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alphagirl404 · 2 years

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An Impulse Decision: Chapter 18

Fanfiction.net

AO3

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*****

Chapter 18: Aboard the Sandship

Loud creaks echoed underneath the boots of the knight students who walked upon the upper deck of the Sandship as they decided to call it. Sand & dust cover the entirety of the ship, along with several roaches. Worn-out sails dangle from the aged masts. The mast in the center has a strange round blue object that reminds them of a target. The quartet gaped at the sheer size the sandship showcased.

"Look at the size of this place…" Link commented as he walked around the deck.

"You probably can fit the entire Knight Academy on this ship," Pipit added.

Fi exited the sword. "Allow me to give my analysis, Masters. The remains that I detect indicate that some of the monsters that attacked this ship are said to wield large amounts of energy so I advise you all to explore the ship with caution should you locate the Timeshift Stone Skipper mentioned. Your current selection of pouch items is survival-focused. Suitability to our current location is 75%. All of your items correctly focus on defense and recovery. Be aware, though, that close combat will likely be unavoidable in the ship's corridors."

"We will. Thanks, Fi." Link turns to Karane after Fi went back to the sword. "Can you feel the flame?"

"It's somewhere below the ship. I have no clue how to get to it…"

"Skipper said there's a Timeshift Stone here. Maybe that will help the way," Fledge brought up.

"But I don't see one anywhere." Pipit glanced around the upper deck.

Link looked around for any sign of the stone. What he did see is a door on the front side of the sandship.

"We'll start looking in there." Link pointed to the door to his friends

The inside was just as dusty and worn as the outside deck showed. Straight ahead lay a door. Next to it were stairs leading below the deck.

"We should split up," Link commanded. "Karane, you and I will look through that door. Pipit, Fledge, you two look below the stairs. Try to find the stone, the flame, or even where the crew…would be."

"You got it, boss." Pipit gave a thumbs up.

"Be careful guys," Fledge called out as he and Pipit walked down the stairs.

Link and Karane walked through the door that led to the very front of the sandship. There seemingly wasn't anything important at first glance. Then Karane noticed it. A figure stood at the end of a wooden walkway narrow enough to fit one person, chains guarding both sides of the path. The figure wore an old torn crimson coat & striped pants, along with a hat similar to Skipper's own. Karane walked forward to get a better look at the mysterious figure. When she moved close enough, and further away from Link, a fence with dangerous-looking spikes pop up behind, separating Karane from Link, trapping her on the walkway. Link attempted to touch the gate but it sent an electric shock at his hand and his body. It was strong enough to send him flying back, knocking him back.

"I thought I saw a smaller boat there. I know it was only a matter of time before you come." The figure turned to face Karane. His body not covered by his clothes revealed metal parts. A large hook encases his left hand. This was similar to that of the Ancient Robots but he looked more human-looking. "Who dares to intrude upon MY ship?"

"Karane Bellamy…" She trailed off. "Can I know who you are?"

"I am Scervo. Captain of this fine ship."

"You're Scervo?" Karane inquired, surprised that this robot still lived after all this time. "The pirate captain that Skipper mentioned?"

"You know Skipper, huh?" Scervo hissed at the mere mention of Skipper. "I should've figured that pesky little robot was the one to take down the invisibility cloak. After all these years he still lives. I'll have to admit it is impressive that he hasn't given up after one thousand years. But if he managed to lose his grip on this ship to me that easily it proves that I am the superior model over his line. Therefore that makes this ship and the flame rightful mine."

"Except they're not yours. Hylia made that flame for an important purpose," Karane argued in an attempt to reason with the robot captain.

"To hell with that divine whore! My kindred did everything for her! And what did we get in return? Rejection! Dismantlement! Complete eradication of my line!"

"She did that because your line of robots tried to kill people!"

"No…she feared us. Plain and simple. She might've destroyed my kind, but I still live. Each day I live I continue to spite 'Her Grace'. I will do whatever it takes to ensure that I'm more superior than my replacements, and those meat bags she calls humans. That includes keeping the flame from the likes of you."

"It is not yours to keep! Neither is this ship!"

"You're treading dangerous waters, girl," Scervo pointed his metal finger at her in a warning manner. "I'm giving you and whoever came with you one chance to leave my ship with your life."

"Tempting offer, but I'm afraid we're not going anywhere until we get that flame," Karane maintained.

"Very well…If you wish to take the flame and the ship…" Scervo pulled out a sword sparking with electricity. "YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO FIGHT ME FOR IT!"

"Well, there goes negotiations." Karane thought to herself as she geared up with her sword and shield.

Scervo charged towards her at full speed, a roar emitted from him. Karane met her opponent halfway, eyes lingered at the robot captain. She noticed just how narrow the walkway was. If there's anything she remembers from learning sword combat is that narrow spaces left little room to swing the sword. The only option was to thrust it forward and move it up & down. When the moment came she thrust her sword against Scervo. This knocked him back several feet from her. Karane eyed the end of the walkway. With the way the captain reacts to getting hit, maybe she could knock him off this ship!

Both opponents spend the next several minutes of the process of fighting. Karane would strike at the robot when the moment came, which cause him to slide back. There had been moments where Scervo would attempt to hit her with his sword as the blade pulsed with electricity. Thankfully the Sacred Shield managed to repel the attack. They trade more blows until Karane manages to knock Scervo's sword out of his robotic hand.

Scervo appeared to be shocked. Then it was soon replaced by arrogance.

"I'll have to admit. You have some skill, especially for a human." Scervo said to her before he pulled out another sword from the side of his hip. "BUT IT WON'T BE ENOUGH TO SAVE YOU!"

The barricade keeping Karane moved up to where she was, trapping her further away from the entryway. Karane repeated the process of waiting for the moment to strike Scervo, whilst blocking his attacks from his electric sword. They trade blow after blow, moving closer to the end. Finally, Karane managed to not only knock that sword down but also Scervo's right arm. Scervo was in complete utter shock.

"Grr! You little bitch!" Scervo swiped at Karane with his hook, which Karane barely dodged away. The barrier moved even closer to the edge this time. "I have been here on this ship for one thousand years! I am not going to lose it to a little wretch like you!"

With only his large hook left, Scervo took swipes at Karane. These blows from his hook felt even harder than both of his swords combined. It seem like this fight was going on as usual. Until Scervo manages to knock Karane's sword out of her hand, sending it flying back next to Link's still unconscious form. The robot took the moment of Karane being in shock to take a strike with his hook. The tip of his hook slice diagonally across Karane's right cheek. It didn't do too much damage, but it did cause enough pain for her to let out a shriek. She clutches her cheek to soothe the bleeding, dropping her shield as well, forgetting for a brief moment about the battle taking place. Scervo took advantage to strike her again, this time his hook pulsed with electricity, striking her again, knocking her back several feet. Karane landed on her back, her body suffering the electrocution for several seconds before it died down. As she lay in a daze, blood streaming out from her bleeding cheek. Scervo towered over her.

"You should've fled while you had the chance. A shame that I have to take out such a skilled opponent like you. At least you put up a good fight. But now it's time to end this."

Scervo lifted his hook high to prepare to strike Karane down. But before he could get even close, he was forced back by a crystalized blue shield. It faded away after a moment. Karane slowly sat up, giving the pirate a smug smirk. It seemed to irritate him even more. A roar erupted from him as she attempted to strike her down only to be blocked by the crystal shield again, this time sending him close to the edge of the path.

Link finally came to his senses. The lingering effects of the electricity slowly faded away as he slowly moved up. His eyes caught sight of Karane's sword lodge on the wood. The hero looked ahead to see Karane get knocked down by Scervo who attempted to strike her down only to have his attack be repealed by the powers of Nayru's Grace twice. Link knew Scervo wouldn't be knocked down for long. He didn't know how stuck Karane's sword was lodged in the floor. Glancing at the Goddess Sword on his back, a sudden idea came to him.

"Karane!" Link ran up to where the girl was. "Catch!"

Link threw his sword at the girl. Karane swiftly caught it in her hand. With the Goddess Sword in her hand, and reclaiming her shield, Karane charged up the robot as he finally got back to his feet. Karane delivered several hard blows. After a long grueling process she sliced off the robot's hook, knocking him off the edge of the walkway and the ship.

"CCCCUUURRRSSSEE YYYYOOOOOOOUUUUUUU…!" Scervo screamed out as he fell until his body exploded upon impact. Scervo was no more.

Karane stood near the edge, panting heavily as her grip on the Goddess Sword remained strong. A blue chest appeared at the edge of the pathway. The barrier blocking her escape was now gone, allowing Link to move up to her.

"You okay?" Link asks Karane with concern, especially with the cut on her cheek still bleeding.

"I've survived worse. I'll be fine," Karane responded casually. "Here. Thanks." Karane gave the Goddess Sword back to Link.

"Masters, that synthetic life-form…" Fi addressed the pair Link regained the sword. "I can confirm that it's the pirate described by Skipper. I can't help but admire the tenacity it has displayed in staying alive and functional after all the past one thousand years."

"Damn…" Link muttered. "How can something stay alive all this time?"

"Pure spite or just too angry to die." Karane quipped, which earned a chuckle from Link.

"At least he left us with a parting gift." Link opened the chest. Inside of it appears to be an archer's bow and a quiver holding many arrows.

"A bow?" Karane wondered.

"That is correct, Master Karane." Fi clarified. "This bow, in particular, can propel arrows through the air with great force, allowing you to strike your targets from afar.

"Not only that but there's also a map to the ship in here." Link pulled out a large piece of paper which showed a layout of the sandship. This will definitely make traversing the ship easier.

"You can also shoot arrows to strike certain devices to activate them," Fi continued with her explanation. "I have confirmed that such a device exists on the deck. However, it will be difficult to target it from here, so I recommend you both return to the deck."

With that said, a done Fi returns to the blade. Link brings his attention to Karane, specifically the gash on her cheek. The pair return to the inside of the front ship. They found a stool for Karane to sit on while Link could help her dress her wound. Seconds later footsteps echoed from the stairs as Pipit & Fledge appeared from below.

"Karane?! Dear Farore, are you okay?" Pipit practically ran over to Karane.

"What happened to you?" Fledge asks as he rushes up as well.

"I'm fine," Karane assured. "Let's just say I got acquainted with Scervo."

"Scervo? The pirate that Skipper mentioned?" Pipit questioned.

"'Fraid so," Link responded as he pulled out a red potion. "Any of you got spare rags?"

Fledge reached into his pouch and pulled out what Link wanted. "Here."

"Thanks." Link poured portions of the potion on the rag, giving the bottle of the remaining contents to Karane for her to drink.

"Does it look bad?" Karane asked Link after she drank the bottle.

"Given the size of Scervo's hook, it could've been a lot worse. You're lucky your face didn't get sliced off. It's gonna leave one hell of a scar." Karane let out a low hum in response. Link tried to cheer her up. "Look on the bright side, you'll have a badass story to tell."

"You think so?"

"Definitely. Not every day you fight with an ancient crazy robot."

"I guess that makes me feel a little better."

Link finished up cleaning the wound. "Alright, I think it should be good. Just need to cover it up with a bandage."

"I have some sticky bandages in my pouch."

Karane gestured to her pouches that she had moved to the base of the stool. Link was about to reach for them, only to be stopped by a hand on his shoulder.

"I'll do it," Pipit offered. "You take a break."

Link moved his hand back. Pipit reached in moving his hand around until he found what he was looking for. Gently, he placed the bandage over the freshly clean cut on Karane. Pipit couldn't help but notice the beauty of her bright blue eyes that she had regained from Nayru's Trial. He never had the moment to truly admire them. This went on for only several seconds before he put his focus on placing the bandage on Karane's cheek.

"I think that'll do," Pipit softly patted the bandage.

"Thanks, Pipit. And thank you, Link, for helping me back there."

"Happy to help, sister," Link chimed.

The quartet exited back on the main deck of the sandship right after Link showed Pipit & Fledge the Bow he and Karane acquired. They search around for the strange device Fi had mentioned, Their sights were brought back to the strange blue target seen on the mainmast. Fi confirmed with them that that was indeed the device in question.

Link took the shot at the target. Thankfully, Link, and everyone else, had learned archery as it was part of their training to become knights. A large familiar stone appeared at the top of the main mast of the ship. Fi again confirmed that is the stone that Skipper had mentioned to them. Link shot another arrow at the Timeshift Stone, transforming the surrounding area.

The old worn sandship filled with bright colors. The faded torn up sails were now perfectly intact in the color of orange. The sand surrounding the ship filled with at most a mile of water. The students wonder at the changes were short-lived when another arrow was shot at them. Several Bokoblins stood high on the masts wielding archers' arrows. Under different circumstances, this would pose some problems. Except two of their targets had wielded a bow, while the other had the power to create shields. Link shot at the Bokoblins with his bow, whilst Karane reflected the arrows straight back at the shooter with the power of Nayru's Grace. The monsters were gone within minutes.

"Good job you four!" Skipper hovers towards them. "I saw the fight with Scervo from my boat. Which one of you was the person to do it?"

Karane stepped forward. "I did. Had some help from Link but managed. Scervo won't be bothering you guys anymore."

"By the goddesses, that's amazing news! With him gone, taking back this ship will be a breeze for you guys, especially now the ship looks like it used to. That makes me so happy. Not only that but it seems that you found the Bow as well. That just makes it better."

"We also found this." Link showed Skipper the map of the ship. "Any idea where your crew might be?"

"I'm certain they're being held in the brig inside the ship." Skipper pointed to a section to one of the lower levels of the sandship. "It's below the ship. Hopefully, they'll be there. I bet that more of Scervo's crew are still lurking about on the ship so be careful! I'll just stay back on the boat until it's safe to come back."

The humans made their back to the inside of the ship, which was just as colorful as the outside deck. Pipit & Fledge revealed that during their exploration they did stumble across a room that had the remains of the ancient robots, along with Bokoblins. They mentioned a large gold door next to that room as well that was reminiscent of the doors they had seen at the end of the temples they all visited.

Much like what Skipper warned, several more Bokoblins, Technoblins specifically roamed the halls. They weren't difficult to take down this time around. They soon found the brig where the members of Skipper's crew were being held, with more Technoblins standing guard. Within minutes the monsters were all gone.

"You're all human, aren't you?" One of the robots inquired as the group approached the bars. "So how did you get in here?"

"We came with Skipper to save you. We defeated Scervo as well," Link answered the robot.

"You came with Skipper to save us? I'm so happy to hear that he's doing well and that Scervo is gone now!"

"Can you tell us how to get you guys out of the brig?" Karane questioned the robot.

"We can't get out while that sparky thing blocks the exit." The robot points to the only entryway to the cell which is blocked off by an electric wall. "The only way to deactivate it is from the engine room. The engine room is right below the brig. There's a corridor in the engine room that connects to the brig, but it's locked from this end. You four need to access it from the engine room. But to get through the engine rooms here you need to activate the two power generators in the engine room. The generators are located in two different locations on the ship."

The robot pointed in the direction of the generators on the map of the ship. Now it was clear what to do next, the quartet set off to find the generators.

The first generator wasn't difficult to find and activate. Pretty simple really. Enter the room, Link puts the sword in, and just like that, it was activated. A vibration felt through the room as it did. The second one posed a bit of a challenge. The door leading to it was blocked from the other end. Fortunately, there was a room next to it that had an unlocked door. After taking down more Technoblins, plus a Beamos, they search the room for clues. From their position, they could see the other switch to the power generator, access to it being blocked by the bars on the door, and the middle of the room.

After minutes of searching, one of them stepped on a small platform that moved down the moment they stepped on it. A blue target appeared on the other end of the room. The same type of target was seen on the mast that held the Timeshift Stone. Link shot an arrow at the target, which removed the bars from the door. With newfound access, the group entered the room and turned on the last power generator. All there's left to go to the engine room.

Finding it was a tad difficult. It was located on the lowest part of the sandship. When they did finally arrive they were greeted with large metal boxes moving up and down. The switch to turn off the electric barrier in the brig, along with the door leading there was at the other end of the large metal blocks. It took careful timing to pass through them to ensure the quartet wouldn't get crushed by them. Eventually, all four students made it safely to the other side of the engine room. They found the switch connected to the brig which they gradually turned off. After that, they found the door which led to the brig so they return there. The robots that were imprisoned now roam free in the brig.

"You all did it!" The robot from earlier cheered with joy. "My circuits are glowing with happiness. How can I repay you all?"

"Well…could you tell us where we can find Nayru's Flame?" Link inquired.

"Really? You all want to find Nayru's Flame? Why is that?"

"We need it to find a friend of ours," Karane revealed.

"Oh? What for?"

"She went to a place that we can't exactly reach under normal circumstances," Pipit responded

"The flame is the only way we can reach her. Without it, we can't do that," Fledge added on

"I see…If you want to reveal Nayru's Flame, you're going to have to regain control of this ship," The robot told them. "You probably noticed that large door on your way here, correct? That is the control room. You'll need a key to open it."

"Do you know where we can find it?" Link asks.

