#it also allows me to work in coding without being in the presence of tech bros which can only be described as heaven

[strike-another-match]

wiggling my tail because i sent my client an in-depth explanation i wrote of datasets and databases and she thanked me a lot and asked tons of follow-up questions. at my old company they used to treat clients like babies who could not understand any technical matter if explained to them and it kept bringing us problems because the clients didn't understand what we were building for them and so could barely participate in the process. i assume by default that everyone is naturally curious and capable of understanding technical topics if explained well (i have this attitude with children as well) and i've never been wrong!! people love to learn when you meet them when they're at and it's a great feeling to be able to clear someone's confusion on a topic. it's incredibly rewarding to see someone get in one conversation something that took me weeks or months to understand

[masterjedilenawrites]

Blueberries and Cowboys: Chapter 2

A choose-your-own-adventure style fic. First, 2 platonic chapters for set-up/build-up. And then, the story will split into 2 paths depending on your romantic pairing preference: You and Thrawn, or You and Eli.

Chapter Masterlist

Chapter 2: The Plan

Pairing: None...yet...

Chapter Warnings: Mentions of bullying

Length: 2k

AO3 Link (In case you like it better over there, it’s okay, no judgement)

The rest of the week saw the three of you using every bit of free time outside your classes and studies to gather information for Thrawn to build a solid plan.

Eli tailed his pesky classmate Arden everywhere, even skipping a class one day to break into his dorm, trying to learn anything about the guy that could be useful to get him involved in the plot. Thrawn analyzed the simulation software and protocols that would be used to administer the tests, mapping out every possible way Commander Burdick could hijack it. And you were the one spying on the Burdick himself. Since the commander didn't seem too interested in your grades, you were able to shadow him without suspicion, and had been able to slip a bug into his offices to eavesdrop on any potential conversations about his plans for sabotage.

Your classmates and the staff were none the wiser. That was the advantage of being social outcasts. Half of them avoided you all like the plague, and the other half already thought you were weird people doing weird things. So it wasn't long before you'd all gotten enough intel to work with.

It was late in the evening at the end of the week. You found yourself in Thrawn and Eli's shared dorm, which looked identical to your own in the opposite wing, because the Empire couldn't bother with things like individuality or comfort. Eli sat on the edge of his top bunk, his legs swinging casually, and his coat unbuttoned to reveal a wrinkled undershirt you knew he hadn't bothered to wash all week. Thrawn paced about in the middle of the room, his long strides only allowing him about four good steps before he had to turn around. He still had his uniform on, boots and badges and all.

You leaned against the railing of the bed, watching Thrawn as he went back and forth. Sometimes he sat still when he was scheming, with his fingers steepled and his gaze seemingly reaching into some unknown dimension beyond your comprehension. That usually happened when he was running through variables that didn't concern you, at least from his perspective. You and Eli had accepted long ago there would always be parts of his plans he would never share with you. He was kind of a control freak like that.

But tonight, he seemed to be more welcoming of collaboration, hence his steady rhythm of pacing in front of you.

"Only one variable remains, as I see it," he was saying. "We understand how the commander will manipulate the system to cause a redundancy in the simulation, thus rendering the test impossible to finish successfully."

You and Eli shared a glance; the only person who truly understood how that was going to happen was Thrawn. He'd tried explaining numerous times but when it came to codes and tech, the two of you weren't able to fully keep up.

"We also know through your investigating," Thrawn motioned to you with what you thought was an impressed look, causing you to feel a little pride, "that the commander plans to only sabotage my test, believing it will be too suspicious if Eli also fails. He will also manipulate his false code to originate from the computer of his former lover Eva Carroway, who currently works in HR. So if an investigation does ensue, it will be traced to her and not him."

You and Eli chuckled under your breaths. It had been a little amusing when you'd discovered Commander Burdick was using this plan to not only undermine Thrawn, but also get revenge on his ex-girlfriend. But even more hilarious was how awkward Thrawn treated the subject. He had been quite perplexed to learn people could be so vindictive after a break-up. And any time he explained that detail of the plan, like he was doing now, he hesitated over his word choice. You couldn't tell if he only pretended to be confused about romantic relations, or if that was truly an area he found himself lost in.

If Thrawn noticed your snickering, he didn't respond to it, only continued to recap the plan. "We have also determined how we will expose the altered code naturally, so it does not cast suspicion on us... What was the word you used?"

"Backfire," said Eli.

"Yes. It would not due to have anyone suspect that we altered the test ourselves, or to have our concerns disregarded altogether. Thus, arranging for the maintenance crew to get a mild case of food poisoning so their performance checks are postponed to occur right before the tests will take care of that variable. At the least, they will fix the altered code and I will take the test as normal. At the most, they will report it and the commander faces expulsion."

"So..." said Eli through a yawn as he stretched. "What's left to work out, then?"

Now it was time for you and Thrawn to share a look.

"Were you not interested in involving your classmate, Arden Fey?" asked Thrawn in his soft, contemplative voice.

Eli shrugged. "Yeah. But Burdick's already got his scapegoat, his ex. So it'll be easier to keep him out of it. Whatever."

You could tell he was trying to be nonchalant. But just this morning, he had spent the entire walk between classes ranting about some new insults Arden had come up with, and how badly he wanted to show the guy up once and for all. You knew your friend wasn't feeling "whatever" about it.

"It's not a matter of ease or difficulty," Thrawn stated plainly. He had stopped pacing and was standing with hands behind his back, highlighting the broadness of his shoulders and the height of his stance. His presence seemed to fill up the whole room, and not for the first time, you were glad to be his friend and not his enemy.

"Yeah," you added in encouragement. "We just have to get creative. Find a way to make Arden a more appealing scapegoat than Burdick's ex. In fact...."

You trailed off as an idea occurred to you. You darted out of the room, surely leaving your two friends perplexed, but you would only be a second. You sprinted down the corridor toward the lifts, where a bulletin hung against the wall with fliers and pamphlets. One notice was a bit larger than the others, a promotion of an upcoming gala event to celebrate the Academy's anniversary. You ripped it off and went racing back to the boys' dorm room.

Eli had come down from the bunk and held a concerned look, probably prepared to follow you if you hadn't returned so quickly. Thrawn was still standing composed, but there was a curiosity in his eyes that made you smile.

You held up the poster in front of your chest. "What do you think the likelihood is of us playing successful matchmakers this week?"

Thrawn understood your idea almost immediately, looking down on you with a pleased smirk. It made you flush a little, to know the Chiss was impressed. You rarely had a chance to contribute good ideas when his mind worked so much faster than yours.

Eli caught on next, and he started to grin, the happiest you'd seen him in a while. His smile was infectious and you grinned back. Happy looked good on him.

"We know Eva's not shy with younger guys," you explained. "Before Burdick, she was fooling around with some intern in the med bay."

"And Arden's vain enough," added Eli. "If he thinks anyone's interested, he'll go for 'em."

"So we get him to ask her to the gala as his date...." you said.

"Burdick sees the two of them together...." said Eli.

"And realizes he can get back at his lover in another way, by pinning the sabotage on another student...." joined Thrawn.

The three of you stood together, proud and satisfied that yet another plan had finally worked out. It was almost worth the stressful studying and petty bullying and all the other unpleasant things you had to endure at this god-forsaken school, just to have fun moments like this with trusted friends.

"We should attend this gala as well," Thrawn said eventually, holding out a hand for the poster. He inspected it thoughtfully. "It is only a few days before the tests, so I hadn't planned to pay it any mind. But now...."

"Yeah, we should make sure Burdick's as jealous as we want 'im," nodded Eli.

You were secretly pleased. The plan was already a win-win, but now you would be able to go to the event yourself, too. You hadn't mentioned your desire to go to either of them before, figuring they weren't interested and not wanting to sound silly if you suggested it. But you did love dancing, and it was so very rare you got a chance to wear something other than your Imperial uniform.

"It's a dance," you noted, in case they couldn't tell by the details on the poster. "We'll need to go in pairs."

"I suppose it would make the most sense for you and Eli to go together," said Thrawn quietly.

You looked between the two, realizing both of them were flushed slightly. Eli's cheeks were dotted with pink, standing out amongst his dark brown features, while Thrawn had more of a purple tint to his face now, a color you'd never seen there before. You could feel yourself growing warm and uncomfortable as well. It was only a dance... only a way for you to enact a much more important plan... but it was the first time your trio had had to engage in anything other than platonic friendship. The balance of your group seemed to be shifting ever so slightly in this moment, and you had no way of knowing if it was for good or ill.

You cleared your throat, pushing away any feelings that might have been brewing in your chest, and instead calling focus back to the mission at hand.

"Actually, I think I'd better go with Thrawn. Whoever doesn't go with me would have to find their own date, and no offense Thrawn, but I think Eli has the better chance of asking someone else."

You hoped they hadn't noticed how hollow your voice sounded, how hard you were trying to keep yourself emotionless.

Eli was pinker than ever. "Uh, I highly doubt that..."

"You're not completely hated around here, you know," you said quickly. "Definitely not with the girls. You're not bad looking, you can be charming if you try, and you're... you know, human." You glanced at Thrawn and added again quietly, "No offense."

Thrawn shook his head. His color and demeanor had already slipped back into his usual neutral self. "No, I agree. Those are the dynamics of our peers and we must work with it. I will take you to the gala, Eli will find his own date, and all three of us will push Arden and Eva together as well. It's a good plan."

You all nodded in agreement. But there was a knot in your stomach, a nervousness you didn't quite understand. You cared very much for both Thrawn and Eli. They were your best friends, your only friends. As a group, you were bonded by your ostracism, protecting and supporting each other on your journey out of this hell-hole.

And separately, you had something special with each, too. You and Eli came from similar backgrounds, and had the same need to disconnect from your surroundings and just have a bit of fun every once in a while. The two of you had spent many late nights together, either hopping between bars, exploring the city, making each other laugh uncontrollably, or quietly sharing the honest thoughts you both buried far too deeply inside. Some nights you'd done all of the above, and returned to your dorm feeling both exhausted and renewed.

But Eli didn't always appreciate the finer things in life, and that's where you connected with Thrawn. He wasn't necessarily an optimist, but he had this way of noticing the beauty that existed everywhere around you, even in the most simple or mundane of moments. Everything had the potential to be interesting. His calm but strong presence had kept you grounded and sane throughout your studies here so far. Sometimes you would talk, other times you would simply be in the same space. And either way, you felt better about life.

You didn't exactly want your relationship with them to change. But you couldn't help but feel this gala would do just that....

Next Chapter: The Preparation >

Blueberry Path | Thrawn x reader

Cowboy Path | Eli x reader

[feminaexlux]

Dragon, Viper, Tiger

Tossing my hat back in the ring for @lovebugs-and-snakecharmers AU sprint challenge!. I went with the Thief/Heist AU since I’d been kicking this idea around for a while.

I gave myself an arbitrary editing deadline of 6pm so I hope it both makes sense and reads alright, but shrugs

Hope you enjoy! Find on AO3 here :)

⁂

Viper was sometimes glad he had a longer running gait than the woman on his tail only a few meters behind. He put his long legs to use and leapt up onto a couple of filing cabinets, scrambled up to the bare industrial support beams of the so called modern office building he’d broken into, and jumped over the dividing wall via the exposed ceiling.

Post-Modern styled offices just lent themselves so well to the good old B&E.

The wiring crisscrossing through the exposed ceiling allowed him to occasionally cut the telecommunication lines in his hasty exit, which was great in trying to prevent any of the security cameras from tracking him. If he also took out the internet lines that was just an added bonus, since that’d probably slow down anyone trying to access the proprietary blueprint he pilfered. He just needed to buy some time.

He probably could have gotten out a few minutes ago since he already had the memcube in his pocket, but this was really the only opportunity he had to see Officer MDC in action. Oh, nice, there she was, waiting for him in her combat stance at his specified exit point. Even at 5 foot nothing she’d landed him on his ass waaaay too many times, but honestly he loved the challenge of facing her. She always had new tricks up her sleeve.

But so did he, with some of the info that Tiger kept leaving him. Like, for instance, even if MDC had gotten the EMP disruption lace installed in her gloves, it could easily be counteracted and redirected by the additional aluminum alloy mesh Dragon had added as the inner lining to his wetware, so the memcube wouldn’t be completely fried if MDC did manage to land a hit (and she usually did). The only problem was trying to find where to ground the pulse… But the priority order was, as ever, keeping his identity safe, then getting the payload, then trying to escape unscathed. Paris PD’s Special Circumstances wasn’t ever going to figure out his identity (unless he died), nor would they get to know that the same general producer for their own tech was his boss (unless he died).

Viper didn’t relish the idea of dying, so he’d been doing his best at avoiding that particular outcome. He’d done well so far, even if he did come out of MDC encounters with more bruises and scars than when he went in. He had landed in front of Marinette and smiled. She rolled her eyes at him. And before he knew it, she had launched herself at him with her classic opener: a roundhouse kick to his solar plexus.

⁂

Viper slid underneath the food truck and unlatched a hidden panel, hauling himself through the opening feet first as quietly as he could. He toed the hatch closed behind him but caught it with his fingers before it made impact. He couldn’t give up the game now by being loud, that’d be so, so lame. He heard the gravel get scraped below his temporary entombment and he knew it was Marinette. She felt at the truck’s undercarriage and probed for any particular weaknesses or different materials and he heard her muffled voice as she worked with her TIKKI AI to scan any infrared signals and find any potential structural modifications done to the vehicle.

Here’s to hoping that Markov did its job correctly, he thought. Otherwise they’d be out of a job… and a food truck.

A few minutes later he heard her curse and slam an open palm against the undercarriage in frustration. “I know you’re in here, Viper!” she yelled.

“Ma'am?” He heard another voice chime in. “Why are you under our truck?”

⁂

A very cramped 3 hours later after a thorough inspection and nearly complete teardown of the food truck, Viper finally popped the floor panel and took in some fresh air. Well, relatively fresh, it smelled like greasy food all around him. The truck was already on the highway, having been released from the PD’s temporary impounding for being present at the scene and potentially housing a wanted criminal. The scans came up with nothing, the truck’s workers came up clean through the ID system, the truck’s visit and movements were tracked and scheduled and above board.

The actual food truck owners were unaware of his presence, which was just the way he liked it. He stretched his legs out a bit after being folded up into such a tiny space for so long. It was the sole disadvantage of having long legs, but he was the best in class at his job for all the contortion required. Plus he wasn’t claustrophobic like Tiger was. Speaking of… he checked his watch.

ur late, asshole

cg again? u simp

special 4u 0xdeadbeef

Oooof course. He could always count on his sister for ribbing on his infatuation with Cafe Girl, their codename for Marinette. He took one last relatively fresh breath of air and went back into hiding, sealing the latch shut. He listened for the engine knock signature: 4, 5, 1, 4, 2, 5, 5, 6, opened the bottom panel, dropped onto the street with his camouflage on, and kicked the panel closed before the truck took off. A bus drove over him and he hitched a ride, holding on underneath for 4 blocks, then rolled into the gutter drain.

⁂

It was a pretty quiet evening at Cafe Orriko, a cozy little cafe that had some steadfast regulars. One of Luka’s favorite hangouts due to the owners letting him lounge around and play his acoustic without complaint. There’d been another reason Luka loved this particular cafe, though.

Nathaniel heard the door chime and looked up, smiling at the newcomer. “Hey welcome to–oh hey Mar–oh shit MARC WE HAVE A CODE PINK!” There was a hastily tossed pillow from Marc that Nathaniel covered with a tea towel and passed to Marinette. She pulled up the pillow to her face and screamed into it for a good 20 seconds. Nath grimaced. “Bad day?”

She lowered the pillow. “Stupid fucking Viper I swear I will rip him in half and tear him to fucking shreds once I finally get my hands on him!”

Luka chuckled, having stopped playing his guitar when he noticed that Marinette had come in. “Careful, sounds like he might like that,” he winked.

“Uuuuugh,” Marinette groaned. “Thank you, Nath. Just… just gimme my usual, please.” She looked pretty dejected this time, handing back the pillow and tea towel, walking to Luka’s couch, and plopping down next to him. “Please, Luka, could you play me something soothing?”

“Anything for you,” he said, starting up an easy tune. “I know you can’t talk a lot about your work, but… what went wrong today?”

“Nnng, just… just I knew where he was and we still didn’t get him. He’s like a fucking ghost, he just… disappears! Poof!” She usually discussed what was already covered on the nightly news broadcasts, just to be safe.

“Then he’s pretty good,” Luka said neutrally enough, but hid a smirk behind a cough when Marinette gave him the stink eye.

“He only needs to fail once,” Marinette huffed. “He can’t always have luck on his side.” Marc came by with her salted caramel hot chocolate. “Thanks, Marc,” she sighed, relaxing a little bit as she took a sip of the steaming hot drink.

Luka set a hand on her shoulder and squeezed. “You’ll get him one day, I know it.”

“I’d still have my work cut out for me. I have to find the Dragon after him,” Marinette groaned again. “And Adrien’s still obsessed with that stupid Fencer lady so he’s no help.” Marinette shut her eyes tight and shook her head. “But enough about that. How are you, Luka? I’m glad I was able to run into you today.”

Luka wasn’t going to mention that she’d already run into him earlier as the one and only Viper. “It was going alright, but it’s better now that you’re here,” he smiled. Marinette blushed a little and smiled back, nudging his shoulder with hers. “Sorry about your rough day though,” he added quickly.

Marinette shrugged. “It’s work. It’s… it’s so weird what the Syndicate goes for, it’s not even like… anything really valuable? I swear they’re doing it just to mess with us and wreak havoc.”

“You haven’t figured out a pattern?” Luka asked. Marinette made a zipping motion across her mouth. “Oh, right. Sorry.”

She shrugged again. “No more talk about work, please. I’d just… like to hear you play, if that’s alright?”

“Yeah, no problem,” he chuckled.

She closed her eyes as he started playing the guitar again, something soft and pleasant that reminded him of her. She leaned her head against his shoulder while he played and he felt his heart beating faster.

One day, when the jig was up, he’d love to take her out for dinner. Assuming, of course, that he hadn’t been torn to pieces by her hands.

[whispersafterdusk]

Lost in Time - ch 5

"OW - son of a bi-"

Selene looked up in a hurry at the sound of an electric discharge and Eli's cut off swearing.  "Are you all right?"

The Dubei woman had the thumb of one hand in her mouth, was holding two wires apart with the other, and was glaring into an open power panel; they were down on floor...was it 37 or 38?  At this point the builder had honestly lost count, and she knew from Pauline's report that this place had a total of 85 floors (with 19 of them being in the shaft they used to get in and out of this place - everything else was deep underground).

"Found a bare spot the hard way," Eli grumbled.  "Hand me that epoxy and I'll get it covered." ((Continued below cut))

Selene pulled the battered jar out of her toolbox and passed it over; over the last two weeks Eli had been steadily getting stronger, and was beginning to focus on guiding them on doing repairs down here to get at least auxiliary power levels restored -- she'd been blunt by stating not everything would work, or it wouldn't work properly, with just "aux level" but it would at least let them get through every door so they could locate all the skeletons and get them out of here.  

Gale had been very adamant that he only wanted a select few knowing Eli existed, for now; at first Selene had expected to be moving slowly through here without Merlin and Petra but with Eli here knowing which doors should go where, what wires were supposed to go to what, and how to hook things up...  Selene loved Old World tech - she loved learning about it, she loved thinking about new ways to use it, she loved recreating or re-inventing gadgets mentioned in the old data discs and piecing together broken relics from the past.  She was used to having to do it all piece by piece but having Eli here was just...it was fantastic.  It was amazing.  Eli knew SO MUCH-

-and it was a constant reminder to keep herself in check because while Eli was direct and honest (or at least seemed to be) when it came to answering questions, Selene had a suspicion that she was on...what was the word...she'd seen it in an old--

Autopilot.  That was it.  Eli was on autopilot.

And Selene could understand why. It had to be terrible, to stand in the ruins of a city you'd grown up in and loved, to not know what had happened the day she and her comrades had been attacked, and to know that everything else was completely gone - ancient history. Wiped off the map. Not even gravestones left to visit (and she knew how THAT felt - Remington didn't talk about his time in the Lucien Civil Corps much but she knew about his friend who had sacrificed himself to save him...it was very important to Remington to visit that grave every year).

