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If you have any left, let me know and I'll see what I can do (to them)...

Happy Memorial Day

Didn't know the song but I don't know most popular music, so that slid by me. I came to NoVa 25 years ago. If you want to compare notes on the area you can PM me. Sounds to me like Jack was headed west on I-66.

Here's a template to start off the story: Tohsaka Rin sighed wearily as she put down her cup of tea. It was a sunny, mid-summer afternoon. How could a day so beautiful be also so dreary? How had things gone so horribly wrong? In the end it was all her fault and she knew it. A year after the Holy Grail War she had moved to London, joining the Clock Tower with Shirou as his apprentice and Saber as her bodyguard. Everything had been fine for the first few months, but the pressure and the expectation had soon gotten to her. As a Japanese she was less than a country bumpkin in the eyes of the European nobles, a little above a trained monkey really, regardless of the fact that her lineage was longer or that her talent as a Magus was far superior than theirs. She was ostracized left and right, more so because of her talent. Arrogant people don’t take kindly to be shown up by the last arrived, she thought. A piece of wisdom she should have considered more before acting. Her frustration lead her to forcing Shirou to partially showcase his unique abilities, so that his accomplishment would reflect on her as his master. It had been a bad call all around and it backfired spectacularly. An investigation on Shirou’s ability was launched and his Reality Marble subsequently exposed. With a Sealing Designation slapped on him he was forced to flee the country and go into hiding, least he’d become a subject for experimentation. Six months had gone by. Six months during which Rin tried everything she had to clear Shirou’s name and stop the manhunt. Six months during which she had to sustain Saber with her resources alone. Unlike most Magi, Rin had sufficient reserves of Mana to keep a Servant in the world of the living, but even if she could do that it sapped most of her energies. Without Shirou adding his own Mana through their tantric rituals she had little energy to spare for her own research. No research meant no status in the association and no status meant no influence to help Shirou. She was in a conundrum and to make matter worse she couldn’t let Saber know about it. The King of Knights wouldn’t accept to be a burden and would surely demand Rin to rescind their contract, which was tantamount as demanding to be left to die. Rin didn’t want to lose Saber as well. In the months after the war the three of them had grown steadily closer and had become lovers. A strange but functional arrangement. Now, with Shirou gone, it was just the two of them and Rin would be damned if she let go of Saber as well. As her quest to help Shirou drew longer, the weight on Rin’s shoulders did nothing but increase and it would have soon reach a critical point. Before that happened she needed to find a steady supply of Mana and the only way to get it was from another human being. However, there was one single known way to bypass the human body’s rejection of foreign energies and that was through the application of a tantric ritual. To make a long story short, she had to find herself a lover. She considered her options carefully, weighted all possibilities, considered all angles and she didn’t find any other course of action that didn’t involve sacrificing things more important than her own pride. No, considering that this situation was all her fault to begin with if she had any pride at all she would have to make amends, no matter how distasteful she’d find the process. With that resolve made the problem was finding a suitable candidate for the ritual and try as she might there weren’t that many. Magi weren’t very forthcoming to begin with and opening their reserves of Mana to another Magus would require both suitable compensation and assurances. Rin wasn’t wealthy, in fact she was in considerable debt, therefore she had nothing to offer beside herself. It wasn’t unheard of for a Magus to be the subject of another’s experimentation but it was a dangerous business to say the least. It more or less narrowed down her research to one single person. A Magus whose research was focused on exchanges of energies. It was perfect because it would give Rin what she wanted and would provide the Magus in question with material for his own research. It was awful because that specific Magus was someone who Rin loathed with a passion. Gerard Dufall was an arrogant asshole of the worst kind and to make matter worse he had made lots of unveiled advances on her in the past, especially after Shirou had left. She had shot him down every single time but the man never deterred. Worse yet the man’s smugness did nothing but increase with every rejection, driving Rin’s spare. Having to require his assistance now and in such a manner was the most humiliating thing Rin ever thought she would have to do. And yet she had no other choice. “I admit I didn’t expect that you would come to me on you own, Rin,” the dark haired Magus admitted upon seeing her approach through the corridors of the Clock Tower, “but it’s a welcome surprise nonetheless.” “Stuff the attitude Gerard. I have to speak with you.” “It must be my lucky day,” he sighed wistfully. “What can my humble self do for you?” “Humble self, right,” she scoffed. “Let’s talk somewhere more private.” “And my day just keeps getting better by the minute,” he chuckled while Rin shoved him unceremoniously into an empty room. “Now, listen up,” she said after firmly shutting the door behind her. “You wanted something from me and I’m willing to give it to you.” “I’m all ears.” The gleam in his eyes was absolutely predatory. “Don’t let it go to your head, this is just a business transaction. I’ll make it simple. I need a steady supply of Mana and it’s not a secret that you are looking for volunteers for your research. I want to make a deal.” “What are you proposing?” he asked without a trace of his previous sleaziness. At his core, Gerard was a first-rate Magus. “A self-geass scroll,” Rin answered and Gerard balked. “That’s some seriously high demand, Rin. A self-geass is an absolute binding agreement. Are you sure about it?” “With the alternative being leaving my body in your hands without assurances?” she scoffed. “Yeah, not happening.” “Fine,” he shrugged. “Let’s hear your terms first.” “It’s easy enough. I’ll come over to your workshop twice a week for no longer than a hour each time and you will replenish my Mana. In exchange I’ll let you run you experiments of me with the provision that I will not suffer long lasting damage.” “Why accepting any damage at all?”he quirked an eyebrow. “I acknowledge that in the course of the experiments I can get injured somehow. It’s only natural. I’m fine with that so long as it’s not permanent. Of course neither of us will divulge knowledge of this agreement either directly or indirectly, unless we mutually agree otherwise, for whatever unanticipated reason might come up in the future. It goes without saying that I will keep to myself anything that I hear or see while in your workshop. The contract will be provisional for a year and renewable with a simple verbal agreement if needed be.” “I don’t know,” Gerard replied, rubbing his chin. “A self-geass scroll is a real hassle just for that. I can get plenty of living specimen without it.” “What else do you want?” she ground out. She had expected as much from him. “Compliance. Without your active cooperation there’s no difference between you and an ordinary girl. Well, not that you are ordinary in any sense of the word, but you get what I mean.” “Fine,” she grunted, “but I expect suitable compensation. The standard hourly fee of the association will do.” “Apprentice level fee,” Gerard proposed. “You wish. Master level,” Rin countered. “Man, you strike a hard bargain. Fine, you have your deal. Meet me tomorrow, same time, and we’ll go over the finer details. Oh, and Rin?” “What?” “I’m looking forward to working with you.” “Go to hell, Gerard!” He chuckled and left the room, leaving behind a very upset and tremendously embarrassed Rin. It was a good day to be Gerard Dufall. The premise here is that the entirety of London's subway is part of the OC's Workshop, so Rin (who doesn't expect something like that because Workshop are usually small spaces with restricted accesss) has agreed to do whatever he want's when she goes there twice a week. I'll write this myself sometime in the future but anyone is free to use this template if they want. No credit is due but if you do write a story post a link to it here.

