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Because I'm slow and sometimes things have to cook in my head awhile before I can do anything with them.

Prompt: "When will I see you again?"

---

“It would be you.” Sebrin stood in the doorway to the journeymen’s barracks with his arms folded and his blue eyes narrowed with a disapproving frown. “Some people just have all the luck.”

Ezerik ignored him. He was busy gleefully throwing everything he owned into a haversack. It wasn’t much: a few respectable sets of clothing; a crude model of his father’s schooner, the Zephyr; and, most importantly, his harp, specially padded and wrapped in oilcloth. It was the second-best instrument he had, and the first of his make good enough to qualify for a stamp of approval from old Master Jerint. Maybe he wouldn’t get much use out of it, but he couldn’t bear to leave it behind.

Some of the other first-year journeymen clustered around him, joined by a couple of senior apprentices who were daring to risk a tardy arrival to their lessons just to see him off.

“And some people should keep their sour grapes to themselves,” said Hessrian, a blond, smooth-cheeked boy who had been devoted to Ezerik since he’d stopped Sebrin picking on him. At twelve, Hessie had been little and scared, but in three Turns he’d shot up in height and learned to hold his own against the older lads.

Ezerik was proud of him. “You tell him, Hessie.” He straightened up from his cot and looked around to make sure he wasn’t missing anything.

All he saw was the familiar faces of those around him. In all the excitement, it hadn’t really hit him yet that he was leaving them all behind, but the way they looked at him, with a mixture of pride and envy and sorrow, struck his heart. The Harper Hall had been his home, his family, for six Turns, fully one third of his life. When he had earned his journeyman’s knots and walked the tables to the cheers and applause of his fellows, just a few months ago, it had been the greatest moment of his life, and he had thought it could only be surpassed by gaining his mastery in time. Now that dream was over.

Another one had taken its place. He would miss his friends in the Hall, but it wasn’t the end of the world—it was a new beginning. He would make sure.

“Listen, Hessie,” he said, putting a hand on the younger boy’s shoulder. “You’ll look after the little ones for me, won’t you? Don’t let bullies like Sebrin push them around.”

Sebrin snorted. He hadn’t bothered anyone in Turns. Since Ezerik had thumped him the second time, he’d saved his quarrels for his cocksure young rival.

Hessie nodded. “I won’t.”

“And I’ll be sure to tell Quinya you said goodbye, since you can’t,” Sebrin added with a smirk. “You horrible heartbreaker. She’ll be devastated. I’ll probably have to comfort her, all night.”

Ezerik chuckled, shaking his head. “Quinya has better sense than that. She’ll be happy for me. You all will... won’t you?”

The others nodded and gave him their assurances: they were thrilled, of course. One of them being chosen was an honor that reflected on them all, and the younger ones could still dream that one day, it might be them.

A loud, brassy bugle from the quadrangle made them all jump.

“That’s your ride,” said Sebrin, finally moving out of the doorway. “You’d better run.”

“Yeah.” Ezerik pulled on his coat, though the day was warm, and threw his haversack over one shoulder. “Well... good-bye, then.”

Hessie put a hand on his arm. “When will we see you again?”

“I don’t know.” Ezerik grinned, and his hazel eyes gleamed with excitement. “But if you do, you’ll have to look up, because I’ll be on the back of a bronze dragon!”

---

Ezerik is, of course, known by another name these days. He's been gaining some actual backstory lately. {= )

~Neshomeh

The first draft of part 1 of my mission is done and the second one is going to be done tonight. Is there anyone willing to beta these? They're on the longer side.

What do you think, can you and hS patch things up? Nobody likes a grudge.

~Neshomeh

His Good Girl > by Sweetheart lover
I noticed there was a lack of characterxreader fanfics on this website, so I decided to change that. Edmundxreader. EdmundxCaspian's sister. (Yes, you are Caspian's sister). Rated K plus because I'm paranoid.
Chronicles of Narnia - Rated: K+ - English - Adventure/Romance - Chapters: 6 - Words: 6,167 - Reviews: 2 - Favs: 4 - Follows: 6 - Updated: 20h ago - Published: Dec 3, 2017 - Edmund Pevensie - Complete

My comment: The 1st Person Sue is called Y/N!