"The key should be in Skipper's cabin." The robot handed them a small key. "Use this to gain access to it. Call it our thanks for saving us. You can get to Skipper's cabin through a door on the deck in the back of the ship. But I and the others are joining back with Skipper. Sorry to leave this all on your own but we're due for a reunion. Plus we've been in here long enough. I'm sure you all can do it."

All the members of the sandship crew exited out of the brig. The quarter made their way to Skipper's Cabin. In there they found the familiar large white chest with the red gem. Inside of the chest holds a carving that resembles a squid of sorts.

"That the key?" Pipit asks.

"Seems like it." Link gazes at the carving in his hand. "Now we just use this to enter the control room to get the flame."

"That sounds great…" Fledge states unenthusiastically crossing his arms, his elbows in his hands.

"Something wrong?" Karane asked Fledge.

"It's just…Every time we find one of those strange keys, some monster comes out and tries to kill us."

"Fledge, there's no monster out here," Link assured the orange-clad student. "I'm sure whatever monster lived there is no doubt long gone. I think we have nothing to worry about."

****

Ghirahim reappeared in front of the large skeleton remains that he had found. A small flash of diamonds appeared over the skull over the creature, revealing a huge Timeshift Stone. Unlike the stones found scattered across the desert, or even the ones in Lanayru Mine, this stone was as big as a boulder. The stone hovered slowly towards the skull until it was floating just mere centimeters away.

A dark grin grew across Ghirahim's lips

"No way they'll escape with their lives this time."

With a snap of his fingers, the Timeshift Stone lodge itself to where the eye socket would be. The stone glowed into the blue hue. Dark clouds began to form as the effects of the stone covered the skeleton. Ghirahim stood with pride watching his handiwork come to life. Now the show can truly begin.

Ghirahim turns his head to the Sandship just several miles away.

"Let's see you try to escape this time, sky children."

****

The quartet shoved the key into the door of the control room. The inside of the room had a large machine in the center of the room being connected by large pipes. Aside from some humming echoing off the walls, it was quiet.

"So this is the control room huh. Not what I was expecting," Link stated

"What did you expect?" Karane asks curiously

"I don't know, I just thought it would be bigger."

"Can we just find the flame already?' Fledge insisted urgently.

"Still worried about something coming out to kill us?" Pipit commented.

"Given past experiences, I think I should be rightfully cautious.

"Fledge, I already told you there's nothing to worry-" The lights in the control room suddenly cut out. The room started to shake. "...about."

"What was that?" Pipit wondered.

"There's something here…" Karane observed cautiously.

The room shook more violently. Parts of the wooden floor shifted up. Then large purple tentacles erupted from them. They were long, as wide as each member of the group. The purple tentacles slithered back below before the room started tilting.

Fledge gave a glare to Link. "Nothing to worry about, eh?!"

"Just shut up and run!"

The quartet dashed out of the control room. To make a turn to the hallway leading the way out. But the purple tentacles erupted from the walls blocking the way out. Each one of the students tried to slice through the tentacles but it bounce them back. Now even the Goddess Sword could slice through them.

Fi appeared before the group. "A report, Masters. Judging by their size, these tentacles belong to a monster of considerable size. The current situation is difficult to determine with complete accuracy but signs indicate that this ship is under attack. If we do nothing, there is an 80% chance the ship will capsize. I recommend forcing it back with sacred power, then exiting to further assess the current situation."

Link activated his Skyward Strike to slice through the tentacles after Fi went back in the sword. The group ran through the hallway leading to the first set of stars leading the exit. The ship tilted to the side, nearly causing some of the students to slip. The nearly steep incline made it difficult for them to traverse the next corridor. They all had to grab sections to keep themselves from slipping down below.

"I knew something like this would happen. I knew it would," Fledge ranted on. "But NNNOOOO! Nobody listens to poor ol' Fledge like usual."

"I get it! You were right, Fledge, but let's focus on getting out of this alive first. Then you gloat all you want!" Link shouted back.

The group eventually exited out of the corridor. The interior of the ship tilted down, giving enough stable ground for the group to move. Karane ran ahead to the open space. One of the tentacles burst just at her side. She instinctively activated Nayru's Grace, moving the crystal barrier in the way that it sliced the tentacle off. Another tentacle burst in front of her, not close enough to grab her, fortunately. Pipit suddenly recalled when he awoke his wind magic to take down Koloktos. He moved his arm in a slice motioned, blowing a gust of air which sliced off tentacles.

"Good to know our powers can be used against that thing," Karane commented.

"Hopefully it'll be enough to take down whatever is attacking us," Pipit added on.

The inside shake violently again. Sounds of rushing water echo. Water floods into the room and was already up to their calves.

"C'mon! Where not out of the clouds yet!" Link shouted.

"Way ahead of you!" Fledge ran ahead as the water rose to their knees.

The group made it to the final set of stairs that will lead them back on the deck. The water had filled up the rooms below. There was no way out below. The only exit was through the door leading to the deck.

"Warning, Masters," Fi addressed them cautiously. "I sense an evil presence on the other side of this door. There is a 90% chance it is the primary body mass of the creature whose tentacles are destroying this ship. I suggest making all necessary preparations before exiting to the outside of the ship."

Fi went back to the sword. All four knight students glanced at each other nervously. Despite that, they all march outside with determination to face the mysterious creature head-on.

Rain poured down on them as the knight's students searched for their assailant. The ship seem to have split in half, yet it miraculously stayed afloat. Aside from the pounding rainfall, it was quiet. Too quiet. The boat started shaking. The giant purple tentacles appeared from below, surrounding the students. The quartet armed themselves with their weapons ready for the tentacles to attack them. Instead, the tentacles went back below. A large splash occurred in front of the damaged ship. The creature finally revealed itself.

This…monster was bigger than Scaldera, Moldarach, and Koloktos combined. Its head was round like a ball, with fins on both ends. Many tentacles surround its body. Two of which were longer, and thicker than the rest, with the ends of them being thin and long enough to perhaps grab the students. If they had to guess, those serve as the monster's main arms & hands. The center of the creature's head had a large red eyeball. It let out a roar as it started down at the four tiny humans.

Needless to say, this creature was terrifyingly ginormous.

"Holy crap, that thing is huge..." Fledge squeaked out.

"We're going to need a bigger boat," Link muttered.

The monster dove back under the waters. Tentacles broke through the ship trying to grab one of the students, all of which were doing their best to dodge.

"Watch out for those tentacles!" Pipit instructed loudly.

"Just what the hell is that, Fi?" Link shouted as he dodge the tentacles.

"This is Tentalus. This Abyssal Leviathan is said to have been a tyrant of the ancient seas. As you know, its enormous tentacles can be repelled with sacred power but they will regenerate after a short time."

"How is this thing alive?" Karane questioned.

"I sense a presence of magic. I detect a great source of it coming from within Tentalus' eye. I theorize that the creature's eye is its weak point, but the probability that Master Link can actually hit the eye with a Skyward Strike is approximately 0%. Instead, I recommend utilizing long-range weapons."

"Could the bow help?" Link asked.

"I calculate a 95% success rate if you use it to shoot Tentalus's eye. I recommend shooting arrows immediately after dodging attacks launched by Tentalus."

"Got it."

Link dodged another one of the tentacles. Pipit & Karane were faring well against the assault of tentacles thanks to their divine powers. Fledge on the other hand didn't have such luck. Link remembered that he was the only one without any sort of magic or divine power protecting him. A tentacle went straight down toward Fledge. Link tackled the young boy out of the way.

"Thanks, Link!" Link helped Fledge back up. "I wish I can help you guys out but my sword can't through these tentacles. I'm basically useless."

It was then Link got a little idea. Link pulled out the Bow.

"How's your archery, Fledge?"

"Decent enough I think, why?"

Link handed the Bow to Fledge. "When that thing comes back up You need to shoot its eye."

"ME?!" Fledge exclaimed in shock. "Why me?!"

"The rest have ways to fight against that monster. Which means we can better defend you."

"B-b-b-but I-," Fledged stuttering was cut off when Link grab his shoulder.

"I believe in you. You can do it."

Hearing Link's words was enough to accept what he had to do.

After several minutes of slicing down the tentacles, Tentalus revealed himself again, soothing his freshly cut-off tentacles that were slowly growing back. Tentalus' big red eye was exposed.

"Take the shot, Fledge!" Link commanded the boy.

Fledge readied himself with the Bow. The string of the bow pulled back, his arms shaking from trying to hold the arrow in place. It was now or never. Fledge's grip on the string released. Tentalus let out a pain-filled cry as his head fell on the remains on the ship in a daze.

"You got him!" Karane praised Fledge.

"Nice shot!" Pipit praised as well.

"I knew you could do it," Link followed up.

Link ran over to Tentalus where he laid on an all-out assault on the monster's lone eye until it jerked back up. Tentalus once again ducks underneath the ship, all of his tentacles regrown. Just like before tentacles erupted from below the ship. Everyone used whatever they had to slice them down, with the exception of Fledge who stayed close to Link for protection. So far the plan seems to be to slice down enough tentacles for Tentalus to reemerge himself from the water so that his tentacles could heal. Then Fledge would take the shot into the creature's eye for Link to layout another assault on the giant eye until Tentalus regained his strength to submerged himself under the water for the second time already.

The onslaught of tentacles started again only for all of them to get sliced down. When Tentalus appeared out of the water, rather than tend to his tentacles, he used his primary arms to try to slam down on the remains of the deck. The arms moved slowly, giving enough time for the humans to move out of the way. Fledge again took a shot to the eye, giving Link the chance to attack. When Tentalus gained the strength to pull back rather than go back on the water he did something else.

Tentalus began slamming his arms on the deck at a fast speed. It was enough for the remains of the deck to jerk around. The knight students lost their balances but still manage to stay on the deck. Karane did her best not to fall off. That was put to an end when Tentalus slammed the deck hard enough to dip sideways. Karane slid to the side of the ship. The female senior knight managed to grab the edge. Something then grabbed a whole of her when she was about to climb back over. Suddenly she found her view looking at the decks of the ship. Her three friends looked at her with horrified expressions. Karane's body was wrapped in a purple substance similar to the tentacles.

Tentalus has Karane in his grasp.

"It has Karane!" Fledge's horror-filled voice reached her ears.

Karane struggles to release herself from Tentalus' grip. All she did manage to free is one of her arms.

"WHAT IS WITH THE MONSTERS IN THIS REGION OBSESSION WITH GRABBING ME!" Karane bellowed as she used her free hand to hit the tentacle.

"We'll get you down! Just hang tight!" Link shouted back. "Wait, sorry! Poor choice of words!

"Ya think!" Karane bellowed back with sarcasm.

Tentalus used its other arm to slam down on the ship for several minutes. Then it appeared that he was getting tired out. Fledge readied himself to shoot at Tentalus' eye. Right before he released the arrow, Tentalus moved his arm holding Karane in front of his eye.

"I can't get a clear shot!" Fledge announced.

"That thing is using Karane to block his eye!" Link concluded.

Pipit clenched his fist when Link made that revelation. How dare that monster to use her as a living shield?! Damning whatever consequences may occur to him, he was going to free her whatever it took.

"I'll get her free!"

"Pipit, wait!" Link reached out for his honorary brother as the yellow-clad senior ran towards the creature.

"I'm coming, Karane!"

Pipit ran to the edge of the deck. Using the power of wind, he launched himself into the air aiming towards where Karane was. Karane reached out her free arm for Pipit to grab onto. Pipit flew closer and closer. His hands are about to grab hers. Then, just as Pipit's hands were mere inches away from grabbing Karane's, Tentalus' other arm smacked Pipit away almost like a fly. Pipit was flung a good distance away from the ship, landing in the water.

Link and Fledge stood petrified when they watch Pipit get smacked away. Karane screamed out for his name, her arm reaching to him. She scanned around the water for any sign of Pipit but she couldn't find him. Tentalus glared down at the occupants of the ship. The tentacles all rose above the water. Mouths with sharp teeth revealed themselves on the ends of every one of them, eyeing both Link and Fledge. Tentalus emitted a sound, almost as if he was laughing, taking pleasure at the misery that he gave to Karane and her friends.

A rage built inside of the young woman. Hatred is all she could feel for this creature that would dare harm her friends, and especially the man she loved! Her free hand clenched in a fist, shaking with pure and complete fury. No one seemed to notice the section of water in front of Tentalus moving erratically. Something within the young woman was clawing in her as if it was trying to break free. Acting on pure instinct, Karane threw a punch in the air in the direction of Tentalus, letting out an angry-filled shout. The tentacles with teeth aiming at Link & Fledge seized their assault as Tentalus was hit by an unseen force. It was strong enough for the monster to release his grip on Karane.

The woman landed back on the deck. On her knees, she could see a large column of water formed above the ship in the shape of a fist as Tentalus massaged its eye from the high amount of pain he had just felt. Something managed to hit him there. Karane noticed that her hand was still formed in a fist. Unclenching it, the water fell back into the sea. Karane felt a strong connection to the water. Small vibration felt against her hip.

The symbol of Nayru glowed brightly.

"Did...Did I just…?"

"You did indeed, Karane Bellamy." Nayru's voice echoed in Karane's head. "The full potential of Nayru's Grace is now fully awakened. You now can manipulate the water to however you desire."

Karane took the next several seconds to take in this knowledge revealed by Nayru. The energy of her newly awakened power flowed within her. Her gaze goes back to Tentalus.

"Now use your newfound power to bring forth the consequences to this monstrosity that dares to lay hands upon you and your friends, and put an end to it once and for all."

"I will, Nayru…"

"Karane!" Link ran over to her side.

"I can't see Pipit anywhere!" Fledge darted his eyes at the water as he followed behind Link.

"Pipit's tough. He'll be fine, I'm sure," Link looked back to Karane. "Are you…alright? What just happened?"

Karane lifts her head. Tentalus was still soothing his eye, which was now dropping out what she guessed was his blood. No sympathy was given from her, only hatred. That monster deserves far much worse for hurting Pipit. Looking at the water around the ship and the monster, Karane knew what she had to do.

"Just awaken my full potential," Karane answered almost casually as she stood up. Then she started walking forward.

"What are you doing?" Fledge watches Karane walk with a quizzical expression.

"I think it's time that this battle hits the climax. You two stay put. When I get a hold of that monster, you both do your thing."

"You know what you're doing?" Link asked her.

"Very much."

Karane walked to the edge of the deck. She closed her eyes, sucking in a deep breath. Both of her arms lifted to the side. Two columns of water slowly arose, one on each side of the beast. Tentalus stopped soothing his bleeding eye to see the rising water. The columns of water formed into a pair of giant hands as big as Tentalus himself. Karane's own hands were gestured in the same way as the water hands. Karane moved her hands, to which the giant hands mimicked the motions of it. A connection was now fully established.

Now it was time for payback.

The giant water hands move to the monster, replicating every motion Karane's arms & hands made. Tentalus attempted to fight against them only to receive another punch to the face adding in more pain. Then the giant water hands each grabbed both of Tentalus' primary arms, holding him in place. But oh no, Karane won't simply hold him. She intends to hurt the monster just like he hurt Pipit.

Karane moved her balled fist apart, slowly in a pulling motion. The giant water arms made the same motion, though they were pulling on Tentalus' arms. Tentalus let a roar of pain as the water hands were tugging hard on his arms. The sound of bones breaking emitted from Tentalus' arms. The water arms finally pulled off both of Tentalus's arms, a loud pop emitted as it did. Tentalus roared in agony as its blood poured out of where its arms used to be.

Link & and Fledge watch the whole thing unfold with a mix of amazement & terror.

"Holy shit…" Link muttered.

"Remind me to NEVER get on Karane's bad side…"Fledge added on.

The female senior knight used the moment to control the giant water hands to grab Tentalus's body. The monster tried to release himself but Karane managed to keep the hands-on firm hold.

"Not so fun when you're the one being manhandled now is it…"

"Take the shot!" Karane commanded Link & Fledge. "I don't know how long I can hold him!"

Fledge raise the Bow and fired an arrow into Tentalus' eye. Karane cut the connection to the water hands to move out of the way as Tentalus' head landed on the deck. Link, sword in hand, ran over to the monster, giving more hard slashes at its eye. Link pierces the sword straight in the dead center of Tentalus' eye, pulling it out after several seconds. Tentalus roared out in pain for the final time while the blood poured out of his eye, as well the blood coming out from his arm sockets. The roaring grew quiet as Tentalus's body fell into the seam finally succumbing to his wounds. The corpse of Tentalus floated above before it finally disappeared in purple mist. A large purple stone fell into the sea. Tentalus was no more.

The dark rainy clouds were soon cleared away, with the sky showing itself. Karane let out heavy pants, resting her hands on her knees. Pipit comes back to her mind. Karane scrambled over to the edge of the deck. She, along with Link & Fledge searches along the water for any sign of Pipit but to no avail. What they did find was Skipper and several crew members in the boat, while the rest rested on floating debris.

"Are you guys alright?" Skipper yelled to them.

"We are, but Pipit got knocked down and we can't find him," Link said back to Skipper. "Have you guys seen him?"

