeing with you, I just don’t think that’s the smartest approach.”

“Advisement:” HK interrupts us, “Unfortunately, the assassination protocol is currently non-functional. You will not be able to activate it.”

“Why not?” Carth asks.

“Answer: several of my actuators were damaged by my former owner. They cannot be repaired, master, sad though that is.”

“Well, that ends that, then,” he says, almost disappointed.

“And they were damaged how?”

“Explanation: My former master was unaware of this, but the competitor was in fact an arm of Systech Corporation, my master's own employer. It did not take long for my master to realize his mistake. By then, I had already terminated 104 corporate officers.”

“Why didn’t he just deactivate you?” I ask. Carth seems to have been stunned into silence.

“Answer: I was not present to be deactivated, master. Part of my protocol is not to return to my master until my function is complete. I still had 15 officers to go.”

“One hundred nineteen people..” Carth says, still shocked.

“I do not know why my master was so upset, really,” HK continues, “He was an officer of Systech and a potential target, but I cannot terminate my own master. I would assume that being the sole officer remaining, he would surely be promoted. Instead, however, the human chose to go insane with rage and attack me.”

“So that’s when you killed him?” I say.

“Objection: Naturally not, master! As I said, I am incapable of purposefully terminating my owner. That would not be allowed. My master was not a smart man, however. While he was screaming and stabbing me with a writing utensil, he managed to pierce one of my actuators. The resulting shock terminated him and, sadly, destroyed my assassination protocol. Pure luck on his part, I suspect.

“I shut down immediately whenever my master dies. I can only assume that while I was shut down Systech was dismantled and I was auctioned off as former corporate property. Observation: No doubt my sale price was quite cheap, leading to Yuka Laka's purchase. How very demeaning.”

“I can’t believe it,” Carth says, still stunned, “You bought a murder bot.”

“Says the guy who wanted me to sic him on Darth Malak.” The cheek. “Did you recover anything else?”

“I have recovered knowledge of some other actuators which will enhance my performance, master. I will activate them now. But as for my own history… negative. It will require further effort on your part to restore them, if you wish… though certain stimuli could always restore my core, still, as I explained. For now, please excuse me, master. I wish to meditate upon the face of my former meatbag master as he was electrocuted. I find it most soothing.”

“Have a blast.” HK moves out of the cargo bay.

I fiddle with my implant a bit. It should deaden the pain in my hand a bit. Maybe I put in the wrong one… “Thanks for letting me help,” Carth says, “I’ve never done much work with droids.”

“Well, if you’re planning on branching out, you’ve got a long way to go.”

“I’m sure I do,” he says, “I’m just glad you’re talking to me again.”

“Rena?” Bastila calls - thank God, I’m not ready to talk with Carth yet. She steps into the doorway. “If you’re doing something…”

“No, just finished,” I say, “What’s up?”

“If it’s not too much to ask,” she says, “once the storm clears, I’d like to go to the cantina myself to look in on my mother.” And? “I’d… appreciate it if you came with me.”

“Of course! What are friends for?”

“Thank you.” And she leaves.

Well, that suitably distracted Carth from whatever he was going to say, thankfully. Maybe by tomorrow I’ll have everything sorted out in my head, but not yet. “Well, I’m going to go to the med bay, see to my achy hand,” I say, picking up my kit and not giving him any room to object, “Thanks for your help.”

“Yeah,” he says, still quiet, “Sure.”

Oh, boy, I hope he doesn’t pout for too long.

[livironheart]

all of them

◎: What is your muse’s most prized mundane possession? Why do they value it so much?

She treasures a lot of things, but at the moment it’s probably her engagement ring. It means a lot to her.

★: What is your muse’s idea of perfect happiness?

Warm summer nights, brimmed hats, fishing, friendly neighbors, cookouts, coming home to a loving partner and snuggling every night, going on occasional exploration adventures and mapping the stars

☩: Your muse is doing some intense spring cleaning. What is easy for them to throw out, and what is difficult for them to part with?

Liv probably doesn’t want to throw out anything because everything she has, she needs (or thinks she will need in the future, even if she won’t). Some old clothes might be the first to go.

♠: What’s the worst thing your muse has done to someone they loved?

Betrayed Rook while she was with Finn in Kalimdor

♢: In what situation would your muse feel most out of their comfort zone?

Anything overly intimate that she hasn’t experienced before will make her extremely uncomfortable. Also, rich social gatherings like balls and dances (even if she tries to love them, she’s not used to them yet).

♣: What’s your muse’s biggest cause of stress or anxiety?

Afraid that something will happen to Finn when she’s not around to help, or that she’ll never be able to master the spells she’s working on.

✚: What is the most frightening potential handicap or disfigurement your muse can conceive? What makes it so frightening?

Loss of magic is a big one, but not exactly a handicap in a normal world. She would probably hate being blind. She has such an appreciation for the beauty of the world and not being able to see it would be really depressing.

✔: What did your muse want to be when they were a child? Did they go on to do this and if so, was it everything that they hoped it would be? Or has this desire changed since, and why?

Olivier wanted to be an archmage. She’s kind of dropped from that ambition because she thinks it’s unrealistic, but sometimes she thinks about chasing it again. Right now, she just wants to secure a safe life for her and Finn for years and years into the future.

❖: What is the attitude and appearance that your muse presents in public? How does this differ from the attitude they have in private, when they are alone?

This has changed a little bit recently, but she used to be very angry/confrontational/arrogant in public and very honest and quiet when in private/alone. Now, she’s less angry and confrontational, but tries to be more of a leader. It takes a lot of energy, and she’s very quiet and often reveals her insecurities to others when they’re alone.

✿: Which one act in your muse’s past are they most ashamed of? Which one act in their past are they most proud of?

She’s ashamed of Northshire when she hesitated before going back into the abbey (when Finn died), and when she had suspicions that Kaldius was Krath’ul but didn’t act on them in time. She’s also ashamed of betraying Rook, and of getting bitten.

She’s proud of killing the troll leader singlehandedly in the Siege of Southhold, but almost no one knows it happened; she’s proud of being knighted, of advancing as far in magic as she has, and of what she did in the study between Un’goro 1 and Un’goro 2. It had its consequences, maybe more in the future, but it was still necessary.

➜: What sort of things does your muse keep in their pockets on any given day?

She has a coinpurse attached to her waist and usually has a small notepad and a pen on her. When she carries her bag around, there’s a lot more because it has an enlargement spell. Her bag usually contains a few tomes, a phoenix egg, a bottle of cider, snacks, and a first aid kit.

￭: If one of your muse’s friends was asked to describe them in a handful of words for a profile on a dating site, what would they say?

“Sensitive and empathetic, but with little patience. Show you mean well or she won’t stick around long.”

‽: Who or what, if anything, would your muse die for or otherwise go to extremes for?

Finnigan Wyman

▼: What would you find in your muse’s refrigerator right now?

A little bit of everything (whatever’s in the study)

♛: If your muse had to die, how would they like to go? And if they could come back as a person or animal, what would it be?

