wanna wrestle with me baby? here's a sneak little peek

It started here:



Now it's here:



I am not sure this is an improvement.

Complaints From Out of Nowhere Department, you're up:

[07:12] Exxxxxxxx Lxxx: Belle Epoque is cheating

Pardon?

[07:12] Exxxxxxxx Lxxx: They advertise a whole outfit but when you get to the store its liek every individual piece of it is 25L
[07:12] Exxxxxxxx Lxxx: So you need 200 to make the outfit and it would be 1 color only
[07:13] mxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: welcome to sl.
[07:13] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): Yeah, they've done that for a while now. Some of the outfits are gorgeous, though, and worth buying piecemeal.
[07:13] dxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: yes i knoow
[07:13] Exxxxxxxx Lxxx: I wqouldn't want to reqard someone so deceptive

But...it's not deceptive? I'm unsure what your complaint is?

[07:13] Dxxx Txxxx: thats how most stores do it
[07:13] Exxxxxxxx Lxxx: I saw a male outfit liek that earlier too
[07:14] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): I wouldn't say it's deceptive. That makes it sound like a bait and switch, and that's not what Belle Epoque's doing.
[07:14] mxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: boats. boats are still sold in one piece.
[07:14] Dxxx Txxxx: no need to complain just dont buy if u dont wanna
[07:15] Exxxxxxxx Lxxx: Its not how most stores do it
[07:15] txxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxxx: smart marketing is not being deceptive imo
[07:15] mxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: y'know. for the fatpack, it isn't unreasonable.
[07:15] cxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: On a Lark doesn't do it that way

Actually On a Lark, Kitty Creations, many of the 25L Tuesday stores, do it the same way--they'll either have ten dresses on offer, and you're buying each individual color, or they go Belle Epoque's way--buy the skirt and the top separate, or buy the outfit, and the shoes/hat/purse that goes with them. Happens all the time.

[07:16] Exxxxxxxx Lxxx: I think its called bait and switch

It's...really not, though.

[07:16] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr) laughs as she starts running the 25L list, and discovers that was one of the outfits she'd earmarked to check.
[07:16] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): Actually, On a Lark does that all the time--that's common for them to sell a two-piece set with the tops and the skirts separate.
[07:16] Exxxxxxxx Lxxx: And I am not complaining, I am reacting to their tactics, and warning others against them

But again, you are complaining, you're not reacting, and your warning is useless, because it's not what they're doing.

[07:17] Exxxxxxxx Lxxx: haven't been there

And now on top of everything else, you're complaining about a store you haven't even been to?! Lady, what is WRONG with you??

[07:17] axxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: 25 Linden deals are the best on SL, other than group gifts, so try to just be thankful that the people and stores that run and participate in this group, have such a wonderful sale list each week :)

To be fair, not wrong. How many other stores routinely throw up something they've spent time creating, and mark it for twenty-five Lindens only?

[07:17] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): Okay, so, again, [Zxx-Zxx], the definition of bait and switch is, the ad says come in for this luxury car for a dime, and you get there and the luxury car is one inch long?
[07:17] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): This is not that.
[07:17] txxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: On a Lark rarely, if ever sell outfits separtly
[07:17] cxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: exactly
[07:17] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): This is an image of a complete outfit, but it's not listed as this is the outfit you get, all in one
[07:18] Dxxx Txxxx: amen lady
[07:19] Kxxx Fxxxxxxxx: I agree, what ever is in the picture ad should be for that price unless a disclaimer is stated on add.. like pieces sold individually
[07:19] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): Are there a lot of different outfit pieces? Yeah, and that is kind of disheartening. But On a Lark does this, Jangka does this, other stores--it happens
[07:19] Exxxxxxxx Lxxx: I don't know about lark, but Belle Epoque is definitely trying to sucker people, and no, one bad apple doesn't spoil the barrel, but youshould tell people to watch out for a bad apple

Still wrong. They're not trying to sucker people. They're advertising an outfit.

And I don't remember if I mention this later on, but sometime during this conversation, when I was running the stops, I did go to Belle Epoque. Her conclusion that she'd have to pay L$200 for a single color of one outfit? I don't know where she gets that from, because a) there weren't eight pieces that made up each outfit, I think there were four, and b) the fatpack for all the colors was L$400, so...if each color cost L$200 to buy, that fatpack would have been L$1600.

[07:20] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): Well, if it's really a deal breaker for you, nothing stops you from *politely* dropping a notecard to the designer. Emphasis on polite.
[07:20] txxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: i've never seen it at On a Lark and i have most of her cloths

Don't know what to tell you, I see it a lot. And again, On a Lark? Not engaging in a bait and switch when they do list shoes and dress separate, or gloves and gown. It's just business. It's not even deceptive business.

[07:20] jxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: Or maybe try to get them to say "Each Piece Sold Separately" on their ad, so they're aware the fatpack isa vailable as an option

That is a suggestion she could validly make. Doesn't mean the designer behind Epoque has to listen, but she could--again, *POLITELY*--mention that in a notecard.

[07:20] axxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: sent you some Lindens so you'd have enough to get the outfit, just in case, [lxxxxxx] :)

I wouldn't have, that seems like rewarding her for bad behavior.

[07:20] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): Right.
[07:20] Dxxx Txxxx: omg dont buy it if u dont want to
[07:20] axxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: Hope everyone has a beautiful day
[07:20] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): She's done this for a while, but she may not be aware some people would like to know in advance. That's all you need to say.
[07:24] Exxxxxxxx Lxxx: I did my part to make people aware

In a really dramatic, overly whiny way. There were better ways even to bring it up here.

[07:24] Axxxx Sxxxx: If something is well made, I am not gonna complain because they are selling the components separately. It's still gonna be a bargain compared to a regular priced item.

And this--because again, four pieces at L$25 each? Versus, say, Moon Elixir, that nearly always has people buy one of up to five pieces to make an outfit, and prices each of those at L$250 or higher? I'd say Epoque's offering an amazing deal.

[07:25] axxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: that makes sense [lxxxxxx]. I was just saying to try to look on the bright side :)
[07:26] Axxxx Sxxxx: There are some creators whose stuff isn't even worth 25L, so I am not going to complain about the people making stuff that is worth buying if they sell it in a couple pieces.
[07:27] Kxxx Fxxxxxxxx: I wish stores would have gift option available on sales items
[07:29] Exxxxxxxx Lxxx: Kitty Creations always has good stuff

And then, for some reason, Ms. C IMed me with the landmark for On a Lark. Which wasn't even the business in question.

[07:20] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): I...know where On a Lark is, but....thanks?
[07:20] cxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: oh welcome

I have no idea why she sent me that. It was in the 25L Tuesday hud, anyway.

But my main point is--Ms. E was wrong to call it a bait and switch. It wasn't. It's baffling that she thinks that. And just stating baldly that a business is "cheating" in a group where the designers of the stores listed are members of the group--well, that seems a grand way to be banned from the group, or from that store, or both.

pack up your bags and throw out the toys

Short but funny:

[10:46] oxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: I hate when that happens LOL, a group chat opens and you think the person is talking to you, not realizing it is group
[10:47] Ixxxx Mxxxx: Especially if you're being naughty
[10:48] Ixxxx Mxxxx: I never do that of course. *looks around and whistles*
[10:49] Exxx Kxxxxx: squints her eyes stearing at him mhmm suuure
[10:49] Exxx Kxxxxx: we are never naughty...
[10:51] Ixxxx Mxxxx: Only when you're sleeping... and the jury is out on that one. ;-D
[10:52] Hxxxxxx Sxxxxxxxx: or when you step away to make dinner and come back and go.. ok... the topic changed... lol
[10:52] Exxx Kxxxxx: lol
[10:52] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): "Wait, it was gardening, why is it now pregnancy huds, WHAT??"
[10:53] Hxxxxxx Sxxxxxxxx: pregnancy huds that fart? what??? o,0
[10:53] Ixxxx Mxxxx: Wrong seed planted?
[10:53] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): Well, that's my go-to example for those situations because that was a home and garden store group.
[10:53] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): HEE!
[10:53] Hxxxxxx Sxxxxxxxx: You want to know if you can still dance on the pole?
[10:53] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): Well. Now it makes sense. :D

And in other news...

[14:30] Hxxxxxx Hxxxxxx: Couldn't find any proper puppet strings, so I decided to use Saturn's Bindings. I think they work just as well.

[14:30] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): Oh, nicely done.