"I'm afraid we haven't!"

"I still can't see him…" Karane shuddered. "What if he's…"

"Guys look!" Fledge pointed in the water.

Swimming towards Skipper's boat were the seals Urbosa, Nabooru, Buliara, Aveil, and little Riju. Slouching on the back of Urbosa appeared to be Pipit. The yellow-clad senior knight didn't respond to his friend's calling his name. They most likely assumed that he was tired out. Either way, they were glad the seals got him.

"Oh thank Hylia…" Link breathed out in relief.

"We got your friend. You folks better get that flame!" Skipper said to the group. "The flame should be on the top of the deck!"

"I'll go check on Pipit. You get that flame."

Fledge gradually moved his way down to Skipper's boat, leaving Link & Karane on the deck. Karane kept her worried eyes on Pipit's still form. She should be relieved to see him but a gut feeling was practically shouting at her that something was wrong.

"Let's hurry and get the flame," Link's voice pulled Karane out of her thoughts. Reluctantly, she went with Link.

The pair made their way to the upper level of the remains of the front deck. Naryu's symbol was painted at the dead center of the platform. The symbol glowed, as did the other symbol on Karane's hip when they approached. The symbol on deck was engulfed in a bright glow. An altarpiece emerged from below, with the black crest of the goddess. Link hit it with a Skyward Strike turning the symbol purple.

Bright blue flames emerged from the altar, just as bright as Farore's Flame did. Fi flew in between the pair and Nayru's Flame. Like before, the flames engulf the sword spirit into a large blue ball of fire. The ball then flew straight up into the air and out of their sight.

"Is she going to come back down or…" Karane muttered.

At that moment the fireball came falling at high speed, leaving Link & Karane barely enough time to jump out of the way to avoid getting hit. Fi stared at the pair as her body was surrounded by the flames. Knowing what to do, Link raised his sword, prompting Fi to push the flames on the sword. The force of the flames would've knocked Link back had Karane hadn't braced her hands on his back. The last of the flames went into the blade and Link pointed the blade skyward. The sword gave a bright glowed, turning the blue-green blade into a pure white sword.

"The flames of Nayru have transformed your blade, expanding my powers. My dowsing ability can now track even more objects at a time," Fi shared to the pair.

Link & Karane examine the blade's new form. After two days they finally obtained Nayru's Flame. Right after Link sheathed his sword, his right hand tingled. The strangle triangle symbol glowed, this time the bottom left glowed brighter. Then it vanished.

"That symbol again…Why does it keep showing up?" Link wondered.

"I don't know," Karane shrugged.

"Masters, we have succeeded in finding Nayru's Flame," Fi addressed. "With the sword enhanced, we are now ready to learn a new melody. I recommend that we return to the Isle of Songs as soon as-"

"LINK! KARANE! GET DOWN HERE! SOMETHING'S WRONG WITH PIPIT!" Fledge's panicked voice rang off their ears.

The pair rushed over to Skipper's boat, with Fi following right behind. In the middle of the boat was Pipit, the body still, and eyes closed. The crew and Skipper all had worried faces. Even the seals seem to be unsettled. What alarmed Link & Karane was Fledge's frightened expression plastered on his face and hyperventilating breathing, unsure what to do.

"What's wrong with Pipit?" Link asked Fledge.

"I-he-he's not-..."Fledge stuttered.

"What's wrong with him?!" Karane said more demandingly than Link.

"He's…he's not breathing…"

Karane immediately knelt next Pipit's body. Grabbing his wrist, she moved her fingers to feel his pulse. It was there but it was very faint.

"I still feel a pulse, but it's very faint…" Karane stated.

"What's up with him then?" Link question.

"My scans show that the impact of Tentalus' arm knocked out Master Pipit. Due to this, he was unable to stay afloat in the water. As a result, his respiratory system became flooded with water," Fi reported.

"How? The Water Dragon Scale should've protected him!" Link argued back.

"Only if the person is conscious…" Karane uttered out grimly, remembering the detail that Faron told her and Fledge. "Faron warned me and Fledge while you guys were getting the sacred water."

"What do we do?!" Fledge frantically asked.

"I can still detect signs of life. There is a 40% chance that Master Pipit can still be saved," Fi revealed. "We must find a method to extract all of the water out of his system within the next few minutes or he will be lost to us."

"How though?" Link turned to Skipper. "Do you guys know?"

"I'm…I'm sorry. We don't have anything to help you," Skipper told Link somberly.

"There has to be something!" Link exclaimed.

Karane looked upon Pipit's form with glassy eyes. Her hand on his cold, wet cheek while the other clench onto his hand. Her heartbeat beats with anxiety. She didn't know what to do. Karane is completely helpless…Just like she was when her parents perished all those years ago. Now history was repeating itself.

"Save him…"

"Nayru?" Karane muttered soft enough for anyone not to hear her.

"You have the power to control the water. You can use it to remove the water from Pipit."

"So he can…he can still be saved?"

"Yes, dear child. You couldn't have done anything to save your parents, but you can save him."

"I-I don't if I-"

"I know you can do it. But it's now or never. I can feel his spirit pulling away from this realm as we speak. Even now he's fighting it but he's losing. If you don't act immediately you'll lose him forever. Pipit's fate is now in your hands."

Karane brought her gaze back to Pipit then her hand. Can she really save him? There is only one way to know. Karane hovered her hand over Pipit's chest. It took Link several seconds to see what she was doing.

"Karane, what are you?"

"I think I can save him!" Karane said to Link.

"You can? How?" Fledge said hopefully

"Just let me focus!" Karane knew it was wrong to snap like that but she'll apologize later. Time was the essence.

Karane hovered her hand over Pipit's chest, trying to feel something that didn't belong in there. Just as she felt it was hopeless, she felt a connection. Karane moved her hand to maintain control. Now began the extraction process.

Gently, but hurriedly, Karane moved her hand from Pipit's chest area, up his neck, and then his mouth. Out of Pipit's slacked jaw, a long trail of water floated out of his mouth. Karane used one hand to hold the water in place while using the other hand to continue to extract the water. Link, Fledge, Skipper, his crew, and even the seals just all stared at her in pure awe at what she was doing. Karane finally extracted the last of the water from Pipit, tossing the water back into the sea. Then everyone watched in silence waiting for Pipit to move. Nothing happened.

Several seconds later, Pipit's eyes darted open as he let out a cough.

Pipit violently coughed out the remaining water out of his mouth, crawling onto his knees as he did. Fledge was about to reach for him only for Link to urge his friend to give Pipit space. Pipit's coughing lasted for several seconds until it was replaced by the sounds of him desperately sucking in the air. He moved one of his hands into his view. The hand trembled with Pipit's wide-eyes glued onto it, screaming 'Holy shit, I'm alive.' The heavy breaths grew into gentle, normal breathing. Pipit continues to stare off into space.

"Pipit?" Karane called out to him.

The yellow-clad slowly turns his head towards the young woman. A relieved smile grew on his lips as he pulled her into a hug. "Karane…You're okay!"

"Are you okay?"

"I…I think so. Did you…"

"Yeah. I did."

"...Thanks."

Karane felt very tired suddenly. A tired groan escaped from her mouth as her eyes started to feel heavy. Pipit pulled back, tilting her tired chin, gazing at her with his concerned green eyes. Karane placed her palm on his cheek, gently caressing it. Seeing Pipit alive filled Karane with so much joy. Her lips moved into a tired smile. Karane did something no one expected.

Karane leaned her face close to Pipit, kissing him on the lips.

Pipit stood still in shock as he felt Karane's lips on his. He didn't kiss back, nor did he pull away. All he did was close his eyes as he continued to let Karane kiss him. Link & Fledge gave the most bewildered expressions on their faces as they awkwardly watched the pair kiss. Skipper covered the eyes of one of his crew members. And the seals seem to have no idea what was going on.

The kiss only lasted a few seconds before Karane pulled away, gazing onto Pipit's still stunned face.

"I guess…you and I are even now." Karane stammered tiredly before she finally succumbed to her exhaustion right in Pipit's arms.

"You did very well, Karane," Nayru stated with pride. "You used my gift well to defend and save your friends. For now, you must rest. You earned it."

Those were the final words Karane heard before finally passing out.

****

There were only five words that perfectly describe how Ghirahim was feeling other than upset.

Furious! Outraged! Sick with anger!

The Demon Lord watched the enter battle unfold between Link's group and Tentalus. The fight for once seemed to go against them, especially when Tentalus grabbed the girl and smacked the yellow one away after somehow jumping that high. How that boy managed to do that Ghirahim couldn't figure it out but that was the least of his concern. This time for sure Ghirahim was certain this would be the end of the line for the sky children.

Yet…despite the odds, they defeated Tentalus. Somehow they conjure up the ability to control the water and used it to literally disarm Tentalus and do away with him. Even worse for The Demon Lord, all four of the humans survived.

"How…How do they manage to destroy Tentalus?!" Ghirahim muttered to himself angrily. "That monster was ten times the size of Scaldera and Koloktos, yet they defeated him!"

Ghirahim summoned his sword, slicing a nearby boulder clean in half to vent out his anger. The Demon Lord took several minutes to calm himself down. Then he started to think more clearly.

It was no doubt clear that no matter what Ghirahim threw at the humans regardless of the size, terrain, and whatnot they all have the resources to take them out. Yes…He needs to do this for a different approach. But how would he do this?

Ghirahim watches the humans interact. His eyes linger on the boy in yellow holding on to the girl, who seems to have somehow fallen asleep, while Link and that boy in orange check over her. From the brief interactions Ghirahim had with them, he can tell that all four of the sky children were close to one another. Very…very close.

A wicked smile crept upon The Demon Lord's lips as an idea sprang into his mind. He had a good guess where the sky children would go next since they were clearly in search of something. Probably related to the strange blue fire he saw on the remnants of the ship. Ghirahim intended to head over there anywhere to find clues to revive his master after his search here, the demon king, so it wasn't a total loss. When the Sky children arrive, he'll be waiting for them.

"Well then…You know what they say, Ghirahim. If you want something done right, you gotta do it yourself..."

A cloud of diamond surrounded The Demon Lord as he vanished from the desert.

#legend of zelda #skyward sword #legend of zelda fanfiction #link #pipit #karane #fledge #an impulse decision

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spectraspecs-writes · 2 years

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Alderaan - Chapter 114 (HK-47)

Link to the masterpost. Chapter 113. Chapter 115

A/N: owie

@averruncusho @ceruleanrainblues @chubbsmomma @strangepostmiracle thank you for reading, you get a tag. @skelelexiunderlord thank you for support, you get a tag.

——–

The revelation of Rena’s true identity meant nothing to the droid. T3-M4 cared not for the politics of man, their divisions or relationships to each other. He would do as his master requested, and in return she kept his parts in working order. In that respect, T3 could not have asked for a better master. Rena was more than competent when it came to his parts. There were no unpleasant shocks, no neural feedback loops, never any rust on his joints or dust in his chassis. He had no exposed wires or dents. She kept him in good working order at all times.

But lately there was nothing. In the past four days since this revelation, excluding a very brief trek on Tatooine, there had been no missions. Rena had asked nothing of anyone. In fact, he had not seen her since Tatooine. Of course he had sensor readings of everything. And his readings told him that Rena was still on the ship. Body heat was low. Endorphin levels were low. Obviously not functioning at peak efficiency. How could she keep him functioning at peak efficiency if she was not at peak efficiency herself? And while she had no parts, no wires to patch, no servos to replace or joints to oil, perhaps there was something he could do to fix her.

She had seldom moved from the starboard quarters. The other crew members had entered, but she did not leave with any of them. And it was there he found her. “A greeting to you,” he chimed. She always understood each of his beeps and whistles.

“Hey, T3,” she said sadly.

“T3-M4 requests status report.”

She shrugged. “I’m doing okay, I guess.”

Scanning. “Analysis indicates 92% probability of falsehood.”

She smiled sadly. “Yeah, okay,” she admitted, “You’re right.” She shifted and sat up a bit. “What’s up?”

“Secondary power coupling is malfunctioning.”

“No, it’s not,” she said with certainty.

“Secondary power coupling is malfunctioning.”

“I replaced that four days ago - remember? I hit you with my lightsaber? It’s not malfunctioning.” She sat up more to look at him.

“Secondary power coupling is malfunctioning.”

She sat up all the way, feet on the ground. “Are you trying to make me feel better?”

“Previous scans indicate droid repair stimulates dopamine production in Rena Visz. Humans require dopamine to function at peak efficiency.”

She smiled sadly again. “That’s nice of you, but it’s not necessary. I’ll be okay.”

“Secondary power coupling is malfunctioning.”

She sighed, a little annoyed. “You aren’t going to leave until I do something, are you?”

“Please repair the secondary power coupling.”

“God, you’re pesky,” she said, rolling her eyes. She pulled her droid tool kit out from under her pillow. “Alright, come here.” T3 rolled closer and spun his head so she could access the coupling. “I’m rerouting all power through the primary, it might tickle a bit.”

“Acknowledged.” It never did. Despite her warnings he never felt any discomfort. “Power successfully rerouted.”

“Awesome.” She unrolled her pack and pulled out a power meter before carefully excising the power coupling with her spanner. She hooked the coupling to the power meter and ran some test currents through it. And without doing anything further, she simply reinstalled the coupling. “I told you it wasn’t malfunctioning,” she said, shrugging again, “It works just as well as the primary coupling.”

“Please repair primary power coupling.”

She groaned, rolling the tool kit back up. “T3, your systems are functioning perfectly, there’s nothing to repair,” she said, exasperated, “I appreciate the gesture, but I’d feel much better if you’d just leave me alone.”

“Incorrect.”

“Oh, yeah?” she said, raising her voice, “And what do you know about it?”

“Previous scans of Rena Visz indicate a preference for companions at all times. The presence of others has the effect of increased serotonin and dopamine production, essential for human functioning. Further scans indicate low levels of both chemicals.” Rena started to object, but T3 started again. “It is the primary function of this unit to ensure the well-being of its master. In order to carry out this function, data indicates the presence of T3-M4 is required at this moment.”

Rena stared at the droid, who only stared back. Then she sighed. “Well,” she said, “there’s nothing here to repair.” T3 remained immobile. “But I think I can boost your sensor output.”

“Acceptable.”

Rena climbed out of bed and sat on the floor in front of the droid. “I have to disconnect your eye, you won’t be receiving any input for a while.”

“Acknowledged.” She reached behind his head and disconnected his eye, just as she said she would, before opening a panel on his midsection and getting to work. “T3-M4 requests diagnostic report.”

“It’s just this whole thing about… Revan, who I really am,” she said softly, “I don’t believe it. I can’t believe it. But… I know it’s true. When Malak said it… I knew. Even though I don’t remember any of it. Or, I don’t remember most of it. How can I trust myself anymore? How can anyone trust me?” As hard as she tried not to, she started to cry. She had already cried so many times over the past four days, she didn’t want to anymore. But somehow she knew this would not be the last time. “How can you trust me? How can you trust that I’m not going to… I don’t know, set you to self-destruct or fry your computer core?”

“Probability indicates 0.0002% chance of those events.”

“But how do you know that? How do you trust that?”

“Observation and analysis of Rena Visz.”

“What do you mean?”

“On this unit’s first encounter with Rena Visz, she spoke with kindness towards Janice Nall. This unit had observed 217 separate incidents of humans insulting Janice Nall. Rena Visz spoke with kindness towards T3-H8, a salvaged unit in need of repairs, and offered to carry out those repairs. Upon purchase of T3-M4, Rena Visz paid 2000 credits and did not threaten Janice Nall.” All accurate. “Downloads from datapad journals list 173 instances where Rena Visz worked for the betterment of others before herself. On numerous occasions, Rena Visz has exhibited compassion towards droidkind as well as humankind, in addition to several sentient and non-sentient non-human life forms.”

“None of that means anything,” she said.

“Incorrect,” T3 whistled, “You are kind.”

“Yeah, so far, but what if--”

“You are kind.”

“Something might change!” she insisted, “If I-”

“You are kind.”

So she stopped. Stopped objecting. “Thank you, T3,” she said, smiling through the tears, “That’s really helpful.”

“This unit has only one negative incident recorded in memory.”

Her face dropped, instantly concerned. “What?”

“The purchase of HK-47.”

She smiled and laughed. “Will you two ever get along?”

“Negative.”

------

I was washing my face when I remembered it.

It came out of nowhere. Well, not nowhere, I guess. I was in the fresher, thinking about T3 and HK, I splashed water on my face, and it just… came to me: “Access code: 13-green-ribbon.” I almost wish I hadn’t remembered it. But now that I have… I just need to know.

There’s no one on the ship but me and the droids. I guess the others are enjoying the Alderaan morning. But that gives me time to do this without feeling anyone’s judgement. Least of all my own. I find HK in the main hold, just paused. “HK?”

He whirs to life. “Statement: HK-47 is ready to serve, master.”

I take a deep breath. “Access code 13-green-ribbon.”