Liv wants to go down in a really cool and epic way and sacrifice herself for the sake of some great battle and go down in history. She wants to go out with a bang. She would love to come back as a wild gryphon.

❸: Name three things your muse considers themselves to be very good at, and three things they consider themselves to be very bad at.

Good at swordfighting, stealth, magic.

Bad at cooking, talking, and being patient.

❦: If your muse was having a nightmare, what would be the worst one that they could suffer?

Something that reminds her of a past memory that incorporates her fears, like the room in Feralas. It leaves her waking up wondering if anything is real anymore.

♫: What is one thing that your muse thinks they are talented at, but actually aren’t?

Being smart/not rushing into situations.

♞: Who was your muse’s idol when they were growing up? Who did they first fantasize about being like?

Jaina and Khadgar!

✱: What is your favourite ‘happily ever after’ for your muse? And what’s your most unconventional ‘ever after’ headcanon for them (happily or otherwise)?

Happily ever after would have to be what I described earlier with settling down in a small fishing village or farm town with her significant other and going on occasional adventures.

An unconventional one would probably be her going dark and becoming a villain for the order or others.

✦: What is your muse’s fondest childhood memory?

Painting her room.

♯: What would be the perfect gift for your muse?

Liv wants a gun. Her muse thinks maybe that’s not a great idea and maybe she would enjoy a personalized cookbook with lots of little notes and pictures that remind her of the things/people she loves. Or a really, really awesome set of new armor.

❤: What is your muse’s perfect romantic date?

A fancy dinner somewhere, then a night camping in the mountains or at the beach under the stars.

☮: When and where was your muse happiest?

The place in the mountains when Finn proposed to her (even if it was initially intended to be a joke).

☥: If events in your muse’s life had gone very differently to how they did, what would they have done with their life? What sort of occupation might they have chosen for themselves and would they, in your opinion, be happier than they are now?

Olivier was very close to going full rogue and being in a life of crime. She could be leading a syndicate and killing/stealing from the rich and giving to the poor. She probably wouldn’t be as happy.

☢: If your muse knew that they were going to die in 24 hours, name three things they would do in the time they had left.

Kiss Finn, hug Finn, spend the next 24 hours searching for a way to change the future.

☠: What is the one thing for which your muse would most like to be remembered after their death?

Probably how she cared so much about everyone and everything, almost too much. She couldn’t often find it within herself to be apathetic, and threw herself wholeheartedly into everything to help the people she cared about, or to fight the ones she didn’t.

✎: Growing up, did your muse have a teacher or mentor figure? What was their relationship like?

Liv has has several teachers/mentors, all of them with odd relationships. She hasn’t yet managed to develop an extremely close bond with any of them because they’ve all left within months.

✄: How does your muse perceive themselves, both internally and externally? How does this differ from how other people may see them?

Liv perceives herself as a regular girl with a lot of emotions and a fierce passion to protect who she loves. She sees herself as a defender and a dreamer. Others might describe her similarly or in a more negative light depending on her relationship with them.

✈: Was your muse popular as a child? Did they have many friends, and are they still in touch/still aware of what they are doing with their lives now?

Olivier didn’t have any friends as a kid. She has some ex-coworkers that she’s sort of friends with now, but doesn’t really know what they’re up to.

♐: What is your muse particularly unskilled at?

Cooking and patience. The two happen to be related, yet somehow she’s great at fishing. She is slowly learning, one recipe at a time. She also sucks at mechanics and learning how tools and machines work. Absolutely awful.

☯: Who, if anyone, does your muse consider to be their best friend?

Finnigan Wyman

[bettysnooze]

i can't remember if i asked or not so!! 6, 7, 12, 13, and 28!! long ones im soz

6. which one of your muses have you been playing the longest?

answered here !!

7. which one of your muses has the most ships?

HELEN RIGHT NOW OH MAN, i never realised how flirty she is wow, and the chemistry is off the charts for so many ppl i don’t even know how to begin, half of this might just be in my head so um pls lets talk about sHIPS WITH HELEN

12. what is something everyone should know about your muses before interacting?

betty: she’s made a name for herself among students, i feel like it’d be pretty common knowledge that auradon prep and arcadia uni has its own sandman. they might not know its specifically betty?? but definitely once they’re around her, you’d just know. so if you need a good night’s sleep or some help with nightmares, betty is your girl. 

veronika: she’s a tour guide for auradon prep students! so she’s good for characters that come in for the first time ever. she always has some sort of bag with her and it’s basically a survival kit (water, umbrella, maps, auradon keychains). 

makaria: she always looks amazing. girl with the awesome fashion sense, great nails, great hair. always put together. she had a good relationship with her father, so on the isle they were basically this strong unit. if hades was walking, you’d know mak wasn’t too far behind. 

hershey: he comes from a playable game! the arcade’s on the west coast somewhere, but yeah sugar rush is 100% playable so if it’s relevant for your character to have went there and played sugar rush by any chance, then they probably would remember hershey from there. 

cestrum: he’s tall. like…6 foot more. i think i said he was 6 foot 2. in a crowd he’s one of the tall ones. when he’s sitting down in a low chair, his knees are really knobby it’s like watching a giraffe sit down. 

aiwei: he’s got visible frankenstein’s-monster type scars. recently, he’d had to stitch himself up a lot (without a good access to magic) so along his arms and fingers especially. his skin isn’t warm, it’s a little pale actually but honestly the life comes from his eyes and his smile.

otto: he’s handsome af. literally classic prince charming. comes from snow white’s family, so very posh, very rich boy trope. sits with the cool kids, acts like a cool kid, lives like a cool kid. will only be seen associating with other royals (or those close to royals) or sitting alone. but he always looks busy too. 

illyria: she’s a bit ‘mona lisa painting’ in that her eyes will literally follow you even if she doesn’t move. once you catch her attention, she won’t look away until she’s had her fill of analysing you. also she speaks a lot in class (more in recent months) and if she’s curious about you, you’ll know. she bothers a lot of people in class too lmao.

kirsa: she’s a cheerleader! super team spirit all the way. she’s got makeup on her all the time, has her own version of a survival kit. need lip balm? she’s got new ones you can just take. need pads or tampons? she’s got light, heavy, and super. need a snack? she’s got a brownie in a tin. need alcohol or smokes? she’s got them too. omg she runs high school contraband.

dignan: LITERALLY SO BUSY WITH CLUBS. you will literally always see him hanging out with someone from a sports team, usually the baseball team. he’s literally a jock. since he joined the team he’s taken to wearing some sort of sports fashion – a cap, or shoes, or a jersey or jacket. BUT ALSO he’s in mathletes!! if he’s not in any of his other extracurriculars or studying or hanging with friends, then he’s at the gym or training. 

helen: also a jock. but she’s more known for having aurelius hanging around her all the time. he knows he can’t go into any buildings, so he’s always waiting outside. sometimes he hangs out by the classroom window and watches lessons LMAO. 

penelope: if you look poor, she’ll scoff at you, if you look rich, she’ll wink at you. she may also try to steal your shit, rich or poor. her luck with stealing comes and goes, sometimes it’s a smooth steal, most of the time she gets caught. she always tries tho.

