“I can't decide what to eat,” Jordan complained,
Max trotted out from the kitchen to plop down on the couch near Jordan's feet. Her feet automatically sought out the warmth under his legs.
“Wait until you get a craving or something,” Max advised,
“Pregnant women get cravings,” she replied with a hint of disgust,
“We'd better be careful then,”
Jordan scowled at him.
“Well you'd better decide soon, it's almost time for work,”
Max meant her night shift, she knew. But it made her stomach growl insistently. Jordan actually knew what she wanted to eat. She just knew she couldn't get it tonight. What Jordan wanted were the fries from M.R.C. But that was not something she would freely admit. The fries from M.R.C were the typical frozen, mass packaged ones. Everyone else thought they had too much potato and not enough crunch.
“You know what I would kill for right now?” Max glanced sidelong at her,
No, Jordan eyed him warily,
“Those fries from M.R.C.” Max sighed, “Everyone else hated them,”
Jordan nearly jumped him right there,
“What? You liked them too?!” Max read the gleam in her eyes, “You've been sitting on that secret for how long?”
Shut up, Jordan smiled, “I didn't want to repeat Matt and Lucien's tater tot fiasco from last week,”
Prompt for 5/11 "Would it taste as good now as it did then?" Which I'm pretty sure was given last week...
Showing posts with label clockwork. Show all posts
Showing posts with label clockwork. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Batman Camp!
The main gym was set up with multiple risers run out so that there was a sort of stage in the center. The teachers were already giving the mass of students an impatient look. Even though less than half of M.R.C. was coming to this seminar, the mutants still managed to fill the risers.
“Students, welcome to the Stealth and Advanced Combat Seminar,” King announced,
“Batman Camp!” Chase practically squealed to Max,
Max was literally giggling.
Seminar started with a lecture. King went over basic stealth maneuvers that they'd been learning for months. Max and Chase took notes and could barely stay in their seats. The next hour was spent by Knight explaining a worksheet with over 200 ways to silently kill someone.
A short demonstration with Drake and a thick-skinned Special helped them to find pressure points on any humanoid.
“Avoidance is always the easiest way to win a fight. And the easiest thing to avoid is someone who's looking for you. You already know where the person following you is headed, and why they're going there. And that makes them easy to avoid,” King explained as the first day ended.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Today, padiwans, the training truly begins,” Knight teased with a smirk,
They spent the whole day walking on the creaky floorboards of the gym until no one remembered that the floorboards were capable of noise.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The third day, they practiced being silent while various limbs were being broken. Then they spent the rest of the day learning how to walk silently, to stay poised with those broken bones. One arm was cake. Two arms was no different after one. One leg was difficult, but Max saw at least an Airbender and a Waterbender do it. Two legs meant crawling along the floor silently, trying to keep your elbows from contacting the floor in the wrong spot.
The floor squeaked for most of the day, but ceased complaining by the end of the day.
There was a long line to get into the Med Center because the Meds appointed to Batman Camp concluded the younger Mutes needed more practice balancing. They brushed the blood out of their teeth before they went to bed. Max never felt more like a super hero.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On the fourth day, they were condemned to the main gym, accompanied only by the older Mutes. It was unfortunate because those still in Camp had been tasked with trying to avoid those previously graduated.
Max was paired with Lucien. Which was unfair in two ways. First, Chase got to play with Jordan. Second, Lucien played dirty. Max only finished before Chase because Max had gotten so used to getting randomly blinded by Lucien that he just hid in plain sight. Lucien snickered when Max came out of his hiding spot. Chase finally managed to elude Jordan after slipping to the bottom of the pool (she always checked the rafters first).
“Batman would've checked the pool,” Lucien whispered to her later,
Camp continued with an obstacle course only in the rafters. After the first Mute fell, the rest had to battle against sweaty palms and the shakes. At the end, they were tasked with hanging upside down on a wire for as long as possible. The vomiting and fainting weren't any prettier than the broken limbs.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was day five and there were only two days of seminar left. The Campers were getting antsy at the inevitable return to class. King “treated” them to learning basic parkour moves that would help them on the streets. Wall jumping, leaping across alleys and grappling edges. Max finally figured out how the parkour “club” got started. King was surprised when some of the Mutes caught on a bit too quickly.
Idiots, a telepath scolded all of them,
Everyone else fell at least once after that.