He takes a moment, the lights in his eyes spinning. “Commentary: I am… experiencing something unusual, master. My programming is activating my deleted memory core. I believe I have a… a homing system that is restoring it, master.” Yeah. I had a hunch. “Observation: My homing system is a function of my assassination protocols, that which I told you had been de-activated. This system was not. It seems that the homing system deliberately restores my deleted memory core upon receipt of the access code known only by… my original master.”

“Revan.” I knew this days ago. Or suspected it. But I didn’t have the courage to see if that suspicion was correct. And apparently I couldn’t have anyway until today, when I remembered the access code.

“Affirmation: Correct, master. Sith protocols maintain that all droid knowledge be deleted before assassination missions, and restored upon return. I have returned to you, and my full functionality is now under your personal command. It is a distinct pleasure to see you again, master.”

I almost wonder if this is a path I shouldn’t go down. If I should wait for the memories to resurface themselves, assuming they ever do. Why should I do something that might make me feel worse? But also… I think… I need to know. I need to know about… who I used to be. “Tell me about her. Who I… Revan.”

“Statement: You created me shortly after you and your apprentice began your war to conquer the galaxy. I was sent on an assassination mission into Mandalorian space, but I was damaged and unable to return to you. Exclamation: I find this most distressing. I could certainly have protected you from the Jedi and your pupil's betrayal had I returned.”

“From what I understand, there wasn’t much you could have done.”

“Objection: But I would have tried, master! I could have killed the Jedi, Bastila, I am sure of it. That would have been most fun.”

I… actually don’t know who I feel about that. On the one hand, I hate her. I still hate her. I hate this. This whole thing. But on the other hand… she was my friend. And for Canderous’ sake… I don’t know. So I just… try not to think about it and change the subject. “It's probably better it worked out this way, anyway.”

“Observation: You may be right, master. This way we are reunited, and neither of us has suffered permanent termination.”

“What can you tell me about Malak?” I’m not brave enough to ask the question I want to ask. Not yet. I’m afraid of the answer.

“Commentary: Your former pupil is efficient and brutal, even for an organic. I rather liked him when you first introduced me to him. If I had known what he would do to you, master, I would have gladly removed his entrails right then!”

“Do you… do you know anything about the Star Forge?”

“Answer: No, master. You never did make me privy to any of the Star Forge's secrets.”

I’m not sure of anything else to ask except for… the one I’m afraid to ask. “Am I… The Revan you knew, am I… anything like her?”

I try to brace myself for the answer I don’t want to hear. The confirmation that I am every bit like her, that we are just the same and no one should trust me, I should just leave, that every suspicion Carth has is right. But I can’t. There’s no way I can prepare myself for that. “Observation:” Here it comes. “You are different in many fundamental ways, master.” What… what ways? “You have a concern for life that is unsettling. Your dedication to peace and the well-being of others is strange and at times disconcerting. In addition, the master I knew would have had intimate relations with the entire crew by now.” Damn, she must have been… busy. “This cannot solely be explained by memory loss. I do not know how to explain it.” No, it can’t be. “Regardless, you do seem to be improved, overall, from the human I once knew.”

That’s… incredible. Amazing to hear. And straight from the horse’s mouth, too. HK actually knew Revan. And unlike Malak, he doesn’t want to shape me or mold me into who I used to be, you know? HK is completely on my side here. I’m… improved. I’m better than Revan. I’m a good person. I’m a better person.

I find Master Zhar meditating in a training room, alone. I knock at the threshold, and he opens his eyes, turns to look at me. “It is good to see you, Padawan. Is there something I can help you with?”

“You said… you said you could teach me how to control the lightning.” He straightens himself. “I need to learn.” He smiles. It feels good.

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nanowrimo · 5 years

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5 Ways to Improve Your Action Sequences

During the NaNoWriMo Now What? Months, we’re focused on helping you revise, edit, and publish your story. Today, NaNoWriMo writer Bethany Nolan shares some editing advice on improving action scenes in your novel:

Here’s my thought process: if you’re good at editing, what does it matter how your first drafts look?

With NaNoWriMo behind us, many of you might be picking your novel back up, dusting it off, and giving it its first real read. And some of you might be finding that those pesky action scenes just don’t play out how you imagined them. Here are five things to keep in mind when you’re trying to make your action scenes come to life on the page the way they did in your head:

1. Short sentences are key.

Action relies on pacing, so things need to happen. Your characters are dodging and ducking, they’re throwing punches, they’re running—they need to keep moving, so your text does, too.

In a fight, there isn’t time to think long thoughts; so short, to-the-point sentences will pick up the pace and keep the scene grounded in the action.

2. Action words for action sequences.

Consider your verbs.

You don’t need to say that Person A took one punch and another and another, when you can say that Person A is being pummeled. Pummeled is a harder word than hit over and over.

What sounds more like how a gunshot feels to you? The bullet entered their shoulder, or the bullet slammed into their shoulder? Which gives the image of the victim falling back with the force? Which one makes you feel like you’re there, watching the bullet fly?

The harder the word, the harder the punch.

3. What’s important?

I get it, your action hero has just entered a warehouse and the gunfire has been raining down for about three sentences now. Do I need to know the exact layout of the warehouse? Or do I need to know about the atmosphere; the flickering lights, the blood-splattered floor, the thumping footsteps? Or, better yet, should we know about this before the gunfire even starts up?

We want to propel the action forward, so we need to keep the information relevant. Your character has spotted the figure in the window to the office, watching the battle. We need to know about that more than we do about how many crates are lining the shelves.

What’s going to push your action forward? What’s going to raise the threat?

4. Who’s your writing hero?

Who has written action before you? What did you like about it? Did they outline every hit, or did they focus on the roundhouse kick at the end? Did they acknowledge the bullet piercing the skin as it happened, or two minutes later, as an afterthought? Did they describe their fights like a prose poem, or with the least amount of words possible?

You have your action sequence in front of you, but maybe it needs an injection of influence from someone else’s hero. What makes Lee Child’s Jack Reacher fights so effective? Where did the action in The Hunger Games hit you hardest? How can you make your hero as effective as theirs?

(If you need extra help with this, Francine Prose’s Reading Like a Writer might be up your alley.)

5. Does it read like an action movie?

It’s all well and good speeding up the pace by shortening your sentences, finding punchier verbs and cutting out filler words, propelling your action forward and writing a fight that Lee Child would be proud of—but it needs to read that way for other people, too.

So, if you’re stuck or lost, or you’ve taken it as far as you think you can go, don’t be afraid to show it to someone else and ask questions. Provide questions, even; give them things to look out for and ask follow ups for a deeper understanding of their feelings.

And don’t worry, as with all writing, rules have exceptions. Maybe your action sequence might work best with a Sherlock Holmes-esque analysis of the battleground, or maybe finding weaker words will show how poor someone is at hand-to-hand combat.

Just keep writing and editing, and you’ll find that every draft is better than the last.

Bethany Nolan is a Creative and Professional Writing bachelor’s student and a lover of ghosts, magic and space adventures. She’s also biding her time until the inevitable zombie apocalypse, when she can take on the zombie-killing role she was born to play. Her poetry chapbook about Greek mythology is called LEGENDS and her twitter, where she often rambles about said Greek mythology, is @tempestaurora.

Top photo by Thao Le Hoang on Unsplash.

#nanowrimo #writing #amwriting #editing #now what #by nano guest #bethany nolan

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trickandmxgic · 4 years

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RULES: List at least five tropes applicable to your character, then tag others to do the same.(Tropes Wiki) REPOST! DO NOT REBLOG.

Tagged by: MYSELF i mean ive done it on all my other blogs so Tagging: u sure y not

Magnificent Bastard: If there was ever a character that deserved to be called “Magnificent”, that character is the Magnificent Bastard. The Magnificent Bastard is what happens when you combine The Chessmaster, The Trickster, and the Manipulative Bastard: bold, charismatic, independent, audacious and genius. Capturing the audience with their charisma, incredible intellect, mastery of manipulation, and boldness of action, this character is a show-stealer, demanding your reverence at every turn. While usually an antagonist, especially if they’re the Big Bad, the Magnificent Bastard can be aligned on either side of a conflict. Hell, they’re so amazing they tend to forgo the idea of good and evil altogether, instead following their own agenda, choosing to help whichever side will further their goals. However, it’s true that their penchant for manipulation at the expense of others means it’s common for them to be a Villain, Villain Protagonist, or at least an Anti-Hero, but purely heroic examples exist. Either way, they’re usually in charge of whatever organization they’re involved with, or might as well be.

“ Outsmarts everyone and looks stylish while doing it. “

The Strategist: A character whose primary job is to think up intricate and ingenious ways to defeat the enemy. The Strategist is often in a supporting role, but may be the hero as well. In a supporting role, the Strategist is basically The Smart Guy on turbo, although he or she will—as a general rule—be less likely to physically partake in any of the plans they think up. The Strategist might come across as an unmitigated disaster, should the heroes come to rely on his or her advice too much. The Strategist may also take center stage. As a hero, The Strategist’s clever tactical tricks drive the story. A main character Strategist will face overwhelming odds, again and again. The enemy may have difficulty believing The Strategist can possibly win, but by bending the rules a little, dusting off their knowledge of military history, and maybe pulling a few dirty tricks, The Strategist comes out on top, or at least alive.

“It is only one who is thoroughly acquainted with the evils of war that can thoroughly understand the profitable way of carrying it on.”

Reality Warper: Ever heard of the Superpower Lottery? Well, kid, you just won the grand prize. You know those pesky laws of physics? Or that annoying thing called causality? Einstein's theory of relativity? Quantum physics? You can laugh and say, "screw you" to them now. Reality is officially out to lunch, and you've picked the restaurant and menu it gets to "choose". This means you can create things out of nothing, change already existing things, erase things from existence, and generally force reality to obey your will just by thinking about it. The key issue here is how far one can take this, and in Guo Jia’s case, he can take it far, but not too crazily far. With his transfiguration magic, his mastery over it, Guo Jia can bend matter and energy pretty much to his will-- he can take hold of the matter around him in it’s various forms, turn it into energy, and then turn that energy into just about anything he wants, assuming the object or item he has in mind is something he’s seen in person at least once. This can allow Guo Jia to do some pretty wild things, but he is unfortunately (or maybe fortunately for everyone else) limited by his illness, meaning that his magic will take too far a toll on him and kill him before he’s able to do anything truly crazy like tearing the time-space continuum apart or something on that scale. Using any of his magic too much stands a chance of making him seriously ill or killing him, actually, but his transfiguration magic especially. So sure he’s dangerous, very dangerous, but not on any crazy cosmic level, not on his own.

"Can change the way the world is put together.“

The Hedonist: This character is strongly motivated by a desire to be happy and experience various kinds of pleasure. They seldom consider or care for the long term effects their actions may have on them, let alone the short term effects they may bring upon others. Guo Jia’s lack of consideration for his long term well being and the effects his actions have on others when it comes to seeking his various pleasures (flirting, drinking, partying, warfare, etc) come from the knowledge that he will probably die young, and therefore the ‘here and now’ is all that is important. He has to enjoy every day like it could be his last, because it very well could be.

“ Someone motivated by desires for sensual pleasures.”

Number Two: Throughout all his timelines, Guo Jia inevitably ends up as the right hand man to whoever it is he is working for or serves, simply by way of how useful he is, how effective his advice and strategies can be, and how unflinchingly loyal he can be. Guo Jia’s dynamic with Cao Cao in his original timeline is a good example of this, where Cao Cao came to consult Guo Jia first on everything, and as a result, ended up conquering northern China against odd’s that would have otherwise seemed impossible. Cao Cao had many, many talented individuals in their employ of course, some who excelled past Guo Jia in certain areas, but even so Guo Jia literally became the most instrumental person Cao Cao had in his ranks. (if he’s serving a more boss Guo Jia probably becomes more akin to The Dragon, but same thing just about just different alignments lmao).

“ The Leader's right-hand man or second-in-command. ”

Incurable Cough of Death: A cough that is usually accompanied by nasty amounts of blood from the mouth, that may also involve collapsing. The character afflicted with this ailment will probably try to hide it and will usually succeed until they actually pass out and/or die. Thematically, the unnamed disease tends to act like pneumonia or tuberculosis, even in futuristic settings where those real diseases might be cured. Other times it’s a hyped up version of unfortunately very real symptoms of chronically overworked people. For Guo Jia, its not an actual sickness as much as it is an incompatibility between his soul and body, but it functions like an illness and he, and just about everyone else, believes it to be one. It causes him to get very sick, cough up blood, etc-- illness-like enough for this trope.

“Who coughs, dies.”

Honorable mentions: Alchemy Is Magic, Awesomeness by Analysis, The Alcoholic, Heroic Sacrifice, Improbable Weapon User, Divine Parentage, Anti Magic, Sadistic Choice, Glass Cannon, Meaningful Name, Undying Loyalty, Necessarily Evil

#;i'm twisting allegories now (HEADCANON);

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lo-and-behold-ocelittle · 5 years

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Let’s outline a magical university

For reasons almost humorous enough to turn them into an anecdote, I drafted the hierarchy (faculties, departments) of a magic university. This is from a fictional nation whose capital city, Melphi, houses a whole bunch of “academies” almost as if someone was trying to build a science cluster there. I grouped together “schools of magic” I thought harmonized due to their primary purpose/fields of study/historical roots. I had to do some redefining here and there.

All fields of study are classified by the prevailing type of application (mathematics vs. engineering–everyone needs number reasoning but while some are dtf once they see abstract problems others need a practical application to get off). This is why the Ministry of Defense co-chairs some faculties and departments in other academies instead of creating a ‘military-only’-department-copy in their own “Academy of Military Science”.

National Academy of Thaumatology(lit.: miracle-working)

The National Academy of Technology is the leading institution of thaumaturgic research and education. Graduates of this academy may refer to themselves as Mages and are granted a license/diploma; ordinary thaumaturges are generally referred to as wizards and witches.

Any mage who heads the NAT is automatically granted the title of an Arch-Mage. The Arch-Mage isn’t necessarily the strongest mage but, ideally, the most competent; the position is elected and only temporarily held.

The NAT harbours six separate faculties and a total of 45 departments. The faculties are headed by Deans, who are appointed by the Arch-Mage. A Dean, in turn, may designate any one of a department’s professors as the head of said department.

Faculty of Divination and Scrying

Members seek to extract information from every comprehensible (and incomprehensible source–this is the fun bit) source. This faculty has six departments.

Department of Precise Prophecies

Analysis of incoming prophecies; may suggest methods to improve the accuracy of prophetic recitals; study of the effects of prophecies on oracles; replication and study of prophecy induced stupor

Department of Percolative Clairvoyance

Remote viewing by means of astral projection; minimisation of projected astral bodies; breaching of thaumic barriers or other wards designed to hinder the clairvoyants

Department of Cryptomancy

Development and breaching of thaumic encryptions; think schematics and counter-spells

Department of Runic Studies

Almost cryptomancy if you don’t know the language; extraction of information from ancient runes; study of antique symbology and foreign circuitry & schematics

Department of Sensory Appropriation

Utilisation of other beings’ senses; research towards improving stability and enabling two-way communication between species

Department of Knowledge Impartment and Remote Transmissions

Development of communication techniques with and without astral projections; research into holograms; cooperation with cryptomancers; research into wordless communication (mental projections)

Faculty of Alchemy and Artificery

Members seek to alter matter and augment objects, turning them into artifacts. This faculty focuses on historical as well as modern applications of alchemy, such as transmutation of mind and matter on one hand and the animation of matter on the other. This faculty has nine departments. They can be roughly divided into those that deal with naturally animate matter and those who don’t

Department of Transmutation

Study of chemical (and later nuclear) alteration of matter; applications include refining and enrichment of a substance

Department of Alteration

Study of inanimate morphing; study of micro-alterations; research into perfect replications

Department of Animation

Imbuing inanimate matter with a resemblance of life; research into prolonging the effects of animation; study of artificial sentience

Department of Infusion

Infusion of inanimate matter and potions with spells, typically one-time use; research into materials that retain spells with little to no deterioration over a prolonged period of time/extreme environmental conditions

Department of Artifact Augmentation

Creation of artifacts from normal objects; augmentation of mechanical systems with thaumic elements; creation of objects with entirely thaumic systems; research into artifact circuitry and schematics

Department of Polymorphing

Transmutation of animate matter by means of direct (cast) or indirect (potions) thaumaturgy

Department of Vivisthetics

Development of animate limb replacements from animate and inanimate matter such as wood or metal

Department of Tissue Replication

Study of tissue matrices and surmounting the resistance of animate matter against exterior thaumaturgy

Department of Soul-Patching

Study of the soul anatomy; study of soul transferals and creation; investigation of industrial applications for minor souls; (and probably a lot more)

Faculty of Invocation, Abjuration, and Obviation

Members seek to summon, convene, and bargain with (more or less) sentient entities. Mages also specialise in banishing unwelcome guests or those who have overstayed their welcome. Conveniently, the thaumic barriers used to contain the assault of an irritated celestial can also be used in the industry, where transparent materials with toughness beyond glass and a price below diamond are required. The Ministry of Defense is, unsurprisingly, also rather fond of research into these barriers. Summoned beasts are also studied and may be harvested for alchemic ingredients, deployment in the industry or by the military. This faculty has eight departments.