13. what’s a weird headcanon you have for each of your muses?

betty: idk if this is weird but betty has the ability to literally sleep anywhere. once she decides she’s comfortable and wants to sleep, she’s done. betty’s been found sleeping in a closet, under a desk in a student’s lounge, IN CLASS…

veronika: she knows like every word to a handful of like early 2000s songs. outkast’s “hey ya”, eminem’s “without me”, coolio’s “gangsta’s paradise”, black eyed peas “where is the love”. a lot of avril lavigne. she won’t sing it (unless you’re noelle) but she can recite and mouth along to the song

makaria: she had a cooking phase. but only she eats the food bc she doesn’t want to accidentally poison anybody or make them puke. she likes cooking food. considers herself a good food critic.

hershey: hated ice-cream for the longest time bc, as a kid, he couldn’t get through the ice-cream catapult range on the sugar rush track. full-on boycotted ice-cream from like ages 6-10. it was a sad time for hershey.

cestrum: i’ve talked about it before but his tapdancing! started when he found a pair of dancing shoes in wonderland. then he found an old gramophone and some records. he basically taught himself how to tap dance. he doesn’t do it so often now because there’s every chance someone’s going to catch him doing it.

aiwei: secretly tried all sorts of things to make himself taller. he’d do stretches. he’d hang upside down. the last straw was when he would hang by his arms off a tall beam, with weight attached to his feet. he can’t feel pain so he just added as many weights as possible, and one foot literally popped off the socket. there’s a scar there too.

otto: scared of open water. doesn’t like the idea of drowning. he frantically trained himself to be able to swim well (in a pool) but he’s still wary of going to the beach. doesn’t like flying on a plane over large bodies of water. just……..no open water.

illyria: she’s really really bad with makeup. all she had to go on for years was tia dalma’s intense eyeliner, smokey-eye look LMAO. she tried makeup for a while but got too lazy and is just bare-faced now (she loves moisturising though and buys all sorts of sea-themed facewashes and things).

kirsa: she’s really picky about food. she’s a little self-conscious about it so when u eat with her for the first time she just goes with whatever but once she’s comfortable it’s just gonna be so specific. “hi so i’d like the apple pie for dessert with the ice-cream on the side, and if it’s home-baked pie then i’d like it heated but if it’s not then leave the ice-cream and i’ll have whipped cream instead. otherwise, i’d still like the ice-cream on the side – and for the salad, can i also have the dressing on the side please?” this is shamelessly taken from ‘when harry met sally’ but EVERYTHING IS ON THE SIDE

dignan: he’s superstitious especially about competitions. the first baseball game he won, he ate ice-cream beforehand so like now every time he has to eat ice-cream before a game. different rule for mathletes though, whenever they have a competition, he has to do like ten sit-ups. he will do those sit-ups anywhere, but he has to get them done. doesn’t walk under ladders. doesn’t open umbrellas indoors.

helen: she’s really not looking to love anyone right now, but she ends up liking so many people and she kinda loves that physical side of the relationship a lot ??? she also loves showing off and that’s not really a quirky headcanon but like she loves showing off

penelope: idk yet but i think maybe she once tried singing to the birds on the isle (back when her grandmother was still like ‘yes penny sing!!’) and honestly like the birds either died or tried to attack her, she probably has a fear of birds now because of that. 

28. can you sort your muses from weakest to strongest?

PHYSICAL STRENGTH-ABILITY WISE

aiwei: is a pacifist but also just like no upper-arm strength and literally you could rip his arms off with the right amount of force so no

cestrum: could literally knock him over with a strong wind but at least he’s a little more solid than aiwei. also a pacifist. also has a little trauma when it comes to physical harm so he just freezes and let’s things happen to him.

kirsa: has no idea how to defend herself and literally just runs or something and she’s not even a fast runner. she can scream tho and she panic-fights so she has every chance to scratch someone’s eyes out.

hershey: also panic-fights. would rather run (or drive away) than fight. if he had a car in his disposal he would still choose to just drive away with as little injury to anyone as possible. not very powerful in terms of physical fights; he gets beat up a lot.

veronika: knows how to avoid fights. calm in a brawl. uses her environment to her advantage (ie. broken glass, distractions). looks to leave fights rather than end them.

dignan: only more powerful than veronika physically but strategically he’s a mess. impulsive fighter. will throw himself into anything. upper-arm strength because of recent training and exercise; good aim, has amazing aim. 

illyria: calm, strategic, trained fighter. but only good with weapons, not very good with hand-to-hand combat (would rather not touch anyone at all). different scenario if she was in the water, but by herself she’s at this stage of the scale.

otto: brute strength. brawls. boxing. clenched fists and can take a hit and doesn’t stop hitting until the other person gives up. also swordsmanship. 

helen: the most powerful out of all my non-powered people. she’s got the strength, the strategy, the experience and the training. actual warrior princess helen rider. can also do everything in heels and on horseback. can probably do motorcycle stunts.

betty: she has so much untapped potential; the ursula event was only like a small dose of what she could do if she decided to use her powers that way. could end a fight before it even started.

makaria: ofc a goddess of death would be like the most powerful. fire (hellfire) powers, and shadow manipulation and basic magic and teleportation and also she doesn’t know it yet/hasn’t had a chance but she can manipulate the dead that are devoted to hades. also she’s gonna get her immortality one of these days so Full God Mak Aidoneus™

[kennethherrerablog]

29 Totally Flexible Ways to Make Money in College Without Dropping Classes

Working through college is one way to reduce the amount of debt you’ll have after graduation. You know, make some money now and take out fewer student loans. Big. Win.

But finding a job with decent pay that’ll allow you to schedule shifts around your classes and extracurriculars can be harder to find than a healthy taco bar. And maybe you’re not too keen on flipping burgers at your local fast-food joint.

Well… have you thought about ditching the demanding work schedule and finding flexible work instead? You’ve got options, after all.

29 Ways to Make Money in College — Without a Fast Food Gig

From part-time jobs to apps and websites that let you make money online from your dorm or apartment, you have plenty of options that won’t cut into your study time.  

1. Get Rewarded for Your Good Grades

Don’t have a lot of spare time outside of studying?

Check with the dean of your college or university to see if your school offers incentives for getting good grades. Some actually offer cash bonuses to college students who maintain a good GPA.

2. Drive With Uber and Lyft

Need a fun, flexible way to earn money while also meeting lots of new people?

Try driving with Lyft!

Demand for ride-sharing has been growing like crazy, and it shows no signs of slowing down. To be eligible, you’ll need to be at least 21 years old with a year of driving experience, pass a background check and own a car made in 2007 or later. You can drive days, nights or weekends — it’s up to you!

Because it’s simple to switch between apps, many Lyft drivers also sign up with Uber.

As a partner driver with Uber, you’re an independent contractor. You create your own schedule and work as much or as little as you want.

If you want to give Uber a try here are a few of the things to keep in mind: You must be at least 21 years old, have at least one year of licensed driving experience in the U.S. (three years if you are under 23 years old), have a valid US driver’s license and pass a background check.

