radio414

Melissa smiled and said, “[...]give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” -1 Thessalonians 5:18 (NIV)She was pretty sure Kasayee wouldn’t understand -- at least, she would claim not to -- but that was part of “all circumstances.” She also realized she was proselytizing again -- fortunately, Kasayee did not seem like the type to care too much about that. Of course, if she did, would she show it? Was she just stirring resentment? No, she couldn’t think like that. She knew where that path led. Melissa took a step back from Kasayee and took a full breath -- the kind where she brought her hands to her chest and pushed them away with all the air inside of her. It didn’t entirely solve the problem -- Melissa could still feel a lump forming at the back of her throat that threatened to drop all the way to her stomach -- but it delayed it for the time being. “You’re right, of course,” Melissa said. “This is why we’re here on Prana.” The way she said it, Melissa realized, was like she was experiencing a bout of homesickness, but of course, even if she did have an opportunity to capitalize on that feeling, she’d also feel obligated to say. She’d had an entire conversation with Mauvache about this. Two conversations, even, if you counted her initial recruitment. Maybe it was just the Vylon that had reminded her. It was another flash of the familiar, even if dealing with it had been a direct departure from the last time she’d been attacked by manifestations of Duel Monsters cards. In contrast to all the previous feelings, though, there was also one of belonging. Who else would have recognized the Vylon Delta? Well, Fiona, probably, but to the degree that Melissa -- someone who, sometimes against her will, had been immersed in Duel Monsters for as long as she could remember -- had? What would have happened to the park in that scenario? And yet, through all this, Melissa mostly just felt exhausted. It had been a draining day, both physically and socially. Kasayee asking her last question brought extra attention to that part too. “I think I’m ready to go back to the apartment,” she said.

what miku songs are best

Sentients Lex froze. “No, don’t!” they said. But it was too late. Aeon’s hands were already slammed together, blowing away the fog in front of her. At the same time, the fog behind her started to rush in, filling in almost as much space. Lex yelped as the fog nearly caught up with her, but she scurried quickly enough to outgain it and ended up next to Aeon again in the middle of the new clearing. The fog had stopped once it had made a new circle. Lex realized they were holding tight onto Thessa’s arm and quickly released themself. “Okay, well… “It’s progress,” Lex said after taking a few deep breaths to calm back down. “As long as we’re learning things, I guess that’s fine.” After a few more breaths, “It’s hard to think out here.” They consulted their clipboard, which was still intact after getting slammed into Lex’s fog copy, even if the backside was noticeably damp. “I’m not actually that smart, like, I know how to make some stuff, and people call that intelligence. Being a Tinker is weird like that. But, um, based on what we had on Project Rubicon’s steam engine and just some basic knowledge about how these sorts of inventions work, my biggest question would be how the fuck does it know who I am? Especially that name. I don’t tell anyone my real name if I can help it. It’s not even on any G3 paperwork -- I made sure of that when they hired me. There’s no way Caesar would know, or any other Gibbons.” As if in response, the fog whispered Lex’s name again, “…lex…” and Lex tried hard and failed to hide a reaction, grabbing onto Thessa’s arm again. “But that’s not actionable,” Lex said. “That’s not going to solve the problem.” An idea hit them, and they pulled out their phone. “Signal’s kind of fuzzy, but location still works for now, at least.” They looked at Thessa. “Assuming you don’t want to go find Keller and get yelled at, maybe we can climb up Project Rubicon and see what the scope of the problem is.” Hidden Xs This is what Override saw: There was a rolling fog deep on the horizon, with a vague shimmer to it that made it impossible to tell exactly how far away it was. Not that there was time to focus on it anyway, of course. Aside from the continuing battle with Arcturus, who looked as smug as someone who had just gotten the last word in an argument and also watched their opponent step on, like, ten rakes could be, there was also the rest of the Arcturus/Moray coalition, who were closing in on the other flanks of the casino. Several members were making their way around the back, as Lachesis had promised, surely headed for the kitchen entrance. Anyone not named Arcturus who could fly had gone ahead and engaged with the goon squad on the roof. Even a non-flyer had flung herself from the back ranks using some kind of makeshift catapult, and even though she had come up short, she’d quickly ascended the outer facade to aid on that particular front. The biggest reason the primary front had stalled out (well, aside from Arcturus’ massive ego and wanting to handle Override personally) was, of course, the water. In actuality, Override should have come to a halt in the middle of the massive puddle formed by the blasted hydrant, but the water had dutifully moved out of the way as the tech hero had gone crashing through the asphalt. Despite the casino being faced with several fronts at once, Tidebinder’s attention still seemed to be mainly on the largest one. A tendril of water whipped out and sped its way towards Arcturus, but getting out of the way of some water seemed to be just as easy for the cape as a blaster bolt had been. Arcturus simply laughed, said “Won’t work for you, either,” and started generating a new gauntlet of beans to converge on Override. It was noticeable, though, that she never got too close to the puddle, always keeping a certain range away. But it seemed Tidebinder’s attention was shifting again, because the little island where Override was standing was starting to shrink. Meanwhile, many (five?) of the people on the roof had their own invaders flying about to worry about, but two took an interest in Sibyl’s arrival and started their approach, spreading out as they did so until they were at a right angle from each other on the roof. One of them brandished his standard-issue freeze raygun, but he also took a second to make some sort of signal in front of his face. If Legion was watching (and when wasn’t he?), he’d surely make sure the right person saw it too. Even still, the henchman looked over to the rooftop access door and made sure the security camera nearby was pointed in the right direction. The other ducked behind an HVAC unit, one of the various bits of terrain strewn about the casino roof, and the next thing anyone knew, that very same HVAC unit was flying through the air in Sibyl’s direction with the henchman flying right behind it.

