#the tension is tighter than a steel cable

[donniedrako15comissioncenter]

Captain America vs Hulk (MCU): Fight

Note: This is a two part story and a commission. If you want a commission of your own then please dm me directly. For info on the fighters check the link below.

Info

To say that Captain Steve Grant Rogers has been through a lot would be the understatement of multiple centuries. He never would've imagined that joining the good fight would somehow put him in the realm of gods and monsters. Yet here he was, a man now doubly out of time, in a world not his own.

For "days" now, the super-soldier had been on a quest throughout the known universe to deliver the all-powerful Infinity Stones to their proper place. However, during one of his many voyages, his quantum suit received a powerful glitch, forcing him to take a harsh landing on the hostile planet of Sakaar.

Cap tried fighting back the eccentric "locals," but once those fiendish obedience disks got on his person, it was all over. Impressed by his fighting skills, the Grandmaster decided to "reward" him with the honor of fighting his greatest champion. This brings us to now, as Cap finds himself in the center of a large arena filled with alien bystanders frothing at the mouth for his downfall.

However, the super-soldier didn't dare pay them any mind; instead, he did what he's always done and focused on the mission ahead. Every second that he wasted here was another second that could put this timeline in danger. Because during his infamous capture, the good captain, unfortunately, lost both Mjolnir and the Stones.

This champion was the least of his worries if the latter was somehow in the Grandmaster's possession. Nevertheless, the Avenger didn't dare let fear cloud his judgment. He had already fought too hard, gave up too much to dare turn back now. So he will deliver the stones, and he will return to Peggy or die trying.

So as Steve steadied his mighty shield, he gave his alien captor one last look of defiance. One that sent shivers down his spine while he called for his mighty champion. Muscles tighter than a steel cable tensed at every oncoming stomp. The crowd's energy soon became ecstatic, roaring out of their seats while waving green flags and smoke flares.

That small hint was all Steve needed to put the pieces together and dread what was to come. In one of Thor's drunken rants over the years, he talked about this a lot. While most of the speech was incomprehensible, the main message was still evident. The champion he was facing was the Immortal, Indestructible, the Incredible.

"HHHHHUUUUULLLLKKKKK!" said the Green Goliath as he burst through the metal doors clad in gladiator attire and war paint.

Like clockwork, he basked in the adulation of the crowd, finally obtaining the respect he desperately craved. Picking up on this, Steve lowered his guard, walking towards the beast and trying to reason with him.

"Hulk, it's me, Steve. Do you remember me? If so, please, I don't want to fight you. We can get out of here together."

For once, Cap's speech fell on death ears, only angering Hulk as he leveled his large hammer and axe. Realizing that words would do nothing, Steve gave out an exhausted sigh before readying his shield. The two former allies shared a brief moment of tension, the only peace that was ever going to happen in this fight.

Hulk opened up first, nearly reaching the ceiling off a single jump. He didn't stay there long, though, as he immediately dropped down with a thunderous slam. Monstrous strength meets vibranium in a clash that sends waves of dust flying. Reflexively Cap braced his knees, letting the shield redirect most of the impact and shifting his weight just enough to slide off the shock.

Immediately his brain went into overdrive. Analyzing Hulk's massive frame, he instantly pointed out his weak points and made a strategy. His "ace in the hole" was the only way he was going to survive, meaning he had to stall as best he could. So, in quick succession, Cap threw his freedom frisbee twice in Hulk's face, stunning him long enough to strike his right ankle at full force.

No matter how strong he was, his pressure points were still weak points. Banner fell on one knee, letting Cap circle around and jump on top! Steve piled on the pressure like a jackhammer, striking Hulk's helmet, so many sparks flew! In anger, Hulk tried to fall on his back to smush Steve, but he immediately backflipped away to gain some distance.

However, in an unexpected move of sheer flexibility, Hulk's roll turned into a roll and then a wide swing that entirely made contact. The captain took a nasty hit even with the blocked shield, nearly losing consciousness upon colliding with the opposite wall. Bones creaked, and saliva flew out as Cap instantly slumped down. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the Grandmaster applauding his sacred champion.

That smarmy face was all Cap needed to get back up while keeping his concentration, knowing his ace was still approaching. After soaking up another round of applause, Hulk looked at the beaten Captain America and geared himself for another fight, running at him with primal energy.

However, this was exactly what the Captain wanted, as before he could strike a killing blow, the arena once again shook. Off in the distance, the sounds of crumbled stone and wrenched metal could be heard getting closer. Finally, however, our combatants heard something far greater than all those, the piercing cry of a storm.

A split second later, a blue streak of pure lightning collided with Hulk's helmet so hard it fragmented. The force alone was so great he dropped his ace as he got embedded in the wall. The screams of thousands instantly fell quiet under the sound of thunder as the streak revealed it's true form.

Forged in the heart of a dying star, enchanted by the gods and coated in an alloy that can hold off the Infinity Stones themselves, this legendary weapon is power incarnate. And Steve Rogers was more than worthy of it. So with a simple gesture, Cap called forth the mighty mallet Mjonir, imbuing himself with the power of Thor. Now rejuvenated, Cap also picked up Hulk's fallen axe, applying it on his shield hand. Now armed with the hammer, shield, and axe in hand he assumed a battle position, saying to the fellow super-soldier.

"I can do this all day."

The quote alone was so infuriating that Hulk burst out of his metallic coffin, freshly pissed off as he removed his crumpled helmet. For the first time in months, the crowd had no idea who would win, forcing them to a lulled silence at the second clash between Avengers. Now properly angered, Hulk unleashed a massive jump; however, Cap met him for a mid-air battle this time.

Magic and Gamma radiation clashed in a barrage of CQC blows that lit up the arena like fireworks. Unfortunately, the two were evenly matched in power, making this a bitter struggle. Eventually, Hulk grabbed Cap's chest, slamming him back to the earth hard enough to create a cloud of thick dust. Following that, the beast immediately threw Cap aside like a ragdoll.

Using this newfound distance to an advantage, Steve immediately threw Mjolnir and his shield together while using the axe to steady himself. Hulk paid them no mind, thinking that he simply missed his shot. However, that quickly shifted when a small flick of the wrist forced the hammer to hit the shield right into Hulk's right leg. With him correctly tripped up, Cap instantly disarmed Hulk's hammer with the axe!

Before he could recover properly, Hulk got smacked in the head upon Mljonir's return. From there, a will of iron mixed with a god's might overwhelmed Earth's mightiest hero as Cap used both the axe and hammer to launch his shield repeatedly. Each hit was stronger and more brutal than the last, forcing him back upon every swing.

Unfortunately, Jade Jaws adapted, countering back with a heavenly thunderclap. Every eardrum in the arena rang violently while the shield's momentum completely stopped dead. Waves of dirt completely discombobulated the Star-Spangled Man meaning he barely blocked a punch that broke his axe completely from force alone.

The hammer's enhancement was the only thing that saved Rogers from an early grave. However, both had become a near unstoppable force at that point, standing his ground while hitting him dead-on with a Mlojnir equipped right hook to the face. This left him wide open for Cap to ingeniously pin the hammer on Hulk's body.

From there, Steve still latched on to the now immobilized monster, reequipping his shield and maintaining his grip on the hammer to unleash his final attack. Cap poured every single ounce of power and will into his final blast, so much that his body started to spark with unkempt power. He had seen Thor do this a thousand times but experiencing it was a whole another matter entirely.

For a full-on minute, the two Avengers kept their grappling match up while the various machines of the arena started to spark and sputter at the thundercloud overhead. The audience now started to get scared, worried over the tremendous power about to take place. Cap finally let it loose once he couldn't contain the mighty storm anymore.

A humongous, concentrated blast of pure lightning aimed itself right at the two heroes. Cap ducked behind his shield at the last second as soon enough. He got launched from the massive explosion. An all-consuming light bathed the stadium as the blast tore through the ground and ravaged the Hulk with millions of concentrated volts.

When the dust settled, a bruised, bloody dirt-filled Cap came out of the smoke, gazing upon a giant searing crater with a defeated Hulk in the center. Shock and awe completely overtook the crowd, speechless that their champion had fallen. Then, however, the crowd started to cheer Steve Rogers' name one by one.

"Cap-tian, Cap-tian, Cap-tian," the crowd said with increasing hype.

However, like before, the Captain paid them no mind instead looking at the Grandmaster who was moments away from activating an alien device; realizing this, Steve threw his shield a final time while calling on Mjolnir. Unfortunately, the collision of the two weapons gave the shield more than enough momentum to break into Grandmaster's private seat and shred the device in half.

The tyrannical Skaaran looked at the feat in disbelief, realizing he had finally claimed the wrong individual. However, all he could do was marvel at the man who's faced titans and gods while utterly dreading what's to come. Because the super-soldier quickly took hold of his hammer once again, ready to fight his way through the entire planet. After all, if it were for Peggy, he could do this all day.

[natwhumps]

Taken from Chapter 10 of The Cetus Arc

The tension on her arms were killing her. Her left shoulder throbbed with an passion that’s beyond pain, beyond agony. She could feel the shattered pieces of her clavicle pressing against the inside of her skin. Her arms were stretched up above her head with her weight resting entirely on them. Groaning, she tried to find her feet but only her toes could reach the floor. Her head felt fuzzy from too much sleep but it ached in a way that felt deeply wrong. 

Something was fundamentally wrong with her, something that was beyond the physical but her mind couldn’t hold the thought. It just flowing through her fingers like sand, and it floated away with the wind. 

She suppressed a shudder as goosebumps raised on her skin. Cold, she’s so cold. She opened her eyes and looked down. Naked, I’m fucking naked. Fear rose from the pit of her stomach. Where the fuck am I? What happened? Clenching her jaw, she bit back a moan. She closed her eyes as she tried to recall. Remember! Fucking remember! What was the last thing that happened?

Opening her eyes again, she tried to catalog her wounds, maybe it would jog her memories. Her abdomen was a mess of half dried and half bleeding wounds. It looked like she had caught a blast right in the middle. How did that happened? Her head and neck felt like a massive pulsating bruise. Her thoughts were constantly slipping from her mind just as she thought them, making the entire process that much more infuriating.Did I hit my head? The worst pain of all was her shoulder. The grating feel of bone against bone sent white hot stabs of misery down her arm and back. Her head lolled forward in a bid to control her pain. as her toes slipped and her weight fell back onto her shoulder. The pain that she held back burst through her lips. 

I can’t remember.

The heavy footsteps of booted feet echoed as it approached her. “Waking up, I see. How are you feeling, Pathfinder?”

Ryder’s pain glazed eyes didn’t have searched for the owner of the voice. She’d recognised the voice anywhere. The owner had been a pain in her side ever since she had fucking held to her morals on Kadara. “Reyes fucking Vidal,” she croaked, voice dry from disuse. “You think I could get a glass of water?”

“How droll of you, Ryder,” Vidal drawled, his eyes raked over her naked body. 

He stepped ever closer to Ryder. She could feel him looking at her like a piece of meat. She couldn’t help the heat that crept up her face. Silently she cursed her body��s betrayal. “Embarrassed?” he asked. “You shouldn’t be. You have an amazing body.”

Ryder clenched her jaw tighter, concentrating on keeping her balance on her toes. Vidal circled her, coming closer with every step. “Look at you, the famed Shield of Meridian trussed up like a pig,” he laughed. 

Eyes roved over her naked body. “You have amassed quite a collection of wounds,” he continued without a beat. “I’m sorry that my men were a little rough retrieving you.”

Apparently he didn’t need a partner to have a conversation. Vidal looked at her scarred thigh, Ryder couldn’t help but cross her legs. She had never ever felt more exposed than she did then. Showers on the Tempest with the crew never made her uncomfortable but the way Vidal’s amber eyes scrutinised her flesh disgusted her. It made her felt dirty. “Now that’s new,” he said. “It looks very sensitive to the touch. I wonder if it is.”

Vidal brushed a hand down her thigh and she trembled. The way his eyes were smouldering with desire sent a chill down her spine. He raised a hand and gently brushed against the faint line on her abdomen. “That looked like a stab wound.” he asked. “I think I remember that one. I made this scar didn’t I? Well, not me specifically but one of my people. I’m glad we didn’t get you then. This is so much better.”

Vidal moved closer to brush against the scar again. Ryder lifted her legs to lock against Vidal’s neck but he danced away and her reward was pain that flared anew. His laughter grated against her ears, more so than his touch. Ryder’s eyes met his. “Don’t look so angry. You made it personal. When you warned Sloane back at the cave, it was still a difference of opinion. We could have parted ways then but no. You had to disrupt my operations, all but put me out of business.”

Vidal stood with his arms folded over his chest. “Actually I should thank you. If you didn’t close Kadara to me, the Collective would have never branched out. Look at where that brought me.” 

Ryder took the chance to study the room she was in. The room wasn’t big but it was empty. Nothing around just the bare infrastructure, all furniture that had been here were removed. Ryder could still see the outline of the furniture on the ground. The interior wasn’t like the usual pre-fab buildings. There was a pair of doors she was facing and there were no windows to see out of. Her head throbbed louder and harder as she tried to remember. The last thing she remembered was preparing for a mission but what was the mission?

Vidal kicked her legs out from under her. “Are you listening?” he demanded. 

Ryder cried out. Gone was the desire, it’s now anger in Vidal’s eyes. Her arms burnt with effort and her toes were constantly slipped and giving way. Every grunt of pain lifted Vidal’s mouth up, higher and wider. He smirked. “Now you will get your just reward, Shield of Meridian,” Vidal all but spat the title. 

“All that talking, Vidal,” she said through clenched teeth. “You just love the sound of your voice don’t you?”

“Defiance,” he laughed. “Enjoy it while you still can.”

“I take it that’s a no for that glass of water.”

Before Vidal could reply, the double doors swung open. “Ahhh, they are back,” he said. 

A mixed group of human, turian and asari came walking in, their arms laden with things. Her heartbeat loud in her ears as her eyes scanned the materials brought in. Fear gripped her heart and squeezed hard. A whimper escaped unbidden from her lips. Vidal barked a laugh so loud it echoed. “Where’s your defiance now, Pathfinder?”

“Leave them here,” he instructed. 

Ryder watched with dawning horror. A metal bat, a large battery the kind found in the Nomad thumped on the ground along with cables and a prod, a box that was labelled medi-gel and finally a flask containing some liquid. Not water, Ryder would wager. She took a deep shuddering breath and steeled herself. 

----

Cold, freezing water hit her skin jolting her awake. Her skin felt raw, more exposed than merely the fact she was fucking hanging naked from the ceiling. Her toes slipped again, the dull throb screamed into a raging inferno of agony. “Is that all you can take, Pathfinder?” Vidal said, his voice smooth honey over glass.

Ryder coughed and she realised something warm and metallic filled her mouth. Fuck, I bit my tongue. She spat a glob of blood onto the ground. Vidal stood outside of spit range but she had to try anyway just on principle. He cocked his head and turned to the turian holding the prod. “Go easy on the voltage, I want this to last.”

The asari and human worked fast, applying medi-gel perfunctorily on her new wounds. It had been like this for how long? Ryder couldn’t remember. Minutes? Hours? Surely not days? The medi-gel provided a measure of numbness but it was barely enough to put a dent in her torment. At least I am not about to die immediately.