Scenes from a Chat: I Don't See the Point edition

I thiink I've pinpointed my exact problem with mainland event hosts:

[14:03] CoolMan33 HUD!: ☆´¨) [name of artist]
[14:03] CoolMan33 HUD!: ¸.•´¸.•´¨) ¸.•*¨) AMAZING
[14:03] CoolMan33 HUD!: (¸.•´ (¸.•´ (¸.•*´¯`* SIMPLY AMAZING!!!!
[14:03] CoolCool HUD!: ☸ڿڰۣ-ڰۣ— Í ƒєєι тhe 尺ђץ†ђм Õƒ the MUSIC! ☸ڿڰۣ-ڰۣ— ☸ڿڰۣ-ڰۣ—
[14:03] CoolCool HUD!: the MUSIC , , , swaying
[14:03] CoolCool HUD!: ☸ڿڰۣ-ڰۣ— Í ƒєєι тhe 尺ђץ†ђм Õƒ the MUSIC! ☸ڿڰۣ-ڰۣ— ☸ڿڰۣ-ڰۣ—

Not only did this hostess do the all-caps, Facebook-language spam posts every five minutes or so, she also had TWO different huds to spit out this. Every five minutes or so.

Ugh.

In other news...oof, this went odd places. Left the group name in, anonymized everything else:

[14:24] Axxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: Anyone know a environment light that is close to black and white, as good as it can be I guess for selfies?
[14:25] Cxx Bxxxxxx: that's a good question
[14:25] Jxxxx Vxxxx: u want it off
[14:25] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): Ooh, that's fascinating. No, but if you do find one, let me know!
[14:25] Jxxxx Vxxxx: or on
[14:25] Txxxxxxx Dxxxx: There's a filter option when you take a shot.
[14:25] Lxxxxxxxx Mxxxxxx: have you tried the black and white filter...what [txxxxxx] said
[14:25] lxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: There's also editing after which is brilliant
[14:25] Axxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: yea dull saturation is the best I found so far, but am still looking sheesh, lol
[14:25] Axxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: oo wow, no I havent
[14:25] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): There is, sure, if you're using Firestorm, but there's not a lot of subtlety?
[14:25] Txxx Oxxxxxxxx: If you use firestorm it has a filter set
[14:25] Axxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: Let me try to fiigure that out, thanks
[14:25] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): Their filters are just that--you can't make them less of that effect, or more, it's just what's there.
[14:26] lxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: You're still better off learning a little photo editing for the best effect
[14:26] Jxxxx Vxxxx: this
[14:26] Jxxxx Vxxxx: find that drop down when open snapshot
[14:27] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): Right. And as [Vxxxxx] pointed out, after-image processing is a thing. So if nothing else, pull open the image in your graphics program of choice, track down Desaturate, and play with the settings.
[14:27] lxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: Even the default Win10 photo editor is good for basic stuff
[14:28] Jxxxx Fxxxxxxx: this has what to do with Amanda and Dench Designs?

Really? We've never had to restrict only to the bare discussion of furniture prims before, so...why now?

[14:28] Cxxxxxx Vxxx: look up GIMP its free editor and very advanced
[14:30] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): Well, if nothing else, Amanda makes a lot of vintage and gothic/haunted things, that would look stunning with a black and white filter, or a black and white sim environment?

And then Ms. J IMed me:

[14:31] Jxxxx Fxxxxxxx: black and white in foto pics, there's a lot of choice
[14:31] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): Oh, definitely.
[14:31] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): Myself, I use a combination of IrfanView and Gimp, if the in-world FS filters don't do it for me.
[14:32] Jxxxx Fxxxxxxx: maybe it should be taken into private IMs
[14:33] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr) headtilts
[14:33] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): Wasn't my question. I just gave an answer.
[14:33] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): But if you're that bothered by it, sure, I can stop talking on it.
[14:34] Jxxxx Fxxxxxxx: thanks

I mean, sure, I guess so, you're being awfully snorty over one little photography discussion, but whatever. I closed the window and I'm moving on.

singing along, the arsonist choir

Hearing about this was fun--someone from SL decided to make a video about Bellefleurs for their Destinations YouTube channel. The problems I have with it, though--yes, trees have leaves. We get it. Also, they managed to miss the entire second floor of the mansion, as well as both gardens (outside of the one statue).

Still, it's an actual video, the music isn't bad, and Belles is seeing traffic because of it, so...up side?

So, this came up in a gifts and sales group, of all places...

[11:04] axxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: Good Evening all you wicked free people :)
[11:04] Exxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: Good evening!
[11:04] qxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: good evening
[11:04] Hxxxxxx Txxxxxxx: good afternoon
[11:04] qxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: mortals
[11:04] 1xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: [F**] OFF

Meet today's thoroughly objectionable unseasoned chicken wing.

[11:04] 1xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: good night
[11:04] axxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: O.o
[11:05] 1xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: morons
[11:05] Rxxxxx Sxxxxxxx: good morning. Wicked? me?
[11:05] axxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: wow
[11:05] 1xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: let me sleep

You could just close the chat window...

[11:05] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): What?
[11:05] 1xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: [a**holes]

Why are you yelling at us? Just hit the little X and get on with things.

[11:05] sxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: then get offline
[11:05] sxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: jfc

Or that.

[11:05] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): Language, [Hxxxx].
[11:05] Jxxxx Kxxx: someone needs ejected *raises hand to offer*
[11:05] Exxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx blink blonks.
[11:05] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): PG group.
[11:05] qxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: You man just turn off your computers.
[11:06] axxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: and all i said was hello......lol....what do i get for a goodbye i wonder

No doubt. Yelled at from go for no reason. What's next? (She says, knowing.)

[11:06] qxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: hahaha
[11:06] qxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: probably pain in the butt
[11:06] 1xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: its my [f**kin] COMPUTER

Void stars, grow up. What are you, nine?

[11:06] sxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: in it's profile Why don't you just talk to me and get to know me Instead of looking at my profile. who in the hell wants to talk to a TROLL! :)

Also a good point.

[11:06] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): Can you NOT, [Hxxxx]?
[11:06] 1xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: i will logout when the [f**] I WANT
[11:06] Oxxxx Sxxxxxxx: huh
[11:06] 1xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: oh WOW,,,,,A TROLLL
[11:06] bxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: yes
[11:06] Uxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: I hit block... dont have to read him anymore
[11:06] 1xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: THANK YOU
[11:06] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): Is there a mod on?
[11:06] 1xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: AT LEAST I AM FAMOUS

For...what, exactly?

[11:06] 1xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: LOL
[11:06] sxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: Just report and block
[11:07] 1xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: jeezz
[11:07] qxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: I think [Hxxxx] had a bad day. LMAO
[11:07] 1xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: [f**k] off [sxxxx]
[11:07] Jxxxxxx Txxxxxx: famous? yeah a legend in your own mind huh smh
[11:07] 1xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: oh i had an awesome day
[11:07] Oxxxx Sxxxxxxx: choose the other window [Hxxxx]
[11:07] kxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: O.o what did i log into?

Man with an IQ of 49 thinking he's funny?

[11:07] 1xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: I had sex with 6 different women
[11:07] 1xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: and now i want to sleep

Then go do that. And leave this group alone.

[11:07] sxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: LOL
[11:07] Exxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: ...Uh. PG group, dearie.
[11:07] Jxxxxxxx Txxxxxx: oh lordy
[11:07] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): Not my problem.
[11:07] txxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: congrats?
[11:07] 1xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: and you guys are [f**kin] silly
[11:07] 1xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: I am really tired in RL
[11:08] 1xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: god where is my [D*CK]

Not only do I not know why you're asking, I'm baffled as to why you think any of us would care.

[11:08] sxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: IGNORE THE TROLL
[11:08] qxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: The groups have ratings?

All groups do.

[11:08] 1xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: LOL
[11:08] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): Again, this is my problem, why?
[11:08] sxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: MUTE
[11:08] sxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: They can, yes
[11:08] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): And yes. Groups have ratings.
[11:08] qxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: I didn't knew.
[11:08] Axxxxxx Sxxxxxxxxx: Lets keep things family friendly please [Hxxxx]
[11:08] sxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: I think he's underage-
[11:08] qxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: I usually don't talk about nastly things so never get blocked for M or A things
[11:09] sxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: lol same. I prefer to keep that in the privacy of my home
[11:09] axxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: all i wanted to say was hello ,and did you all pick up your free items at ebento :)
[11:09] sxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: :o I didnt
[11:09] sxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: what free items?
[11:09] qxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: me too.
[11:09] kxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: ah. ebento. ty
[11:09] Exxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: I haven't yet :o
[11:09] Jxxxxxx Txxxxxx: well hello there [Axxxxx], I hope you have a great day! :p
[11:10] axxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: ebento has cakes out , that have free group gifts in :)
[14:01] qxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: I was there but it was so laggy so I turn off my computer the end
[11:10] axxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: [Dxxxx] do you turn off other avatars ?