With God we will gain the victory, and he will trample down our enemies. -Psalm 108:13 (NIV)The moment Sandalphon’s rings swiped the Vylon Delta’s hand away, they snapped into position to fire another blast of energy into the Vylon’s center of mass. It was a direct hit, but the Vylon was undeterred, reaching out with its other hand to put a stop to Sandalphon’s defenses and get at its precious, vulnerable host. It was not a maneuver that Melissa had thought was possible, even if every component step to it made sense. She had Sandalphon pivot immediately to trying to remedy the issue. Continuing to spin was a non-starter, and even in the face of another beam of light at the point of contact, the Vylon’s grip remained firm. There was nothing for it, Melissa realized. The only way for Sandalphon to get out of the Vylon Delta’s grip was for Sandalphon to not be there anymore. Melissa fell to the ground as Sandalphon disappeared back into her subconscious. She tried to make it an elegant landing, but she kept too much focus on exactly where the Vylon’s cestus was, and it was a minor miracle that she landed on her feet at all. She probably should have just collapsed; she needed Zadkiel out at a moment’s notice in case the Vylon adjusted its aim. As it was, she simply fell again into the cherub’s awaiting arms. The Vylon’s assault had left it open again, and Zadkiel raced to take advantage of the opportunity, charging forward and up with its sword held by its chest. If the Vylon hadn’t recovered and brought its arms back to block, Zadkiel might have rammed through the monster right then and there. As it was, the attack was rebuffed, but Melissa still felt the impact through Zadkiel and was sure the sword had made better contact than such phrasing might have made it seem. If she were conscious, still on Ambrosia, and a different person altogether, she might have said, “You still take the damage,” but she was none of those things, so she only thought it instead. Well, she could have had Zadkiel say it, but the moment had passed. Melissa had already had Zadkiel disengage from the attack and join Kasayee in circling above the Vylon, waiting for the next opening. Melissa already knew what such an opportunity would look like. Vylon Delta was in a defensive position again. In but a few moments, it would call forth another weapon. That part was something Kasayee already knew -- that part didn’t need to be explained again. The only part that did was making sure both Kasayee and Melissa understood whose job it was to be where, and Melissa was inclined to allow Kasayee to follow through on her promise. We will press our advantage, Zadkiel said. Be ready. As anticipated, the Vylon reached up into the aether with both hands and called forth another equip spell, another weapon. Zadkiel immediately gave chase, ascending to be even with the Vylon’s hands, ready to execute the same maneuvers Kasayee already had. Melissa wryly considered even snatching the equip spell, and nearly followed through with the idea until she saw just what the Vylon was pulling out: a Double-Edged Sword. Melissa was not sure what it would mean for Zadkiel to take symmetrical damage, but given how high up they were, she did not want to find out. Zadkiel’s next actions were more improvisational than anything. Zadkiel broke into a spinning dive. As it spun, it used its sword to knock the Vylon’s extended arms out of the way of the rest of its body, and, just to keep the Vylon floundering for just a moment longer, Zadkiel’s dive crashed straight into one of the Vylon Delta’s robotic wings. For a moment, the Vylon was merely off-balance. It had been heavily damaged from all the fighting, but there was a world where it could still recover. It was not this world, though. Zadkiel had not been the only thing falling out of the sky. As soon as the way was clear, a spiked tortoise shell tore its way through the Vylon Delta’s center, and the whole thing broke apart. Zadkiel waited until there wasn’t any more debris before disappearing, and Melissa returned to consciousness with an inhale and a cough. She went over to Kasayee. “You broke it,” Melissa said. “Thank you for your help. Slow and steady, huh?”