The chains jingled as Ryder tried to keep her balance. Her arms felt cold and numb, her wrists rubbed raw. She didn’t know if she could hold out hope for rescue. Did anyone know what happened? Was the mission even a success? How could anyone fucking find me? Vidal flicked his eyes to meet hers. She read smug satisfaction from his. She trembled. It’s the cold, that’s it the fucking cold. 

Vidal shifted his weight from one leg to another and stepped towards her. “Let’s change things up a bit.”

Ripping the electrode from her thigh, Ryder whimpered. The electrode had left a large blackened patch right next to the healing scar she got on Ryder-01. His hand hovered her crotch for a moment, his smile hitched higher. “We’ll leave that for later,” he teased. 

Ryder saw red and let the blood pooling in her mouth loose. Blood and spit took him straight in the face and if Ryder was right, he definitely got some in his mouth. She chuckled at the tiny victory she had, showing him her bloody teeth and all. Vidal wiped the mess off his face, his smile now a snarl of rage. Ryder watched as he took a step back before slamming his fist into her face. It’s a certain kind of horror to watch it happen and be so helpless to avoid it. His fist connected with her nose and stars bloomed behind her eyes. Once, twice and thrice. She screamed as the bone cracked. Blood poured from her nose. 

He stuck the electrode just under her right breast before stepping back. “I take that back. Let’s up the voltage instead,” he instructed. 

“My pleasure,” the turian sneered. “I had always approved of the Hierarchy’s treatment of turian biotics let alone human ones.”

Oh, he’s one of those hard liners. Turians and their fucking fear of biotics.

Ryder blinked quickly to clear her vision. Her eyes staring at each and every person in the room in turns, her mind trying its best to memorise every feature on every person. The turian with the prod walked forward, leering at her body. The prod crackled with electricity and the turian stabbed it right to her chest. As white hot pain coursed through her nerves, her body shook and convulsed uncontrollably, muscles contracted and pulled in ways unnatural. What probably lasted mere seconds left like an eternality to Ryder. Her jaw locked up over her tongue again and she wasn’t even able to scream. 

“Dance Ryder, dance,” Vidal said, watching at the prod stabbed again and again onto Ryder’s naked form. Burn marks blooming everywhere it touched. There was barely any break between each stab, it felt like a long continuous torture of pain and loss of control. Ryder writhed as electricity coursed through her body. A sudden stink filed the air. Vidal laughed harder when he realised the Pathfinder had voided her bowels. Urine and shit joined the water that was used to wake her up earlier. 

Then, a hint of red joined the mess on the ground. Vidal traced the trail of blood up from Ryder’s leg, to her abdomen, passed her breast to her shoulder. The contraction of her muscles was so strong that it forced the bone to break through her skin. Blood from the fresh wound mingled with the old. Vidal gave the turian a signal. The turian snorted, unhappy his pleasure was cut short. Ryder’s head lolled and hung down between her shoulders. She panted heavily to catch her breath as blood dribbled down her chin. 

“I think you had enough,” Vidal said. “My eyes are tired just from watching you.”

Ryder’s eyes felt heavy. She was tired, so fucking tired. What hope was there for a rescue? If she wanted out, she had to get herself out. She grunted as she lifted her head up. Ryder dug deep, deeper than she ever thought possible. Slowly she tried to gather her biotics energy, maybe just enough for a Charge to get a head start or a Shockwave to cut that smile off Vidal’s face. 

Vidal had his back towards her but the turian was eyeing her with suspicion. Ryder knew she didn’t have much time. She had to act while she still had the strength to, if she waited too long she probably wouldn’t survive the escape. The familiar flare of her amp didn’t come. It was inert like it was dead. Panic seized her. That was her last line of defence, she had no ace in the sleeve. “No…”

Vidal had a syringe in his hand when he turned to face her. “I think she was trying to use her biotics,” the turian remarked, laughing as he did so. 

“I knew she would eventually. Luckily we have a little something to combat that,” he said, holding the syringe up meaningfully. 

Fuck, he has biotics inhibitor.

“Ryder, Ryder, Ryder,” Vidal said as he moved closer with the syringe. “You are not going anywhere but where I want you to.”

She flinched away as the syringe moved towards her but there was only so much play the chain had. Pain flared with her every movement but Ryder ignored it all. She needed her biotics if she was to get out of here. Vidal’s smile grew wider, his movement just slow enough for Ryder to move out of the syringe’s way. Ryder knew what he was doing. He was allowing her to avoid him enough to cause pain to herself but she couldn’t stop herself. To stop was to give up on herself, she couldn’t do that. Though Ryder couldn’t remember, she knew she had something important to do. Then, there was a sharp prick of a needle at the back of her head, right where her amp was. A cold so intense it hurt spread from that point throughout her body. The inhibitor flooded her system cutting all hope of an escape. 

“No!” she screamed.

----

How long was it this time? She craned her neck up, the room was empty now, her wounds again slathered with a meagre layer of medi-gel. Ryder glanced at the box of medi-gel packs, there were plenty left. Does Vidal intend to use it all up? Before he’ll actually kill me? Ryder pushed that line of thought out of her mind. They will come, Jaal will. Tentatively she tried to gather her biotics but nothing came. How long do the inhibitors last anyway?

“SAM?” she whispered. 

There was no reply. She wasn’t surprised. Why not? Ryder frowned and made a sound of frustration. Why can’t I remember? 

The smell that filled the room was nauseating. Her toes stepping in her own filth. Shame crept up her face. How the fuck did this happen? No sooner had the thought came to her mind, the doors opened again. Vidal strode in, his pace quick and confident. “Good, good,” he said. “You’re awake.”

“You managed to outlast the battery so it’s move on to better things,” he said. 

“Vidal,” Ryder rasped, “You can’t even do your own dirty work? Why do you have your gang here do it for you?”

Vidal’s face darkened, he glanced at the people around, a strange look on his face. Ryder frowned but the thought was quickly dispelled from her mind when Vidal took up the bat and smacked across the burnt mark on her thigh. She screamed. Then, the bat connected with her face, the blow splitting her skin and blood poured.

Ryder’s voice was hoarse and her breaths ragged. Medi-gel isn’t going to help this time. “Is that all you got?” she spat, laughing a little. “Are you tired already?”

Vidal dropped the bat on the ground, panting with effort. The bat rolled to a stop at her feet. Ryder laughed again. “You got shit all over it now,” she said. 

Vidal glanced back at the gang at his back, the same look crossed his face. Is that disgust? Ryder couldn’t be sure, her vision was tunnelling. She was sure now, there was no getting out of here. She wasn’t going to last much longer. “Hand me the flask,” Vidal barked. 

Ryder’s eyes following the movements of the human who handed the flask to Vidal. The flask was a thick walled bottle with clear exterior. The liquid inside sloshed and it looked vaguely blue but clear. “I brought something from home just for you, Ryder,” Vidal’s voice back to being smooth like honey. 

She vaguely wondered if Vidal got whiplash from the switch he made all the time. She didn’t deign to provide him with a response, since he didn’t need one anyway. Vidal uncapped the flask and poured a little onto the ground near Ryder’s feet. The moment the liquid touched the ground, it sizzled. Her eyes widened as she realised what that was. Her toes shifted to avoid it. 

Vidal’s eyes looked onto Ryder’s, a smirk on his lips. “Yes, that’s what you think it is,” he said. “That’s the acid from Kadara’s lakes.”

“No,” she said, she no longer cared if Vidal could see the fear. “No!”

Then an asari rushed in through the double doors, breathless from running. “What is it?” Vidal asked, obviously annoyed at being interrupted. 

“We got to go, now!” she said. 

Hope flared in her heart. All her hurts suddenly didn’t seem to bother her. The others began to pick up their weapons and left the room while Vidal grimaced. “See you around, Ryder,” he said. “Let this be a parting gift from me to you.”

With that said, Vidal smashed the flask at her feet. Ryder howled as droplets of the acid splashed against her legs and feet. Instantly she lifted her feet up and screamed as her arms took her weight. Her shoulder was the epicentre of white hot agony.

Read from the start | Read more on AO3

[gumnut-logic]

The Bellini Incident (Part One)

Title: The Bellini Incident

Part One

Author: Gumnut

Apr 2019

Fandom: Thunderbirds Are Go 2015/ Thunderbirds TOS

Rating: Teen

Summary: Kayo was going to kill him.

Word count: 3381

Spoilers & warnings: Virgil/Kayo, Virgil!whump with a side order of Scott!whump.

Timeline: Standalone, not Rain series.

Author’s note: For @soniabigcheese who threw the prompt at me, and @i-am-chidorixblossom who suggested some Virgil whump. Scott got a bit whumped, too, I’m branching out as a writer, blame @scribbles97.

The prompt: The character who doesn’t realize they’ve been hurt trying to see if everyone else is okay only to slowly realize that everyone is looking at them with mounting horror. Then they touch their side to find it’s wet and oh no…

I’m not sure I pulled it off, and this is only part one, but I hope you enjoy it anyway :D

Disclaimer: Mine? You’ve got to be kidding. Money? Don’t have any, don’t bother.

-o-o-o-

Bellini Construction...the wind had the sign banging against bare steel girders, an onerous clang above the howl of the weather and the whimpers of the man Scott was edging into a harness. First aid in extreme circumstances was International Rescue’s speciality, but that didn’t make it any easier for the person involved.

“Sir, we are nearly there. Please give me your arm.”

The construction worker was one of three who had been caught unawares by an unexpected storm that had swooped in on the site half an hour ago. The high-rise building was subjected to gale-force winds it hadn’t been secured for, and a lightning strike had been the final straw. Part of the structure collapsed in on itself, trapping the three men who had been making their way down. The elevator had fallen several meters. Safeties had kicked in, but the structure had destabilised and the supports holding the car bent under the strain.

International Rescue had been called and Scott had responded.

The two other men had been uninjured and were now safely aboard, but this man had broken his leg. An emergency splint and a haul up to Thunderbird One was the plan.

As with all broken bones, movement hurt like hell. Scott winced in sympathy as he secured the final buckle of the harness and began the lift up to his ‘bird. “I’m sorry, sir. I will do this as fast and as gently as I can.”

The man’s whimper as he became airborne was his only answer.

Scott had his jetpack on, but the gale was a challenge, so he hung onto the line, slowly pulling the man higher. Far above them, Thunderbird One was firing her stabilising thrusters aggressively to maintain her hover.

“Nearly there, sir.”

But the man was beyond reassurance, his expression terrified.

They had almost cleared the skeletal mass of the unfinished building when the world lit up in blinding white with an ear-bleeding bang. The man in his arms screamed and Scott’s senses whited out. The wind threw them against the building’s superstructure and through spots in his vision, Scott attempted to stabilise their ascent.

John was yelling in his ear when something rammed him from his left and everything blacked out.

-o-o-o-

Virgil gripped his ‘bird’s yoke just that little bit tighter as the man behind him demanded delivery to Port de Saint Tropez on the Mediterranean despite having been rescued in the middle of the Pacific.

“Sir, we will be landing in Sydney shortly. You may make alternate arrangements there.” At least Gordon was being polite. Virgil wasn’t really in the mood having had to listen to the rich billionaire abuse his brother for the last hour as the aquanaut had fished him off the bottom of the ocean, his luxury yacht having had an argument with a reef system. Several of his staff had died in the accident, yet he showed no remorse. Virgil was surprised his brother hadn’t decked him yet.

But then again perhaps that was more worrisome. Gordon had other ways to express his ire.

“Thunderbird Two we have an IR situation.” John. Calm, but urgent.

In the split second between this statement and the following, Virgil’s stomach twisted, his brain automatically listing off the brothers currently unaccounted for. IR situation meant IR operative down or endangered. Alan? Scott?

Kay?

“Thunderbird One is in need of emergency assistance. Contact lost.”

Tokyo. Scott was in Tokyo. Without thought, Virgil was changing his flight plan, inputting new coordinates into the nav system. The sunlight in the cockpit coasted across the decking as the great ‘bird banked into a turn towards the north. A pause for course correction and Virgil’s arm shoved the throttle to full speed.

Dick Billionaire - Virgil hadn’t bothered to remember his last name, and ‘Richard’ was just too easy to exploit - squawked in his seat as they were all shoved backwards at the sudden acceleration.

“What the hell? Where are you taking me?”

“We have another emergency to attend to, sir. We apologise for the delay in your disembark, but it is unavoidable.” Virgil didn’t blink and didn’t look at the man.

“This is unacceptable!”

“Too bad. Gordon, could you please take Mr Billionaire down below. And sir, if you disrespect my brother one more time, I will have you ejected from my ship.”

“Your brother?”

“Get out now.”

He could feel Gordon staring at him, but his little brother did his bidding and apparently it had been enough to shut Dick up for the short term at least. The two left and Virgil turned to the hologram of John hovering above his console. “Details?”

John was frowning at him, but the situation took precedence as it should. “Scott was attending a situation at a construction site. Bellini Constructions high rise apartments in Tokyo. Storm hit and the structure partly collapsed, trapping three workers. Scott managed to free two and was handling the third when the building was struck by lightning. I have not had contact since.”

Virgil’s gut clenched. Shit. “Thunderbird One’s status?”

“I’ve slaved her to Thunderbird Five for safety. Gale force winds are an issue and she has two rescuees aboard.”

“Scott’s status?”

“Vitals steady, but he appears to be trapped amongst a tangle of girders approximately one hundred and fifty metres above the ground. One of the rescuees is with him. The rescuee has a broken leg.”

Thunderbird Two shot over Indonesia, the blue sea interspersed by tropical green and white weather systems as they breached the equator.

“Weather conditions are still poor. Caution is recommended.” Virgil could hear the tension in John’s voice, despite its calm. One brother out of contact and sending another into the same situation definitely sat on John’s reasons to be tense list.

“FAB, Thunderbird Five.”

Guam passed beneath them as they skirted the Philippine Sea. Gordon returned to the cockpit and took up his seat quietly. John briefed him equally as calmly and his younger brother swore. John threw up a hologram of the construction site showing Scott’s location, wind direction and speed, and Thunderbird One.

Virgil grit his teeth.

Ten minutes later Thunderbird Two hit Japanese air space and John was answering their queries in flawless Japanese. Virgil cut speed as they approached the storm whipping across Tokyo and grounding the majority of their air traffic. His ‘bird shook a little and then stabilised, her mass used to her advantage. He kicked in VTOL as they approached the site, killing off unneeded speed and coming to a hover a safe distance above the damaged building.

“Any response from Scott?”

“Nothing.” John’s voice was worried. “Vitals still strong.”

Unconscious or broken comms. One or the other. “I’m going down with the suit. Gordon, keep her in the air and stable. I have no wish to play George of the Jungle with any of those pylons.”

Gordon frowned. “George who?”

Virgil rolled his eyes. “Just keep her steady.”

“FAB.”

He could have taken the rescue rig, but the less dangling bits below his ‘bird, the better, so he stashed two spare harnesses, donned his exosuit and shot a zipline at a steep angle from the belly of his ‘bird. Carabiner engaged, he jumped.