“Good,” King said with a hint of suspicion,
The mutants then unanimously voted that they should move on to combat maneuvers instead of advanced parkour moves.
Max was partnered up with Chase. They practiced “shadowing” each other. This meant they each tried to stick to the other's blind spot. Chase was more successful, but Max was a quick learner after Chase continually avoided his attacks. Since shadowing was fairly easy to learn the basics of, they moved on to some pressure point work before the day was over.
Max felt a lot more limber after having multiple pressure points abused. Chase said he had a headache.
Jordan grinned at Max that night when he declared that parkour was Batman Camp's version of extra credit.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Day six was disturbing for some and exciting for the serial killers among them. And make no mistake, some at M.R.C. were seriously disturbed. And disturbing. The Mages had created for them anatomically correct constructs. The constructs were killed one by one. It was a test of sorts: making sure that you had done your worksheet on the first day. Each of them were required to kill 5 of the constructs before lunch. Chase seemed to be enjoying himself. Max reminded himself that Jordan probably took pride in it, too.
After lunch (mystery meat sandwiches), they had another parkour lesson. More basics: climbing up buildings, jumping through windows and side-flips. Jumping out of windows wasn't a strictly parkour, but it was fun, so no one argued.
Max was sure that a side-flip was a name that King had made up. Hunter called it a barrel roll.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The seventh day was a doozy. Jordan had refused to tell them what the topic of camp was when they asked.
“You'll find out,” Jordan said before disappearing,
They did, in fact, find out.
The gym was completely dark when they walked in. Max had a feeling it had something to do with darkbenders because the gym's “ceiling” was open to the upper levels of the school.
Max walked into Chase when they stopped.
“Today,” King told them, “you're going to learn to see in the dark. Without your eyes. Without extra equipment or enhancements. Without powers, in some of your cases,”
Chase whistled a curse Max couldn't understand.
King earplugged Chase. (Even Chase couldn't see in the absolute darkness the other darkbenders had created.) Chase still felt people's breath on his skin, the air currents in the room. He couldn't interpret any of it. He could still hear through the earplugs. But not what he normally heard. No heartbeats, breathing, rustling of clothes. He felt vulnerable.
Max felt like he was isolated from everything. He couldn't feel the floor below him because he couldn't see it. Max teetered, almost falling. He couldn't keep his balance all of a sudden.
“Gain your balance,” King said, smooth and calm,
Max realized he could tell almost exactly where King was standing even if he couldn't see him.
“Take a step.” King said again, “Towards me.”
King had moved. Max stepped forward, a bit to the left. Chase had already moved. King listed off a group of names, told them how to correct where they had stepped. Chase wasn't surprised his name wasn't on the list. Max was. They repeated the exercise.
They did an obstacle course. An easy one. Avoiding walls and holes. They learned to feel with his feet before he stepped anywhere. They did a parkour course afterward. They counted the steps from one end of the ledge to the other before jumping. And hoped they landed.
At the end of the day, Max realized he didn't know how to see in the dark at all.
Hmmm...I don't know how well this flows. It could probably use a bit more editing, but I just finished it and wanted to post it :P
“Students, welcome to the Stealth and Advanced Combat Seminar,” King announced,
“Batman Camp!” Chase practically squealed to Max,
Max was literally giggling.
Seminar started with a lecture. King went over basic stealth maneuvers that they'd been learning for months. Max and Chase took notes and could barely stay in their seats. The next hour was spent by Knight explaining a worksheet with over 200 ways to silently kill someone.
A short demonstration with Drake and a thick-skinned Special helped them to find pressure points on any humanoid.
“Avoidance is always the easiest way to win a fight. And the easiest thing to avoid is someone who's looking for you. You already know where the person following you is headed, and why they're going there. And that makes them easy to avoid,” King explained as the first day ended.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Today, padiwans, the training truly begins,” Knight teased with a smirk,
They spent the whole day walking on the creaky floorboards of the gym until no one remembered that the floorboards were capable of noise.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The third day, they practiced being silent while various limbs were being broken. Then they spent the rest of the day learning how to walk silently, to stay poised with those broken bones. One arm was cake. Two arms was no different after one. One leg was difficult, but Max saw at least an Airbender and a Waterbender do it. Two legs meant crawling along the floor silently, trying to keep your elbows from contacting the floor in the wrong spot.