Part of her hoped that, at some point in the near future, Eli would consider someone a close enough friend to open up to -- maybe she was already talking to Dr. Xu about...uh, things?  Hopefully that would help; she'd just need to pay attention and see if that autopilot-y, single mindedness relaxed in the future, or maybe that was just a soldier thing?  Or maybe just an Eli thing...Higgins could be pretty single minded (if you got in his way or distracted him he tended to metaphorically run you over to get back to what he was doing) so it could be just how Eli was.  Or maybe just how people in the Old World were, in general.

Well.  Whatever the reason, whether it was Eli's personality or an Old World thing or a soldier thing, Selene still had to keep reminding herself not to get carried away and bombard her with questions (and hopefully Merlin and Petra, when they were allowed to meet her, would show the same restraint).  There was still a good chance the woman was just numbed to her circumstances and going through the motions - the less Selene drew attention to everything that was gone, the better (she hoped).

One thing Selene did appreciate as Eli answered questions was the total lack of smugness, or superiority, or pity, or disgust, or -- well, a lot of things.  She was...nice, and incredibly helpful, about anything they asked her.  If their lack of technology bothered her on a level deeper than the occasional annoyance she showed when she had to figure out how to adapt a tool or route around something they didn't have the tech needed to fix, she definitely was good at hiding it.  At first Selene had felt a little embarrassed to be in the woman's presence considering the knowledge gap but not so much anymore.

As Eli daubed the epoxy over the exposed wire she'd shocked herself on a faint scent of freshly melted plastic filled the air; Selene turned back to the panel in front of her -- Eli was handling the door, and she needed to get the lights on.  Once they'd swept this floor for skeletons (there were at least 12 unaccounted for when compared to Pauline's logs) they'd move on to the next one, and then the next one, until they reached floor 72 where the All Source AI's installation was where they'd then need to power him and get more in-depth access to...pretty much everything.  Eli wanted full administrative control along with all security, hazard, and damage logs -- the woman was confident that once they had their hands on all of that they could move forward with repairs and taking inventory of what was left down here and what was functional.

Dr. Xu had already expressed interest in any remaining medical information and equipment; Petra and Merlin were eager to speak to another All Source AI and see what they could learn from it -- how different would THIS All Source ("his" name was Stewart, apparently) be from Wendy at the Research Center?  That there were different types of All Source AIs was recent knowledge gained from Ack and Wendy both; what little Eli had mentioned made it sound like every building in the Old World had had an All Source in it...how weird was it that something so commonplace to her was something so remarkable to them now in Portia?

...oh.  Not just Portia.  If word got out that there was another All Source... That would be a problem.  Selene vaguely remembered Arlo even mentioning something along those lines but it hadn't sunk in until just now.

"-what kind of security systems did All Source AIs have?" she asked into the silence.

"High-level encryption, voice imprints, genetic imprints, passwords and passkeys...  Kind of depended on what level and type of AI you had," Eli answered, sounding distracted.  There was a long pause before she screwed the epoxy jar shut.  "-an AI that ran just a house or business wouldn't necessarily need a lot of security built in but a lot of people tended to buy the best packages just in case.  There's not a machine on the-- uh...not a machine left on the planet, that can't be hacked into."

Selene looked up from the wiring at that, brow furrowing - 'hacked' was a term she wasn't familiar with.  "What's that?"

"It's...uh... Do you know what coding or programing is?"

Selene nodded at her.  "Yep - Mr. Ack explained a little bit about programming and how his works."

Now it was Eli's turn to look confused.  "Mr. Ack...?"

"Mmhmm - he's a living AI that lives here in Portia.  He's a cook."

Eli stared at her blankly for a moment, then tossed the pliers in her hand back into the toolbox.  "Wait wait wait...a living AI is still functional after all this time?"

"He's pretty banged up but he's functional, yeah.  He came out of a space station thingy that crashed out in the Collapsed Wasteland."

"Huh...  Can we get him here, ASAP?"

"I...uh.  Maybe?  I know he has a grill set up in the plaza and is staying at the Happy Apartments so he's pretty easy to find.  Why?"

"Having an AI interface directly with the All Source AI down here will make getting administrative control a lot easier -- this Ack will be able to fill the All Source in on the state of the world in an instant compared to us having to explain it ourselves."

"I can ask the mayor if he minds if Ack learns about you.  I'm pretty sure Ack wouldn't tell anyone."

Eli was silent for a moment, working with the wires in front of her; with a grating noise and a pop the door finally slid open.  "There we go.  And I'd like it if someone would fill me in on why the mayor is being secretive about me."

Selene blew out a sigh - Gale hadn't outright admitted any reasons but she could guess.  "Well... A couple of reasons, I think.  A lot of people don't like Old World "stuff" -- they think we're better off without it and the Research Center, and sometimes even me, we get threatening messages from people.  The center has been broken in to a couple of times too, some things stolen and a few things sabotaged, and someone once torched the warehouse down in the harbor to protest Portia expanding."

"Right.  So I'm basically anathema to certain townsfolk.  Go on."

"...anathema?"

"Forget I said it.  Keep on with your explanation."

Selene nodded and, before responding, touched the last two wires together.   The lights spluttered on but were dreadfully dim; she clicked off her headlamp and Eli did the same.  "-so there's going to be people who aren't going to like you, because they hate the Old World.  And there's also um...there's a war about to break out, between Duvos and the Alliance.  And Duvos is always looking to take, steal, or recreate technologies from the past that will let them take over the world."

Eli let out a loud snort.  "Oh good.  I get blown out of the start of one war and face-first into another."

"No no, we wouldn't expect you to FIGHT a war on our behalf, no," Selene went on hurriedly.  "I just think that...I think the mayor may think Duvos would try to kidnap you.  Or maybe people would think you'd go join up with them since they have Old World tech and that's what you're used to.  Or something."

"Not happening, on either account," Eli grunted.  She picked up a few screwdrivers and a pair of wire snips and returned them to the toolbox, then shut the lids of both the toolbox and the power stone device she'd just wired to the door.  "This 'Duvos' would be biting off more than they could chew if they came to town - especially if they came for ME."

Selene smiled a bit.  "I don't want that to happen, even if it'd be a bad idea on their part."

"What or where is this Duvos?"

"It's a country - they call themselves an empire - up to the north.  They border Ethea and Meidi, and technically a border of The Peripheries touches their border.  They've been fighting in and around Lucien and Ethea too...those poor people."  

"And all of that is to our north?"

"Yeah.  Also up there is Barnarock but they don't share borders with Duvos.   Then below that strip is us in the Alliance of Free Cities - that includes Lucien, Highwind, Atara, Sandrock, Portia, Walnut Groove, Tallsky at the southern tip, and a little kind-of-island in the Western Sea called Vega 5.  The Peripheries are to our west, and beyond THOSE is the Great Begeondan...but it's hard to get there because the Peripheries is full of monsters.  There's also Seesai but they're really, really far away."

As she fell silent again she could almost see the wheels spinning in Eli's head as the woman thought -- maybe she was making a mental map of what she remembered compared to what she was just told.  ...actually.

"Do any of those names sound familiar?"

It was a few moments before Eli replied.  "Sort of.  Meidi and Seesai both sound like places that I kno- that I knew.  Meidia was so far south it was snow-covered year round.  Seisan was right on the equator.  They were known for fruit exports and amazing seafood dishes the likes of which you couldn't get anywhere else."

"Seesai is sort of known for seafood too.  Maybe it's a name that got carried through the years."

"Maybe."

Behind them the elevator whirred to life and a few minutes later it opened to let Higgins out; he was wheeling several crates on a dolly and was huffing and puffing like he was out of breath.  He steered the dolly up to Selene and let it fall forward with a loud thud.  "Here.  All that I could collect.  It's mostly the blue ones."

Eli nodded and carefully got up from where she sat, using her cane to sort of leverage herself onto her feet.  "That's fine.  We won't need to leave the power hooked up on every floor, just enough of them to get access to a couple of things."

Higgins rubbed his hands together, looking up and down the hallway; the lights Selene had managed to get on were holding in there but alongside the dimness a few were flickering now - it was just barely bright enough to see what they were doing.  "--so what are we doing next?"

Selene swore she saw Eli almost, but not quite, hide an eyeroll.

"Same thing we've done on each floor," the woman replied, her tone patient but bordering on the edge of the tone you'd use when talking to a small child.  "Get doors open, sweep for remains, move on."

Higgins wrinkled his nose.  "I was hoping you two would've found everyone by now."

"Pauline couldn't get access to personnel tracking logs," Selene sighed, giving Higgins an annoyed look.  "She only knows who didn't get out but not where they were last."  They'd told him this three times now... Was he really that distracted with a need to start salvaging and emptying this place's resources?

He huffed.  "This is taking forever.  Why don't I take-"

"-because you don't know how to wire this up and you won't sit still long enough for me to teach you," Eli interrupted.  That patient tone was gone now. "If you aren't willing to learn and put the work in then I'm not cutting you lose to wander around.  We still don't know where those people are or what even killed them -- I don't care to repeat myself nor do I care for people to try and undermine or circumvent my instructions, and I KNOW you were told about the hazardous materials log because I was there for that meeting.  Whether you like it or not whatever got released could still be down here and I'd rather you not blunder into it and get yourself killed."

"But this could take days," Higgins grumbled.  "I have so much other work I could be doing right now."

Eli's expression went...well, Selene could only describe it as that sort of look you got when someone's said something stupid and you were too polite to say something directly but not polite enough to simply smile and ignore it.  "Then go.  Selene and I can handle things now that you got the power stones down here.  Let Remington know on your way out that it's just us two.  We'll be fine."

Higgins rolled his eyes and turned, heading toward the elevator.  "I'll let them know."

They waited together in silence until the sound of the elevator's rumbling was too far away to hear.

"He's such an ass..." Selene growled.  She turned her attention to Eli.  "I'm sorry.  Arlo didn't want him involved either but Gale didn't think I could handle this entire place by myself."

"You couldn't.  And really, WE can't.  But I'll work myself unconscious before I let that sort of man anywhere near my people," Eli said quietly.  "Can't stand the person who won't put in the work but expects to reap the rewards regardless.  Can the Civil Corps folks bar him from entering here?"

"The funny thing is he's a really hard worker...just pretty driven to do one thing and one thing only: keep his shop at the top of the regional leader boards.  If it's not related to that he doesn't have much interest in it.  And as for the Civil Corps they...technically could, I think?  At least temporarily.  A final decision would be up to Gale but I'm not sure if he would -- all ruins in Portia are open to anyone who pays the weekly fee to go inside and scavenge.  I don't think he'd like to be in the position to ban a single person in town from coming in here...it'd be a rather touchy precedent, and might make him look like he's playing favorites."

Eli grunted, and leaned against the stack of crates.  "I don't want to see this place ripped apart without any regard to what's being taken.  If we're careful we can probably salvage a lot of what's here -- I get the feeling he'd take whatever without worrying about what he's leaving behind, and probably damage things beyond repair or salvage."

Selene nodded; she traded out her screwdriver for the crowbar she'd brought with them, and the wedged the flat end into the gap between the lid and the rest of the top crate.   "Not to defend him or anything but the other ruins are sort of...um.   Bad.  Pieces everywhere.  There's not really anything there but bits and scrap that you have to piece together -- not that that excuses him, at all, but finding a place like this that's so intact is almost unheard of."  She pulled down on the crowbar and could hear the squeaking of nails slowly prying lose.  "--we're really going to have to lock this place down if we want to preserve anything down here," she grunted and wheezed.

With a screeching noise of metal on wood the crate lid came free and she leaned it against the wall; inside was the familiar gleam of power stones - all of them blue, at least on this top layer - nestled in cloth and sawdust to keep them from chipping in transit.  A wave of annoyance washed over her as she looked them over - if these were here then that meant the brackets and wires had to be in one of the crates under it.  She tossed the crowbar down and, straining and puffing, moved the heavy crate off the stack and plunked it down on the ground narrowly missing her toes.

She grabbed the crowbar again and pried the next lid off, revealing the brackets; Selene offered Eli a hand to help her sit back down between the two open crates as they both set to the task of assembling the brackets and getting the power stones set in place.  They were at it about a half hour, by her estimation, when the elevator opened again and Arlo appeared in the weak light of the light fixtures (which were starting to flicker more frequently - they'd need to splice in a second bracket device to help them out).

"Everything all right down here?"

Selene nodded at him, smiling.  "All good.  Surprised you're down here."

Arlo came over and looked over what they were doing.  "--anything I can help with?  I know I'm not a builder or know much about Old World tech but I'm willing to learn."

"Remington told you, huh?" Selene asked, sighing. She scooted over as Arlo settled in the floor next to the bracket crate then rummaged around in her toolbox to find a spare screwdriver of the correct size; she handed it to him and then began to pick up the other pieces to show him how it all went together.

"He did.  I can't say I'm surprised - I knew it was a bad idea to let Higgins in on this little project.  We should have brought in Petra and Merlin right from the start.  I just hope he takes Gale seriously and doesn't mention Eli."  He paused to look over at Eli, who simply nodded at him.

"I think he knows Gale means business," Selene said.  She handed him the bracket and fished out four power stones.  "Ok, see those little slots there and there?  Those pieces slide.  Use that screwdriver to loosen them, slip the stone into the spot - one per - and then slide them back in to hold the stone tight and tighten the screw again.  Then, you flip the top of the bracket over and tighten those too.  I'll handle attaching the wires, don't worry."

With a nod Arlo started loosening a screw; Selene watched him for a few breaths, then "--so, can the Civil Corps handle having you down here?  Won't that mess up the shift times?"

"It will but we can adjust.  Everyone already knows about the ruins and we've had several inquiries on when they'll be open to explore -- Paulie's volunteered to take a couple evening shifts making sure no one comes down here and I know Gale sent a courier to the Alliance Council regarding this place."

"A courier?" Selene repeated, blinking at him.  "That'll take a week or more to...  Why a courier?"

Arlo slid a second stone into place before answering.  "After what happened the last time, Gale doesn't want to risk someone intercepting his telegraph, or faking a response.  Mint is carrying it to Atara, and will carry the response back."

Selene stole a quick look at Eli to see that she was dutifully assembling a bracket of her own (but was moving considerably faster than Arlo was).  

"And was I mentioned in this message?" the Dubei woman asked then without looking up - almost like she'd known Selene was looking at her expecting a reaction.

"Probably," was Arlo's simple answer; he didn't elaborate further and the three of them continued to work in silence as they assembled the power device brackets.

She was grateful that Higgins at least hadn't skimped on screws or quality; it took another hour before they had all of them assembled and the wires attached, and then Arlo carried them up and down the hall placing one at each door as Eli and Selene each took a side and began wiring them up.

Selene found the doors to be fascinating; according to Eli every door here connected to a central server that granted or revoked access to every person in the facility -- most doors would provide access to anyone who walked up to them, opening based on detecting movement as well as weight on pressure panels in the floor beneath the carpeting.  Doors with security measures would only open if it detected an access-granting object (usually cards or "key fobs," whatever those were) within a certain distance of its sensors, or else they'd require a hand or finger print on a sensor panel before it would open. And whoever had designed the doors had accounted for times where someone might need to get in somewhere they didn't have access to in a hurry; while the doors didn't have handles they DID have emergency release buttons inside the paneling beside the pocket that the doors slid into when they opened.  

Being as the power for the facility was down the doors had no access to their central server so simply hooking up the power brackets she'd built wouldn't work; Eli was instead wiring the power directly to the lines that controlled the emergency releases, which would force the door to open without any sort of access key or central power.  The emergency releases were a sort of 'blink and you'd miss them' object inside the walls - Selene had always seen emergency buttons or levers painted a red or otherwise bright color in the other ruins in town but these were all a uniform gray instead with the main difference being the emergency releases were capped with a dull metal that was oddly cold to the touch compared to everything around it.

And of course the emergency releases operated on battery power too when all other sources of power were off but not even the best battery could hope to last 300 years.  The good thing was that once they'd used the emergency button to pop the door they could unhook the power and it'd stay open, but they were finding there were a LOT of doors down here -- that was partly why they'd made so many of the portable power stone devices so they could have (or at least the original plan had been) someone placing the devices next to doors, someone coming along to wire them, and then someone else behind THEM unhooking and collecting the devices so they could keep moving at a decent pace.  

Of course, with Higgins deciding to take his leave it meant they'd need to find a third person to give them a hand... It was probably time to bring in Petra and Merlin.  Petra would go wild over all this and Merlin had a steady hand when it came to delicate wiring and circuitry.

It was, as Higgins had said, going to take awhile to get through this place, but unlike him Selene didn't mind it in the slightest even if they didn't get any more help at all.

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

Django had thrown in some fruit salads for free tonight -- Xu had a hunch that the man knew something was up, as Xu had accidentally let it slip that he was paying for meals for a patient of his without the means to do so themselves; charity wasn't a strange thing in Portia - in fact, Portia's residents were well-known for their desire to help their neighbors - but he supposed the number of meals being provided had tipped Django off to this not being a typical patient.  He made a mental note to ask Phyllis if she would mind manning the clinic for longer than usual so Xu himself could cook a bit more and see if that made Django less suspicious of what was going on.

...though, there wasn't any way Django could suspect WHO his patient was.  Being charitable for the sake of being charitable wasn't a bad thing, and so long as he found out when the rest of Portia did Xu supposed there wasn't any harm in it.

Based on the smells coming out of the containers on his desk it seemed like Django had outdone himself tonight; there was seasoned ribs, bamboo papaya and seafood with rice, two ramekins of fish head stewed in soy sauce, and of course the fruit salads that he hadn't ordered but Django had tossed in anyway.  Eli had mentioned she loved seafood and honestly so did he so aside from the ribs (protein and lots of it would be needed to help her regain lost muscle mass) he'd tried to pick a variety of things he thought she would enjoy (and if she'd disliked anything thus far she'd not mentioned it).

He looked up from the paperwork on his desk as the clinic doors opened but rather than Eli, returning from the ruins as she usually did around this time, Xu was surprised to see Gale standing in his doorway.

"Good afternoon, Dr. Xu," was the man's cheerful greeting.  "I hope I'm not intruding."

"Not at all."  Xu quickly stacked his papers and stood with a smile -- he'd been wondering when Gale would make an appearance here.  "I'm sorry to say Eli isn't here at the moment, I'm afraid.  I AM expecting her back soon though."

Gale nodded.  "Ah, yes.  If it's not too much of a bother I'd like to wait here."

"Of course not.  Have a seat."

The portly man nodded and came over to sit on a small stool beside the desk.  "-how have things been with your patient, doctor?"

"Coming along.  The speed at which one regains their health can vary from person to person but she's bouncing back rather quickly."

Gale chuckled.  "Good, good.  I'm glad to hear that.  I hope to-"

They both paused as the doors opened again and this time it was Eli standing there; Gale stood as she came in and Xu came around to the front of his desk.

"Hello, Eli - I'd like to introduce you to Portia's Mayor, Gale."

Gale moved over with a hand extended.  "It's a pleasure, Miss Summers."

Something flickered over Eli's face at the word "miss" but it was gone quickly, and instead she offered her hand in turn.  "Likewise, sir.  I've heard a lot about you."

"Oh?  I'm not sure if I should be glad or worried," Gale laughed; Eli smiled at that, at least.  "-now, first of all I'd like to apologize for how long it's taken for me to come meet you personally."

"It's not a problem.  Mayors are busy people."

"That's definitely true - I've been busier than usual lately, even before you were rescued.  I did however want to give you a good amount of time to get your feet squarely on the road to recovery, which is why we're only just meeting now."

"Again, it's no big deal," Eli replied, shrugging.  "It's not like I'm going anywhere."

Gale nodded, chuckling quietly.  "Indeed, and it's my hope you'll choose to remain in Portia.  And, regarding that... How DO you feel, about Portia?  About remaining?"

Eli was silent for a long time; Xu watched her carefully, trying to be aware of any subtle hints in her face or body movement to suggest what she was thinking or feeling.  Finally she inhaled deeply and straightened a bit where she stood.  "Truth be told, sir-"

"-please, call me Gale if you like."

"-truth be told, Gale, I don't see myself leaving unless the general consensus is I'm not wanted here.  Portia is sitting on top of Dubei - this is technically still home, for me.  Even if it's totally unrecognizable now."

Gale's expression softened.  "I understand, and of course you're welcome here.  We do need to begin discussing how best to meet your needs - you'll need a place to stay, and a job, and everything else that goes with it. You'll find Portia is very helpful to her people and I know many would be happy to help get you on your feet."