It was hard and it was fast. But it had to be. The wind tore at him and it had started raining in sheets. His uniform was waterproof, but he had to work partly on instruments to see where the hell he was going and the metal girders were slick when he hit them, his boots sliding despite their specialised grip.

Scott and the rescuee were amongst a tangle of broken girders at the centre of the structure. John shot him integrity readouts and stress factors as he moved. The suit made it awkward and the ground was so far below in the falling rain, he couldn’t see it.

This could possibly be a good thing. One hundred and fifty metres was no small drop.

A cable hung from Thunderbird One and disappeared into a pile of wreckage to his right. It was a haunting sight.

C’mon, Scott, be okay.

It was more a demand than a plea.

The pile of girders was a nasty game of pickup sticks. Virgil was able to move them, but had little option for footing or angle and he was desperate to not cause any further collapse. John reassured him that there was no one below the structure, but it still seemed reckless to just let the spans of metal fall from this height, but then he had no real choice in the matter.

Five girders in and he found his brother first.

He was shoved up against a half-built wall by a single girder, pinning him there by the thruster pack on his back.

It was the only thing preventing the man from falling into the vast emptiness below.

Shit.

“Scott, can you hear me?” No response. “Scott!”

Nothing.

Damn.

Getting there to reach him was going to be a challenge. Calculations and a check with John...Virgil fired a grapple gun across the gap from where he was standing to the stable support on the other side. Securing it, he disengaged his support line to TB2 and clipped himself to the new line.

Gordon grumbled in his ear.

“I’ll be fine, Gordon. Besides, I have little choice.”

More muttering, which he ignored.

Releasing his arms from the suit, he let it take his weight and pulled himself across the gap.

The rain decided to increase and completely wash out his vision.

Goddamnit.

Reaching his brother, he linked in with the man’s harness to prevent him from falling and, with that, a small sigh of relief slipped between his teeth.

But still there was no response from Scott. “C’mon, Scott, give me a sign here.”

Nothing. He still hung limp.

Virgil wrapped his arms around his brother, bringing his helmeted head to lie on his shoulder, as he reached around to disengage the flight pack. A snap of fastenings and he let the pack drop, taking Scott’s weight in his arms. “Scott?”

Nothing.

“Gordon, I need an ascent line down here.”

“FAB.”

Thunderbird Two shifted position, his ‘bird moving to a hover far above Virgil. A line fed slowly down, wavering in the wind. “You’re going to have to catch it, Virg. I can’t get her any closer without a risk of influencing the structure.”

“I know.” The gale was definitely having its way and the rain brought his vision down to almost nothing. It took several attempts to grab the weighted line. Scott continued to hang limp in his grasp. God, he wished his brother would wake up. There was zero ability to do a medical assessment in these conditions. He had to get Scott up to TB2 and then return for the other man.

The wind gusted and spun him around. Damnit.

It took two attempts to fasten the line to his harness, but finally he was able to signal Gordon to pull them up. “I’m going to need you to secure Scott in the medbay. Ask John to slave TB2 to Thunderbird Five for the shortest time possible. I don’t trust these winds at all.”

As if to prove his point, a gust blew up and whipped them around, sending the brothers into a spin. A second gust grabbed them and threw them both side-on into a damaged girder. Virgil curled around his brother protecting him from hitting the jagged chunk of metal. Pain shot up his left side and he swore. Great, more bruises. He still hadn’t cleared up the last batch from the earthquake in New Zealand. Kay was going to glare at him again.

He pushed off from the structure and they continued their ascent. Being swallowed whole by his ‘bird was the most beautiful feeling. As the hatch closed beneath him, Gordon rushed up and helped him lower Scott and himself to the deck.

He handed his older brother gently over to his younger brother and the hover stretcher following behind him. “Check him out. Keep me updated.” Virgil grit his teeth, man, his side hurt. Damn wind. “Gotta go back down and grab the rescuee.”

With that, he opened the bay doors again, and securing himself, began another descent back down to the construction site.

-o-o-o-

The sudden engagement of powerful rocket thrusters woke Scott Tracy.

The sound was so sudden, so abrupt, he startled awake and sat up before he realised where he was. The world spun in circles to thank him. He clutched his head and found himself at war with his stomach.

Ugh.

Bile rose in his throat, its bitter taste foul. Shit.

“Don’t you be throwing up in here, the place stinks enough already.”

Huh?

Even with his eyes closed he had enough information to identify TB2’s infirmary. But who the hell was that?

He won the battle with his stomach, swallowing forcibly, but his head continued to pound and the world was anything but steady. Despite this, he squinted and opened his eyes.

Oh god.

A basin was shoved into his hands and he lost the war.

His head hated him even more, but at least his stomach shut up.

“Great. Now it really stinks. This is bloody outrageous. I could be feet up, breathing French air, but no, I get dragged halfway across the bloody planet stuck in this tin can with whiner and vomit boy.” Another voice said something unintelligible. “I swear I’m going to sue International Rescue to its knees.”

That had Scott paying attention despite his throbbing head. He opened his mouth to voice a retort, but was interrupted by a familiar voice on comms.

“Scott, how do you feel?” John.

Another attempt to open his eyes proved a little more successful and he found his brother’s hologram floating next to him.

“I-“

“Hey, you, glowboy. When the hell do I get let off this boat?”

John turned slowly and calmly in the direction of a rotund, formerly well-dressed man of European appearance. “Mr Polominka, you will be set down in Sydney as previously discussed as soon as our more urgent patients receive medical attention.”

“And how long will that be?”

Scott watched as his most patient brother frowned. “As long as it needs to be.”

“And what am I supposed to do in the meantime?”

John shrugged. “You could shut up. It would make this whole process much more peaceful.”

Being told to shut up apparently shocked the man into doing exactly that, the look of outrage on his face choked down whatever he had been going to say.

John ignored him and turned back to Scott. “How are you feeling?”

Scott grunted. “Been better.” A bitter swallow. Urgh. “Status?”

“We are approaching Nagoya. We have made arrangements to access hospital facilities there. The storm over Tokyo was making landing difficult so Virgil opted for the nearest major city.”

“Thunderbird One?”

“Gordon has her. On her way home.”

Hospital? He knew his brother. Virgil wouldn’t let him go home without seeing a doctor. Ugh. Almost as bad as fighting his stomach. He eyed the two other men in the room. “Rescuee status?”

“The two aboard TB1 have been delivered to Nagoya. The third has two broken legs and is sharing the infirmary with you. I have reassured him he is safe, however he is still distressed...and Mr Polominka is not helping the situation.”

“Me? You’re the one who kidnapped me!”

John ignored him. “Mr Polominka was rescued off his luxury yacht on a remote island in the South Pacific. We were returning him to Sydney when you encountered difficulties.”

“Returning? I don’t want to go to bloody Sydney. I said France, you asshole!”

While Scott’s blood turned as cold as his expression, John didn’t even bat an eyelid.” Mr Polominka, International Rescue is not a taxi service. You may disembark in Nagoya. Otherwise you will be delivered to the Australian authorities.”

“I don’t want to go to Japan anymore than I want to go to Australia. You will take me to France.”

If Scott’s head hadn’t been throbbing so hard, he would have given the man a piece of his mind. As it was, all he could do was groan.

“Mr Polominka, if you don’t sit down and shut up, you will be spending the rest of the voyage confined.”

“How dare you! I’m Richard Polominka, I own half the French seaboard. I could buy this ship and everyone on it.”

“Mr Polominka, I don’t care.”

John’s tone was so matter of fact, so dry, Scott knew his brother was moments away from calmly doing something permanent.

He opened his mouth to say something when Thunderbird Two’s VTOL kicked in and her forward momentum slowed. Scott grabbed the edge of his bed. The Japanese man groaned.

And Richard Polominka fell over, colliding with a cabinet.

“For Christ’s sake, you bastards don’t stop do you!”

Scott had had enough. He swung his legs over the edge of the bed. He held his head as the world swung in circles.

“Scott-“

Polominka floundered, grabbing at the cabinet, attempting to pull himself up, only to open the cabinet door and upend a pile of medical supplies on his head. He swore, grabbing shelves and only making more of a mess. Something heavy bounced off his head and his swearing increased in volume.

Scott pushed himself off the bed, knowing he was going to regret it. “Mr Polominka, please calm down.” The pilot found himself falling back against the bed. Vertical obviously wasn’t his body’s preferred orientation at the moment. The bile rose again.

Shit.

“Mr Polominka, please.”

The infirmary door flew open and Virgil strode in. “Scott? John said-“

Polominka took one look at Scott’s younger brother and pounced. “You! You’re the damned pilot of this hunk of junk.” He stuck a scalpel in Virgil’s face. “Take me home!”

Silence fell over the room, TB2’s VTOL a background roar. Virgil looked at the scalpel, then at Polominka. Calm as his orbiting brother, he said, “You haven’t met my girlfriend, have you, Dick?”

The man’s face actually turned red, and he charged the pilot. A brief tussle and Virgil flipped him onto the floor, pinned him, and was scrabbling through those scattered medical supplies, grabbing some tape and restraining the man. “Now, as my much more patient brother mentioned earlier, you can spend the rest of the trip to Australia confined. We don’t have a brig, but I’m sure I can find a closet.” And with that, Virgil dragged the man to his feet and through the door. The sound of footsteps, a creaking door and a satisfying slam.

Virgil reappeared, wiping his hands on his thighs. “So, Scott, how are you feeling?”

Scott stared at his brother. “Kayo?”

A shrug. “She felt I needed a little more hand to hand.”

“Not bad.”

“Necessary. You should have heard what he said to Gordon.” And Virgil’s anger became apparent. Much like Scott, you messed with Virgil’s brothers at your own peril. A deep breath and Virgil appeared to shake himself.

“You okay?”

“Yeah. You haven’t answered my question yet. John has Nagoya Air Control on hold, I need to get my ‘bird on the ground. You good?”

Scott frowned, his vision fuzzy at the edges. “‘Kay.”

“Say that without listing to one side and I might believe you. Lie down. I’ll get you some medical attention asap.” Scott found himself nudged back onto the bed, his head meeting the pillow before he could frame a retort. He reached out and grabbed Virgil, his fingers scraping against his brother’s uniform. “Virgil, are you okay?”

“Huh?”

John’s image flickered on. “Virgil!”

“Yes, Thunderbird Five?”

“Vitals say you’re injured.”

“What?”

Scott pushed himself up again, ignoring the vertigo. “Virgil...”

His brother was staring at him.

The rescuee in the other bed pointed at Virgil and babbled in Japanese. Scott looked down, his eyes widening at a slowly widening pool of blood at Virgil’s feet.

Virgil’s gaze followed his and stared. “Aw, hell.”

Scott scrambled off the bed and staggered over to his brother. Brown eyes looked up and grabbed his, a flash of fear followed by resignation. Virgil’s shoulders slumped. “Kay’s gonna kill me.”

Those brown irises rolled upwards and Virgil was falling forward.

-o-o-o-

End Part One

Part Two

[nexstrik]

when i see you, my voice goes (1/6)

Summary: Evelynn and Ahri had been together for as long as anyone could remember. They always thought they never needed anyone else, and then then slowly learn how wrong they were.

A/N: Takes place from inception of the band to when POP/STAR blasts the charts, and a glimpse of what comes next. Ahri/Evelynn with eventual KDA-poly.

Rating: EXPLICIT. 

You can read this story in chronological order on my blog You can also read this story on AO3

She didn't often call Evelynn.

They spoke every day, of course. Through texts and emails and silly snapchats. Near constantly, during every spare minute, Ahri could look at her phone and see Evelynn's name. In between modeling gigs and meetings with her marketing team, trying to get her fragrance line off the ground, trying to stay sane. The dusky twilight hours when smog hung low over the city, or in the crisp early morning when one or both of them should have been in bed.

Long distance coupled with the burden of their profession might have killed any other relationship. Not them. Pride held them together as much as devotion. They ran together like a pair of mated wolves. Nothing and no one else was big enough to take either of them down, or replace them.

"Gumiho." Evelynn's smoky voice purred in greeting. "Not that I don't love hearing your voice, but what time is it over there?"

Every conversation these days started with that question. Fifteen years later and Evelynn was still trying to mother her. "The sun's been up for thirty minutes." Ahri looked out her hotel room window, twirling a strand of hair around one finger. "Is this a good time to talk? What time is it for you?"

"Six in the afternoon."

"Oh, so you just woke up."

"Bitch." Evelynn said it as fondly as any other pet name, completely devoid of any bite. "Did you need something or are you wasting my mobile data just to insult me?"

Biting her lip, Ahri tried to find the words. As with everything else, she had practiced for this. But with Evelynn, things never went according to plan. That's what made this so difficult. Even if she objectively knew Evelynn would drop everything for her at a moment's notice, there was no way to soften what she was about to ask.

She didn't often call Evelynn, but she knew this wasn't a conversation she wanted to have over text.

"Do you remember..." She started, then stopped. Pacing her hotel room, Ahri felt like a caged animal. Shaking her head, she tried again. "Are you working on anything right now? Wait, dumb question. Of course you are."

That's why she was in New York, currently, while Ahri stayed in Seoul. While her public-facing persona suffered a blow, her career as a lyricist was still thriving in the shadows. But Evelynn didn't go out much these days, not anymore. Not even in a strange city. Not after what happened.

"Some sweet little thing needed to consult me for her new single." Evelynn's laugh was muted, something low in her chest that never fully managed to claw its way free. "But once I'm done with her, I'm all yours."

"You're always mine," she said softly. "Don't ever forget that."

"Of course. Silly me. As an apology I'll take you somewhere really nice...Maybe I can meet up with you in Italy again?"

"That sounds good, but I need you here."

Tension coiled through her words. "I'm not sure I'd be welcome back home."

"Of course you will." Ahri rubbed her forehead, and then bullied herself back on track. "Listen. Do you remember when we were thirteen and I told you one day we'd be in a group together?"

"Mmm." Her wife agreed. "Of course, baby. That promise kept me going for a long time."

"Do you still want that?" Ahri swallowed. "Because I want to do it. I have almost everything set up, all I need is a word from you."

She swore she heard Evelynn blink.

"...Are you being serious right now?"

"Yes?"

Evelynn's silences often spoke more than words could. Over the years Ahri had learned to translate them all, so in tune with Evelynn's idiosyncrasies that she could read her thoughts from nothing but a careless inhale.

Right now Evelynn was waiting for Ahri's claws to come out. This probably felt like a trap. Ahri was offering her nothing except a fantasy, and the promise of more pain and public scrutiny.

"Take your time. I don't need an answer right away," she said, to reassure her.

"Your solo career is just starting." As always, Evelynn was most comfortable bouncing the focus away from herself. She operated best that way, just out of frame. "Wouldn't you rather work on that than try to lift a new group out of thin air?"

It was a reasonable point, and Ahri hadn't expected Evelynn to agree to this without some coaxing. Still, she couldn't help but feel a little slighted. "I want to work with you."

For years, they had been inseparable. They had the same trauma, the same wounds. Ahri had wrestled the demons off of Evelynn's back, kept her clean for almost a decade now. Meanwhile Evelynn wielded the first needles that kickstarted Ahri's transition, pierced her skin while Ahri closed her eyes and wondered if she might faint. They'd shared fame, money, scandal, women.