The floor squeaked for most of the day, but ceased complaining by the end of the day.
There was a long line to get into the Med Center because the Meds appointed to Batman Camp concluded the younger Mutes needed more practice balancing. They brushed the blood out of their teeth before they went to bed. Max never felt more like a super hero.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On the fourth day, they were condemned to the main gym, accompanied only by the older Mutes. It was unfortunate because those still in Camp had been tasked with trying to avoid those previously graduated.
Max was paired with Lucien. Which was unfair in two ways. First, Chase got to play with Jordan. Second, Lucien played dirty. Max only finished before Chase because Max had gotten so used to getting randomly blinded by Lucien that he just hid in plain sight. Lucien snickered when Max came out of his hiding spot. Chase finally managed to elude Jordan after slipping to the bottom of the pool (she always checked the rafters first).
“Batman would've checked the pool,” Lucien whispered to her later,
Camp continued with an obstacle course only in the rafters. After the first Mute fell, the rest had to battle against sweaty palms and the shakes. At the end, they were tasked with hanging upside down on a wire for as long as possible. The vomiting and fainting weren't any prettier than the broken limbs.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was day five and there were only two days of seminar left. The Campers were getting antsy at the inevitable return to class. King “treated” them to learning basic parkour moves that would help them on the streets. Wall jumping, leaping across alleys and grappling edges. Max finally figured out how the parkour “club” got started. King was surprised when some of the Mutes caught on a bit too quickly.
Idiots, a telepath scolded all of them,
Everyone else fell at least once after that.
“Good,” King said with a hint of suspicion,
The mutants then unanimously voted that they should move on to combat maneuvers instead of advanced parkour moves.
Max was partnered up with Chase. They practiced “shadowing” each other. This meant they each tried to stick to the other's blind spot. Chase was more successful, but Max was a quick learner after Chase continually avoided his attacks. Since shadowing was fairly easy to learn the basics of, they moved on to some pressure point work before the day was over.
Max felt a lot more limber after having multiple pressure points abused. Chase said he had a headache.
Jordan grinned at Max that night when he declared that parkour was Batman Camp's version of extra credit.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Day six was disturbing for some and exciting for the serial killers among them. And make no mistake, some at M.R.C. were seriously disturbed. And disturbing. The Mages had created for them anatomically correct constructs. The constructs were killed one by one. It was a test of sorts: making sure that you had done your worksheet on the first day. Each of them were required to kill 5 of the constructs before lunch. Chase seemed to be enjoying himself. Max reminded himself that Jordan probably took pride in it, too.
After lunch (mystery meat sandwiches), they had another parkour lesson. More basics: climbing up buildings, jumping through windows and side-flips. Jumping out of windows wasn't a strictly parkour, but it was fun, so no one argued.
Max was sure that a side-flip was a name that King had made up. Hunter called it a barrel roll.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The seventh day was a doozy. Jordan had refused to tell them what the topic of camp was when they asked.
“You'll find out,” Jordan said before disappearing,
They did, in fact, find out.
The gym was completely dark when they walked in. Max had a feeling it had something to do with darkbenders because the gym's “ceiling” was open to the upper levels of the school.
Max walked into Chase when they stopped.
“Today,” King told them, “you're going to learn to see in the dark. Without your eyes. Without extra equipment or enhancements. Without powers, in some of your cases,”
Chase whistled a curse Max couldn't understand.
King earplugged Chase. (Even Chase couldn't see in the absolute darkness the other darkbenders had created.) Chase still felt people's breath on his skin, the air currents in the room. He couldn't interpret any of it. He could still hear through the earplugs. But not what he normally heard. No heartbeats, breathing, rustling of clothes. He felt vulnerable.
Max felt like he was isolated from everything. He couldn't feel the floor below him because he couldn't see it. Max teetered, almost falling. He couldn't keep his balance all of a sudden.
“Gain your balance,” King said, smooth and calm,
Max realized he could tell almost exactly where King was standing even if he couldn't see him.
“Take a step.” King said again, “Towards me.”
King had moved. Max stepped forward, a bit to the left. Chase had already moved. King listed off a group of names, told them how to correct where they had stepped. Chase wasn't surprised his name wasn't on the list. Max was. They repeated the exercise.
