Yeoldebard
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“This is my rifle. There are many like it, but this one is mine.” “Wrong branch, dumbass.” Mason snorted, even as he gripped the rubber duck in experienced hands. Thank fuck for deific fuckery — if he hadn’t received that magical training for his AR-15, he’d probably be freaking out just holding this prop rifle. It certainly felt real enough, even if it was painted bright red. The weight was definitely noticeable over a five-mile ruck into the “wilderness”. Braden seemed less enthused by t
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They marched to their doom. Mason fought the entire way. Fought with facing their next obstacle, fought with Wishbone at his side. The dog would walk through fire and brimstone for Mason. He didn’t deserve any of this. They lined up against a brick wall. Mason’s legs trembled as he accepted the gas masks from Sergeant Mathews. Beside him, Wishbone sat attentively, his tail thumping against the concrete ground. Setting his own mask aside, Mason focused on Wishbone’s mask. Shaped like a muzz
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“Declination is approximately 20 minutes east.” “I don’t want approximately, I want exact.” “Then you do it!” Mason snapped, shoving the compass at Braden. He grabbed their flashlight and held it steady while Braden juggled their map with the compass. A minute turn of a screw seemed to satisfy him, and Braden adjusted the map, nearly dropping the compass. Their first night mission. Their first Land Navigation mission. They had three markers to meet in a dark field, under a clouded sky. A
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Another red light. “0330,” the recruit on fireguard whispered. “No it isn’t,” Mason reasoned. “Five more minutes.” He drew his blanket tighter around himself, only for it to be stolen away. Fighting to get it back, his foot kicked something warm. Wishbone grunted, driving a stake into Mason’s heart. “Shut that damned light off!” Cavendish growled beside him. “Not until Hill wakes up. Sergeant’s orders.” “I’m up… I’m up….” Sitting up, Mason swung his feet off the side of the bed. Be
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A rough hand shook Mason awake. Light flooded his eyes — the lamp above the Drill Sergeants’ office was a constant pain. But it was blotted out by a dark head. Then a blinding red light. “0045 hours,” a trainee — Ericson, if Mason remembered his list correctly — whispered hoarsely, before rising to rouse Cavendish. “Fuck off,” Cavendish groaned seconds later. Mason concurred. But he stood up anyway, and started changing out of his PTs into full battle gear, as he’d been ordered. Lifting hi
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Time spent in a bathroom stall reaffirmed Mason’s servitude to the Erotes. He emerged from the stall around four in the morning, ignoring the looks from other recruits. Someone must have gotten to the drill sergeants, because even they left him alone. And back to waiting. He spent much of the time rereading his blue book. The three general orders were all but seared into his mind. Which meant if he was questioned, it would be on the Army song, naturally. Worse, it was played at the end of ev
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Sex is how he prays, and praying is how he gets his spells for the day, so yeah, if he misses sex, he's got no power for that day. And he's praying to gods, so if he ignores them a bit too much, they're not going to be so happy.
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30th AG at Fort Benning was said to be the closest thing to hell on Earth. Mason couldn’t find any such comparison for 95th AG at Fort Sill. Youtube videos didn’t cover much. Reddit was no use. The best advice he got was to memorise the Soldier’s Creed, the Army song, general orders. “I am an American Soldier. I am a warrior and a member of a team. I serve the people of the United States, and live the Army Values…” He wasn’t idle waiting to be shipped out. Every waking hour was spent with hi
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“If you hurt him, I will make you suffer.” The words made Leo freeze. The venom in Jeisa’s voice, the underlying pain… Leo had caused that. No, Jeisa had caused that. By kidnapping his family, by consigning Helen to death… the same old reasons ran through his mind, no less painful the hundredth time. Maybe a thousand repetitions would help. He doubted it. But hadn’t that been the point before? He was doomed to be with Jeisa, so he might as well get it over with? Leo wasn’t doomed any mor
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The day began at 2:30. An alarm blared, jolting Mason out of bed. Burning eyes looked around frantically as he barked out, “Sakis, I need you!” The satyr appeared as the alarm shut off. In the dark room, sheets rustled. Bare feet padded across the carpeted floor, and an agonising light flooded Mason’s eyes. He threw up a hand to shield his vision. “Who’s showering first? No wait, I’m showering first.” Alex yawned, his body popping quietly as he stretched. “I don’t want to know what kind of
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Step after step. Hour after hour. Sakis urged Mason to stop, to rest. The orcs had fled after seeing his brutality — even for the sadistic beasts they were, cracking their war-leader’s skull open was a step too far. But Mason kept walking, trying to dull the agony in his mind. Notifications flashed by. [Achievement Unlocked: Slayed 5 sapient enemies. Reward: Ring of Accuracy.] [Achievement Unlocked: Struck fear in the minds of your foes. Reward: Cloak of Dread.] Examining his new gear
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Wishbone is Wishbone. Loyal, devoted, and very well trained.
