#my code is not sensitive to either space nor case

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s y l v e o n ?

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s y l v e o n ?

Sylveon !

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Stranded (III)

Part 3 : Dreams And Realities

You have asked for a part three… you have been heard. Here's part three, my lovelies! And as it's May the fourth today, I had to post something SW related to celebrate. May the Force be with you all.

I'm taking liberties concerning canon architectures but… I don't care at all.

I hope you all like it :)

Fluffy fluff and angsty angst haaaaa!! Did I make myself cry with this? YEP!

Gif not mine

Word Count : 4778

You were there again. In his dream. You, your eyes shining in the dim light, the clouds left by your breath drawing surreal patterns in the cold air, the way you looked at him… Tears in your eyes and yet he could read in this gaze the truth in the words you had just spoken. He could see you meant it. You did love him…

It was just the same moment playing over again and again. You were there, before him, in that cave. Just a few seconds later, and you would be kissing his lips and…

He washed the thought away with clear, cold water, before looking back at his reflection in the mirror.

He heaved a sigh, leaning against the sink in his personal room. He hadn't put on a shirt yet, instead, he was trying to shake the dreams off his eyes. For now, it wasn't much of a success.

His room was like any other Jedi room. A few personal belongings, a simple mattress, a desk and chair, a little more room to meditate, and a window that for him faced plain East. And as dawn burnt through the sky of Coruscant, the sun shed its first rays right into his chamber. At this hour, the light fell on a part of his bed. He could have asked for curtains to avoid being bothered by the sun every morning, but he actually enjoyed being woken up with the nearest star. It was a warm way to emerge from the dark slumber of dreams.

He looked down at the bandage that still encircled his abdomen, the light of the morning giving it a golden shade. He passed his palm against the sensitive wound, and felt a little sting cross his body. For some reason, he almost wanted to press his hand harder against the cut, he didn't know why. But he didn't. Instead, he let his hand fall in the water gathered in the sink while his eyes travelled to the waking planet before him. Some light remained alit in the highest towers, he could see them glimmer a little more than the rest of the orange sky. Speeders, Jedi shuttlebuses and other civilian transportations were already flying through the sleeping city. Others seemed to be early birds like Obi-Wan, after all.

But of all this beautiful scenery he had made a habit of admiring in the morning, he now couldn't see a single thing. Even the sky that was so particularly colourful that morning, Obi-Wan could barely notice any of its beauty. His mind was too unsettled.

What was he supposed to do?

You and he had come back from Hoth a few days before. He had spent a couple of days in bed, recovering from his wound, and had been allowed to walk around the temple on his own again only the day before. You had been more than busy with your duties as a Senator for your homeworld. But now that he was able to move around again, was he supposed to go and see you? Or should he give you time and space?

You had not talked again of that kiss… and the couple more that had followed. You were both too exhausted during the trip back to Coruscant to do anything but hold hand and sleep. And then, once you had landed, you were both taken into two different medical centres: you were taken to the Republic centre, and he was taken directly to the Jedi temple. And you had been apart ever since.

He heaved a tired sigh, and put more cold water on his face, washing away exhaustion and worry. Or at least… trying to do so.

The Jedi code was clear. The Jedi Order was his life. How could he even think about doing this? How could he even see you that way?

And yet he did. It wasn't the first time his feelings made him doubt himself and his place in the Order, but this time, it was different. He was not as young as he was the last time such doubts had shaken his reality. And yet, there he was…

He pushed the thought away. He had to face one problem at a time.

First, he needed to decide if he would go and see you. He reckoned that it was what he ought to do. The matter had to be discussed. It required a conversation and more importantly, a decision on what to do next. He couldn't simply act like nothing had happened. The two of you had basically confessed your true feelings for each other. He couldn't just run away from this.

For once though, he wished he could have simply run away. It would have been much simpler, to act like nothing had happened. If he took the decision by himself to stop it all, to forget about the whole ordeal, perhaps it could be enough. Oh, how less painful it would be…

But he wasn't that man. He couldn't abandon you. He loved you too much for that.

If indeed, you and he decided to stop seeing each other, if you both decided that it was better to act like nothing had happened, then it had to be a decision taken by both of you.

What other end was there to consider, besides bidding you farewell? He didn't even know.

He felt guilty for his next thought, but he couldn't help but wish… for another way to exist.

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

 Obi-Wan had not left the Temple yet. He almost went in the upper levels of the Temple to find some tranquillity and meditate, but he didn’t. Instead, he took a walk through the gardens.

It was a peaceful place, but it was also much more buzzing with life than the meditation rooms. The sun was warm on his face, sun drops caught on the hair of his beard. Some younglings and padawan were training or chatting in different corners of the area covered with grass. Several knights seemed lost in a passionate debate on one of the benches. But all in all, there wasn’t so many people around at that time in the morning. After all, dawn was barely gone.

Obi-Wan walked through the dusty paths leading him towards the large fountain in the centre of the large gardens. Sun mingling with the droplets falling from the fountain drew tiny reflects full of colours, much like little rainbows.

Around the path, he passed before the green grass and the blooming bushes. Strange-looking flowers drenched in colours exploded in their blossom, and under any other circumstances, he would have enjoyed the sight before him. But his mind was too much troubled for that.

He walked for a moment in circles around the garden, but soon felt a tension through his wound, so he went to sit on the edge of the fountain instead. The water made the air a little cooler in that area, and he welcomed the breeze with a soothing sigh.

He had to go and see you, but how could he? It could be the end of it all, and actually, it ought to be. He would have enjoyed lingering for a little longer in a dream though.

He didn't hear his former Padawan approaching behind him. He didn't sense his presence either. It wasn't in his habit to be so distracted, and before he could even see his face clearly and the worries that made him frown, Anakin knew something was bothering his master. And he was far from stupid enough to be unaware of the cause for his friend's worry.

He sat by Obi-Wan's side on the edge of the fountain. The Jedi Master faked to not be surprised, but he wasn't very good at hiding his reaction.

"How are you feeling?" Anakin asked his friend, nodding towards his torso.

"Much better. Thank you. Still sore, but I'll soon be able to fight again."

"It's good to hear."

"Well, I don't really have a choice. Who else could keep you from getting killed or destroying the Temple?"

They exchanged an amused laugh, but Anakin here again was not fooled. He knew Obi-Wan better than he knew himself. There was something off in his laughter, something forced.

"Senator Y/L/N is safely at the Senate delivering her speech," Anakin spoke in a casual tone.

"She is right where she belongs."

Anakin studied his friend's behaviour for a moment. Obi-Wan was trying to remain stern and cold, but his former Padawan had learned to see through the knight's mask a long time ago.

"I wonder though… what happened in that cave exactly?"

"I already told you and the whole council what happened," Obi-Wan faked ignorance.

"Well… the official version, yes. What about the whole truth?"

"I didn't lie to you nor to the council, Anakin," Obi-Wan replied with a proud glint in his eyes, his stature taller all of a sudden.

"That's not what I meant," Anakin soothed his mind. "But you and the Senator were quite… close when Snips and I found you."

"It was unbelievably cold, in case you didn't notice," Obi-Wan defended himself, but the tip of his ears turned crimson.

"So… you were merely applying the basics of survival…"

"Indeed."

"And I guess this was also why you and the Senator were holding hands in the ship when we left."

Obi-Wan's cheekbones turned the same shade as his ears.

"We had both been through a very difficult time, Anakin. I was merely helping her to… feel safe."

"I see…"

But Anakin soon let out a chuckle.

"Well, you're lucky I'm not Master Yoda. In the future, you should learn to better work on your alibies."

"Anakin!"

But humour left his young friend's tone as he spoke once more, resting a hand on Obi-Wan's shoulder.

"I am not judging you, Obi-Wan. She is one of a kind."

"This kind of feelings are forbidden in the Order."

"I never truly understood that rule."

"A Jedi must love all, not only one. It's the feeling of possession, the feeling of dependence that are to avoid. Your mind must be settled on all people, not only focused upon one being."

"But you said it yourself once, that these feelings are only natural."

"But the final decision must be the right one."

"So… you're going to remain sad and alone all your life, and condemn her to the same fate, just because you refuse to bend a rule?"

"I am not sad and alone. Neither is she. And the decision is not only mine to take, although I am certain that she sees things this way as well."

He was trying to defend himself, but in his heart, he lacked conviction as he spoke. The words came out but there wasn't emotion in them at all.

"If you do love her, then what difference does it make?" Anakin argued. "You speak about not focusing upon only one person… but if the situation was to present itself, and you had to choose between saving Senator Y/L/N and anyone else, wouldn't you make the choice to save her anyway? The fact that you may be with her or not… would it change anything? Wouldn't you do anything to save her anyway?"

Obi-Wan tried to find arguments to fire back, but he failed. He hated to admit it, but Anakin was right. He heaved a sigh.

"You are supposed to be the reckless one here, not the wise one," he merely replied with faked annoyance.

"What can I do? My Master taught me well."

"Too well, clearly."

"Have you talked to her yet?"

"How could I have done so? I was trapped in here. Remember the wound?"

"But now you can walk just fine."

"I was about to go see her before you arrived and kept me here, actually."

"Were you?"

"I was."

"You still didn't tell me what happened in that cave though."

The two men chuckled.

"Another time perhaps," Obi-Wan laughed as he stood, and he had a tender glance for Anakin, before turning on his heels and leaving the garden.

Anakin was right. Obi-Wan hated to admit it, but Anakin was right.

He hated it when Anakin was right like that…

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

 You were back in your personal chambers, alone. Finally. The session of the morning had been a tensed one. Padmé had brought a lot of attention to herself in her plea to help neutral systems that suffered from Separatists embargo. You agreed with her, of course, but her direct phrasing had forced you to defend her often.

It was only the middle of the day, but you were already exhausted.

You couldn't solely blame your friend's reckless words though. Obi-Wan didn't seem willing to leave your thoughts…

You couldn't stop thinking about him. About what had happened in that cave. About the way he held you close, how his fingers felt around yours and… that kiss…

If you closed your eyes you could almost feel his lips on yours all over again.

You lifted up your eyelids again, blinded by the warm sun shining through the large window of your apartment.

Perhaps it was the feeling of his lips that lingered upon yours, or perhaps it was just the sun…

You should have gone to see him already, but you didn't dare. You were so deeply worried about him, you tried to find any piece of information about his health that you could. If news were reassuring, you still would have enjoyed to see it all by yourself. But you didn't dare.

You didn't want to compromise his status in the Order. And you didn't want to have this talk with him, the one that would have to take place whenever you would see each other face to face again. The one that would most certainly break your heart.

You already knew how he would go. He would be gentle and sad and he would mean every word of it.

He would explain how he meant it all that day, in that crevasse. How he did have feelings for you. But also that he was a Jedi, that he had responsibilities, duties, and that such feelings were forbidden. And he would always choose the Jedi Order over you, he had to. You knew it. The Order was his life, his family… it was him on so many levels. And you could never let him sacrifice such an important part of himself for you. You loved him too much for that.

You already knew perfectly how it would all go, so why suffer even more by hearing it for real? What was the point in that?

You walked onto your balcony, the sun even warmer outside. You watched the flying transports moving through the city, the sunlight glistening on the tall buildings, the lazy cumuli peacefully floating high in the sky…

And you closed your eyes just to feel him holding you again…

"Senator Y/L/N, there is a visitor to see you."

You didn't move a muscle, you didn't open your eyes, you didn't stop the memory from washing over you. Instead, you merely asked your protocol droid a very simple question.

"Who?"

But his answer had your eyes open wide.

"Master Kenobi is at the door. He asks to see you."

Your heart was suddenly pounding. Your palms were wet. Your throat tightened. You lost your gaze on the traffic again, but couldn't see anything but the blinding sun…

There was no way out though… it had to be done.

"Make him come in please, and then, leave us alone. And make sure we are not interrupted, please."

"Of course, Senator."

You heard the droid walking away. You heard the door closing. You guessed the quiet steps of the Jedi Knight too. But all the while, you kept your eyes on the city laying at your feet.

You were waiting for Obi-Wan to reach you, but it took longer than you had expected.

The reason was simple: the Jedi was standing before the glass door leading to the balcony that you had left open in your wake, and he was staring at you. His heart wore such a crazy pace, he was short of breath all of a sudden…

You were so beautiful like this, bathed in sunshine.

He took several seconds standing there, motionless, merely taking you in. Eventually, he did move onto the balcony and stood a couple of steps behind you in a respectful, chaste demeanour.

"How is your wound?" you asked in a voice you tried to prevent from shaking.

"Much better. Still a little sore, but… nothing that time and rest will not mend," he answered in a soft voice, but a blank tone.

"I'm glad to hear it. I was worried about you… I thought my favourite bodyguard had been broken."

"It takes more than a shaky landing and a snowstorm to get rid of me."

"I can see that."

You fell silent, and for a moment, Obi-Wan didn't really know what to say. He found himself uncomfortably at a loss for words all of a sudden. Unusual fact for him, he always was so prompt for sassy remarks as well as soothing wise words. But not this time. This time his mind was working as fast as it could but remained blank all the same.

But he didn't have to speak, you broke the heavy silence first.

"I know what you're going to say. I know it all already. But before you say it all, can you do one last thing for me?"

Your voice was calm. Soft. Soothing even. There was such a grace in your tone, something almost royal in the sternness that your voice wore.

"Of course," he merely answered. "Anything."

Finally, you turned to him.

He was lost in your eyes in a second. An instant was enough for you to capture his soul and heart all over again…

It was painful, the way he loved you. It was a weight on his heart that didn't seem to slow its crazy pace. It was a punch in the stomach that left him breathless. It was a fire coursing through his veins and leaving him endlessly burning and yet he had never felt more alive. It was this piercing truth shattering his heart and yet, he knew that no matter how this conversation would end, he would never regret loving you. Even if it meant losing a part of himself with leaving you, even if it meant breaking his heart, even if it meant dying a little… loving you was the best thing that had happened to him, and no matter how badly he would be hurt in the end, he would never regret this moment with you in this cave. And he would never stop loving you. Even if he could only love you from afar, his feelings would not falter.

He realized as you spoke again that barely a second had passed since your stare had caught his.