They shared everything, except for this. While always closely linked, their musical careers never fully overlapped.

One last bastion— one thing separate.

Ahri was asking for more than she'd ever asked from anyone else.

She was asking her wife to tear it all down.

"I want this for you, Evelynn," she said at last, when it became clear Evelynn was still mulling it over. "I know how much it's hurting you, not being able to do what you love. And no, writing songs for tween idols in America doesn't satisfy you, so don't bother trying to lie."

Ahri heard a click on the other end, imagined Evelynn's jaw snapping shut in anger, how the tendons in her neck would stand out like steel cables.

"You want to be in front of a camera again, and not covered in blood this time. You want to sing and you want to be on stage." Sitting down on the edge of her bed, Ahri stared at herself in the mirror. She looked hungry, or so she thought. She felt hungry most days, for something more than what her restricted diet forbade. "If you're with me, and maybe two or three other girls, we can be a buffer."

Evelynn just sounded darkly amused. "You think you can dazzle the media enough to make them forget? They'll turn their eyes aside and pretend it never happened?"

"I can make them do whatever the fuck I want," Ahri countered. "And they'll turn their heads any direction I tell them to."

All this for a childhood promise? Maybe, maybe. Mostly it was for her wife, because she knew exactly what she wanted and how to get there. All she needed was a little time, and support.

They'd never worked professionally together because there was always the risk that this could break them. But the risk was worth the reward. Evelynn was an uncompromising artist, and Ahri trusted her with her life. It was time to put that trust to the test.

If this worked, they could be gods.

"Okay," Evelynn said.

Ahri went still, eyebrows shooting up. Getting to her feet again, she stepped forward like she could be closer to Evelynn somehow, feeling her there in that room though they were an ocean apart. "Okay?"

Not that she was displeased, but she'd been expecting a bit more fight than this.

"You know I can't say no to you, gumiho. I'll need eight days. Be ready to record." There was a rustle on the other end of the line, the sound of Evelynn rapidly flipping through sheaves of paper. "I have to go now. If this is going to happen I need to make a lot of other phone calls. Goodbye. I love you."

The line went dead in her hand. Staring at it, Ahri could only let the quiet morning overwhelm her.

Then she started laughing.

  Three days later and Ahri was finally wrapping up the photoshoot for her new scent line. There was a relaxed air to the whole thing, something that felt almost like the last day of school. Placing a palm over her stomach, Ahri tried to share in some of that good mood, but she was too anxious.

"A quick break for lunch and then we'll start again, Foxy."

Perking up, Ahri gave her most dazzling smile to Kwag Sol-mi, the art director. She was a friendly butch woman, and Ahri found herself gravitating to her implicitly. It was just nice to have a kindred spirit in the crew. In different places, on different sets, others had often similarly gravitated to Ahri. Her status as one of Korea's few openly trans idols meant certain people felt free to be vulnerable with her.

It was a good feeling.

"Did you see where my water bottle went?" she wondered. While everyone else was eating lunch, she needed to make sure she didn't bloat up too much. "I just made some peppermint tea and now I can't find it."

Just one more shoot and I'll get something to eat, she promised herself, feeling Evelynn's looming, judging, protective presence even though her wife was nowhere near.

Sol-mi made a noise of thought. "Maybe in your dressing room?" 

"I could have sworn I hid it behind your chair." Pulling her big fake fox tail up to her chest, Ahri hugged it tight just in case the mass of floof was hindering her vision somehow. 

Then a cold metal edge smacked against the back of her head. Anger roused, Ahri flipped her hair over her shoulder before glaring back at whoever had touched her without permission.

It was her wife, with Ahri's aluminium water bottle held loosely in one hand.

"Evelynn!" All her irritation evaporated in an instant, her poisonous scowl shifting into a wide grin. Ahri threw herself at Evelynn, wrapping arms and legs around her with a shout. "What are you doing here?"

Stumbling back one step, Evelynn dropped the water bottle to hold her in place, both hands cupping her lower thighs. "Hey." 

"Is that all you have to say?!"

One hand moved up. Grabbing Ahri's tail by the base, she gripped it in her fist before running a palm over the fake fur. "This is cute."

Resting her hands on Evelynn's shoulders, Ahri squeezed her legs tighter around her waist. "You weren't supposed to see it for at least another six months, along with the rest of the world." Then she remembered the very restricted guest list. "Wait a minute, how did you get on set?"

Her wife responded by tilting her head lower, letting reflective shades slip down her nose a bit. She winked, slowly, and provided no other answer.

Suddenly aware that she had just climbed Evelynn like a tree in front of the art director and half the crew, Ahri glanced around her and frowned. Wiggling out of her wife's arms, she landed on the floor with a click of her heels. "Fine. Keep your secrets. I have a perfume ad to finish."

Evelynn had a huge leather tote bag with her. She pulled a binder out of it, all business as she flipped through laminated pages. "Are you almost wrapped up, then?" 

"The crew is on their lunch break right now," Sol-mi said, watching them with a raised brow.

"Good. I wanted to go over some new lyrics with you."

Every set of eyes in the room was already on them, but at those words it intensified. Ahri swore she saw the whole lighting crew lean in, whispering already. "Not here, Eve."

"It'll take just a second," Evelynn said. "Promise."

"Eve!" Glancing around her, Ahri grabbed her wife by the wrist and dragged her off set and towards the dressing rooms. She slammed the door shut behind them, feeling ready to puff up and hiss like a cat. "You told me eight days."

Unbothered, Evelynn just stood at the doorway, fighting a losing battle against her smile. She pulled her sunglasses free, hooking them on the v-neck of her dress. "I said be ready to record in eight days." She pushed the binder into Ahri's hands, before capturing her wrists so that she couldn't retreat. "Obviously I arrived sooner to see you."

A tendril of heat spread out from where Evelynn's nails scraped, right over her pulse. One simple truth that never changed— whenever Evelynn touched her, Ahri wanted to melt into a puddle. Struggling to maintain professionalism, she ignored it to flip through the binder instead, and wrinkled her nose at what she found.

It was all junk. Lyrics Evelynn had written for other bands, some of it ripped right from fansites.

"Is this a joke?"

"I needed to give you a convenient excuse to immediately drag me somewhere private."

 Ahri snapped the binder shut. "And of course I fell right into your trap."

She glared up at Evelynn only to buckle under the heat of that gaze. Evelynn's eyes were famous, a honey-brown so light they shone gold in the right angle. Those eyes netted her a heap of trouble, the whole reason she hadn't set foot on Korean soil in three years.

There'd been a long-standing feud between Evelynn and a persistent 'journalist'. He hounded her in every space she carved out for herself. Online, in person, over the mail. No one ever did anything, and no one took it seriously until he decided to escalate, and she gave him the photo of his career.

With just snapshot from his phone, he tried to ruin her. In it, Evelynn was standing over him with his camera crushed in one hand, her famous eyes wrathful and expectant and blank all at once, his blood pouring down her face. She'd headbutted him so hard she'd broken his nose, and the yellow street lights haloed her like a fallen angel.

Public opinion shattered in one of three ways. Either you felt the creep got what he deserved, you thought she was a violent psycho who deserved to burn, or you repeatedly and eagerly requested that she headbutt you next. 

It was the only scandal that gave Evelynn reason to pause. To assess herself, and wonder exactly who she was, and what kind of image she wanted to present to the world. As with everything, she refused to do this in half-measure. A self-imposed exile was so agonizingly on-brand for Evelynn, and Ahri hated every second of it. Even so, she'd never tried to change Evelynn's mind until now.

"So rude," Evelynn lamented. "I fly across the globe at your command and I'm greeted with accusations instead of kisses." 

"You don't want a kiss."

Her grin turned razor sharp, gold eyes widening. "...You're right."

Instinctively Ahri found herself backing up a step.

"No, no, gumiho." Evelynn slunk closer, hips swaying, hypnotizing. Every move calculated. Even when Ahri closed her eyes the temptation was there, Evelynn burned into them like the flash of camera lights. "Don't run away from me." 

Everyone else does, was left unspoken. Not you.

"I'm not."

But she was, more small steps backward until the edge of her vanity table hit the small of her back.

Warmth pooled over her hip, Evelynn's hand hot through the skin-tight fabric of her dress as she pulled her fake fox tail off. Evelynn kept a hard grip, like she wanted to sink inside her, grab her bones. "Then why do I feel like I'm hunting you down?"

Ahri stood up straighter, a little tremble running down her spine. It didn't escape Evelynn's notice; she tilted her head to the side and grinned.

In heels, they were almost matched. But Evelynn still seemed to tower over her, craning down from that great distance to nuzzle her face against Ahri's neck, inhaling deep. "It must be because every time I look at you I just want to eat you up." 

"You make it," Ahri said, and hated how breathless she sounded, "Very hard to stay on track when I'm supposed to be working."

"They won't miss you," Evelynn promised her, standing close enough that Ahri could feel the vibration of every word in her chest. "Not as badly as I did."

You're the one who left, she wanted to snap, but that was terribly unfair. Evelynn wanted to disappear for a while, in order to focus on where exactly her career would go next. It wasn't as though they never saw each other, it was just...

It was just no one understood her like Evelynn. Some days she felt like a doll, limbs ripped apart with the sockets and joints exposed. She was just pieces. Skin. Eyes. Hair. Lips. Tits. The space of flesh between the hem of her dress and the top of her stockings.

That's where Evelynn was stroking her right then, coaxing her thighs apart. Her palm slid up, cupping Ahri between her legs, and she couldn't bite back a whimper.

Evelynn made her whole. From scalp to toes, everything finally connected together. A woman's body, a human body. Not everything cut up and ready to be sold. Not a magazine cover or a perfume ad or a music video.

When Evelynn touched her she felt alive. It was the perfect high, fleeting and immaculate.

Two fingers pressed against her, the only two with blunt fake nails. Evelynn stroked over her lips, and the indirect pressure on her clit made her cry out. Evelynn kissed her open mouth to steal the breath right from her lungs, the untrimmed claws on her other hand hooking under Ahri's thigh to spread her legs wider.

Even as she molded Ahri together, Evelynn was pulling her apart again. She unzipped Ahri's dress only just to hike it up past her hips, the stitches popping. Her breasts spilled out of her bra, half-unclasped. Evelynn undressed her wife by piecemeal, leaving Ahri disheveled and panting.

Makeup products clattered behind her, dropping onto the floor as Evelynn draped herself over Ahri, tongue hot in her mouth.

"Touch me," Ahri pleaded in a whisper, holding Evelynn's head in both arms. She forced her down, twisting and whining at the feeling of Evelynn's mouth on her skin. She'd stopped petting her clit but Ahri could still feel an echo of the touch, torturing her until she ached. "God, please. It hurts."

That made Evelynn draw back to look at her, both hands braced on the vanity. It wasn't unusual for Evelynn to be cold as ice with her lovers. The distant persona was a part of the game as much as it was a genuine wall she put up, afraid of the vulnerability intimacy brought.

With Ahri, she melted. Those gold eyes reflected every stray thought, nothing left to hide behind anymore. She wanted Ahri desperately. She loved her. But loving someone always meant opening yourself up to be hurt.

And so there was always something terrified in Evelynn when she let loose— when she allowed herself to want— a small beaten thing that flinched at every raised voice.

"Show me where."

Dipping her fingers into Ahri's mouth, Evelynn ordered her to wet them.

Ahri nipped, teeth chastising, her tongue leaving them dripping. She savored the sensation of being filled before pulling them between her legs. Working Evelynn's fingers just under the fabric of her underwear, Ahri kept their eyes locked, lips scant inches apart. Relief hit her as crisp and clear as spring water, the shock of it making her gasp again.

"Good?" Evelynn wondered, warm and smug.

Nodding quickly, Ahri kissed her hard enough to smear her lipstick. Evelynn took care of her, teasing her entrance in lengthy strokes before focusing her clit until she squirmed. Arousal built, so fast and hard Ahri's legs started shaking. She begged without sound, without words, bucking against Evelynn's hand.

Not ready to see her break yet, Evelynn pulled free. Ahri's cry of dismay was quickly hushed by another kiss, and a growled command as Evelynn finished undressing her. Left in just heels and stockings, Ahri braced herself on the vanity as Evelynn sank down to both knees.

"Oh, you're so pretty," Evelynn whispered, thumb brushing over sandy blonde curls. She pushed Ahri's lips apart, kissing her exposed clit. Lapping at her with the flat of her tongue, Evelynn sighed in satisfaction.

It was still good, just different. Ahri had to start the climb from the beginning, though it was easier with Evelynn's mouth leaving her wet as sin. She suckled at Ahri's lips, the press of teeth not biting, but close enough to make Ahri twitch every time. She knew just how to reach the edge of pain, the perfect threshold to make it feel like it should hurt, which made the resulting pleasure all the stronger.

Shaking, she made fists with her hands to keep from grabbing Evelynn's head and grinding against her tongue until she came. She wanted to feel this for as long as she could, the perfect harmony that Evelynn's attention always gave her.

Evelynn kept her eyes closed, in focus and in rapture. Lost in bliss, she stroked her hands over Ahri's thighs, forcing her legs open wider. She only stopped to whisper filthy sweet nothings into the air, her low rasp promising so much more. Her lips and chin shone bright in the lamp light, a string of spit clinging to her when she pulled back to finally make eye contact with Ahri again.

"Don't hold back," she paused long enough to say, before planting another long, loving kiss to Ahri's swollen clit. "You know what I want to hear."

Sealing her lips around Ahri's clit, her eyes crinkled in amusement at how her wife shouted. They were both far past the point where they cared if anyone heard them, if indeed Evelynn ever cared at all.

All it took was a few firm, rough strokes. Just a twist of fingers teasing her entrance, and Ahri was gone. She shook, each cry swallowed back on a gasp. When the light cleared from behind her eyes she found she was curled up around Evelynn again, arms and legs, both hands fisted in her hair and her face bracketed by Ahri's thighs.

Evelynn patiently bore it until Ahri relaxed, bit by bit. When she was free she shook her head, grinning with a laugh that sounded almost reluctant. "You get so cute when you're trying not to scream." She wiped her lips clean, licking her fingers idly as she stood up.

Ahri wanted to respond, but she was jelly-limbed and limp, and all she wanted to do was curl up on Evelynn's lap and fall asleep.

Instead, she let Evelynn pull her up to her feet and kiss her again.

"I'm home," Evelynn murmured, stroking a palm over the back of Ahri's head.

Ahri held her closer.

Then Evelynn started circling Ahri, putting her back together again. Meticulous in her own way, she fixed Ahri's clothing and makeup and hair, brushing out the worst of the just-fucked gnarls in her blonde tresses.

"There," Evelynn said, stepping back and popping the cap back on her lipstick. She admired her handiwork with an appreciative head-to-toe sweep, the kind that left Ahri feeling distinctly underdressed. "Now you're perfect."

Ahri glanced at herself in the mirror to double check, though of course she trusted Evelynn to make her look her best. They'd spent their entire lives practicing makeup on each other. "You're a magician," she declared, giving Evelynn a light kiss on the cheek to avoid any lipstick stains.

"That's why you married me." Evelynn made no attempt to hide her smug smile. Instead she shifted to stand behind Ahri, guiding her towards the door with both hands on her shoulders. "Now get out there! You have a photoshoot to finish."