I liked this, generally. The Ix/Charlotte interaction was nice.

My one item of concrit is that I could've used a bit of Ix's thought process when she decided to take a break and watch the movie. The emotional switch felt rather sudden.

- Tomash

Yeah... Honestly, this was fun to write, even if the punchline (Tom wasn't actually training) wasn't that great.

And yeah, Tom poking there is a really bad idea. But he has no clue what he's doing. He can be a... bit of a child.

Anyways, I'm glad at least one other person likes it.

I think Thoth is probably being generous with that "significant progress" comment. How sweet. ^_^

Tom should probably not keep poking that spot with that stick, though. Seems like the sort of thing where once too many, however many that may be, could get dangerous.

My particular interests aside, I like how this shows the relationship between your two agents. They are clearly very different people, and it results in friction, but it seems like a more or less healthy friction, with each giving as good as he gets and keeping the other honest.

I think the bit where Thoth challenges Tom to try his skills in "the real world" is particularly funny coming on the heels of that response you wrote to my musings on metafictional reality. Dunno if that was intentional, but it doesn't really matter. *g*

~Neshomeh

Taking the initiative has brought me far in life.

Duck left. Shotgun, machinegun, grendade… Dead again. Restart. Okay, this time right, grenade first...

Thoth walked in. Tom closed the program. “Hey, Thoth! Where’ya been? I’ve just been… ahh… training. In a combat simulation.”

“In fact,” said Thoth, “I have been training as well. After my failure in our prior mission, I have been practicing my mental focus. And I have an initiate to train.”

“You mean Derik?” Tom laughed. “Seriously, what are you two, married?”

“It takes dedication to truly develop through training. I must keep my skills sharp, and Derik has made significant progress,” said Thoth coldly. He wasn’t even going to dignify Tom’s jab with a response.

“Yeah, yeah,” said Tom, grinning. “Anyways, what were you doing?”

“Aside from focusing the mind developing my psychic talents, as well as training my initiate in the same, I have a strict exercise regimen, and practice daily with both long-range and melee weapons. It is important to keep my skills in place.”

Tom shrugged. “Well, I did some experimental work on trying to get demons to do even more work for me, and then decided to do a bit of reflex and combat training in a simulator.”

Thoth walked behind Tom, to get a better angle on what he’d been doing. “Yes,” he said, his voice utterly serious. “I am certain that this ‘Half-Life’ is an excellent combat simulator.”

“It is!” replied Tom, indignantly.

“Well, then. Perhaps you should face me. Test your simulator-developed skills in the real world.”

Tom paused for a moment. “Thoth?”

“Yes.”

“Not another word.”

--

((PPC's not mine, Warhammer and Laundry Files aren't mine you know the drill, Thoth and Tom are mine, Derik belongs to Nesh, who said I could use him.))

What should I do if a fic is bad enough to be reported, but the title is Not Safe For Work? Should I just put it up on the Unclaimed Badfic page? Put everything into a Google Doc and post the link to the doc with a warning?

Heeeeeee! This is fun! The mix of characters both playing the game, and the players they've chosen to play. The idea of a reforming Sue who couldn't play without derailing the plot is great and realistic.

Good to see Gabrielle feeling more confident, too, and finding work to help others to boot!

—doctorlit, very briefly an elf bard

A character study in laziness and irresponsibility. I think this Harris fellow may be my opposite! We'd best never touch, as it would be a reaction like dark matter touching solid material.

—remote controls are good enough for doctorlit

Very cute! Even in such a short story, these two have such good dynamics. Good seeing Agent Ix in a more positive state of mind, too.

—doctorlit, wandless

Lemme reveal. I'm alluding to one of my manymanymanymany plans for Badfic Games stories. Therefore, "stick around long enough" is true, since they won't come until later this year. I believe that's all I need to say.

-Twistey

Ix and Charlotte experience their first time in Torchwood.

"So, we've got a new player this evening, everyone. This is Cassie, she's a DMS agent, and I'd like to welcome her to the Coterie of Light. Say hi!"