"Can you hold me? For just a moment?"

You sounded so fragile now. Your voice was shaking, a little more high-pitched than usual. He didn't say a word, and merely nodded and opened his arms for you.

You slipped in his embrace like you had been made to rest there. It felt so natural, so right… how could this be a bad thing, if it felt so right?

You wrapped your arms around him, losing one of your hands in his short hair and burying your face in his shoulder. He was holding you tightly again him, the same way he had on Hoth: a strange balance between a delicate embrace as if he was afraid to hurt you, and a tight hold that revealed how much he wanted you there, in his arms.

Your eyes just like his were closed. You breathed deeply his soft scent of candles and sun, memorizing everything all over again, just like you had in the cave. And he did the same.

For how long did the two of you remained like this, standing motionless in the sun? You had no idea. And he didn't know either. None of you could feel time flying by, this embrace was all that remained in the whole galaxy.

Eventually, you tightened your hold on him, lifting your chin just enough to bring your lips closer to his ear.

"Alright. Go ahead. Say it. Say it all…"

He cleared his throat before being able to speak again.

"How can you know what I want to say?" he asked back.

"Because I know you."

How could he argue with that statement?

"Y/N… I…"

It was his turn to tighten his hold on you and bury his face in the crook of your neck. But he did speak anyway.

"Y/N… what happened in that cave… I meant it. I really did mean it. All of it. I…"

He almost said the words, but couldn't.

"I do feel this way," he chose to speak instead.

Slowly, you nodded.

"I know, Obi."

He heaved a sigh, and detached his face from your neck, looking at you again. He raised his hand to cup your cheek, and you leaned into his touch.

It was exactly how you knew it would happen. First, he told you he meant it all. Then…

"I'm a Jedi, and you're… you're a Senator… We… we are not supposed to fall in love and be together. These things don't happen to people like us. We are supposed to live a lonely life while being surrounded with people."

… then he told you he was a Jedi and he couldn't be with you. And finally…

…finally he broke your heart.

He took a moment to collect his thoughts though. To gather the right words in his mind before speaking them. He needed to say it all the right way.

"I'm not allowed to love but I…"

He stopped mid-sentence, his eyes leaving yours to rest on your lips and jaw instead, and he seemed to change his mind. A small smile appeared on his features.

"Anakin told me something very wise earlier this morning. And I hate to admit it, but his logic was quite convincing."

He looked up at your eyes again, and this time, his stare didn't falter.

"I'm a Jedi and my duty lies in Peace. In protecting those who can't protect themselves. In the defence of the Republic and what it represents. It has been so all my life. But I can't do only that anymore. Not since I met you. No matter if we are together or not, my heart will always be beating for you, and I will always do whatever it takes to keep you safe. And by doing so… I'm already breaking my vow, in a way."

He took a sharp intake or breath, before speaking again.

"I am not the only one who has to take a decision, of course. And if you don't want me to stay, then I won't. If you don't want me to stay, I'll…"

You could see tears shining in his eyes as his voice broke. There was something desperate in his gaze, something passionate and yet calm. As if by taking a decision, he had found peace, but the confession stirred something inside him that he had never dared to act on until now. But there was so much truth in his eyes, and his hold on your cheek was such a tender caress and… you could barely breathe at all…

"If you don't want me to stay," he went on with a voice a little lower and deeper than usual, "I'll leave. I'll walk back to the Temple and leave you alone. And I won't try to see you again unless our duties call for our paths to cross once more. I'll go back to my room and in a few weeks, I'll leave for another world to fight while you are busy in the Senate. And our lives will go on unchanged and I will act as if nothing happened in that cave. Or…"

He paused for a second, moving his fingertips to rest in your hair, his thumb brushing across your cheekbone, making your heart pounding even more. You watched as he moved his head ever so slightly to the side, the sun caught in his hair and beard in a slightly different way through this angle, and you noticed every reflect of it. You were suspended to his words in such a way that you couldn’t move or speak or even think.

Because for now, all these words he had spoken, you were expecting them. But there was this 'or' that you had not foreseen, and all your crazy hopes relied on this single word. His voice a was little more fragile as he went on, a little more uncertain and yet you could see hope glimmer with the tears in his eyes now.

"Or you can ask me to stay and… I could stay for lunch. We could have a walk this afternoon and talk about your homeworld, and how Anakin drives me crazy, and the war, and peace. And when twilight arrives, we could have dinner together, and we could part for the evening with a little more than a 'good night'. And I could come back tomorrow and we could do that all over again. And on and on until I'm sent to the front again. And for a while we'll be apart, and I'll fight as a Jedi while you fight as a Senator, different battles but for the same goal. And once this war is over, and I am not as needed as I am now as a Jedi, and your duty as a Senator is over as well, perhaps we could… leave Coruscant for a while. Or forever."

You felt the tear run down your cheek but you were too shocked to react to it and brush it away. You tried to make sense of his words, but you weren't sure of their meaning yet. You had heard them, but could you believe them?

"You… Obi… You would leave the Order…?"

"When the war is over and the danger is passed and…"

But he interrupted himself, and merely nodded instead, running his finger through your hair.

"If you ask me to stay, I will."

"But it's your life! The Order is your life, you can't abandon it all! I can't let you throw it all away!"

"But you are my heart. I can't abandon it so easily either, can I? Unless… unless you don't want me to stay. And then I'll leave. I've made my choice by giving you this offer. But you have to choose as well. And whatever your choice might be, I will respect it."

You kept on staring at each other, but no words would pass your lips. Your fingers had gone numb with all the shock, resting on his shoulders but unable to hold on the fabric of his shirt anymore.

And you remained silent. For endless seconds, that turned into minutes, you were speechless and he was going mad…

He held you against him more tightly again, moving his lips towards your ear…

He wanted to ask you to tell him to stay. Just a few words that he wanted to ask so badly. He wanted you to choose him. He shouldn't, and guilt was a feeling he knew he would have to struggle with, but he loved you too much to act any differently. He just wanted to ask you to do one thing, one simple thing, just to stay…

Tell me to stay…

How he wanted to speak the words on the tip of his tongue. But he didn't.

Instead, he gave you a few more seconds, but you didn't make a sound. So, he closed his eyes as his heart shattered. Despite the pain, he didn't regret anything. It was worth all the pain.

He moved to drop a chaste peck on your temple, taking your silence for an answer, and he slowly released his hold on you.

"Farewell then, my love."

He took a step towards the door and away from you, turning around in a slow movement. But you didn't let him take another step. You took his hand in yours before he could move away again, and he turned to you once more.

"What about Koyo Melons for lunch then?"

You exchanged a bright grin.

And the next second, you were back in his arms and when you closed your eyes again, his lips weren't on yours in a dream, but in reality.

*********************

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[crushedbyhyperbole]

Feeling’s Mutual

Summary:  When Bucky Barnes agreed to join The Avengers he didn’t know what to expect.  There was kindness and support, more than he could have hoped for, and understanding.  There was also misunderstanding.  Dr Veronica Edwards is a hurdle Bucky can’t seem to get past.  Why she doesn’t like him, he has no clue but it’s obvious to him that she really doesn’t.  When routine testing on the new prosthetic arm puts him in Dr Edwards med-suite he finds himself angry at the lengths his new team will go to in order to keep him on a leash.  After that, Bucky decides that maybe he doesn’t like her much either.

Word Count:  4284

Warnings:  Self-loathing and a smattering of PTSD with some mild language thrown in.

A/N:  This is part one of my Muscle memory series..POV Bucky Barnes, first person.  Set between CA:CW and A:IW, with some of the later story mixed in.  I do what I want, okaaayyyy.

“Good morning, Sergeant Barnes.”

Dr Veronica Edwards’ smooth voice surprised me.  She was standing in for Dr Harvey while he was off sick with a stomach virus.  I wasn’t expecting to see any of the ladies here this morning, so I hadn’t bothered with anything more vigorous than a quick wash and a cursory brush of my teeth.  You know how you regret not doing something just when it’s too late?  Yeah, this was one of those.

Being dapper had been part of my persona, from back before Hydra, before trigger codes and before the war; a man should always make an effort when ladies are present.  I supposed that was all out the window now my reputation had changed and I wasn’t James Buchannan Barnes, ladies man, any more. I was Bucky Barnes, Winter Soldier.

I winced as the shadow of a memory flickered in my minds eye like a film reel running too fast, showing snippets of the film in between its skips and jumps on the projector;  a murder here, a massacre there, they all flowed together in a tapestry that was as blurry as it was busy.  The reel skipped off completely and I refocused on her face.

Dr Edwards smiled warmly, moist-looking nude lips curling upward gently making the peachy complexion of her cheeks seem radiant and her green eyes sparkle with kindness.  I knew that was just her bed-side manner, so to speak, to be kind and considerate to all of the people she assisted, but honestly it made me feel a little uneasy.  In my extensive experience, niceness was either a weakness, a grave miscalculation or a form of manipulation, and I trusted none of it. But I was trying to change that with the help of Steve and the folks here at Avengers Central.

Striding further into the room, looking thoroughly classy in my black jersey sweatpants and crumpled white t-shirt, I squared my shoulders and tried to push the uneasy feeling aside. I regretted wearing the two-day-old clothes, but the Doc didn’t seem to care how scruffy I was.

Dr Edwards was always pleasant, courteous and respectful.  She was also confident and empowered, and it made me feel pretty vulnerable.  She knew who she was, and what she wanted.  That kind of strength was rare and it made me feel, uhhh, inadequate.

“Shirt off please.” She held eye contact for a moment longer than was comfortable.  “Take a seat when you’re ready.”  She gestured to the blue, leather-cushioned examination table to her right.

Hopping up, as instructed, I stripped my shirt off to reveal musculature that I was proud of (super-soldier serum aside - I’d worked hard to stay in shape), and the scarred juncture where my flesh ended and the arm began.  I bunched the shirt up at my side and shook out both arms, getting ready for the exam.

Dr Edwards, had conducted my monthly exam only three times in the past.  Each time she had neither been impressed nor distracted by my semi-naked glory.  Perhaps that’s part of the reason why she made me uneasy.  In the past, women had always thrown themselves at my feet, without my asking them, they’d been there flirting and giggling and vying for attention.

Not Veronica, she was in her own category, she didn’t even bite at the little flirtatious jibes I sometimes made towards the ladies on the team.  With the exception of Nat, Wanda, and Pepper, all of the female SHIELD agents and Stark Industries staff were either terrified of or swooned after me.  Well, me, Steve and Thor.  It was hard to compete with the two big blonde guys but Nat said I still had it.  Whatever it was.

Shame my sex drive wasn’t the same as it had been before, well, before hydra.

“How are you finding the latest modification?”  Dr Edwards said, holding her hand out casually asking for permission to examine the arm.

I lifted the tech arm, laying the wrist into her palm lightly.  I could feel so much more through the articulated metal casing than I could before, it almost felt like she was really touching my skin.  Her hands were cool, smooth and soft, and her fingers were delicate as she deftly turned the metal hand over in hers until our palms were touching.

“It’s fine.”  I said gruffly, the feel of her skin on the metal was distracting and oddly intimate.

“It’s taking you a while to get used to the enhanced tactile responses I take it?”

I’d worn a leather glove over the metal hand since Shuri had come up with this new upgrade.  It was like sensory overload, overwhelming me with intense feeling that my brain could hardly cope with.

I simply nodded, for want of a better response.  She was so intuitive.  I’d hardly spoken with her but it was like she could see right inside me and pick out the parts that she needed to know.  How could anyone defend against that?  Maybe she had a telepathic power.  Steve would know.  I decided I’d ask him later when we both hit the gym.

“It’s ok to be overwhelmed. I can turn the sensitivity down for you today if you’d prefer, or you can continue wearing the glove and just ease yourself in slowly?”

In truth, I didn’t really like to be tinkered with.  And I only went along with this monthly exam because Steve had made it mandatory in order to make everyone feel safer, and for my own good, apparently.  That’s what he’d said anyway.  I couldn’t argue with his reasoning really.  I had a past that was impossible to escape and a reputation for murder and brutality that went with it.

“I’ll just do it myself.” I’d succeeded on my own for so long, so I should be able to overcome a few issues with feeling things.

“No problem.” Veronica said, plugging a ribbon cable into the port just inside my metal armpit.  “Right then, show me your range of motion.  Start with fingers, then wrist, elbow, and shoulder.  I’m looking for improved flexibility in the rotator cuff from last time when we fixed the pinching at the shoulder.”

I wiggled all the parts she asked me to with no discomfort at all.  The tech felt the smoothest it had ever been, almost like it was a real arm but I would always see it as foreign, never think of it as mine.  It was something I wore, like shoes, necessary and functional.  I knew I’d feel off-balance without it, and fighting would be difficult.

With the arm Bucky Barnes was a fully functioning member of The Avengers.  Without it he was a pity case, or at least that’s how it felt.

“Step up to the testing machine, please Sergeant Barnes.”  She didn’t look up from her tablet, but she stepped confidently to the control panel with the ease of someone who had memorised the space and knew exactly what was where.

I had never seen that machine before.  It looked a little like a mini hydraulic crusher.  Eying it suspiciously, I slid off the exam bench and approached, shirt forgotten on the table.  The diagnostic cable was still plugged in under the arm and although I couldn’t feel the physical connection, I could feel the flow of power as data passed from the arm to the tablet in Dr Edwards’ hands.

“This is new.”  I licked my lips, slightly nervous.

New things made me uneasy. New things were variables, variables were risks, risks were dangerous.

“It’s a custom-made tensile strength machine, made just for you.”  She smiled brightly as if I should be flattered that they’d come up with a new way to scrutinize me.  “Only instead of testing the strength of the metal your arm is made from, it measures the crushing ability and the strength of your arm in a way we can compare easily with other things for example the tensile strength of structural steel is around five hundred mega pascals.  Human skin is around twenty mega pascals.  Vibranium, well, vibranium is significantly higher at fifty giga pascals but that doesn’t reflect the force you can apply with your arm, if you know what I mean.”

I didn’t.  Not really, but I wasn’t about to ask her to elaborate. She was smarter than most of the techs working at Stark Industries, I’d heard the iron-skin-suit call her brilliant but until now I’d never seen her as anything more than a junior tech.