She ushered Ahri out with a pert slap on the ass, making her squeak and flinch out of range.

In the wake of all that, Ahri thought she might be lethargic. Instead she worked like a woman on fire, possessed with more energy than she knew what to do with. Evelynn joined them on set a little later, staying just on the edge of Ahri's vision at all times.

Every pose melted effortless onto the lens, the shoot wrapping up an hour earlier than anyone projected. And every time Ahri thought she might start to flag, she saw a pair of golden eyes burning into her from the sidelines, swimming with adoration that bordered on worship.

She took it, fed off it. The end results flickered across Sol-mi's laptop one by one as they went over the photos together.

"Mmm." Evelynn wrapped her long arms around Ahri's torso, chin resting on her shoulder. "These look great. They're dripping with charisma."

"Do we have to say dripping?" Sol-mi wondered out loud, mumbling as she shut the laptop. "We can't think of any other word?"

She was only a little grouchy because Evelynn had clearly broken onto the set just to fuck her wife. But at the same time, she couldn't argue with the finished product. So she instead slid a stack of paper into Evelynn's hands.

Evelynn's voice dropped ten degrees. "....What... is this?"

"An NDA," Sol-mi and Ahri said at the same time.

"A what?"

Ahri crossed her arms, jutting one hip out, her tone imperious. "If you want in on my private photoshoots, you need to follow the same rules as everyone else. So sign them, or else you will hear from my lawyers." 

"Seriously? I'm your wife!"

"Well, my lawyers could fix that, too."

"Gumiho!"

  Evelynn sulked the entire drive home.

"You're so mean to me," she lamented, slumping in her seat as much as she could while driving. "And I'm nothing except the most perfect and caring spouse."

"It's just smart business practice, baby." Pulling her legs up under her, Ahri undid her heels and toed them off. She sighed in relief, wiggling her feet once they were free before turning back to her wife. "Don't tell me you're still mad."

"I don't like contracts being thrust at me without warning."

Reaching over, she trailed her nail over the curve of Evelynn's ear, smiling when she twitched away. "Don't worry. You'll have plenty of time to go over the next one."

That piqued her interest. Evelynn tore her eyes from the road just for a moment, curiosity glinting gold-bright in her eyes.

"We start as soon as we get home. I have something to show you." She dropped her hand on Evelynn's lap, fingers tucking under the hem of her dress to touch warm flesh. Evelynn's hips shifted slightly, her body responding on instinct. "Right after I pay you back for that little stunt in my dressing room."

When Ahri touched her, she was already wet. A low exhale escaped her as Evelynn clutched the wheel tighter, eyes focused stalwartly ahead. The car engine hummed louder, Evelynn's tension translating to a lead foot. It seemed to surround them as if the noise came from Evelynn herself. A low rumble. Almost a purr, not quite a roar.

"Stop that," Evelynn muttered at last, between grit teeth, and Ahri withdrew. She sank back into her seat, dragging her tongue over the length of her fingers. "You're bad."

"If I don't get at you while you're distracted, you try to take over," Ahri complained, pulling her blonde hair over one shoulder so she could play with it. Idly she started working it into a braid, musing out loud. "I like being in charge sometimes, you know."

"Do I know. Sweetheart, the bedroom is the only place you aren't in charge."

Ahri's face scrunched up in a smirk, falsely sweet and childishly mean. So Evelynn reached over and flicked her nose.

"Ow!"

Past the guarded gate to their home, safe in the garage with the doors surrounding them, Evelynn clicked Ahri's seatbelt free and then bodily dragged the other woman onto her lap.

"Now, what did you want to show me?"

  The two of them had never worked together professionally before, so Ahri was a little nervous at first. But it quickly fell into place alongside every other aspect of their life. They understood each other intuitively, often better than they understood themselves. Chattering about their plans took up most of their mornings. As they wrapped up their other obligations, and as Evelynn slowly reintegrated back into Korean society, they discovered something important. 

They liked being coworkers.

Over breakfast, they went over more of their options. "I'm so glad we decided to do this." Ahri propped her elbows on the counter, wiggling on the bar stool. "What've you got for me today?"

Evelynn hummed in agreement. When she kissed her, she tasted like bitter black coffee. "Just listen."

Linking her phone to the wireless speakers in their kitchen, Evelynn searched through a few tracks before landing on the one she wanted. Pressing play, she savored her coffee with a pleased expression.

Ahri closed her eyes in concentration, frowning slightly. The melody was muted, but haunting. She wondered what exactly she was supposed to be listening for when the vocals started. The very first note stretched out like a violin chord, a low wail that vibrated through her entire body.

Buzzed, Ahri's eyes flew open to see Evelynn more smug than ever.

"Who is that?" she demanded, just a little breathless. She snatched up Evelynn's phone, reading that name out loud. "Kai'sa? How do we know her? How have I not heard her before now?"

"You might know her better from some of her choreography," Evelynn said. "That's where she's most comfortable. Musically she's resistant to being shackled down, so nobody's ever signed her on. She likes keeping it indie. But she's got a voice like—"

Ahri didn't let her finish. "Like an angel."

"Mmm. Usually. She can get brassy as an alto sax when she's in the mood."

Something about Evelynn's tight smile made Ahri do a double-take.

"Oh," Ahri said. "So we know her. Do you feel comfortable having a lover on the same team as your wife?"

"Ex-lover. If we excluded people I've slept with, we'd have nobody left in the business."

Ahri rolled her eyes. "Don't exaggerate."

Still, she could see why Evelynn had brought Kai'sa to her attention. The song itself wasn't to Ahri's taste; It was a little too blue and sweeping. But Kai'sa's operatic quality made her extremely attractive. Later that week they set up a meeting since Kai'sa was in town, only partly because Evelynn wanted to see her old friend.

"We need to make sure she meshes with our vibe. We're the opposite of indie, so she might not be on board."

"Just try not to fuck her unless we know contracts are off the table," Ahri said, with some amusement.

Evelynn's hand flew to her chest, gasping in shock. "I'd never fuck someone on their own contract! Give me some credit."

"That's not what I—" Ahri stopped at the sharp smile on Evelynn's face. "Hmm. Okay, you're negging me. That's fine."

Her wife moved around the counter, wrapping one arm around Ahri's waist. "Oh, sweetie. Do you not know what negging is? I don't think you know what that word means."

"I know when you're grating my nerves on purpose," she said, squeezing Evelynn's hand to let her know she was only joking.

"Well it's like my dad always used to say." Evelynn quickly swapped to English. "Treat 'em mean, keep 'em keen."

"That's gross. You're gross."

Laughter, their usual biting back-and-forth, kept them distracted from their nerves. As things turned out, they needn't have worried.

  Kai'sa had black hair when Ahri first met her. She walked into her living room after a quick shopping trip, not expecting to find a stranger on the couch. The meeting officially wasn't supposed to happen for another hour, and Evelynn hadn't warned her the other woman arrived early.

Stopping in her tracks, Ahri couldn't even muster up shock, much less anger at the intrusion.

The woman appeared asleep, eyes closed and cheek resting on one arm. With her legs curled up under her, dressed in all black leather and lace, Kai'sa looked a bit like a wandering, dreamy forest spirit. Sensing another presence in the room, or maybe feeling Ahri's stare, Kai'sa slowly opened her eyes. They were a shade of blue so intense Ahri mistook them for purple contacts.

"Oh!" Kai'sa smiled, shoulders hunching in apology. "Hi! You must be Ahri. Your wife let me in, sorry if I startled you."

"It's no problem," Ahri said, quickly connecting the voice to this face. "I've been looking forward to meeting you, Kai'sa."

"Me, too!"

When Kai'sa stood up, Ahri had to fight the urge to take a step back. She was tall, almost as tall as Evelynn in heels. Watching her was like watching a dark flower unfurl, every movement somehow graceful and transformative. Just getting to her feet netted a change, liquid almost, from a spindly-legged fawn curled up on her couch to something looming and large and covered in shadows.

Oh no, Ahri thought in distress. She's hot and nice.

A devastating combination.

"You like her," Evelynn crooned later that night.

"We need her for the band," Ahri said firmly.

"Yeah," Evelynn drifted closer in their bed. "But you like her. Want me to tell you what she's into?"

Normally, Ahri would have played along. There wasn't any point in pretending that Kai'sa wasn't her type, that she wasn't... devastatingly attractive. But Ahri pressed a finger to Evelynn's lips instead, forcing her to be serious. "We can't do this, Eve."

Falling silent, Evelynn kissed Ahri's finger, waiting for her to continue. They both lay on their side, facing each other. Occasionally Evelynn's leg snuck out, toes stroking over Ahri's calf to maintain contact.

"Bands have broken up over less. Best friends have become enemies, to say nothing of how messy a romance would be." Ahri kept her voice firm. "So we won't. Not even as a joke. Okay?"

Evelynn easily agreed. "Kai'sa is off limits. Should we add that to the contract?"

It was another joke, but Ahri still wasn't in the mood for it. It almost felt like an accusation, and she curled in on herself at the mere thought. "We're better than the shitty old men who signed us on, Eve. No dating clauses in our contracts." She spat the words out.

Again Evelynn agreed, taking both of Ahri's hands. Pushing them into fists, she brought them to her lips and kissed them in apology. "Then we'll just have to trust each other."

Ahri finally smiled. "Easy."

 "Two more," Ahri said.

"One more," Evelynn responded.

"Five's a good number."

Evelynn just looked at her, hair bunched up on top of her head in a messy bun. They were both covered in a light sheen of sweat, the gym sweltering.

"One more," she said again.

Ahri smiled helplessly, one hand on her hip. "...One more."

  Ahri knew who she wanted, but it would take some convincing to get Evelynn to consider it. Virality did not impress Evelynn. As she succinctly pointed out, people could go viral by literally eating shit. It took something stronger to sway their diva. As Kai'sa and Ahri tried to find their fourth, they knew only a true artist would please her.

"She's so picky," Kai'sa said, lounging casually on their couch once more. But this time she rested her head on Ahri's lap, affectionate and physical as a cat. "I love it."

When Kai'sa stretched, the hem of her shirt rode up a bit. Vicious marks kissed her pale skin; Ahri traced them with her fingernail, each one angry red and familiar. Evelynn had a flogger with a custom tongue, one that could leave the perfect imprint of a heart behind when wielded by an expert hand. "I see my wife left an impression on you."

"Yeah, she's inspiring."

"Not what I meant." Eyebrow cocked, Ahri pulled up Kai'sa's shirt a little more to press her thumb against a prominent bruise.

Kai'sa flinched, half-sitting up. "Huh? Oh! Uh, no, Eve and I aren't like that!" She turned red, smoothing her shirt back down. "I had a date with a new domme last night," she explained, flustered. "Evelynn supervised to make sure I was safe." Twisting on Ahri's lap, Kai'sa pressed her palms to her cheeks, squealing. "So she let me borrow her... you know. Her stuff."

Between the three of them, Ahri wasn't sure who promised to court the most controversy. But one thing was becoming increasingly clear: if this had started as an attempt to clean up Evelynn's reputation, it was no longer on that trajectory.

"All right," Evelynn declared, arriving in the room on silent feet only to loudly announce her presence right behind the couch. Squeaking in surprise, Kai'sa almost rolled off Ahri's lap onto the floor. "I'm here. Let me see the meme girl."

Ahri tilted her head back, frowning up at Evelynn. "You didn't watch the link I sent you?"

"I want to watch it on your phone," Evelynn said. "If I start sullying my search history with trending trash it'll mess up all my algorithms."

"She's not a meme," Kai'sa insisted. "She's viral, there's a difference."

"Oh, bokkie." Evelynn's voice dripped, sucrose and condescension. It was the only scrap of Afrikaans she'd bothered learning so far, mainly because it made Kai'sa light up every time, no matter the context. Leaning over the back of the couch, she reached down to stroke her fingers through Kai'sa's hair. "It's so cute how you think I care."

Reprimanding her because she knew Kai'sa wouldn't, Ahri lightly slapped Evelynn's wrist. Evelynn grinned, shaking her hand as if that really stung.

"Behave," she said, passing her phone over.

So Evelynn watched the music video. Ahri had already broken the repeat button, knew every angle by heart. She studied Evelynn instead, trying to decipher her thoughts. Her wife stood there with a hand over her mouth, poker face intact through the whole video.

When it was over, Kai'sa and Ahri exchanged a nervous look. Ahri had been the one to find this girl, this Akali. Something about her had inspired the same instant magnetic appeal she'd felt when she heard Kai'sa for the first time.

But would Evelynn agree?

After a long moment of thoughtful silence, Evelynn tapped the repeat button.

Success!

No commentary was offered, not until Evelynn had watched the video three times. Gently ushering Kai'sa off her lap, Ahri stood at Evelynn's elbow to watch the video herself.

It still thrilled her, the wordplay and clarity razor sharp. On screen, Akali sat surrounded by computer towers, lit only by the glow of a dozen monitors. In the semidarkness, surrounded by wires, the story unfolded visually and lyrically. She wasn't just an artist, she was a scientist, or an engineer. Each verse had as much information and layer to it as a microchip. Every aspect, no matter how minuscule, was carefully crafted and bolted together into something with more horsepower than a Ferrari.

Through it all Akali herself provided the human aspect. Sinew and blood and sweat. Organic in contrast to the machine, the beauty of the human body splayed out in contrast to its inescapable and unromantic biological reality.

Kai'sa had already chattered Ahri's ear off about the symbolism of the negative space and metaphor in the dancing, though Ahri personally thought Akali could use a little more finesse.

Evelynn finally put the video on loop. "Hmm."

"It's got two million views," Ahri couldn't help but point out.

"Mhm."

Ahri was getting impatient, pressing Evelynn for something less monosyllabic. "Do you not like her?"

That forced Evelynn to admit what they already knew. "I like her."

"You think she's a bad fit for the band?"

Evelynn finally tore her eyes away from the music video, blinking slow as if waking from a lengthy daydream. It continued playing in the background; heavy beats thundered, the pulse of something clawed and hungry. As she rapped, the muscles under Akali's naked skin rippled in the surreal blue glow of the computer monitors. Tattooed scales seemed to shift and writhe like the real thing, the dragon dancing on her shoulder blades. "I think she's perfect."

Kai'sa smiled quizzically. "So what's the problem?"

"Ahri's always been a vixen. And Kai'sa, you're my little doe," Evelynn said after a moment of thought. "I'm not sure I can handle a predator in my territory."

"Evelynn," Ahri said. "What exactly do you think a fox is?"

"You're domesticated."

"Play nice," Kai'sa demanded. She climbed over the back of the couch to join them, legs swinging like a butterfly knife. Taking the phone and setting it aside, she drew Evelynn closer in a hug. "Let's call up this Akali girl and talk to her. What do you say?"

"Hmm."

She stepped a little closer, Ahri and Evelynn with Kai'sa between them.

"Sounds like a plan," Evelynn said.

  A flurry of emails were exchanged, but no phone calls. Not at first. The plan was to meet her in person before anything.

If pressed, Ahri would later admit she wanted to catch her off-guard.