They did an obstacle course. An easy one. Avoiding walls and holes. They learned to feel with his feet before he stepped anywhere. They did a parkour course afterward. They counted the steps from one end of the ledge to the other before jumping. And hoped they landed.
At the end of the day, Max realized he didn't know how to see in the dark at all.
Hmmm...I don't know how well this flows. It could probably use a bit more editing, but I just finished it and wanted to post it :P
Sunday, May 9, 2010
A Series of Prompts
A Recipe for Disaster
“What're you cooking up in here?” Tristan trotted into the lab,
“Reverse engineering Mark's DNA based on a sample I took for Morganna,” Vivian replied,
“Hasn't he inhibited cloning on his genetic materials?”
Tristan looked over Vivian's shoulder as she manipulated a few alleles at a time.
“Yes. Which is why I need to make some,” Vivian answered,
“So have you told Mark you're cloning him yet?” Tristan asked, frowning a bit,
“Of course not,” Vivian grinned as if she had fangs, “If I told him what I was doing, I'd be dead,”
“Where'd you learn genetics from?”
“Drakes are famous geneticists, I figured I was too,” Vivian said, using Tristan's previous logic against him,
Tristan threw up his arms and groaned in frustration.
“I figure I'm gonna combine Nyx and Boba Fett. Mark's sex chromosome is going to be damaged because I say so. And I'm going to have a normally aging clone to raise for myself,” Vivian ignored Tristan, “Not really planning on mass producing clones, though,”
“Thank god,” Tristan agreed, “Done?”
“Done,”
Vivian dipped a ladle into the glowing, soupy mixture. She transferred the alleged genetic material into a test tube, then inserted the test tube into a hulking piece of machinery which was more or less shaped like a cryogenics chamber. Vivian stared at the machine as if she was puzzling through how to work it, then poked at a few buttons. The machine made a sound like an elephant falling down a staircase. A moment or two later, the door popped open and Vivian pulled out a toddler by the wrist. The girl looked exactly like Mark: dark hair, dark eyes and pale skin.
“Damn,” Vivian said.
For the 5/8 prompt "What are you cooking up in your head?" Loosely interpreted :P
Tater Tots
“You know what I miss?” Matt asked Lucien,
Lucien grinned and tossed one of Matt's dead inventions from hand to hand.
“I miss tater tots,” Matt answered, taking the intelligence core from Lucien,
“No way,” Lucien sat forward in his chair, “M.R.C?”
Matt nodded, feeling wary,
I can't believe you, Lucien snickered,
Oh come on, Matt sighed,
“They were good!” Matt insisted,
“No! We didn't even have ketchup!” Lucien laughed, “What you should miss is Open Gym,”
“Me?” Matt asked incredulously, “You're saying I should miss Open Gym. You know who you're talking to, right?”
“Yes. A man who misses crappy tater tots,”
“Missing tater tots isn't normal, but missing getting set on fire during capture the flag is?”
“Tater tots without ketchup,”
“Getting set on fire during a children's game,”
Lucien and Matt frowned at each other. Lucien broke down laughing first,
“All right,” Lucien stood up, “Let's go,”
“Go?”
Lucien hauled Matt up and started poking around the mess of gadgets in Matt's desk,
“M.R.C., obviously,” Lucien waved at Matt,
“Tater tots?” Matt asked giddily,
Lucien grinned, wrapped his arms around Matt and activated the teleporter.
For the 5/7 prompt "Would it taste as good now as it did then?" More loose interpretations.
Holidays
“Does Valentine's Day have any real historical significance?” Max asked,
“I don't know,” Matt answered, “Why?”
“Well, back at school, everyone always said that Valentine's Day was just a Hallmark holiday. But St. Valentine was a real person right? So isn't that historical significance?” Max rested his head on the end of Matt's bed,
“Not really my area of expertise,” suddenly Matt's face was serious, “But never tell the Gossips that,”
“That I hate Valentine's Day?”
“Yes. They think that its a good prank to make other Mutes 'fall in love' on Valentine's Day,”
“Its February isn't it,” Max paled,
“Yuuuup,”
5/6 "What's your least favorite holiday?"
Forgiveness
Vivian is a big fan of forgiveness.
Vivian forgives her mother for using her as Vivian strikes the final blow and her astral form disperses.