“You made it?”  I asked with a frown.

“Helped design it yes.” She held my gaze almost as if she sensed my disapproval.

Trust a woman to come up with new ways to test and torture me.  As if I hadn’t had enough of that my whole super-soldier life.

“What do I have to do?”

Veronica ran through the protocols and procedures, and I got the feeling she dumbed it down a little when she described it as ‘weight training for your enhanced limb’.

Slotting the arm into the device, I patiently waited for her to check and double-check the alignment and safety measures.  The commands of pull and squeeze seemed simple enough to follow.

“Are you ready to start the test, Sergeant Barnes?”

I nodded with another frown. She was going to start thinking I hated her, and probably start calling me ‘him’ instead of just my military title. It wasn’t lost on me that Veronica was one of very few people who never called me by my preferred name ‘Bucky’, she was always so formal.

“Ok, and pull for me.”

I compressed the arm in a bicep curl, feeling the machine’s tension counteracting my efforts.  It was like pulling an oar through water to begin with.

“And again.”  She commanded.  “Keep repeating until you meet maximum resistance.”

“How will I know when that is?”  I curled again, feeling the weight against the arm increase.

“You and the machine will reach an impasse.  You won’t be able to pull any more.”

I mumbled a nondescript acknowledgement and continue to work the arm.  At first it was easy, I curled quickly but after a few minutes I found it much tougher.  The machine ramped up the difficulty quickly after my initial efforts and then I was grunting, sweating, and straining against the mechanism.

“Good.  Good!”  She praised and I felt a little hotter in the face with either a blush or sweat, it was hard to tell right then.  “Keep going, you’re doing great.”

After a few more curls the machine locked up and I couldn’t move it any further.  I strained and yanked at it, grinding the mechanism until the arm was locked up too.  I glanced at Veronica, panting and flustered from my exertion.  She disengaged the machine and, with a hiss, the hydraulics powered down.  She took notes quickly before setting up the next task.

With the arm still fixed in the device, I couldn’t move anywhere.  It was like that time that Steve caught me in some factory machinery and forced me to remember who I was.  I was eternally grateful to him for never giving up on me but the feeling of helplessness wasn’t something I enjoyed a replay of.

Sweating, and with regret, I wished I could reach my shirt to blot my face.  I hadn’t realised the exam was going to be so physical, and goddamn if I hadn’t been clenching just about every muscle in my whole body whilst fighting against the damn thing.  Even my crack felt sweaty.

“Is there anything I can get you before we start the next stage?”  Her voice was soft with concern.  It was unnerving how well she read me.  “Do you need to rest?”

“I’m good.”  I said, pride making a fool of me.

“Ok, well let me dry you off a bit.  The port is still connected and should be dry when open.”

I blushed hard at that. She was telling me that I was too sweaty.  Gross. I frowned, embarrassed, and shied away from her touch when she brought a wad of paper towels to my brow.  It had been the very thing I had wanted but not from her.

Her hands were still quite cool but she felt colder against my heated skin.  Too close, she leant over me to smooth the moisture from my body. Swiping the tissues over my face, neck, shoulders and chest, Dr Edwards watched me curiously.  She had to know she was tormenting me.  How could she not notice my flared nostrils and ragged breathing? This kind of physical contact wasn’t something I felt comfortable with.

Tense and scowling, I held my breath, tolerating the contact as much as I could.  She continued with her ministrations until she was satisfied with the dryness of my skin.  It had been too personal in contrast to the formality of her pervious interactions with me. Never more than polite yet professional conversation, zero contact outside of the examination room or combat training, limited off-duty interaction.  It made me feel confused and uneasy.  There was something about her that put me on edge, made me listless.

“The second part of the test is to gage the pressure you can generate with your hand.”  She said, creating space between us that I welcomed. “I’ll do come calibrations after that if needed and we can have a chat about your needs.”

“My needs?”

My heart thudded once, twice, three times before I got it under control.  Why did I have to talk about myself with her?  Dr Harvey was unassuming and easy to ignore.  I didn’t mind talking to him because… Why?  Because I didn’t feel…  Feel what?  Because he wasn’t… Wasn’t what?  Because she made me feel…  Oh for Christ sakes, WHAT?

She made me feel threatened, made me feel nervous.  Veronica made me feel like she didn’t really like me all that much.  The coldness she gave me when she was friendly with everyone else, first names, laughing, joking, and the ease of casual contact.

“Come again?”  I sought clarification.

Oh, Buck, why did you have to make it sound like that.  Like what? Like that?

The way she eyed me then, I didn’t know if it was hatred or something more predatory.

“I don’t follow.”

“Some people prefer to have prostheses that do what they tell them.  Unless you have a penchant for crushing instead of caressing.”

I’m sure my mouth was flapping in the non-existent breeze.  Agape and floundering, I had nothing to say.  Stuck in the idea that flirting and bitterness were one and the same thing to her, or maybe it was too subtle a difference for me to separate the two, I blushed crimson.  Then it struck me that maybe she was goading me about my past.  It was no secret that The Winter Soldier had crushed more than a few windpipes in his time.

“Fine.”  I said, swallowing dryly.  “I’m ready to carry on.”

“Very well.”  And just like that, her stone-faced stoicism was back, with polite professionalism draped over the top.  “Please let your hand relax and fall open.  Good.”

A device with five finger shaped recesses arranged around a silvery ball lowered and rested in the palm the metal hand.  I could feel the metal on metal contact creating a strange thrumming vibration through the arm.  It felt like when I had handled Steve’s shield; a tell-tale sign that vibranium had been used to make this device.

“I’m going to ask you to hold an object, and I would like you to use your muscle memory to create the pressure with your prosthesis.  The machine will respond, mimic the item and measure the results.  It sounds harder than it is.  Ready?”

I nodded, just wanting to get this over and done with.  The sooner this was over, the sooner we could have our ‘chat’ about my needs, and the sooner I could hit the gym with Steve. The punching bag was definitely going to get ruined today.

“An apple.”

The device in the not-my hand seemed to have the same resistance against my grip as would a firm green apple.  I held it, turning it in the not-my fingers.

“Good.  See, you got it.”

Dr Edwards’s praise was both frustrating and pleasant.  I didn’t like the feeling of wanting to please her, but at the same time it was nice to hear her soften towards me, even slightly.

“An egg.”

The machine adjusted slightly and I could feel the fragility of it against the prosthetic fingers.

“A feather.”

I pinched my thumb and forefinger, holding the imaginary feather in between.

“The hand of a loved one.”

Well, shit, if that didn’t throw me for six.  The way the machine moved around my hand gave me chills.  It slid between my fingers, and almost felt real for a second before I managed to distinguish the materials from real skin.  I hardly touched skin with the prosthetic anymore, except my own.

“A mouse.”

The machine wriggled against my palm.  I held it loosely in the cage of my fingers, just firm enough that it couldn’t escape.

“Excellent.”

The test carried on like that for several more minutes before Dr Edwards removed the mimicking device and switched to something that looked like a hand dynamometer.

“Ok Sergeant, I’m going to ask you to squeeze as hard as you can.  This will create a maximum pressure output for me to work with.  What I’m going to do afterwards is set some values into the prosthesis’ programming that will allow you to quickly achieve an exact pressure to accomplish a task.”

“Like what?  Break a bone?”  I scoffed, and before I even looked at her face I knew that was exactly what she had meant.

“Not just that.  But also how not to break a bone.”  She had the sense to look a little abashed.

Dr Edwards had read my file, of course she had, they all had.  She knew when she agreed to run these tests that she were going to be programming instant kills into me or programming me to stop just short.  My money was on the latter.

“And you couldn’t just tell me that this was what it was all about?  Nerfing me so I don’t lash out and kill someone.”  Irritation seethed up my spine and settled as heat in my face. “I get it, I really do.  But I’m a person, not a tool.  Would it kill ya to include me in decisions about, well, me?”

“James…”

“Don’t.”  I shut her down.  “Get the test finished.  I’m done after that.”

When she said my name, my heart almost stopped.  Gone was her formal, guarded façade.  In its place was concern and a look of such sadness that I just didn’t know what to do with myself.  How do you deal with a switch like that?  And fuck me if I wasn’t simultaneously happy as a school boy on the first day of the summer holidays and irritated enough to rip that damn machine apart and storm out of the med wing.  Steve was gonna get a tongue lashing from me before the day was done.

Her face was pale and remorseful as she started the machine off on its cycle.  I squeezed that damn thing as if I was squeezing the life out of the sonofabitch who turned me into a killing machine, squeezed like I was crushing all of the hatred I felt for myself, squeezed like my life depended on it. Who knew, maybe one day it would.

Dr Edwards sent the data to my prosthesis and closed me up.  She was silent but continued to search my face for something, hope maybe, I dunno.  She wasn’t going to find anything.  I was about ready to shut down and stay the fuck away from everyone and everything until I got a chance to have things out with Steve.

I got up to leave, scooping my crumpled white tee off the exam table as I went.

“Good day, Sergeant.”

I closed my eyes as her coldness returned.  Stood in the doorway shirtless and feeling used, I paused, not looking back.

“Dr Edwards.”  I nodded curtly, showing my face in profile only, before striding off in search of something to beat on.  She didn’t need to receive my frustration, she wasn’t the only person, or even the main person, to oversee everything ‘Bucky’.  Rogers and Stark, each had equal hands in this.

 “We didn’t think about it that way, Buck, I’m sorry.”  Steve said.

He held the Everlast bag still for me as I slogged into it.

“That’s the thing about being a weapon most of your life.”  I said smacking the bag hard enough to make the stuffing start to crumble out of the seams.  “Everyone sees you as inhuman, even yourself.”

“That’s not how I see you, man.  You’re my best friend.  I want what’s best for you.”

“And what’s best for me, Steve?  Programming? A kill-switch?  Cyanide implant?  You’re acting just like HYDRA.”

“Whoa!  No-one said kill switch or cyanide.”

I pummelled the bag until the seam split completely and the broken filling plumed out onto the floor. Stepping back, I saw Steve was genuinely upset.

“Sorry punk.  I didn’t really mean that.”  I held my hand out.  “I’m just pissed off.”

He tagged me and smiled dryly.  All was forgiven.

“I’ll get them to lay off on the hardcore controls.  To be honest I didn’t even see that mandate in the requisition forms so I’ll look at that again.  Just please tell me you didn’t terrorise Vee.  She’s one of the best we have and she’s cool.”

“Dr Edwards?”

“Yeah Veronica.  You didn’t scare her, did you?”

“Nah, I was angry but not that angry.”  Had I scared her though?  “I doubt she’d take much notice of anything I said anyway, she doesn’t like me…”

“Whatever, dude.”  He said dismissively.

“…And she’s not the sort to rely on the opinions of others to fashion her idea of her own self-worth.”

“Wow.”  Steve half laughed, blinking his shock away.  “You know her well.”

“We hardly speak. She’s always so formal.  With you it’s Steve this and Steve that, or Cap, yeah she calls you Cap.  And you’re like ‘oh Vee you have to see this movie’ or ‘Vee can you come explain this report to me’.”  I nattered like a bitchy college girl slating her BFF.  “With me it’s Sergeant Barnes, or just Sergeant.”

Steve laughed.  “Are you jealous, Buck?  Have you found a woman who you can’t charm?”

“Haven’t tried.  You know when you can tell that someone hates your guts?  Besides, my charming days are over.”  I waggled the metal arm.

“Some people are gonna find that hot.”  A sultry voice interrupted.  “Can you make it vibrate?”

Natasha flashed a flirtatiously shocked ‘oooh sir!’ face which had me busting out laughing and Steve groaning.

“Don’t worry Barnes. You’ve still got it.”  She licked her finger and touched her chest, making a ‘tsssss’ sound before she mouthed the word ‘hot’ and sauntered away to the locker room.

“She really knows how to play on my insecurities.”  I said deadpan, making Steve crack up.

By the time we both stopped laughing, I actually felt better.  The kind of camaraderie we shared was one of the things that kept me going, through all of this.  Nat was one of my closest friends and even though she loved to mess with me she also knew when not to push.  That stunt she had pulled, maybe an hour earlier, might not have gone down so well. Her timing was impeccable, unlike mine.

After cleaning up and winding down I met Steve back in the kitchen where he was making a protein smoothie.

“Want one?”

I nodded, sitting at the counter.  I wasn’t gonna turn down a free smoothie.  Life was full of little gifts, like food you didn’t have to make yourself and, apparently, people who wouldn’t drop a damn topic.

“Seriously though, you need to get over this thing where you automatically assume people don’t like you, man.  Maybe try to open up a little.  Have a little fun.”

“Yeah, ok, Marilyn Hickey. Sure, a little bit of good old Christian fun sounds like just the ticket.”  I slapped my thigh and winked.

“Fuck off, Buck!”  He blitzed the smoothie maker, trying to drown out my retort, no doubt.

“Ooooh!  You kiss your mother with that mouth?”  I said, chuckling.  “I miss Nick, where is he when you need him, huh?”

“Stop deflecting.”

“I dunno what you’re talking about, buddy.”

“Not what, who.”  He slid the smoothie-filled glass over to me. “Talk to her.”

“Drop it, Steve.  I don’t care if she doesn’t like me.  I’m getting along just fine without an extra person up in my business.”

I downed the thick pinkish goop in the glass, it didn’t taste half bad but it wasn’t a steak.

“And to be honest, all this extra stuff with the arm and the testing just makes it easier for me not to like her right back.”

The noise of a door closing loudly made me jump.  Steve was out of his seat and rushing out of the kitchen only to return a few minutes later with a grim look on his face.

“You’re an asshat.” He said picking up his glass and walking away.

It didn’t take much to put two and two together and figure out that Dr Edwards had overheard me talking about her, but did it really make a difference?  So what if we both didn’t like each other.

It is what it is.