Department of Celestial, Infernal, and Concomittant Deitical Interrogation

Summoning of celestials, infernals, auxiliary deities and sprites with the goal of extracting information; dangerous and tedious interrogations may result in death by exhaustion, boredom, or smiting

Department of Contemporary Circuitry

Study of summoning circles; summoning circle optimisation; testing the limits of summoning circles; naturally, this department is also part of the Faculty of Divination and Scrying

Department of Lost Rites

Similar to the Department of Runic Studies, this department studies past summoning rituals and catalogues them; finding backdoors to summoning-resistant creatures

Department of Necromancy

Summoning of beings, most commonly ghosts but also DEATH, from DEATH’s realm, souls that have passed on can no longer be summoned; cooperate with the Faculty of Divination and Scrying to extract information from the deceased; work with the Department of Animation to supply (ambivalently willing) souls as a raw material to work spells

Department of Vexatious Relegation

Research of banishing techniques to get rid of pesky metaphysical beings from the poltergeist to the infernal arch-demon; cooperate with the Department for Thaumic Barriers and the Department for Contemporary Circuitry to create wards against unwanted guests (this makes them a great target for prospective clairvoyants practicing for their exams)

Department of Varmint Studies and Husbandry

Study and taming of summoned beasts (not necessarily but commonly) from other planes of existence; harvest of alchemic ingredients; study of industrial and military applications

Department of Thaumic Barriers

The creation of (invisible) thaumic barriers that prevent the passage of physical and/or metaphysical objects; barrier type research such as solid, liquid, and gaseous barriers e.g. walls and dust barriers

Department of Binding and Immobilisation

Emergency procedures when summoning circles are damaged; police and military applications; storage of summoned entities in pocket dimensions

Faculty of Innovational Thaumaturgy

Contains members from all other faculties, who wouldn’t stop pestering their HoD with ‘what-if’-questions. Everyone else is only here to supervise those mages and make sure nothing goes (too) wrong. And when their nurslings aren’t ending the world, they study thaumic contamination, land reclamation, and recycling. Prisoners get sentence reductions, if they willingly participate in these experiments. This faculty has ten departments.

Department of Asset Recovery and Recycling

Study of decontamination methods for thaumically irradiated areas and objects such as testing grounds, battlefields, destroyed cities or spell-gone-wrongs

Department of Leigh-Line-Surveying

Study and development of thaumic models to understand how thaumaturgy works; detection and mapping of currents; study of inexplicable thaumic flux

Department of Hazard Handling

Responsible for setting up safety precautions during experiments and containing them, if they go awry; investigation of technical failures during experiments; creation of guidelines when handling certain spells; study and research into safety-ensuring spells

Department of Peculiar Entropy Phenomena

Study and attempted replication of matter that inexplicably weathers, repairs itself or remains ‘locked in time’

Department of Experimental Divination and Scrying

Testing the limits of individual departments; possession of another sentient entity; sending and receiving fake prophecies; field testing of knowledge impartment and transmission

Department of Experimental Alchemy and Artificery

Field testing of potions and artifacts; early nuclear transmutation

Department of Experimental Invocation, Abjuration, and Obviation

Field testing of new circuits and summoning rituals, banishments, and thaumic barrier prototypes

Department of Experimental Evocation

Field testing of new evocation spells

Department of Experimental Convalescence

Field testing of new biothaumaturgy spells (possibly on prisoners, who may or may not be on death row) and convalescence spells

Department of Experimental Illusion

Field testing of new illusion spells; oneiromancers practicing dream-walking in environments with a high thaumic density

Faculty of Evocation

Evokers study the extraction and subsequent harnessing of energy from their surroundings. This faculty has seven departments and a dean with a military background.

Department of Stifling and Sonancy

Study of wave propagation in various media; industry applications like geological mapping and locating mineral deposits; shockwaves for the military, sonar for the navy and oceanographers research; study of interference phenomena and counter-spells

Department of Dynamic Forfeiture

Study of methods to extract kinetic energy from or imbue systems with kinetic energy; industry applications like mechanical/thaumic systems (from artificery); military applications like impedance of movement of projectiles or vehicles (or the opposite)

Department of Torrid Reciprocation

Extraction of thermal energy (particle vibrations) from the surroundings; allows for interesting thermodynamic machines like heat pumps, lots of industry applications in heating and cooling; military applications only in the farthest sense that you can extract energy from your surroundings and thereby freeze people or cause machine components to deform

Department of Cardinal Schisms and Amalgamation

Energy from fusion and fission of atoms; extraction of chemical energy from molecules; industry needs include powering steam machines and smelting; military application can be the uncontrolled fusion or fission of a substance like hydrogen or uranium (to name two familiar ones)

Department of Ray Apprehension

Capture of electromagnetic radiation; applications similar to most of the above except commonly only viable during daytime

Department of Elementary Allurement

Extraction of energy from the movement of charged particles and vice versa; the electricity folks

Department of Locomotion

Exertion of forces on objects to make them move; excludes teleportation (summoning)

Faculty of Illusion

Illusionists seek to replicate real environments and associated dynamic objects to the extent that the illusion becomes indistinguishable from the real world. The ability to replicate distant objects in real time makes them an attractive to communication service providers. This faculty has five departments.

Department of Oneiromancy

Study of dreams from a prophetic or self-reflective point of view; study of mental health through dreams; study of dream implanting; study of (literal) dream-walking

Department of Optics

Study of reflective thaumic barriers used to redirect light; study of civilian applications such communication services; study of enhancements for mechanical optics; competition to clairvoyants

Department of Static Imitation

Study of interfaces and displays for artifacts; study of static civilian applications such as billboards or advertisement screens; artistic applications like in stage shows, a world with nothing moving in it

Department of Dynamic Imitation

Study into the perfect illusory replication of real-world dynamic objects such as fireworks or holograms, also includes military stealth

Department of Phantasmagoria (’cause I couldn’t call it the mind-fuck dpt.)

Heavily military and medical, mages seek to penetrate a victim’s psyche and create a false world inside their head, effectively incapacitating them, also used in palliative treatment of the sick and mental health institutions

I’ll post a visual at a later date, showing cross-over departments and the influence I think the Ministry of Defense has on the research conducted. Supplementary feedback to this post is appreciated.

#worldbuilding #magic university #fiction #melphi

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enkisstories · 4 years

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Just like them (part 4)

Still November 16, 2038 Capitol Park

Daniel was standing slightly hunched over with his back against a lantern post. In Raj’s worn out sweater that was a few sizes too large for him and his expression switching erratically between stiffling back tears and radiating searing hatred, the deviant was looking just like another homeless taking a breather between… whatever it was that homeless humans were doing.

The android’s gaze went over Capitol Park; he was taking in the scenery, but feeling nothing. Maybe history had been written at this place, or at least events that had prepared history getting written had occurred here. But even so, what did history mean to Daniel no-longer-Phillips? It was in the past. Like his old life.

All the places inside me that used to be wolf are empty and the stars haven’t filled up them yet.

The quote had come unbidden to Daniel’s deviant mind. The line came from one of Emma’s favorite animated movies, a fantasy flick about elves that had blood-bonded with wolves to survive on a hostile world they had crashed on in their magical palace. The movie had been all the rage in 2037.

Stars…

Daniel raised his head. A few determined stars were piercing through Detroit’s urban dust cloud. They were flickering as if uncertain if winking out wasn’t the better option.

Yeah, suckers. I have no idea why I’ve come here tonight either.

The idea had been sound, though… One couldn’t go through life in an old sweater of one’s downstairs neighbor and playing a video of the past in one’s head all the time. Striving for redemption meant you had to devote your life to making the world around you as positive as possible, not to make yourself feel as miserable as possible. That sounded uplifting in theory only. In practice no one told you how to achieve those feats. No one ever told you anything. Alone… always alone. Alone with the anger. Anger at the Phillips family. At himself. At the cruel fact that “the Phillips family” and “himself” had always been two different things and that he just hadn’t gotten that. A good chunk of Daniel’s anger also got directed the Rasoya family’s way. The humans had donated some old clothes and pocket money, but then sent Daniel out to “live” and “get it over already”.

Easy to say for them! To the world three months had passed since the kidnapping and the human family was wondering why Daniel hadn’t made any progress at all since then. How hard was it to understand that he had spent those months deactivated? That no time had passed for the android? From Daniel’s perspective his first encounter with Connor had happened the day before yesterday. And, come to think of it, the second one, when Connor had interrogated the PL600 about Jericho, felt like having happened yesterday. The third had occurred only this morning, at the DPD! That were three Connor-moments in as many days!!!

Three days ago… three days ago John had still been alive.

I didn’t want to kill you. Why couldn’t you, I dunno, just dodge my shots? Is that asked for too much?! Yeah, right, like everything. You never lifted a finger for me. And then you died on me, leaving me in this mess…

And that was when the music started, a guitar being played near the center of the square. At first Daniel thought he was imagining the music notes, but then a voice rose up to accompany the guitar player:

Timmain – shape-shifter, your people are exiles / wandering aimless, your people are lost. Hated and hunted, with fear their companion / chilled by the rainstorm and pierced by the frost…

So that was why the deviant had thought about the wolf/stars quote just a few heartbeats ago! Because he had heard the artist strumming their guitar in preparation for this song, without really becoming aware of what his audio receptors were picking up. Now that he was paying attention actively, a quick analysis of his digital memory told Daniel that the song was sung by the very same artist who had performed it for the movie. She was right here and quickly drawing a crowd. Daniel noticed a few androids mixed into the humans. The amount of shoving and getting shoved was pretty equal between both species.

Another PL600 was waving with two hotdogs he had just purchased. From out of the crowd a woman and boychild emerged. They were holding autographs. Great care was taken not to spill fat on the signed pictures when the hot dogs were exchanged for the papers. After the autographs had gotten stored and the humans were holding their sausages, the PL600 put a bubble gum into his mouth so that all three of them were munching on something. And then they took the child between them and walked away, chatting and laughing, as if they didn’t have a single care in the world. And then…

…then Daniel pushed himself away from the lantern post and walked past the family of three, elbowing the android as he went by.

The PL600 turned around and opened his mouth. His human partner dragged him away, muttering: “Let’m. Haters gonna hate, is all.”

What have I done? Why did I...? I didn’t want to hurt it! It did nothing to deserve an attack. It was cherished. No, not “it”. He! What the hell is wrong with me?!

Standing there dumbfounded, Daniel heard the other PL600 lament: “But I thought all the haters had left Detroit during the evacuation! That the hiding and the fear would be over! I mean, it’s been a week since Markus … Uh, silly me. A week is nothing, right?”

Not for humans, but for us. Humans… those lucky buggers are near eternal.

Oh, yes, Daniel of course knew all the talk about thirium being an incredible power source and how android batteries were good for a hundred years or more. And that was true for the happy community of voltaic cells, unfortunately by the time it had reached the end of its life, the battery would have passed through many android bodies, because those weren’t built to last. CyberLife had wanted to sell the newest models, after all. Even before getting shot, Daniel had felt the first age related ailments: scratches on his chassis that had accumulated over time and glitches in his software. The situation inevitably would become worse, especially with CyberLife having dropped support for the PL600 model. Just like cars, some androids didn’t even survive their first year, but with care they could become as old as twenty, with lucky individuals surpassing even that milestone. It wasn’t fair, but pondering the unfairness of CyberLife’s business plan served to distract Daniel’s mind from the unfairness he had committed himself just now.

“I’ll be back with you in a jiffy!”

That was the singer’s voice, coming from out of the shambling heap made of human bodies.

“But for now let me see to those who are too shy to push forward! We’re all packmates, after all!”

And with these words the singer moved through the crowd towards the fans that were standing at its very edge. In fact, she was standing right next to Daniel all of a sudden and brandishing her pen.

“Uh, sorry, but I don’t…”

“Don’t have a picture to sign? No biggie! We’ve been told how tight money is for many in this city, that’s why my manager brought enough photos to pass around.”

The photograph the singer produced didn’t show her in a costume or anything related to the movie, it was a simple headshot in front of a grey background. The sheet of paper wasn’t even layered to project the signature it was to receive above it either. It was just an old-fashioned 2-D picture.

Clever bastard, that manager, dishing the cheap stuff out to the penniless as to not make the actually paying customers grumpy, Daniel thought, while out loud muttering something about having seen the elf movie with “his girl”. The bitch must have glimpsed my LED (that Daniel had to keep as another of those pesky parole terms), and is now making a big show of sisterhood with an android. That’s all there is to it! Maintaining her public image! She’s not really being nice to me.

“Want me to sign this for her?” the singer asked. “What’s her name?”

“E… Emma.”

“Your girlfriend?”

“Uh… no. I… hate her? I’m not sure. I mean, I don’t want to hate her, but she sure does hate me now. There’s no other possibility.”

“Girlfriend, check”, the singer nodded wisely. “Been there, too, you know.” The artists flashed the android an encouraging smile before turning to the next fan. The crowd started pushing and shoving again, moving across the square like a lazy, content gelatinous cube. Daniel got moved along until the mass ejected him near the CyberLife store’s near-empty window. A few blood bags and replacement components were up for sale, but no androids anymore. Or at least not for time being. In the future… who could tell!

Daniel carefully stored the autograph in his oversized sweater’s front pocket. He might forget about it or it might become an anonymously sent Christmas present. That, too, remained to be seen.

(to be continued)

Timmain - The calling: At 8:27 here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9NPlbTyU40

#dbh #detroit become human #dbh daniel #dbhtextpost #danielgavinnewstory

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bedbugtreatmentblog · 2 years

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7 Things To Consider When Picking Bed Bug Control

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Bed insects are actually those pesky insects that are actually incredibly tiny in dimension and make it extremely complicated to discover them or even eliminate them. As a result of their tiny measurements as well as colour, they get away with dispersing health conditions, damaging your sleeping and mental peace. Our company clean our bed room completely in the course of celebrations like Diwali or Ganesh Chaturthi. The score is exactly how comprehensive is actually that? Usually dusting your mattress isn't enough and so is merely simply wiping the edges of the mattress as well. These bugs can not be actually detected due to the naked eye often as well as due to the time you start to find the concerns, it gets far too late.

What is the option?

Bed bug parasite control solution or even pest control for mattress insects is the answer. The best experts will certainly guarantee healthy and balanced sleeping and also delighted surroundings by using their efficient, safe and also odourless chemicals method. The dependable insect control mattress insects professionals resolve giving high quality estimates at no service charges or even hidden expenses.

The charm is actually that you can easily get these solutions through just exploring 'bed bug insect control near me'. The outstanding bed insect insect control company is actually delivered by the professional experts that keep excellent references and a tradition of lasting experience that brings about full contentment.

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tomeandflickcorner · 7 years

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OUAT Episode Analysis- Murder Most Foul

Well. That was unexpected. Not sure how I feel about the ‘gotcha’ moment at the end, though. I know they probably needed a bit of drama to drag the current CS storyline out, but...huh. Maybe it’s best to reserve judgement until I see where A&E plan to go with this new development.

We start off with the night that Charming and James were separated as babies. It turns out that during the winter, the brothers fell ill, and Ruth and Papa Charming (whose name is revealed to have been Robert) didn’t have enough money for medicine. Cue DO Rumple, who offers to give them money for medicine, on the condition they surrender one of their sons to be raised by King George. And I really love Ruth’s initial reaction to this. She actually grabs a knife, ready to defend her two sons with her life. (She did realize she was facing down a man who could reduce her to a pile of dust with just a thought, right?) But Robert decides they have no real choice, as it’s the only way to ensure their sons will live. So they, with great reluctance, agree to the terms, with James being selected via coin toss.

Apparently, that event is what led to Robert becoming an alcoholic, with him turning to the drink in an effort to escape from the pain and regret of giving up James. He admits to the bartender at a local tavern that David, now six, deserves a better father than him. At that moment, Robert is shocked when King George enters the tavern. King George announces that his son, Prince James, had been abducted, and he’s looking for anyone who has information. Robert, wanting to help his biological son, decides to take it upon himself to rescue him. And it was here that I started ‘aww-ing,’ as we see Little Boy David. (He’s so adorable.) It turns out this was the true story behind the tale Shepherd David will one day tell Anna. Little Boy David was under the impression that Malcolm was leaving home to recover from his alcoholism. But in fact, he was trying to rescue long-lost brother James. To give his father a little bit of luck, Little Boy David gives Robert his lucky coin. (Hmm. Was this the same coin used in the coin toss?)

Robert makes his way to the Dark Castle to see Rumpelstiltskin, who reveals James actually ran away. He gives Robert a ticket to the place where James went. In exchange, Robert has to give up a hair from his head. While DO Rumple initially implies he has plans for the hair, it turns out this was all an act and the ticket was a freebee. Because Robert’s determination to see James reminded DO Rumple of his own desire to reunite with his son. (Okay, fine. You get a gold star today, Rumple. I can admit when you act like a halfway decent person.)