Vivian forgives 26 for trying to skin her by throwing the goblin off the asteroid they shared and watching him fall.
Vivian forgives Wraith for trying to ruin her plan to take over the universe by skinning his lemon form (not Vivian's fault).
She forgives Epitome for trying to reality-shape her away by severing the other woman's spine.
Vivian forgives M.E.A.T. by turning them into chili.
Vivian forgives the piranha children, the robot wolves, the minotaurs, the imps, the Light Runners, the dwarves, the synthetics.
Of all of the people who hurt her, she forgives them all.
For the 5/5 prompt: "Who hurt you and should be forgiven?"
Friday, May 7, 2010
Turning Back II
Max blinked at the white door that looked so familiar. It should. He grew up there. Not in the door. He grew up in the house that contained the door. He glanced around the porch. Everything was the same. The same creaky step leading up to the porch, the same peeling paint, the same dingy flag hanging (not fluttering). It was eerie.
Max knocked.
His mother opened the door, looking tired and pale. Her hair was longer than he remembered, and threaded with gray and white. She looked at him and Max saw confusion, pain, sadness and anger go through her,
“You're not my son,” she whispered,
Max didn't say anything,
“You can't be my son,” she said, voice shaking but loud,
Max realized he didn't even know what to say to her. He had waited so long to come back here. Too long, it seemed. But after the news about Alex he had to come back.
“Is Alex here?” Max hesitated, “Is dad here?”
His mother just looked furious now. Even with the tears.
“No. No. No one's here! You're not my son! They said he was dead! You're not my son!” she yelled at him,
Max flinched. He wasn't used to getting yelled at by his mom. He wasn't used to his mom looking mad at all.
Max bit his lip and nodded solemnly. He stepped backwards away from his mother, knowing he could never think of her as that again. Knowing that she hated him for not being the son she remembered. He stepped off the porch, heard the door being quietly shut behind him.
This is the second part of the 5/4 prompt...it took me forever to finish even though it's super short >.<
Max knocked.
His mother opened the door, looking tired and pale. Her hair was longer than he remembered, and threaded with gray and white. She looked at him and Max saw confusion, pain, sadness and anger go through her,
“You're not my son,” she whispered,
Max didn't say anything,
“You can't be my son,” she said, voice shaking but loud,
Max realized he didn't even know what to say to her. He had waited so long to come back here. Too long, it seemed. But after the news about Alex he had to come back.
“Is Alex here?” Max hesitated, “Is dad here?”
His mother just looked furious now. Even with the tears.
“No. No. No one's here! You're not my son! They said he was dead! You're not my son!” she yelled at him,
Max flinched. He wasn't used to getting yelled at by his mom. He wasn't used to his mom looking mad at all.
Max bit his lip and nodded solemnly. He stepped backwards away from his mother, knowing he could never think of her as that again. Knowing that she hated him for not being the son she remembered. He stepped off the porch, heard the door being quietly shut behind him.
This is the second part of the 5/4 prompt...it took me forever to finish even though it's super short >.<
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Risky business
Max eyed the ledge with suspicion.
“Come on,” Lucien urged, hanging over the edge,
Max raised his eyebrow at Matt. Matt was studiously ignoring the ledge and shrugged at Max's eyebrow.
“Don't even tell me,” Lucien groaned at Max,
“The most dangerous thing I've ever done is skip a class...” Max said to the ledge,
Jordan scaled up the wall using the corner of the adjoining wall and walked along the ledge until she was standing next to Lucien's hands,
“What now?” she asked with a sharp look at Matt,
I didn't say anything, Matt buried his face further into the book,
“Ugh,” Jordan sighed, “We keep getting stuck with prudes don't we,”
Lucien nodded,
“Look, if the biggest risk you take is jumping off this ledge into that pool,” Jordan fixed Max and Matt with a look, “then you'd still be one of the most cautious people here. Chris alone brings at least a hundred Mutes back from the dead each week. If you can't die, what's a risk?”
Max blushed. Jordan sighed again and disappeared off of the ledge. Lucien fixed Matt with an accusatory look before following her down into the dark pool.
Notes: Written for a prompt of "What's the riskiest thing you've done all week?" on 4/21 and not posted until now >.<
“Come on,” Lucien urged, hanging over the edge,
Max raised his eyebrow at Matt. Matt was studiously ignoring the ledge and shrugged at Max's eyebrow.