Eli's smile went a bit strained.  "Not everyone will, I'm told."

"...ah, well," Gale faltered a moment, looking awkward.

Xu pressed his lips together; he knew of course that there would be some in town who'd want her gone solely because she WAS Old World -- they had a hard enough time accepting any sort of Old World tech, no matter how harmless or helpful, but to have a living embodiment (at least, ANOTHER living embodiment - Ack hadn't been well received either) of the Old World walking around may be more than they'd be willing to tolerate.  It was clear that Arlo or Selene, or maybe Remington, had mentioned as much to Eli already, which was a good thing for her to be forewarned about.

"No one in any position of authority will have a problem with you," Xu said into the silence.  "Of that I can promise."

"Y-yes, that's true," Gale said in a rush.  "Authority within the city's chain of command itself, anyway.  There...MIGHT be a bit of a rub with the Church but they don't have the power to order you out of town, and if he thinks of trying it know that I won't stand for my citizens to be harassed."

Almost imperceptibly Eli's eyes narrowed at the mention of "he" in Gale's words; Xu knew exactly who that "he" was: if there was anyone who would without a doubt have a problem with Eli working and living in Portia it would be Minister Lee.  Thankfully Lee was rather powerless within Portia - he could preach, guide, and advise all he liked but he held no administrative or official powers.

And with good reason -- Xu couldn't count the number of times the man had thrown a fit over Old World tech, even simple things like tools made out of new alloys, and it was suspected that he had a hand in a few of the Research Center break ins too even if no one could prove it.  Xu could already picture the various shades of purple the man's face would turn as he pontificated (again) on the dangers of letting an Old World "relic" walk around.

"Duly noted," was Eli's quiet reply.

Gale took a steadying breath.  "...now, then.  Along with discussing how we can best help you get established here within Portia I also wanted to see how you were feeling - physically, as well as emotionally."  He paused, giving her a gentle look.  "I know none of this can be easy, and if there's anything in my power to help ease any burdens..."

Eli shook her head.  "Not unless you've got a time machine -- and before you ask, no, we created machines that could take us to space but not ones that could take us to last week."

As she spoke Eli smiled a bit and Xu returned it to her with an encouraging nod; that she was willing to joke seemed to be a good sign.

"Well, don't hesitate to let me know if there's something I can do for you.  -- oh, where are my manners.  Do you need to sit down?" Gale asked, turning around quickly to look for the stool he'd just vacated.  He grabbed it with both hands and plunked it down in front of Eli who sat down with a grateful look.   "I'm sorry, I've been sitting all day and it escaped my mind that someone else might not want to stand."

"It's fine - I was technically sitting all day anyway.  Easier to reach what we're working on."

"How is that going?" Xu asked quietly.  "Do you know when you'll be done?"

Eli shook her head again, huffing a sigh out through her nose.  "No.  We're still missing 12, and that's only the ones that the AI Pauline had logs for.  Patients or visitors wouldn't be on those logs so there may be more.  I know I personally wasn't a part of that log list, and the others that were in the same sort of tubes that I was would be on patient rosters that we've yet to find."

With a thoughtful hum Gale rubbed at his chin, falling silent; Xu moved back to his desk and to the little basket that their dinner was sitting in and reached in to pull out a thermos of chilled apricot juice that he carried over and offered to Eli.  She took it, opened it and sniffed, then took a careful sip; a moment later she gave him a smile and nod and took a more confident drink.

"I've marked out land to hold the remains, and intend to commission a gravestone as large as needed to hold as many names as we can find," Gale went on finally.  "However, names or no we WILL be seeing that their remains are handled with care and respect until such a time that they can be laid to rest properly."  He paused again and looked back to Eli.  "I...don't know if this is an appropriate question to ask, considering the circumstances..."

"Burial rites, I'm assuming."

"Yes," Gale replied simply.

Eli shrugged and took another sip of juice before continuing.  "I can tell you how my religion handles remains and give an idea of how others handled theirs, but there wasn't a singular religion in Dubei that had rites that everyone followed -- in fact, there were hundreds of different religions within city limits alone, and hundreds of thousands spread across the world in general.  And it wasn't legal to track what employee was part of what religion either...medical centers would sometimes have that information on hand to make sure they didn't violate a religious mandate for a patient who couldn't communicate it themselves but HR departments wouldn't touch that sort of thing with a ten foot bangstick."

"Ah, yes.  That makes sense.  Well.  When we're at the point where we're ready to lay them all to rest we'll have a discussion on how best to do that."

"Sounds like a plan."

Gale smiled, then looked to Xu briefly.  "Just to double check that I'm not taking up your scheduled time...?"

"Not at all, though dinner may get cold."

"Ah. I'll get right to it then: Eli, do you have any opinion on what sort of employment you'd like to secure?  I know it's been mentioned you were a soldier -- would you like a position within the Civ-"

"No," Eli interrupted quickly.  "At least, not yet."

Gale blinked at her and Xu felt just as surprised as he looked.

Eli looked between the two of them, laughing quietly.  "Did I just grow a second head?"

"No no, I apologize, I just wasn't -- I shouldn't have assumed," Gale sputtered.

She held up one hand in a placating gesture while holding the thermos up to her lips with the other for another drink.  "Nah, you were right to assume, and believe me I think that's where I'd best fit in.  But, to circle back to the earlier point of people not accepting my existence in town I don't think it'll be a good idea to place ME in a position with any sort of authority, no matter how minor, before I'm generally accepted into the community.  That'll either erode trust in you and your Civil Corps or will leave me as the sole member that no one is going to listen to."

Gale pursed his lips, letting out a long breath through his nose.  "I...hadn't thought about it like that.  That's a very good point."

Xu hadn't thought of it framed in that light either -- she was probably right.  The more he thought about it the more he worried that it would be a long time before several of Portia's townsfolk would even give her the time of day.  "-what about the Research Center?" he asked into the pause.  

"Yes, yes, that was my next suggestion," Gale went on hurriedly, pausing to clear his throat.  "We certainly have the budget to add another research position at the Center."

Eli laughed as she screwed the top onto the (now empty, Xu assumed) thermos.  "Wouldn't that be cheating? Being as I wouldn't be researching anything so much as I'd just be giving the answers away."

Gale laughed as well.  "I suppose that's one way to look at it but the offer still stands: it'd be a monthly salary, enough to live on without worrying about anything.  And I can just as easily create a position with the Corps for when you feel comfortable enough to step into that role."

"We'll see how that goes.  Ideally that's where I end up but...well."  She shrugged and set the thermos on the floor at her feet.

Xu returned to his desk as Gale moved on to discussing where Eli could stay - it sounded like an apartment at Happy Apartments would be available for her - and began jotting down thoughts as he half-listened to them talk.

Aside from the facial tics at mention of 'miss' and 'he' Eli had remained pleasant and direct, as she usually was.  It was one of the few times that he'd had visual proof that Eli perhaps wasn't as well as she presented herself to be; he didn't want to pry but it was confirmation that there were things she was suppressing, and he wished she would choose to talk about them.   Counseling wasn't entirely his forte but he'd received some training on how to handle mental health as well as physical health.

As Gale and Eli talked Phyllis came in; she gave them both a wave but didn't interrupt as she walked over to Xu to place a heavy leather satchel on his desk.

"The latest shipment of painkillers was delayed at Atara but everything else came through.  It seems there was a pipe failure at the processing building so everyone is missing this month's orders."

Xu frowned and stood to open the satchel to look through it.  "Well...I guess we'll have to be careful with what we have in stock for the time being - we aren't really using a lot of them at least."  He pulled out various jars, boxes, and little vials -- Atara's specialists had never failed to get their products out before so whatever the 'pipe failure' was must have been a major problem.

At the very least Portia's residents didn't really need a lot of medicines at any given time and Xu was able to manage a lot of ailments just by using the herbs that grew naturally around the city.  Gale seemed to be wrapping up whatever else he'd come to speak to Eli about so Xu was careful as he stepped around his desk and around them to head over to the cabinets to put everything away.

"--whenever Dr. Xu cuts me loose, I assume."  

Hearing his own name caught his attention and he looked over a shoulder back at the others.  "Hmm?"

"When do you believe Eli will be hale and hearty enough to leave the clinic, Dr. Xu?" Gale asked.

Xu thought a moment - technically, physically, she could go now.  He still worried about her emotional well being however...  "I would say a week or so, possibly less," he finally answered (more to give them an actual answer than because he believed what he was saying).  "You are recovering your strength at a remarkable rate but you'll still dealing with bouts of weakness, correct?"

Eli nodded.  "Yeah.  And sometimes I feel a bit dizzy if I'm tired."

"All right, hmm.  Let's meet again in about two week's time?" Gale went on, directing the last half of that to Eli.  "That should give me enough time to get all pieces into place."

"Works for me."

"And for me as well," Xu agreed.

"I shall see you all then," Gale chuckled, offering Eli another handshake before heading out the door.

Eli watched him go.  "...animated little fellow."

"He can get quite excited when things are going as they should," Xu chuckled.  He quickly put away the rest of the supplies.  "I hope you're hungry."

"Wasn't, really, until I smelled it.  What're you feeding me tonight?"

Dusting off his hands he returned the leather satchel to its proper spot in the cabinet and then shut the door; as he fully turned around he caught sight of Phyllis making her way out as well.  "Ah, Phyllis - would you care to join us?  There's more than enough for three."

"Oh.  I'd love to, then."

Xu pulled over the little rolling stool he used during examinations, and helped Eli scoot hers closer to his desk as Phyllis came back over; he offered her his chair but she took the stool instead, and as the two women seated themselves he picked up the basket and began placing the containers out on the desk, including another thermos of apricot juice. The last things he retrieved were a set of chipped plates from the bottom-most drawer of his desk and a handful of silverware.

Phyllis helped him start to portion out the food and once he was done and seated he noticed Eli poking curiously at the bamboo papaya slices.   "Hmm.  I tried to choose things I thought you'd be familiar with."

"It...sort of looks familiar?  What is it?"

"Bamboo papaya," Phyllis answered, spearing a slice with her fork.

Eli wrinkled her nose, flipping the slice over on her plate.   "Bamboo...papaya?  As in both those words are the name of this...uh, plant?"

Xu nodded.  "It's a tough-skinned fruit but tastes like bamboo shoots."

"Ah.  So both bamboo AND this exist?"

Phyllis bit into the bite and then wiped some of the seafood sauce off to show the bamboo-like patterning of the 'fruit' inside.  "It's hard on the outside but soft in the center.  It even tastes like bamboo - it just has a slightly different texture."

"Huh..."  Eli hummed, then took a tentative bite.  "--yeah, that's bamboo all right.  Weird.  How did they create this?  Selective crossbreeding?"

"Um...chemical and biological weapons, according to the history that survived," Phyllis answered quietly.

Xu watched as a few emotions flickered over Eli's face - surprise, anger, and then something akin to resignation.

"Ah," was all she said.

She tried a bigger bite of the bamboo papaya, then tasted the rice and shrimp; when she didn't make any faces or ask any other questions Xu took a few bites of his own and they all ate in silence for several minutes.

"I bet a lot of things I was used to eating are gone too, huh?"

"That...depends," Xu replied slowly.  "We don't have any record of anything being wiped out, but there are certainly a lot of records of things changing.   Though, I will say that animal life appears to have more drastically changed than plantlife did, according to our history."  He studied her face and could see hesitation there -- she wanted to say or ask something but was holding back.  "Did you...have something specific in mind?"

She shook her head.  "Not really.  Just, kind of hard to sometimes really grasp just...how much has changed."

"Would you like to talk about it?" he asked quietly.  "Or, anything at all?"

"...not tonight, doctor.  I don't even know where to begin."

Xu nodded.  "Of course.  Just know, when you choose to..."

After a couple bites she looked up and gave him a smile. "Oh trust me, Dr. Xu.  There's a lot I want to talk about.  I'm just not sure I want to break that particular dam open just yet, because I know once I start it's going to be hard to stop.  ...and, I don't think I want to start, until I know what happened to--" she stopped abruptly, sighing heavily and lightly tapping her fork against the side of her plate.  "-I really want to know what happened to Dubei.  And why I was down in that facility.  I know it was sheer, dumb luck that I was far enough away from the ceiling that caved in but why was I THERE?  Why were there others in those tubes?  Why were we left behind?"

That last question was said much quieter than the others but her general tone remained the same -- no sadness, no remorse, just a quiet frustration.   Xu left his fork on his plate and clasped his hands in front of him, resting them on his desk just behind his plate.  "It may be a case that you weren't purposely left behind... Didn't the logs say there was an evacuation, and a materials release?  From what Arlo and Selene said, you were attached to sensors and a breathing aparatus.  It sounds to me as though you, and whoever else were in those tubes, may have been in the safest place at that given moment."

"That's true." She took a steadying breath and tilted her head back, letting the air out slowly.   "But then what kept them from coming back?  A hazardous material release and even an armed and violent intruder alert shouldn't have kept everyone away forever.  Even if -- I've mentioned how poisonous and deadly a reactor explosion would have been.  The poisonous part of a reactor is called radiation, and it'd by far be the worst thing that could've been released down there and even then we have suits and..."

She stopped again, resting her elbow on the desk and her chin in her hand.

"...suits?" Xu prompted gently.

"Yeah.  Haz mat - hazardous materials - suits.  I used radiation as an example but if it HAD been radiation then I and the others in the tube wouldn't have survived if it was enough to cause the entire building to evacuate -- regular glass, or even the tempered stuff used in most medical equipment, wouldn't have shielded us from the radiation.  So that part doesn't make sense.  But for the life of me I can't think of anything that would be in a medical research center that would mean EVERYONE would have to run if something leaked.  Now, had it been a military base or the like I could name off sixteen different things, but...but not down there."  She paused, then waved a hand.  "Just speculating.  But point still stands that I don't want to discuss anything until I figure out what happened."

She went back to eating; Xu did as well even though he'd lost his appetite at this point.  At least they were close to her opening up; she was putting on a brave face but couldn't keep it up forever, as he suspected.

They filled the rest of the evening with idle chatter; it was mostly Eli asking questions about food and plants, and about Portia's general history and the layout of town.  Xu didn't have any maps on hand and promised he'd bring her one to look at (Lucy at the school probably wouldn't mind lending him one) so she could try and match up what she remembered of the landscape to what everything looked like now.  Eli was firmly back in her 'everything is fine' mentality -- no more tics or clues, just pleasantry.  But now Xu had confirmation that his suspicions were correct; he'd just need to wait until Eli had her answers, then be ready to help her put the pieces together.

[moonchildsaurora]

The social butterfly of a Tech Genius

»»—— Crew Member #6 of Space Pirates ATEEZ ——««

all aboard The Perihelion, welcome to the co-pilot’s log system! here you’ll be able to access the crew’s profiles should you wish to read about their journeys: (no nsfw content)

[CAPTAIN] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]

an underestimated intellect with huge love for the cyber world and technology  

you hear him before you see him in a crowd

a Drex’un who was born and lived his life in the technology-thriving city of Vollurn up until he was invited to join Hongjoong and Seonghwa on their journey

[database file: Drex’uns are often described as demon-borne even though not all bloodlines are derived from infernal ancestry. Purely for the fact that prominent horns protude from their heads, a prehensile tail that’s used for grabbing things and will coil around their legs when upset/nervous, sharp canines and eye colours that cover the entire sclera. Depending on bloodline, some Drex’uns have elemental abilities]

Mingi isn’t sure about his bloodline as he never knew his parents, though his intelligence goes far beyond that of an average being’s. Not only does he process knowledge extremely fast, his memory is remarkable; able to recall even the tiniest details and his ability to analyse/break codes allows him to have free reign in the cyber networks

his teal-coloured horns and tail have onyx gradient tips, adorned with a few gold jewellery (his actual ears are also pierced with hoops) to complement his molten gold eyes

making heads turn, be it for his energetic presence or fashionable attire; “just because I grew up on the streets doesn’t mean I have no pride for my looks”

learnt to be resourceful and street-smart at a young age, knows all the short cuts and side alleys of the city like the back of his hand (he’s had a lot of time to wander around). Also found out that he had a knack for by-passing security systems whenever he needed shelter for the night

frequents the ‘Merripalace Arcade’ where it’s both an underground hangout for tech whizzes and the cyber battlegrounds for competitive players. The first visit gave him a taste of a different kind of freedom and an introduction to the world of hacking. It’s probably one of the few places he’s felt a part of a community; no judgement of your species nor your background but rather your digital reputation is more valued and the sort of technological talents you bring to the network

if there’s one thing Mingi is a natural at it’s socialising, he could walk into a club alone and come back out later with a new social circle if he so wishes

“ok who DON’T you know here?”

“just look at that face, how can you say no to him?” – Mingi is walking proof that Drex’uns can pull off the puppy-dog face and get away with it

he was gifted a second-hand mirage drive by Einux, a Nagzoid [database file: a reptilian humanoid being with serpent ancestry so they tend to have more snake-like features] who became a shot-term mentor figure after Mingi unintentionally helped crack a system code for a database Einux was commissioned to work on (because Mingi thought that guy was just really bad at math on first glance)

[database file: a mirage drive is pretty much a miniature tablet with a hologram touch-screen and every tech whizz would protect theirs with their lives; especially when were layers of secret activities and programs stored into it]

“you remembered to wipe clean the data trail and replace the originals with the dud files right?”

“yeah of course...does planting a virus in the system that will cause ‘Time Warp’ to play every time they try to click open a file counts?”

“Mingi, I…….”  

Einux introduced Mingi to his network of contacts and helped set him up with his first commission, safe to say Mingi was at a loss for words when he got his first pay up front (and that was just the deposit)

by the time Yunho had come across Mingi at the Tech Institute, he had been in the cyber scene for 4+ years already and never once had to deal with someone catching him in the act  

Mingi.exe has stopped working

he’s met a couple of Sheirzois before but he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t lowkey checking out the blue-haired giant whilst panicking on the inside, he’d argue there’s always time to appreciate beauty

two options popped into his mind then and there; either he bribed his way out (as his mentor taught him) or he attempted to maybe throw some punches and then make a getaway

(expectation) looks like he’s intimidating & can fight vs. (reality) he’d probably cry if he hit someone & is just a soft boy all-round

extra trivia: ironically for an infernal being, Mingi doesn’t deal well with anything supernatural/ghosts-related. Once Woo and Yeosang pranked him, Yunho helped a little but he doesn’t need to know, and convinced him that the basement storage hanger was haunted after totems started appearing in odd places along with ominous noises. Mingi was so ready to abandon ship before Hongjoong did damage control & Jongho promised he’d fight all the ghosts for him 

was already metaphorically weeping at the thought of having to empty his money pouch but turned out that Otis (his multi-coding bot) had somehow manage to win the Sheirzoi over along with an invite to drinks

“I’ve got many questions for you regarding your efficiently adorable bot”

“…and I to you as well, BUT first do you have a name? And secondly have you been to ‘Le Apollon’? Coz if not they make some really mean Northern Drops there!”

Yunho turned out to be one of the most chilled individual Mingi has met and he didn’t mind the other’s enthusiastic discussions about all technological inventions, and was even just as enthusiastic to share with Yunho about his own passion for cyber tech

one too many drinks later Mingi was accidentally spilling secrets he definitely wasn’t meant to and even ended up dancing on the table at some point, all while Yunho hyped his new friend up on the side

was forever grateful that Yunho never ratted him out to the authorities and consider him shook for the 2nd time in that day when he was offered a roof over his head, a more permanent one too

“do you want to be the big spoon, or is it my turn? We can rotate!” 

thus the bromance of all bromances was born

living with Yunho not only meant Mingi would wake up to good vibes, but more than often would wake up to either the screeching of the smoke alarm or “HOLY SMOKES WHERE ARE THE WATER PODS? DID WE RUN OUT OF THEM? AGAIN?!”

putting out accidental fires became second nature to Mingi, initially he’d aggressively fret over Yunho but now he’s come to accept such is the life of a chaotic bright inventor and this is fine

in fact when Hongjoong and Seonghwa came across their humble abode (thanks to Yunho’s cleaning bot) it was an iconic first meeting over smoke. Yunho did most of the talking when Hongjoong pitched his desire to recruit a crew for space voyage, Mingi too busy sitting there staring at the two new-comers with shooting stars in his eyes and hearing about the prospects of an adventure. Within that day the crew had gain 2 more members, because Mingi and Yunho are a combo package deal

“oh has the system be glitching? If you don’t mind, would you like me to have a look at it?”