People were trying to drag the conversation back on track.

[11:10] sxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx:

[11:07] qxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: I think [Hxxxx] had a bad day.

LMAO [Hxxxx] had a harsh day [Dxxxx]

Point, there.

[11:10] Hxxxxxxx Txxxxxxx: Hey, what day does the Fab Free HUNT start again?
[11:10] Exxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: Will it be around on Saturday? QUQ
[11:11] Exxxxxxxxxxx Pxxxxxx: hands him a magnifying glass if he cant find it
[11:11] axxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: Cosmo has some free gifts as well :)
[11:11] qxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: [Mxxx], you are right hahahaha)
[11:11] 1xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: just [f**kin] BLOCK ME EMILY..........an SHUT THE [F**K] UP ALREADY.....!!
[11:11] Axxxxxx Sxxxxxxxxx: ok gang, lets try to get the topic off trolls please and back to freebies and dollarbies! woot!
[11:11] 1xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: just [f**kin] BLOCK ME EMILY..........an SHUT THE [F**K] UP ALREADY.....!!
[11:11] 1xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: just [f**kin] BLOCK ME EMILY..........an SHUT THE [F**K] UP ALREADY.....!!
[11:11] 1xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: just [f**kin] BLOCK ME EMILY..........an SHUT THE [F**K] UP ALREADY.....!!

This went on for twenty-three more lines. I'll spare you the repetition.

[11:12] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr) grins. I foresee a ban in someone's future.
[11:12] Exxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: Can anyone please ban her?

Him, I think, but I'm in favor.

[11:12] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): Apparently I touched a nerve.
[11:12] Axxxxxx Sxxxxxxxxx: he/she is banned
[11:12] Exxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: Him?
[11:12] sxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: her?
[11:12] sxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: no
[11:12] sxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: IT!
[11:12] sxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: :p
[11:12] Exxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: Thank you, [Axxxxxx] ♥
[11:12] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): We can now move on.
[11:12] axxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: so as i was saying lol , cosmo and ebento free gifts :D lol
[11:12] Axxxxxx Sxxxxxxxxx: my absolute pleasure [Exxx]
[11:12] sxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: jeez. I looked away for a literal minute
[11:13] sxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: omgosh more gifts i cant keep up LOL
[11:13] axxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx is no not saying hello again lol
[11:13] Exxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: .o. Hi, [Axxxxx].
[11:13] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): And now [Axxxxx] has a complex. A tragedy.
[11:13] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): Most mornings/afternoons/evenings, [Axxxxx], people are perfectly polite here.
[11:14] axxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: o i know , there always one ;)
[11:14] kxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: i reported him to a linden
[11:15] qxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: haha, bye bye one linden
[11:16] Axxxxxx Sxxxxxxxxx: no worries the troll has been banished from the [group] kingdom. hurrah!
[11:17] axxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: hiphip
[11:17] qxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: hoorah

And life went on, but damn, that was an insane bit of confrontation right off the bat.

these changing years, they add to your confusion

I still battle with being heard. I may always. I grew up in a quiet place that became a vacuum if I spoke, and after a while, I got used to the breathless suppression. I internalized it, and made it the only way to be.

I've been trying to vocalize ever since, trying to find the air.

And even when I do, it doesn't always work.



Two nights ago. Not quite drowning, not quite waving, somewhere in between. I just...needed...someone's arms around me, telling me it was all right, even when I knew it wasn't. I needed something concrete, something...expected.

Didn't get it, quite. Not that I'm surprised. And I sat back and watched things fall farther and farther apart, and couldn't find the words.

And when I did--when I actually asked for help--no one listened.



So, I'm bad at this, I know that. I made plans to shore myself up, remantle, refocus, rebuild my walls, whether I'm using them or not. And then he says, maybe there's a signal we can work out, for when your mood is--off.

And--of course there is, and it's probably even something simple, a word, a phrase, even a certain look--it could be done. Possibly easily be done. But...

That means access.



That's not just letting someone in briefly, then showing them back out, that's giving them a door in and making the choice never to bar it. That means...being open, and visible. That means being seen, even if just by one person.

And it hits me all over again--every time I think I'm growing, I'm healing, I'm living openly...something like this comes up. And I realize how much is still closed down, barricaded, blocked off, bricked over.



Now, I know some parts of me will never come to light. I'm actually comfortable with that. Even those closest to me, who've known me longest, don't know everything. There are things in my past I may never fully understand, and...after a lot of personal work, I've decided, I don't need to keep pushing for revelation.

It's notable enough that between me and my two cousins, spending several years being raised in the same house, we've discovered we have the same gaps in memory for the same exact times. And frankly, we're all agreed--we don't want to know.



But do I want the help? Yes. Do I want to let someone know when the mood's dipping to that extent? Yes. Do I want to let someone see beyond the social mask, see me for me, see the face I can't always perfectly control? That, I'm shying away from. That...is terrifying.

But maybe it's also necessary.



And maybe it's also time. If I can't do this, even this simple a thing--even so much as a code word to give the one who asked that additional heads up that things are going off the rails...then...why am I even bothering being in relationships with anyone?

If I can't walk even those few steps forward...maybe it's time to hang it up again and go back to the cabin on the mountain.



And I don't want to do that. Those I care for, those who care for me, don't want me to do that. And I have made it this far; I am not such a coward I can't keep going. It's been a life motto for some time, after all: it's okay to fall down, just don't stay down. Get up. Keep going.

So...I'll find the way to get up. I'll find the path to walk again. And...I'll let...at least one person know when I'm about to fall down. So that even if they're not close enough to catch me, they'll know where I fell.

Though...I have the strong suspicion that if I do this for one man...there's at least one more who'll want the same thing.

Being seen. I want it. I hate it. It worries me. I'm going to do it anyway.

Wish me luck. I'm going to need it.

desire, I'm hungry, and I hope you feed me (part LXXIX)

(Roleplay entry. Continued from part LXXVIII.)

Zack rubbed his nose, seeing red on his hand. He looked up to see Emilly staring at the blood, before she wrenched her eyes up to his.

"Justine...um...what do we do when the medic needs a medic?"

Zack got back to his feet, slowly. It looked painful.

Justine shrugged. "I don't know! Phen isn't here!"

"Great, but...what happened?" She reached a hand out, then dropped it. "Are you...?"

Zack pulled a tissue from a pocket, lowering his head and pinching the bridge of his nose as he held the tissue against the bleeding.

Emilly reached out again, touching his chest lightly this time. "Maybe...sensitive to interdimensional protrusions, or...time/space rifts?"

He shook his head. "I'm...not sure...I almost felt like I received a punch of--my own magic."

"Your own...wait." Emilly turned away, thinking. "You draw on the elements...and...that--thing, whatever it is...that's not from an elemental plane....so..." She looked up at him, concerned. "What's causing the reaction?"



Zack looked down, thinking. He thought he knew, but, having never experienced it before, he wasn't completely sure. Still, he voiced the barest outline of his concern. "A loss of balance? Somewhere?"

Emilly heard a breathy, high-pitched giggle, cutting it off when she realized it was hers. "Huh," was all she said aloud. "Odd..."

Zack tried to explain. "Magic users that are connected enough, can sometimes feel or experience loss of balance in the arcane when a major event happens. Considering I am...one of them, it might be possible that my...body reacted...because I already used the essence of Gearhaven to cast a spell before..."

Emilly turned, looking towards where the tower would be. "Well...the rift's gone," she murmured.

Zack threw the tissue into a bin by the fireplace, pulling out another one to clean up his nose with a bit of the wine. He stared at Emilly. She didn't seem to notice.

"The rift...is gone, you said?"

Emilly nodded slowly. "Mmhmm," she murmured. "All gone..."



Justine shook her head, walking to the far doors. "I have had a DAY," she announced. "I'm going to bed." They both wished her well, watching her leave, and then Zack turned towards her again.