“Don't even tell me,” Lucien groaned at Max,
“The most dangerous thing I've ever done is skip a class...” Max said to the ledge,
Jordan scaled up the wall using the corner of the adjoining wall and walked along the ledge until she was standing next to Lucien's hands,
“What now?” she asked with a sharp look at Matt,
I didn't say anything, Matt buried his face further into the book,
“Ugh,” Jordan sighed, “We keep getting stuck with prudes don't we,”
Lucien nodded,
“Look, if the biggest risk you take is jumping off this ledge into that pool,” Jordan fixed Max and Matt with a look, “then you'd still be one of the most cautious people here. Chris alone brings at least a hundred Mutes back from the dead each week. If you can't die, what's a risk?”
Max blushed. Jordan sighed again and disappeared off of the ledge. Lucien fixed Matt with an accusatory look before following her down into the dark pool.
Notes: Written for a prompt of "What's the riskiest thing you've done all week?" on 4/21 and not posted until now >.<
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Armor 3
Matt found out back in M.R.C. that Max had programming experience in a rather round about way. One of the Fates had caught a whiff of a memory. When the Gossips did their weekly mind-tapping of the Fates, they collected that same memory. The memory then got lost in the shuffle of many minds. For a while. When Rebecca went into the Gossips' collective to look for information on Max all hat time ago, she got a hold of that same memory. Since the Gossips were not above gossiping about their own, they gossiped. So Matt heard from one of the wanna-be Gossips about Rebecca's taking of information on Max. Matt tracked down Rebecca and had to convince her that he wasn't spying for Jordan. Luckily, Rebecca was an empath, so that went quickly. Matt picked Rebecca's brain(s) (remotely, of course) and found that brilliant glimpse of java syntax hidden in the memories.
And, being a fan of efficiency, there was one last detour for Matt to make. Matt bought a book on C syntax and code optimization.
Matt stole Max's extra time for the next month. They both learned a new language. Max went too slow for Matt. In return, Matt went to fast for Max. In some ways, this was the equilibrium they always had. Another month and they could effectively pair program in C.
Max resisted counting how many hours they spent programming the heads-up display (Max refused to call it anything but a HUD), then the muscle-to-motor translation, then a basic data management and storage component. There were a few null pointer exceptions. Then came the seg-faults. Both were accompanied by headaches and extra eye strain.
When Matt returned Max to his free time, he realized the suit had no native A.I. He decided he didn't care. Matt strapped in and immediately got cuts in places he would never mention. He got into the store of Jordan's costume material and learned how to sew. Matt avoided cuts this time. Then he jumped through a wall by accident. Luckily, it wasn't a load bearing wall. Unluckily, Lucien was home and Matt thought he was going to be permanently blind as punishment. Matt fixed the wall, then the exo's calibrations. The next time he broke a wall, it was on purpose. He could save installing a compact jet pack for later.
Max went with Matt the first time he took the exo outside of the lab. They left (late) after nightfall. Matt was awkward jumping across gaps between buildings. For once he wished he had practiced parkour with the rest of his class.
Max echolocated some kids beating up a younger kid with a crowbar. Max stayed perched on the roof overlooking the wide alley as Matt crashed down. The kids started at the large, angry looking exo-suit which had suddenly appeared in the alley with them. The young kid had enough sense to take off. The kid with the crowbar threw it at Matt's helmet. Matt giggled a little, but no sound escaped the exo. The kids stared in horror as Matt advanced on them, his motions seeming almost human. At the last second, they scatter. Matt stared after them but can't decide which to pursue. Max dropped down and informed Matt that he needed to be more decisive. Matt decided that the exo still needed work.
Note: Sooo that's the last in the armor series! I have a feeling there's terrible tense shifting in there...
And, being a fan of efficiency, there was one last detour for Matt to make. Matt bought a book on C syntax and code optimization.
Matt stole Max's extra time for the next month. They both learned a new language. Max went too slow for Matt. In return, Matt went to fast for Max. In some ways, this was the equilibrium they always had. Another month and they could effectively pair program in C.
Max resisted counting how many hours they spent programming the heads-up display (Max refused to call it anything but a HUD), then the muscle-to-motor translation, then a basic data management and storage component. There were a few null pointer exceptions. Then came the seg-faults. Both were accompanied by headaches and extra eye strain.