Chris had seen trees indoors before. Back before his parents had run out of gardeners who could tolerate some frankly (even by his standards at the time) harmless antics, the Ellwood house had maintained a rather impressive greenhouse. That was to say, he had always been told that it was impressive and that was why he had to be on his best behavior and not tear out bulbroot for the thirtieth time, not something he ever listened to, but it still meant he was familiar with the concept and why it was still uncanny for such things to be however many floors down they were in The Dungeon. Chris even had to take a moment to process the whole environment, though the desire not to be left behind outweighed any further ponderings. This was still The Dungeon. Just because there wasn’t any obvious danger in the trees didn’t mean there wasn’t any danger at all. The feeling was validated almost immediately as a body fell from the trees and into the path ahead. If Chris hadn’t already been looking for trouble, he probably would have jumped out of his skin. At the same time, when the body started moving, Chris breathed a sigh of relief. If a zombie was all they had to deal with, well, they could handle that. Of course, zombies (plural) were a proportionately bigger problem, not to mention the fact that Ziun’s first few magical volleys were ineffective. Lana sidestepped one of them as it lunged towards her, but that just sent the thing Chris’ way. “Whoop!” Chris yelped as the zombie sneaked past, readying a riposte of his own if Lana didn’t get there in time. “Don’t have to tell me twice!” he said at Lana’s suggestion. But despite the prospective new options at path-exploring -- left-hand rule would have dictated going down the center path next, right? -- they still had problems going back the way they came. “More!” Chris pointed out, extending his sword to point out the newly fallen body. But then, almost unconsciously, Chris’ sword began to drift, ending up tracking a vaguely glimpsed movement wandering between the trees. Every time it slipped behind one, out of sight, it never seemed to reappear properly, and every time it did that, it ended up closer. “And…” He tried to think of the proper way to describe something he could barely see. “…there’s something worse coming, too.”

"I believe in a universe that doesn't care and people who do"

Quinn did not realize how much hir legs had gotten used to the constant motion of the boat, and it took a few seconds -- okay, more than a few seconds. Minutes, really -- to reacquaint Quinnself with dry land again, to the point that they had to waddle over to a dockside bench and sit on it for quite a while. If not for the fact that she might have been poked back up to activity -- by Cassiopeia or anyone else -- Quinn might have made like Belladonna and collapsed right there on the dock. What had made this different from xyr arrival to the region, Quinn wondered? Was it simply the type of boat? Or perhaps the act of signing faer name on the interior of the ship had affected his ghostly self. Quinn had joked about immortality, of leaving something behind on the material plane forever. They had not considered the consequences of such an act! Quinn slumped in zir seat, slipping down the bench until Quinn’s back was where his butt was supposed to go, looked up at the sky, and sighed. Despite eir malaise, things were looking up in the friends department. Pisces had proven himself to be a valuable ally. Quinn was going to remember the first time the Goldeen had discovered his affinity for water, unleashing a Water Pulse at just the right moment to catch both the enemy Pokémon and its trainer off guard, quite fondly for weeks to come, a battle so remarkable that any attempt to describe it on a page would surely fail. Plus, Jacklyn and Annelise had agreed to join Bridget and Quinn on their adventures, having just lost a member of their own party. It was refreshing to know that it was not something that only happened to Quinn. Cassiopeia had gotten stronger, too. It was not any sort of outwardly observable strength, but Quinn knew her better than anyone and could see it in her eyes. It was an intangible quality, something to be seen only in how Cassiopeia observed the world around her, how she sized up her competition, or how, in this very moment, she yanked on Quinn’s hand, telling Quinn however she could to get over this vertiginous spell and get a move on. “Alright! Alright! You silly balloon,” Quinn said, using whatever counterweight Cassiopeia could provide to help pull zymself back to its feet. The world felt much more stable now, and Quinn went off to continue his adventure into Korova’s mainland proper. There were so many new things to see! Quinn’s hometown of Eterna City had its label, of course, but it was so old and run-down that sometimes Quinn felt that the name needed to be reevaluated. Skrelp Harbor had clear signs of age as well, of course, but the fact that its history was unknown to Quinn made such wear and tear exciting instead of melancholic. Bridget had suggested meeting at the Pokémon Center, but those buildings were all the same. No, the lighthouse had attracted everybody else’s attention, and as Quinn caught up with the group, she saw that it was not just Quinn’s group that had found the landmark fascinating. It did not feel quite the same as the Malamar statue Quinn, Bridget, and Nathaniel had encountered, but it might as well have, the way Quinn desired to get closer. Quinn weaved through the crowd, pushing where he could. Bridget had gotten the same idea, going so far as to knock on the door. The response from the crowd only piqued Quinn’s curiosity further, and judging from Bridget’s face, she seemed to recognize the synchronicity as well. But it also seemed Bridget did not notice her own ghostly companion in the crowd, turning the other way and heading off. Quinn had to run after Bridget and tug on the back of her shirt. “I heard you express curiosity about the ethereal,” Quinn said, staring up at Bridget. It was a statement of fact. They both knew what was coming next.