Hongjoong did a happy dance on the spot knowing that not only did he now have a talented inventor on his ship but also a gifted tech genius, he put Mingi in charge of managing the mainframe systems along with intel collecting this decision that Hongjoong would later semi-regret because (at times) the word “self-control” doesn’t seem to exist in Mingi’s vocab

Seonghwa adopted him and Yunho pretty easily and space mum’s cooking is Mingi’s fave, occasionally using his puppy-dog face he’s perfected over the years to his advantage in gaining extra midnight snacks (being everyone’s baby, no one’s really immune to this)

“Hwa you’re supposed to be the one disciplining the kids!”

Mingi and Yunho were known to be the chaotic fun duo, but with Wooyoung is just chaotic – not to mention he got his Yunhogizer confiscated by Hongjoong for almost a week after, “I thought we were all comparing assets, Wooyoung sent his to the group chat so I figured this was some kind of crew bonding”

also was one half of the reason that the ‘whatever happens at the Tav/clubs, stays at the Tav/clubs’ rule got implemented and one-night sexytimes were banned aboard The Perihelion after Jongho witnessed a random still semi-nude humanoid trying to sneak out of Mingi’s room without being noticed (Hwa went on parent-mode and panicked yell whilst covering Jongho’s eyes)

Jongho avoided Mingi (out of sheer embarrassment) for a few days and that was pretty devastating, considering how close the two became in their friendship that Mingi was one of the very few people in the crew whom Jongho was openly clingy with at times

no one can argue about Mingi’s loyalty to his crew/new family, and under his care-free flamboyant exterior he’s a genuine listener and will not hesitate to offer his shoulder for his family to lean on whenever they need it

recently he’s created new software to enhance Seonghwa’s cybernetic lenses (as a birthday gift) that’d allow him to see clearly miles ahead, in the dark and lock-on tracking function. What Mingi failed to let Hwa know was that he still hasn’t disconnected the sync link to his mirage drive and therefore if, for example, an image was sent through it’d appear in the other user’s field of vision

“wait for it, wait”

“what exactly are we waiting for Mingi? And why are you giggling over a screaming pink…starfish?” (that’s Patrick Star by the way)

seconds later there was a clamouring from the bathroom, the solid sound of someone falling before, “MINGI!”

“that my good lads, is what we were wa-oh whoops gotta go!”  

(moodboard made with love, by @s1ardusk​ ♡)

[blkgirlsinthefuture]

Ironheart and Carceral Technology

3/19 - Lauren Forsythe

To be frank, I had never read a Marvel comic before in my 22 years of existence prior to Ironheart. I can probably identify a solid number of the superheroes based on the fact that I have a Twitter account and don’t live *completely* under a rock, but there’s typically something about them that intimidates me. Whether it be because it’s a space taken up largely by white men, or that I don’t always love how some of the bigger names represent female characters, or because I, the strictly humanities human, am often semi-terrified of that amount of technology and science going on in one place… There’s a lot I’ve felt hesitant about immersing myself within. However, last week in my “Gender, Sexuality, and the Law” course, we spent the entire week talking about discriminatory design in the field of technology and how this technology is often situated within the carceral spectrum. As I sat down and situated myself then to read my first ever Marvel comic centered around the story of a younger, Black woman surrounded by technology that gives her access to countless databases and artificial intelligence, I had a bit of a moment. When Professor Stringfield then asked us to consider in our work what it meant for Riri to be defined by technology in this contemporary moment, I realized how challenging of a question that was to grapple with, especially in relation to its positioning in carceral technology.

On one hand, I think it is incredibly important that Riri acts as the representation of Black girls and women in technological development that we don’t often see. As many of my classmates pointed out in their respective blogposts, she stands as this comparative counterpoint for many characters in the book to the white men who hold power in the field, whether that be the Dean she technically “works under” or Iron Man, who both steals her work and serves as the comparison point for all of the times Riri is misnamed. It’s really important that Riri exists in this technological space because we so often either don’t see this representation publicly or these women are tokenized and dehumanized in their place of work (re: Timnit Gebru and her legal fight against Google for silencing her my firing her because she advocated for other minority technological workers like herself). We see this same kind of pattern occur with Riri in the sense that she is in part commodified by the Dean for her work but isn’t treated with the basic decency or respect to, say, ask her before he randomly shows up with groups of people or not utilize language like he owns her and her technology. I realize that at these research institutions, they give you the lab and the funding, but there’s this gross power dynamic and undertone of intended exploitation that struck a nerve.

Something I find myself really interested by is Riri’s control and access to the kinds of technology she utilizes to puzzle her way through her missions. She references really in-depth databases at least three times through the first five issues, at least one of which gives her access to information about Daija, a missing Black girl in Chicago. While IronHeart is able to gather information through this kind of tech and it ultimately gives her information that she needs to succeed and locate Daija, these kinds of what I’d consider pretty invasive databases are simultaneously being weaponized against BIPOC folx in the carceral system. Often times, the information within the databases are collected without the users’ knowledge and is sold to different companies and government entities to be both accessed and coded to either exploit or incarcerate. What’s really neat is that Riri is obviously utilizing this technology for good and it allows her to actually hold white abusers of this technology accountable, as she catches Birch stealing technology from government workers to harvest their data. It’s a really powerful critique of that system, but I also struggle with it some because I sometimes view superheroes as playing an active role within our carceral system. Maybe this is because of my prior distance from the superhero world, but as an “outsider,” it sometimes seems like superheroes are an acknowledgement that our system of law enforcement is flawed, but acts as a kind of extension of it to ensure “justice” is restored, when we’re now debating about whether capturing and locking up a “villain” really is justice. To be clear, I could be WAY off base here - superhero knowledge is by far my weakest category in trivia. In no way am I saying that Riri’s actions are actively feeding into the targeting of BIPOC folx that we see with the carceral system; we can see she acts in ways that both acknowledge and act on what is falling through the cracks in the current system (i.e., devoting energy to finding missing Black girls, not letting BIPOC children fall for the blame of being exploited by white man in power, etc.) However, seeing that she’s utilizing the same technology that’s doing a harsh dichotomy of work and the almost constant law enforcement presence in the crises she tends to make me feel conflicted; like she’s being defined by the power she holds over that technology, while also being situated and in a way, structurally kind of participating within a system that abuses it.

[cruzrogue]

It’s all Relative

#Fictober19 @fictober-event

————————————————————————

for fanfiction:

Prompt number: 7  “No, and that’s final.”  