When Matt returned Max to his free time, he realized the suit had no native A.I. He decided he didn't care. Matt strapped in and immediately got cuts in places he would never mention. He got into the store of Jordan's costume material and learned how to sew. Matt avoided cuts this time. Then he jumped through a wall by accident. Luckily, it wasn't a load bearing wall. Unluckily, Lucien was home and Matt thought he was going to be permanently blind as punishment. Matt fixed the wall, then the exo's calibrations. The next time he broke a wall, it was on purpose. He could save installing a compact jet pack for later.
Max went with Matt the first time he took the exo outside of the lab. They left (late) after nightfall. Matt was awkward jumping across gaps between buildings. For once he wished he had practiced parkour with the rest of his class.
Max echolocated some kids beating up a younger kid with a crowbar. Max stayed perched on the roof overlooking the wide alley as Matt crashed down. The kids started at the large, angry looking exo-suit which had suddenly appeared in the alley with them. The young kid had enough sense to take off. The kid with the crowbar threw it at Matt's helmet. Matt giggled a little, but no sound escaped the exo. The kids stared in horror as Matt advanced on them, his motions seeming almost human. At the last second, they scatter. Matt stared after them but can't decide which to pursue. Max dropped down and informed Matt that he needed to be more decisive. Matt decided that the exo still needed work.
Note: Sooo that's the last in the armor series! I have a feeling there's terrible tense shifting in there...
Thursday, April 29, 2010
I still haven't titled this...
Jordan milled through the small house and strange faces. She was stuck here. At an engagement party. Not so much of an innovative idea as an obligation in the wedding process. As Jordan shouldered through the crowd, she couldn't help but feel like she was in some sort of surreal dream. Everyone was smiling. They were disarmingly happy and laughing. She caught sight of Inherent perched on top of the stairs, obviously avoiding the joyous horror below. Jordan was jostled into an adjacent room. Rebecca (as she preferred to be called now) and her fiancé were enjoying being showered with attention. Jordan paused to observe them. They were so deliriously happy (and probably not drugged), that she couldn’t help to think cynically.
It was never that easy for her and Max. She wasn’t usually so insecure as to compare her relationship to someone else’s, but in this case, there was no helping it. Jordan loved Max. Simple enough. But it was anything but easy. The core of their relationship, somehow, was fighting. Not against each other, usually. But fights where they're surrounded by enemies, standing back to back, are always the best for their relationship. And that wasn’t healthy. Or so everyone told her. But it worked.
A lanky pair of arms wrapped around her waist as Jordan was suddenly made aware of her surroundings.
“No need to worry,” Max whispered, “When is anything we do normal?”
Jordan leaned back against her long-term boyfriend’s chest and grinned comfortably.
A/N: Questions/comments/evil plans in the comments. My sister is majoring in military dictatorship, so it runs in the family.
It was never that easy for her and Max. She wasn’t usually so insecure as to compare her relationship to someone else’s, but in this case, there was no helping it. Jordan loved Max. Simple enough. But it was anything but easy. The core of their relationship, somehow, was fighting. Not against each other, usually. But fights where they're surrounded by enemies, standing back to back, are always the best for their relationship. And that wasn’t healthy. Or so everyone told her. But it worked.
A lanky pair of arms wrapped around her waist as Jordan was suddenly made aware of her surroundings.
“No need to worry,” Max whispered, “When is anything we do normal?”
Jordan leaned back against her long-term boyfriend’s chest and grinned comfortably.
A/N: Questions/comments/evil plans in the comments. My sister is majoring in military dictatorship, so it runs in the family.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Proper work attire
Max yawned as he palmed open the door to Jordan and Chase's P.I. office. Jordan gave him a once over before deciding which glare to give him.
What the hell are you doing? was what she decided on,
Chase snickered,
Max was wearing his usual early morning attire of sweatpants, an old college T-shirt and no shoes.
“Why do you look like a skank ho?” Jordan asked through her hologram screen,
She was not pleased. Max swept over to the edge of Jordan's desk. He kissed her on the top of her head before bending his stomach out of the way of her punch.
“But I like it when you come to work dressed like a skank ho,” he whispered to her,
Chase snickered,
Max sprinted to the safety of the back room before Jordan could throw anything damaging at him. Jordan groaned,
“That was only once!” she yelled after him.