"How did that happen?" He looked her up and down, crossing his arms as he listened. She slowly turned back to face him.

"I didn't--want anything else to happen to the children. You understand. And the last attack on Justine..." She swallowed. "And I came home from...something...very..." She sighed. "Dark. So...I got the book. And I...killed the rift."

"Evil and dark?" he asked softly.

She shrugged. "Evil is such a nebulous term at times."

"May I ask, Duchess...what the book was named?"

"I don't think...it had a name."

Zack stepped closer, nodding in understanding. He gently slid one hand over her shoulder, placing the other on her chin to turn her eyes to his. "Emilly?" he asked quietly.

"Yes?"

"Does Hiro know?"

Emilly swallowed, sudden desperate urge to look away, but just trembled, shaking her head instead. "Not yet..."

He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath, before he nodded. "I promise you, these lips are sealed."

She watched him, searched his eyes, then shrugged. "Well...he's going to find out. If nothing else, I'll tell him. It's just..." She trailed off again. "He's been so busy with Tannhäuser, and...we're still looking for..." The other part of his personality, she thought, but aloud, only said "Beta-El."

"What about this appearance you have...is it something your--shapeshifting powers allow you to change?"

She half-shrugged, rolling a shoulder. " A...bit...I have a few darker-skinned forms, but usually the one with horns is...dark blue? She's...safer..."

The doctor smiled at her, caressing her hair gently. "You still look beautiful in any way."

She smiled. "Thank you." Then she sighed. "I--didn't consider running into anyone, I think. I just wanted to come fix the port village..."

Zack looked at his armpod, calculating time. He nodded. "I still have time, if you wish. Justine is up in bed, and I think you also need some time to relax, after such a hard day." He smiled. "Don't make me play doctor with you...unless that's what you truly want."

Emilly stepped closer, looking up at him. "Be clear, Zack. is it playing doctor you want? Or...something else?"

He looked down at her for a long moment, raising his eyebrows. Suddenly he grinned, grabbing her arms and pulling her into a passionate kiss. He whispered sensually against her lips, "I want you..."

She slowly smiled, looking up at him. "Then I'm right here."

He pulled her to a chair he'd created with a flare of green earth energy, divesting her of attire as he did, his skin cool against hers when she straddled his lap. Only the glow of her skin, and the light of the fire, lit the room, the stars spinning in darkness overhead.



She trailed a hand up his arm, and her claws twitched...

(Continued in part LXXX.)

Father said that this world isn't for me (part LXXVIII)

(Roleplay entry. Continued from part LXXVII.)



A frantic message over the comm in the Duchess' voice: "THE WINE KRAKEN ESCAPED!"

There was a pause, and then..."Don't worry, I'm putting it back inside."

Both Zack and Justine, in different zones, looked up in alarm.

"Actually, wait..." came her next words over the comm. "You don't have a wine glass..."

And then the signal cut off.

Justine sent a comm to Zack. "I'm going--"

"I'll be there," Zack sent back, and both scrambled for ships.

Emilly for her part, had fought shifting the entirety of the day, but...as the sun fell, the urge was unavoidable, and she closed her eyes, the change moving through her. It still wasn't as smooth as she was used to, but it was no longer as excruciating, to take a new shape.

She sighed when she saw the dark red skin, faintly glowing as if lit from within. Not...a good night to be around people. Right. She walked around the house, checking the grounds for places that needed work, and saw the wandering tentacle, sending the comm over the wire. Then she lifted into the air, flew into the now-moved Krakenstorm, carefully selected every stick, every pier, every wall and window, every pier support, and slowly, slowly, turned it so the entire village once again faced the land, not the open water. Good. That would help. She flew back to land, just...watching the sun finally sink beneath the waves, breathing.

"Duchess?" she heard behind her. She turned, blinking, seeing the doctor.

"Hmm?" She searched the night behind him. Was he alone? "Hello!" she said, after a pause.

"Justine and I, we heard the comm...we came back as fast as we could."



She blinked again. "Came back--oh. Well, I don't really think it's the wine kraken." She looked around, hearing the faintest sound of discordant bells, her head twitching once to the side. "You've been in the dining room, right?"

She leaned in closer, murmuring. "We have a wine kraken. It's a long story."

He didn't say anything. She turned back to face him, and found him watching her with concern, and an arched brow.

"Are you...all right?" he asked. "You seem a bit...different, than usual?"

She quirked a grin, her eyes glittering in the near-dark, and then she inhaled slowly, blinking. "No," she said, her voice quiet. "I'm fine. It's...fine."

Zack opened his mouth to speak and tilted his head, listening to the comm. He looked up. "Justine," he started. He listened further. "We better go see what it's about."

She nodded. "Ah. Yes. Let's go find her." She took off for the house, walking unerringly to the dining room, where she'd left the thing. By the time she got there, things had changed.



"Now, see, THAT'S the wine kraken!" Emilly said. She heard Justine snort.

"Wine SQUID," she said distinctly. "It's very sensitive about the difference. VERY."

Emilly blinked. "So sorry," she murmured. "Wine squid."



"And what about this?" Zack asked, pointing at the more luminescent tentacle in the wall.

Emilly nodded, walking forward. "Yeah, so, I--oof." She looked down at the coiling tentacle she'd walked into, that had poked out from under the table. "Not now."

Justine rapped the table, and the tentacle slowly pulled back. "Sorry about that. DOWN, boy!"

She walked over to the wall, looking at Justine, then Zack. "It was out in the garden, lurching for water. Or...something. I brought...it in, and...it got...stuck."

"THAT was the table kraken," Justine told Zack.

Emilly didn't seem to notice. "So I figured...if it's not actively...harmful? Or something? We had time to look into it." She looked over her shoulder at them. "Of course, the last time we saw those, all hell broke loose..."



Zack fell to his knees with a sharp cry. Emilly ran to his side. He winced, putting a hand on his forehead.

"What happened?" Emilly said.

"Zack?" Justine asked. "Are you okay?"

(Continued in part LXXIX.)

this is not the way into my heart, into my head

Out of the blue in a store group--a store group of a skin designer, no less:

[11:32] Sxxxxxxxx: 􀀀
.❀**•.¸.❀**•.¸.❀****•.¸.❀**•.¸.❀**•
♥ Diamond Sexy Girls♥

And really, do you need more than that to know it was posted in the wrong place? But I'm including the rest anyway, because I get to badly translate it through Google Translate:

Приглашаем вас 22.05.....в 21.00 ...на вечеринку в восточном стиле!!!
Лёгкая музыка в арабском стиле!!!
красивые девочки в костюмах востока
Открытый голосовой канал !!!
Просто кинуть зад на кресла расслабиться !!! !
Отдохни от мира уйди в нирвану !!!
Самая Строптивая DJ
..❀**•.¸.❀**•.¸.❀****•.¸.❀**•.¸.❀**•.¸
¸. 􀀁

Which roughly means...

We invite you on 05.22 ..... at 21.00 ... for a party in oriental style !!!
Light music in Arabic style !!!
beautiful girls in oriental costumes
Open voice channel !!!
Just throw your ass on the chairs to relax !!! !
Take a break from the world and go to nirvana !!!
The Obstinate DJ

So...it's a...dance??

[11:32] Sxxxx Mxxxxxxxx: )
[11:32] Sxxxx Mxxxxxxxx: а нах ты сюда кидаешь [[And why are you throwing it here?]]
[11:32] Sxxxx Mxxxxxxxx: тут запрещено кидать русскую рекламу [[It is forbidden to throw Russian ads here]]

Yeah, I'm with Mr. M, here.

[11:32] Sxxxxxxxx: [location of said whatever]
[11:33] Sxxxxxxxx: ок
[11:33] Sxxxx Mxxxxxxxx: дура сука пхаха [[stupid {b*tch} hahaha]]
[11:33] Sxxxx Mxxxxxxxx: тебя щас забанят [[you will be banned right now]]

Don't I wish.

[11:33] Sxxxxxxxx: да они надоели уже со своей рекламой [[yes they are already tired of their advertising]]

Wait, who's tired? Ms. S. is tired? We're ALL tired of Ms. S. spewing this nonsense in the group, but--that phrasing is odd, even through GT.

[11:33] Sxxxxxxxx: Привет Вов [[Hi Vov]]

Who's Vov?

[11:33] Sxxxx Mxxxxxxxx: нахуй мне твой привет? [[F*ck me your hello]]

So, Ms. S. thinks Mr. M is Vov??