Finally, your car must be a four-door, seat at least four passengers (excluding the driver), be registered in-state and be covered by insurance.

And if you aren’t sure which is better for you? Here’s our guide to Lyft versus Uber.

3. Share Your Opinions

No, you won’t make a ton of money doing online surveys, but you also won’t have to spend a lot of time or effort. Heck, you won’t even have to leave your dorm room.

One survey site we love is MyPoints. It rewards you in gift cards for taking polls and answering surveys. It’s a great way to pass time while you wait in long lines at the dining hall. You’ll earn a $5 bonus when you complete your first five surveys.

Then there’s also the reader favorite Swagbucks, which offers a wide variety of ways to make money beyond taking surveys. Plus, you get a $5 bonus when you sign up and earn 2,500 SB within your first 60 days.

If you’re looking to make a bit of money in those free minutes between classes, it doesn’t get much easier than this.

4. Be a Human Guinea Pig

From medical tests to market research, being a test subject can be an interesting, educational and — above all — lucrative way to spend your time.

Some tests, like clinical trials, may be more taxing and require a greater time commitment. But they just might pay a pretty penny; we’ve seen as much as $600 for some studies.

But other opportunities, like market research, may just take a couple hours of your afternoon, and you’ll earn free samples and some extra cash.

Here are a few resources to help you get started:

Use AcurianHealth to find clinical research studies.

Sign up for text alerts from Just Another Lab Rat to find the latest research opportunities.

Find studies by searching the Clinical Trials database.

Keep an eye out on campus for opportunities at your university, too. These are usually quick gigs that could yield $10 to $20 for less than an hour’s work.

5. Buy and Resell Textbooks

When you were in high school, you had no idea how much money textbooks cost, did you? Ouch. You know you can earn a little cash back for selling your textbooks at the end of the semester.

But you can go beyond that — and actually start profiting from textbook sales.

Instead of relying on your own collection, buy textbooks online from sites like eBay and resell them on a site like BookScouter.

Before you shop, you can look up a book’s ISBN on BookScouter and find out how much it’s worth. That way you’ll only buy books you know you can sell for more than what you pay.

Profit margins aren’t huge on textbook reselling, but if you can average $5 per book and sell five per day, you could earn $750 each month. That’s a solid side hustle!

6. Turn Saving Money Into a Team Sport

If you’re a fan of friendly competition, start recruiting team members to join you on Ibotta, a free app that’ll grant you cash back on just about everything. Yeah, if you’re 21, you can even earn cash back from the bar.

If you’re not yet an Ibotta member, go ahead and sign up. Once you claim your first offer, you’ll earn a $10 bonus.

Then start building your team. You can refer friends and earn a $5 bonus. The more team members you have, the more shopping bonuses you’ll likely accrue. Can you say passive income? Plus, Ibotta ranks your earnings against your friends, which turns saving money into a friendly competition.

Just think how much you can earn if you get your whole dorm or sorority involved!

7. Sell Your Old Cell Phone

You know that old cell phone you have sitting in your junk drawer or perhaps your bedside table? It’s time to give it up and pocket some cash.

Gazelle is an online trade-in site that makes the process super easy.

Enter your device’s information, and Gazelle will give you a trade-in estimate. For qualifying devices, it’ll even send you a free box for shipping.

If you need money more quickly, see if an affiliated kiosk is located in your area. You’ll be able to get an estimate on your device, and if you agree to sell, you’ll immediately get cash.

8. Become a Tutor

Are you looking for on-campus jobs? Have you ever considered becoming a tutor?

Look for programs through your university or specific departments where you could get paid to work with other students.

For more flexibility, consider becoming an online tutor. Through a platform like Wyzant, you can browse tutoring jobs and set your own rates.

9. Get Refunds on Your Online Orders

It turns out deleting your emails could be costing you money. Intrigued?

One of our secret weapons is called Paribus — a tool that gets you money back for your online purchases. It’s free to sign up, and once you do, it will scan your email for any receipts. If it discovers you’ve purchased something from one of its monitored retailers, it will track the item’s price and help you get a refund when there’s a price drop.

Plus, if your guaranteed shipment shows up late, Paribus will help you get compensated.

Disclosure: Paribus compensates us when you sign up using the links we provide.

10. Find Money You Didn’t Know Was Yours

State treasuries throughout the U.S. have more than $43 billion in unclaimed funds, according to The New York Times. Just sitting around! Waiting for you to come play lost and found.

Check for your unclaimed money with the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators. Click your state on the map, and it’ll redirect you to your state’s appropriate search site. (Beware: There are several look-a-like sites out there. Be sure you’re searching legitimate ones.)

Penny Hoarder reader Kelli Howell heeded our advice, performed a quick search and found unclaimed money in her husband’s name.

“As I was scrolling through, I saw his name and his middle initial,” she says. She asked him to confirm his old Florida address; he grew up in Tampa. Sure enough, Mark Howell was entitled to $56 from a “matured insurance policy.”

Not bad for an unexpected check, right?

11. Become a Virtual Employee

If you want more steady work and income still offering the flexibility you need to get to class and rest after pulling all-nighters, look online.

Not sure where to start your search for a remote gig? Turn to ZipRecruiter. Click here, and it’ll send you to a list of geo-tailored work-from-home job openings.

Because you don’t yet have a degree and aren’t seeking full-time employment, we suggest looking into these jobs:

Virtual recruiter: Put your networking skills to use and connect employees or freelancers to the right jobs. You’ll do things like post available jobs, screen resumes, conduct preliminary interviews and negotiate salaries.

Virtual assistant: Are you super organized? Get paid to help a busy professional stay on track. You can use the organization and communication skills you’ve developed to help out with data entry, social media management, website maintenance, research and customer service needs.

Transcriber: Know how to type speedy fast? Transcribing requires little to no prior experience and offers flexible hours and workloads. The work can be demanding, but the pay is a pretty good selling point: about $15 to $25 per hour for general transcription, and more if you specialize in a legal or medical field.

12. Advertise Your Skills as a Freelancer

Freelancing is a wonderful, flexible way to make money on the side. You set your own rates and your hours. It also can be a great way to gain experience and connect with potential employers before you even graduate.

Whether you’re a graphic designer, a writer, an editor or a computer programmer, you can find virtual gigs through platforms like Upwork, Fiverr and other freelance websites.

13. Sell Crafting Supplies on Etsy

Maybe you love crafting, but you simply don’t have the time to knit scarves, quilt blankets or cross-stitch sassy sayings to sell. Well, here’s some good news: You can make money simply selling craft kits and supplies.

Look for supplies, kits and patterns at thrift stores and garage sales. Find good deals, and resell these items to crafters on Etsy. Take note from Janet Berry-Johnson who was able to make an extra $200 a month by selling supplies on Etsy.

14. Get Paid for Completing Small Tasks on Amazon

Have you heard of Amazon’s Mechanical Turk?

Create an account, and start performing “human intelligence tasks.” These tasks range from answering surveys to transcribing interviews to creating spreadsheets. You can pick and choose what you want to do.