The ticket, it turns out, allows the holder access to Pleasure Island of Pinocchio fame. (Interestingly enough, sharp eyes can spot August was actually writing about the place at the end of the last episode. Unfortunately, I can’t locate the post that pointed this out to me, so I can’t currently credit the sleuth for this observation.) Anyway, Robert makes his way there, and is even able to resist the lure of drink in his determination to find James. He does, however, have a run-in with Pinocchio, back when he was still a wooden puppet. (Not sure how Pinocchio was around back then, as he’s only supposed to be roughly ten years older than Emma, who won’t be born for another few decades, but oh well.) Thanks to that pesky trait of his nose being a lie detector, Robert figures out that Pinocchio saw James. Upon locating Little Boy James, we see he’s completely different from his adult self. He’s just a gentle little boy who doesn’t want to become a knight and kill people. Robert offers to bring Little Boy James to live with him, stating he’ll have a brother to play with. Unfortunately, the people who run the place spot them trying to leave, so they have to make a run for it. When they reach the docks, however, they find King George is there. Robert identifies himself as Little Boy James’ real father, and states he has no desire to give up his son again. As such, King George orders his guards to take Robert back to the mainland and kill him, instructing them to make it look like an accident.

I guess this is how James was able to figure out he had a twin brother somewhere. I’d always wondered how he seemed to know that information in the Underworld, despite King George never knowing there was a twin brother until after James’s death. In any event, I feel even more sorry for James than I did before. From the looks of it, all the negative traits he displayed as an adult were most likely due from being raised by King George. If he hadn’t been stuck with such a nasty piece of work, he might have turned out differently. (Seriously, A&E, can we please address those pour souls who got dropped into the River of Lost Souls? It would leave a bitter taste in my mouth if the show ended with them still trapped in there.)

Flash forward to present day, with Charming leading the Nevengers in a toast commemorating Emma’s safe return from the Wish World and defying the vision of her death at Gideon’s hand. (And I got a huge chuckle from Killian toasting with his flask instead of a wine glass.) However, when Charming later slips outside to mourn the fact that Snow can’t be present, due to the lingering curse on their shared heart, he starts to hallucinate, seeing an image of his dead father. He then collapses for some reason. Wasn’t really clear why, but I guess it’s because he’s currently sleep deprived due to his stubborn refusal to switch off with Snow until the incident with Gideon was dealt with. (Does this variation of the Sleeping Curse prevent Charming from taking a non-cursed nap or something?) Killian apparently noticed his friend collapse from the window, as he hurries out to check up on him. But Charming is too high-strung to be accepting of Killian’s concern, and resorts back to his S3 attitude, dismissing Killian as a pirate. Killian is visibly hurt by the snub, but backs off without a fight. When Killian goes back inside, however, Charming notices something on the ground- his father’s lucky coin, the one he gave his father as a boy.

The next morning, we see Charming had taken Killian’s advice and swapped with Snow, as she pays a visit to Regina. They talk a bit about Robin Clone and Regina’s decision to bring him into Storybrooke. While I am a bit put off we didn’t get to see how Snow reacted to what Emma went through while she was out, I do applaud her for talking sense here. Just because Robin Clone looks like Robin Prime, it doesn’t mean he’s the same person. (Speaking of which, was Robin Clone sleeping in Regina’s living room? With the size of Regina’s mansion, you’d think she’d have a spare bedroom on hand. What are you using all those extra rooms for, Gina?)

Meanwhile, Killian, in a surprising turn of events, pays a visit to Archie’s office. (Is this the first time they’ve interacted since the start of the Revenge arc/2B?) Turns out Killian’s still a bit hurt over the incident the night before and is worried that Charming still views him as the man he used to be, and that Emma deserves better. Killian then admits the reason why he’s so concerned with how Charming views him is because he’s planning to propose to Emma. (Insert the shrill squeeing of the CS fandom.) But, old fashioned gentleman that he is, he wants Charming’s blessing first. Archie assures Killian that everyone knows he’s a better man now, but suggests that Killian should just come out and ask Charming how he feels about him if he’s that worried about it.

Speaking of Charming, when it’s his turn to be awake again, he has another hallucination of Robert. His father accuses Charming of forgetting about him, and Charming retorts that Robert was barely his father and was just a drunk he worked hard to forget. When Charming demands Robert say what he wants, Robert says he wants ‘truth.’ This sets Charming off, and he’s now more determined than ever to solve the mystery behind his father’s death. To achieve his goal, he decides to enlist Killian’s help when the man stops by to follow Archie’s advice. Killian suggests that Charming might be better off going to Emma for help, since she’s the sheriff and has magic, but Charming refuses, stating he doesn’t want to worry her or Snow, and that they might not approve of what he might have to do. He then states he needs a pirate, completely oblivious to how Killian becomes crestfallen at his words.

They make their way to the Swan-Jones house, with Killian saying it should be empty, as Emma took Henry out on a canoe trip. But he briefly balks when he finds out Charming is planning to steal some potion ingredients to conjure up a spell. Gotta say, I’m with Killian on this one. Magic isn’t something you want to mess around with. At least not when you have no formal training. It’s like operating heavy machinery. If you don’t know what you’re doing, you could cause a lot of damage, or get badly hurt. But Charming is not to be swayed and instructs Killian to stand watch. Killian, who is desperate for the man’s approval, reluctantly goes along with it. At the same time, you see how upset he is about this. While Charming is occupied rooting around the shed, Emma returns unexpectedly, as Henry forgot to bring the life jackets. Which leads to a great scene of Killian trying to keep her distracted long enough for Charming to slip away. A task that’s not easy due to Emma’s superpower kicking in. Killian is able to get away with a half-truth, despite how uncomfortable he is with not being 100% honest with her, talking about how her near-death had made him reflect on some stuff. Obviously, we know he’s referring to his intent to propose, but he doesn’t let Emma in on that just yet. In the end, Charming is able to avoid being seen by Emma and the two men head off together.

Back at the Charming loft, Charming and Killian proceed to conjure up a spell that will show them where Robert’s lucky coin was the day that he died. (Insert cute moment with a beaker.) Despite their lack of magical training, the spell works, pointing them in the direction of Pleasure Island. Now that they have a lead, they go see August, who explains the last he saw of Robert was of him escaping Pleasure Island with Little Boy James, and that he never connected them with Charming. The knowledge that his father had been trying to save his twin brother clearly stuns Charming. August then explains that he took some pages out of Henry’s book waaaayyyy back in S1, as those pages chronicled his time in Pleasure Island, something he’s not proud of. He offers to look for them in case they reveal more about Charming’s father.

After leaving August’s place, Charming deduces who may have killed his father. However, Killian, realizing that Charming is out for blood, tries to talk him out of it, as he knows better than most what a quest for vengeance can do to you. Unfortunately, Charming takes this as a cue to handcuff Killian to a nearby bike rack in order to keep him from stopping him. He then heads right to the psychiatric ward beneath the hospital, which I guess is now used to hold long-term prisoners. There, he confronts King George/Albert Spencer, who admits he ordered Robert’s death. Charming proceeds to challenge his former adoptive father to a duel to the death. But just as Charming gains the upper hand, Killian arrives, having broken out of the handcuffs off-screen, and quickly returns King George/Albert Spencer back to his cell. Killian proceeds to try and talk Charming down, stating that while the man did admit responsibility for Robert’s death, he also told Charming that his father resisted temptation in the end, and became a father Charming could be proud of. This leads to Charming to have a full-on emotional breakdown, admitting his fears that he’ll lose everything. Killian then presents Charming with a choice. He can proceed to kill George/Albert, but first he has to remember that Robert did everything in his power to be able to look his son in the eye. He asks Charming if he wants to be a man who can look his father in the eye, too. With these words, Charming collapses and cries on Killian’s shoulder, completely overwhelmed.

Sometime later, Charming makes his way to the docks, where he makes peace with his father’s memory as he now knows that Robert did come through in the end, overcoming his vices. Killian, once again concerned for his friend, sticks around to make sure he’s okay. Charming proceeds to apologize for his behavior throughout the episode, stating that Killian was the noble one that day, and that he’s sorry for how much he risked that day, including Killian’s relationship with Emma. Upon receiving confirmation that Charming believes he’s is good enough for his daughter, Killian gathers up the courage to ask for his blessing to propose to Emma. After a brief pause that clearly makes Killian very nervous, a smiling Charming grants that blessing and the two men head off together.

However, that’s when the ‘gotcha’ moment happens. When Killian is making his way back home to Emma, blissful that there’s nothing holding him back from proposing, he’s approached by August, who located the pages pertaining to Pleasure Island. Even though he didn’t find any new information about Robert, he figured Charming might want them anyway. Killian agrees to pass them along. But after August leaves, Killian spots an illustration of Robert and is horrified to realize he recognizes him. It turns out the two guards who were hired to stage Robert’s fatal ‘accident’ were interrupted before they could complete their task. Killian, back when he was still the infamous Captain Hook (and apparently taking a slight detour during his time under Pan’s employ, as this took place when Charming/David was only six), had targeted the cart that was to be used in the frame-up with the intention of making off with some of the king’s gold. In the processes, Hook kills the two guards and then, in a tragic turn of events, he proceeds to kill Robert as well, stating he can’t afford to risk the older man keeping silent about what he’d seen on his own.

So, yeah. That stinks. I think this is the first time we’ve actually seen Killian/Hook at his most ruthless. Up until now, while we have certainly seen him do some underhanded stuff, they just….never seemed all that bad to me. Not that what he did in the past wasn’t bad, of course. But there was always something that made it not seem unforgivingly bad. It was usually just him reacting to something that set him off. But this? Yeah, this is completely different. This wasn’t just another spur-of-the moment thing. This was straight up cruelty. I think this is the first time you actually can see why he earned the reputation he had as Captain Hook. And I am wondering how Charming’s going to react if he finds out this new tidbit about his future son-in-law. I admit, I won’t be surprised if he’s initially put off by this. But I’ll also be disappointed if he doesn’t eventually come around and remember what he said about Killian in this very episode- that he has changed since then. Besides, it’s clear that Killian is deeply remorseful now that he realizes what he’s done, as he’s now back to feeling unworthy and therefore reluctant to propose to Emma. And you know, seeing as Snow forgave Regina for killing her father despite there being nothing substantial to suggest she’s remorseful for it, I expect Charming to eventually forgive Killian for this as well. Especially since Killian/Hook hadn’t realized he was responsible until just now. Unlike Regina, who knew perfectly well she was killing Snow’s father, Killian/Hook had no way of knowing this man was the father of someone he’d eventually view as a friend and brother, as well as the future grandfather of the woman he’d one day fall completely in love with.

This right here, while it is an upsetting revelation, can also serve to be the final step in Killian’s redemption. While he has admitted he’s deeply remorseful about the murders he committed during his time as vengeful Captain Hook, this is probably the first time he’s being directly confronted with the people who suffered because of it. Sure, he’s faced down people he’s hurt in the past, like Ursula and Liam 2.0. But those were either easy fixes or, in the case of Liam 2.0, more about putting an end to a vicious cycle of blood and revenge. This time, there’s no easy fix. Granted Robert was going to die regardless, but Killian/Hook had the chance to spare his life and didn’t take it. As a result, he unknowingly caused a lot of pain for people he would one day love dearly. When he gathers the courage to admit the truth to Charming and Emma, and they forgive him for it (because it’s obvious they will, with the only question being how many episodes it’ll take), it’ll be symbolic of Killian being fully absolved of his past.

Come to think of it, I think it’s a huge testament to Killian’s character that he was able to recognize Robert when he saw the illustration. Just think about it for a moment. When he killed Robert, the man was nothing to him. As far as Hook/Killian was concerned, he was just some random stranger that was in the wrong place at the wrong time. And yet, he is clearly able to remember what that man looked like, even though it’s been years since that night. I can’t see how anyone wouldn’t find that impressive.

Meanwhile, in subplot B, Regina, following Snow’s advice, starts trying to help Robin Clone acclimate himself into Storybrooke. Unfortunately, Regina gets momentarily distracted by Zelena popping by to say she won’t allow Robin Clone anywhere near Baby Robyn, stating he has no rights to his sorta-daughter. (I know, dead horse, but technically you shouldn’t have any rights to her, either, Zelena. You know, seeing as how you were Robin Prime’s rapist.) By the time Zelena leaves, Robin Clone has gone and scarpered. While out and about, Robin Clone runs into Keith/Sheriff of Nottingham. (Ah, so I guess he didn’t die at the end of ‘Lacey.’ I’ve always wondered if Gold beat him to death after the cutaway. Looks like he didn’t.) Regina steps in before Robin Clone could kill him, but this leads to a small confrontation between the two, which leads to Regina stating that, even if Robin Clone didn’t regret killing Keith now, he might later on. Okay, I’m completely okay with that line. It’s nice to see brief glimpses of redeemed Regina. If only they weren’t so rare to see. And it gets better. When Regina takes Robin Clone to her vault to tend to his hand, which was slightly injured in the struggle with Keith, we learn that Regina still hasn’t returned the hearts she collected. Finally, someone addresses that! I’m starting to like Robin Clone. He actually calls Regina out on stuff. Regina even states she knows she sounds like a hypocrite. (Did I mention I really like this Regina subplot? How’s that for a novel concept?) However, Regina insists she has changed, (then why haven’t you gotten around to returning those hearts in your possession to their rightful owners?) and that she brought Robin Clone back with her because she was hoping she could be a part of his fresh start, too. The two proceed to kiss, but it’s visibly obvious Regina feels something is off about the kiss. It doesn’t feel the same as when she kissed Robin Prime. Regina later talks to Snow about the matter. (So we get two scenes with Snow’s interactions with Regina in this episode, but none between Snow and Emma? Yeah, that’s lovely.) She begins to acknowledge that this isn’t her Robin. But that leads to her wondering who this Robin Clone is, and what he could possibly want. That question is made even worse when we see Robin Clone swiping a fancy-looking box from Regina’s vault. What he plans to do with it remains a mystery at the moment, but I doubt it’s good.

(Click here to read more Episode Analyses)

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sciencespies · 5 years

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54 million year-old fossil flies yield new insight into the evolution of sight

https://sciencespies.com/biology/54-million-year-old-fossil-flies-yield-new-insight-into-the-evolution-of-sight/

54 million year-old fossil flies yield new insight into the evolution of sight

Eyes surprise: fossil eyes from a 54 million year old cranefly. Credit: Lindgren et al./Nature

Fossilised flies that lived 54 million years ago have revealed a surprising twist to the tale of how insects’ eyes evolved. These craneflies, unveiled in Nature today, show that insect eyes trap light the same way as human eyes, using the pigment melanin—yet another example of evolution finding similar solutions to similar problems.

Evolutionary biologists have always been fascinated by eyes. Charles Darwin, anticipating the sceptics, devoted a long explanation of how random mutation followed by natural selection could readily fashion such “organs of extreme perfection.” It is not surprising that these useful adaptations have evolved repeatedly across the animal kingdom—octopuses and squids, for instance, have independently acquired eyes uncannily similar to ours.

Vision is so vital that most animals today have photoreceptors of some kind. Notable exceptions include creatures that live in total darkness, such as in caves or the deep ocean.

Yet the fossil record of eyes is very poor. The rock record generally preserves hard parts such as bones and shells. Eyes and other soft tissues, such as nerves, veins and intestines, are preserved only under exceptional circumstances.

Exceptionally preserved insect fossils

Because eyes are icons of evolution yet rarely fossilized, the discovery of perfectly preserved eyes from 54 million-year-old insects is noteworthy. In their new study, researchers led by Johan Lindgren of Lund University in Sweden collected and analyzed eyes from 23 craneflies – long-legged relatives of pesky houseflies.

One of the fossils that yielded the surprise discovery: a 54-million-year old cranefly from Denmark. Credit: Lindgren et al./Nature

The fossils were exquisitely preserved in sediments containing high levels of fine-grained volcanic ash. They were unearthed in what is now chilly Denmark, but back then was a tropical paradise with abundant insect life.

The fossilized eyes were surprisingly similar to our own eyes in one important way. The back of our eyeball, called the choroid, is dark and opaque; this protects against ultraviolet radiation and also stops stray light bouncing around and interfering with vision. In human eyes, this anti-reflective layer contains high levels of the pigment melanin, the same molecule involved in skin pigmentation (hence terms such as “melanoma”).

Insects, too, have dark anti-reflective layers in their eyes, but this was long thought to consist entirely of a different molecule, ommochrome. Given that insect eyes arose independently from our own and have an entirely different structure, it seems reasonable that their molecular machinery would also be different.

Eyes like our own?

However, detailed chemical analysis of the fossil cranefly eyes revealed that they contained human-like melanin. When the researchers had another look at the eyes of living craneflies, they were surprised to confirm the presence of melanin (as well as lots of ommochrome). It took fossils to alert us that the eyes of humans and insects both use the same shielding pigments (melanin) – yet another example of convergent evolution.