[scarfanon]

Etiquette for calling a customer service line

Let’s face it, there are a lot of products out there that don’t always work the way they’re supposed to.  So what do you do when this happens?  If you have two neurons to rub together to form a synapse, you read the labels and/or the use and care manual until you find a customer service number.  Now, it has become increasingly clear to me that many, many, MANY people out there don’t understand that there are rules and protocols that customer service reps are required to follow, so here’s a few handy tips to keep in mind:

1. Make sure you are actually standing beside the product that you need help with when you call.  We only know what you tell us, so we need you to be our eyes, ears, and most importantly, our hands when addressing the issue with the product in question.  If you’re running an errand and think for one second that we can do anything at all to help you when the product is at home, you’re going to have a really unpleasant time.  Don’t call us while you’re driving, unless it’s to ask how late we’re open, and please for the love of all that is decent, DON’T TRY TO RETURN THE PRODUCT WITHOUT CALLING US FIRST OR YOU WILL VOID YOUR WARRANTY.  Also, make sure you actually have time to stay on the phone and address the issue.

2. Do not just start rambling at the person you are speaking to.  There is always an order of operations that must be followed if they are to help you and more often than not, the person who picks up the phone is either not trained or not authorized to directly address the problem that you’re having, unless they tell you otherwise.  In most cases, the first person you speak to is only supposed to do two things: register a file in their computer system for the product in question (or otherwise access an existing file) and then transfer you to someone who can actually help you with the problem that you are having.  In addition, extraneous information can slow down the process, waste time for both parties, and cause additional problems, so listen carefully to the person that you speak to and they will tell you what information they need.  Once the unit is registered, the agent may then place you on hold and transfer you to the department that is trained to address the specific product you have and the specific problem that you are having with said product.  This is why you need to make sure you have time to actually stay on the phone, because they can only help you if you’re going to be available long enough for them to get the information they need.  If you require a representative who speaks a language other than English (usually Spanish, but the center where I work does also employ at least one French-speaking agent), please request to speak with a representative who speaks that language, as the agent may be able to immediately transfer you to someone who can communicate with you more easily.

3. Answer all of the questions that you are asked, and only those that you are asked, in the order that you are asked them.  yes, I briefly addressed this above, but it still bears repeating.  The data entry systems have variations from one company to the next, but more often than not, when the agent answers the phone, the only thing they have on the screen before them is a single textbox that will only accept one specific piece of information.  In addition, the systems are usually designed to access data from the top down, meaning that you MUST provide the information specifically requested before it will allow the agent to access anything else.  If they don’t ask you for a piece of information (such as the date of manufacture or who installed the unit), it’s more likely that the information is unnecessary than it is that they forgot to ask for it.  And if they ask you what room an appliance is installed in, it’s usually because certain models are only designed to be installed in certain locations, so please be specific.  And for pete’s sake, A HALLWAY IS NOT A ROOM; IF YOU MEAN CLOSET, JUST SAY CLOSET.

4. Read all information directly from the label on the product itself.  In many cases, the only place you will be able to find the information is on the product itself, and the agent with whom you are speaking will be able to direct you to its location.  This is why you must remain near the product for the duration of the call.  DO NOT WRITE IT DOWN OR READ FROM THE COPY THAT YOU HAVE WRITTEN.  100% of the time, one or more digits are omitted or miswritten and you will be asked to go back and check again, and the system will not accept the information unless every single digit is entered correctly.  This is not something that you can ballpark.  Every single specific individual digit of each number requested must be included, correct, and presented in full and in the right order.  This isn’t just limited to Serial and Model numbers.  Learn to distinguish between Q, O, 0, 8, B, U, 4, and A, the difference between G, 6, and 9, the difference between 5 and S, the difference between 1, 7, T, 2, and Z, and the difference between a dash/hyphen (-), an underscore (_), and a space ( ).  Yes, I have seen every single one of these digits mistaken for every single one of the others and getting even one digit wrong can mean the difference between getting the help that you need and wasting time.  And when providing these numbers PLEASE ONLY SAY ONE DIGIT AT A TIME.  You may see it as 217, but when we hear it, it comes across as 2 7 teen, and then we have to go back and correct it, which gets especially annoying when the text box that we’re entering it into has a character limit and has to be manually highlighted in order to correct the error, which causes us to fall further behind.  And don’t say “oh” when you mean “zero”, it doesn’t save any time.  Also bear in mind, if you have more than one unit, each unit must be registered under its own file so that they may be addressed individually; remember that the information for the product is saved under the serial number, NOT the owner’s name.  Also, if you need glasses to read small print, WEAR THEM.  I cannot begin to describe how many times I’ve asked a customer for their serial number and then had to wait several minutes for them to put their glasses on so that they can read it.  And when we ask you for your serial number, please don’t ask “are you ready?”  We were ready the moment we asked for it.

5. Yes, you do need to provide your personal information.  but usually only the first time you call.  It’s the only way they can link the product in question to the customer that owns it, and in most cases, the warranty will only pertain to the original registered owner of the unit.  In some instances, the database will be designed to allow for multiple contacts to be attached to the same file, but there will always be one primary homeowner that takes priority over the others, and so all information must be correct, especially with regards to sending parts or repair personnel under the warranty coverage.  In addition, when accessing an existing file, asking what name the file is registered under is the easiest way for the agent in question to determine that they have entered the serial number correctly, which means that telling them to write “john doe” will just make it impossible for them to find your information should you need to call back.  In addition, you must also provide the information requested of you in full.  This means that when you are asked for the owner’s name, you must provide both the FIRST AND LAST name.  When you are asked for a preferred phone number, YOU MUST PROVIDE THE AREA CODE FIRST, and when you are asked for the address, YOU MUST INCLUDE THE HOUSE NUMBER, STREET NAME, APARTMENT/TRAILER/LOT/SUITE NUMBER (if applicable), CITY, STATE, AND ZIP CODE (or province and postal code if you are calling from Canada), as the system will usually have a feature that it uses to validate the address for the purpose of sending parts or technicians to the correct location under the warranty, and if it does not recognize the address or the address is incomplete, it will not accept it.  In addition, for larger appliances, the warranty will only apply if they remain installed in their original installation location, so we need to know where that location is in order to cover the appliance.  And if they ask if your phone number is a home, work, or mobile, it’s usually because they’re selecting from a drop-down menu and can only select one option, so if you say “all of the above,” they will want to reach through the phone and swat you, and just because they ask this question doesn’t mean they are looking for a specific number (hence the use of the term “preferred phone number”).  “But I don’t want my information where some stranger can access it!” I hear you cry.  Tell me, How are you calling us right now?  and how did you obtain the means to do so in the first place?  How did you pay for it?  Chances are, the answers to all of these questions required you to offer your personal information to some party or other in the past, so I’m sorry to break it to you, but if you’ve ever used a cell phone, or the internet, or a credit card, or have a driver’s license, or any form of legal ID whatsoever, your information is already irretrievably out there and you have nothing to lose by providing it to the people who actually need it in order to help you.  You’ll be happy to know that in most cases where appliances are concerned, providing your email is optional, but if you don’t wish to provide your email or otherwise don’t have one, don’t be an ass about it, just say “no email”.  And if you do provide your email, here’s a couple of pet peeves I would like to address.  I have been on this earth for about as long as email has existed, and never in my entire life have I encountered an email program where the email address was case sensitive, nor have I encountered an email address that has spaces.  YOU DO NOT NEED TO TELL ME THAT IT IS ALL LOWER CASE AND YOU CERTAINLY DO NOT NEED TO TELL ME THAT THERE ARE NO SPACES OR THAT IT IS ALL ONE WORD, because it is my job to copy every single digit that you provide exactly as you provide it and I will read it back to you digit by digit to make sure I have it written correctly.

6. You must stay on the phone until we have finished all of our procedures.  Once the first agent has registered your unit, or confirmed that they’ve opened the correct file, they will likely transfer you to another department that has the training and authorization to directly address the problem that you are having.  DO NOT GET UPSET THAT YOU ARE BEING PUT ON HOLD.  This is a necessary evil, as the agent is required to wrap up the conversation in a hurry and move onto the next customer, and you need to speak to someone who can actually use the information that has been gathered to help you.  once put on hold, they will tell the system to transfer you to a particular line within the call center, at which point you will be added to the end of a queue.  If the agent says something to the degree of “Please stand by”, that is an indication that they need a minute or so to finish entering the information that you have provided, that they are waiting for the next page to load on their screen, or that they are about to send you to someone who can help, and are requesting that you patiently wait for them to request the next piece of information.  NOT AN INVITATION TO START TALKING OR YELLING AT THEM.  There will be times when the automated hold system will tell you that there are a number of callers ahead of you, or that you will have to wait a certain amount of time before an agent will be available to answer.  Whatever you do, DO NOT HANG UP THE PHONE AND CALL BACK HOPING TO SPEAK TO SOMEONE SOONER.  All that will accomplish is getting ahold of another registration agent, who will ask you for your serial number again, and will then transfer you back to the same queue, where you will now have to wait even longer because you gave up your place in line.

7. When providing information, SPEAK SLOWLY AND ENUNCIATE YOUR WORDS.  This is a huge pet peeve of mine.  If English is not your first language, then it’s understandable (also you speak my language MUCH better than I speak yours), but if you’re a native English speaker, you have no excuse.  Half the mistakes that are made are due to poor or miscommunication.  When I ask you a question, I expect to hear words, NOT A STRING OF GROANING NOISES.  If I can’t understand what you’re saying, I’m going to write the information wrong and then we’re going to have to waste even more time correcting the errors.  In addition, make sure you speak at an audible volume.  You don’t have to shout, but if you’re mumbling or speaking in a low tone, we will not be able to hear what you are saying.  And PLEASE keep your fingers away from the buttons and/or screen while you are on the phone; it’s going to make it that much more difficult if I keep hearing buttons being pressed every two seconds.  And for Pete’s sake, CHANGE THE BATTERIES IN YOUR SMOKE DETECTOR.  I swear, every third call I hear that infernal beeping in the background.

8. Yes, you must troubleshoot the product.  Regardless of your preconceived notions of how a particular product works, or what the problem is, or what you want done to resolve the issue, we still need to know the exact nature of the situation before we can take any actions to resolve it; the most fundamental of which is to walk the customer through a step-by-step diagnostic and troubleshooting procedure over the phone.  The purpose of troubleshooting the unit is to determine the nature, source, and severity of the problem through process of elimination by observing the symptoms that it exhibits under different circumstances.  You may think you know what’s wrong and what needs to be done, but there will ALWAYS be something that you missed or otherwise didn’t think to look for.  Plus, as mentioned above, we cannot see what is happening on the other side of the phone, so we need you to be our eyes, ears, and hands and follow our instructions, many of which are time sensitive once we begin.  Always listen to the precise wording of each instruction you are given and each question that we ask, as if a step is performed incorrectly, it can give inaccurate information or force us to start over.  It may seem intimidating if you’ve never done it yourself before, but it’s necessary for you to help us help you resolve your problem.  And no, we will not ask you to do anything that will endanger your health or safety; for any problem where that would be an issue, you will likely be instructed to hire a professional to do the work for you (assuming that one isn’t already being requested under your labor coverage, if applicable).  In most cases, the steps are simple enough, and the agent’s instructions easy enough to follow, that even a child could accomplish them.  “But I just have a simple question!” I hear you cry.  No, no you don’t.  It’s never simple and it’s never just one question.

9. Sometimes you just have to wait.  It is inevitable that a problem will sometimes require that a part be replaced or that a licensed professional be sent to diagnose, repair, or replace the appliance in question.  But understand that we will never be able to get them to you the same day that you call.  In the case of the parts, the reason for this should be obvious, but in the case of the technicians, there is some explanation required.  You see, while there may be some companies out there that have their own field technicians on their payroll that can be sent out at a moments notice, said companies are increasingly few and far between, and most of the time they prefer to cut corners in the interest of spending less money, and the easiest way to do that is to outsource to independent businesses.  Typically the situation is as follows: The parent company manufactures the product, which is then sold to an independent vendor, who then sells the product to the customer at locations of the vendor’s choosing, with little to no input from the manufacturer.  The manufacturer themselves will then sign on various independent contractors and business owners to take warranty jobs in the contractors’ own service radius if a customer should need a technician to help them with their unit under their labor coverage.  Because the units are sold to the customer by the vendor, whose distribution is not controlled by the manufacturer, there is usually little to no correlation between where the products are sold and whether there are technicians under contract with the manufacturer within the same area, so even though a product is sold in a particular location, the manufacturer may not be able to send a technician, simply due to not having anybody under contract that services that zip code, or otherwise not being able to reach or send the ones that do, due to various circumstances (eg outside their normal service radius, too many customers on their plate at the time, or just plain not answering their phone).  In most cases when something like that happens, the company will offer the customer the means to hire their own technician and then submit for reimbursement for the service fee.  From what I’ve gathered, most companies that have a need for field technicians function this way, for better or for worse, simply because it’s cheaper and easier for the company to contract independent businesses than it is to employ personnel for a division that only sees occasional use.  Why am I telling you this?  Because I’m tired of customers acting like it’s our fault that the technician never showed up, or that there wasn’t one available for us to send in the first place.  Our influence only extends so far, and while they may be under contract with us, we don’t own them, and so have zero influence on when or where they are available.  Yes you should call us back if there is a problem with the technician, but also understand that simply sending a technician in the first place means that there are now three separate parties involved in the situation, two of whom are separate businesses.  And this should be a no-brainer, but when the technician does show up, please please PLEASE have the technician call the manufacturer while they are in front of the machine so that we can walk them through our troubleshooting steps and ask them what they find.  Telling us “they already left and they said xyz” is not at all helpful to us, because how do we know you didn’t cancel the technician and just make that up on the fly to get a quick fix?  How do we know the technician actually said that?  How did they come to that conclusion in the first place?  What did they do?  What did they see?  This of course is to prevent people from just calling and asking for free parts or replacing the device for something as simple as not understanding how it functions.  Our job is not to give you what you want.  Our job is to solve the problem with the unit.