Fandom (AU if applicable): #arrow fanfiction #olicity

Characters: Oliver/Felicity/William

Rating:PG

Warnings/Tags: Unhappy preteen with parents

Summary: William has a chance to work with an idol he doesn’t understand why his father isn’t allowing it.

~~~~~~****~~~~~~~~sp@ce~~~~~~****~~~~~~~~

​It’s all Relative on A03

This is an argument Oliver intends not to lose. His voice steady holding a finality to it. He tells his son his final answer, “No, and that’s final.”

“It’s not fair!” He stomps his foot. “You did worse when you were my age.”

“And look where that led me.” Oliver sighs. His son doesn’t get it. He only wants what is best for him. “You’re the only thing from that time period I cherish.”

“You didn’t even know I existed.”

“That is right. I didn’t. A day doesn’t go by that I don’t try to make it up to you.”

“Well I don’t need you!”

“William, apologize this instance for that remark.”

The boy looks to his step-mother and he can tell she isn’t thrilled but he knows if Felicity places herself onto the conversation he knows darn well that his dad will be tenfold in executing any plan and never, ever back talk to her in any case. Not only will it cause a terrible chain reaction from his father he’ll feel so terrible and guilty because he truly adores Felicity, she’s not only an awesome parent but she’s super chill with him.

“But mom, it’s not fair! Dad is being super biased.”

“William!” Her voice carrying that underlining tone. After the whole debacle of the infinity crisis that is what it’s been called even if he thinks it’s truly a stupid name. His dad was supposed to perish he thinks. The life he is having right now could have not existed. Somehow that thought alone makes his dad live on the edge of being overprotective but there is a baseline that his parents will do whatever it takes to protect him and his siblings.

“I’m sorry dad. I just don’t understand.”

“I know you don’t. It’s okay to be upset but there are things you aren’t aware of.” Oliver closes his eyes for a second as he thinks of the right words. “You’re becoming a teenager and your mother and I want you to live your life to the fullest so yes you aren’t privy to things that we don’t see fit for you.” A small pause. “Yet.”

“William, we know somethings cause tension. We expect that as you are becoming more and more independent but son you’re still so young. Protecting and getting you ready for adulthood is our job.”

“So, I really can’t go?”

“William. When it comes to your idol. The Flash. Your mother and I don’t mind your hero-worshipping from afar but we don’t want you entangled within his web.”

“What your dad is trying to say without being seen as aggressive or jealous is that we care for Barry we just don’t want you mixed up in his crazy timeline catastrophes.”

“What? The Flash is a hero! He’s not responsible…” He looks at his parents who are now mum all of a sudden. “Wait? Uncle Barry is the one who caused all those… No way. The media always says… Oh!”

There is a quiet moment within the household as Oliver and Felicity’s eldest is understanding something major. To him as the Flash came onto the scene. The red dash was super cool as it zipped through the city. He stopped bad guys what isn’t cool about that? Though like many things when you get to know your hero they become humanized and finding faults in humans is just a reality. The Flash isn’t that mere idol anymore. He has a face and a name to William. He also has had a hand in breaking his family apart. The crisis left everyone mending with a feeling of what-ifs and these paradox realities weren’t very pleasant. He lost his dad, didn’t see his mom until two decades later and William knows right now the life he is living is a blessing.

“William, we never wanted you to see him different.”

“He makes mistakes. We all do.”

“But his mistakes affect our family right?”

Oliver nods.

“Okay, I can see why you don’t want me at Star Labs anymore.” William looks at his step-mother and a smile creeps onto his face. “Maybe I can intern at Smoak Tech. Learn some coding. The archer program was way to cool for…”

“The archer program is decommissioned until I can figure better safety protocols.”

“Okay but I can still help out right? Especially when baby two makes its presence known.”

Oliver looks at his wife and just shrugs. William is totally a tech nerd and a feature that connects him to his wife so he can’t fault the boy at all. While Mia is learning to walk and already getting into things knowing that at least his son will be safer with Felicity he can relax just a tad more.

“Sure, I’d love the extra set of hands. If Mia is any indication. Your brother or sister will enjoy trampolining on my bladder.”

“Cool, I want an intern T-shirt, a badge, shoot I want a name plate too.”

“Okay, there tiger. There isn’t a physical building yet. Not until your mom here figures the location. The t-shirt well… hmm maybe you can design the logo.” Oliver can see the spark in not only in William’s eyes but the thought of creating a logo has his wife also beaming a huge smile. “Okay, I know those looks. Maybe we’ll need to go to the art store and buy some supplies.”

William excitedly nods. “Oh, we need a color scheme too. I know you like purple.”

“I do, but I know you love the color blue.”

Oliver just watching the conversation become a debate. Loving every moment of observing two of his favorite people discussing color schemes and it just makes him have a goofy smile. He knows its goofy by how many times he’s just turned and found a truly happy face looking back at him from a quick mirror’s glance. He doesn’t drop that smile he only makes his grin become wider as Felicity and William turn to him for his opinion. Finally telling them, “I think we owe it to ourselves to try every option.” It is that precise moment that Mia makes her presence known as she wakes up from her nap. Oliver checks his app. “Well while you two discuss business I have a little lady waiting for her daddy.”

William and Felicity watch him go before William asks his mom, “Do you think he’ll ever let Mia touch a bow? I know she became the Green Arrow before…”

“Your father loves you. He’d do anything for his children but he also knows he can’t always be there and it’s not to say it will be the easiest thing in the world. We need to allow you and your siblings to grow and it’s a delicate balance William. We’ll make mistakes but you do know we’ll try our best.”

“I know. I’m sorry for before.”

“I know you are sweetie. As for your sister becoming the Green Arrow. It’ll be a bittersweet moment for him. When that day comes…” Felicity tries her best but she still tears up. “You won’t be our babies anymore.”

William snickers, “Please you’ll still treat us like kids.” That gets his step-mother to chuckle. “I hope you know when that time comes we’ll do fine. We have two of the greatest parents raising us.”

A deep cackling voice is heard, “No amount of buttering your mother up will keep from getting your well-deserved punishments.”

“Ah, Dad!” William raises his hands, “I was trying to have a moment with mom.”

“I overheard the conversation of a future scenario.” His head nods to the baby receiver on the table by Felicity’s side. “If and when one of my children decide to follow in my footsteps it will be an honor.” He bounces his baby girl against his hip. The little girl giggling. It’s strange to look down and see that there is a path she can take and become the Green arrow. A path that he’ll be there to see. Does he want that? A sane rational father would say no, no way. Her safety is of great importance. A part of him wants to lock his kids in a tower and throw away the key. He won’t go that far, even if he lost his mind his wife would kick his ass. They will eventual grow up and its Felicity and his duty to make sure they can handle themselves in whatever occupation they decide to enter.

“You’re really going to be okay with it?”

“William, we started this argument over my overprotectiveness. I can’t bare for you to go to Central City for a few weeks when I know there is a good chance something can happen.”

“Yea, I know. You said no.”

“It’s still very much a no.” He sees William nod in understanding. “But one day you’ll be a grown man and I need to believe your mom and I did our very best to inform you and ready all of our children to make the best possible decisions possible.”

“Okay, I get it.”

“I need you to know that my past mistakes are mine alone. What mistakes you’ll create and believe me it’s probable being my son that you’ll create some whoppers. We’ll deal with the consequences together. I’ve got your back.”

Felicity adds, “We’ve got your back.”

William feeling over emotional just hugs his mom whom happens to be closer and then hugging his dad before he tells them he’ll go get some markers and such so they can at least look at some logo art for Smoak Tech. He practically runs off.

“Well he totally has your sense of emotional control.” Mia is moving her little arms towards her mother.

Oliver huffs, “I can’t even use anything against you on that. Though if I didn’t know any better I’d say he is all you.”

Felicity laughs as she takes her daughter into her arms. “This one here is just like her daddy.”

“Maybe the next will be a good mix of us.”

“I’m okay with little blue-eyed monsters that’ll own my heart.”

“You say that now, until they break the rules and become all mine.”

She shrugs to his correct assumption though she is still very empathic to his needs so she goes in for some kissing. Bringing their daughter up between them and Oliver kisses their baby girl first.

“Come on! I just left for a minute. You two are so gross!”

[marquis1305]

Silk and Steel Ch 2

AO3 Link

Rating: Mature

Fandoms: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)

Relationship: James “Bucky” Barnes/Reader

Additional Tags:

Slow Burn, Reader-Insert, Florists, Reader is an Enhanced Individual, Nick Fury Knows All, SHIELD, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. References, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Canon Divergence - Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Pre-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Bucky Barnes Feels, Protective Steve Rogers, Hydra (Marvel), enhanced!reader, Reader's Brother works for SHIELD, POV Female Character, James "Rhodey" Rhodes & Tony Stark Friendship, Rhodey is skeptical, Vision is curious, Tony feeds good behavior with blueberries, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Blueberries, backstory incoming

————————————————————–

Chapter 2: The Team

You are introduced to the Avenger's Facility, and with it the first half of your team. Skepticism and witticism abound, and Blueberries are totally a thing.

The trip to the facility was nerve wracking, all the more so for the security checks you had to pass through to get in. You knew that your record was clean, but despite everything you always hated background checks. 

Maybe you were secretly a criminal. Stranger things had happened. 

Running your hands down the thighs of the jeans you were currently sporting, attempting to mask the nervous energy as it built. Your gaze unable to rest on a single detail for too long as the AI guided your way into the conference room, where Rhodey and Vision were already sitting. 

Apparently discussing you. 

“So we’re just supposed to trust a file anonymously sent to us, on an enhanced individual that the world has absolutely no knowledge of? Because there’s no way that that can go wrong.” Rhodey huffed, tossing the file onto the table. Unaware of your presence. 

“I believe we have reason to trust the information sent to us. The files have already been verified, and Mr. Stark seems to approve.”  You can’t be completely certain, but he seems to have moved into your line of sight on purpose. 

“Tony also approved of half the other people that we ended up needing to lock up, or are we just going to forget that?” Rhodey sighed, shaking his head. “Look, I get that her brother needs help, and taking down Hydra is just something we do. But that doesn’t mean we need to involve more people.”

“Except that the princess here is probably the only one who can break her brother’s code.” A voice popped up behind you, making you jump. Whipping around to catch sight of Tony Stark himself. Rhodey turning to face you at the same time and groaning. 

“You couldn’t warn us that she had arrived?”

“Where’s the fun in that… blueberry?” Tony offered you the bag as he passed you to enter the room. Smiling disarmingly as he did. “Right, so here’s the thing, Fury forwarded us your file. Except not a lot of it makes sense. Mostly because over half of it was redacted even before ‘Tasha spilled the beans on SHIELD.” 

Accepting a small handful of the treat, you followed in behind him, keeping a wary gaze on the other two in the room. “That’s because it was part of the agreement my brother had with whoever was in charge. He works for them, they keep me out of it. Unless I agreed to come on board. It was supposed to help keep me safe if anything like this ever happened.” 

“So what, you’ve just managed to stay under the radar this entire time? I’m not saying that I doubt your story, but it’s got a lot of holes in it. And how did Fury even find out about any of this? He’s not involved with SHIELD anymore.” Rhodey waved a hand towards you, the other crossing over his chest to cup under his elbow. 

“Look, if you think Fury isn’t still pulling strings, then you’re obviously not the person I need to talk to about getting my brother safely home.” You scoff, though meeting his gaze. 

“She’s got a point.” Stark chirped, obviously delighted. 

Vision sighed audibly, moving closer to you, his gaze tracing over your face. “We have no intention of allowing your brother to come to harm, miss. But we do need your cooperation if we are to find him as quickly as possible.”

“Cooperation. Right, because that’s how it always starts. And then somehow people like me end up getting sucked into some crazy scheme or another, and things start blowing up.” You grumble under your breath. Taking a moment before shaking your head. “I stayed out of this life for a reason, the only reason that I’m here is to get my brother out of whatever mess he has gotten himself into this time. The way that I always do.” Looking between each of the Avengers for a long moment as they weighed you. 

“Right, so first things first.” Stark hums, offering you the bag of blueberries once more. “We need to figure out what exactly you can do to help. I mean, all it says is you’re enhanced, but the details get a little blurry after that. So if you can say… I dunno… Walk through walls, or read minds, that would be pretty useful about now.”

“If I could do that, do you honestly think I would have been able to stay under the radar for so long?” A wry smile finding your face as you reached out for another handful of the berries, popping them into your mouth one by one.

“I mean, Bruce turns into a giant green monster and he did a fairly good job of it for awhile.” Rhodey raised a brow at you, obviously still not buying the truth of the matter. 

“Fine. It’s easier to show it than explain it.” Sighing before you were reaching out for Tony’s arm, focusing your power into a single jolt of energy connecting the both of you.

“Whoa! Right… Walking shot of espresso… Can we keep her?”

Vision frowned slightly. “Your heart rate has elevated, and it would appear that she has stimulated the growth rate of your cells. Not to the point of mutation… But almost reminiscent of the healing factor found in Mr. Rogers and Mr. Barnes.”

“Before you ask, no I’m not a healer. It’s not magic or sorcery or anything like that.” Offering a far gentler smile before stealing another handful of the blueberries. Rubbing your lips together for a moment. “With my brother, I can make the totem aspects he chooses stronger. When he chooses the bear, his strength grows. Panther and his reflexes are quicker. Owl and his perception enhances. Et Cetera. All of that is in his files.” Nodding towards the stack of papers on the table. 

“Right, but that doesn’t explain what you do.” Rhodey butted in. 

“Well that’s the thing… My brother and I were almost inseparable for most of our lives. It wasn’t until I headed to University that we even realized I had any abilities.” You shrug slightly. “I was fine with not being Enhanced, worried with his life choices, but I knew that I didn’t want to be apart of any of this. We had never asked for this. But when he called me almost sick with worry about losing his abilities, or that they were growing less powerful with time instead of being able to hone them with training… I agreed to come in for testing as well. Fury had had a theory.”

“He seems to have many of those.” Vision chuckled softly. Leaning against the wall across from you. 

“Yeah. It’s a thing.” You quip back. “So, as soon as I was within a certain radius of my brother, his powers returned to what we thought were normal.” 

“So you enhance the enhanced.” 

“Not just enhanced.” Here was where things got tricky, running a hand through your hair to shake it out. “Anyone. Any living thing. It’s just more obvious with people like us. I run a floral boutique, my flowers seem naturally longer lasting than most, bouquets last for hours without wilting, no matter the weather. Or as Mister Stark just felt, it can feel like a burst of energy.”

“Right, and you what… chose to pick daisies for a living?” Tony scoffed, brows furrowed in almost confusion. “Think someone with that ability would be more likely to become a doctor or nurse… you know, use your abilities to boost immune systems or something.”

“Yeah well, not all of us want to a be a walking cliche, mister mechanical genius in a walking suit of armor. I just happen to like flowers.”

That drew a snort of laughter from the billionaire, looking at you with something nearing respect. “FRIDAY, can you get Happy in here please? I’ve got a new job for him, and he’ll probably like this one as much as he does watching the kid.”

“Of course Mr. Stark. I am certain he will be eager to assist.”

“Right, well, while we wait for him, why don’t we all move somewhere more comfortable. Not that I don’t appreciate the glass walls and fancy tech, that I designed by the way, Bunny-” “Bunny?” Your brow arched high with that, lips beginning to purse.

“Yeah, as in energizer, not play boy… Not that you wouldn’t fit that description either, but my point being…” Tony waved his hands as he spoke, you wondered if it was a nervous tic, or just left over from the burst he had felt by connecting with you. “Is that we are not the only people that Fury called in for assistance on this matter. And I am going to require something along the lines of liquid courage to deal with the rest of the team. Who are, also, waiting on you.” Nodding his head in your direction before gently placing a hand to your back, guiding you from the conference room. 

Apparently it was time to meet the rest of the team. 

[voguekingdom-blog1]

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[sleepyfan-blog]

power suppression either error or nightmare, or both i'm just curious what would happen if either of them get their powers suppressed

Power Suppression

Fandom: Underverse

Characters: Nightmare, Error, Ink, XGaster

Warnings: Power Suppression

Word count: 2,111

Summary: Error and Nightmare wake up in cells facing one another, in an AU that neither of them recognize.

Nightmare knew as soon as he opened his eyes that something was terribly wrong. For one thing, he could see clearly out of both of his eye lights, the second… He felt lighter than he had in a very long time. The third thing was that it was very dark wherever the hell he was currently. The last thing that he remembered was fighting Dream and Cross - the two of them escaping to places unknown as he and Killer just barely failed to go through the portal after them. Once he got his hands on Cross, that miserable fucking traitor was going to regret ever betraying him - then again, he’d been fucked around with by that Gaster of his timeline, so his decisions might not have entirely been his own.

He stood up, moving towards the pale source of light, stumbling a little and hissing as he realized that the source of the light was a magical force field that when touched - forced him back a couple of inches and stung.

In the pale white, flickering light, Nightmare glanced down at his hands, realizing that he was no longer covered in the tarry substance of the corruption that the negative apples had. His bones were white and he was… He was wearing his original outfit. Including - as he felt the top of his head - the golden circlet with the crescent shaped cut in the middle of it. Panic filled him as he tried to summon his tendrils, feeling something shift just outside of his full perception and agony shock through him, originating from his neck, wrists and ankles, driving the lord of darkness to his knees. He choked back the shriek of agony - not wanting to give his captors the satisfaction of hearing him react in pain.

Once the pain faded from his body and Nightmare could move - the fallen guardian of Negativity sat up, scowling as he tried to figure out just where he was. From what he could see of the hallway outside of his cell, all he could see was a white hallway in black trim. The color of the force field was strange - as in every AU he’d visited that had such magical tech, they were either light blue if they were a tale or a swap based AU, or red if he was in a fell or swapfell based AU. Occasionally it would be a light shade of violet in swap fells, but that was unusual. But never this over-bright white color.

Nightmare studied the magical shackles on his wrists, using the light to get a better look at them - noting the intricate carving of the runes that kept his powers suppressed and locked away. At least it meant that they hadn’t somehow taken the powers of the many apples he’d consumed from him. He had his power, though it was out of reach. He sat down and looked at the shackles on his ankles, finding much the same. Both sets of restraints were completely smooth - there wasn’t a groove or keyhole revealing a weakness that he might be able to exploit in trying to get them off. Not that there was much in the cell he’d been locked into - just a small cot fused to the floor, the material dark in color - and when Nightmare dragged the mattress he’d been laying on, it revealed to be the same flat black color as was on the trim on the walls outside.

Nightmare could very dimly sense someone close by. Having literally nothing else to do - and deciding that he was going to see if there was someone in the cell facing his - he called out (hating how light and soft his voice sounded in this weak form) “Hello? Is there anyone else down here?” Perhaps he could play the innocent, confused victim and con his captors into letting him go. Then he would make them suffer for daring do this to him. He knew for a fact that Dream hadn’t done this to him - for one thing, the other would never think to suppress his powers - and the second is that the other would be hovering at his side, waiting for the very moment that he woke up in order to try to talk.

He heard an agonized groan from the cell opposite of his, and the familiar figure of one glitchy outcode came into view. “WhErE tHE fUCk Am I? WhO aRE yOu?”

“I have no idea where we are - as for who I am… I’d rather not get into that right now.” Nightmare responded, not wanting to reveal who he was to Error just yet. “What’s important is - can you access your powers? I have some sort of… Restrictors on me that keep me from trying to teleport out of here - and there’s nothing in here that I can use to try to get out of them, either.” He’s never seen such an achromatic place like this before. Is… Was he dragged to an AU he’s never known before? By who, and for what purpose? Nightmare hated the lack of control, but was doing his best to suppress his emotional reactions. He won’t give them the satisfaction. “I have just a little bit of my passive abilities, but nothing more, as far as I can tell.”

“Of coUrSe I-” Error started, voice rough and staticky with irritation, before pausing for a moment. Less then a second later, the other let out a glitched yell of pain, and Nightmare noted that the other had fallen over backwards, completely stiff his arms and legs stiff and straight.

The lord of negativity waited patiently for the other to wake up, tapping one of his bare feet against the cool tile, keeping a regular beat inside his mind, finding that it took the other at least ten minutes to start to react again, groaning and shuddering on the floor, and another five to struggle up into a sitting position “I am sorry - I had just been about to warn you not to try to use your powers too much - the cuffs that they put on both of us caused me pain when I tried to use them.” He wasn’t really sorry - but pretending otherwise would hopefully encourage a sense of camaraderie between the both of them - so that if the other managed to escape his cell, it was less likely that Error would leave him to rot.

“HoW cOmE I didn’t h-hear yoU scReAmIng eArLIer?” Error demanded, squinting at him through the force fields “yOu LoOk LiKe A sWaP iN stRAnGe cLOtheS? WhAt Au ArE yOU fRoM?”

“You wouldn’t have heard of it, even if I told you. None of the outcodes have ever visited my AU… Not that there’s much left of it. It was destroyed long ago.” Nightmare responded factually. He sincerely doubted that Dream would have ever brought Ink to the shattered remains of their timeline - and while he did use it as his main base, he didn’t trust any of the outcodes enough to even think about taking them there. “I… I didn’t scream when the pain hit me. I-I didn’t want to give them the satisfaction of hearing me in pain.”

“fAIr eNOUgh. HoW dO yOU knOW whO I aM iF nO oNe HaS bEEn tO yoUR tIMELinE?” Error pressed, continuing to squint at Nightmare, arms crossed over his chest as he glared at him suspiciously. “I wILl fINd A wAY oUT anD tHEn I wIlL mUrdEr thE wOrtHLEss gLIitcHEs WhO cAUghT mE.”

Nightmare was about to give a version of the truth - something about Dream having visited his timeline on his own before - when both of them  heard the sound of a door opening, and two sets of footsteps.

“And I am telling you, with Overwrite and your knowledge of their powers, neither one of them has had the ability to escape, my dear friend.” A smooth, low voice that neither of the two caged and currently powerless beings recognized reassured. “Their code is unusual - it will take me time to reprogram them into more useful tools. If you would allow me to look at the negative one’s other half, I am sure that I would be able to reshape both of them. I am unsure if I can fix… Nightmare? I believe that’s what you called him? Without Dream being present as well. They are bound together in a way that I have never seen anywhere in the multiverse before.”

“And I told you, XGaster, he’s in the omega timeline, and having both of them in the same timeline will cause issues that you cannot handle easily. Dream is by far the weaker of the two of them, but his positive aura will win over your people to his side. It’s part of how his powers work - and Nightmare will be far more stubborn if we have Dream here. And Dream won’t trust me if I bring him here.” Ink responded, shaking his head a little.

Error screamed at Ink “YOU SON OF A BITCH LE-LE-LET ME OUT OF HE-HERE RIGHT NOW! G-GET THESE F-FUCKING CUFFS OFF OF ME, AND YOUR D-DE-DEATH WILL BE FAST YOU MIS-MISERABLE SQUID! I WILL TEAR APART YOUR FA-FA-FAVORITE AUS LI-LINE BY LI-LINE!” He threw himself repeatedly at the force field of the cage, as if hoping to bash through it by sheer force of will, hissing in pain with every strike.

“I had given you a chance to join our game, Error. You refused to play.” Ink responded, his eye lights, flat white circles as he stared down at the other, as the glitch trembled and thrashed on the floor. He glanced over at Nightmare, a small twitch of his lips upwards, as if feeling a pale shade of amusement. Not that the other was actually feeling anything. “You really do look a lot like Dream. You’re almost… Sweet in this form, Nightmare.” The guardian of creativity walked over, staring at him.

“Why is Dream’s trust something that you are after, friend? I can give you what it is you truly want and desire. His aura is only effective when you are in his presence, and the light emotions make you weak.” The Gaster pointed out, resting a hand lightly on one of Ink’s shoulders.