So Carmen was the crazy one here. That part was obvious. What was less obvious was what to do about it. They had identified the fundamental discrepancy, at least, so it was a start, but as Brian sat there on the bed, staring back at Carmen’s delirious eyes, he still tried his hardest to reconcile everything. What had happened last time they had gone through this? Well, last time he wasn’t able to get Carmen to see things his way, it had turned out she was the ghost all along, and she had attacked him. Was there something similar going on here? That said, because Carmen was so jumpy anyway, there was a chance that things would escalate to physical. It wasn’t something Brian minded normally -- after all, he’d done it before -- but he didn’t want the damsel in distress getting hurt if he or she decided to show up in the middle of a fight. The fact that Brian hadn’t seen any sign of him or her was making him antsy. He’d been thinking about how to resolve (apparently only) his particular problem with the voice asking, begging him for help, and he hoped this would be an adequate solution, no matter who was right (even though he absolutely was). He tried to keep his voice level, to calm Crazy Carmen’s frazzled nerves (he wondered if anyone had called her that before). “So here’s what we’re going to do, then:” Brian said. “We’re going to get the seals, we’ll stick each other up just to make sure you’re not a spirit trying to trick me again, and then we’ll go back through the place and tag anything that looks suspicious. The shower, closet, any weird noises, whatever. Same rules as the other ghosts, really. If nothing jumps out at you, then we can leave.” Not that he had any intention of leaving, of course. But it was probably better to alleviate Carmen’s fears at least a little bit by making her think there was a light at the end of the tunnel.

He said to me, “Son of man, stand up on your feet and I will speak to you.” -Ezekiel 2:1 (NIV)Melissa saw the attack coming, of course, and Zadkiel was already out of the way by the time the Vylon’s punch came anywhere near making contact, taking her along for the ride. The hits kept coming, so Zadkiel kept moving, navigating around the Vylon in a perfect circle, and the punches left a trail of destruction in its wake. Eventually, though, the Vylon seemed to figure out the trick, and it led its aim at just the right time to catch Zadkiel with a solid impact. It was enough of a surprise to get Melissa to dismiss the angel, even if she knew she didn’t have to, even if it meant skidding along the ground, rolling a few times until she came to a halt lying face-up, looking up at the carnival sky. “I’m okay,” Melissa said, to nobody in particular. Anybody who might have cared either already knew or was not in earshot. Up above, Kasayee had turned into a bird and was now flying around above the Vylon’s head, and the Vylon’s attention had shifted to trying to swat Bird-sayee down, buying Melissa some time to collect herself. It wasn’t like she was being untruthful, even if she did hope that Kasayee learned the same lesson Melissa had sooner rather than later. Maybe she already knew it. Despite all the fighting Melissa had done on behalf of Prana, despite, thanks to a confluence of factors, being physically able to now, she still wasn’t used to actually taking a hit. The best she had done was take a holographic blow or two when dealing with a particularly hostile duel field back on Ambrosia, and despite the monster she was now facing, it wasn’t the same thing. As flighty as Zadkiel could be, as much as Melissa had tried to work on improving its mobility even further, the lesson Melissa had learned was that sometimes you just had to stand your ground and take whatever comes your way. Well, step one was actually getting feet on the ground again. Melissa rolled over to her stomach and pushed herself to her feet from there. She sized up the Vylon one more time before consciousness failed her, and she allowed Sandalphon to take over. Her reasons for choosing Sandalphon the Ophan in this situation were twofold: The first was that, if she wanted to remain unmoving in place, it was probably better if she didn’t even have the temptation to do otherwise. The second was, to be blunt, because she wanted to get the Vylon’s attention as fast as possible, and while Zadkiel was fast, it was hard to be as fast as one of Sandalphon’s beams. The attack struck true, and it even had the desired effect. The Vylon stopped trying to go after Kasayee and returned its attention to Melissa, now cradled within Sandalphon’s ever-rotating wheels within wheels. When the Vylon went for another punch, Melissa directed Sandalphon’s wheels to spin even faster, each one a blur, so that when the blow came, something would surely be in the way, maybe even turn a direct hit into something more glancing. Either way, Melissa tried to brace herself for impact.