[11:33] Sxxxx Mxxxxxxxx: я не забываю хуеты [[I don't forget f+cking]]

Well, who does, really, but--rude.

[11:33] Sxxxxxxxx: )))) [[???]]
[11:34] Sxxxxxxxx: повопи какой ты несчастный [[cry how unhappy you are]]

Wau, what a troll.

[11:34] Sxxxxxxxx: поной [[well]]
[11:34] Sxxxx Mxxxxxxxx: слейся кикимора ты старая [[go kikimora you are old]]

This one I had to look up. Apparently a Kikimora is a hag spirit in Russian folklore?

[11:34] Sxxxx Mxxxxxxxx: на твой голос даже дрочить стремно [[even jerking off to your voice is dumb]]

Ooh, snap.

[11:34] Sxxxxxxxx: школота)))) [[She's basically calling him a child]]
[11:35] Sxxxx Mxxxxxxxx: ну да [[well yes]]
[11:35] Sxxxx Mxxxxxxxx: мне не 60 [[I'm not sixty]]
[11:35] Sxxxx Mxxxxxxxx: как те старая пизда [[like those old...uh, let's just say 'women']]
[11:35] Sxxxxxxxx: ммм. как прикольно.. 60 тебе? и ты девочка? [[mmm. how cool .. 60 for you? and are you a girl?]]

I don't even get this one. So he just said, fine, call me a schoolboy, I'm not an old git, and she's saying...so you're a 60-year-old-girl? That was the best insult she could come up with? What is she, five?

[11:40] Pxxx Fxxxxx: This is not the group for it [Sxxxxxxxx]

Damn straight it's not.

[11:41] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): Wow, I see someone getting kicked out of the group in future...

And apparently, she was summarily kicked, because group chat fell silent.


And everybody clapped. Probably literally.

so, with advice of the dead, and a halo over my head (part LXXVII)

(Roleplay entry. Continued from part LXXVI.)

Emilly arrived on Tannhäuser Station, happy with the state of construction, and turned to the right, stopping as a security field shimmered over the opening, where the pod was exposed to space. Slowly, slowly, a linking pod rotated, slid into place, automatically. She blinked, turning around, and nearly ran into Justine behind her.

"Is that--whoa," she started, seeing another pod float by outside. "Are we putting in a new command center?"

Justine shrugged. "I am not sure. He hasn't said a word to me yet. He's focused and working really fast."

Emilly grinned, and Justine shrugged again.

"I'm not gonna bother him."

The two women walked down the new connecting bridge, Emilly glancing out the windows occasionally, searching for the relative position of the Tannhäuser Rift, from the new Station.

"He put furniture in the war room, so we can use that if we have to," Justine said. She turned the corner, Emilly following.

"I think this is the arrivals terminal," she said to Emilly, just as Zack arrived, walking from the shuttle bay.

"Duchesse, Countess," Zack said, bowing. Both women grinned.

"Mmm," Justine said.

"Doctor," Emilly commented, then was distracted by a swirling pattern of blue energy outside. "Oh, dear...We're having a flare."

Justine looked. "[Sh*t] yes, we are."

Zack darted his eyes from each face, to the blue outside, and back to them. "What does it mean?"

Emilly frowned. "Usually, that something's gone wrong in the containment around the Rift. But it seems to have stabilized." She watched the energy fade, returning to the normal starfield, only to sputter another tongue of winding blue. "She says..."

"I'll go check the rift controls. Those are up and running," Justine said. "Might need adjusting."

Emilly nodded. "Because that's definitely not good."

Justine set off briskly. Zack looked concerned.

"Be careful, Justine!" He whispered after, "I do not want to have to reskin her again..."

Emilly figured he hadn't wanted that to be heard, so she just watched for additional flares. When she looked up, though, he was staring at her.

"I really hope you don't have to," she murmured. He nodded. "Let's see where everyone else is, though. It looks stable now..."

She set off down another corridor, trying to remember the layout in her head. Rusty walked through another connecting tube.

"Hello!"

The bard smiled. "Hello, Emilly!"

"We're trying to find the council chambers, things have shifted a tad."

"Good day, Rusty Didi," Zack said.

"Hi, Zack!"

Emilly walked into the next room and stopped, seeing Justine.

"Now, this isn't the room he meant, right, this is just monitoring?"

Justine nodded. "This is the monitoring and control panel for the rift." She looked down at the panel, shaking her head. "Parameters are all [f*cked' up. I'll just be a minute." She looked up pointing through the open door, across the hall.

"The meeting room is opposite here," she said.

Emilly nodded, distracted. "Have we found Beta-El yet?"

"No," Justine murmured.

"Hmm..." She peered at the panel Justine was inputting figures into. "Gravity fluctuations as well?" She signed. "Right, then."

She made her way to a main elevator hub, and turned. "Wait, she said opposite, but...that way still lies open space..." She turned 45 degrees and tapped the iris door. It opened on the war room. Hiro looked up.

"Hello Doctor, Duchess.."

Zack chuckled. "She meant the one beside."

Emilly nodded. "Right. She apparently meant kitty-corner."

"Greetings Duke," Zack said.

"How was the rest of the party?"

Emilly sat down at one of the chairs around the table, pulling up the rift readings on the terminal. She thought.

"Odd, but fun?" she finally said.

Zack sighed. "I could not attend to it; some other business took hold of me."

"Party wound down, ended up with just the Dowayne and Daniel," Emilly said.

Hiro nodded. "Same here, Zack." He turned to the Duchess. "Was that the odd part?"

Emilly shook her head. "Daniel asked to dance. The Dowayne decided this was a perfect opportunity to vamp madly."

Zack mused, smiling. "That dance with the Countess was...quite pleasant," he said, and then watched as Justine walked in. "Hello, Countess."

Emilly continued. "Dancing with someone who's not flirting so much...or speaking so much...while someone across the room is flirting with you? That was the odd part."

"Ah," the Duke said.

Zack just facepalmed.

Hiro nodded. "So, I thought since we are growing so fast, a quick huddle...might be in order."

Justine found a seat, smiling at Zack. "It was a good party," she said, sitting down. "Zack? Rusty? Please, have a seat." She focused her attention on the Duke.

Zack nodded, smiling, finding a seat. "I was just waiting for the invitation."

Justine focused her attention on the Duke. "Zack? Rusty? please have a seat."

Zack nodded and smiled. "I was just waiting for the invitation."

Rusty made short work of finding a seat as well.

Emilly looked around, looked down at her figures on the rift flare, glancing over the meeting agenda. Right. Table that discussion for now.

"All right," Hiro said. "Let's begin."

(Continued in part LXXVIII.)

a vivisection of me yielded the start of a mystery (part LXXVI)

(Roleplay entry. Continued from part LXXV.)



It took a long time to burn. She hovered until there was no trace of purple glow in the room, until even seared and searching senses could not discern a trace of the unnerving hum. Shaking with fatigue, she sank, to the now empty, quiet, tower room.



After weeks of sustained hum, the crackle of eldritch fire, it almost felt...too quiet. She knew the room felt darker, now--not emotionally, per se, but simply no longer lit to a frenzied, virulent glow. She waited to make sure, but finally, she inhaled a slow, shuddering breath, and left the tower room.

She paused, just below the short set of stairs up to the room. Something...wasn't right. She shifted, and it was a slow, discomfiting process, bones grating against bones as her will reassembled her flesh.



Something was wrong. The world...glittered, oddly. She extended a hand, slipped it into n-space, fingers wrapping around a handle, ending up with a mirror she had not set eyes on in over a decade.

She heard Lokii Violet as if it were yesterday. "You are proclaimed Malkavian. There is no hope for the mirror-breakers."

And perhaps no hope for her, as well, each glittering shard of the broken mirror reflecting back eyes that were gleaming, starstruck, solid black pools.

Oh.



She took a port to the sky temple, sitting in the porter's chair, somehow unsurprised to see twin black skulls rise to top the arms. No, though. No. This would work out.



The important part, she thought, was that the rift was gone now. She spoke a minor word of power in a shaking, broken voice, and watched a silver chalice materialize. Another whispered word filled it with wine.



She took a sip and smiled. Nothing of the grape in the cup, after all. It contained a radically different vintage. But that...was just...fine.

Everything...was just...fine.

(Continued in part LXXVII.)

to get out of here is to promise me a kiss (part LXXV)

(Roleplay entry. Continued from part LXXIV.)