“Dream’s presence helps to bolster my positive popularity, which allows me greater access to the AUs that we visit. He is also the best healer I have encountered in the entire multiverse and his gentle nature makes him an excellent companion.” Ink answered. “Why he seems to think that Nightmare can be redeemed, I do not know. But his hope to find a cure for whatever happened to him - as well as his belief that Nightmare can be redeemed is what keeps him going. You take either of those things away from him and Dream will shatter.”

“Oh, please do elaborate on that.” XGaster responded with a small smirk playing on his face as the two of them started to walk.

Nightmare growled, his eye lights flashing in anger as he stepped closer to the bars of the cell he’d been forced into “If you dare touch Dream, I will rip you apart. You can only hold me here for so long. Dream may trust you for now, but I know him better than you ever will, you arrogant, soulless bastard. If he ever hears so much of a hint of what you’ve done in this world, he won’t ever trust you again… And Cross is with him in a place where you can’t directly approach the both of them to keep Cross silent.” Despite his irritation, the fallen guardian was smirking a little. The truth would will out sooner or later - and there was no way that Ink would be able to keep Dream out of this AU - and the other would be drawn to his presence. He just needed to be patient.

Error started to thrash against the force field again, screaming obscenities until he suddenly went down hard, his eye sockets covered in errors - his whole body glitching out wildly. A loading bar popped up over the other’s prone body, ever so slowly inching towards full.

Gaster and Ink left the both of them, unconcerned. “With his magic suppressed, I suspect he’ll be rebooting for hours. Just after a reboot is when he’s most malleable.” Ink supplied, staring at the prone form of his long-time enemy.

XGaster nodded “Very well, let us continue speaking, while I show you what I have added since the last time this world was RESET.” The pair of them were silent until after they vanished out of Nightmare’s sight and hearing range.

[sxypigeon]

Pharmercy Beginnings Part 3

A/N: Or “Protect your healers from themselves.”  Angela and Fareeha are brought together by noisy coworkers only to have the doctor get called away.  Talon plots, Fareeha tries not to check our her best friend, and Angela tries to remember she’s human.

Part 1:  No warnings, just sarcasm and fluff.

Part 2 Don’t mess with Battle Mercy:  Warnings: lots of violence and attempted assault.

Tap. Tap. Ta-scuff.  Tap.                   Tap. . . Tap . . .Tap.

Two sets of boots echoed through the corridor as the captain escorted the weary doctor down the hall.  Hand on the small of Angela’s back, Fareeha was ever mindful of any sway in her friend’s gate as the traversed the dimly lit corridor.

“So you’ve confirmed the presence of nanobots?” Angela asked tiredly as Dr. Muller examined the bruising on her left side.

“Based on the tip you gave your colleague, we started looking for them specifically,” Dr. Farzi explained.  “A biopsy of the king’s liver confirmed it, but we don’t have the equipment to remove them.”

Fareeha watched from across the room, trying not to cringe at the collage of blues, blacks, and browns the older doctor gently prodded at on Angela’s side.

“Most hospitals have no need to recall nanobots when they’re hard-light and self-limiting,” Angela acknowledged.  “I should be able to-”  She hissed in pain.

“Cracked fourth rib on the left side,” Lars said apologetically.

“I should be able to replicate the recall device we use for research with what the hospital has to administer the tech,” she said tightly.  She batted away Lars’ careful hands and lowered her camisole.  “Where-”

“No,” the older man stated firmly.  “We aren’t through yet.”

Angela glared at him, “I have a concussion and a cracked rib - the king is on his deathbed!  Testing can wait until we get the source of problem from the patient!”

“Legally, I can’t allow you to assist in any way until you’ve been properly treated for your injuries,” Dr. Farzi said gently.  “The sooner Dr. Muller completes his exam, the sooner we can focus on the king.”

She opened her mouth to argue, but she shook her head and let her clenched fist fall.  “And what will the treatment be?  Two doses of three hundred milligrams of nanobots and eight hours of rest?  The king doesn’t have that kind of time,” she finished exhaustedly.  

“No, he doesn’t, but we have a responsibility to ALL of our patients,” Mohamed said patiently.  “Including those trying to save lives.”

“So . . . what then?” Angela asked as she raised her shirt again for Lars to finish his examination.

“Once we know the extent of your injures, we can better weigh the risks of allowing you to aid in removing the patient’s nanobots.”

She nodded stiffly and dropped her eyes to the floor.

Fareeha held open the door to the locker room for the doctor and followed her in.  Angela glanced around the tiled space and made a beeline for the shower stalls.  The captain followed carrying the doctor’s belongings.

“What you’re doing to the Freyja is reversible, correct?”

Angela paused where she was knelt at the back the instrument and bit her lip.  She locked eyes with Lars, “Could you call the manufacturer?”

He nodded with a chuckle, “Mohamed, that’s code for ‘No,’ but she will ensure it’s replaced at no cost to the hospital.”

“Your facility has four more, right?” she asked as she spliced together a set of wires.

“Yes, but that’s a multi-million euro instrument you’re irreversibly altering,” he said uneasily.

“Which is built by a company I have fifty-one percent ownership of,” she said calmly.  “You will receive a replacement at no cost, you have my word.  I did provide the technology to create it, after all.”

Fareeha smiled at the ease at which the doctor worked.  Finally cleared for light work, but not direct patient care, the doctor perked up considerably and sprang into action.  The captain had yet to discern if Angela’s smirk and bravado were sincere or simply another mask to hide how shaken she still was.

“Okay, that should do it for the hardware,” Angela muttered as she stood stiffly with a groan.  She moved to the laptop interfaced to the instrument and began examining the code it operated with.  “This will take some time.  Would it be possible to get a coffee?”

Mohamed worked his jaw anxiously, as if he still wasn’t at all comfortable with this whole process, but nodded and left.

“Do you suppose he’ll ever invite us back?” Lars asked as he finished his call.

“No, and I sincerely hope I never have reason to return,” Angela said softly before beginning to write new lines of code.

Angela took her bag and disappeared behind the curtain.  It didn’t take long before the captain heard a frustrated hiss.

“Are you okay?” Fareeha asked.

“Yes, fine.  It’s just difficult to remove my shirt,” the doctor admitted.

“Would you like help?”

“So forward of you to ask,” she tried to laugh, but in the echoey space the joke sounded forced.  “Verdammt, yes, I would like help.”

Pushing aside the plastic sheet, Fareeha found the doctor pouting in frustration.  “It’s okay to ask for help, you know?”

Angela sighed shallowly and shook her head, “I can repurpose one of the most complex instruments in this building, but I can’t even remove my own shirt.”

Fareeha smile softly, “Well, it’s a good thing I’m here.”  She lifted the camisole over the doctor’s head and carefully moved it down her arms.  “What about your boots?”

“My boots?” Angela asked as she tried to bend down, but groaned.

“Stop, I’ve got it,” Fareeha said patiently as she knelt on the floor.  The doctor remained silent as she was helped out of her footwear.  “Okay, what about your bra?”

“I should be able-” she bit her lip as her left hand made it to her lower back before stopping.  “Verdammt!”  

“Turn around,” she chuckled.

Angela let her shoulders slump in defeat and turned.  

“I am here to help.”

“You’re here to protect me,” Angela mumbled.

“And right now, you need protection from yourself,” Fareeha countered.  She undid the clasp and tried not to think about how intimate the whole situation was.  “Anything else?”

“If I can’t handle undoing my trousers then I may be more injured than I originally thought,” she whispered.

“Then I’ll be just outside if you need me.”  Fareeha took a deep breath once the curtain slid shut.  She needs you as friend right now.  Keep it together.  She leaned against the row of sinks across from the showers as the steam from the doctor’s shower began to fill the room.  

Almost immediately, Angela’s soft cursing echoed against the tile.  “I can’t . . . I can’t wash my hair,” she admitted dejectedly.

Oh, shit.  “Okay, I can help, if you’d like.”

Almost inaudibly, “Please.”

Okay, Amari, don’t you dare peak at anything.  Just help her with her hair and leave.  “Okay, I’m on the other side of the curtain.”

The doctor pulled open the plastic with an arm over her chest, staring at the floor.  “Here,” she said handing her a travel-size bottle before turning.

“Let me know if I’m too rough,” the captain said as she began to work the soap into her wet hair.  Before long, Angela’s clenched shoulders relaxed and Fareeha could have sworn she heard a soft sigh of contentment.  “So what’s plan after this?” she asked more to distract herself than anything.

“I need to sift through the code of the nanobots we found in the king,” she muttered over the sound of the water.

“No time to rest or heal?”

“We need to know who tried to assassinate him and the best way to do that is by going through the code,” Angela said.  “There are maybe a dozen people in the world who know enough about my research to be able to alter my code to cause this sort of targeted harm.  And I . . . I’m still worried I won’t be allowed out of the country.  If they’re going to arrest me again, I want to make sure my injuries are still there for the world to see if they do.”

“So you’re dead-set on being in pain for the rest of the night.”  Fareeha gently pushed the doctor’s hands down as she tried to raise them to rinse her hair, “I’ve got it.”

“You’ll get wet,” she warned.

“There are hairdryers by the sinks,” she said with a chuckle.  “Are you sure you can’t at least get a few hours rest before working?”

Angela was silent long enough that Fareeha thought she hadn’t heard her.  “I hate feeling so useless,” she admitted quietly.  “I can’t perform the surgery, I can’t even take care of myself!  I came all this way, I need to do something.”

“But you did,” she reminded her gently.  “Without you, they never would have been able to remove the nanobots.  Without that, they wouldn’t be able to do the surgery at all.”

“I guess,” Angela admitted reluctantly.

Fareeha rolled her eyes and smiled, “I know this might be hard to hear, but you aren’t a superhero, Ange.  You can’t always do everything.  Only most of the time.”

The doctor laughed softly.  “I suppose you’re right.”  She turned and faced the captain.  “Thank you for your help.”

“Sure,” she said, trying desperately to keep her eyes on the doctor’s face.  “Anything else you need help with?”

“I think I should be fine,” she said with a small grin.  “This isn’t exactly how I pictured you seeing me naked for the first time though.”

“I haven’t-”  Wait a minute - does she mean. . .

“I’m kidding, Fareeha.  I trust you.  Breathe.”

This woman will be the death of me.  The captain closed her eyes and smiled, “I’m just going to dry my shirt before I embarrass myself anymore.”

“Hey Doc, time for your mandatory break.”

Angela looked up from her laptop to see Tariq standing beside her chair.  “I suppose I could use more coffee.”

“The captain gave me orders to ensure you also eat something,” he said with a grin.

“Of course she did.”  The doctor stood slowly and led the way to the breakroom.  “Is Fareeha sleeping?”

“Hopefully,” he said.  “She’s not allowed to be as stubborn as you when she’s on the job.  Saleh and I both got a few hours of rest, so she has to at least try, too.”

“I’ll rest when the coffee stops working,” Angela chuckled as she refilled her mug.  

“Fine, but you have to eat everything I’m putting on your plate before you can leave.”

The doctor turned to see the soldier piling a mountain of rice and meat from the hospital’s crockpot onto a plate.  “Oh, come on!  I don’t even think you could finish that!”

“I could, too!  But this is for you and I know you haven’t had any real food in about six hours so you should be starving by now,” he said as he placed the plate on a table.

Angela glared in mock-annoyance before dropping carefully into her chair.  “I’ll eat as much as I can, but I’m not going to finish this.”

“We’ll see.”  He let her take a few bites.  “How’re you doing, Doc?”

She chewed her food slowly before finally deciding on a simple, “Fine.”

Tariq frowned theatrically.  “Wait, I know this one - when a woman says she’s fine, it really means something’s wrong.”

“I can’t imagine what,” she muttered as she took another bite.

“You want to vent?”

“No.”  I’m definitely not ready to deal with any of this yet.

“Okay,” Tariq said as he sipped his coffee.  “So you and Amari, huh?”

Angela nearly dropped her fork.  “Really?”

He looked apologetic, “Shoot, are things not cool between you two?”

“There fine, it’s just-”  Angela struggled to explain herself.  “I don’t do relationships.  I don’t have the time to devote to one, but . . . if I was ever going to try to have one, it’d be with her.  I just don’t know if I can do it.  I don’t want to hurt her either.”

“Well that’s awfully noble of you, Doc,” he said with a smile.  “But you have to remember that people have been doing long distance relationships since forever.  You aren’t the first person to be in this predicament.”

“I know, but I- She’s pretty much my only friend outside of my coworkers.  I don’t want to mess this up and lose her,” she admitted.

The soldier folded his hands in front of himself and tried to remain patient.  “Is doing nothing going to prevent you from losing her?”

Angela looked up from the food she was poking and frowned.  “No, to be honest, I did try pushing her towards other relationships just so I wouldn’t be the one to hurt her.  I figured I could be happy knowing that she was happy with someone else.”

“Wooow. . . . Just, wow,” he said before pinching the bridge of his nose.  Tariq leaned back in his chair and gathered his thoughts before leaning forward again.  “Okay, first off: stop being a bloody martyr.  Martyrs are great for books and movies, but are shit in real life.  Everyone around a martyr just wants to grab them by the shirt and shake sense into them.  Secondly: people get hurt all the time.  It happens, we get over it.  Thirdly: just give it a try.  I think you’ll find it’s easier than it looks.  Sure the distance sucks, but that just makes the time you have together that much sweeter.  Fourthly - is that a word, we’ll say it’s a word - just go be happy, Doc!  You’ve spent your entire life helping others, you deserve to have someone to come home to. . . And I just kind of assume two attractive women like you two would have a very good time together - not that I’ve thought about it or anything.”

Angela kicked him under the table before smiling, “Of course not.”

“Just give it some thought, not that last bit, but the other stuff.”

She nodded pensively, “I will.”

Fourteen hours and three synthetic organs later, it looks like the king is going to make it, Fareeha thought as she watched the the surgeons finish closing the incisions.  Hopefully that means I can get Angela to finally rest.

Said doctor was still pouring over endless lines of code, having consumed enough coffee to kill a lesser person.  Bruised eyes squinted at the screen as she highlighted a sizeable chunk of text.

“Ange, it looks like they’re finishing up in there.  Could we think about calling it a night . . . or early morning actually?” Fareeha asked as she placed her hands on the doctor’s shoulders.

Angela hummed tiredly, but continued staring at her screen.  

“Ange?”

“Yeah?”

“It’s time to take a break.”

“Oh, I do need more coffee,” she mumbled as she finally pushed herself away from the desk.

“No more coffee, Doc.  It’s time to sleep,” the captain said gently.

“But I’m not done yet,” she argued.  “There’s still so much to go through-”

“And it will still be there after you’ve rested.”

The doctor sighed before looking up to watch her colleagues in the next room.  “Just let me update them first.”

Fareeha arched an eyebrow, but nodded.  It didn’t take long before the doctors finished their work and exited the room as nurses finished cleaning up the patient.  

“Well, that could have gone worse,” Lars admitted tiredly.  “I’m surprised to see you up, Angie.”

“I was just trying to convince her to call it a night,” the captain said with a chuckle.

“I’m fine,” Angela muttered in a huff.  “I just thought I could update both of you before-”

“To be honest, I just want to see a bed,” her colleague said as he rubbed his eyes.  

“I would like to know what you’ve found,” Mohamed said frowning at the other surgeon.  “Perhaps in the courtyard - I could use some fresh air.”

“Fine, I suppose I’m a bit curious,” Lars mumbled grumpily.

Once outside, Angela launched into a technical jargon filled explanation that Fareeha quickly realized no one followed.  

“Dumb it down, Angie.  We’ve had a long day,” Dr. Muller pleaded.

“Sorry,” she mumbled.  “I guess without going into why, I think I know who programmed the nanobots.  She was a former Overwatch colleague who is now the head of genetics research at the Oasis institute in Iraq.”

“Who and why?” Dr Farzi asked as he sat on a bench near a water feature.

“Dr. Moira O’Deorain and I can’t say specifically why,” Angela admitted as she sat across from him on the edge of the fountain.  “But she was expelled from Overwatch because of her ties to the terrorist group Talon.  I suspect she relies on those ties still.”

“So, a geneticist within one of the most respected research institutes in the world helped a terrorist organisation attempt to assassinate the king of Saudi Arabia,” Lars said with a confused look.  “What motive could she or the organisation have?”

Angela shrugged.  “Talon funded much of her more . . . controversial experiments.  She owes them for that.  As for why Talon would want the king gone . . . perhaps they think they can find sympathizers here.  No one really knows what their motives are.  They just seem to thrive on chaos and unrest.”

“They certainly don’t seem to be focused on a specific part of the world,” Fareeha chimed in.  “They’re active on nearly every continent, but don’t have a firm foothold anywhere yet.”

“Fantastic,” Mohamed grumbled sarcastically.  “And I don’t suppose there’s anything concrete we can use to confront Dr. O’Deorain?”

She shook her head.  “No, all of this is speculation, but I don’t make these accusations lightly.”

“Well, that’s something to think about,” Lars said with a yawn.  “I think we need to sleep on this.  Angie, you’ll have the on-call room on this floor.  Mohamed and I will be in the one on the floor above.”

“Okay,” she said tentatively.  “I’m going to stay out here a little longer to clear my head.”

Lars frowned and stared at the younger doctor until she wilted and pulled out her pack of cigarettes.  “I see.”  He turned on his phone and saw nearly a dozen messages from Angela’s lawyer.  “While you out here clearing your mind, perhaps you can check your messages.  Your people are trying to get to you through me.  Don’t stay up too late.”

“I won’t,” she muttered staring at the ground.

Fareeha watched the doctors leave as Angela took her first pull.  “I’m guessing he doesn’t approve of your new habit.”

“No, he was my mentor until I surpassed him and became head of surgery,” she mumbled.  “He still likes to look out for me after all of these years.”  She frowned at her glowing screen and sighed.  “No charges for me or the men who attacked me . . . yet.  My lawyer seems to think I should release a statement.”

“Maybe it should wait until morning.”

Angela shook her head.  “Once I go to sleep, I don’t intend on waking up anytime soon.  Better to get it done now.”  She flipped her phone over and activated the tiny camera-carrying drone.  Roughly the size of a house fly, the small robot hovered in front of the doctor expectantly.  Looking at her lit cigarette, she shrugged.  “You and Lars were to people I was most worried about finding out about this.  I suppose this will give me reason to quit.”

Fareeha smile softly as the blonde began to speak.

“Guten morgen, it’s been a while since I’ve posted an update,” she said with a tired smile.  “I think last time I was in Afghanistan two months ago.  I’ve since been to India to help with the monsoon, but more recently, I’ve been called to Saudi Arabia.  There are a few videos-”

Fareeha rolled her eyes - a few may be the understatement of the year.

“-of an altercation I was part of at the airport.  There have been some questions about why I was in handcuffs and who the men were that were escorting me.”  She paused to take another pull.  “Ah, yes.  I suppose my terrible secret is out also,” she muttered as she gestured to the cigarette.  “I’ll have to quit now that the world knows.  But I digress, I was arrested for an altercation aboard my flight from New Delhi to Riyadh.  I was attacked by the son of the acting king and fought him off, but that prompted a visit with the secret police once we landed.  Nearly the entire encounter was document from my understanding so I’ll skip to arriving at the police station.”

The captain wanted to sit beside her and wrap her arm around the doctor for support, but settled for sitting across from her.

“I’m not sure how long I sat in an interrogation room before my attacker and his companions from the plane entered the room without an officer.”  She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth before taking a drag.  “They tried to surround me and presumably assault me, but fortunately I was able to fight them off again.  After that was the post I made to Mr. al Saud’s blog and my eventual release from custody.”

You’re doing great, Ange.  Almost done.

“Due to confidentiality reasons, I can’t divulge who my patient is or their status, but I can confirm I was requested to come here for work.  This wasn’t an ill-fated vacation,” she said with a small laugh.  “I have not been charged with a crime, but neither have my attackers.  I’m not entirely sure if I’ll be allowed to leave the country, but until I do I intend to allow my injures to heal naturally.”

In other words, you’ll be miserable until we leave.

“The worst of those injuries include a concussion, two broken fingers, a broken nose, and a cracked rib.  I’m used to getting shot and dealing with blood loss, but this is a bit of a new experience for me.  I haven’t decided which I prefer,” she chuckled weakly.

Alright Ange, give up on the humor and wrap it up.  

Angela inhaled from the cigarette one last time.  “It will be a few days before I can go through all of the one hundred sixty-eight thousand three hundred twenty-four new messages on my blog, but I’d like to thank everyone for their well-wishes and concern.  Hopefully my next update will be back home in Switzerland.  Stay safe and thanks for watching.”

Fareeha watched the little drone land on Angela’s outstretched hand before she secured it to the back of her phone again.  “All set?”

She nodded as she typed.  “I just need to send it to the law firm and . . . done.”

Two sets of footsteps echoed loudly as they navigated the halls to the on-call room.  Fareeha kept her arm around the doctor’s shoulders as she shuffled along tiredly.  

“This looks familiar,” Angela chuckled weakly when they arrived.  Three sets of bunk beds lined the walls of the small room.  

“Do you spend a lot of time in rooms like this?” Fareeha asked as the doctor picked out a lower bunk.

“When I was younger, yes.  I practically lived in one during my residency.”  She sat down and toed off her shoes.  “That feels like a lifetime ago.  Even Overwatch feels like someone else’s life.”  She stared at the ground and gripped the edge of the bed.  “I don’t- I-” she huffed in annoyance.  “What happened today . . . I’ve been shot many times on missions, fatally if not for my nanobots, but this . . . this has gotten under my skin and I- I hate it!” she whispered harshly.  “I can’t shake the feeling that at any moment they’ll be back and-”

“Hey, no one is going to get you while I’m here,” Fareeha said gently.  “I promise.  I won’t leave you.  They’ll have to arrest me too.”  She sat down next to her and wrapped her in a careful hug.

“I don’t want you to get arrested,” she stammered brokenly.  “I just want to go home!”

“I know, Ange.  I know,” she cooed as the older woman began to sob.

“I need to speak to Dr. Ziegler.”

“I’m sorry, sir, but I’ve been given orders not to allow anyone into this room.”

“The king is asking for her.”

“Shit, give me a moment.”

Fareeha prepared herself for Saleh’s quiet entry into the darkened room and watched him approach almost comically on tiptoes.  “Boss,” he whispered, “the king is awake and wants to talk to your girlfriend.”

The captain rolled her eyes from her chair beside Angela’s bed and nodded.  “I’ll wake her.  Tell them she’ll be out in a few minutes.

With the soldier gone, she sighed sadly.  She hasn’t gotten nearly enough sleep.  “Angela, I need you to wake up,” she said softly as she shook her shoulder.

Nothing, okay.  She began to lightly slap the unbruised part of the doctor’s cheek.  “Ange, wake up.”

Come, Ange.  I’m not gonna go Sleeping Beauty on you.  That’s kind of rapy.  “Angela.  Aaangelaaa, wake up please.  Your patient wants to speak with you.”

“Noooooo,” she moaned tiredly into her pillow as she tried to roll away from the captain.  “Have Lars deal with it.”

“He’s asking for you,” Fareeha said apologetically.

“Verdammt.”  She groaned painfully as she rolled onto her back and slowly sat up.  “I suppose there are downsides to being so well known.”  The doctor went to rub her eyes but hissed in pain as she touched her bruises.  “Nuttosohn!” she groaned.

“Language, Doctor,” Fareeha said as she handed her friend a glass of water.

The older woman hummed in annoyance as she took a sip.  “How long was I out?”

“Three hours.”

“Verdammt.”

“Are you going to make it or should I tell them to piss off?” the captain asked sincerely.

She shook her head and yawned.  “I’m fine.  I just need to change . . . and get a cup of coffee.”

“I’ll let Saleh know.”

Moira felt her left eye twitch in annoyance as she felt another presence in her lab.  “To whom do I owe the pleasure this morning?”

Behind her Reyes materialized and slowly walked around her desk.  “Were you expecting someone else?”

“If not you, then Sombra,” she said shortly.  “What can I help you with?”

Reyes looked around the expansive space, Dr. O’Deorain’s assistants weren’t due for another hour and a half.  “You’ve been keeping up with the Saudi Arabian mission?”

“Of course,” she said tensely.  “That’s why I’m hosting your team after all.”

“So you know it’s a bust.”

“It appears so, yes.”

“I’m beginning to think accepting Ogundimu back into our ranks was a mistake,” he growled softly.

“Because he ignored your advice?  I would recommend allowing him to make at least one more mistake before offing him,” Moira muttered in a bored voice.

Reyes chuckled.  “I never said I wanted him dead.”

“You didn’t have to.”

“Fair enough.”  He walked to the window overlooking the man-made lake.  “I suppose we’ll have to look to another region.  At least we have Oasis-”

“Unofficially.”

“Right.”

“Is this conversation going anywhere, Reyes?” Moira asked as she sipped her tea.

He turned and approached her desk before placing his hands on its surface and leaning toward the doctor.  “You didn’t by chance convince Ogundimu that this subtle approach was the best option did you?”

“Of course not.  I was asked to program the nanobots and that was all,” she irately.  “This was his decision not mine.”

Reyes stared at her intently before nodding.  “It’s good to know your past relationship with Ziegler isn’t clouding your judgement.”

“There was no relationship,” she said shortly.  “Just science and sex.  It ended many years ago.”

“Good,” he said almost cheerfully as he walked toward the door.  “She is on my list.”

“She’s all yours.”

