I'm not sure why I'm updating.

I just wanted to.

I'm going to vanish for a week now. Dragging friends around on road trips for the hellish fun of it. *evil laugh*

Still totally blocked on the ONE scene out of the next chapter of RL. Frustrating little bit that I can't figure out what to do with, thus the not updating, but the rest of the chapter's done. Sorry, but it's stuck in some dark, dusty corner of my brain and won't come out. Maybe some ice cream would get it out... Kinda like grease. Maybe it'll slide out when I'm sleeping.

Times like these I need a really good beta reader.

Or I can just have ice cream. I'm always up for ice cream. Ya know, it's like jello.

Can't write diddly squat. No drabbles, no oneshots, no nothing lately. I have, however, managed to download a copy of the original Mario Bros and finagle my way to the castle in world 5 before I run out of lives and have to start over. Total frustration because I know I can get lots farther than that, I just haven't played this in forever.

And I got a copy of Tetris, but it's a total POS because it only lets you get to 150 lines, level 15, and it says 'you win'. What's the fun in THAT?! Where's the good old version of Tetris where you can't EVER win? Old skool games just let you keep going and going and going... there was no way to win, it just kept getting faster until you couldn't possibly keep up and lost. I enjoyed that.

It's kind of like Bop-it. Freakin' easy to beat Bop-it.

I eBay'd an old controller so I could download some of the old N64 games - Zelda and Mario and the like - to play later when I get bored. That'll be fun!

So... um... yeah. Back to doing nothing now that I've updated this.

Dude, cool. I just turned on the news and there are tornadic cells heading my way. FINALLY! I'm going to get a thunder storm. I haven't really gotten anything but a couple of rumbles - and it's JUNE! I'd love for a killer thunder storm with the bangs and the flashes and the flickering lights.

Now... yeah. Let's see if I can drabble something for you. Get a little bit of a inspiration going.

-Cori

Let's go really odd. Really odd is good.

“And this is Daniel,” their guide said, gesturing to the last boy in the line.

White hair, covered in the muck of the training ground, dangled in front of inhuman eyes. He was still panting a little, one hand curled tightly around the quarterstaff he’d just been using, small bruises littering his bare arms. The boy smiled blankly at them, nodded, and then turned his attention back to the weapon’s master.

Maddie had to bite her lip to stop herself from saying exactly what was on her mind, unable to drag her eyes away from the lithe form of her son. “Their training is going well?” she heard herself say, falling into the role she needed to play.

“Everything is going wonderfully. Many of the hybrids are actually performing above specifications at this point, and we expect to have them ready for service on schedule, if not before.” The man smiled brilliantly at her. “This experiment is a complete success – I’m sure you’ll inform Mr. Masters of that.”

“I’m sure,” Maddie said, finally focusing back on her guide through the compound. “Mr. Masters will be very pleased.”

The man flushed a little at the praise, rocking back on his heels, and continuing the prattle Maddie had been listening to for nearly an hour. “The devices have been working perfectly as well. We haven’t had any of the previous issues… You, come here!” he demanded suddenly, pointing to Daniel.

Breath catching momentarily in her throat, Maddie watched as her son walked blithely up to them and stopped, watching them and waiting. She wanted to reach out and grab him, hold him close, but she kept her hands firmly at her sides. Her eyes gazed into his, wondering how much of the past year had actually registered in his drug-muddled mind.

“As you can see, they’re perfectly subservient. These new circlets supply a much steadier stream of ecto-enhanced drugs right to their brains, allowing them to be pliable and responsive to commands. I could give him any number of commands – up to and including committing suicide – and he would comply without any hesitation.”

The silver band around her son's head glistened in the afternoon sunlight and Maddie found herself blinking a tear out of her eye, struggling to keep her emotions from showing. She’d known what she was facing, she’d come into this knowing what was here, but it still rocked her to actually see it in person. Her son’s free will, stripped of him, his body used as a little more than a robotic weapon. “I see.”

“These eight are the perfect weapons.” The man gestured and Daniel turned around, walking back to his place in line with the seven other hybrids Dalv had created. “Mr. Masters will have his army.”

“How do they know who to serve?” Maddie turned her attention to her guide, tipping her head to the side in feigned curiosity, letting her well-rehearsed questions roll from her tongue. She already knew the answer; she was simply waiting for him to prove their thoughts correct. “If, when they are used, what prevents the enemy from countermanding their orders?”

The man nodded, his ever-present smile fading slightly. “Right now, they obey any orders given by anyone. Before they will be released from this program, they will be given to a handler and trained to obey only his commands. There will be no issues, as I’ve reassured Mr. Masters in the past.”

She nodded and turned on her heel, walking away from the training area. “As I was aware. But it's a persistent concern that’s not been addressed with more than words and promises. Mr. Masters is concerned about your ability to actually follow through with it and would have liked to see them attached to a handler by this point.”

...And I've been sitting here for an hour, not knowing what more to write. So I give up. Some stories are just not willing to be written. XD Gonna go find something to eat.

Enjoy you week, I'll see (well, write anyways) ya'll next Thursday.

And check out the newest piece of fanart (below) for Real Life! AWESOME!

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Recent fan artwork:

Thank you so much!