Finally, the fire died down. Finally, she could breath air that wasn't smoke and heat. She rose on unsteady legs, weaving, calling something else in she'd hidden away, something she never expected to need again.



Her lip curled. She was calling on too much of the succubus she'd once been, the succubus she'd thought well banished, but she had...to do...this. Tonight, while she was this dark. Tonight, while the land was quiet. Her lip curled, staring at the vessel, at the slow, liquid flames rising and falling inside.

For every request, a sacrifice.

She stabbed two talons on each hand deep into her wrists and held them over the fire in the vessel, watching as her blood fell, hissed, sank, subsumed within the slow-moving flames. Rising up again red, not yellow.

Accepted.



She leaned in, breathing in the offering, the flames returning to gold. Tasting ash and copper on her tongue. Falling into pattern. Sweep left, scream, coat a tentacle with clinging flame. Watch it burn.



One more breath. No time, no will, just action. Sweep right, scream again, coat another tentacle, until it burned away.



Around the room, protrusion after protrusion. Lips cracked and seared. Again and again.

For every sacrifice, an action.



She breathed in the last of the offering, rising, rising. The splintered daggers spinning at her back, faster and faster. She stared into the heart of the rift, could dimly make out the first shoals of the steps she'd taken to retrieve Athena. No more. No MORE.

Another scream, her vocal cords stripping, anguished tone, tasting fresh blood on the back of her tongue. Needed. No other choice. She sent the first gout of flame deep into the odd mirror universe on the other side.



The last of her energy. The last of her will. One last, fiery scream, ending in savage, wet coughing, spattering the crawling liquid fire on the surface with bright red. One...last...push...

And finally, at last, she watched the rift burn.

(Continued in part LXXVI.)

a spider preaching, with poison on its lips (part LXXIV)

(Roleplay entry. Continued from part LXXIII.)



Sometimes, when the bad thing happens, it changes people. Sometimes they change those around them. And sometimes, it's not precisely a bad thing, but it changes people anyway.

All she knew was...she'd gone dark in a new way. And she'd promised the Duke, she'd promised him, never to go dark around him again, and...she'd meant that, and she meant to keep it, but...he...wasn't...here.

She was.

And so was the rift.



And she was dark enough now to go find the book she'd hidden in the library. Everything she yet remembered about the overlayering of the fae lands, distilled into making bricks inside of bricks inside of spaces inside of walls...and there, she'd left the book. Snarling, hissing...alone.

She should have left it alone.



And she read. The words lifted off the page and became tattoos on the writhing tentacles she fought to retain long enough. Seared across her neurons until her mind felt charred with the knowledge. It manifested in strange ripples underneath her red skin, in shards of metal protruding from her spine, extruding into daggers, floating at her back.



The last word lit her on fire, drove her to her knees, and everything was glowing gold and red and orange and hurt--

She fought to stay silent, to endure, to process, to focus, to drive the fire forward where it needed to go--but she was slipping on the edges.



Drive it forward, point it, refine it, direct it...but it didn't want to go forward, it wanted to slip to the side. It fought to slip to the side, and she was losing the battle. And if she started screaming now, she knew she'd never stop--



And everything was fire, and everything hurt, and she BURNED--

(Continued in part LXXV.)

it's like a trigger getting ready to shoot (part LXXIII)

(Roleplay entry. Continued from Part LXXII.)

The Duchess walked into the clinic, stumbling over a stray bit of cabling, and by the time she looked up, Zack stood in front of her.

"Ah..good day, Miss Emilly!"

Emilly widened her eyes. "Didn't mean to interrupt, just was checking out what you'd done. It looks wonderful!"

Zack smiled. "Why, thank you--no, it's fine, I was just resting a bit."

Emilly nodded. "That's perfectly fine." It was, essentially, his clinic, after all, even though it was on their land.

"Did you manage to find a solution for the...creature on the rift's border?" he asked.

She sighed. "It's...yes? But..." She shrugged. "You put the dome up, and we were very thankful, but by the time I went to investigate, it had managed to thin it enough to try to slip under the base?" She looked down, seeing it again in her mind's eye. "Couldn't quite manage. But, then, Deebs shot the dome a lot, and...it phased into the science lab."

Zack blinked at her. She shrugged again.

"We ran down to try to kill it there, it grabbed me and phased through into the arcane library, next floor down, and THERE we finally did it in. I...think."

Zack nodded in understanding. "May I take a look?"

She nodded. "Yes! The rift room, or the library, or...?"

"Let's go take a look at the library, first."

She led him to the port, told him to hit the button for the public study, and showed him down the stairs across the hall, opening the door to the arcane library.

"It's in here. We don't have everything in here yet, the main library still has most of the works unsorted, but we're planning to bring anything of an arcane or occult nature to these shelves."

She pointed in the middle of the cluster of chairs, where the dark rug covered the floor. "It landed in the center of that rug.

Zack took a look at the rug, kneeling. He gently moved his hand over the fibers. "It did not leave any trace of fluids, or remnants...?"

She shook her head. "That was the odd thing--the energy bolts from the Prometheus cut the tentacle beasts outside into chunks."

Zack frowned, standing back up.

"And the one Lina killed inside Steam, she burned to ash. This one?" She shrugged again. "It just--there was a screech, a bright light, and then--gone."

The doctor thought for a moment. "Either...it was an illusion, or--a clone of some kind, maybe?"

Emilly shook her head. "Couldn't have been an illusion, it grabbed Justine in the tower. And me in the science lab!"

"It is possible...but it would take a very powerful, and skillful, illusionist to do so."

The Duchess furrowed her brow, looking at the rug. "Does the dark carnival come in the spring..." she murmured.

Zack's eyebrows shot up. "Oh, boy, I hope not--"

She nodded, expression sober. "I do too." She looked up at a comm signal. "Oh, shoot, Justine needs me to pick up some things at the Haven store. We're consolidating assets."

She looked down, brushing at her skirts, a bit more form-fitting than she'd worn on Haven, previously. "Think I can get away with this, briefly? Otherwise I'll have to change into something that won't make Cody's eyes pop out of his head, or something."

Zack chuckled. "I would suggest you take some time to change, my lady. Just to not...turn the eyes too much, and look more professional."

She nodded. "You're probably right. I'll go do that." She looked up, her head turning unerringly towards the location of the rift in the tower. "You can probably vanish the dome, though it does me that the combination of the beast's powers, and Deeb's blasting it, lifted it enough for the thing to reach through..."

Zack nodded again, looking concerned, and Emilly went off to change and transport to Haven.

(Continued in part LXXIV.)

there's nothing left in the bottle keeping me scored (part LXXII)

(Roleplay entry. Continued from part LXXI.)

The Duchess looked around frantically. "Can STAN scan the house?"

Deebs huffed out a breath. "I'm running out of concentration to channel..."

Emilly blinked largely. "I don't know how effective the backup on the Prometheus is..." She looked over at Deebs, seeing the exhaustion drawing her face. "I bet," she murmured.

Deebs shook her head. "I'm having to go older school, and actually use projectors."

She watched Deebs get out a gun that was far less futuristic. She breathed in and nodded. "So...okay. Break this down. Energy weapons usually work, but not on this one. Came through the rift, which I thought I'd stabilized so Zack could cast his scrying whatever..." She sighed. "Zack threw up a dome around it, and it held until it broke out...right?"

Deebs thought. "Does it keep part of itself out of phase, so it can pop up at will?"

"Well, that's an unnerving thought," Emilly muttered.

Justine lifted her comm unit. "STAN, please scan Steamopolis for presence of unknown lifeforms?"

/me looked at the floor of the arcane library in confusion. "There's nothing but dirt under this floor..."

Deebs nodded.

"So....if I'm right, and...I really, REALLY hope I'm not right..." Emilly worried at a corner of a nail. "Then things are escalating again."

Deebs arched a golden brow. "As in...?"

Emilly shrugged. "I have no idea."

She looked down at her comm unit. "And I got a comm from Hiro asking if the dark carnival could arrive in the spring? But when I called to ask what he meant, he was asleep again." She rubbed her forehead. "I don't want the carnival back...We barely got rid of it LAST time."

Justine's comm unit pinged, and a mechanical voice said, 'Lifeforms present in Steamopolis: Emilly Shatner-Orr, Deebs String, Justine Amethyst, Rosedrop Rust, Wine-squid, Mrs. Winston, Dead Jenny. No unidentified lifeforms found."