10. All of our calls are recorded.  This is something that a lot of customers seem to not realize, even though the recorded message that they hear while on hold explicitly tells them as much (it also explicitly tells them to have their serial number ready, WHICH THEY NEVER DO).  So if you say something off-color that makes the agent uncomfortable, or if you threaten the customer, their employer, or the parent company in any way, THAT SHIT GETS RECORDED AND CAN BE PRESENTED IN A COURT OF LAW.  It also means that you can’t say one thing and then deny it later in the call, because guess what?  We have a recording of you saying the thing that you said, which means you can’t take it back or say that you were lying earlier and that your new story is the truth, because how can we trust that you’re telling the truth now if you didn’t tell us the truth to begin with?  This is a major pet peeve of mine.  I’ll get a customer who says their unit is having a problem whose nature or circumstances are not covered by the warranty, and then when I tell them as much, they’ll suddenly change their story, thinking they can talk us into giving them what they want.  Sorry, but that ain’t happening.  We already have you on record as saying A, so if you think you can talk us into believing B, you’re wasting your breath.  This is also why it’s important that you give us the CORRECT information the first time we ask for it, because if you feed us false information and then call back later and say that it’s actually something different, we will call you out on that shit.

11. Nobody manually answers phones anymore.  Every time someone complains to me about how long it took me to pick up the phone, I want to reach through the line and slap them.  All call centers have an automated system that directs the call to the first available agent’s computer.  That computer will then answer the call automatically and let the agent know through their headset that the call is coming in and which queue it is coming from, usually about two seconds before the line connects.  The agents have zero influence over how quickly your call is answered, because that part of the process is entirely automated.  If it does take a long time for your call to reach an agent, it’s usually due to one of two things: they are either experiencing a higher call volume than normal, which means there are more customers ahead of you in the queue, or they are understaffed, meaning that there are fewer people available to take the calls in the first place.  Either way, as soon as one call ends, another usually connects, and rarely does it take longer than a few seconds for an agent to receive their next call.

Here’s a short glossary of terms to keep in mind when calling:

Unit: the individual product that you are addressing

Model: the type of product under which the unit is categorized

Part: a specific component of the unit which may be replaceable.

Serial Number: a sequence of digits (often both numbers and letters) that identify the specific individual unit that you are working with.  Every unit of every product ever manufactured has a unique serial number that is not shared with any other unit of that product, and so this is the number that the call center agent uses to identify which file to open, and the first thing they ask for when creating a new file.  ALL OTHER INFORMATION IS SAVED UNDER THE SERIAL NUMBER.  Just because you have provided all of your information during a previous call does not mean they will instantaneously have your information in front of them the next time you call; the registration personnel alone receive a bare minimum of about 84 calls per day, rarely from the same person twice, and do not know you from a hole in the wall, so you must provide the serial number again in order for them to access the file for your unit.  And please please PLEASE make sure the serial number you provide pertains to the unit that you actually need help with, because as mentioned above, each individual unit must be registered under its own separate file, and the serial number for a replacement unit will not allow us to access the information for the previous unit, regardless of whether they have the same owner’s info attached to them.

Model Number: a sequence of digits (again usually consisting of both numbers and letters) that identify the type of product that you are working with.  Unlike the serial number, which is unique to the individual, the model number is shared among all units in a specific production line.  More often than not, the model number will tell the agent various other pieces of information about the unit as well, so that they do not need to ask you for as many details about the product (such as the warranty, size, capacity, etc), which means fewer questions for them to ask.  The model number will usually only be requested the first time you are calling about a particular unit, and only after the serial number has been provided.  Usually the model number pops up on their screen automatically with the touch of a button, but the agent will ask you to read the number anyway in order to confirm that it matches the one that is attached to the serial number that you have provided.  If it doesn’t match, you will be asked to provide the Serial number again, ad nauseum, until it does match.  WE CANNOT USE THE MODEL NUMBER TO PULL UP YOUR FILE BECAUSE MORE THAN ONE UNIT HAS THAT MODEL NUMBER.

Part Number: a sequence of digits (again, usually consisting of both letters and numbers that identify to a specific part of the product that you are working with.  Similar to a model number, a part number is shared among all individual units of that specific part, but does not say much about the unit as a whole, as multiple models may utilize the same parts.  Many appliances are designed to be repaired on the spot, hence the need for part numbers, but if you think we’ll be able to tell which unit you have just from the part number, you are sorely mistaken.  More often than not, agents higher up the chain will be able to access a list of all part numbers pertaining to your unit once they have access to your file, so this number is almost never necessary to provide.  NO, WE CANNOT JUST SEND YOU A PART BECAUSE YOU HAVE A PART NUMBER WITH YOU.  First off, it may not even be the correct part for that unit, and second we still need to know what the actual problem is before we can determine if you even need that part in the first place.

SKU Number: a sequence of digits (usually just numbers, but may occasionally include letters) that the vendor (read: the store where you bought the damn thing) uses to identify the individual product in their database.  This number is completely useless to the call center agent and will never be requested over the phone.

Troubleshooting/warranty department: usually used interchangeably, as the person troubleshooting the unit over the phone is required to recognize what is covered under the warranty and what is not.  Either way, they are the ones you want to speak to after the unit has been registered, and if they aren’t, they can usually direct you to the ones that are.

Parts department: this department process part orders, both in and out of warranty, but will only speak to a customer directly if the customer wishes to purchase a part out of warranty.  If the customer wishes for the part to be sent under their warranty coverage, they need to speak to the person troubleshooting the unit.

Contractors department: This is the department you want to speak to if there is a problem involving a field technician, whether it’s having trouble finding one in the first place, or having problems with one that has been dispatched to the location of the appliance.

Billing department: this is the department responsible for processing your reimbursements.  if a reimbursement is necessary, the customer will usually be given specific instructions on what information to send and where to send it.  most such info is sent electronically these days, so you will likely not be able to send it via physical mail.  Also bear in mind, WE ARE NOT STUPID.  If you think you can send us a hastily written MS Office document or handwritten “invoice” and that we’ll give you free money, you will instead receive a templated email and/or letter explaining that your document is invalid and cannot be used.  I worked in my company’s voucher department for a time and nothing would bring me more joy than going into miniscule detail in my reply to a fraudulent customer’s email about why their documentation was invalid.

Claims department: This department handles any cases where the customer is seeking reparation for damages caused by the product in question, but you usually won’t get to speak to them until after the unit has been registered and diagnosed.  In addition, any cases where a claim has to be filed will require that the appliance remain in its installation location pending further investigation.

Supervisor/Manager: Most of the lower departments are required to strictly adhere to the rules that they have been instructed to follow, else they get in trouble and are required to correct their indiscretion, usually by calling the customer back and explaining that whatever we promised is not actually going to happen and that we need to go through all the steps properly before we can provide anything (this is referred to as a rework).  Only the supervisor or manager has the leverage to bend the rules and give you something that we otherwise would not, though they are also required to work within certain limitations.  Bear in mind however that they can only help you if you’ve already tried to cooperate with the lower departments and if you think you can just bypass the process by immediately asking to speak to a supervisor and demanding things from them, you will learn very quickly that they have the authority tell you where you can stick it.

I think that about sums it up.  Just try to be polite and cooperative to the person you’re talking to and they’ll do their best to help you out.

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💾 ►►► DOWNLOAD FILE 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 Game Boy Advance (GBA) cheats, cheat codes, guides, unlockables, easter eggs, glitches, hints, and more. has more content than anyone else to. Download Cheat Codes For Visual Boy Advance Emulator. Game Boy Advance | Views: | Downloads: 0 | Added by: shukr | Date: is a community of video game hackers, and a place for codes, guides, tools, and more. Games w/ Codes, Total Codes, We've also got Gameshark codes for different country/regions (North America, Japan, UK/Europe etc). Top GameShark Codes. GBAPokémon Emerald. PSXDigimon World 3. Find all Pokemon Emerald cheats, browse the most popular Gameshark codes such as Walk Through Walls, Rare Candy, Shiny, Legendary and more. Posts Likes Following Archive. Go to the Battle Tower PC. Exit the PC and save your game. Talk to the woman behind the counter near the PC. When she asks you to save your game, select Yes. When you are asked again to save, turn off the GBA console, or close your emulator do not save the game. 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Reviewed by Chris Selph. Turning off the GBA during the save process can lead to permanent data loss. Featured Video. Sonic Mania Cheats, Codes, and Walkthrough. Minecraft Cheats, Cheat Codes, and Walkthroughs. Older games are experiencing a comeback and are popular among retro gamers using emulators. However, with so many cheat codes to choose from, what should you use? Some of these have unique requirements and may not work well with other cheats, though. While using cheats can be risky, there are ways to stay safe from corrupted files and crashes. GBA emulators can be downloaded for free, though some have paid versions as well. The latter gets constant updates and fixes, and it runs on almost anything. You can also enter cheat codes with this emulator and many others. Setting it up takes very little technical expertise. Using too many cheat codes at once can result in crashes or even file corruption. 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If not, you can enter the cheat and try again. It gives you 9, EXP per battle, and with it, you can level any Pokemon up in a fraction of the time you usually need. Keep fighting wild Pokemon to max out your roster. Just copy and paste it into your emulator, and it should work fine. Stroll through the walls and bypass pesky Trainers and obstacles with this cheat. You can even walk into the black void through the walls of any building. You only get one in Pokemon Emerald, and you would have to save it for a Legendary Pokemon when you receive it. With a cheat, you can get as many Master Balls as you want. The first one makes everything in Pokemarts free Master Balls, while the other one makes only the first option a Master Ball. It still appears as another item but buying it for no money still nets you Master Balls. When you have enough, you should turn the cheat off. When you run out, you can always use the cheat again and buy more. Other than a few of the cheats we discussed, there are other great GameShark cheats for Pokemon Emerald. They can let you encounter Legendary Pokemon or do other things not ordinarily possible. The cheats for walking through walls and getting Shiny Pokemon already mentioned are GameShark codes. Here are a few more:. You can wipe anything out with cheats or get unlimited Master Balls. What are your favorite cheats in Pokemon Emerald? Have you ever found a Bad Egg? Tell us in the comments section below.

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💾 ►►► DOWNLOAD FILE 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 How to cheat in Pokémon Emerald · First, open up the VBA emulator. · Now select File, then Open and now choose the Pokémon Emerald ROM. · Select. Check out this list of the BEST Pokemon Emerald cheats, including GameShark codes. Learn how to use them, and PREVENT GAME CRASHES. Best Pokemon Emerald Cheats · 1. Rare Candy Cheat Get as many Rare Candies as you want so you can level up your Pokemon. Master Ball Cheat · 3. Where could I find pokemon emerald's cheat file? All I want is to have double experience and all shiny pokemon in the wild. 9 There are also a few glitches you can exploit to your advantage. Go to the Battle Tower PC. Exit the PC and save your game. Talk to the woman behind the counter near the PC. When she asks you to save your game, select Yes. When you are asked again to save, turn off the GBA console, or close your emulator do not save the game. Turn on the console and load your save file. To improve your chances of winning on the Lottery Corner:. Save your game in front of the woman on the first floor of Lillycove Department Store. Wait a day in-game time. Talk to the woman at the Lottery Corner to draw a number. If you win, save your game. If you don't win, turn off your GBA, then turn it back on and try again until you win. If you have them in your party, periodically check to see if they have anything. The Gameshark and Action Replay accessories for the GBA allow players to enter cheat codes and exploit in-game glitches. Some of these codes require a master code to work. The master code must be the first entry you make when inputting cheats. Gameshark and Action Replay cheat codes are not case sensitive, nor are spaces between numbers required. All codes listed are compatible with either accessory. If you're playing on an emulator, you can still enable cheat codes. Select Gameshark. Enter the desired codes. You can give them a description to make managing your cheats easier. Select OK twice to return to the game with cheats enabled. Activating cheat codes with the My Boy emulator for Android is a very similar process:. Tap the hamburger icon in the top-left corner of the screen to open the My Boy menu. Tap Cheats. Tap New Cheat. Tap Cheat name and give your cheat a name. Tap Cheat code and enter the desired code. Tap OK to return to the game with cheats enabled. To remove a code's effect, go back into the cheat menu, select the code name, and choose Remove. The free version of the My Boy GBA emulator doesn't let you enter more than a single line of code at once, but you can still activate longer codes by entering them line-by-line as if they were separate cheats. Just replace xxx with one of the nature modifier ID codes below:. Use the following code to add items to your inventory:. Just replace xxx with one of the item ID codes below:. Warp codes require the master code to be enabled. Enter a code and walk through any door to teleport to the desired location. Be sure to disable the code when you're done or else you'll keep looping back to the same spot. Entertainment Gaming. Table of Contents Expand. Lottery Cheat. Random Item Pick Up. Gameshark and Action Replay Cheats. Maximum Stats. Nature Modifier Codes. Item Codes. Warp Codes. Robert Wells is a professional writer and amateur game developer. His specialties include web development, cryptocurrency, and cybersecurity. Learn about our Editorial Process. Reviewed by Chris Selph. Lifewire can't guarantee that all of these cheats will work all of the time. Turning off the GBA during the save process can lead to permanent data loss. Featured Video. Sonic Mania Cheats, Codes, and Walkthrough. Minecraft Cheats, Cheat Codes, and Walkthroughs.