Penny Hoarder contributor Michael Naab shared that he made an average of $500 a month through Mechanical Turk.

15. Hang out With Dogs or Cats

If you’re looking for a flexible, independent way to earn money — and you love hanging out with dogs — Rover might be your perfect gig.

The online network connects dog walkers and sitters to local dog owners through its 4.9-star-rated app, so you don’t have to staple flyers on every utility pole across town.

Rover says sitters can earn as much as $1,000 a month.

Rover dog-sitter requirements vary by location. In general, you must:

Be 18 years or older.

Pass a background check.

Have access to the Rover app (iOS or Android).

Here’s how it works: You’ll create an online sitter profile where you’ll answer questions about your experience with puppers and your schedule availability.

You can choose to offer a variety of services, including dog walking, overnight boarding at your home or theirs, and daycare. Boarding is the app’s most popular service, so offering it can get you more gigs. You set your own rates. (Rover keeps a small percentage as a service fee.)

Dog owners will reach out to you. Accept which gigs you want, then start snugglin’ pups. As soon as you complete a service, you’ll be paid within two days.

16. Braid Horse Manes

Are your friends always asking you to do their hair? Put it in a French braid or a fancy knot?

Well, you can get paid to put your skills to use — on horses.

Kat Tretina worked on weekends braiding horse manes for shows. She had zero experience and invested an initial $20 for a supply kit. Then started banking $1,000 a month.

You’ll find some small shows in the fall and winter months, but spring and summer are the most popular.

And because the work happens almost exclusively on the weekends, you should have no problem fitting it around your class schedule.

17. Help Your Neighbors With Odd Jobs — the Modern Way

Odd jobs and side gigs are an awesome way to earn extra money without committing to a full-time job or fixed schedule.

Sure, you could always find work the old-fashioned way — have your parents ask their friends if they need help with anything. But modern technology and our infatuation with the sharing economy have made gigs a much more effective way of earning a living.

Use an app like TaskRabbit to connect with people in your area who need help with cleaning, assembling furniture or installing a new faucet.

If you’re not as handy around the house, you can use Instacart or Postmates to deliver groceries and takeout orders to people who don’t have time, resources or ability to do it on their own.

18. Pick up House-Sitting Gigs

If you’re not keen on babysitting or pet sitting, why not house sit? It could be a great way to escape your shared dorm room while also making some extra money.

There are tons of websites out there that’ll help you find the perfect gig. Check out a few of these house-sitting marketplaces.

19. Get Paid to Exercise

Bottom line: HealthyWage will literally pay you for losing weight.

Not only are you getting more healthy, you’re also making some money. How’s that for motivation?

Here’s how it works:

Read our full HealthyWage review, and sign up.

Define a goal weight and the amount of time you’ll give yourself to achieve it.

Place a bet on yourself ranging from $20 to $500 a month.

Depending on how much you have to lose, how long you give yourself to do it and how much money you put on the table, you could win up to $10,000!

Wondering if it can really work? We talked to one woman, Teresa Suarez, who lost 68 pounds — and made over $2,400.

20. Be on Your Favorite TV Game Show

Do you watch “Jeopardy!” or “Wheel of Fortune” every evening and feel like you’d crush the contestants?

You can be part of these shows more easily than you might think, and it can be a cool way to boost your budget.

To get started, read our full guide to becoming a game show contestant for details on joining “Jeopardy!,” “Wheel of Fortune,” “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, “The Price is Right” and more.

21. Claim Class-Action Settlements

Class-action lawsuits are a simple way to make some extra money on the side.

Heck, you’re probably already part of a class-action suit you don’t even know about. They come up more often than you might realize.

We share open settlements here when we hear about them, so keep an eye out.

To file a claim, you’ll usually just have to fill out an online form. Some settlements also require proof of purchase of a relevant product or service.

How much you get depends on how many claimants are part of the case settlement and the amount of the settlement. You could get anything from free tuna to a check for $5,000 from California hotels.

22. Deliver Packages for Amazon Flex

You know when you order a package through Amazon and receive it the same day? It’s not magic — it’s your friendly Amazon Flex delivery partner.

As an Amazon Flex delivery partner, you’ll deliver goods to consumers via Amazon.com, Prime Now, AmazonFresh and Amazon Restaurants.

Amazon Flex says you can make $18 to $25 an hour as a Flex associate, though that’ll depend on how much you’re able to deliver. It processes payments on Tuesdays and Fridays through direct deposit, so you should see your money on Wednesdays, Saturdays or both.

One of the biggest perks of this part-time gig is that you get to set your own schedule, using the Flex app to claim delivery blocks (or shifts) you want to work. You’re an independent contractor, though, so you’ll be responsible for expenses, including gas, parking and tolls.

To qualify, you’ll need a phone with the Flex app and a car. If you’re delivering Prime Now orders, any car will suffice; however, if you’re delivering for Amazon.com, you’ll need a four-door midsize sedan or larger. In some areas, bikes are acceptable.

The program recruits in various areas across the country based on need. If you don’t find your city on the list when you go to sign up, you can always join the waitlist.

23. Play Free Scratch-offs for a Chance to Win Real Money

You know that feeling when you find a $20 bill hiding in the pocket of those jeans you wore last week? Yeah, that’s the feeling of a lucky day. The Lucky Day app is just like that.

You could win up to $10,000 playing digital scratch-off tickets or even a whopping $100,000 in the daily lotto. You’ll also have a lot of chances to win gift cards to cool places like Amazon, Walmart, Dunkin and Target.

It’s all free to play, with no in-app purchases. The company has already awarded more than $3 million in prizes to winners since 2014.

No, it’s not guaranteed money, but it’s a fun way to pass the time when you’re just sitting around and, who knows, you could hit a big one!

24. Sell Your Instagram-Worthy Pictures

If you have a smartphone and a photographic eye, making money may have just gotten a lot easier. Oh – you’ll also need access to marketable scenery.

An app called Foap lets you turn your smartphone photos into cash.

Here’s how it works:

Download the free app and create an account.

Take a quality photo and upload it to Foap’s marketplace.

Someone buys the license to your photo for $10. You make $5.

If your photo sells 20 times, you make $5 each time and end up with $100 in your pocket — all for about five minutes of work. Pretty cool, right?

25. Serve as a Mock Juror From Your Laptop

Who isn’t obsessed with with true-crime podcasts these days? “My Favorite Murder,” anyone?

If you want an insider look at what happens when a case hits the courtroom, you can serve as an online mock juror through a site like eJury.

As a mock juror, you’ll review evidence including documents, videos and photos. The fate of the mock-innocent, or mock-guilty, could be in your hands. The goal? Help the lawyers prepare for the real thing.

You can earn $5 to $10 per case.

26. Sell Your Clutter and Make Some Cash

Living that minimalist lifestyle is all the rage right now, so why not use this mentality to your advantage?

Start taking a good hard look at your belongings. What do you actually need? What can you make money from?