None of them were expecting a Japanese-styled dojo. Ahri had to check the address a few times to make sure they were in the correct location; it looked like Akali's family home was connected to the building.

Twisting forward with her hands clutched behind her back, Kai'sa gave Ahri an almost coy smirk. "Maybe they're taking new students."

"If we're lucky," Evelynn said, one arm draped over her shoulders.

Inside, they were greeted by a graying man, an uncle, Akali's guardian. After a lot of flustered confusion heralded by the arrival of three very out-of-place popstars, they managed to ascertain Akali's location.

She was the sole person on the main floor at this hour. She bounced in a set of tight shorts and a sports bra and nothing else. Nothing except the wireless headphones in her ears, pulsing a beat that they could all hear and recognize even from a few yards away. The dragon tattoo identified her immediately, and something low simmered in Ahri's belly at the confirmation that it was real ink and not just body paint for the music video.

Akali was a vision. She carried herself with the kind of swagger that only practiced physical confidence could bring, equally at home on a stripper pole or at the weights section of a public gym. Shifting in place, Ahri struggled to remember why she'd come here as every flex of Akali's well-muscled body drove her to distraction.

"Oohh," Kai'sa said. "She's so cute. Like a fun-sized candy."

Ahri glanced sidelong at her, unable to resist. "So you want to eat her up?"

At least she wasn't the only one enjoying the show. As Akali slowly worked through her routine, the three of them watched, all equally fascinated.

But one of them was displeased.

"How long is she going to ignore us?" Evelynn muttered darkly, snapping Ahri out of it. "We came all this way to see her."

Ahri set a hand on her chest, keeping her from moving forward. "She doesn't know we're here, Eve. Look at her."

It was true. She hadn't turned her back once, too focused on her routine. Akali paused only to sinuously slide from side to side, humming along to the music in her ears. Even when she stopped to grab a training weapon, she swung it through the air with her back to the entrance.

"Well, we should let her know we're waiting."

"Really?" Kai'sa covered her grin with one hand. "I kind of want to see how long she'll stay oblivious."

Evelynn wasn't in the mood for games, oddly enough.

Instead she strode across the mat, before Ahri could stop her. Ahri winced, expecting there to be an accident as Akali swung her wooden weapon from side to side. It wasn't a sword as far as Ahri could tell, instead some kind of curved staff, but it was definitely made to hurt.

The next time Akali turned to swing, Evelynn caught the practice weapon in her bare hand.

They locked eyes.

Surprised, Akali retreated a step only for Evelynn to follow her. She leaned back; Evelynn craned forward. Even without heels she towered over the other girl, staring down at her with an intensity that almost seemed angry. The movement felt like fight but looked like a dance, and for a split second Ahri wasn't sure who was leading.

Akali froze. Her grip tightened on the weapon's handle, her mouth a thin, tight line.

Slowly, Evelynn tapped the side of her own face.

Getting the message, Akali took off her headphones. Agony's Embrace poured out, one of Evelynn's most popular singles. From Akali's perspective, this might well have felt like the real world and fantasy had collided, the music video spilling into reality.

With a sharp tug, Akali pulled the weapon free of Evelynn's grasp. "Don't do that again," she said. "This isn't a toy. If this hits you, it'll hurt."

"Do you promise?" Evelynn said.

Akali's brow furrowed.

Evelynn, behave!

Standing tall, Akali tapped her open palm with the blunt edge of her weapon. "You're... Siren?" Then she looked to the side, doing a double take at the sight of Ahri. "And Foxy's here too?"

The stage names were more well-known than their real ones. Beside Ahri, Kai'sa huffed in amusement, though she was used to getting overshadowed in the circles she frequented.

"I hope we aren't interrupting anything important," Ahri said. "But we thought we'd drop by for a personal visit. You seemed open to the idea in your emails."

Akali was shorter than Ahri had anticipated. The video had made her seem giant, a pillar of confidence. "Guess I wasn't actually expecting you to be real."

"Oh, we're real," Evelynn said. "What remains to be seen is if you are."

Crossing her arms, Akali leaned back a bit to regard Evelynn. "You're real funny, at least," she said, her smirk unsure if it wanted to land on confused or amused. All in all, she was taking this very well. She remained composed despite being half-naked and caught unaware.

Ahri was pleased.

...Until later that night, when it came time to draft up the contracts. She paced, and worried her lips, and drank too much tea until Evelynn finally took her by the arm and dragged her away from her office.

Thick trees surrounded their bedroom balcony, the metal railing warm from the balmy summer night. While Ahri brooded over the edge, Evelynn uncorked a bottle of wine for them, dry and white the way Ahri preferred it.

"Let's enjoy some alone time together," Evelynn said, the words a promise.

Turning to accept it, Ahri only took a single sip before she blurted out, "I think we're in trouble, Eve."

Evelynn poured herself a glass, uncaring, as if she hadn't heard. "Your diet allows a little wine now and again, doesn't it?"

"Evelynn."

Golden eyes finally darted away from the wine to focus on her. "What?"

"Things aren't going according to my plan."

To her credit, Evelynn didn't take this as another opportunity to tease Ahri. She could sense this was something too precarious for their usual humor, and dancing on a razor blade of trust wasn't a good idea right then. "Okay. Talk to me."

"I started this for you," Ahri said, distressed. "But somehow that goal got away from me."

"Well, I never really expected things to go according to plan?" Evelynn responded, a little cautiously. "They rarely do."

A single breeze stirred, hot and damp. It offered no relief from the hot summer night, just as Evelynn's words did little to lessen her worries. Ahri stayed stubbornly quiet, not liking the truth in the statement even if she loved the reassurance that Evelynn wasn't lying. Not even to spare her feelings.

"More importantly." Then, gentle, Evelynn hooked a finger under her chin and drew her gaze back up. "What makes you think I'm not enjoying every second of this?"

"I don't know," she admitted.

"So you're nervous for no reason? That's just anxiety-brain talking, babe."

No, there was a reason. But it was messy, and not in the good way. "I don't know how I ever thought we wouldn't court controversy with this. We have two unknowns on our team and they're not exactly traditional."

"That's good," Evelynn said. "Unless you wanted to make something bland? Play around with mass appeal?"

She stood up straighter, almost in horror. "No!"

"Me, neither. So what's the problem? Why've you got cold feet all of a sudden?"

Because now it was real and not just a dream, and that meant it could break.

"I thought if I was just—" ( a good girl ) "If we were careful, maybe things wouldn't..." ( no one would want to hurt us ).

Stupid, stupid, stupid.

That was going to happen regardless. Evelynn had few friends in the media. Even if that photographer deserved what he got, even if it was worth the lawsuit and the settlement, nobody was liable to forget it anytime soon. No one with a stake in keeping them pliable would forget that Evelynn refused to bend.

Calm as ever, Evelynn weathered it all with a shrug. "A married couple forming a group together was always going to garner a lot of attention, both negative and positive."

That was the worst part. Her naive hope, masqueraded by a bluster of confidence. The worst part was she really had believed what she told Evelynn all those weeks ago. She'd promised an environment where Evelynn could make her music with little scrutiny, and here was confirmation that Evelynn hadn't believed her for a second.

"Akali hasn't even confirmed whether she wants to join us or not," Evelynn went on. "So if you really want someone who'll get the cameras off me, someone polite and demure we can point to and hide behind and pretend we're normal with, we can do that."

"I don't."

"So..."

A stress headache was forming between her eyes, pulsing harder and harder with every passing second. "I know the second we go public we'd be under scrutiny. I just wanted you to feel protected when that inevitably happened," she said. "Whatever it took to make you come back home to me."

There it was. 

Taken aback, Evelynn looked off-kilter. Her whole body language shifted, uneven and wide-eyed. Closing her eyes, Ahri took the wine glass and knocked it all back with a few quick gulps.

"Always thinking about me," Evelynn murmured, pouring her another glass at her insistence.

"This spiraled out of my control. I won't let that happen again."

Thankfully, Evelynn hadn't leapt to the worst possible conclusion, as Ahri feared she would. Instead Evelynn had recovered from her shock to swing right back into fond amusement. "Well there's your mistake, gumiho. Control is just an illusion."

"I can still control this," she insisted.

Merciful tonight, Evelynn sipped her own wine without arguing that point. "All right. But what's more important? Being safe? Not taking this risk, this opportunity? Quitting while we're ahead?"

She finished her first drink while Ahri nursed her second, wondering if it was worth breaking her diet for.

Stepping forward, Evelynn tucked her free hand on the back of Ahri's neck. She pulled Ahri to her chest, comforting her. "Or... taking all this raw energy and completely changing the landscape of the game?"

"You think we can do that?"

"I knew we could the moment you asked me to come back."

She had come back the moment Ahri asked, hadn't she? All it took was one phone call. All Ahri had to do was ask and Evelynn had sprinted back to her side. What more could Evelynn do to display her trust?

Suddenly, she felt even more foolish for needing Evelynn to soothe all her fears. Though Ahri fought it, a single furious tear slipped down her cheek before she roughly wiped it away. "I just don't want you to get hurt, Eve."

Evelynn's body shook with a laugh. "You big softie."

"Yes," she said, voice muffled when she pressed her face harder against Evelynn's chest.

Then she pulled her down, demanding a kiss. Evelynn happily obliged, taking their glasses in one hand and setting them aside. She pushed Ahri against the balcony door, and she almost sank down against the glass panes. But Evelynn insisted she stay upright, her hands fumbling the zipper to her skirt.

She tasted like dry white wine, all her sweetness made complex by bitter acidity. Full and flooding, filling her mouth and trailing down her lips. A wet line painted down her throat, heat buzzing through her.

She pushed up Evelynn's shirt, unclasping her bra to toy with her breasts unhindered. Sharp metal studs twisted between her knuckles, each tug making Evelynn whimper louder, and louder.

An echoing ache pounded between her own legs, every inch of her in agony for lack of being touched.

Ahri moved them to the bed, unable to keep steady for much longer. They stripped naked, all their favorite games tossed aside in the need of the moment. Ahri wanted touch, to feel all of Evelynn pressed up against her. She could have spent the whole night just kissing her, or licking her metal piercings until they shone from the attention.

Shifting closer, her breath stuttered when she reached between Evelynn's legs to feel liquid heat pooling around her fingers. "Ooh, you're so wet already. But I think we can make you wetter."

Bowing her head against Ahri's shoulder, Evelynn nodded, a pleased note rumbling in her chest. There was only so much of that should take before needing more. Fumbling in their bedside dresser, Ahri cracked open a bottle. Then, unable to resist, she let the contents drip onto Evelynn's bare stomach without any preamble.

She nearly leapt off the bed. "Shit!"

Ahri sat back on her heels, eyes narrowing in pleasure. "Oh no. Is it cold?" she asked innocently.

Evelynn wiped a palm over her stomach, leaving a shiny swipe of lube behind. "You know it is, get that shit-eating grin off your face."

But she then dipped lower, spreading it between her lips. Evelynn relaxed against the bed again as Ahri enjoyed the view, still sitting between her knees. After a murmured request, her hand joined Evelynn's. Careful not to get in her way, she let Evelynn focus on her clit while she teased her entrance.

After a hushed request, she went deeper. The resulting moan left her warm in the face, flushed and pleased with herself. She worked two fingers inside of Evelynn, tight heat constricting around her with every flutter of pleasure.

It was hard to resist falling apart under their combined effort. Evelynn tightened around her fingers, back arching up sharply. Ahri kept her grounded with a hand on her hip, enjoying the sight of a rare, genuine smile on Evelynn's face. It only lasted as long as the orgasm did, fading away with the aftershocks to be replacing with ragged gasping.

One more, Ahri thought, not letting Evelynn relax. She shoved Evelynn's hand away, replacing it with her mouth. Evelynn shifted again, writhing eagerly from overstimulation.

"Fffffuuuck," she hissed, making Ahri giggle. "You're so mean to me."

Because she was the only one who could get away with it. Call it a perk of marriage or their long-lasting friendship; either way, it was a right she exercised as often as she could. It was a flex of power, a reaffirmation.

And as much as Evelynn protested, she loved it.

Keeping one arm braced over Evelynn's stomach, she kept her from bucking too much as she focused on making her come again. She didn't know exactly what would work but she could guess, curling her fingers and searching until she made Evelynn moan hoarsely.

She felt Evelynn's orgasm, rippling over her hands and hammering against her tongue. She let Evelynn run wild, trying to stay with her and suck away every last shred of sensation she could steal. Satisfied only when Evelynn begged her to stop, Ahri sat back again, stroking her own breasts and using her wet fingers to touch herself.

At least until Evelynn yanked her back down onto the mattress, nose against the sheets. "Hey!"

Getting up to her elbows, she glared over her shoulder only to falter at the sight that greeted her. Evelynn seemed almost feral in the dark, face flushed and pupils blown from arousal. Pulling Ahri's hips up firmly but gently, she shuffled closer and landed a slap so hard it cracked the air.

Ahri bit her lip, bowing her head again to keep from shouting. "... Ow," she said instead, slowly, grinding it out.

"You've been asking for this," Evelynn said, spanking her again. This one was lighter, a tap on her other cheek.

"I have not."

Evelynn's breath was suddenly at her ear, her piercings two harsh spots of pressure on Ahri's shoulder blades. "Then tell me to stop."

She didn't say anything, but she knew the flush spreading down her spine spoke loud enough. Satisfied, Evelynn hit her again, but never as hard as that first time. It was a slow ascent to reach that level of intensity again. Each slap of flesh accompanied a muffled whimper as Ahri buried her face into the pillows.

By the end of it she was a trembling mess, the pillow wet from a mix of tears and the fabric clenched tightly between her teeth. She huffed out through her nose, every exhale labored.

It was worse when Evelynn stopped. Because then all the blood was rushing to her irritated skin, hot and aching as metal left in sunlight.

When she dared peek over her shoulder again, Evelynn laughed.

"What?" Evelynn murmured, stroking a hand over Ahri's spine. "You look like a sad little puppy." To prove her point, she stroked Ahri's head next, tousling her hair until she whined.

"I didn't tell you to stop," Ahri said, with her forehead pressed to the pillows again.

"Hmm. No." Ahri flinched, tensing up again when Evelynn merely pressed the flat of her hands on her sore cheeks. Then two fingers spread her open, slick on her sex as they moved to frame her clit. "You didn't."

  "The driver is late."

Two weeks later and the three of them were waiting outside of Ahri and Evelynn's house for their ride, each of them wearing thick black sunglasses. Evelynn was fairly smoldering, deeply incensed at the insult of needing to be driven somewhere.

"This is why I drive myself," she continued, as Kai'sa consolingly patted her arm.

Ahri felt for her, but it couldn't be helped. "This guy just likes a certain measure of control, which means he has his driver pick us up."

"And we need him because..."

"Because we need to start getting aggressive with our online advertising." Ahri checked her phone again, searching for an email from Akali that still hadn't come. She remained just out of reach, slipping through the cracks of Ahri's grasp. "We're going to start working on a few singles and by the time we're done, the stage will be set to receive us."

"A nice fluffy landing pad!" Kai'sa agreed.

"Hrmm." Evelynn crossed her arms, but didn't argue anymore, she Ahri counted it a success.