[pokemon-emerald-gba-emula99]

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💾 ►►► DOWNLOAD FILE 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 Get hundreds of Pokémon Emerald cheat codes for GBA, and learn how to enter Gameshark and Action Replay codes on the My Boy emulator. The best free GBA emulators you can download right now are: mGBA; VisualBoy Advance; No$GBA Emulator; BatGBA; Higan GBA Emulator. Legendary Pokemon Encounter Modifier · = Articuno · = Zapdos · = Moltres · = Dratini · = Dragonair · = Dragonite · = Mewtwo · =. Here is a list of Pokemon Emerald GBA ROM cheats. These codes are for emulators that support Gameboy Advance. Simply type in the cheat in the. Pokémon Emerald GameShark Codes. Also see Cheats for more help on Pokémon Emerald. master code (GBA) North America Master. FA6C97BD B5ED35F There are also a few glitches you can exploit to your advantage. Go to the Battle Tower PC. Exit the PC and save your game. Talk to the woman behind the counter near the PC. When she asks you to save your game, select Yes. When you are asked again to save, turn off the GBA console, or close your emulator do not save the game. Turn on the console and load your save file. To improve your chances of winning on the Lottery Corner:. Save your game in front of the woman on the first floor of Lillycove Department Store. Wait a day in-game time. Talk to the woman at the Lottery Corner to draw a number. If you win, save your game. If you don't win, turn off your GBA, then turn it back on and try again until you win. If you have them in your party, periodically check to see if they have anything. The Gameshark and Action Replay accessories for the GBA allow players to enter cheat codes and exploit in-game glitches. Some of these codes require a master code to work. The master code must be the first entry you make when inputting cheats. Gameshark and Action Replay cheat codes are not case sensitive, nor are spaces between numbers required. All codes listed are compatible with either accessory. If you're playing on an emulator, you can still enable cheat codes. Select Gameshark. Enter the desired codes. You can give them a description to make managing your cheats easier. Select OK twice to return to the game with cheats enabled. Activating cheat codes with the My Boy emulator for Android is a very similar process:. Tap the hamburger icon in the top-left corner of the screen to open the My Boy menu. Tap Cheats. Tap New Cheat. Tap Cheat name and give your cheat a name. Tap Cheat code and enter the desired code. Tap OK to return to the game with cheats enabled. To remove a code's effect, go back into the cheat menu, select the code name, and choose Remove. The free version of the My Boy GBA emulator doesn't let you enter more than a single line of code at once, but you can still activate longer codes by entering them line-by-line as if they were separate cheats. Just replace xxx with one of the nature modifier ID codes below:. Use the following code to add items to your inventory:. Just replace xxx with one of the item ID codes below:. Warp codes require the master code to be enabled. Enter a code and walk through any door to teleport to the desired location. Be sure to disable the code when you're done or else you'll keep looping back to the same spot. Entertainment Gaming. Table of Contents Expand. Lottery Cheat. Random Item Pick Up. Gameshark and Action Replay Cheats. Maximum Stats. Nature Modifier Codes. Item Codes. Warp Codes. Robert Wells is a professional writer and amateur game developer. His specialties include web development, cryptocurrency, and cybersecurity. Learn about our Editorial Process. Reviewed by Chris Selph. Lifewire can't guarantee that all of these cheats will work all of the time. Turning off the GBA during the save process can lead to permanent data loss. Featured Video. Sonic Mania Cheats, Codes, and Walkthrough. Minecraft Cheats, Cheat Codes, and Walkthroughs.

[webbygraphic001]

So, You’Ve Won An Exciting Redesign…What Now?

The transitioning of power is fraught with difficulties. Different teams have different values, different experience, different expertise, different priorities, and that leads to different tooling, and different methodologies.

It’s tempting to think of web design as an end-to-end process, starting with research and concluding with metrics. The reality is that most designers and developers join projects part-way through an ongoing process.

That leaves us with a difficult choice: do we try and meet the client’s expectations with our own toolset, or adapt to the tools and processes that are already in place?

For anyone who’s taking over a web project from a different designer/developer/agency (D/D/A), here’s a practical guide to help you make a success of the transition.

Step 1: Find Out What Went Wrong

99.99% of the time, something broke down in the previous client-D/D/A relationship.

In my experience it’s almost never about money. Most clients are willing to pay above the basic market rate if they believe they’re receiving a good return on their investment. A client that tells you the previous D/D/A is simply too expensive is anticipating negotiating your fees.

happy clients don’t shop around

Occasionally you’ll find that a freelance designer has been headhunted by an agency, and is no longer available. Occasionally the company outgrows a D/D/A, moving into areas that the D/D/A doesn’t support. But these situations are rare, happy clients — even moderately content clients — don’t shop around. If they’re speaking to you, something motivated them to do so.

It is alarmingly common that a D/D/A simply goes AWOL. It’s most common at the lower end of the market where the sums of money involved are less likely to prompt a legal dispute. Frequently, an unreputable D/D/A will ghost a client in favour of a better, newer opportunity.

Sometimes the client hires a new manager, and the new manager ushers in revised expectations that the previous D/D/A can’t meet.

Most commonly, the previous D/D/A has dropped the ball one too many times — mistakes happen, and reasonable clients will tolerate them provided they are rectified promptly, but everyone has their limits.

Most clients will be more than happy to explain what went wrong in the previous relationship; it will inevitably be a one-sided explanation, but it will help you to understand the client’s expectations.

Be extremely wary of a client who doesn’t know what went wrong. Be even more wary of a client who talks about “upgrading” their outsourcing — they’re trying to flatter you. In these cases the client may well be hiding something — like their failure to pay invoices.

Remember: at some point the previous D/D/A was new, and excited about having a new client, was optimistic about the project, and it didn’t end well. The best way to not repeat mistakes is to learn from them, and to do that you need to know what they were.

Step 2: Carry Out a Comprehensive Audit

We’re often so eager to secure new work, that we rush to have the client sign on the dotted line, expecting to be able to tackle any problems later.

It is imperative that as a professional, you keep your promises. Before you make those promises, take your time to understand the project and related business. If a client is invested enough to sign a contract with you they won’t mind you doing due diligence first.

Is There Still a Relationship With the Previous Designer/Developer/Agency?

Clients rarely have a full picture of their project — they’re not web professionals, if they were they’d be building their own sites. Your best source of information is the previous D/D/A.

Before you contact the previous D/D/A check with your client; it’s possible they don’t know they’re being replaced yet. If your client is fine with it, then reach out.

When you speak to the previous D/D/A be sensitive to the fact that you’re taking money out of their pocket. Certainly the previous D/D/A may tell you where to go, they may ignore you altogether, but most will be pragmatic about handing over a project if only to ensure their final invoice to their now ex-client is paid promptly.

Every site has its idiosyncrasies, if you can establish a friendly rapport with the previous D/D/A then the transition will be considerably less bumpy.

Who Controls the Domain Name(s)?

In my opinion a company’s domain name(s) should always be held by the company; it’s such an essential business asset that it should be guarded as jealously as the company’s bank accounts.

Unfortunately there are businesses that outsource everything to do with the web. If the break with the previous D/D/A is acrimonious then securing the domain name could be problematic.

It’s not your job to secure the domain name — you have no leverage, the client does. It is your job to impress upon the client how mission-critical the domain name(s) is.

Who Controls the Hosting?

Hosting arrangements vary from project to project. It’s not uncommon, nor unreasonable, for the previous D/D/A to be hosting the client’s site on their own space. If that is the case, be prepared to migrate it quickly either to your own server, or a dedicated space.

If you’re migrating onto a new space pay particular attention to the email provision. Taking over a project usually means taking over a live project, and that usually means email accounts.

In any case, you need full access to the hosting space. You certainly need FTP access, you probably need SSH access.

In addition to hosting, check if your client’s site uses a CDN, and if it does, who has control of it.

Backend Source Code

Once you have FTP access to the hosting server you can probably grab all backend code from the server.

The benefit of grabbing the code from the server — as opposed to accepting files from the previous D/D/A — is that you can be absolutely certain you’re getting the current (working) code.

If the client has broken with the previous D/D/A because they were unable to deliver on a particular task, you do not want to be working with files that have been partially modified.

Fresh Installs

If you’re working with something like a CMS, it’s often a good idea to run a fresh install on your server, and then copy across any templates, plugins, and migrate the database.

Frontend Source Code

When it comes to acquiring source code, frontend code is far more problematic than backend.

frontend code is far more problematic than backend

If the previous D/D/A is even part-way competent then the CSS and JavaScript on the web space is minified. Minified CSS is not too problematic and can be unminified fairly easily, but you do not want to be unpicking a minified JavaScript file — I once had a project in which a developer had minified his own code in the same file with all of his dependencies, including both Vue and jQuery [yes, I know].

Dealing with frontend source code can take on an additional dimension if you discover that the previous D/D/A used techniques you don’t — using Less instead of Sass, or writing scripts in TypeScript.

Unminifying CSS & JavaScript

Unminifying (or beautifying, or prettifying) code is reasonably easy. There are tools online that will help, including Unminify, Online CSS Unminifier, FreeFormatter, JS Minify Unminify, and more. You’ll also find plenty of extensions for code editors including HTML-CSS-JS Prettify for Sublime Text, and Atom-Beautify for Atom. You’ll find that some editors have the functionality built in.

A word of warning: code beautification does not restore comments, and in the case of JavaScript, does not unobfuscate variable names. Beautifying code is no substitute for a copy of the original, unminified source code.

Emergency Measures

If unminifying the source code isn’t possible for any reason, or more likely, the unminified JavaScript still looks like minified code — albeit nicely formatted minified code — then your last resort is to import the code and override it where necessary.

The first thing to do in this case is to explain the situation to your client. Make sure they understand this is a temporary patch that you’ll iron-out as you rebuild parts of the project.

Then, copy and paste the old minified code into a fresh project setup. For CSS that probably means creating a legacy.scss file, including the old CSS, and importing it into your own Sass. For JavaScript, create a legacy.js file, add all the old JS, and import that.

This will result in a much bigger set of files than necessary, you may end up using !important in your style declarations [yuck], and you’ll trigger lots of Lighthouse warnings about surplus code.

However, in the likely event that your client has a long list of changes they wanted live yesterday, this dirty hack will give you a working site that you can then rebuild piece by piece over time.

Assets

Assets normally means images, and images can normally be grabbed via FTP.

Occasionally — although less occasionally now image files rarely contain text — you’ll need the source files to make changes to images.

Whether or not the client has them, or if the previous D/D/A will hand them over, depends largely on the agreement between the client and the previous D/D/A.

Most businesses are reasonably aware of the importance of brand assets, so you’ll probably find they at least have a copy of their logo; whether it’s an SVG or a JPG is another matter entirely. Impress upon them the importance of locating those files for you.

Third Party Code

It is rare to receive a project that doesn’t rely on third party code. That third party code is probably entwined in the custom source code, and unpicking it is a time-consuming job.

It is very likely the previous D/D/A used a library or framework, and given the increasing number of them, it’s even more likely that the library or framework they used is not the one you prefer.

Whether you choose to unpick the code and swap out the previous D/D/A’s dependencies for your own preferences (usually faster in the long term), or whether you choose to work with what you’re given (usually faster in the short term) is entirely up to you.

In my experience it’s no hardship to pick up another CSS library; switching from one JavaScript framework to another is a substantially bigger job involving not just syntax but core concepts.

Beware Build Environments

Everyone has their own way of doing things. Some D/D/As embrace build environments, some do not. Some build environments are simple to use, some are not. Some build environments are adaptable to your process, some are not.

Unlike adopting a library, or even a framework, adopting a new build process is rarely a good idea

Build environments are numerous — Gulp, Grunt, and Webpack are all popular — and D/D/As are almost as opinionated about them as they are about CMS.

In lieu of raw files, it’s not uncommon for the previous D/D/A to tell you to “just run such-and-such CLI” command, to match up your local environment to theirs. Unlike adopting a library, or even a framework, adopting a new build process is rarely a good idea because you’re relegating yourself from expert to novice at a time when you’ve yet to earn your new client’s trust.

Stand your ground. Their approach failed, that’s why you’ve been brought in. You do you.

Who is Licensed?

Any third part code that has been paid for is licensed. Always check who holds these licenses. As well as being legally required, valid licenses are normally required for updates, bug fixes, and in some cases support.

Common pitfalls include: font licenses (which may be licensed under the previous D/D/A’s Creative Cloud, Fontstand, Monotype, etc. account); stock image licenses (which may be licensed for use by the previous D/D/A alone); and plugins (which are frequently bulk-licensed to D/D/As in bundles).

It’s depressingly common to find clients using unlicensed assets. On more than one occasion I’ve had to explain to a client the potential consequences of using pirated fonts.

Fortunately it’s increasingly common for third party providers to attach a licence to a specified domain, which means you may be able to claim the licence on behalf of your client. Major suppliers like CMS and ecommerce solutions frequently have an option for the previous developer to release a licence and allow you to claim it.

In the case of licensing, if you’re unsure, do not be afraid to reach out to the third party provider and check with them if your client is licensed once they break ties with their previous D/D/A.

The only thing that sours a client relationship faster than telling them they need to buy a license they thought they’d already paid for, is telling them they’re being sued for copyright infringement.

Protect your client, and protect yourself, by making sure everything is licensed properly. If you can get something in writing to that effect from the previous D/D/A, do.

Who Has the Research and Analytics?

One of the major benefits of taking over a site, as opposed to building from scratch, is that you have a measurable set of site-specific data to guide your decision making.

This only applies if you have the data, so ask to be added to the client’s analytics account.

There’s a strong chance that the design research carried out by the previous D/D/A is considered an internal document, not a deliverable, by the previous D/D/A. Check with your client: if they paid for the research (is it specified on an invoice?) then they’re entitled to a copy.

We Have a Blog Too…

Clients have a tendency to use the term “website” as a catch-all term for everything digital.

When you take responsibility for a website, you’re almost always expected to take responsibility for any digital service the client uses. That means, newsletter services like Mailchimp, customer service accounts like Intercom, and 227,000 page WordPress blogs that they forgot to mention in the initial brief.

Repeat the whole of Step 2 for every additional app, micro-site, blog, and anything else the client has, unless you are expressly told by the client not to.

Step 3: The Point of No Return

Up until now, you haven’t asked the client to sign on the dotted line. This whole process is part of your due diligence.

By checking these things you can identify unforeseen problems, and potential costs. Are you tied to an obscure build process? Do you need to relicense the CMS? Do you need to recreate all of the site assets?

Some of these conversations are hard to have, but the time to have them is now

If there is any question of the project being more complex than anticipated, have an honest conversation with your client — they will appreciate your transparency, and they’ll appreciate being kept informed. Any client who doesn’t value a clear picture of what they’re paying you for, isn’t a client you want.

Some of these conversations are hard to have, but the time to have them is now, not three months down the line.

This is the point of no return. From this point on, any problems aren’t the previous D/D/A’s, they’re yours.

Change the Passwords

For every service you have, from the newsletter login, to the CMS login, to the FTP details, change the password. (Make sure you notify the client.)

Set Up a Staging Site

You’re going to need a staging site so your new client can preview the work you’ve done for them.

Set the staging site up immediately, before you’ve made any changes to the code. In doing so you’ll discover early on if there are files missing, or issues with the files you do have.

Successfully Transitioning a Project

When a client commissions a site from scratch they are filled with expectation. The fact that they are leaving their previous D/D/A and seeking you out demonstrates that their experience fell short of their hopes.