Clothes: If you have clothes you haven’t worn in the last year, why do you hang onto them? Try selling them to folks in your area through an online marketplace like Letgo. It takes about five minutes to create your account and list an item, and it’s free.

Technology: About your overcrowded entertainment center… Consider selling these items to Decluttr. It’ll buy your old CDs, DVDs, Blu-rays, video games and even cell phones and tablets. Shipping is free, and Decluttr pays you within 24 hours of retrieval.

Books: Bookshelf collecting dust? We love books as much as the next person, but see whether your treasures are worth anything by listing them on Amazon. With Amazon Trade-In, you can trade in your used textbooks, plus other items, like electronics, in exchange for an Amazon gift card.

Ready, set, purge.

27. Get Your Nanny on

Whether you want to look after school-aged kids on Saturday nights or help tired parents after school, you can find opportunities to use your child care experience to earn cash.

Look within your circle of friends and acquaintances first, as parents are more likely to trust someone they know. Ask friends if they know anyone else who could use a few hours to themselves, whether it’s to grocery shop or simply to head to the gym.

You can also let parents find you through Care.com. Rates on the platform will vary by city, but the average rate for babysitters in 2017 was $16.20 an hour, according to Care.com’s 2018 Cost of Care Survey.

28. Invest in Real Estate (Even as a College Student)

Want to try real-estate investing without playing landlord? We found a company that helps you do just that.

Oh, and you don’t have to have hundreds of thousands of dollars, either. You can get started with a minimum investment of just $500. A company called Fundrise does all the heavy lifting for you.

Through the Fundrise Starter Portfolio, your money will be split into two portfolios that support private real estate around the United States.

This isn’t an obscure investment, though. You can see exactly which properties are included in your portfolios — like a set of townhomes in Snoqualmie, Washington, or an apartment building in Charlotte, North Carolina.

You can earn money through quarterly dividend payments and potential appreciation in the value of your shares, just like a stock. Cash flow typically comes from interest payments and property income (e.g. rent).

(But remember: Investments come with risk. While Fundrise has paid distributions every quarter since 2014, dividend and principal payments are never guaranteed.)

You’ll pay a 0.85% annual asset management fee and a 0.15% annual investment advisory fee.

29. Cash in on Your Smartphone Addiction

Let’s be real: That phone habit is hard to break. So you might as well make some money while you’re scrolling instead of totally waste your time.

Download AppKarma, a free rewards app that lets you earn cash and gift cards when you try out gaming apps and watch videos.

Android users can download the AppKarma app directly through the Google Play Store.

iPhone users: AppKarma is not in the app store, but you can use it from your mobile browser. Click on the link from your iOS device to access the AppKarma web app. Complete the first offer (and earn 100 points!) to get started.

Bonus: Penny Hoarders will get 500 extra points when you sign up, plus you’ll get an email shortly after signing up with a special promo code worth another 750 bonus points.

You can exchange your Karma Points for gift cards to Amazon, PayPal, iTunes, Target, Starbucks and Walmart, among other retailers.

This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, which helps millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more. The Inc. 5000 ranked The Penny Hoarder as the fastest-growing private media company in the U.S. in 2017.

29 Totally Flexible Ways to Make Money in College Without Dropping Classes published first on https://justinbetreviews.tumblr.com/

[eleanore4309-blog]

FIFA 18 Internet App Release Date & FUT Webstart For Final Staff

FIFA 18 Legends is likely coming to PS4 if this new leak is something to go by. For PS4 homeowners, this may be actually a superb information as Sony has the potential to have exclusive FIFA 18 content. One of the crucial current FIFA releases have unique content materials on Xbox consoles, reminiscent of FIFA Final Group Legends. This entails the FIFA Final Staff Legends, which has confirmed to star Brazilian striker Ronaldo this yr. This may be based mostly on leaked footage that allegedly shows two Russian commentators recording dialogue for the new recreation. It really might be fans will uncover out extra all through E3 2017, both in the course of the EA Play occasion or at Sony’s press convention. EA could probably also have an issue with the controls, especially if followers use the detachable Joy-Con controllers. However one vital advantage from the Nintendo Swap could possibly be the benefit by which customers can play native multiplayer. Do you play FIFA Games? Reassure yourself that you perceive all of the fundamentals right so which you'll take new leaps via the sport and you might want to buckle up whenever you play any recreation, and a strategy primarily based sport for that matter. Positive, you’ve been taking part in that game for years and also you imagine you recognize all the basics right, however is that really the case that is actual? Odds are fairly excessive that you have been mistaking quite a few the basics of the sport that has left gradual advancement to your gaming capability, unless you're a master participant. Starting off, you have to to name your crew that you could shift at any point of time. Then you will get a roster which is generated at random and the very first thing to be seen thereof is more likely to perform because the colours of numerous card packs. So in understanding the acing factors of this game another large factor is the importance of chemistry among the many staff members. This really is just one of the very essential components that definitely will badly effect your gaming expertise, and booze down your team’s standing and abilities or can rack up.

FIFA pronounces that Russia have won the best to host the 2018 World Cup while Qatar will host the 2022 tournament. This means England’s thinks of hosting the 2018 World Cup finals had been dashed, which disappoints David Beckham particularly along with the entire England typically speaking. If you have any questions about where by and how to use fifa 18 gameplay, you can get hold of us at our own web-site. David Beckham hoped that he will make an alternative to England’s bid to the 2018 World Cup inside last lobbying ahead of the week’s vote. Ultimate Workforce is really a game mode where gamers can build their very best workforce by player playing cards. The participant cards act like buying and selling cards from "back inside the day". Every comes with a players information and stats, the primary distinction is pay as you go playing cards mean you’ve that player to put on the workforce and rehearse in single player games or online. The enchantment of this is putting Rooney, Messi, and Ronaldo about the identical team! FIFA 14 is often a simulation game developed by EA Canada and printed by Electronic Arts.

Hey FIFA Fans, for info on the FIFA 18 closed beta please take a look at this publish for more info. I do know and all they do is take part with the banter on the forum. I know and all they do is take part with the banter on the forum. How do I apply? Just tick the email me box, is that each one? I do know and all they do is join in with the banter on the discussion board. How do I apply? Just tick the email me box, is that all? I do know and all they do is take part with the banter on the discussion board. You bought that mod pack luck as effectively though. I do know and all they do is take part with the banter on the forum. You bought that mod pack luck as effectively although. How do I apply? Just tick the e-mail me box, is that every one? Every year the press overhype it and say, "that is the year PES will compete with FIFA", and every year they get steamrolled by EA. The explanation we didn't have EURO 2016 in FIFA 16 was as a result of Konami bought the rights for EURO 2016 for PES. Let's hope that EA retain the rights for the WC. I am hoping for the other tbh.. No WC/Euro game from EA had ever been good in any method. Only good thing was that they'd a betatest platform earlier than the actual FIFA release. The explanation we did not have EURO 2016 in FIFA 16 was as a result of Konami purchased the rights for EURO 2016 for PES. Let's hope that EA retain the rights for the WC. They're a tinpot developer without PES and MGS, and PES itself is a lost cause. Every year the press overhype it and say, "that is the year PES will compete with FIFA", and yearly they get steamrolled by EA. The reason we did not have EURO 2016 in FIFA sixteen was because Konami purchased the rights for EURO 2016 for PES. Let's hope that EA retain the rights for the WC.