“Enjoy the rest of your morning, Doctor,” he said as he dissolved into a cloud of nanobots and disappeared.  

Moira sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.  The sooner these idiots are gone the better.

“Someone has warned him about my injures, right?” Angela asked as she stood outside the king’s room, sipping her coffee.

“Yes, that’s part of the reason why he was so anxious to speak to you,” Mohamed said quietly beside her.  

“Even though I didn’t perform the surgery?”

“Yes.”

“Fantastic.  I suppose we should just get this over with,” she muttered as she slowly opened the door.

Fareeha followed the doctors in and felt her jaw almost drop at the decadence of the room.  At least four times larger than the average patient room, it was filled with regal maroons and golds - the bedding and the artwork.  The king’s wife and what she assumed were his son and daughter sat nearest to the monarch.  

“Dr. Ziegler!” the man in the bed exclaimed in alarm.

*Good morning, your highness,* Angela chuckled in Arabic.  *I must admit, I didn’t expect you to wake so soon.*

*All thanks to you, from what I’ve been told,* he said earnestly.

*You have Drs. Farzi and Muller to thank, not me.  I’m afraid I was unable to aid in your surgery.*

*Modest as ever.  Dr. Farzi explained what caused my illness and how you removed the wretched nanobots.  That and the horror you experienced before setting foot in this hospital.*  The king sat up higher in his bed and waved her over.  *On behalf of my kingdom, I’d like to apologize for the treatment you’ve endured and rest assured that those responsible will be held accountable.*   

Angela sat on the edge of his bed and allowed him to squeeze her left hand.  *To be honest, I simply want to be able to go home at this point.  I fear I will not be allowed to leave the country.*

*I will send two of my guard with you on the way to the airport,* he said seriously.  *I feel well enough to put my brother back in his place, but Dr. Farzi seems to disagree-*

*Which is understandable,* Angela said soothingly.  *You have three new organs in your body.  It will take at least twenty-four hours for your body to completely adjust to the change.  My technology will speed the healing process along, but you will still need at least some time to recuperate.*

*Very well,* Azid acknowledged.  *What of your injuries, Doctor?  It looks as if they haven’t healed at all.*

She ducked her head in embarrassment.  *If I am detained while leaving the country it will be better to have proof of my mistreatment visible.*

*But you must be in pain-*

*I’ll be fine.  I’m more worried about you, sir,* she muttered quickly.  *As long as you recover, then at least this all won’t have been for nothing.*

*Then for your sake, I will follow Dr. Farzi’s instructions and rest,* he said gently.  *Thank you for coming to my aid - I will not forget this.  If home is what you desire most then I urge you to take my guard and depart.  Surely you have better things to do than watch me sleep.*

Angela chuckled, *If you are sleeping, then I will be as well.  But I have to admit, I would sleep better in my own bed.*

*Then it is decided.  Go.*

Fareeha kept her arm around the doctor as the small group made their way through the airport - Saleh ahead, Tariq behind, and the king’s guards on either side of the her, Angela, and Lars.  Almost immediately after entering the building, people began to gawk and pull out their phones.  What’s the royal guard doing here?  Is that Dr. Ziegler?

“Boss, we have reporters ahead,” Saleh said as a mob rush toward them.

Angela sighed tiredly, “Let me deal with them.”

Fareeha watched protectively as flashing cameras and shouted questions filled the air around them.  Angela shouldn’t have to deal with this on top of everything else.

The doctor stepped around Saleh and raised her hands to silence the crowd before, putting a finger to her lips.  “Shhhhh.”

The questions stopped, but the flashes of cameras continued.  “I have a terrible headache,” Angela admitted, “so if you all could stop using your flash for a few moments that would be appreciated.”  She repeated her plea in Arabic to greater success.  “Thank you.  I am going home.  My presence is no longer needed and I have yet to be charged with a crime so I am leaving.  I will give another statement after I’ve had more than a few hours of rest and, frankly, know anything worth mentioning.  Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to press on.”

“You heard the doctor,” Saleh said as he stepped in front of her and pushed through the crowd.  “Move, please or I will move you if I have to.”

Fareeha and Lars flanked the younger doctor and moved through the crowd, trying to ignore the shouted questions and flashes of cameras.  The sooner we make it to the transport the better.

“How long?”

“Twenty minutes,” Tariq said to Angela from his spot next to Saleh in the cockpit.  Instead of a commercial flight, they were taking the transport the Helix soldiers arrived on.  All they had to do was wait for clearance from air traffic control to depart.

“How are you doing, Angie?” Lars asked from the seat next to her.

“Fine,” she said tensely, not acknowledging the death-grip she had on Fareeha’s hand.  “Just curious.”

“Slow deep breaths-”

“I know.”

“Angie-”

“Lars, I’m fine.”

“Okay.”

Fareeha rubbed her thumb over the back of Angela’s hand, both to reassure her and remind her that she was crushing her hand.  It seemed to work as Angela released a long, shaky breath and relaxed her hand a bit.

“Sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it.  I’m here to protect you from you remember?”

“I owe you both dinner after all of this for how I’ve behaved this entire trip.”

Lars shook his head and nudged her shoulder.  “I just want to see you healthy and whole again.  Focus on getting better and we’ll talk about dinner then.”

“Everyone belted in?” Saleh asked.  “We’re going to taxi to the runway.”

“Home stretch,” Fareeha muttered quietly.

“The transport doesn’t need to take off from a runway.  It’s practically a helicopter,” Angela argued tensely.

“Right, but for the sake of air traffic control, we need to take off from the runway.”

“Fine.”

“How was India?” Lars asked in a transparent attempt to distract his colleague.

“Muggy and warm,” she said shortly.

“Neil and Fatima doing okay?”

“Yes.”

“They pester her consistently about her work ethic,” Fareeha supplied.

“Angie, are you still forgetting to sleep and eat?” he asked.

“I’m fine, Lars,” she said shortly, shooting a glare at the captain.

“She’s been doing better since I showed up to guilt her into resting and eating,” Fareeha said lightly.

“Good.”

“We are cleared for take off,” Saleh said from the cockpit.  “Please remain seated.”

“Almost there.”

“Not helping, Lars.”  Angela’s grip on Fareeha’s hand tightened again as the transport lifted straight up into the air.  

The captain nudged the doctor with her knee, but Angela remained stone-faced as she stared at the opposite side of the craft.

“We are on our way,” Saleh announced as the craft stopped ascending and began moving forward.  “Stay seated for a bit longer though.”

Angela let out a long shaky breath and laughed weakly as she went boneless in her seat.  “We’re really going home.”

“Yeah, Ange,” Fareeha said softly.  “You can finally relax.  We’ll let you know when were close.”

She smiled tiredly at her, holding her stare a beat too long before leaning into the captain’s side and finally allowing herself a bit of rest.

A/N: Almost done with this story, but it’s already a lot longer than I thought it was going to be.  So next chapter should be some alone time for the couple so that should be interesting to write.  

Thanks for reading!

[one-of-us-must-be-crazy]

If you're still taking the number asks, 21 and 30?

Both of these ended up super long, so it’s all under the cut!

21. How have they changed each other for the better/for the worse?

Better:

There’s a certain...calmness that Ripley has when she’s at home now. It isn’t a lack of energy or passion for her interests, or even “settling down.” It’s security. She feels safe, comforted by the presence of someone she cares about and who cares about her. She’ll work on her projects, she’ll read, hell, she actually watches saturday morning cartoons (though given Luna’s time, they air late Friday night). Once she would do things frantically and sporatically, alway worried about completing something on time or forgetting to put something away or missing some-- her partner cannot forget anything. Her anxiety has been alleviated for the most part.

Samuels is on the other side of that with the fact that he’s grown almost restless around her; while he was once passive and uninspired, he now gets bored easily. He’s grown fond of film and literature, and eventually makes vague attempts at writing for himself out of a want to do things rather than just complete tasks. Amanda encourages him; as a desk worker  he was a computer, doing the same things over and over with different data plugged in: different names, different stations, different numbers.... Being a human throughout the day requires many different kinds of activities, many of which take some trial and error to learn perfectly.

Worse:

Ripley used to sleep in whenever she could, nine in the morning being about as late as she’d ever allow herself to go, not wanting to adjust to normal hours once the weekend was over. Now though, she hates getting out of bed. And it isn’t becuase of sex, and it isn’t even entirely about romantic feelings either. Christopher is warm. Their bed is warm and cozy, and in the summer he’ll go out of his way to keep his output at a lower temperature, in which case he’s cool and relaxing to touch, and under no circumstances is she going to willingly leave that. She also spends the first year of their relationship a bit codependent, but neither of them are exactly health, and they both move on from it.

Samuels never once felt argumentative with another human that wasn’t trying to give him orders that went against his sense of morality that, despite WeYu’s best efforts, was actually that of a good person. Then he started living with Amanda. She’s bitterly stubborn, and yes, that was one of the first things he found attractive about her, but he was unprepared to come against that force on a daily basis. She’s lived alone for a long time and she’s stuck in her ways, and despite her patience sometimes his habits knock up against her own and someone has to give and who’s habits are going to be easier to change? the ones that are 26 years old or the ones that are around seven? She’ll bicker with him easily, and sometimes it’s lightherated, flirty, sometimes it’s I am doing this my way or so help me.... Instead of just letting it go, and despite his library of knowledge of the human mind he gets stubborn right back.

30. Write a short exchange of dirty talk between them. 

I am so incredibly sorry for not taking this seriously. And short? I don’t know the meaning of that word.

The first month or two, half of their conversations or more turned back around to the fact that he wasn’t the same as she was; he was trying to remind her, she was trying to show him she didn’t care. After that, it wasn’t talked about at all if it could be helped: he didn’t charge when she was around, ran updates overnight, she talked about his wellbeing in human terms when analogies worked (”Headache again?” she asked to reference one of his recurrent glitches that made close focus exceptionally overwhelming). If it became necessary to talk about him in terms of being an android it was a tense and uncomfortable conversation, one neither of them wanted to have, and one that left them both feeling incredibly guilty.

But somewhere around their 1.5 year mark....something changed. They started to get more open about it. Slowly at first, yes, but it kept going. They were joking about it, he liked teasing her about her childhood crush on Data (”You have a type.”) and she liked that he trusted her enough to help him with upkeep. And she absolutely liked his vocal glitch he almost always got during orgasm. He in turn felt a bit of...pride once again in what he was; as long as he was up to date, he was one of the most complex computers known to man, the most advanced tech in history, nearly perfect in any mathematical or logical problem he could face, and on top of it all, he was Amanda’s husband. Very proud of that last one. 

Amanda wasn’t bored, exactly, but she liked the shirt he was wearing, and liked that look of being lost in thought he had when he was trying to write: both very human and not human at once. The glasses she suggested that he wear when they’re out are forgotten on his face; he didn’t need them, obviously, but he’d left them on for some reason. She used to find them dorky as hell, but in this light, with those clothes, and his hair this length, and maybe she was a little randy, they looked really, really good. 

“Hey,” she never said she was good at the whole seduction thing. Usually her asking if he was interested was nonverbal. Or tactlessly direct. 

“Mm?” He looked up, looking around as his eyes adjusted to the glasses again and he took them off.

“Nothing, just wondered what you were working on,”

“Writing. It’s awful,” she smiled at him, at on the arm of his chair and put her arm around his shoulders.

“My tortured artist.”

“I’m hardly either of those. What exactly are you doing?”

“Thinking.”

“...About?”

“Whether or not you’re usb compatible.”

“That’s...a random and unsettling thing to ask. Though, technically speaking it’s very likely that I--”

“Because if you are...I have a question.”

“Yes?”

“If you’d like to put your drive in my port.”

“...What now?”

“Nevermind.”

“Oh no, I know what you meant but really, Amy?” he can’t laugh without running hundreds of codes at once, and doesn’t bother much with it when it’s just them. She knows from his smile and the crinkle of his eyes when he’s laughing in his mind, and he was now, horribly.

“That was awful.”

“Not the worst, but yes, awful.”

“Sorry, I’m bored. You look good tonight.”

“I’m a boredom fix?”

“You’re not romantic,”

“Drive is better than joystick at any rate,”

“I was drunk! We agreed to never mention that!” a night to the bar with her friends gone horribly wrong, a few well-intended rounds of shots to lower the tension led to her rant about his abilities, most of which she was able to get out before he clapped his hand over her mouth (”You licked me!” “Want me to lick the joystick too?” “Time to go home.”) He’d made her drink a glass of water and sent her to bed to sleep it off, against her complaints.

“I know, but you’re terrible at suggestive dialogues.”

“Why did I pick you?”

“I’m still suspect that you knew I could theoretically last as long as you wanted.”

“You know I didn’t,”

“I do but your expression is...very cute,” he lifted one of her hands and kissed the back of it. She blushed. She’d never seen someone kiss anyone else’s hand, ever. Certainly no one ever did it to her before she met him.

“Let me rephrase it then,”

“Go ahead,”

“Any interest in carrying me to our room, getting me out of this ugly uniform, and fucking me until I only remember your name?”

“If you can return the favor until I start seeing low battery warnings, absolutely.”

[kuekyuuq]

On magic spells and etiquette... [6x14] (edited)

Today, I’ll go through the episode as I watched it, so bear with me... (I will try to not dwell on the usual complaints, but focus on the positive aspects and just have myself a good time.)

Two totems in one episode!? (Well, one is yet to be retrieved.) Lotsa Supercorp? Some fun and humor, with some great acting? Especially by Nyxly / Peta Sergeant?

Alright, count me in!

OMG! It started with game-night! (Well, at least Jenga was featured...) And Lena was there!!

[gif by @lena-luthor]

Something about Lena keeping tabs on Kara makes me happy. 🌈 [SC-shipping moment: "Hopefully she'll be home soon" - not "back" or "back here"... Kara's apartment is "home", says Lena... >.> Nope, I am not reaching. YOU are reaching!] Apparently the gang has let themselves in... (I am not sold on Kara's casual bun / loose hair-do. ...If anything it makes me think of Adora...)

What is it with Lena being incapable of keeping her shoes off the couch?!

Kara is stressing out, everybody tells her to keep calm, but Lena is the one who offers something that ...could be helpful (on top of Brainy's attempts on the Legion ship).

Lena's been specifically told that magic can't be science’d - so, naturally she tried just that. XD

Lena likes the prospect of working with her daughter Nia.

Lena's reaction to William's presence is gold. (Did we miss an important scene again? So, who did he talk to to get his in into the tower? Kara? Nia? Supergirl? Was this conversation not important? Or how it took place? No? Okay.) Yes, keep Lena friggin' Luthor's identity off the record! ...J'onn, really, I am worried about you - DID you hit your head off-screen? Is that why M'gann is no longer present? She was just your imaginary friend and you projected her on everybody else's mind? Why you did forget you can shape-shift a few episodes back?

Yes, Nyxly. Another totem in National City, IS almost too easy. Almost if the show's budget didn't allow for anything else? Or as if the writers already gave up? The convenience!!

Esme is the most adorable!

Excited William is excited.

He also asks the right questions...

Alex: "Not even my sister Kara knows." ...subtle, Alex. Veeeery subtle.

J'onn 'informing' William he'd wipe his mind XD

So... Brainy, was earlier mentioned to be on the Legion ship to scan for Nyxly's ship. And... he sends those results to the tower, okay? He has to be on the ship. Right. Is not like he didn't do that from the tower before, or did he? Huh...

Nyxly being offended for the sake of the totems. ...I honestly thought the dude would put up a bit more of a ...fight before handing the totem over. But apparently I let my bias get the better of me. I had a giggle at the end of the episode, when it turns out, someone there had flipped out their phone and snapped a pic of Nyxly's entrance. And the Superfriends’ entrance! Wow...

A simple "yes" and the Humanity totem was hers? No, wait, it's still red! Did I crack the code?!

*sings to self* 🎵 Everybody was Kung-Fu-fighting! 🎶  At least the fighting choreography looks much better this time.

Nia proving her tech-prowess 😎 And calling the others out for being show-offs.

"Nyxly doesn't know we have Lena right now. That we have magic." Right, magic...

William: "You'd make a good reporter." Oh, soooo close! C'mon, William, you can do it! It's just glasses and a ponytail.

Alex d'awwwing as Sentinel over Kelly's gift by Esme was cute. Risking their identities, but cute.

I wanna know the context of this group of guys, that banded together to flip that car over, only to then return to beating each other up. Dude 1: "Hey, I wanna bash your head in!" Dude 2: "Yeah? I wanna break you ribs!" Dude 3: “Oh, I want to get a punch in, too!” Dude 1: "...let's flip that car first?" Dude 2&3: "Sure." Dude 4&5: “Awesome! Can we help?!”

So, Andrea is hacking her employees computers (without cause?), is a d*ck to their paperwork (rude), ignores the code of protecting sources' identities, has no idea how reporting / infiltrating works and threatens her employee while condescending them... Someone hand that woman a guide-book. "How to lead a media-empire for dummies". Or a book on basic etiquette. Or both.

I am still (since the promo-still release) mad at Lena for pouring two liquids together on top of her valuable and unique magic book. Girl! What are... You are a scientist! Safety protocols? General caution? Care, maybe, for your mother's book?

I've said it before, but "Lena broke my brain" is something Kara probably experiences at least once during every single interaction with Lena, hence she moved so easily past it...

Aaaand we find out that the backlash from the Humanity totem is Nyxly experiencing it. The humanity. Compassion... (I am not sure why feeling this from her made Kara flinch so hard. Compassion should be something she thrives on, no?)

Shoo, William! Don't sit so close to my Lena-pie! You may be a nice guy, but still: Shoo! You’ve got your Mary, the pediatrician! Good advice, tho! So, yes, Lena. Put your heart into it!

Oh, Esme has powers! I'm sure that won't be a problem for her new foster parents :’D

Lena's smirk after dude 'ran into Kara's fist (hand)'!!! 

Kara's bored expression was also fun.

Do I take back what I said about the budget before with the Hope totem being in Den Haag? Let's see... some sign saying something about Kazina (why does Kaznia keep popping up? William's undercover thingie, now this? Did RedDaughter happen on Earth-Prime?) ...look, a stereotypical tulip flower-bed... two more... Hnn... Nope. I won't take it back. Nyxly did look good in that uniform, tho...

What's with the secretly stealing of totems? In another country? While they know Supergirl is busy in National City? Just teleport in, grab it and port out!

Lena does magic! Actual magic! Not just a widdle fire! Real maaaaagic!!

Aaaaand it backfired. I mean, well, it did flood Nyxly with even more compassion, which saved that poor security guard's life (how did dude not hear Nyxly talk to Mitch?), but... yeah.

Yes, I d'aww'ed at Kara's unwavering hope that Lena can fix this mess... But, hon, you are putting a lot of pressure on babe there... Just sayin'.

[gif by @lena-luthor]

CHARACTER GROWTH!

Really? On TheCW!? 🤷‍♀️ ...well, it’s not much, but it’s something: 

Lena does not want to use innocent people as chess-pieces to get to Nyxly, because it is WRONG!

(I was about to scream at my screen why Kara came up with that idea in the first place - thank you, Lena! ...tho, on second thought: KARA! WTH!?)

Nia: "Mom and mom are fighting-... uhm, William? Let's go over there."

So, okay, the talk was great and all... but neither of them drew the parallel between this "for the greater good" and what Lena tried to do with Myriad? I know they act like they agreed to move on from Lena's ...well, the cluster***k that was season 5, possibly like "let bygones be bygones and no hard feelings, so we can move forward" ... but... I've seen elephants much smaller than this one in rooms much bigger! ... ... ...you know what I mean!

So, the plan is still at go. Lena's suddenly fine with putting people at risk... as long William gets to report about it / it's not a secret / in the light of day [..Dey? ---wait, is that how she got there?]? How does that make it morally... better? Girls! *head-desks*

So, the page next to the search-spell - or at least the plants that are needed for it - in Lizzie’s book is about Mabon (the witches "Thanksgiving"). Makes me wonder what the index of the book looks like. (Random?) Can't wait what HD will reveal of Lena's book.

Lena does magic; Take 2. This time: intentional fall-out! Yay?

J'onn? It's me, again, checking in. You sure your head is okay? Because I don't think "keeping people save" usually involves pulling them head-first through a car window and shoving them onto concrete.

...snow leopards? Yes, Nyxly! Priorities! (Maybe start with pandas, though...)

Oh-no, the scared foster mother wants Esme to use powers the little one doesn't even have (I bet, she's a ‘mirror’ or something) and leaves her all on her own. Nuu, poor baby!

AAAAND the new moms show up!!! Domestic superhero-wives engage!

I see now. The whole budget for the episode went into that slow-mo scene, didn't it? ...it IS a cool scene, though. I get it. The exasperated expression ("Bullets? Again? Really?") was a nice bonus. Question: Why does Supergirl jerk with every bullet that hits her? Should the momentum not do nothing to her? Did she always get pushed by bullet-impacts?

Also, we do remember redK Kara flipping peanuts and breaking bottles with them? Yes? So, did she this time 'carefully' flip that bullet back at the dude, to not have it punch through his skull / skin?

Bad CGI aside: Since when is National City surrounded by a forest'y mountain range? I thought the city was located between the ocean and the desert? Is that yet another change due to Crisis?

Kara caught the Golden Snitch! ...the Totem! I mean, the Totem!!

You go, William!

Lol, petty Andrea, with the desk-moving threat. Ish she 5? Wth...

Whee! Another Supercorp scene!!

Lena's "hey"s are my happy place... 🧡

And, there's food (again)!

Lena, really! Get those shoes off the couch! I'm sorry I have to pull this card, but: Didn't Lillian teach you ANY manners!? J'onn being unreadable to CEO-Master-of-Masks-Lena. 😆

Kara: "...open communication... no secrets..." Lena: *sees an opening* "...I wanted to thank you for pushing me out of my comfort zone and embracing my magic." Kara: "And thank YOU for reminding me, it's important to have clear boundaries with friends." Lena: *internally cries*

Food-banter. Cute! (”Potsticker me!” - “I don’t wanna use my fingers-..” ...must... get... mind... out of... gutter... argh!)

[gif by @lena-luthor]

Esme! Also cute!! Ah, Alex! Protective Alex is best Alex! ...3 2... 1... And sold! So, no words, but we all know it. Esme Danvers-Olsen! ...Olsen-Danvers? Ah, new family member!

...I wonder if Nyxly essentially skipping the Humanity totem (for now) will impact the order of achieving them (read: if the writers remember that clause).

That’s it for today~

Kue out.

[breeeliss]

plance + soulmate au where first touch generates matching color swirls?

words: 1826

lance doesn’t notice his soulmate mark until he showers that night. he’s soaping up his shoulder and he sees it – a whorl of blues, whites, and greens starting from the center of his hand and branching out towards his fingers in patterns that sometimes look like vines, sometimes like waves, and sometimes a little of both.

it never takes more than six hours for marks to show up, which means the encounter was recent – someone in the garrison, someone at the welcome ceremony, someone in the mess hall, the showers, the hallways. 

he’s patted so many people on the shoulder today – because it’s the garrison, and his kindness spills out towards everyone, even that annoying, broody kid in his piloting class that he sort of wants to smack. dozens of students. all so different. some he liked and some he didn’t. 

he doesn’t know which is meant to be the one. 

pidge knows. 

she saw the bright, handsome boy dancing through the halls and handing out congratulations like they were weightless. he grabbed her shoulder, squeezed, and screamed something in her face before continuing onto his first class. 

she stares at the handprint on her shoulder, fingers tickling the top of her collarbone because of how large and warm his hands were. the colors are bright enough to make her skin look more washed out than usual, but she can’t be annoyed with it. 

it’s such a gorgeous mark. that boy must be more than just nice to look at. 

at night, lance mourns beaches, five dollar pizza, thunderstorms, his sister tilde’s guitar playing, and the soulmate he’ll probably never meet. 

optimism is easy to speak aloud but much harder to believe. his teammates depend on his ability to ground everyone with assurances that wars always ended and families would always be waiting. lance sometimes needed to ground himself with those same promises so that he could fall asleep at night. but when he’s in the training room with keith – his mind clear as he focuses on sharpening his skills for battle – he knows earth probably isn’t in his future. he’ll likely spend his whole life ending this war, or die trying. it isn’t something he’s ever planned or asked for, but he’s here now and he intends to give all of himself for the cause. 

thoughts of some faceless stranger still taking classes in the garrison aren’t ones he tries to entertain for very long. it ruins his focus and makes it harder for him to endure. people can go their whole lives without meeting their soulmate. many people don’t marry or fall in love with their soulmate. not having your soulmate doesn’t make you incomplete. all things his mother told him as a child, and he rattles it off in his head whenever he aches for affection and dreams of falling in love. 

he has a job to do. he wishes that his soulmate, wherever they are, end up happy without him. 

the idea of a soulmate seems irreparably backwards. it’s like being handed the answer before you even get to sit down and work through a problem. the novelty and delight of discovering something for yourself is forever lost, and all you’re left with is the daunting reality that the stranger standing in front of you is supposed to be the most important person in your life. 