You now have a client with realistic — perhaps even pessimistic — expectations. You have a benchmark against which your work can be objectively measured.

When problems arise, as they invariably will, never try to blame the previous D/D/A; it was your job to assess the state of play before you started work. If there is an issue with legacy assets, you should have brought it to your client’s attention early on.

If you learn from the previous D/D/A’s mistakes, you won’t be handing the project on to someone else any time soon.

  Featured image via Unsplash.

Source from Webdesigner Depot https://ift.tt/3n4FCg6 from Blogger https://ift.tt/2IgOcJI

[inkognito97]

In the scarlet witch leia and quicksilver Luke can we see them doing things to piss off the empire like freeing slaves and fellow force senstives who were experimented on who hate the empire and form a rebel cell. Because I can see luke meeting mara who has psylocke's powers.

Also includes the following prompt:

In the au where luke and leia get mutant abilities Can we have some people who are thought to be dead like jocasta nu pop up out of the woodwork be younger due to the experiments along with having ice man’s powers? 

@mostie01

Unseen by anyone, who did not know where to look, walked a pair of humans stealthily. They moved close to the ground, careful to keep their cover and to not make too much noise. The least thing they wanted, was to scare a wild animal and reveal their position to the enemy.

“I think we are close enough now,” the first of the hooded figures spoke, the voice definitely belonged to a woman. 

“Can you see everything?” the second figure whispered back.

A moment the female remained silent, she was checking her surroundings and seeing, if there was something that she had missed. “Yes,” she finally answered in a hushed voice.

“Alright, how many guards can you see?”

“There are four at the front door, on the watchtower I can see… one each and there are also two guards, no four guard patrolling the perimeter. They will be a problem, when they see their unconscious comrades or see that they are missing altogether.”

Her companion hummed and crawled closer. “It shouldn’t be a problem. You take care of the snipers on the tower, I take the guards on foot.”

“Understood.”

The second hooded figure moved back and stood up. Trees were still hiding his form from the watchful eyes of the guards. The figure pushed back the hood, revealing a grinning blond male, whose eyes sparkled with eagerness and there was even a hint of impatience in them. 

“Ready, Leia?” he asked.

“On your mark, Luke,” the female had pushed her hood back down as well at this point. She had bound her hair to a single tight bun so that it would not get in her way, nor get stuck in branches or leaves. 

“Ready, set… go,” he was gone in the blink of an eye and Leia barely had time to concentrate her powers on the stormtroopers standing on the towers. 

It was easy for her to take control over their weapons and to hit them unconscious with the blasters. She had trained a lot the last few months, sometimes even under the guidance of other mutants, as they called themselves. It was their way of repaying the twins, who freed more and more people with special powers and abilities from the empire. It did not seem like much, but both Luke and Leia were proud what they had already accomplished, just the two of them. 

“Well, how was I?” it was only due to the fact that her and Luke had spent all their lives together, that Leia did not jump at his sudden appearance. A mischievous smile appeared on the blonde’s features, but he did not offer more.

“I think you are getting rusty, I could have sworn that you used to be much faster,” the brunette answered in a serious tone. She was facing away from her brother, which is why he could not see the teasing smile that had found its way onto her features. 

“Very funny,” grumbled the older twin, but he quickly followed his sister, who had already made her way to the secret lab. Now that all guards were unconscious and ‘out of order’ for a little while, there was nothing for her to fear. “Not so fast Leia,” Luke yelled nevertheless, “you don’t know if it is save yet.”

The brown haired female stopped. “I cannot feel any threats,” she said, though she was a little unsure all of a sudden.

“Allow me,” Luke did not even wait for a reply, he was gone and returned, all in the blink of an eye. “It is save, no more guards and no more traps.”

A thoughtful hum escaped the female, but she kept her thoughts to herself, at least this time. Either there was no one here anymore, or the person inside was a rather weak mutant, otherwise there would have been more guards. She was not sure, which case she would prefer. Leia shook her head. No, it was clear which way she would prefer. It was better to free a mutant, no matter how weak or strong, than to return unsuccessfully. With every mutant, slave and Force sensitive that they freed, the empire gets weaker. Not by much, but at least they WERE openly doing something.

“Let us not waste any more time,” Leia said determined and continued onward, towards the laboratory.

The couple of doctors - most of them were droids anyway - were quickly taken care of. Luke’s speed and Leia’s ‘magical’ abilities were ideal for infiltration and elimination.

“I’ve got the codes,” Luke suddenly exclaimed.

“Good,” at least that explained, why the male had taken so long and touched the unconscious forms so long. “You first.” It was ALWAYS Luke first, his speed would allow him a quick fall back, should any trouble arise, but Leia still said it every time.

“Is it just me, or is it getting cold?” Luke whispered while they walked down a small hallway. There was not much space here, barely enough for two slim individuals to walk next to each other. 

“It IS getting colder,” confirmed the brunette. She was starting to tremble from the cold, but what really startled her was, when she could actually see her breath before her eyes. It did not make sense, not when the previous room had normal temperature.

“Do you think it might be another one of us?” Luke could not help but ask. He did not turn to look his sister into the face, his gaze was solemnly resting ahead, his muscles tense and always ready to jump into action. It was as if he was WAITING for anything to happen.

Luckily, nothing out of the ordinary did. The twins came to the end of the hallway. There was a single door and it was immediately clear that the strange coldness came from there. Ice, thick ice had formed around the door.

The twins exchanged a look. The physically, as well as mentally readied themselves for whatever awaited them behind the door.

What they found inside, surprised the two twins. In the middle of the cell that glittered with ice, kneeled an elderly woman. She had her eyes closed and hadn’t it been for the constant movement of her chest, she would have appeared dead, frozen to death.

Slowly, the elderly woman opened her eyes. Her beige tunics rustled as she moved to stand. “My name is Jocasta Nu,” she introduced herself, “I have awaited you…”

[adapted-batteries]

You Sultry Land Pirates Ruined My Dig! Chapter 3

Fandom: The Librarians

Rating: General Audiences/sfw

Ships: a little bit Jazekiel, little bit Jassandra, and some Cassekiel in a bit

In a world where Cassandra and Ezekiel are top tier land pirates, and Stone is an expert in archeology and history but new to being out in the field, there is a weird, impenetrable tomb in some Sumerian ruins, with things that don’t quite make sense.

Inspired by the lovely story line (and outfits) in episode 3x09 “And the Fatal Separation” where Cassandra and Ezekiel smuggle Stone, Baird, and Flynn in while they pose as land pirates.

Posted on my Ao3 here.

Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4

---

After a break (which turned into a mini nap, a common way she recovered), Cassandra went back to work, with Ezekiel’s watchful eye on her every move. With the start she made for herself, she was able to construct a few phrases using the Sumerian letters and the Hebrew YHWH.

“We have no clue of knowing those people’s attitude to the Hebrew god, and throughout the time later it fluctuated from indifference to hatred. With that in mind I’ve gotten some not so nice phrases, and some better phrases we can try,” Cassandra concluded, zipping up her boots. They decided their darkest outfits would be best for sneaking, which also happened to be their sexy land pirate outfits at the moment as their last job ruined their full on black outfits (they both learned fire is not fun when it is on your body).

“Great. I don’t know what type of reset the door has, but that won’t be too hard to figure out,” Ezekiel said as he sorted tools into a small bag. Not knowing what they’d encounter tonight, he was bringing everything he had. “When you read the sentences, read it in map grid style ‘cos I don’t know the letters like you do.”

“Can do. You got all you need?” she asked picking up her own bag, with a couple things in it.

“Yeah, I hope.” He put his bag on his back and looked at her, grinning. “Let’s go rob a tomb.”

They arrived at the dig an hour after midnight, to ensure everyone was either gone or asleep. It was quiet, only the rustling of some canvas as a light wind blew through, carrying chill night air. There were no lights on in any of the tents, nor anyone about at 1 am. For the most part they skirted the tents to prevent as much chance of being seen as possible.

Cassandra led them through the dig by memory, trying to avoid any flashlight use until they were well below the surface. Thankfully they hadn’t done any major excavations after the two had left; within a couple minutes they arrived at the bottom of the mansion, squinting through the dark at the door.

“Hold a light up for me,” Ezekiel whispered, getting a closer look at the door. She did as requested, shining the modified flashlight at him, providing dim but useable light.

“Ok, I’ll give you coordinates, you press. Let me know if anything happens,” Cassandra said, remembering the phrases she had picked. “Ready?”

“Go for it,” he answered, standing beside the door so he didn’t block the light.

“Let’s see how well they stuck to Southern Sumerian syntax,” she breathed. “Ok, B  two, B four, A two-”

“Hold it, after A two, something clicked on the other side differently from when I pressed the first two, probably a reset. So the first two symbols must have been right,” Ezekiel hissed, lifting his head from where he was pressed against the wall to listen.

Cassandra swiped one hand in the air, carefully controlling her movements as if it would keep her from overloading. “Ok, hmm...I can modify the phrase I think...yeah that may work. Ok so B two, B four, D one-”

Ezekiel cut her off again. “Same thing. Next.”

“Um...ah ok, B two, B four, C one,” she paused, assuming he’d cut her off again.

“Didn’t reset. Keep going,” he whispered.

“D three, D five, E one-”

“That reset,” Ezekiel cut in again.

“That’s ok, The besides the E one symbol, that was a whole word. Now I can get rid of those phrases,” she thought out loud, swiping at the air more. “Ok it has to be one of these three phrases, because the others wouldn’t make sense.”

“Three’s a nice number from four hundred fifty,” he chimed, trying to encourage her.

“Well I still don’t know how long this code is. I’m hoping they stick to what I’ve compiled,” she responded.

Apparently the third phrase was the key. Something behind the stone ground and shifted, allowing Ezekiel to push the door into the chamber before it slid to the side on a track. They picked an odd phrase, Cassandra thought, even for the weird stuff they had encountered over the years. “Why would they guard a door with the phrase ‘Do not let God enter’?” She asked the musty air that poured out of the chamber.

“Who knows, maybe it was an inside joke for all we know,” Ezekiel said as he flicked on his own flashlight and looked in the room. It sloped down into the earth, steep enough they would need to watch their steps. It must have went down over twenty feet because the angled ceiling cut off his view from the bottom. “I don’t see anything so far. It’s steep, so hold on to me.”

Giving one last glance up to the lip of the pit, and thankfully seeing no one, Cassandra linked her right arm with his left. “Ok, let’s go. I don’t want to spend too long down here,” she whispered into his ear before looking down the slope.

Ezekiel led them down in a slow shuffle, stopping every few feet to examine the bricked walls and floor for any traps. However, nothing happened as they reached the bottom. The floor leveled out but there was only a few feet until another stone wall and door stopped them. Pulling away from Cassandra, he checked the door, seeing no symbols or anything suggesting it was locked. He pushed the slab to the side, with some strain, until they could both slip through the space.

The air in this narrow room was not pleasant. Something had died in here a long time ago and no air had gotten out. Both put their sleeves over their noses while Ezekiel checked for more traps. This time he found something. The ground had six-inch square tiles two feet from the doorway, different from the slope they had just descended. All of the tiles had things on them, some were symbols like the ones on the entrance, but others were shapes, hieroglyphs. “You see the floor, Cass?” he asked, flicking his flashlight from tile to tile. They didn’t have too many options per row, since there were only three tiles, but there were probably twenty rows that stretched into the room.

“Yeah, that’s a mix of stuff there. I know the symbols that match those above, but the others are images. It could be a long shot, but I think this may be a type of brain teaser. You know those pictures where if you read the drawings and words right, it says a phrase? Like the number 4 in the middle of the word ‘stance’ would be ‘for instance.’ I think it’s one of those,” she suggested, studying the floor intently. “Only problem is I don’t know for sure what those hieroglyphs mean as the people who made this thought of them.”

“There are several ways to work around a floor puzzle,” Ezekiel added. “I can try the first row and see what happens, or better yet, what doesn’t do anything, and you can go from there. It just depends on how sensitive these tiles are.” He always brought a couple heavy stones with him when he knew there was a chance for a possibly trapped tomb raid like this. He took one out of his bag and unwrapped the cloth he had it in to keep it from clanking against other metal things, looking at the tiles to pick one. “Any suggestions for a first try?”

“Um, well there’s one neo-Hebrew symbol in the first row, on the left, maybe try that?” She suggested, backing up against the wall just in case.

“Why not,” he said, gently tossing the stone onto the tile which then indented into the ground. They both froze, holding their breath for any noise, but nothing happened. “Cool, got it first try. Ok so next row,” he said, replacing the stone with his left foot, “is there anything that makes sense?”

“Well, all three could go next, but the row after has a picture which makes things different. Once I know the next, it will limit what sentences or phrases I can make,” she said.

“Ok, going for the middle then,” he decided, tossing his rock diagonally from his foot. The tile pressed down, but this time there was the sound of shifting stone in the wall on the right. A short spear whizzed in front of Ezekiel at high speed, going into a hole on the other side. Another grinding sound happened, and another spear flew by, this time from the left wall. He crouched and grabbed the rock, halting the spear trap. “Ok, not the middle.”

“Try the left one then,” she suggested, calculating what phrases could come from that path. He complied, dropping the stone in front of him. The tile depressed, triggering nothing. “Ok good. Now there’s two main ways this could go. It could have the hieroglyph, though I’m not sure if it’s supposed to represent a man running from a snakes or running into water...neither really make sense.”

“I can always work through with the rock method,” he suggested.

“It could be a metaphorical meaning, or partial, like the emphasis of running to something-”

“WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?!” a voice boomed behind Cassandra. She squeaked and jumped instinctively to her right, away from the voice without knocking Ezekiel over. Ezekiel aimed his flashlight at the intruder, revealing Dr. Stone. He was furious, face going red. “You sultry land pirates ruined my dig! In the middle of the night no less! Of course you weren’t antiques dealers, not the legit ones anyway.” He mumbled the last part to himself, but not low enough they couldn’t hear it.

“Hey! We happen to be very good at what we do,” Ezekiel retorted, failing to restrain himself.