Emilly watched the door to the arcane library open, then Rusty walked away from it, and turned to walk up the stairs.

Justine shrugged. "Well, wherever the tentacle thing is now, it isn't here."

Emilly stepped to the door, looking out. "Okay, that's odd...I thought he was coming down here, but then...he turned and left."

Deebs holstered the gun, rolling her shoulders. "Oh?"

Justine grinned. "Which bit? Rusty not being able to find the arcane library, or that the monster is gone?"

Emilly turned back to face the room. "Mostly just walking back up the stairs." She walked over to Justine, looking at the scan. She pointed out the last name. "Who's Dead Jenny?"

Justine blinked. "Dead...Jenny?"

Emilly nodded. "That tiny note under the rest of the list. Says she's here? Who is--"

They watched as STAN erased that line, letter by letter.

Emilly blinked again. "She disappeared? That's strange, right?"

Deebs shrugged. "Perhaps Jenny is...well...dead." She started breaking down the light bow.

Emilly shook her head violently. "We don't need zombies on top of everything else!"

Deebs made a gesture, and the Mythoclast vanished.

Justine turned to her. "Aie...I don't suppose...could Dead Jenny be...the owner of the arm in the laboratory?"

Emilly's eyes widened. "We DEFINITELY don't need zombies coming back for their body parts."

They both watched as the poet walked past the door again.

"Rusty!" Justine called out. "No--"

Deebs took a long, deep breath, watching.

"Behind you, honey," Justine said. Rusty stood, staring straight forward.

"Justine, is he okay?"

Justine shrugged. "Maybe he's drunk. He's...dressed for a gig..."

They watched him turn and walk away again. Justine made some frustrated sound, chasing after the discombobulated bard. She grabbed his arm and tugged him into the library.

"Okay..." Emilly said. Then jumped when Rusty yelled.

"HA!" he said.

She peered at him as he stumbled into the room, concerned. "You're not, uh...glowing, anywhere, or...anything, right?"

"I am having a walking problem," he said calmly.

Emilly blinked again. "That's not good." She paused, then asked the other question just to be sure. "No new--tentacles? Anywhere?"

"Not as far as I know," he said. Then he grinned at the Martian. "Deebs!" he yelled.

Deebs waved, techno-arcanely.

"Nicetameetcha!" he said.

Emilly looked at Justine. Justine just shrugged.

"I've been trying to help with pest control," Deebs said. "With, it must be said, limited success."

"She's been doing a grand job," Emilly protested. "It's not here!"

Rusty turned to Justine. "You okay, Justine?"

Justine nodded.

Emilly walked back to the where the tentacled thing had been, seeing slight dings in the floor from where the bullets had ricocheted, but no other signs. She frowned. "Or, it...left, or...something."

"So what did you see?" the poet asked.

"There was a new monster," Justine said. "In the tower by the rift?"

"And was there a rift manifestation?" he added. Emilly slowly turned to look at him.

"That's...awfully precise phrasing...for someone not temporally trained..." she murmured.

Justine didn't notice. "Zack contained it in an energy field. But it phased through the floor into the science lab."

Rusty turned a wide, glittering smile at her. "Hi, Em..."

She stared at him. "Hi..."

Justine went on. "And Deebs HAMMERED it with everything she's got!" She made firing gestures at the floor. "It was amazing." She looked back up at Rusty. "And then it phased through the floor of the lab down to here."

"We may need a bigger hammer," Deebs murmured.

Emilly corrected Justine. "And then it phased through THAT floor," she said, pointing at the ceiling, "grabbed me on the way through, and we BOTH ended up down here."

Justine nodded. "And then Deebs shot it some more and it went POOF."

"Yes..." Emilly murmured. She patted herself down, making sure everything that was attached before, is still attached now. She felt...zingy, and said so.

"I 'magine so," Deebs said. "Unexpected apportation is a little 'discombobulata'."

Emilly blinked, but then nodded. "Yes."

Rusty nodded. "Deebs, did anyone see a source for the monster?"

Emilly breathed out, thinking at least that sounded closer to Rusty's norm, until he turned to her, flashing her a wide, edged grin, and she started peering at him again.

"Deebs," Rusty said. "Hope to see you again soon."

"And Zack said it came through the rift," Emily added. She pointed at the ceiling again. "The one up there."

Meanwhile, Deebs nodded at Rusty. "And so, you are belike to. Might even see me on Mont Nuit. It's lovely there." She finished putting away her equipment and made her way to the door of the arcane library. "But, for now, a lovely night!"

"Good night!" Emilly said. She thought, brow furrowing. "So, doors need to be fixed on the science lab, and...there's now an energy dome in the rift room, but...I don't think any other major harm was done?"

She turned to Justine. "Maybe to Justine. How do you feel?"

"I'm all good, thanks. Despite the grabby grabby." She angled a thumb at the stairs up to the next floor. "I'll go fix the doors on the lab." And she walked out of the library.

Leaving Emilly with the poet. The smiling poet. She smiled back, tremulously, and edged towards the door. "Justine," she murmured. "Wait up."

(Continued in part LXXIV.)

there's a lot of trouble lately (part LXXI)

(Roleplay entry. Continued from part LXX. My gods, everything queued for today, WHYYYYYY...)

"My gods," Emilly said. "Everyone's taking potshots at the poor thing, it's going to get a complex."

"So sorry," Deebs called out over her shoulder.

"So, there's a round stone circle behind you..." She and Justine watched as Deebs rapidly walked away. "Or...she could walk..." She shakes her head. "Well, I'm going by port circle."

She arrived on the rift circle pad, half a floor below the tower room, taking the stairs quickly. Deebs looked up as she opened the door.

"...Not sure how selective this will be..."

Emilly peered as Deebs unleashed bolt after bolt from the energy bow. "I'm not sure it's doing more than cracking the dome..." Which was worrying in itself.

"Nor I." Deebs furrowed her brow. "Hhh..."

Emilly looked closer. "And it's still able to push out, here and there...Eep. That's not good."

Deebs thought a moment. "What if an irresistible force...Let me see if I can shove it down the wormhole..."

"Okay," Emilly said, then "What??"

"More...power...TO it..." The golden woman seemed to brace herself, gritting her teeth.

Was the energy in the bolts coming from her, Emilly wondered.

"Urrmffff...." Deebs finally said, dropping the bow. "Not enough Ens in the local aether streams."

Emilly thought. "Localized wormhole, or--do you mean the rift behind me?"

"Localized wormhole," Deebs murmured, but looked up at the shimmering rift.

Emilly bent forward, fretting as she saw the dome rise a tad, more of the tentacles pushing under it.

"Given the absolute lack of response to blasts into the big rift, I doubt I can jam the rift closed with this shield," Deebs muttered.

Emilly nodded, thinking. "Mmhmm..."

"Let me nudge it..."

Emilly lookd up. "Does the color change mean anything?"

"Umffff," Deebs groaned. "Just...eddies...in...the local...streams..."

Emilly blinked. "Wait. You're trying to move the rift to IT??"

Deebs shook her head. "More...no...I--"

Emilly's eyebrows shot up as the thing hissed loudly and phased through the floor.

"ACK--"

"I thought to look and see if I could collapse the rift into itself--" Deebs said, turning.

Emilly looked around wildly. "Where--"

"Yes, where indeed?" Deebs mused. She looked up. "Not up there--"

"Ah, hell--and not anywhere here..." She pulled out the hand unit again, setting the drone for local scan. "GAH--" she shouted. "Found it--" She bolted out of the tower room, heading down the stairs.

Deebs sighed. "We're going to need that bigger gun..."

Deebs reached the doors to the science lab just as she flung them open. The multiple-tentacled thing hissed at them.

"Ahem," said Deebs.

"All right," said Emilly. "It doesn't seem to be moving much. Maybe we can just lock the doors and see what we have." She reared back as it reached out, slamming the doors in her face. She opened them again.

"What is it trying to do with the color shifts, blend in?!"

Deebs shrugged. "Possibly."

Emilly watched Justine walk down the stairs. "Justine, be careful!"

"What's going on? Is--there something in the lab? I--I was just in there!"

Emilly grimaced. "Damn thing phased under the dome. Through the floor."

Deebs added helpfully, "M. Tentacles is locked in the lab."

Justine blinked. "Mother[F**KER]."

"Not averse to that, but not now," Deebs said. Both women turned to look at her.

"Focus."

Emilly blinked. "Right. I've never seen anything like that. And it attacked you, Justine?"