So where does this type of go away EA Sports using FIFA 18? The game — which often launches on September 29 — continues to be closely marketed across social websites since the first reveal trailer premiered on June 5 specifically with Sony PlayStation. In terms of in-recreation coach transfers, it wouldn’t be a problem for the EA staff since they regularly update squads and in addition gamers can install the precise updates inside seconds. However what might be thought-about a problem is re-editing the many promoting and artwork for bodily copies hitting the precise store shelves in about three months’ time. Will this have an effect on FIFA’s tale mode? From the trailers confirmed at E3, it appears that Hunter will at some time bump into Ronaldo. The duo show some love which has a cool handshake and Ronaldo provides added voice-appearing to his / her many skills as this individual strikes up a dialog with all of the protagonist. Now, relying on whether EA has mapped in eventualities the place Ronaldo is a Madrid, this might mean that every these hours of work assembling a clean flowing story may step out the window. Nevertheless it could have an identical transfer scenario, like the earlier Voyage mode with Tottenham striker Harry Kane — exactly who automatically signs for whichever Premier League membership you resolve. What has EA acknowledged? We’ve approached EA Sports for any remark however are but to know from them — they’re probably jet-lagged from E3! If you want to studying extra FIFA 18 news, try fifacoin-purchase.com. And purchase morecheap FIFA coins to built you private lineup.

That’s why it’s necessary for you to waste no potentialities. Begin by going to the EASFC catalogue and trade your credit for coin boosts. As soon as you play your first matches you’ll obtain a basic bonus to your clubs financial well being. Each item can solely be redeemed once. Attempt to have the coin boost active in your first match. You should buy directly all the objects your XP level enable you to purchase. The system will make the management and will guarantee that you'll obtain the bonus in each match until the objects expire. Don’t forget to redeem the Elevated Transfer List Size and the Elevated Transfer Targets Pile Dimension gadgets as soon as attainable, because they are going to assist you to up your quantity of buying and selling. One other catalogue objects you need to buy are balls and kits. Many people don’t know, however these have excessive discard values which mean you can make some extra coins with them. Of course it’s not a home console, nevertheless it is still a console, and it ought to be able to utilizing the true power of video games. Sadly, Swap doesn’t accomplish that. Is the FIFA 18 just a starting of a journey full of compromises? If it does, here’s what FIFA 18 Nintendo Switch version will seem like. Due to its limited capabilities, the sport will run on an inner EA engine for Change. In consequence, gamers will not get the Journey: Hunter Returns mode in the game. The Journey is now going to be available in five totally different languages with complete audio localization means. Nintendo Switch gamers are obviously not getting this story mode which is a big set again. EA is just testing the water by releasing FIFA on Nintendo Switch. The franchise already has an enormous fanbase on both Sony and Microsoft consoles, and that is the first time FIFA is heading to the portable console Swap. EA is repeatedly assuring Change customers that the game will run without flaws on the handheld console. Model-new pitch environments, sensible character likeness, and new gameplay mechanics, all constructed for Switch," notes EA. As the game won’t characteristic the key story mode, EA says that the Swap is going to get more in-depth modes than some other portable console. EA is doing its finest to deliver the very best content material on Swap. From the launch day, Nintendo Change is missing content material. Nintendo understands the scarcity and has asked many builders to work on video games for Switch.

[symbianosgames]

Fifteen years ago, Blizzard released the fantasy RTS Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos. The following year, a mod of that game called Defense of the Ancients created the popular and lucrative multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) genre. Two years ago today, Blizzard brought things full circle by releasing their own MOBA, Heroes of the Storm. 

The 2015 game is like Blizzard's version of Smash Bros: A mix of characters drawn from its other franchises (Starcraft, Diablo, Warcraft, The Lost Viking, and now Overwatch), rebuilt in a genre that has its roots in the company's rich strategy game history.

As Heroes' development has continued, it's been worth paying attention to how Blizzard differentiates its MOBA from its more-established competitors. While it's noteworthy that Blizzard's biggest differentiator is the choice to use multiple maps, it's also worth tracking how it applies the company's renowned polish to its myriad of heroes. 

We wanted to learn a little more about how Heroes of the Storm tweaks and rebalances characters from other franchises and genres. Luckily, Kent-Erik Hagman, lead hero designer on the game, was willing to talk us through the process of conceptualizing, designing, and refining three heroes that show how Blizzard has put its own stamp on the MOBA genre.

[embedded content]

Cho’gall first came up in discussions about a month before the technical alpha started—we had this pitch for a Hero that had a relatively standard ogre mage fantasy. But then we looked at that second head, and said to ourselves, "There's got to be more we can do here!" There were some basic ideas—maybe you select a second talent for the second head; maybe the second head is constantly casting a spell, and as the first head, you need to try to work with it.

"We didn’t want this to be two Heroes glommed onto a single body, so we tried out various levels of interaction between the two heads."

Eventually, there started to be this collective consciousness trending towards doing more with that second head. Multiple members of the team from multiple disciplines (art, engineering, design) were all pitching this idea of the "two-player Hero." He already has two heads so it seemed like such a natural fit, we had to run with it!

We quickly found that there were a lot of ways to do a two-player Hero, but each one had various potential pitfalls. We decided to focus each head in its role, and isolate the movement controls to a single head (Cho). We didn’t want this to be two Heroes glommed onto a single body, so we tried out various levels of interaction between the two heads. In fact, the first iteration of Rune Bomb had Cho summon these orbiting Bombs that would just passively rotate clockwise around his body a good distance away from him, and Gall would have to use Shadowflame to pop the bombs. We quickly discovered, however, that this was incredibly frustrating to play, and not very rewarding.

Cho'gall is one of the biggest technical hurdles ever overcome by our engineering and technical design staff. First we had to figure out how to get the second player there. Setting up Cho was relatively straightforward for our engine—he's just another Hero. Gall, on the other hand, is an "invisible, uninteractive" unit that is grafted onto Cho, forced to travel where he goes. When we were first working on the pair, we came across many situations that could disjoint these two brothers from each other. Our technical design team did a great job answering each new issue quickly so we could get back to playtesting!

TK text

Thankfully we had already developed Abathur—a Hero who offered a similar gameplay experience. We looked at Gall as more of a concentrated version of Abathur, where he was attached to another Hero’s body. The more we played with Cho'gall, the more we started to look at them as Cho driving the vehicle with Gall as his gunner. Cho exists to get Gall into position to deal the damage. We gave Cho his mobility to help him be the "driver" for the two. We initially tried to make most of his mobility have some sort of wind-up or visual tell, so that Gall would know that his firing position was about to change.