"Trust me, Evelynn," she said, typing out a quick tweet to her public account. "This is going to explode in a very big way."

  far more sweetsounding than a lyre golder than gold

— from Anne Carson’s translation of Sappho’s fragments, entitled If Not, Winter

[psddentalexpert]

Top Tips on How to Choose the Best Teeth Straightening Treatment

Your smile is one of the first things individuals see regarding you. Getting your teeth straightened out for the perfect smile not just offers you an ideal collection of white but additionally makes chewing and speech simpler. This is in addition to the self-confidence boost and renovation in dental hygiene. As aligned teeth are easier to clean and floss, it dramatically minimizes the opportunities of developing periodontal diseases, periodontitis, tooth decay and various other condition problems like stroke and heart and lung conditions. Occurrences of headaches and tension in the jaw are decreased as soon as misaligned or jam-packed teeth are straightened out.

If you have an interest on how to make your teeth whiter lined up, after that you will certainly require to see an orthodontist. They are specialized dentists that manage teeth correcting the alignment of with the stable application of pressure, resulting in orthodontic tooth movement. Relying on the type and extent of misalignment, the orthodontist can prescribe dental braces, clear aligners or retainers. Oral surgery is considered in unusual instances with severe bite concerns.

Orthodontic tooth Motion

The success of teeth placement procedures hinges on just how teeth react to the treatment. The constant stress applied on the tooth triggers a facility bio-mechanical process in the origin and its surrounding tissues. Resultant movement is the incredible spin-off of interaction in between bone tissues, ligaments, cells and cell signaling chemicals. An essential indicate note right here is that trying to speed up tooth activity can have unfavorable, damaging effects on the root and its surrounding cells and is best stayed clear of.

There are two preferred options for teeth positioning and both work on the exact same concept of constant application of pressure on the tooth. Throughout therapy, the teeth obtain straightened out. The two popular alternatives include:

Traditional Steel Braces

While they are extremely effective in fixing severe instances of misaligned teeth, metal dental braces leave you with a mouth filled with steel brackets, ligature flexible, arch wire and bonding material. The tighter the cable attaching the brackets, the a lot more the pressure used on the tooth. The drawback to steel braces is that they are really obvious and awkward. Aside from that, keeping oral hygiene ends up being an obstacle as food debris has a tendency to get stuck in-between them, bring about dental cavity.

Clear Aligners

Progressing innovation has meant the development of a more distinct, but just as efficient means of correcting teeth. Clear aligners are a preferred alternative by grownups as they are less visible. This is a prominent treatment option and involves application of a collection of clear plastic aligner trays that are slightly tighter than the previous one. The aligner trays will require to be replaced every 1-2 weeks till the teeth reach the desired placement.

The most effective element of clear aligners is that they are practically invisible and can't be seen quickly. Since they are removable, you can slip them off when it's time to eat and pop them on again when done. There are no interest in oral health either as the braces can be removed for cleaning and flossing. As contrasted to traditional braces, clear aligners are most definitely a lot more comfortable, without triggering any kind of irritation of the cheek cellular lining.

All these and extra make clear aligners the most effective selection for those wanting to align their teeth. What's even more, there are more than a lots brands of clear aligners for you to pick from. This is by virtue of the distinct triple-layered product used and its dual-shelled style which makes certain greater comfort and shorter treatment routines.

[qmh-inc]

High Grade Stainless Steel Turnbuckle At QMH Inc Online

A stainless-steel turnbuckle is strange mechanical hardware that takes a prominent role in rigging jobs. As the name suggests, the stainless-steel turnbuckle is the buckle that turns. For many years it has been used to unite the cable or wire or rope or rods. It connects the ends of two cables or wire or string or rods, and can tense or loosen while turning the buckles. Like other rigging hardware products, stainless steel turnbuckles are available in various sizes, configurations, and types.

Turnbuckles are the rigging hardware element used to eliminate slack and adjust tension in a rope, cable, or another tensioning system. It is an adjustable device consisting of three primary components as a body, a right-hand threaded end fitting on one end, and a left-hand threaded end fitting at the other end. The end fitting on either side is used to connect to the tensioning system and a securement point. The turnbuckle can get tightened or loosened to adjust the tension and eliminate slack in the cable or rope connected with it. A turnbuckle may be used alone or in conjunction with other turnbuckles to enhance the length of the assembly.

Body: The sturdy metal frame in the center of the device joins the two threaded end fittings. It may be one of two types: closed or open. The open body turnbuckle is the more traditional type where the threads are visible through the body frame. The body itself turned to adjust the tension by extending and retracting the end fittings. A closed body stainless steel turnbuckle, also known as pipe bodies, covers the threads in a closed frame. It will create a slimmer profile that fits even in tighter spaces.

Nut: It is also known as the jam nut, placed on the threads of the end fittings and tightened against the stainless-steel turnbuckle body. It helps in preventing the device from loosening or unthreading. The diameter measurement of the nut & its threaded portion of the end fittings is essential to decide the load-bearing capacity of the turnbuckle and vice versa. The end fittings' total length can screw into and out of the body to generate tension. The end fittings can either be extended fully or retracted fully with the nuts.

End Fittings: It is the connection points that threaded at the end of the turnbuckle body. One end is right-hand threaded while the other is left-hand threaded. It allows you to turn the body to adjust tension after installation without moving the end fittings. Three main types of end fittings are used together to form a stainless-steel turnbuckle. It comes with a combination of two hook ends, or jaw end or eye end or hook end & jaw end or jaw end & eye end or eye end & hook end to meet your desire.

·         Hook end - It is used to create temporary connections because they are accessible & quickly connected and disconnected. It is easier to install, attach or detach from the rigging components than other jaw end or eye end stainless steel turnbuckles. However, it is less practical due to the lack of a safety latch, which may unexpectedly release from attached rigging components, causing the hook to displace. Therefore, they should never be used in connections where the tension could unexpectedly release.

·         Jaw end fitting – The jaw end fitting consists of a jaw and bolt secured by a nut or a pin. They are composed of a jaw, bolt, and nut to attach the wire rope sling straight onto the jaw end and pin to the lifting eye bolts and lugs that cannot be opened.

·         Eye end fitting – Such stainless-steel turnbuckle is intended for straight-line pulls or in-line applications but not for lifting purposes. The eye end fitting does not have moving or opening parts and is precisely designed for shackle or quick link and attached to wire rope sling or other approved rigging components.

Stainless steel turnbuckles are perhaps the essential products manufactured today. To buy Stainless Steel Turnbuckles online at a pocket-friendly price, feel free to visit QMH Inc. 

[charger-batteries]

Apple AirPods Max Review

The AirPods Max are nothing if not aptly named. At $549, these are the most expensive noise-cancelling headphones we've tested in recent memory—by a wide margin. They're also some of the most gorgeous headphones we've encountered, ever, with a design that's reminiscent of a Herman Miller chair and a unique battery-preserving Smart Case that looks like a prop from 2001: A Space Odyssey. They're even maxed out in the features department, with Adaptive EQ, spatial audio, and hands-free Siri access. That said, our current top picks in this category, the $399.95 Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 and the $349.99 Sony WH-1000XM4, cost significantly less.

The good news is that Apple's headphones deliver high-quality active noise cancellation (ANC) that actually bests the Bose and Sony models in some circumstances. And sonically, the AirPods Max have a sculpted-but-balanced sound signature, with rich bass that's met with well-defined mids and high-frequency clarity. For $550, however, this sound signature, with Adaptive EQ and plenty of digital signal processing in play, isn't for purists seeking a transparent listening experience. And even though the AirPods Max are undeniably beautiful and deliver a fantastic user experience, it's hard to justify a $150 to $200 price bump over their most worthy competition.

A Stunning Design

Available in very Cupertino color options (light green, pink, silver, sky blue, or space gray), the circumaural (over-ear) AirPods Max have large earcups with unadorned outer panels in anodized aluminum. The stainless steel headband has an eggshell-like finish and is designed like none we've ever seen—it features what Apple calls a "canopy" of knit mesh that makes contact with your head where headband cushioning usually would. This part, in particular, really looks like a detail from a Herman Miller office chair.

The earpads are memory foam, lined with an attractive cloth, and while they might look a bit bulky, the fit is exceptionally comfortable. The headphones weigh 13.6 ounces, but they don't feel heavy on your head, nor does the pressure from the earpads feel too powerful despite the pads forming a solid seal around your ear. With the Smart Case, the total packages weighs just over 1.1 pounds.

Internally, the AirPods Max employ 40mm dynamic drivers and a neodymium ring magnet motor that Apple claims allows the headphones to maintain total harmonic distortion of less than 1%. The drivers are covered in cloth grille, reminiscent of the quilted fabrics you see on stylish running shoes, with L or R stitched into the fabric in a classy design touch. Each earcup also houses an H1 chip, which allows for seamless iOS pairing and integration, as well as an accelerometer and a gyroscope. The headphones are compatible with Bluetooth 5.0, and support AAC and SBC Bluetooth codecs.

Along the rounded side panels of the right earcup, there's a Lightning connection for the included Lightning-to-USB-C charging cable. There's no power adapter included, however, so you'll either need to buy one or charge via a USB-C port. There's also an LED status indicator along this panel, and both ear panels have various tiny slits for the nine included mics. (Yes, that's a lot of mics—more on them in a bit.)

Up top on the right earcup, there's a button for switching between Noise Cancellation and Transparency modes; this button also handles manual Bluetooth pairing when held down. By default, the headphones toggle between ANC On and Transparency mode, but you can choose to add Off to these modes. Next to this button, there's a control Apple calls the Digital Crown, a design element inspired by the side dial on the Apple Watch. It controls playback when pressed once, track forward when pressed twice, track backward when pressed three times, and Siri access when held down (Siri can also be accessed by voice). The dial itself operates volume and moves fluidly, but it takes some getting used to as it doesn't protrude from the earcup very far.

The placement of these buttons is fine for operating the controls, but because of how the headphones use tension to adjust, your natural inclination is to pull down on the earcups from the top in order to loosen the fit slightly—something I found necessary to make room for my glasses. When doing this, it's easy to accidentally press both control buttons, which can trigger any number of functions.

Smart Case

Apple estimates battery life for the AirPods Max to be roughly 20 hours, assuming a mix of ANC and audio playback. Ultimately, your results will vary with your ANC usage and your volume levels. When the headphones are stored in the included Smart Case, they enter an ultra-low battery consumption/sleep mode.

Speaking of the Smart Case, it sure looks cool, but it's odd that it does very little to protect the headphones—plenty of the earcups' side panels, and all of the headband (and potentially easy-to-tear canopy) are exposed. Nearly every competitor offers a more traditional case that may not look quite as cool, but does the job of protecting the headphones in a more thorough manner. The case's rubberized surface is also a dust magnet—it would've been nicer (especially at this price) to see a material here that works less like a Swiffer, such as a smooth leather or a classy fabric.

Pairing the AirPods Max

Like the AirPods and AirPods Pro, the AirPods Max will automatically appear on your iPhone or iPad screen, ready to pair, when powered up and placed nearby. Even if this only eliminates one step of the usual Bluetooth pairing process (going to the Bluetooth menu to pair manually), it's always a cool way to get things started. You can also use the physical button mentioned above for manual pairing with non-Apple devices.

The settings menu—accessed by tapping on the AirPods Max in your Bluetooth menu when paired—has several useful functions. You can name the headphones here, adjust what the ANC button toggles between (ANC, Transparency, and Off—any two or all three can be selected), and adjust how the Digital Crown scrolls (back to front or front to back). You can also disable/enable Automatic Head detection (this automatically transfers audio from a connected to device to the headphones when they're placed on your head), toggle spatial audio on or off, and access the Disconnect and Forget This Device options. The menu also has your serial number and model/version numbers.

AirPods Max Noise Cancellation Performance

Once they're up and running, the AirPods Max deliver excellent noise cancellation. When it comes to intense low-frequency rumble at high volumes, similar to that you'd hear on an airplane, the AirPods are actually slightly more effective than the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 and the Sony WH-1000XM4. In testing, the AirPods would sometimes seem to eliminate the rumble completely—an impressive feat we've never experienced before. Other times, they would simply perform as well as the Bose and Sony models—much depends upon getting just the right placement of the headphones on your head. A slight adjustment of the headband tension, resulting in a slightly different or tighter seal around my ear, was capable of improving the ANC noticeably.

That said, both the Bose and Sony models are better eliminating at higher frequencies, such as the loud chatter of a restaurant (simulated via recording because of social distancing restrictions). The AirPods Max struggle slightly on this front, taking out a solid swath of mids, but almost seeming to amplify the higher frequencies. Yes, it sounds crazy, but at times the higher frequencies sounded like they were coming through bright and clear, as if the headphones were in Transparency mode (they weren't).

Blasting some bass-heavy mixes through near-field studio monitors gives the headphones another stress test—no ANC headphones will be able to eliminate these sounds, but it's telling what parts of the frequency range they tamp down. On the Oneohtrix Point Never track "No Nightmares," all three models do a respectable job dialing down the bass frequencies and lows. But again, the AirPods Max struggle a bit with the highs.

The headphones don't seem to affect the sound signature when ANC is on or off, which is the way it should be, though many manufacturers get this wrong. There's also barely any audible hiss added when ANC is enabled. Often, ANC will create a faint, white noise-like signal to help mask the higher frequencies it struggles to eliminate. There's an ever-so-faint hiss here, which is common, and it's quiet enough that you probably won't notice it.

In Transparency mode, you can hear your surroundings clearly, without any semblance of slapback delay. Some ambient listening modes boost levels to increase the volume of your surroundings compared with how loud they actually are, but the AirPods Max seem to match the volume of your surroundings perfectly. If you run your fingers over the earcups while this mode is enabled, you'll hear strange, sometimes surprising swishing sounds that can seem louder than everything else you're hearing—there are so many mics, it's easy to unintentionally drag a fingertip across one.

It's worth noting that the AirPods seem to exert more noticeable pressure on your eardrums than the other two pairs. And, unlike the Bose or Sony models, you can't adjust the ANC levels here—it's either on or off.

How Do the AirPods Max Sound?

The AirPods Max use what Apple calls Computational Audio. We call this digital signal processing (DSP), as does the rest of the industry. It hardly matters—computational audio and DSP both mean that the signal is being adjusted, digitally, to achieve various goals, namely to avoid distortion at higher volume levels by controlling bass levels and overall dynamics to keep bass response consistent at lower volume levels. DSP usually amounts to varying degrees of dynamic compression and EQ being applied to the signal depending on what volume level is being used, and, of course, what's happening in the music—an electronic track with deep sub-bass will not likely receive the same treatment as a piano concerto at the same volume level. Translation: Audio purists will be annoyed by Computational Audio, but there will always be some DSP in the mix for Bluetooth headphones, and most headphone manufacturers apply quite a bit of it.

The AirPods Max also use what Apple calls Adaptive EQ, which is supposed to adjust the sound signature depending on how the headphones fit you personally to provide the best possible audio experience, factoring in obstacles like eyeglasses or earrings that may potentially result in a less secure fit. Between this and the DSP, these obviously aren't headphones for audiophiles seeking a transparent critical listening experience, but ANC/wireless headphones are rarely aimed at audiophiles, as there's always a lot of boosting and sculpting.