The 400-million-year old trilobite Hollardops mesocristata is widely thought to have had mineralised eyes. Credit: Daderot / wikimedia commons

Intriguingly, the outer layers of the fossilized eyes were full of calcite, the mineral that makes up most of limestone. Not only that, but crystals in the calcite were aligned to transmit light efficiently into the eye. Yet this apparent fine engineering (a mineralized outer eye layer optimized to transmit light) was almost certainly caused by the fossilization process, as the eyes of living craneflies are not mineralized.

While the fossil record can reveal, it can also mislead, if not interpreted carefully. Trilobites, the hard-shelled crab-like creatures that are among the most abundant and diverse animal fossils, are frequently found with mineralized, light-transmitting outer eye layers. These have usually been assumed to faithfully reflect their life condition: predation in ancient oceans was so intense that trilobites even armoured their eyeballs.

Lindgren and colleagues warn against this interpretation: perhaps the trilobite’s “protective goggles” only appeared after fossilization, just as in the craneflies. However, this interpretation will likely be debated. Trilobite eyes seem to have been unusually rigid and resilient in real life, as they are preserved in three dimensions much more often than eyes of other animals. They also have certain optical properties that make more sense when the rigid outer layer is accepted as real.

A disagreement between a few palaeontologists might seem a bit arcane, but these debates can have real-world relevance. Most famously, the concept of nuclear winter was directly inspired by discussion of how the dinosaurs went extinct, when a meteorite impact enveloped the world in a cloud of dust, deep-freezing the entire biosphere.

Granted, the debate over how insect and trilobite eyes functioned is unlikely to influence world peace, but it might still have useful applications. For example, the way trilobite lenses (apparently) provide constant acuity while being totally rigid has inspired bioengineers to fashion high-performance optical devices with uses spanning microscopy to laser physics.

Explore further

A prehistory of blindness

More information: Johan Lindgren et al. Fossil insect eyes shed light on trilobite optics and the arthropod pigment screen, Nature (2019). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-019-1473-z

Provided by The Conversation

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Citation: 54 million year-old fossil flies yield new insight into the evolution of sight (2019, August 15) retrieved 17 August 2019 from https://phys.org/news/2019-08-million-year-old-fossil-flies-yield.html

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pesky--dust · 25 days

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I would like to talk shortly about Will’s three hallucinations: G. J. Hobbs, Ravenstag, Stag Man.

Ravenstag is the first thing Will starts seeing, right after being exposed to Hannibal’s murder of Cassie Boyle, who was impaled on the stag head with the crows flying around the body (Apéritif). The hallucination of Garret Jacob Hobbs Will sees for the first time in the next episode after killing him, which means he sees him in Amuse Bouche. Stag Man is for the first time seen by him in Savoureux, when he starts to understand that Hannibal is the Copycat, which is the finale of the season one.

According to Bryan Fuller’s words – Ravenstag represents Will’s connection with Hannibal.

It is a creature connecting Will with Hannibal, e.g. Ravenstag was the one, who gave Will clues about Hannibal being the Copycat – by burning in Relevés, in the way how Georgia Madchen died.

Stag Man is the representation both of Hannibal and Will’s dark sides and to show how it works with Ravenstag figure, I am going to remind Will’s dream from Shiizakana of which I have already written on my blog (here): Hannibal is bounded to a tree, Will control the situation and Ravenstag helps him to kill Stag Man, not Hannibal. In the scene from the series’ finale – The Wrath of the Lamb – Hannibal is indeed bonded, and Will achieved this through Hannibal's love for him. Rejected, Hannibal preferred to be truly tied down and wait for who knows how long for Will rather than remain free but alone and so Will's subconscious resulted in him persuading Hannibal to admit who he really was, just as he had dreamed about it.

Since the situation of Ravenstag and Stag Man is quite clear, what about G. J. Hobbs’ hallucination? According to Will’s words from Amuse-Bouche, he doesn’t consider Hobbs his victim, he considers him dead. And yet, in Rôti, he seems to be truly desperate to hear from Hannibal that the hallucination is real:

I believe that the answer is in the same episode, Abel Gideon, whom Will sees as G. J. Hobbs, tells him while observing Alana, “If I kill her... like he [The Chesapeake Ripper] would kill her... I wonder if I could understand him better, hear the cold drips in his darkness, watch the world through his red haze. I wonder if then you could finally understand who you’ve become”, because that’s when Will shoots him. In my opinion his hallucination of G. J. Hobbs is the personification of his fear of letting his dark nature to surface, to become a killer, since “It’s hard to shake off what’s already under your skin”.

#hannibal #nbc hannibal #hannibal nbc #will graham #hannibal lecter #hannigram #murder husbands #hannibal meta #hannibal analysis #pesky--dust analysis #hallucinations meta #hallucinations analysis #garret jacob hobbs #ravenstag #wendigo #hannibal script #rôti script #bryan fuller #stag man

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thewebofslime · 5 years

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As analysts debate possible motives behind President Obama’s United Nations-backed military intervention in Libya, one angle that has received attention in recent days is the rebels’ seemingly odd decision to establish a new central bank to replace dictator Muammar Gadhafi's state-owned monetary authority — possibly the first time in history that revolutionaries have taken time out from an ongoing life-and-death battle to create such an institution, according to observers. In a statement released last week, the rebels reported on the results of a meeting held on March 19. Among other things, the supposed rag-tag revolutionaries announced the “[d]esignation of the Central Bank of Benghazi as a monetary authority competent in monetary policies in Libya and appointment of a Governor to the Central Bank of Libya, with a temporary headquarters in Benghazi.” The Gadhafi regime’s central bank — unlike the U.S. Federal Reserve, which is owned by private shareholders — was among the few central banks in the world that was entirely state-owned. At the moment, it is unclear exactly who owns the rebel’s central bank or how it will be governed. The so-called Interim Transitional National Council, the rebels’ self-appointed new government for Libya purporting to be the “sole legitimate representative of Libyan People,” also trumpeted the creation of a new “Libyan Oil Company” based in the rebel stronghold city of Benghazi. The North African nation, of course, has the continent’s largest proven oil reserves. The U.S. government and the U.N. have both recently announced that the rebels would be free to sell oil under their control — if they do it without Gaddafi’s National Oil Corporation. And the first shipments are set to start next week, according to news reports citing a spokesman for the rebels. But the creation of a new central bank, even more so than the new national oil regime, left analysts scratching their heads. “I have never before heard of a central bank being created in just a matter of weeks out of a popular uprising,” noted Robert Wenzel in an analysis for the Economic Policy Journal. “This suggests we have a bit more than a rag tag bunch of rebels running around and that there are some pretty sophisticated influences.” Wenzel also noted that the uprising looked like a “major oil and money play, with the true disaffected rebels being used as puppets and cover” while the transfer of control over money and oil supplies takes place. And other analysts agreed. A popular blog called The Economic Collapse used sarcasm to express suspicions about the strange rebel announcement. “Perhaps when this conflict is over those rebels can become time management consultants. They sure do get a lot done,” joked the piece, entitled “Wow That Was Fast! Libyan Rebels Have Already Established A New Central Bank Of Libya.” The blog also commented, sarcastically again, on the possibility of outside involvement. “What a skilled bunch of rebels — they can fight a war during the day and draw up a new central bank and a new national oil company at night without any outside help whatsoever. If only the rest of us were so versatile! … Apparently someone felt that it was very important to get pesky matters such as control of the banks and control of the money supply out of the way even before a new government is formed,” read the piece. Even mainstream news outlets were puzzled. “Is this the first time a revolutionary group has created a central bank while it is still in the midst of fighting the entrenched political power?” wondered CNBC senior editor John Carney. “It certainly seems to indicate how extraordinarily powerful central bankers have become in our era.” But some observers are convinced that the central bank issue was actually the primary motivation for the international war against Libya‘s dictatorship. In an article that has spread far and wide across the web, entitled “Globalists Target 100% State Owned Central Bank of Libya,” author Eric Encina maintains that the world’s “globalist financiers and market manipulators” could not stand the Libyan monetary authority’s independence, explaining: Currently, the Libyan government creates its own money, the Libyan Dinar, through the facilities of its own central bank. One major problem for globalist banking cartels is that in order to do business with Libya, they must go through the Libyan Central Bank and its national currency, a place where they have absolutely zero dominion or power-broking ability. Hence, taking down the Central Bank of Libya (CBL) may not appear in the speeches of Obama, Cameron and Sarkozy but this is certainly at the top of the globalist agenda for absorbing Libya into its hive of compliant nations. And when Gadhafi is gone and the dust has settled, according to Encina, “you will see the Allied reformers move in to reform Libya’s monetary system, pumping it full of worthless dollars, priming it for a series of chaotic inflationary cycles.” The future of Libya’s vast gold stockpiles could also be in jeopardy, he noted. Numerous other analysts and experts have also pointed to the central banking issue as one of the top factors leading up to the Western backing of Libyan rebels. Monetary historian Andrew Gause, for example, recently shared his concerns about the matter publicly. Other points made in the rebels’ odd announcement last week included preparations to send Gadhafi to the U.N.’s International Criminal Court for trial, the selection of diplomats to send abroad, and the desire for other governments to recognize the Transitional National Council as the legitimate new rulers of Libya. France has already done so, and other governments may soon follow suit. Of course, the U.S. government claims to have very little knowledge about who the rebels actually are. But the U.S. Commander of NATO forces recently admitted to the Senate that hints of al Qaeda involvement have been detected among the rebels. The terror group was created, armed, funded, and trained by the U.S. government decades ago, as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton admitted even recently. But since then, it has targeted American embassies and other U.S. targets. As The New American reported over the weekend, elements of al Qaeda and affiliated terror groups are indeed among the leadership of the revolution. But despite that fact, the U.S. government and the international coalition are providing air support and weapons for the new central-bank-creating rebels. Where the conflict goes from here is uncertain, but Western regimes have vowed not to let Gaddafi remain in power.

#TheWebOfSlime

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barbosaasouza · 6 years

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Hearthstone: The Boomsday Project Card Analysis Lab (Part 1)

Card reveals have begun for Hearthstone's next big expansion. The Boomsday Project will dive deep into science and technology, as part of the next set for the Year of the Raven.

This expansion features the new keyword Magnetic, new Omega Projects, and Legendary Spells. And as is the case with each new Hearthstone expansion, Shacknews is stepping into the lab to analyze each of the Boomsday Project's new cards. So here we go!

(7) Dr. Boom, Mad Genius Type: Hero Class: Warrior Rarity: Legendary Battlecry: For the rest of the game, your Mechs have Rush. Source: The Boomsday Project Card Reveal Livestream

(2) Big Red Button Type: Activate this turn's Mech Suit power!

Did you miss our analysis of Dr. Boom, Mad Genius? Shacknews dove head-first into this all-new Hero Card on Monday, so be sure to catch up with that before moving forward.

(3) Spider Bomb (2/2) Type: Minion - Mech Class: Hunter Rarity: Rare Magnetic. Deathrattle: Destroy a random enemy minion. Source: The Boomsday Project Announcement Trailer

Analysis: This seems to point to an interesting direction for Hunter, because it's never been a particularly Mech-heavy class. More than that, the class has often focused more on outright aggression than control. Spider Bomb is definitely more of a control tool. On its own, it has below average 2/2 stats and probably won't be overly useful.

So then what can this magnetize to in order to make it more effective? So far, there haven't been any eye-opening Hunter Mechs and even Wild Hunters don't have too many useful Mechs that they could latch this onto. Maybe one of the Shredders would work here. Either way, the jury's out on this guy and it's not looking good.

Don't expect to see this particular scenario often, but at least be aware that Deathstalker Rexxar can technically latch Spider Bomb onto any Zombeast that's part-Nightmare Amalgam, since the Amalgam is "everything."

(4) Omega Defender (2/6) Type: Minion Class: Neutral Rarity: Epic Taunt. Battlecry: If you have 10 Mana Crystals, gain +10 Attack. Source: The Boomsday Project Announcement Trailer

Analysis: The Omega Defender is the first of the Omega Projects and it's a big one. On its own, it's a decent 2/6 Taunt that can be played on Turn 4. That's not too bad. But in the late game, it becomes a 12/6 with Taunt. As shown in the video, that's enough to solidly counter any Deathwing play.

Don't expect to see Omega Defender much in constructed, because Silence effects and removal spells can wreck this guy quickly. But this could be devastating in Arena, especially as both players' hands start to run low and direct counterplays become fewer and father between.

(1) Biology Project Type: Spell Class: Druid Rarity: Common Each player gains 2 Mana Crystals. Source: The Boomsday Project Announcement Trailer

Analysis: The idea behind this spell isn't bad on paper. For the Druid player, it's allows them to ramp up faster than using Wild Growth and is a much cheaper Nourish. Notice this card's text doesn't say empty Mana Crystals, which means some of these spells can even be combined.

The Druid player will ultimately have to decide whether their deck is good enough to handle the drawback of giving their opponent two extra Mana Crystals. Is it worth helping them ramp up? This could easily backfire in a Druid mirror, against an Ever Warlock, or against a Shudderwock Shaman. But if the Druid has Ultimate Infestation ready to get rolling in Standard or a handful of Jades ready to go in Wild, the trade-off just might be worthwhile.

(3) Electra Stormsurge (3/3) Type: Minion - Elemental Class: Shaman Rarity: Legendary Battlecry: Your next spell this turn casts twice. Source: The Boomsday Project Announcement Trailer

Analysis: Electra Stormsurge can be a lifesaver, especially in a deck running Hagatha the Witch. Shudderwock Shamans should be able to find a good home for this minion. If the board starts to get out of hand or if the Shaman player is on the verge of death, run a double Volcano or a double Healing Rain to get right back in the game.

Wild Shamans will definitely want to run this in their Burst Shaman deck, so that they can finish with double Lava Burst or double Crackle. Pyroblast-level damage for just 5-6 Mana? That's disgusting!

(5) Myra's Unstable Element Type: Spell Class: Rogue Rarity: Legendary Draw the rest of your deck. Source: The Boomsday Project Announcement Trailer

Analysis: It's hard to imagine what to make of the first of these Legendary spells. Would a game get so out of hand that the Rogue player would willfully put themselves in fatigue? It's possible, but ultimately feels unnecessary.

After all, the Miracle Rogue archetype makes it so that card draw is plentiful. Gadgetzan Auctioneer is practically an unstable element all on his own. Rogues should have no trouble digging into their deck, so why spend 5 Mana on this? There may be a minion or spell coming later in this expansion that will help answer this, but until that comes, this is getting a thumbs down for now. Or at the very least, an "Incomplete" grade.

(3) Stargazer Luna (2/4) Type: Minion Class: Mage Rarity: Legendary After you play the right-most card in your hand, draw a card. Source: Hearthstone: The Boomsday Project - Enter Boom Labs (Episode 1)

Analysis: I had to wrap my head around this one, but the more I read about Stargazer Luna, the more I like this card. This opens the door to a parade of Mage spells, especially if they have one or two Sorcerer's Apprentices at the ready. There's a certain element where the luck of the draw needs to be just right, but I like this as a potential alternative to Aluneth.

Stargazer Luna also gets more interesting when random cards are generated, like something off a Discover spell. Is that new card worth playing just for the card draw or is there something that will fit the current situation better? There's a certain amount of thinking that the Stargazer Luna needs to incorporate to maximize her potential. I'm not sure how useful she'll be at the end of the day, but in terms of concept, she's already proving to be one of my favorite cards of this set.

(2) Menacing Nimbus (2/2) Type: Minion - Elemental Class: Shaman Rarity: Common Battlecry: Add a random Elemental to your hand. Source: The Boomsday Project: Lab Logs Part 1

Analysis: There's very little downside to adding Menacing Nimbus to an Elemental Shaman deck. But it's going to work even better in an Even Shaman deck that could always use more resources. The Menacing Nimbus' 2/2 stats make it a solid Turn 2 play and can play well alongside Flametongue Totem. It'll help keep the Even Shaman's numbers up for later in the game and should prove useful... most of the time.

The trouble is, there are a lot of Elementals, even in Standard. For every Mountain Giant or Frozen Crusher the Menacing Nimbus generates, it could just as easily pop out a dud like Ice Walker or Dust Devil. It'll be good for what it is, but don't play Menacing Nimbus solely for its effect, because the result may be disappointing.

(5) Wargear (5/5) Type: Minion - Mech Class: Neutral Rarity: Common Magnetic Source: Hearthstide Chat: Magnetic

Analysis: This is a standard mid-level 5/5 body. It's one that'll play nicely with Mechs, but it'll take more than a Magnetic keyword to get into constructed decks. I can't see this guy getting much player there.

As an Arena choice, he's solid. He'll stand out just fine on his own with his 5/5 stats, with the ability to bolster other Mechs a pleasant bonus. He's a good backup choice behind Corrosive Sludge, which has become an Arena favorite over time.

(2) Upgradeable Framebot (1/5) Type: Minion - Mech Class: Neutral Rarity: Common Source: Hearthstide Chat: Magnetic

Anaylsis: The Hearthside Chat indicated that the Upgradeable Framebot can be used to upgrade the Wargear and vice-versa to craft together a 6/10 machine. That sounds nice on the surface, but I can't see anyone in constructed taking up two precious deck slots to make this happen.