Justine nondded. "Yeah. upstairs. Are--you sure this is the same one? Have you been up there? And..." She paused, fidgeting. "I have seen somethng like this before."

"Oh?" Emilly asked. "Where?"

"We were just there, trying to whack it..." Deebs said. "And then trying to implode the rift with the full Shield Protokol."

Justine looked down, whispering. "In the cargo bay of the Prometheus. Supposedly sealed in."

Deebs stared at her. "...Oh. Glorious."

Emilly stared at the door, thinking. "Yeah...I think things were more or less in place until she hit the rift--" Then she paused. "Void stars, the room-filling pod of tentacles?? Or--the other one?"

Deebs shrugged. "No sae sealed, then."

Justine looked at her feet. "The grabby one."

"Oof," Emilly said. "Great. Now we have our OWN grabby one. Perfect."

Deebs looked sympathetic. "Well...now what? I left the samovar elsewhere."

"Samovar?" Justine asked. "We're thinking of coffee now?"

Meanwhile, Emilly was ticking fingers off on one hand. "Your laser pistol took out one earlier, the Martian flyer took out one. The Prometheus' solid plasma bolts took out two."

Deebs nodded. "Surely."

"Can I peek into the lab?" Justine asked.

Emilly frowned. "I thought energy blasts WORKED--" She looked up. "Sure..."

Justine opened the door and grimaced. "Oh, [f*ck]...Yep, yep, that's the one..."

"Let me change up a bit," Deebs said.

Emilly heard the hum of a comm channel opening. "Duchess...question..." she heard the Duke say. "The dark carnival...can it appear in spring?"

Emilly stopped breathing. What??

"Shields," Deebs said, re-engaging them. She positioned the new weapon and fired.

"What was--" Emilly began, then yelled in frustration as the doors slammed shut once more. "Stop closing the doors, you stupid thing!"

"Tightly focused bolts," Deebs murmured.

Emilly watched the tentacles turn red. "Is it just me? It looks--angry--"

"Emilly, keep opening that door," Justine said. "I'll prop it."

Emilly pushed hard on the door. "It's holding it shut!" She pushed harder, and with a crash, the door flew open. "There it goes. Damnable thing..."

Justine nodded. "Got it--" She tapped something on her hand unit, and the door folded back and stuck open. "That was...hard..."

Deebs began to visibly sweat, her arms shaking. Emilly watched the thing disappear, running forward to make sure.

"Yay!" Justine said."

Deebs shrugged. "Yay, or did it phase?"

"Oh, [f*ck]..."

Emilly stepped where the monster had been in the lab. "I have no idea. What's under here?"

Justine turned to leave. "I'm going to check downstairs!" She thought for a moment. "The arcana library?"

Suddenly a tentacle wrapped around Emilly's ankles. She felt dizzy. Then she felt herself falling through the floor.

"AAAAAAH--" Emilly yelled. "Pulling me through the--flrm..." She coughed as she was pulled through brick and mortar, through a somewhat nauseating spinning energy field in a cage, she could only assume part of what powered Steam, and then fell through the ceiling onto one of the leather library chairs while the thing hissed and reached for her. She half climbed over, half fell over the back of the chair, scooting back, and falling to her knees.

Justine ran in to find her blinking on the floor. She looked up.

"I didn't think *I'D* phase WITH it!"

Justine threw up her hands. "[F*ck]!"

"Though, I can now inform you, part of the power generator to the house? Is between the library and the science lab, so....it dragged us both through that--"

Justine blinked at her. "Okay..."

"Plus side, being here?" Emilly stood, brushing off her dress. "That is a rug, but it's also an active holding circle, just in case." Though she wasn't entirely sure it was tentacle-monster-proof.

Deebs walked in, shaking her head. "MOAR power to you, beastie." She pulled out a projectile gun and rapidly fired into it while it howled in a thin, unearthly voice.

"Well, the one in the tower didn't hold it!" Justine yelled.

"Okay," Emilly said. "Solid bolts don't work, the energy bow didn't, I do NOT want the Prometheus to arm and fire into the house--what's--oh dear--"

There was a burst of light. Justine covered her eyes.

"Oh [f*ck]!"

"What--was--that?" Emilly asked. "And did it go somewhere ELSE??"

(Continued in part LXXII.)

this is just my way of unleashing the feelings deep inside of me (part LXX)

(Roleplay entry. Continued from part LXIX. Written by Justine, Deebs, and Zack Starbinder.)

Justine was in the laboratory, scrubbing down the table after having properly packaged up and stored the severed arm someone had carelessly left there, following double decon protocols, 'just in case'. She'd put it into the analyzer and was awaiting DNA results to see if she could identify where it had come from. Who knew, maybe the previous owner wanted it back. She was jolted from her reverie by thumping noises above the ceiling, loud enough to get through the music. Frowning, she took off her headphones and stared at the ceiling, thinking maybe she imagined it.

THUMP THUMP.

Nope, there it was again. She peeled off her gloves and climbed the stairs to investigate. Through the glass she could see the rift flickering, and the tentacles, but they seemed a bit more--active, today.



She opened the door and was grabbed before she could even realise what had happened. She let out a piercing shriek and managed to thumb her comm unit.

"Liiiiiiiiina!!"

She heard pounding footsteps outside, then the security guard rushed in, looking around frantically. She gestured to the multiple tentacle arms around her.

"Stab it! Stab it with something pointy!!"



A sequence of buttons pressed on her arm, a whoosh, and a--mech?--a powersuit, at least, stood there, raising an arm to fire. That was a bit of an over-reaction. But the bolts hit the thing, and it hissed, releasing Justine. Both of them ran for the door, slamming it shut behind them.

"Y'all might want to avoid the tower room until we...ummmm...get that sorted," Lina panted. They heard more pounding footsteps up the metal stairs, whirling to see Zack push past them and open the door again.



"Let's try to get rid of this thing..."



Justine cheered. "Go Zack!"

"Take that, you monster!" Zack yelled.



"Okay. that's it, it won't die...So lets seal it for now. Hop in the magic dome for a few days. Hopefully we'll be able to get rid of this thing before the seal breaks."

Justine pumped an arm in the air. "Excellent!"



He walked back out of the tower room, swaying. "Managed to seal it for a few days. I'll need Emilly and Hiro's help to defeat that thing. Gosh...It was very draining." He inhaled, looking at his hands. "I used a lot of my mana to cast. I need to go rest. I'm grateful that Lina was there to put magical protection on me or...I'd be done for."

Later...

Justine walked up to the new clinic, seeing Emilly and Deebs there, in time to hear Deebs comment.

"Since you all keep having pest control problems..."

She touched a control on her gauntlet, a lovely translucent work in yellow light, it seemed to be, with half-circles in procession over the back of her hand. "Shields," she murmured, and curving squares of yellow light circled around her. It was mesmerizing.

"Indeed," Emilly said, watching, then shook herself a little. "Right. Zack mentioned something about that. He said he'd contained something in an orb around the round tow--HOLY--"

She'd been in the process of using the hand unit to summon one of Gearhaven's little flying drones to look at the tower room, and was shocked to see the cluster of flailing tentacles near the door.

She cammed in closer and blinked rapidly. 'What the HELL is that??"

"Awesome!" Justine said, still distracted by the shields. "Shields are good!"

Deebs looked up. "The flying kraken..."

Justine blinked. "What? Emilly, what are you looking at?"

Emilly was still peering at the hand unit. "Right so...we'll have to figure out how to, uh...send thta thing back, or...move it to the garden, or....something..." She looked up at them. "The rift in the tower? Zack said something came through."

"Oh, right," Justine said. "I took some photos..."

"Lina called it the kraken, and I thought she meant the wee flying beastie."

Justine shook her head. "No, she used her flame power on the tentacle beast in the tower, and it pushed her out at the flying kraken."

"Wow," Emilly breathed.

"May I take a pop at the kraken?" Deebs asked.



"Sure," Emilly said, responding to Lina's adventure being pushed out the tower window. She looks down at the photos Justine had sent to her hand unit. Low whisper: "Oh, man...Zack looks deeply impressive in this shot, doesn't he? With the elemental flames around him--"

The penny dropped. "WAIT--" she cried out. "NO--THAT ONE'S A PET--" She looks over at Deebs, wringing her hands. "No no no--the one INSIDE the tower--"

"Well, let's go see," Deebs said. She put away the energy bow and took off towards Steam.

(Continued in part LXXI.)