A chorus of muted "Hi"s greeted Cass as she shuffled her feet. Her hair hung down over her face like the shutters on a corner shop, and after a few moments of immense internal struggle, she said hi back.

"Doctor Peep, is she here because of what happened with Bill?"

"Well, Gabrielle, that entirely depends on how much you enjoyed playing in a party with Supreme Commander Murdertron, Chief Eye-Gouger of the Army of Extra Deadly Death."

"Welcomewelcomewelcome! Come sit next to me! Would you like some snacks? My partner made everybody snacks. He's kinda like that."

"Um." Cassie said. Then "Thank you." Then "I'm sorry, but how are you allowed to be that fluffy?"

"Aw! Thank you! I'm a Flareon is why, but it's also because people brush me and snuggle me when I'm on the wards. I'm a therapy Pokemon with the MPND Clinic, but Doctor Peep is my therapist too!"

Gabrielle beamed. Cassie nodded back, her eyes a little wide. "Er. Okay. That's... nice?"

"So who are you playing? I'm the cleric, because making people not hurt any more is awesome!"

"Um. Valiant Cavalier. It's a paladin subclass. More, um, hitty. And his name's Thorin. And he has a bear. Doctor Peep said it would be okay?"

"Thank heavens, an actual tank," piped up Eloise. "I'm sick of getting slapped about because Bill thinks it's funny to watch the wizard get into close combat."

---

It took a few minutes to get everyone settled in, but eventually the group was all set. It was a motley assortment, and Cass was the only human at the table; T'viq was a Reman, Eloise was a drider, Sugi was a bonsai Ent, and the DM, Doctor Peep, was a six-foot animatronic duck. The campaign, Gabrielle explained, had been going on for some time, mostly in spite of a recovering Gary Stu called Bill who was a total edgelord and kept trying to screw things up for the party. Before Gabrielle could go any further on why Bill was a complete butt, Doctor Peep loudly announced the setting.

"After the tragic death of Supreme Commander Murdertron, your characters have returned to the manor at Thandallyn to train and generally relax. A few months have passed without incident... until now. A mysterious stranger is at the gates of the house."

"I go to the window and try to get a look at them," said T'viq. "Such work is suited well for elven eyes, especially those of a ranger. Plus I'm just generally a bit nosy."

"Okay, roll me perception."

Clatter.

"Smeg."

"Astarael, you gaze long and hard, and form a really excellent and in-depth mental picture of the wall you're staring at. Is anyone else doing anything?"

"Oh! Sure!" Gabrielle smiled. "I'll go down to the gate. And bring pie. Everybody loves pie."

A chorus of laughs around the table. Cass sagged a bit, stayed quiet.

"Okay then, Drake. You go out to the gate and see a heavily armoured figure on the back of a cave bear. The rider is even shorter than you are, which is saying something for a halfling."

"Ho there, stranger!" Gabrielle cried in as manly a voice as a fluffy red bunny could manage. "What brings thee to Ascalon?"

There was silence for a bit, then Cass spoke. "Er. Dwarven business! Yes. Definitely. Nothing to do with anything gobliny or stuff like that. My name is Thorin of the Green Beard, and I seek audience with noble heroes who mayst use the service of a strong and righteous sword arm! Verily, 'tis a fine time to be a dwarf of my lineage, and definitely not a day to be a goblin in some scrounged up armour with a load of cave moss glued to his face, why would you even assume such a person would be here?"

There was a very long pause.

"Cassie, is Thorin a goblin pretending to be a dwarf?" Doctor Peep asked.

"What possible reason could you have to suspect such a thing of the noble Thorin Greenbeard, dwarf adventurer and in no way a goblin whose face is covered in lichen that's really itchy underneath this plate mail?"

"... You're going to fit riiiiiiiiiight in around here."

Cassie smiled, and believed her.

"So. You say that I am not real." Thoth loomed over the terrified newbie.

It seemed the newbie had more intelligence than sense. "U-uh.. y-yes... That's t-the idea..."

"And you, originating from World One, are."

"y-yes..."