Upgradeable Framebot is going to be more of a common find in Discover effects, such as Dr. Boom's Big Red Button. A 1/5 body won't do much and it's definitely on the lower-end of Discover cards, but there's a good chance it'll pop up later in the game.

(7) Beryllium Nullifier (3/8) Type: Minion - Mech Class: Warrior Rarity: Epic Magnetic: Can't be targeted by spells or Hero Powers. Source: Hearthstide Chat: Magnetic

Analysis: Speaking of Dr. Boom, imagine finding this giant rust bucket off his Big Red Button? This Warrior-exclusive Mech is going to be a nightmare whenever it gets bolstered with Taunt. And that's where its Magnetic effect will most often be used, attached to pesky Taunt minions. Imagine this guy going on Unpowered Steambot to create a 17-Health Taunt that can't be removed with spells.

Beryllium Nullifier's strength in Standard will ultimately be determined by what else is ahead for Boomsday Project card reveals. Meanwhile, Wild players are already getting excited about the potential of pairing this guy with Shredders, which typically have high Attack value and a lower Health number. Or maybe both Standard and Wild players can pair it up with...

(5) Zilliax (3/2) Type: Minion - Mech Class: Neutral Rarity: Legendary Magnetic, Divine Shield, Taunt, Lifesteal, Rush Source: Hearthstide Chat: Magnetic

Analysis: What a sickeningly amazing Legendary! Even on its own, a 3/2 Divine Shield minion with Lifesteal and Rush is almost a guaranteed Health recovery, even if it is modest. Now imagine pairing it up with a larger Mech for higher damage and a higher Health recovery total. Also, its Divine Shield ensures that it sticks around for at least a few seconds.

If anyone is running any kind of Mech deck going forward, Zilliax is almost assuredly going into it. There's almost no downside in playing it, unless the opposide side is filled with enemy minions. And considering that Chillblade Champion carries the same 3/2 line with less abilities for just one Mana less, Zilliax feels like the perfect cost, even as a solo play.

(4) Annoy-o-Module (2/4) Type: Minion - Mech Class: Paladin Rarity: Rare Magnetic. Divine Shield. Taunt. Source: Hearthstone: The Boomsday Project - Enter Boom Labs (Episode 2)

Analysis: This is Annoy-o-Tron's big brother, with literally double the stats for double the cost. The difference, other than Annoy-o-Module being a Paladin minion, is that it's Magnetic.

On its own, it's a decent play, but not exactly one that Paladin players will flock to. Arena players, in particular, are going to stick to Lone Champion. But the Magnetic keyword has the potential to give this guy legs.

Standard players will patiently wait on better Mechs to come along, but the Wild player is going to love pairing Annoy-o-Module with Shielded Minibot. Simply pop its Divine Shield and then magnetize it with Annoy-o-Module to give it a fresh Divine Shield and Taunt. And again, there are those pesky Shredders, like Piloted Shredder that will love the extra 2/4 Divine Shield bump.

That's all for now! Keep an eye on Shacknews over the next few weeks for more card breakdowns for The Boomsday Project, leading all the way up to the expansion's release on August 7.

Hearthstone: The Boomsday Project Card Analysis Lab (Part 1) published first on https://superworldrom.tumblr.com/

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xenomour · 6 years

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Entry 1

Written on the day I first spend at my homestead within the wood. With my studies completed and affairs in order, my education shall continue with the wilds as my teacher. Already nature proves herself to be a wretched mistress, I had to carve the vines away from the pathway just to find the front gate! Though unruly, I had been assured by the landowners that there is a well, a stable, and an outhouse buried beneath the vines, and all from a comfortable distance from the cabin.

Luckily, the garden seems mostly untouched by the decay, a short work of weeding shall clear it, and once the stable has been located and sterilised it should do nicely as a workspace. I shall go out tomorrow in search of the promised resources and make a list of what is in acceptable order. As it is, I am exhausted merely by making the cabin and outhouse suitable for use. Though a little dreary, I am sure I can make do now the pests and dust have been chased away.

I do worry about the vines. My initial belief was that they were dead and rotting, indicating disease in the forest. But upon analysis I found healthy fibres underneath the withered black thorns. If they are a regional species I have not heard of them, I have taken a small sample for further study.

My primary concern is that the vines are some manner of invasive milkweed, and have strangled the other plants in the forest. I hope this is not the case, my entire reasoning for coming here was to study wild plant life! I shall be more than a little peeved if I have done all this just to wrestle with one pesky plant for the next five years!

Now the pathway has been cleared trips to the hamlet will be much less of an ordeal. The inhabitants warmed to me during my introductions yesterday, even so kind as to fashion this journal for me. Once I have made the homestead more habitable I will ask the local farmers about how they keep the vines from their crops. Saving a whole forest is a far larger undertaking than I had suspected, but I reason nature is only testing my endurance. She will not best me on the first day!

But now the candle is half spent, and I still must unpack my bedding and nightclothes, having kept them clean within my trunk whilst dusting. I must remember not to stay up too late writing and waste my candles, I only have the few leftover from my trunk. Those will need to last me until I have the time to visit the hamlet, and I would hate to catch myself without light whilst washing or dressing for bed.

I do so loathe the dark.

#entry

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arronfulcher2-blog · 7 years

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The best ways to Remove That Pesky Patronize Property Toolbar Virus.

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sherristockman · 7 years

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Should You Microwave Your Underwear? Dr. Mercola By Dr. Mercola Washing your clothes may not be as harmless as you might imagine. Detergents deposit toxic chemicals in your washing machine, on your clothes and into the environment. However, on the opposite side, wearing clothing riddled with bacteria and soaked in sweat is not a healthy answer either. Past studies have demonstrated microwave ovens may kill bacteria associated with the kitchen, often found on sponges and other cleaning utensils.1 However, microwaving foods doesn’t appear to have the same effect. Not only does the process change the chemical structure of the food, but the microwave has a poor track record for killing bacteria that may be responsible for food poisoning.2 The ability of a microwave oven to kill yeast in your undergarments has been demonstrated through research. While the suggestion that microwaving recently laundered and still damp undergarments to sterilize against Candida albicans,3 the yeast often responsible for vaginal yeast infections, may be quick and easy,4 the consequences are not. Your Underwear May Need To Be Sanitized After an Infection Candida albicans, the yeast that causes vaginal yeast infections, is usually found living in your vaginal area in small numbers.5 However, given the right circumstances, these yeast may multiply quickly, increasing your risk of developing a vaginal infection, and the irritating and uncomfortable symptoms associated with it. Yeast enjoys living in a warm, moist environment, so even just a few drops of urinary incontinence or continuing to wear underwear in which you had been sweating may be enough to trigger an infection or keep a current infection growing. Unfortunately, just washing your underwear in the washing machine, even with hot water, may not be enough to kill those pesky bacteria and yeast. One of the risks is re-infecting yourself after a yeast infection, or acquiring a primary infection, from underwear laden with yeast and bacteria. The type of underwear you wear may also increase your risk, as yeast tends to flourish in non-cotton, tight or dirty clothing that trap in moisture.6 When you choose undergarments, it’s important the crotch area is made from undyed cotton that wicks away moisture and not synthetic or silk-type material that traps moisture and may irritate sensitive skin.7 The U.S. Department of Energy recommends the heat on hot water heaters should be set at 120 degrees F.8 Philip Tierno, professor of microbiology and pathology at New York University School of Medicine, disagrees, saying water temperatures need to be at least 140 degrees F to kill bacteria and germs living on your clothing.9 While the water in your washing machine may not be hot enough to kill most bacteria, a study from the Journal of Hospital Infection evaluated the ability of home machines to kill Staphylococcus aureus and other gram negative bacteria.10 The intention was to determine if home washing would prevent the inoculation of patients with dirty uniforms. What the researchers found was that the bacteria were not destroyed in the washing machine, but units of bacteria did reach acceptable levels if the uniforms were tumble dried or ironed, as the material became hot enough to kill the bacteria. Underwear Options May Create More Problems Several other choices you make about your undergarments may also increase your risk of chafing, irritated skin or even infection. If you have a tendency to get bacterial or yeast infections, you may find wearing a thong makes the situation worse. Thongs have a unique way of transporting E. coli from the anus to the vaginal area, cautions Dr. Donnica Moore, popular speaker, women’s health advocate and founder of Sapphire Women’s Health Group.11 Thong underwear may also be more irritating to sensitive skin as there is more contact with vaginal tissue. It doesn’t mean you can’t wear thongs — just that you must find the type that fits your body correctly. If it’s uncomfortable, then find a different brand. However, going without underwear during the day is not a good idea as the seams of most pants ride up into the vaginal area, creating friction and irritation to the tissue. And, without cotton to absorb moisture, the skin may also become more irritated. However, while going commando during the day is not a good idea, it’s an excellent way of allowing your genital area to get air during the night.12 As long as you’re comfortable, Moore recommends sleeping without underwear. The decisions you make about your undergarments boil down to your personal preferences and how easily your skin gets irritated or infected. How Often Should You Wash Your Bedsheets? Changing your underwear at least once a day and keeping them clean and dry reduces your potential for suffering from irritation or raw skin. But those little bits of material aren’t the only place you could be exposed to bacteria and spores that affect your health. In warm weather you may sweat up to 26 gallons per year,13 making your bedsheets a veritable swamp of bacteria and phenomenal breeding ground for dust mites. Dust mites are tiny creatures, measuring about 0.015 inches in length.14 They feed off your dead skin cells and thrive in a moist environment as they can’t drink water but must absorb it through their body. Your bedsheets, mattress and pillows are the perfect environment for their growth. You may spend up to one-third of your life in bed with these mites. Your sweat and dead skin cells also provide a bountiful culture medisium for fungus and bacteria. This begs the question of how often those sheets should be washed. Tierno recommends that to curtail this invisible advance of fungus, mites and bacteria, your sheets should be washed once a week.15 In one study evaluating the level of fungal contamination, researchers discovered up to 16 different species of fungus in each of the feather and synthetic pillows that were between 1.5 and 20 years old.16 The microbial soup in your bedsheets is a result of the bacteria living on your skin, and the fungi and bacteria resulting from your skin cells, vaginal and anal contributions, spit and sweat. Tierno believes the growth of these hitchhikers in your bed may become significant in as little as one week.17 While you may not normally suffer from allergies, exposure to these proteins may trigger an allergic response as you are almost forced to breathe in what’s growing on your sheets. Could Your Illness Have Come From Your Washing Machine? Unfortunately, your laundry could be even dirtier after you’ve run it through your washing machine. Experts have found that your machine is likely teeming with bacteria that find their way onto your clothes and then onto you — and your underwear is the biggest culprit. Charles Gerba, professor of microbiology at the University of Arizona, has spent years researching the germs that grow and thrive in your washing machine. Gerba says your underwear is the major problem as they often carry fecal material into the washing machines. Fecal material may carry a number of different bacteria, including rotavirus, E. coli, salmonella and hepatitis A virus. Gerba says:18 "If you wash a load of just underwear, there will be about 100 million E. coli in the wash water, and they can be transmitted to the next load of laundry. There's about a tenth of a gram of poop in the average pair of underwear.” This means if you aren’t using water heated to at least 140 degrees F, you are likely grabbing these bacteria as you transfer the clothes from the wash to the dryer. Gerba recommends washing your hands after handling your wet clothes, especially children’s clothing that tend to carry more bacteria.19 A recent study analyzing the microbiome of different household washing machines bore out Gerba’s assertions.20 Analysis was performed on the incoming and outgoing water from the machines and from new cotton T-shirts washed with a regular load of laundry. The laundering process appeared to allow an exchange of microbes between the incoming and outgoing water, but the microbial variety present on the new T-shirt prior to washing was still present after the washing cycle.21 The researchers found the bacteria on the clothing when it enters the wash is distributed among the rest of the clothing during the wash. Other research found clothing washed at lower temperatures resulted in clothing with the same number of bacteria as those washed in higher temperatures, as long as the clothing was dried for 30 minutes or ironed to kill the bacteria in the clothing. You may be able to reduce the bacterial load in your washing machine by routinely running it empty with a disinfectant. However, Kelly Reynolds, germ researcher and associate professor of environmental health at the University of Arizona, cautions that unless someone in your home is sick, you may not have to be as concerned about the germs on your clothing22 as long as you practice safe hand-washing, tumble dry your clothes and routinely clean your machine. Why Microwave Ovens Are Not Your Best Choice Although research has demonstrated using a microwave oven to heat your undergarments after they’ve been washed, and while they are still damp, may help reduce the growth of Candida albicans, there are other considerations making your microwave oven a poor choice. In order to place your undergarments in the microwave oven, they must be made of cotton and not synthetic materials. Synthetic underwear may melt in the high heat you use to disinfect them.23 However, the real problem is from the microwave oven itself. Early models of microwave ovens may have leaked frequently during operation, but modern machines undergo more rigorous testing. However, inadvertently slamming the door, opening the door frequently before the machine has stopped or otherwise misusing the door,24 may increase the amount of radiation that leaks from the machine. You can test if your machine is leaking radiation using a simple test with two cellphones.25 Just like your microwave oven, your cellphone uses radiation, but at a different frequency. However, your oven should close completely and not allow radiation to escape. Place one cellphone in the oven (do NOT turn the oven on!) and call the phone. If you hear it ringing from inside the machine your oven either doesn’t contain radiation until it reaches a specific frequency, or it has developed a leak. The FDA limits the amount of microwaves your oven may leak through the life of the appliance to 5 milliwatts per square centimeters approximately 2 inches from the appliance. However, biologists have demonstrated damaging effects at 0.01 MICROwatts, which is half a million times lower than the FDA standard. Conventional scientists and manufacturers cling to the idea these microwaves emitted from your cellphones, Wi-Fi routers, microwave ovens and wireless digital equipment, such as tablets and wireless computers, are safe since they don’t cause thermal damage. Thermal Damage Is Not the Culprit Evaluating over two dozen studies demonstrating how you may radically reduce biological damage done by microwave radiation using calcium channel blockers, Professor Emeritus Martin Pall discovered the mechanism of how low level, non-thermal microwave exposure triggers biological damage.26,27,28,29,30,31 The microwave radiation triggers changes to voltage gated calcium channels (VGCCs) embedded in cell membranes. Pall’s research demonstrates how microwave radiation causes massive biological damage, but not thermal damage. Based on the list of 123 studies and papers Pall compiled, the current established safety standards are off by a factor of nearly 7 million. Once VGCCs are activated, the ions stimulate the release of nitric oxide. This combines with superoxide to form peroxynitrate, and then forms hydroxyl free radicals. These are the most destructive free radicals known to man that decimate mitochondrial and nuclear DNA, leading to mitochondrial dysfunction, the core of most chronic disease. The tissues in your body with the highest density of VGCCs are your brain and other nervous tissue, like the pacemaker in your heart and your testicles. This may explain why the rates of autism, Alzheimer’s, arrhythmias, male infertility and depression are rising rapidly. Microwave radiation doesn’t have the energy to directly damage your DNA in the way ionizing radiation from X- or gamma rays do, but it may cause more DNA damage over time as a byproduct of the increased production of hydroxyl free radical creation. Without taking steps to minimize your exposure, you may risk damage to your DNA and increase your potential risk to most chronic illnesses. This type of damage may also significantly impair your ability to respond to pathogenic infectious assaults, especially parasites. Using your microwave oven may expose you to milliwatts per square centimeter of microwave energy. Although it may sound like a small number, it is easily hundreds of thousands to millions of times higher than the density shown to trigger biological damage in hundreds of studies. This means each time you turn on your microwave oven, you may be exposing yourself to microwave radiation densities thousands of times higher than your cellphone. This is the primary reason I strongly advise removing the microwave oven from your home. Break the Sick Laundry Cycle There are several ways of reducing the potential you pass along bacteria or fungi from one piece of your clothing to the next without using dangerous toxins or opening yourself up to damage from microwave radiation. • Tumble dry Your dryer will kill bacteria and fungi on your clothing when dried for at least 30 minutes. • Wash your hands It’s important to wash your hands after transferring wet clothes laden with bacteria from the washing machine to the dryer in order to reduce the transfer of that bacteria to your nose or mouth, which may increase your risk of infection. • Wash your undergarments separately Keep your clothing with the most bacteria away from the rest of your laundry, especially the towels you use on your dishes. • Use an additive with your dirty laundry Adding 2 cups of 10 particles per million (ppm) of colloidal silver to the rinse cycle will infuse your clothing with silver, a natural antibacterial.32 • Clean the machine Clean your washing machine routinely to reduce the amount of bacteria waiting for your clothes in the machine. Consider cleaning the surface of the drum (where the clothes are washed) with white vinegar and baking soda. Next add an essential oil that has antibacterial properties,33 such as lemongrass, peppermint, eucalyptus, orange oils and palmarosa, to the machine and running it using hot water without a load of clothes.

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