it’s a difficult thing for pidge to wrap her mind around especially because she never gave much thought to love or romance. most of her life has been spent trying to catch up to her brother – teaching herself to code, studying his old physics notebooks, printing out the garrison application and keeping it hung on her wall until she’s old enough to apply. now she’s stuck trying to carve through the expanse of space in order to find him while risking her life for the sake of a war she did not start and doesn’t understand. if pidge has to choose, matt will always be the most important person in her life, seconded only by the millions of people in galaxies she’s probably never heard of who look to her strength and need her to liberate them from the hell they’ve endured for thousands of years. she’s not allowed to be selfish anymore. whether or not it’s fair is irrelevant in comparison to its definitive truth. 

lance doesn’t neatly fit into any of that. 

she’s not sure how she would ever fall in love with him. he’s loud, inappropriate, immature, and expends far too much energy into making sure that he’s the most dazzling presence in the room. hunk tells her it’s because he hates to be ignored and wants to assure himself that his presents isn’t ineffectual. she understands that, but it doesn’t change the fact that her ears ring when he’s in the room, he breaks her focus when she’s trying to concentrate on something important, and his nauseating playboy act floods her with a curious surge of annoyance. 

but, all that isn’t to say that she couldn’t fall for him. lance shines in rather unexpected ways. he’s impossibly kind – so kind that he’d cut out pieces of himself to give to others while ignoring the pain it causes him. he bleeds sincerity without even realizing it, and he honestly seems to enchanted by the beauty he sees in everyone around him that he’s perfectly happy being of use to those he cares about without any consideration handed back to him in return. he isn’t just handsome to pidge in those moments – he’s beautiful. 

he’s beautiful when he carries her to bed after she’s fallen asleep in front of her computer. he’s gorgeous when he shoves her behind him in the middle of battles and takes blaster shots to the shoulder to keep her safe. he’s stunning when he links his pinky with hers and tells her that fate always rewards selfless people like her, and she’ll get her brother back because she’s too good to not have the universe give her something back. pidge can tell he isn’t quite sure if he believes his own words or not, but he knows how they serve as salves for wounds that dig deep and keep her paralyzed in bed, and she wishes her thank you’s did half the job of repaying him. 

but pidge doesn’t tell him, doesn’t show him her shoulder, doesn’t tell anyone what she knows. because there’s no place for love in war. because knowing that she eventually will fall in love with lance scares her. because she doesn’t know how to stand in front of him and tell him that someday, somehow, they won’t be able to live without each other. 

pidge just wants to find her brother and save lives. she doesn’t know if there’s space to fit loving lance into all that. 

lance sees the mark by accident. she’s fallen asleep in the common room again, and the jacket she has draped over her shoulders is on the floor when he comes to carry her back to her room again. the colorful patterns inked into her skin are achingly familiar, and he confirms his suspicions when he lays his hand over pidge’s soulmate mark and finds that it matches up perfectly. 

he feels his breath catch, and suddenly fifty other things come rushing at him and also start to match up perfectly quicker than he can catch up. 

he never had any plan for when he found his soulmate. he always assumed he’d figure it out when the time came – it might be awkward and it might be new, but when you’re sharing it with someone who will soon become the most central piece of happiness you’ll ever get to keep for yourself, but it won’t matter because everything about it will be perfect. 

now lance is standing here, staring at pidge, trying to recount all the pretty, sweet things about her in her head – her long lashes, her intelligence, her eyes, her conviction, her smile, her loyalty – and laughing at the discovery. it isn’t who he expected, but pidge makes sense. everything about pidge is straightforward and honest and lovely, and he’s never kept mum about how much he appreciates her and how thankful he is to know her. they’re friends and partners, and knowing that they could have the potential to become more – that it would be so easy, like breathing or living through a day with purpose – makes lance feel like he’s walking on air. 

it’s pidge. he likes that it’s pidge. 

he picks her up and carries her on his back, already memorizing how to get to her room seeing as how they’ve done this so many times already. lance readjusts his grip and accidentally jostles her enough to wake her from her sleep. pidge turns her head and mumbles something against his neck. “what time is it?”

“late,” lance said. “you’ve been crouched over for too long anyway. time to rest your back.” 

pidge sighs against his skin, and the shiver it causes feels loaded in a way that lance hadn’t expected. “i was keeping my posture straight like you told me to, mom.” 

“glad to hear it.” 

he opens the door with his foot and steps over the eviscerated tech projects and souped up altean handheld tablets until he’s laying her out on her bed. she’s half asleep as he tucks the blankets up to her chin and removes her glasses to rest them on the table by the bed. but lance can’t help but lay his hand against pidge’s soulmate mark and rub this thumb against her skin in the hopes it’ll lull her to sleep. he sits there by her bed until her breathing evens out and the peace that she deserves to have fill her life finally relaxes her face and gives her a respite from the world that falls into chaos quicker than she can control it. 

lance presses a kiss to her forehead and can’t help but let them linger until a flush he can’t explain warms his cheeks and leaves his heart swelling. he dims the lights as he leaves and quietly closes the door. on the way back to his room, he stares down at his hand and traces his fingers along the mark, wondering if they’re hiding some secret for the future or some explanation for what he was meant to do now. 

he covers his mouth with his marked hand and can’t help but giggle in the middle of the hallway, not caring if anyone hears him. lance supposes the answers won’t come right away and that they’ll likely be confusing. but the happiness that’s making his skin buzz and his cheeks hurt make the unknown that’s stretched out in front of them seem exciting and filled with promise. 

lance goes to sleep that night dreaming of pidge. 

[thinkingcraft-dianne]

Literature Reflection (Bridle & AI bias)

I found the podcasts by James Bridle in combination with the literature review on gender, race and power in AI give more in-depth information on topics that I have theoretically (as well as in person) touched the surface on before. Both works illustrate why it is important we mindfully use and design technology.Something that stuck with me is how less visible important institutions have become; my local bank has closed and is now almost fully operating digitally and many municipality cases can I handle online. What does this mean for societies' grip and understanding of them? Visibility and transparency are ground principles for and of our liberal and democratic system, so why not here? Visibility = responsibility: this ranges from the power relations visible in the internet cables that run under the oceans to tech companies making diversity reports publicly available. 

I never realized how John Berger's theories on seeing art can be applied to modern day technology.  Especially the radio analogy I find interesting; the same can be said for social media nowadays, where only a small percentage of its users produces content that is viewed by millions. it is often a one-way conversation which leaves its participants feeling isolated instead of conencted. This has become even more apparent during covid-19, where online friday drinks have not felt the same as in real life. Also, the power of tech companies have increased even more now more and more people are dependent on them. I have a feeling that the increase of living in this digital period will have a huge impact on the mental health of people. On the other hand, the digital realm has democratized information and discussions on this information, as there is a variety of free webinars, festivals and conferences available online, from the comfort of people's homes. This will in the end also democratize new tools and how we perceive the world around us. The way James Bridle described our relation to technology was in line with Donna Haraway's idea about living in the terrestrial. If we would see and care for technology as how we do certain animals, we would be able to re-evaluate what we can get from it. Bridle mentions that artificial intelligence can help us escape the Anthropocene and to reconnect ourselves to nature.  Though he does not mention how. However, I thought of how our living world is progressively supplied with sensors and with the resulting data, and how we can gain insights into the complexity of the interdependencies between living organisms. For instance, sensors and the datafication of forests have laid bare the complex web of communications between trees. When  researching I came across this TED Talk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvBlSFVmoaw.

This mention of changing the way we connect to our technologies reminded me of the term automation bias; the urge of humans to favour suggestions from automated systems and to ignore contradictory information made without automation, even if it is correct. Especially in covid times, people have this idea of a 'technofix', which is  based on a combination of trust in technology and limited trust in the ability, and the willingness, of humans to adapt their behaviour. We are looking for the fastest solution which will cause us to make the least amount of sacrifices; technology will fix our problem and we do not have to think about it any longer. A “quick fix” for the corona crisis, in the form of a vaccine, would quickly silence the debate on the structural causes of the pandemic and allow us to revert to our pre-corona practices in a heartbeat. Comparable to the way medication often takes away the necessity of aspiring to a healthier lifestyle. Because of this apparent lack of any human sacrifice, the idea of the techno-fix goes hand in hand with a feeling of guilt, as if, like in the myth of Prometheus, we really don’t deserve to use technology. 

The crisis is slowly taking away our illusion of the tech fix. The essence of these (false) solutions is the illusion they create that we can “save” the climate without having to change our lifestyle. The underlying belief is that we’re not willing to make a sacrifice such as travelling less, for example, or reducing our total energy use. In fact, the main notion seems to be that human beings are not or barely able to adjust their behavior at all without the clear prospect of a reward. It would be interesting to make the climate crisis sensed evenly as immediately as current pandemic. This circles back to the notion that visibility calls for understanding, thus responsibility. As it is talked about in the Bridle podcasts: technological agency and climate change are both visual problems, or rather the lack of visibility. An artwork that succeeds in visually raising awareness for this is terra0, a forest that can autonomously sell its trees and eventually, using the accumulated capital, buy itself and become a self-owned economic unit. For now, it remains an artistic experiment designed to raise awareness, but in theory you could build such a program on the blockchain to make a forest represent itself.

For me, as a woman enrolled in a technologically-focused minor in a class in which the majority of the people identify as male, the text on gender, race and power in AI was really interesting and had contained some familiar frustrations. By connecting the unequal representation of women in the tech industry to and bias systems in AI, the author suggests two versions of the same problem. I find data violence, which enacts forms of administrative power which affects some of us more than others, a relevant modern day problem. In a world in which data and facts reign and where systems are trained upon existing data sets, representation is of uttermost importance. The authors stresses that, because AI systems play a important role in our political institutions (like healthcare), we need to re-asses the relationship between workplace diversity crisis and the problems with bias and discrimination in AI. In a future and ideal world, a supervising board would examine the politics of the design of such a system. It would check how a system was constructed and whose interests shaped the metrics for success or failure. 

Understanding 'bias' in data requires accounting of the social context through which the data was produced: how humans make data in context. It is also interesting to note that companies also use data violence to shape reports on diversity to their wishes. Only accounting the 80% of the full-time workforce is data manipulations with major implications and should in my eyes therefore be considered a crime or at least punished. Again, transparency is the only way for people to know what is going on inside a company and enables the to hold them accountable and to make knowledgeable  (consumer) decisions. To say that women are inherently less confident in their computing skills, is to totally ignore the male-dominated and therefore male-designed social institutions in which many obstacles have to be overcome. This week, I found a poc female on youtube talking about her career in coding and who recommended many resourced while talking about it in a transparent and non-elite way. This made me much more interested in it, and most importantly made me feel as if I could also find my place in male-dominated sectors. Also, talking two girls who participated in a summer residency of V2_Lab for Unstable Media and seeing their work made me feel more comfortable in that area already. Seeing yourself being represented certainly boosts your confidence in your own abilities. As stated in the article, "the inclusion of women becomes the solution for all gender problems, not just those of exclusion or absence. .. their mere presence builds the table they sit at in the first place." The ultimate goal is cognitive diversity, and cognitive diversity is correlated with identity diversity. That means it's not just about women in tech. It is about broad voices, broad representation.  

I have been thinking about my internship lately, which was unpaid and in a male-led studio. I worked really hard and participated in many interesting projects. But by giving me the feeling I should already feel rewarded and appreciated by this mere participation felt empty in the end. I have been thinking about students who might not have done the internship because they could not pay their rent that way and how this influences the diversity within a studio. I believe that if you appreciate an intern, care for quality of work and giving everyone an equal chance to grow as a designer, you would pay them. This would in the end contribute greatly of cognitive diversity in the field of design, which is also has been male-dominated in the recent past.Biological determinism, as mention by the authors, is also something that is interesting during these times inn which the political landscape is under pressure. There is more unrest and focus on the pandemic, both reasons for governments to 'silently' change important laws within a country. Example of this is the current situation in Poland, were abortion rights have been almost entirely taken away from women. Former Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk  also criticised the judgement. "Throwing the topic of abortion and a ruling by a pseudo-court into the middle of a raging pandemic is more than cynical". The coronavirus crisis will be global and long-lasting, economic as well as medical. However, it also offers an opportunity. This could be the first outbreak where gender and sex differences are recorded, and taken into account by researchers and policy makers. Also for too long, politicians have assumed that child care and elderly care can be “soaked up” by private citizens—mostly women—effectively providing a huge subsidy to the paid economy. This pandemic should remind us of the true scale of that distortion and how balancing unpaid work out between all genders can lead to more diversity in fields such as tech and design as well.

[moyconsulting]

3 Skills You Need to Learn to Become Your Own Roof Marketer

Now I know what a lot of you guys might say is "I don't have the time to do something like this." But what if I said it was only gonna take you two hours a week to do this? What would you say to that?

So for the best advice on generating roofing leads online, be sure to subscribe to m2y channel and hit the notification bell so that you don't miss out on any new videos that I put out here on the channel each and every single Wednesday.

So if the thought has even crossed your mind, just this idea of taking on the role of digital marketer for your roofing company… Essentially taking the bull by the horns and thinking to yourself that hey, maybe I want to give this a shot. Maybe I wanna start promoting my own business online, but you just don't know where to start.

What do you need to start marketing roofs?

There are specific skills that you need in order for you to go ahead and do something like this. It's not a matter of just, oh, the idea's there. I'm gonna give it a shot to see how it goes. Let me break down some of the skills that you actually need so that you can think to yourself, "You know what, maybe I can do this or no way in hell I can do this."

And there's a quick side note, I do have a few spots open for a one-on-one call with myself, where we will dive into your online presence. Essentially we'll do an audit to see what you got going on and see how we can better improve your online presence and start producing more leads.

Generally speaking, you're about two or three steps away from really cracking the code as far as producing local roofing leads. And so some of you guys really just need that second set of eyes, and that's what we'll be discussing in that call.

So stick around until the very end of this video and you'll get more details on how to schedule that call with myself so that we can talk about your roofing company. So without further ado, let's jump into this topic: What skills do you need to become your own roof marketer?

[embed]https://youtu.be/RYnbGchC-mQ[/embed]

Get rid of the limiting belief

Skill number one, just get rid of the limiting belief. Now in this industry, there is this common thinking that, hey, you know what, I'm just not good with computers. I'm just not tech-savvy or I don't know how to use my cell phone, you need to get over that. So how do you get over that?

Well, it's not rocket science, just the same way that you may have started roofing when you were young, maybe you started on the ground and you worked your way up to become a shingler and ultimately you left and started your own roofing company. You had to learn a series of steps along the way for you to get from one point to another.

And it's the same thing that comes with this whole digital age. Like there's no reason as to why you as an owner in 2020, can't figure out how to post something on social media, right, it's not that complicated.

Most of these platforms, for the most part, they're very user friendly and will really allow you to, or not allow you, it will guide you into the direction that you should be going, which is posting something, right, but obviously I'm kind of simplifying this, but again, the first step is just getting yourself familiar.

Get familiar with technology

So whatever channel, whatever platform you're looking to get yourself established on, let's use Facebook for example, right. The first step is simply to download the app.

Download the app and start fidgeting, start moving around it. I get that it's not your cup of tea. But at the same time, if you are looking to grow, scale your business, you're going to need to get familiar with these platforms.

Even if you are not looking to do this yourself, you can easily, especially in 2020, with so many different marketing companies out there, you can easily get taken advantage of because you don't understand anything, right.

I've worked with clients that say, hey, you know, my previous marketing company sent me a report each and every single month. And I would ask, what does the report say? "I don't know," right. They have no clue because it's just a bunch of numbers and they don't tell you anything. And so you need to figure out a way to understand and to do so you need to start getting familiar with how the platforms work.

Get familiar with roofing leads generation platforms

All right, so now that you're getting yourself familiar with just the online space, you need to get familiar with the platforms that are actually going to produce roofing leads for you.

So with that being said, I wouldn't necessarily spend all my time learning how to Snapchat or Twitter, right? The two go-to platforms in this industry for roofing leads are generally Google or Facebook. So get familiar with the two.

Adopt your customers' standpoint

And if you're not sure as to which platform is best, start reaching out to some of your past customers. Give them a call, send them an email. Say "Hey, you know what would you do if you had to do it all over again, in terms of trying to find a roofing company in the area, what would you do?" Do you know what I mean?

Make them walk you through the entire process. And if you're not wanting to do this, just think about it, I guess logically. If you wanna think about it from a common-sense standpoint… maybe I should take that back. Maybe it's not a common-sense standpoint because if you're not familiar with the online space, then you really wouldn't know.

So let me give you two starting points. My personal platform of choice is Google. And if wanna know why, check out this video here, it will explain why I prefer Google over all other platforms.

Where to market: Commercial vs residential

But if you are in, let's say the commercial space, maybe you want to start on LinkedIn, right. It's more of a business professionals type of platform. I'm sure there are already people on there that you already know that you've previously done business with and so maybe they have a person you know or someone that they can refer you to.

Maybe you can see some of their connections but it's a platform for you to get started and familiarize yourself with because that is a place where professional business professionals do hang out.

And for residential, as I've already mentioned, Google is my platform of choice. That is precisely what we do here at Moy Consulting. We actually help roofing companies, just like you establish yourself on the most popular, the biggest marketing platform on the internet, which is Google.

And so if you're interested in working with myself, my team, and helping your company get online and start producing leads, I am not in the business of helping you get to the first page of Google. I'm in the business of helping your phone ring and making those forms submissions come in.

So if you're interested in that, there's a link down below. Be sure to click it, schedule a call so that we can get on the phone and chit chat about your company. We'll see what we can do to make something happen.

Subscribe to roof marketing channels

Now the next skill you're going to need is extremely, extremely important. Now it is very simple, very easy to have. All you need to do is be sure to subscribe to this channel. I put out content just like this each and every single Wednesday. That will help you in your journey in generating leads online. Subscribe and hit the notification bell, make that happen right now.

On top of my channel, there's also a great number of other channels that are roofing-specific that you should also follow. because they do give you very good insight, very good tips to help you and your business online as well.

So we have Roofing Insights, be sure to check them out, Dmitry is very knowledgeable. He's got great content that is sure to help you with your roofing business online and offline. Check out The Roof Strategist, check out Roof Marketing Pros. Check out Contractor Dynamics and check out Marketing 360.

Those are all really good YouTube channels for you to follow, be sure to check them out. They've got really good information, lots of insight as to how this space works, whether it be online or offline. Be sure to subscribe to them and yeah, enjoy.

Also if you know of any other channels, be sure to comment down below, tag them. I'd love to check out their channels to see what they have to offer in terms of content value. So be sure to comment down below with the URL link for their YouTube channels.

Make content

Now, this last skill you need is probably the one that you can rely on the most. And that's simply having the skill to extract your knowledge and put it in either video or written format. That is gonna help you go a long way. And it's gonna help you differentiate yourself from all of the other roofing companies.

Being able to get on camera, just like this. We all have one of these. There's really no reason as to why you shouldn't be using your smartphone to create content. Put it out there and make your audience get familiar with you and your company, your brand. And that's just gonna help you overall, right. So taking out the smartphone, is as simple as recording a 60-second video each and every single day, right. Get familiar with it.

Yeah, at first you might stumble, you might stutter, you might mess up the video. But once you get familiar with the platform, you get the hang of it. You start practicing, you will get better and better and better each and every single day.

So that is just a muscle you need to flex every single day. That's so you're able to create content just like this in video format. Send it out or publish it on the platforms where your customers, your ideal customers are usually hanging out.

So there you have it. Those are just a few skills that you need to start promoting your own roofing company online.

Book a call with me

So if you enjoy this video, be sure to like it, hit the subscribe button, and notification bell so that you get notified when I release a new video again, just like this each and every single Wednesday.

Also, if you wanna join a community of roofers just like yourself, who are learning about this forever-changing space called the internet, be sure to join my free Facebook mastermind group. The link for that is in the description down below.

And if you need any help online, be sure to reach out, schedule that one on one call with myself. The link for that is in the description down below.

So that's it for this week's video guys, I will see you next Wednesday, peace.

RESOURCES MENTIONED

Facebook Ads vs. Google Ads: Where To Generate Roofing Leads: https://youtu.be/GauyfasdOoA

Roofing Insights: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnmkHtZ2BKVutgi2Ogk9RIQ

The Roof Strategist: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSVx5TWX-m2dl6yuUVF05Dw

Roof Marketing Pros: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCds95SagK16np0RhsCZ5LJA

Contractor Dynamics: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_vekK71eCEFTioVcQ1y4Xg

Marketing 360: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2kyfjZNXSPLwUyPYaYPsdg

Be sure to join the secret Online Roofing Leads Mastermind Group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/onlineroofingleads/

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Learn More Here: 3 Skills You Need to Learn to Become Your Own Roof Marketer

Moy Consulting 60 Queen St E #103, Brampton, ON L6V 1A9, Canada https://goo.gl/maps/hodRjHCYkvtjSwFW8