Thoth smiled. It didn't reach his eyes. "An interesting hypothesis."

The newbie relaxed slightly. Perhaps he'd be alright. "Thank you-"

"Let's test it."

"W-what?"

A fireball appeared in Thoth's palm. "As a non-real entity, I should not be able to effect entities, such as you, that are real. I submit that we test this. Perhaps I light you on fire. Or crush you. Of course, if you're wrong, it may be fatal, but the knowledge to be gained is well worth the risk."

The newbie let off a terrified squeal and ran away.

"Ho, Thoth!" said Tom, turning the corner. "What're you up to?"

"I was having a civil discussion with a newbie," said Thoth. "He submitted the hypothesis that I was not real."

Tom put his hand to his head. "Bloody hell. Not again..."

Harris was strewn across the leather couch. There he lay, in front of the T.V., and behind the coffee table. Another episode of "Friends" was about to autoplay.

"Alexa, how many seasons of 'Friends' are there?"

The home robot that he'd recently purchased lit up, and cheerily responded that there were 10 seasons in total, and 236 episodes total.

Harris groaned and harrumphed as the title sequence played. Episode 4, Season 2.

He was in no mood to get up and simply pick up the remote, and watch something more interesting, but on the other hand it was getting close to four in the morning, and he had to sleep some time.

And so, he sat up straight, and began to focus. Channeling his inner energies. Attempting to straighten out and clear his mind. Closing his two eyes, and attempted to open his metaphorical third.

With a sudden burst of movement, he struck his hand out open-palmed, towards the remote.

No dice.

Too much energy spent, he opted for lying back down, and shoving a pillow over his head.

Somewhere, deep down he remembered something very vital to him. Something extraordinarily important that he had done. Something of great power and use to him, in times of great need such as this. He spent a minute, exercising his mind, working his poor brain as hard as he could.

He had hooked up Alexa to his T.V.

"Alexa, turn off the T.V."
"I'm sorry, I could not understand your request."

Harris decidedly moved the pillow off of his face, and repeated once more.
"Turning off the T.V."

And with that victory, Harris decided that he had some hard-earned sleep to take advantage of, and drifted off.

Ix pointed her finger at the candle in front of her, eyebrows drawn together as she focused. Charlotte yawned, swinging her legs from her perch on the countertop.

"You wanna watch a movie or something?"

Ix nodded with her chin towards the console, not taking her eyes off the candle. "You go ahead if you want. I'm practicing."

"Fwai, you've been 'practicing' for the last half hour."

"I know," Ix said, frowning at the still-unlit wick. "But I've never done wandless magic before, you can't expect me to get this right away."

Charlotte sighed and hopped off the counter, wandering over to their DVD shelves to browse titles.

Ix consulted her book briefly before leaning in, jabbing her finger at the candle. "Incendio!"

For the briefest of moments, she could have sworn she saw a faint wisp of smoke rising up, but she decided it must have been her imagination when nothing more came of it.

"Iiix," Charlotte sang, holding up a case. "How about Monty Python and the Holy Grail? Your faaavorite!"

"You watch without me."

Charlotte sighed and turned back to the shelves.

She was just pulling their copy of Pride and Prejudice out of its case when Ix tapped her on the shoulder. She was beaming from ear to ear as she held up the flickering candle.

"You did it?!" Charlotte asked, her eyes huge.

Ix laughed. "No, I used a match. C'mon, let's just watch that movie. I need a break."

I just checked on my phone, and the index seems fine, but it looks like the light but wide banner is a problem elsewhere. What would you suggest? (A less wide banner is an option; I'm pretty sure I still have the font I used.)

I might put you to work writing style sheets for the non-standard bits of the site, too. I'd kludge it together myself eventually, but if I can have someone proficient at it do the thing well, that's obviously the best plan. {= )

You can e-mail me at neshomeh [DOT] soul [AT] gmail [DOT] com

Thanks!

~Neshomeh

I'm proficient in JS and CSS, and something like TLS probably isn't all that complex.
Also, I just checked, and the site's broken at small screen sizes. I think implementing some proper responsive design would be a good idea.