What's missing here is user-adjustable EQ. Apple wants to tailor the sound for you and not give you the opportunity to tweak it to your own taste—at this price, Apple should be giving you more control, not less. Worse than not being able to adjust the EQ is not being able to disable the Adaptive EQ—there's no way to hear any mix in a relatively pure form, so you'll never know just how Adaptive EQ is altering things. It's frustrating, but that said: These headphones sound pretty damn good.

On tracks with intense sub-bass content, like The Knife's "Silent Shout," the AirPods Max deliver powerful low-frequency response. At top, unwise listening levels, there's no distortion, and at more modest levels, the lows still sound intense, but they're always nicely matched by the higher frequencies.

Bill Callahan's "Drover," a track with far less deep bass in the mix, gives us a better sense of the general sound signature. The drums on this track sound full and round, almost thunderous, but they avoid veering into overly boosted, unnatural territory. Callahan's baritone vocals get a pleasant low-mid richness and an ideal high-mid crispness to help maintain definition in the mix. The high-mids and highs bring out the acoustic strums and higher-register percussion with brightness and clarity. This is a sculpted sound signature, but balanced, with a lovely bass depth and ideal high-frequency clarity.

On Jay-Z and Kanye West's "No Church in the Wild," the kick drum loop receives ideal high-mid presence, allowing its attack to retain its punchiness, while the vinyl crackle and hiss, typically relegated to background status in this mix, take a notable step forward. There is plenty of sculpting happening in the highs, but it's generally in the name of clarity. The sub-bass synth hits that punctuate the beat are delivered with solid low-frequency depth—it doesn't quite sound like there's a subwoofer in your skull, but it shouldn't. The lows are dutifully represented, and the drum loop gets a little more thump than usual, so there's some bass boosting happening, but it's refined. The vocals on this track are delivered with ideal clarity—if there's any added sibilance, its just a smidge. This is a balanced, rich, bright sound signature.

Orchestral tracks, like the opening scene from John Adams' The Gospel According to the Other Mary, get some ideal low-frequency presence—the lower-register instrumentation isn't pushed too far forward in the mix here. The higher-register brass, strings, and vocals retain their crispness without sounding overly sculpted or bright—the spotlight is on them. This track probably sounds the most natural of the four mentioned here, and generally speaking, classical and jazz sound excellent through the AirPods Max.

Spatial Audio, Mic Performance, and Siri

Like the AirPods Pro, the AirPods Max support spatial audio, an immersive listening mode that works with video content encoded in 5.1, 7.1, and Dolby Atmos. Spatial audio itself is more or less an effect that tracks your head's position in relation to your sound source. If you move your head to the right, the mix changes a bit, as if the audio is coming from the physical location of your phone or tablet. It's undeniably cool, but it only works on material encoded with surround mixes. And to be clear, when you wear the AirPods Max and watch a movie, you will not be listening in real surround, nor does spatial audio create a surround-like experience. Still, it's a welcome extra feature, if not a must-have one at the moment.

As mentioned, there are nine microphones built into the AirPods Max. Three are used for voice pickup, and eight are used for ANC.

The three-mic voice array offers solid intelligibility. Using the Voice Memos app on an iPhone 8, we could understand every word we recorded, but there was still some Bluetooth distortion fuzzing up the edges of words a bit. For such a formidable array of mics, the clarity isn't the best we've heard—it's closer to the middle of the pack. Still, callers should have no trouble understanding you on a clear connection.

There's also hands-free Siri support (which can be disabled), and we had no problem communicating clearly with Apple's voice assistant for playing music (you can simply say, "Hey Siri, play Radiohead on Apple Music") or getting an accurate weather report.

Are the AirPods Max Worth It?

There's no other way to put it: The AirPods Max are a luxury item. To be clear, we've reviewed $1,000 headphones that are worth every penny, so we don't have an issue with the price itself. There are many $500 to $600 audiophile-focused headphones that sound better than the AirPods Max, but there are none that offer the same range of features, including high-quality ANC, spatial audio, hands-free Siri, and a stunning design. For some, that will be enough to justify the very high price. We can say that if $550 doesn't make your jaw drop, and you value the design and/or features here more than simply having the best audio for the price (without all the bells and whistles), the AirPods Max will not disappoint.

For everyone else, the $400 (but often on sale) Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones and the $350 Sony WH-1000XM4 offer comparable (and sometimes better) ANC and audio performance for much less money. The $400 Bowers & Wilkins PX7 headphones are also worth considering, for that matter. While Apple's AirPods Max are certainly worthy rivals to each of these models, we simply can't say that they're worth $150 to $200 more. So depending on what you're looking for, you might be better off spending far less on one of these models and picking up a pair or AirPods Pro to wear to the gym.

[itsworn]

2017 Cooling Buyer’s Guide

There are two aspects of building a hot rod that can make or break any build … electrical and cooling. Cooling seems to be a constant bug-a-boo but it shouldn’t be. There are an amazing number of ideal products out there, like radiators, engine and tranny coolers, relay kits, and cooling fans, to handle heavier than normal workloads. There are enhanced water pumps, both electrical and mechanical, and superior coolants and additives that really help keep your engine (and you!) cool.

Of course, having the correct parts is an important part of the equation but there’s some homework you have to do first before jumping in. Always make sure that your motor is properly cleaned inside if using an older motor. It’s a good idea to check freeze plugs; make sure the temp gauge sensor is in a place so that the exhaust temps or other “super-heated” elements do not cause the gauge to give you elevated readings; have a properly positioned radiator so that airflow passes through the radiator, over the engine, and out of the engine compartment thereby taking hot air with it; and make sure the fan (electrical or mechanical) has the proper fan shroud (it makes a huge difference!). Another area to check is to make sure that you have enough radiator for your engine (based on cubic inches and power output) and that there is enough radiator opening to let enough air into the engine compartment. It’s always a good idea to position the electrical fan or fans behind the radiator (puller) rather than in front of the radiator (puller).

Well, there you have it; some basic ideas on cooling, an area of hot rod building that is best handled correctly the first time as a poor effort now can lead to dire consequences out on the road.

Painless Performance Products

Installing air conditioning to your hot rod? Need cooling fan relays to operate off of a thermostatic switch when your A/C is on? The dual activation cooling fan relay kits by Painless Performance are exactly what you need. Only a few minutes for the installation and your cooling fan will come on when the engine reaches the preset temperature of the thermostatic switch mounted in the engine head or when the A/C is turned on. Available for single fan or dual fan, with different engine temperature fan activation options for each to work with whatever thermostat you are using.

Painless Performance Products (817) 244-6212 painlessperformance.com

The Brassworks

For 40 years The Brassworks has handcrafted radiators for restored cars and classic street rods. They pack a lot of cooling in their radiator cores. Fins are made of tellurium copper because it conducts heat at twice the speed of aluminum. Their highly elliptical tube design maximizes the coolant contact area, and the punch and flaring of each fin achieves over three times the contact area found in common radiator construction. Staggering tubes tumble air laterally as it passes though the core and embossed louvers in each fin disrupt the airflow on the fin. Making cores with these features isn’t the cheapest way, so you won’t find them in the discount copper radiators or aluminum radiators but you will in a Brassworks radiator.

Our builders assemble our reproductions alongside an original radiator so they can construct a simple drop-in replacement or build from a drawing to make custom fabrications. Specializing in chops, split cores, angled headers, angled cores, reliefs for fans, tank reliefs, formed inlets, and much more, we can accommodate your specific build needs.

The Brassworks (805) 239-2501 thebrassworks.net

FlowKooler

Engines rarely overheat on the highway due to good airflow and good coolant flow. The reality is most engines overheat in stop-and-go traffic, at stoplights, or at cruising speed when the coolant flow rate though the radiator is reduced.

FlowKooler’s newest generation of Hi Flow Water Pumps have precision-machined impellers with integrated shrouds and a military-grade anodized surface finish. With incremental vanes and tighter tolerances, FlowKooler doubles flow rates at slow speed and idle to reduce engine temperatures as much as 30 degrees. A more efficient flow helps conserve system horsepower by 2.2 percent and increase the block pressure by 22 percent, which prevents the formation of hot spots and steam pockets in the water jacket. A full range of pumps for street rods, muscle cars, trucks, Jeeps, and rock crawlers is available through selected dealers or directly on FlowKooler’s website.

FlowKooler (805) 239-2501 flowkooler.com

Hy-Per Lube Corporation

High-performance engines require coolant to transfer as much heat as possible. As cylinder head temperatures increase, so does the likelihood of detonation and power loss unless ignition timing is retarded. Under extreme conditions, this can also result in overheating and engine damage.

Hy-Per Lube Super Coolant reduces the surface tension of coolant, allowing it to more deeply penetrate metal surfaces at critical heat transfer areas inside the engine and radiator. This results in more heat being transferred away from cylinder heads and a reduction in engine operating temperatures.

Importantly, cooler cylinder head temperatures also allow the engine ECU to safely advance ignition timing, which results in more horsepower. Street applications running a 50/50 mix run 8-10 degrees F cooler, and racing applications running straight water coolant run up to 25 degrees F cooler. Actual cylinder head temperatures can be reduced by up to 50 degrees F.

Hy-Per Lube Super Coolant provides complete protection from rust, corrosion, and electrolysis. This is particularly important in straight water applications, where there is no corrosion protection being provided by the corrosion inhibitors in antifreeze. Hy-Per Lube Super Coolant is formulated specifically to protect aluminum systems and is compatible with all types and all colors of anti-freeze.

Hy-Per Lube Corporation (888) 275-0015 hyperlube.com

Old Air Products

Old Air Products specializes in cooling system performance. They manufacture the Hurricane Series A/C, heat, and defrost systems that offer a variety of options to fit virtually any vehicle. Along with the A/C systems, they offer a complete line of electric fans, fan shrouds, and aluminum radiators to maximize the cooling capacity for your antique, classic, or custom vehicle. Old Air offers a full line of replacement parts and N.O.S., NORS parts for factory A/C and heater systems, including heater valves, blower switches, resistors, relays, receiver/dryers, cables, update kits for STV and POA valves, A/C hose assemblies, vacuum valves, and electrical switches.

Old Air Products (817) 531-2665 chill@oldairproducts.com oldairproducts.com

Delta PAG

Delta PAG’s brushless high-performance cooling fan uses cutting-edge, patented technologies, making them the most advanced fan on the market. Their patented technology increases reliability (lasts 10 times longer), reduces amp draw by +30%, Soft-Start eliminates power spikes, and produces over 2,800 cfm at only 2.70 inches thin.

Plug-and-play with your OEM/Aftermarket computer or use Delta PAG’s digital temp/speed controller to program on/off temp and adjust airflow to custom fit your application. One digital temp/speed controller can operate two fans simultaneously, allowing for true staggered-on operation. Included waterproof wiring harness makes an easy install, no relays or temp switches needed. Ask about fabricating a custom aluminum shroud for your application. Complete cooling packages also available; radiator, shroud, and fan(s) for any vehicle.

Delta PAG (212) 203-2912 deltapag.com

Perma-Cool, Inc.

Perma-Cool Inc. offers their popular HP Electric Fans, combining the performance and durability of traditional flex fans (but without the noise) and the “airflow when you need it” of electric fans into one powerful package. Fabricated in their Riverside, California, facility from all aluminum and steel construction—unlike standard plastic electric fans—their HP Electric Fans can withstand the test of time. Featuring high-torque, long-life motors that are amazingly quiet, compared to traditional plastic electric fans, HP Electric fans employ large aluminum paddle blades, making them ideal for use as primary cooling fans.

With a metal ring frame, four solid mounting points, and attractive black powdercoat finish, they are fully reversible for push/pull applications on either side of the radiator. Available in 12-, 13-, 14-, 16-, and 18-inch diameters, each HP Fan includes patented nylon mounting systems, making them perfect for engine swaps. And as with all quality Perma-Cool Inc. products, HP Electric Fan systems are designed and manufactured in the USA.

Perma-Cool, Inc. (951) 352-2665 perma-cool.com

SPAL Automotive USA

SPAL series sealed brushless (SBL) fans deliver unmatched performance and reliability to fit most any application on the market today.

Ranging in size from 10-17 inches (300w and 500w motors), SPAL series brushless fans feature integrated power and signal electronics, “soft start” technology (eliminates electrical in-rush spike), digital control for smooth and reliable operation, temperature sensor options for full variable speed control, reduced axial dimensions, sealed motors (waterproof/dustproof), low weight, high efficiency, low noise, along with excellent resistance to vibration and harshness (NVH) levels. The brushless design also reduces the number of wear components versus standard brushed technology to deliver extremely long-lasting motor.

SPAL brushless fans achieve a remarkable 82 percent electrical efficiency. What this means is maximum airflow with minimal power draw. Sealed to IP68 and IP6K9K compliancy standards (waterproof/dustproof), SPAL SBL motors can operate in the presence of many aggressive or hazardous substances making them ideal for most any application.

SPAL Automotive USA (800) 345-0327 spalusa.com

U.S. Radiator Corporation

For over 40 years, U.S. Radiator has offered the most complete and comprehensive line of “correct appearance and fit” copper/brass radiators for American classic, muscle cars, classic truck, and street rod applications in the industry. Over the last 10 years they have expanded their line of “correct appearance and fit” radiators with their Desert Cooler Aluminum radiators. They now offer four distinctive performance core designs to handle any horsepower and hard-to-cool applications and have been the leader in innovated heat-transfer design. Couple that with their unique Triple Flow design and Low Profile Fan Shroud package and every application from mild to wild is covered.

U.S. Radiator Corporation (323) 826-0965 usradiator.com

Griffin Thermal Products

Griffin Thermal Products is proud to introduce the all-new ExactFit series of aluminum radiators. With 30 years of experience in the performance cooling market and one of the largest collections of OEM sample radiators, Griffin has engineered the ExactFit series. Working with a double focus on precision and performance, the ExactFit products install exactly the same as the OEM component. They offer all of the required mounting tabs, brackets, and spuds to ensure a seamless installation. Optimal performance is achieved by the use of two rows of Griffin exclusive MaxCool 1.25-inch tubing. The wider tube width used in these products creates a greater amount of surface area in the same amount of space. This allows the product to far exceed the performance of common two-row 1-inch radiators. Backed by the industry’s best two-year warranty, the new ExactFit radiators are top of the line.

Griffin Thermal Products (800) RACERAD (722-3723) griffinrad.com

Maradyne High Performance

Heralded as the flagship fan of Maradyne’s brand, the M162K Champion Series 16-inch low-profile heavy-duty fan delivers more cooling per square inch than any other fan in its class. Designed with the street rod crowd in mind, this fan features an industry-low 3.25-inch height at the motor and a mere 1.1 inch at the outer rim of the shroud.

Made of all glass-filled nylon for high impact and heat resistance, this reversible fan produces over 2,000 cfm in Maradyne’s AMCA certified air test chamber. Sponsored for years on Xfinity and Cup racing teams, it can cool up to 850 hp in the pits. Whether it’s your favorite weekend rat rod or showstopping shrine to chrome and glitz, this fan will keep your powerplant cool and your ears happy with its quiet S-blade design.

Maradyne High Performance (800) 403-7953 maradynehp.com

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