Looking back, I think there were two parts to the process of making Cho’gall where we underestimated how difficult it would be to get Cho’gall working to our satisfaction. The first was the coordination factor. We started with what were some pretty tough coordination requirements for Rune Bomb, since they sounded pretty easy on paper. Gall didn't have a "Runic Blast" to detonate the bomb. Instead, his low cooldown Shadowflame was supposed to "pop" any Runic Bomb that Cho had, to create this fun two-player combo. It seemed straightforward, but once the rubber hit the road, we were shocked by how tricky it was to get working. We eventually tried simpler versions until we landed on giving Gall a "detonate" button in the form of Runic Blast. It ended up feeling so much better for Gall, as you no longer felt punished for using your Shadowflame on cooldown, which is what you wanted to do.

The other difficulty in the process was the actual playtesting. The logistics for our daily playtests were not set up to comfortably handle the two-headed Hero. We quickly realized we needed to start doing formal assignments for who was playing what Hero in a playtest to make sure enough people got to try both Cho and Gall and provide their valuable feedback. It got especially rough when talents started getting implemented, as usually each talent needs its own game (or two or three if there are certain synergies) to test, and then when you double it all for the second head . . . it can be quite the task to playtest each Hero and each talent! Going back, I think we should have worked as a team to set up more structure to those playtests to get good coverage on all of Cho'gall's kit and talents.

Other HotS characters ride a mount for a speed boost. Cho'Gall carries his.

Our animation team had so much fun animating Cho’gall. Early on, in our internal art page, we saw the Cho’gall animation of him carrying a horse, set to the Last of the Mohicans theme. Immediately a group of us designers walked over to the animator who made it and we all fell to our knees shouting, "We’re not worthy! We’re not worthy!"   

[embedded content]

Ironically enough, D.Va's two forms was retreading ground we had already covered, but probably in a space that doesn't seem connected at all: Lt. Morales' Medivac. While in Mech Mode, Pilot D.Va is really just riding around in her own "Medivac," which is functionally what her Mech is. As an interesting aside, it was also implemented by the same technical designer who had implemented Cho’gall, and looking back had said, "Man, I should've made Cho’gall a Medivac!" 

We definitely wanted D.Va's "thing" to be her two forms: Mech and Pilot. Most of our Tanks and Bruisers have some sort of way to stay in the fight, be it a self-heal (E.T.C., Stitches) or an increasing health pool (Diablo). For D.Va, we wanted the second health bar of her Pilot mode to be her extra survivability, and have it tied to her ability to get back into a Mech before being killed. We also felt that this two-formed Hero, the tanky disruptor and the damaging backline Hero, lent itself to a unique playstyle in our game.

A mech-less D.Va doling out a Big Shot attack

"This two-formed Hero, the tanky disruptor and the damaging backline Hero, lent itself to a unique playstyle."

It had to do with that call to making her Hero identity be the two different forms she can take. We wanted to see her switch back and forth often from the very beginning of a game, just as she does in so many Overwatch matches. Making it her E ability allowed us to explore new Heroics for this Hero. Many potential Heroics were pitched, and in the process, we quickly latched onto the idea of having a "Mech Heroic" and a "Pilot Heroic." Bunny Hop was a pretty quick win, but Big Shot took a lot longer to develop. For a good 4 weeks, her Pilot Heroic was "Stun Gun," which let her channel a stun onto an enemy she tagged with her gun, allowing her to combo with Self-Destruct. But after playing with it, we axed it and explored Big Shot, and quickly fell in love with it. It felt like such a natural fit for what Pilot D.Va is trying to accomplish: deal high poke damage from afar, trying to bait an engagement with having a fresh Mech at the ready.

Working on Overwatch Heroes has been a blast. It's quite a treat to take a stellar Hero from another game and ask yourself, "How does this translate into Heroes of the Storm?" I think if there's anything we've walked away with in all this, it’s understanding the nuance between perceived differences between the two games, versus real differences. There are a lot of obvious differences when you look at the two games, but as we dove into the design and began translating from her Overwatch kit, we quickly realized that just because you think something might obviously be different, it's not quite the case, and vice versa. Designing these Heroes in this game really boils down to figuring out the essence of that Hero, and then re-expressing that in Heroes of the Storm.

When developing Heroes, we'll often talk about the "internal salt meter." A new Hero will enter playtesting, and naturally someone will be grumpy they died to a new mechanic. We all get it, Heroes can be a tough game competitively. It's one where you’re constantly fighting your opponents, meaning one of you will die. When you factor this in, and you bring in a new Hero, the salt will be focused on that new Hero. To that extent, we had left Stun Gun in as a Heroic for D.Va for quite some time, assuming that people would start to learn it better (it’s key to know that at this point in development, we have temp art, temp sounds, and no voiceover callouts, so it can be rough). But I think in retrospect, we may have held onto it for too long. That being said, each new Hero is a learning experience. Much like how Heroes of the Storm has evolved over time into the game we have today, we bring the lessons we learned from each Hero forward to make the next one even better.

[embedded content]

We started with this idea for Ragnaros as a "Core Hero," or a Hero that would replace your Core, and operate from there. There were a tremendous number of hurdles that popped up in trying to replace our Core. It turned out that there were a multitude of systems that had been built with the assumption of what the Core was all along, that we had no longer been aware of. Replacing it led to some serious time spent investigating these systems and de-coupling the specific Core units so that the "Ragnaros" Core could fit with it nicely.

The strong fantasy players associate with each Hero in our game means that they have certain expectations for how we deliver on that fantasy. For instance, the origin of having two Heroic abilities on each Hero (instead of just one) was Arthas. Everyone's seen the Wrath of the Lich King cinematic: Arthas summons an army of ghouls, Arthas summons Sindragosa—it's simply not Arthas if he's not doing both!  To address this feedback, we came back with the idea of the second Heroic. As for Ragnaros, in some ways his strong Raid Boss fantasy was limiting. We had this pitch with the Sons of Flame that would be your temporary avatars out there in the world for you, while you did your Elemental Lord thing across the map. That design, while promising, had to be abandoned to make it feel like you could be Ragnaros himself more often.

Ragnaros rolls a Living Meteor at a foe

Surprisingly, it was more of an issue for our pre-existing Battlegrounds than it was the new ones in development. We quickly found on Cursed Hollow and Towers of Doom that we needed to be careful with the range and duration of his Molten Core to make it so he wasn’t too oppressive in stalling a Tribute or Altar capture. On Blackheart's Bay and Sky Temple, there were some initial fears over "Big Rag" (as his Raid Boss form became known in the office) being able to soak up those shots, effectively negating them. That, like many other designs, turned out to be not nearly as scary as it sounded. On Battlegrounds like Haunted Mines, Battlefield of Eternity, and Infernal Shrines, our balance team put in some serious work to get the tuning just right on his health and damage bonuses against those map mechanics!

We had fun designing his vector ability, Living Meteor. When we got to designing his talents, we quickly learned that the most fun pairing were the redirect and longer range talents. In fact, we discovered they were so much fun together that we felt comfortable collapsing them into one. We also were learning a ton about Questing talents, and decided that when we have two fun synergy mechanics, it makes sense to have them both on the same Quest talent. It was a good crystallization of knowledge we were starting to develop about what makes for fun and engaging Questing talents.