With the element of surprise, Dr. Stone leaped at Ezekiel, locking an arm around his neck to drag him off the tiles. He quickly put Ezekiel in between himself and Cassandra, preventing her from firing the taser she was about to use. “Now, before you try anything, I can and will knock your buddy out,” he growled. Ezekiel sputtered and squirmed as Dr. Stone’s grip was none too delicate, which apparently amused the archaeologist. “I’ve been in too many bar fights to let your little scrawny ass get away, son.”

“Let him go, or I’ll-” Cassandra started, but Dr. Stone wasn’t the least bit intimidated.

“Or you’ll what? Hmm?” he pressed, trying to overpower her. When she didn’t respond, he chuckled bitterly. “That’s what I thought. You know, I’ve got no reason to keep your friend awake,” he decided, tightening his headlock. Ezekiel coughed, trying to kick out against the wall to unbalance Dr. Stone, but he was planted.

“No! Don’t-” Cassandra reached towards them, but somehow Dr. Stone managed to knock out Ezekiel in seconds before she could do anything. She tried to math her way out, try to see if she could get both herself and Ezekiel out of this, but her brain grape decided it had enough use for one day, making her head hurt and the ground suddenly wobble.

Instinctively, Dr. Stone dropped Ezekiel to the side and caught her before she tumbled onto the tiles. “You could’ve made a mess there,” he said, pulling her arms behind her back to restrain her, but not as rough as he could’ve.

“No...spears, would’ve missed me, ow,” she sucked in a breath in pain, squinting her eyes shut until it passed.

“Normally I’d not help the folks breaking into my site, but I’m feeling a little generous,” he mumbled, setting her down on the ground. He then went back over to Ezekiel and rummaged through his bag, finding what he wanted: rope. He bound Ezekiel first, then used the rest to tie her arms and legs to restrict most of her movement so she couldn’t run. “I can carry him, but I can’t carry you both, and I’d rather keep him unconscious.”

Cassandra figured her best bet was to comply until Ezekiel was awake; it’d be hard to somehow drag him out of camp once she managed to untie herself. So she followed behind him, attached to Ezekiel who he was fireman-carrying back to camp. No one else was up in the camp; she thought about making a ruckus but there wouldn’t be any point.

Dr. Stone’s tent was half the size of the artifact tent, enough room for a cot, a chair, a foldable table with papers and books on it, and space to walk between them. For lack of space, he put Ezekiel on the cot, and motioned for Cassandra to sit in the chair, leaving them tethered together. He had turned on a small lamp so they could see.

“Now, I should be furious with you both, but we’ve been stuck on that door for a week, and you cracked it within a day. How?” He asked, anger still in his voice, but less than it had been before.

“I’m sure if you had the resources we did, you would have had it open just as quickly,” she responded, not making eye contact with him. Thankfully she could concern herself with watching Ezekiel breathe slowly.

He noticed her concern, it painted her face. “He’ll be fine. Maybe a sour headache in the morning, but he’ll live. Cutting off the artery knocks someone out quicker than the airway,” he explained. She looked at him like she wanted to take his head off, but he kept going. “Why this life? With skills like that you be the top of your specialty in academia.”

“I didn’t get a choice. And he’s not cut out for the academic life, too stationary for him,” she responded, glancing at Ezekiel again before looking back to Dr. Stone. He stared at her for a few moments, thinking about something.

“What if I don’t turn you two in, if you help me get to the end of that tomb?” he asked, eyeing her suspiciously. “And you can’t take whatever ends up being in there either, obviously it’s going to a museum for further study.”

At the mention of museum, Ezekiel moaned, mumbling incoherently, before going quiet again. Dr. Stone looked over at the still-unconscious thief on his bed, confused, before looking back to her. She shrugged, as if it was something he did often.

“How do I know you won’t turn us in?” Cassandra asked, already planning away in her head.

“Once I get to whatever’s at the end of all that, I could care less where you two end up running off to. It could very well be the find of the decade,” he clarified, quite obviously thinking about the fame he was going to get in the archeology world.

She looked back over to Ezekiel, knowing he’d hate her in the morning, but love her again when they got to the end of this mess. “We’ll do it. And I’ll keep him in line, don’t worry,” she said. He watched her for a few moments, studying her face.

“Much appreciated,” he responded, dripping with sarcasm.

Though she was tired, she was still curious why Dr. Stone suddenly surprised them. “How did you know we were down there?”

“Actually, I didn’t know until I saw the door was open, and didn’t know it was you two until I found you,” he chuckled at himself before continuing. “I couldn’t sleep, too busy thinking about the door, and then I had an idea so I was going to go try it out. Did the code have to do with Yahweh?”

She looked at him wide-eyed, silently thanking Ezekiel for their ability to research so quickly. “Uh, actually, yes. They guarded the door with ‘Do not let God enter.’’

Dr. Stone looked confused, gears going in his head with that information. He then looked at the watch on his wrist, pushing a button that made the display glow for a few seconds. “Well there’s still four hours till sunrise, and I don’t intend on doing a dungeon crawl on no sleep. I suggest you mimic your friend there and get some rest too. Don’t want you goin’ down on a trap like you about did tonight.” He sat down on the ground at the foot of the cot, leaning against the frame and the blanket that had been bunched up from putting Ezekiel down. The folding chair wasn’t going to be comfortable, but Cassandra had been in worse situations than this. A poor night’s sleep was a worthy sacrifice for whatever was in that tomb.

---

Ch 3 post notes

Some good old Librarians puzzle action for ya’ll. On the puzzles, I don’t really know what is time-appropriate as I just wrote without consulting google on it, but I think it doesn’t feel too advanced or anything.

Writing that last scene was kind of weird because I had to get Stone to not freak out so much that he’d automatically turn them in, but not seem so lax with them like they were the librarians together. Not an easy balance, but I think I managed.

One more chapter left guys, which I need to finish tonight. Tuesday is my busiest day so I will try to upload it sometime, but it may happen Wednesday.

[twisttech-blog1]

D-Link's Wi-Fi camera gives a sharp, 180-degree perspective of your home Survey: $179 camera gives you a chance to see a greater amount of the house, however experiences difficulty standing out.

D-Link guarantees to watch over significantly more of your home with its new Wi-Fi surveillance camera. While it takes after different cameras like the Nest Cam and the Samsung Smartcam HD Plus from various perspectives, its 180-degree field of view is phenomenal. On the off chance that situated against a divider, the D-Link camera could watch over a whole room, leaving no shrouded alcove or disguised crevice. It's not valued severely either, at $179, but rather it accompanies a couple of provisos worth considering before you choose to pick this camera over another.

Outline: The swelling eye returns

I don't know who proclaimed that home surveillance cameras needed to look like bulbous, particular outsider eyes, yet D-Link unquestionably got that reminder. The DCS-2630L Wi-Fi camera has an extensive, round head that is considerably greater than both the Nest Cam and the Samsung Smartcam HD Plus, and it's more extensive, as well. Its neck is a bit of U-molded plastic joined to a level, round base. You can twist the neck forward and backward to change the vertical point of the camera's view, however you can't turn it from side to side.

In any case, you can turn the substance of the camera (the front some portion of the roundabout head) an entire 360 degrees to conform the perspective. On the front of the camera lies the inherent amplifier, the glass camera focal point, the light sensor for exchanging amongst day and night vision, six infrared LEDs to bolster night vision, and two PIR sensors that identify infrared radiation so the camera can tell when somebody strolls by even in the dead of night. The back of the head is loaded with little openings for the gadget's speaker, and there's likewise a status light, a WPS catch, the microSD card space, and the microUSB port for power. A noteworthy bummer is that, dissimilar to the Smartcam HD Plus, the D-Link camera does exclude a microSD in the crate; you'll need to get one preceding the camera can spare recorded clasps locally.

D-Link didn't make a watchful camera—good fortunes concealing this on a bookshelf or behind lounge stylistic layout. At any rate the Nest Cam is sufficiently little that you could devise various shrewd approaches to hide it, however it will be difficult to do likewise for the D-Link camera. Considering its 180-degree field of view, nonetheless, you'll need to place it deliberately in your home so it can cover a whole room.

Like most Wi-Fi cameras, the D-Link camera's setup comprises of an arrangement of guidelines on the My D-Link Lite versatile application. When you connect the gadget to a power source and output a QR code, you have to interface with the Wi-Fi system that is one of a kind to the camera. When you experience your cell phone's Wi-Fi settings to do that, you can backpedal into the application and reconnect to your home's system.

From that point forward, you make a D-Link account so you can sign in by means of the application or the site to see your camera's live nourish and settings. My camera required a firmware refresh, making the setup procedure longer than it would ordinarily be. Additionally, the application was somewhat wonky while I took after the guidelines, infrequently overlooking my taps and not advancing to the following stride of the setup.Image quality

Under the live stream in the application, there's a helpful catch that lets you rapidly change determination from 720p to 1080p. At first I thought this changed the recording determination, yet that is not the situation. As indicated by a D-Link delegate, spilling at 720p will give clients "a chance to save money on information utilization, battery life of the cell phone, or guarantee dependable gushing in a region that doesn't have solid Wi-Fi scope." To check the live-stream diagnostics with the application, there's a data catch that rundowns the present video determination alongside casing rate, bit rate, and general data about the camera.

In the wake of flipping amongst low and high resolutions, I didn't promptly observe a distinction in the live-stream quality nor in the screenshots I took of the video bolster. The majority of the recordings on my microSD card were spared in 1080p, regardless of which determination I decided for the live stream in the application. For reference, a 15-second video recorded at 1080p took up 2.1MB on the card.

Highlights: A more extensive degree with similar additional items

D-Link's Wi-Fi camera is one of only a handful few to offer a 180-degree field of view, and I could promptly value the distinction. It really extended the recording region of my little front room with the goal that I didn't need to point the camera toward the window to ensure all passageways were secured. For somebody who lives in a little condo (hi!), 180 degrees of vision is more about accommodation than need, since a 130-degree field of view would likely take care of business in any room. In any case, those with bigger rooms and spaces with more entryways, windows, and openings will probably value the more extensive field of view.D-Link communicates its live video stream to the versatile and Web applications. Essentially to the Smartcam HD Plus, there's a bar at the base of the stream for simple access to sound control, screenshot catch, video determination change, two-way talk, night-and day-vision control, and data show. The night/day vision is a fascinating component, as it lets you physically initiate the IR sensors that help make darker recordings clearer. My lounge doesn't have a ton of normal light pouring in throughout the day, so the camera would frequently remain in night-vision mode. It's not a gigantic disadvantage, but rather you ought to turn on day vision on the off chance that you need recordings recorded in genuine nature (night vision is all highly contrasting).

While you can take previews of the live sustain inside the application, you can't record a video cut. Previews spare to your cell phone's photograph library naturally, however the greater part of the video clasps are just recorded by identified movement or sound and stay on the microSD card. What's more, since the camera doesn't accompany a card, it's only a live spilling gadget out of the crate. Embed a microSD card, and you can then view recordings on a PC.

Movement and sound discovery is adaptable also: you can turn both components on or off exclusively, and you can set sensitivities for each. Action zones help you limit which parts of the room you need the camera to concentrate on when sending you cautions, and you can set decibel level necessities for clamors. Both of those elements are truly advantageous since the D-Link camera is very touchy: amid an ordinary day of me telecommuting, the camera would ping me many circumstances to alarm me to my own particular strolling and talking action. Setting a movement zone around the entryway would cure this, and setting the sound affectability to 80 dB would guarantee my consistent voice wouldn't trigger the camera.Or you could simply put your camera on a recording plan. From the D-Link Web application, you can set a time allotment for the camera to record ceaselessly. The primary bother about this is it must be done from the Web application—there's no booking alternative in the versatile application, nor would you be able to alter a calendar that you've officially set. The second burden is that you can just set one square of time: the scheduler is on military time and won't let you set two separate pieces of recording time every day like the Ezviz Mini will.

For anybody utilizing the camera to watch out for their home while at work, this shouldn't be a major issue since you can set it to be on ready, suppose, from 8am to 5pm Monday through Friday. I needed to set two pieces of time for each day to cover the hours I'm sleeping, commonly from 10pm to midnight and after that midnight to 6am, and I couldn't do that. You likewise can't set distinctive pieces of time for isolated days, so in the event that you have a work routine that progressions from week to week, you'll be in an ideal situation physically putting the camera on caution from the versatile application when you exit the entryway.

I anticipated that would get alarms at whatever point the camera distinguished movement or sound amid this time of consistent recording, however that is not the situation. Since the camera is continually recording, you aren't told of movement or sound. Video clasps are as yet separated by the hour in which they were taken in the playback menu of the portable application, yet you'll discover numerous more clasps since the camera is just dependably on. I'd rather spare the space on my microSD card, so I defaulted to physically turning the camera's movement and sound recognition on when I went out and crippling it when I returned.My D-Link Lite App: Features scattered amongst portable and Web

The My D-Link Lite versatile application lets Android, iOS, and Windows Phone clients exploit all the D-Link Wi-Fi camera brings to the table. It's genuinely clear, with a landing page that demonstrates a rundown of the considerable number of cameras you have associated with your record. While D-Link doesn't offer distributed storage that may increment in cost in the event that you have more than one camera, you will at present need to pay the $179 for each extra device.From the application's settings, you pick which cameras you need to get notices from and see a rundown of D-Link friend applications. There's a "declarations" page where D-Link clarifies issues like booked upkeep, application and site fixes, and distinctive bolster questions. That could prove to be useful if your camera isn't working legitimately—check the declarations page to check whether D-Link is as of now mindful of the issue.

Tapping on a camera from the landing page conveys you to its live stream, and the page seems to be like the Smartcam HD Plus' live page: video stream at the main, a toolbar specifically beneath it, and a settings symbol at the upper right of the page that prompts particular camera alternatives and playback. The most helpful devices you can access from the live stream are the quiet catch, for when you need to check what's happening at home stealthily amid a work meeting, and the two-way talk highlight, which gives you a chance to shout at youngsters and pets that are definitely annihilating something in your front room.

Those elements are fundamental, however I missed the manual recording highlight found on most other home surveillance cameras. There's dependably the possibility you open the live sustain and see something suspiciou.