Memories, memories
(If you're confused, see the note at the end)
Jordan's earliest memory is of her parents. It is also the only memory of her parents. They're in a kitchen, the three of them. Jordan, her arms still toddler-sized, sits on the kitchen floor, next to the large fridge. Her mother and father are at the L-shaped kitchen counter mixing pancake batter. Her father, who is undeniably Asian (Jordan thinks Chinese), is smiling at her like she just told a ridiculous joke. Her mother is blonde-haired and fair-skinned. She is holding a large green mixing bowl in her arms and wearing a white shirt with thin black stripes on it. Jordan can't remember for the life of her what her father was wearing, though.
Matt's earliest memory is of Chris and Legos. They had spent the whole day together working on one of the motorized Lego projects Chris had gotten for his birthday.
Matt ended up taking the lead where the mechanized components were considered. At the moment where his memory really starts, Matt is towered over by the ferris wheel contraption pictured on the box. Chris is standing over Matt and the ferris wheel looking like a king surveying his land. Matt feels giddy because his brother is proud.
“Little brother, you might have something going for you, here,” Chris says.
Max remembers, oddly enough, nuts. Specifically, a bowl of mixed nuts and perhaps berries. His father, sitting with his arm around him, has a matching bowl of matching nuts and perhaps berries. His father has a heavy mustache, wavy brown hair and a comic in one hand. The comic is held open and upright by his father's large hands so Max can look at the pictures while his father reads it to him. Max knows the pictures are of Spider-Man, but he can no longer remember the story written there. Now, he only remembers the shape Peter Parker's body makes as he swings from building to building, grappling Green Goblin mid-air.
A/N: I figured I should put this at the end instead of the beginning. Anyways, this was written for the prompt of "earliest memories" (in case you couldn't tell). The confusing part is that these characters are a part of one of my stories and you have no context as to who they are. Any questions/comments/evil plans can be posted in the comments :>
Jordan's earliest memory is of her parents. It is also the only memory of her parents. They're in a kitchen, the three of them. Jordan, her arms still toddler-sized, sits on the kitchen floor, next to the large fridge. Her mother and father are at the L-shaped kitchen counter mixing pancake batter. Her father, who is undeniably Asian (Jordan thinks Chinese), is smiling at her like she just told a ridiculous joke. Her mother is blonde-haired and fair-skinned. She is holding a large green mixing bowl in her arms and wearing a white shirt with thin black stripes on it. Jordan can't remember for the life of her what her father was wearing, though.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lucien remembers his younger sister. He is in the hospital with his father, also Chinese, stocky and a bit overweight. His mother is on the hospital bed with a spotted blue hospital gown. Her brown hair is stringy with sweat and her face is flushed, but smiling. His sister is in his mother's arms. Her eyes are still shut, and a tuft of black covers the crown of her head. Lucien can tell (from across the hospital room) that she looks a hell of a lot like him. He feels a spike of fondness for her before sibling rivalry kicks in.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Matt's earliest memory is of Chris and Legos. They had spent the whole day together working on one of the motorized Lego projects Chris had gotten for his birthday.
Matt ended up taking the lead where the mechanized components were considered. At the moment where his memory really starts, Matt is towered over by the ferris wheel contraption pictured on the box. Chris is standing over Matt and the ferris wheel looking like a king surveying his land. Matt feels giddy because his brother is proud.
“Little brother, you might have something going for you, here,” Chris says.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Max remembers, oddly enough, nuts. Specifically, a bowl of mixed nuts and perhaps berries. His father, sitting with his arm around him, has a matching bowl of matching nuts and perhaps berries. His father has a heavy mustache, wavy brown hair and a comic in one hand. The comic is held open and upright by his father's large hands so Max can look at the pictures while his father reads it to him. Max knows the pictures are of Spider-Man, but he can no longer remember the story written there. Now, he only remembers the shape Peter Parker's body makes as he swings from building to building, grappling Green Goblin mid-air.
A/N: I figured I should put this at the end instead of the beginning. Anyways, this was written for the prompt of "earliest memories" (in case you couldn't tell). The confusing part is that these characters are a part of one of my stories and you have no context as to who they are. Any questions/comments/evil plans can be posted in the comments :>
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