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The apocalypse was the best thing that ever happened to Braden Cavendish. Waking up with a blinking light in his eye and the words of gods in his ears — ha! Gods! As if! — it took Braden only a minute to dive into this strange new reality. Numbers sprouted before his eyes, his whole life summed up by six attributes. Strength — 12 Dexterity — 10 Constitution — 11 Intelligence — 12 Wisdom — 9 Charisma — 14 Impossible! He was below average in [Wisdom]? Braden was just as wise as any
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He had to admit it: The second time was just as amazing as the first. Sakis pulled off Mason with a lewd plop. They remained where they were, tucked in the aspen grove, well out of sight of the campground proper. Quietly panting, breath fogging his glasses, Mason stared down at the satyr kneeling before him. Sakis gazed back longingly… longing for what? He’d just sucked Mason dry. What more could he want? “What?” Mason grumbled. “You have more to give-” “The gods accepted my offering.” H
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Their trek began with a siren. Mason gripped Wishbone’s leash tightly as a pair of officers stepped out of their patrol car. With his cane stowed away, with Wishbone vestless, why were they stopping for- His glasses! Peeling the offending spectacles off, Mason tucked them into his pocket. The world hazed around him, forcing Mason to blink harshly. Black hair turned brown, sunglasses became soulless eyes. “Excuse me sir. Have you been experiencing any strange visions lately?” He blinked
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Morning greeted Mason with a wet tongue. Groaning, he reached up and patted Wishbone’s head. His face was covered in slobber, and Mason sighed as he sat up in the darkness. A sleeve wiped away the rapidly cooling drool. Dragged from dark dreams, it took Mason a moment to comprehend his current situation. Still homeless… but with two grand to his name… taken off a dead man’s body. It wasn’t the first corpse he’d looted. He doubted it would be the last. Andrea… Jessie… and now Michael. He’d done
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They had lost their first game. When Leo returned to the rink, shivering after the heat of Howling Canes, he felt Ayisarra’s eyes burning into him, though he couldn’t see her yet. “Leo! We have half an hour before game two!” Cora called, hurrying toward him. “I hope you had a good lunch, because shit’s about to hit the fan.” What- oh. Ayisarra was storming toward them. Shit. “YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN HERE!” He didn’t even try to reach for his tablet. Ayisarra was so pissed she was speaking h
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Mason bit back a yelp, leaping to his feet. Beside him, a man stood, tall, bright, with a small goatee that somehow didn’t make him look stupid. Curly brown hair swept across his head, and hazel eyes observed Mason with a mixture of curiosity and mischievous mirth. A tight grey shirt showed off a lean, muscular torso, contrasting with baggy blue jeans. Greek lettering stenciled neatly across his shirt, with a stylised donkey set in the middle. Wishbone sniffed around the stranger. He didn’t se
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The apocalypse was the best thing that ever happened to Mason Hill. When his dreams were interrupted by a strange voice, he thought he’d finally died. The cold streets of Reno had claimed many a friend that winter; what was one more body to the pile? There was no regret… well, that wasn’t true. What would happen to Wishbone if he died? “The gods have grown weary of your world. Rather than being destroyed, they offer a more entertaining mercy. The downtrodden, the homeless, the disabled, will
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When the gods are bored, the world becomes their playground. For Mason Hill, deific whims turn his world upside down. What is a disabled homeless man to do when the world is ending around him?
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Jeisa spliced a pair of wires together, tweezing them into a careful lattice. He tucked the resulting strand into the synth’s throat, combining it with several other wires. Over the past couple of weeks, the group had succeeded in moulding a head, giving their project a face. Cervidae face, naturally. Jeisa had argued in favour of a Faro face, only to be shot down because “Faro don’t like physical contact. Why would they want a synth built for physical contact?”. “Testing vocal module in three
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He still wasn’t ready to forgive the tiger. Leo refused to sleep in the same bed as Jeisa. It hurt, knowing that he could hold Jeisa, that he could sleep with someone again, but denying himself on the principle of the matter. He couldn't give in. He couldn't let Jeisa think it was alright to kidnap people and sell them as trophy wives. The tiger had shown remorse for what he did to Leo and Devin, but that was probably just another manipulation on his part. What was real? What was just Jeisa tryi
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Leo didn’t return home until nearly four in the afternoon. In that time, Jeisa had made Devin a snack, cleaned the house, and finished all the laundry, all while nodding along to Devin’s babbling about his day with Cai. At least, Jeisa assumed it was about Devin’s day — he still couldn’t understand the kit. Devin was trying though. Occasionally Jeisa would hear “More please” or “I am tired”. “If you’re tired, you should take a nap,” Jeisa said, dodging Devin as he carried a basket of clothes t
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Cosy warmth enveloped him. Devin pressed against Leo, and Leo reached out, stroking his head. Coarse hair slipped through his fingers- “Daddy?” Leo’s eyes shot open. Devin’s voice hadn’t come from beside him. He let out a muffled curse, scrambling away from Jeisa. Caught up in the comforter, Leo extricated himself painfully, nearly hitting his head on the wall. “What?” Jeisa jolted awake. Wide green eyes stared at Leo. Jeisa groaned. “Aw fuck. Don’t worry, we didn’t-” Leo clamped his h
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He was not good with kits. Jeisa didn’t know why that was so surprising — he’d been practically raised by a Lidikrys for Blue Fox’s sake! Parenting skills did not come with the territory. But with Devin and Cai bouncing around after dinner, chasing each other around and around, Jeisa was at his wit’s end. At least Rhiannon seemed more interested in reading a book than joining her brother in a game of tag, and Erin was in her room, studying for a test in… Jeisa wasn’t sure what. Positive reinfo