Happy Memorial Day

Your on chapter 3 magus I meant mine. Sorry chapter 4

Sorry...working on it as fast as I can...lotta interruptions lately Oh they take the card out and run it hard all the time! My teens are teaching the five year old how to shop...that's a bit terrifying

Yeah, I get my skills on picking up foreshadowing and cliffhanger set up from reading Magusfangs stories. You kinda have to have some idea what's coming next or else it will just suckerpunch you!

Hey magus how is your convalescence coming anyway? Hope your girls are making you rest. Same with you major how are things going? If your bored come chat on my bblog. Co Jimmy you didn't add enough e's to the word creeeeepy

They've been said to live on the east coast, and it gets snow and ice in the winter. I Googled the name of the steak house where Jack took Kayla for her birthday, and there was one, with a nearly identical review on Yelp, in Westchester Co, New York. When the cabin was first mentioned, I think it was Tara who said something about Friday the 13th, which was in northern New Jersey. But, in this chapter, Wegmans, Food Lion and Giant were all mentioned in the same sentence. There's a Wegmans a mile or so up the road from my work (quite a yuppie food shopping experience) with a Gamestop in the same shopping center. There are a few Food Lions and Giant Food is everywhere around here. Going back to Google, Wegmans and Giant are centered on Baltimore-Washington, but extend somewhat north into Philly, Allentown and New Jersey - but Food Lion is predominantly in the south east, with Baltimore-Washington being it's furthest northern extent. Checking the county where I work, the is a (blank) Ridge HS within 5 miles of the Wegmans/Gamestop. Then the author is a military brat, and Mrs. Hannigan works in politics. The trip to the mountains, the view from them, and the mention of "another state over" sounds like the Blue Ridge. I haven't hiked up there, but have driven the Skyline Drive.

Spiders and Snakes!

I hated salads, and refusing to eat one until ranch dressing was invented. Thirty years later, it is still the only dressing I will eat, on my salads or anything else.

Sure when your caught up, tell me of your impressions of it:)

Oh, don't feel so bad then...thought I forgot my MC's birthday, kinda like forgetting your kids birthday... So took some moriphine before bed and a new story line popped into my dreams: Max decides he's gay but none of the boys will be with him so he builds a spider the screw...well it accidently clips his penis off while giving him a clawjob(?) and he goes in the pod and has a sex change...then I can do a whole new spin off story with Maxine instead of Maxwell really gotta stop taking opiates at bedtime

BULLSHIT!! Don't try and tell me you aren't good! Have read too much of yours. Write at your pace. Would "we" like for you to post more often? HELL YES. Like the good ones to post often but understand R/L. B

I think I'm dead.....are you the demons sent to torture me? Oh Man I feel like shit! So evidently I survived the surgery, legs hurt so that's a good sign, can wiggle my toes and bend my kneew, Yay! Every one her is all crocadile tears and snot bubbles, seems they've been trying to wake me since noon...told my wife I heard lunch sucked and wasn't worth interrupting my dream of booze and broads! She hit me, can you believe she actually hit me? Why are my girls so mean to me?Gonna try and write a little but my head is pounding and I'm still a little fuzzy, Oh well, Oh look, its ben over half an hour since I woke up and still no pain meds! I just might start getting fukin grumpy soon! Oh and thanks for all the well wishes... Ok, On to AU giant spider spoiler cause some seriously messed up shit was rolling around my head while I was off viviting my anscestors: K, Amy was so badly shot up they were only able to save hr brain in a jar which Max then installed in a warbot that they airdropped into DC. While Amy was tearing up our nations capitol, Legion accidently released billions of nanites who were pissed that I haven't gotten my painmeds yet ( ) and they went on a rampage dissolving nine tenths of the population while Max went traveling in a warbot and found a town run by Tina Turner...

I'm thinking he actually wins the next round...but not quite how he figures. Well probably not the next round but soon Yep, they've run across anti armor before and you definately don't want to be in a light or even a medium armored vehicle if some yahoo sticks a missile in it...get's a little lethal inside.

Nope, no one wearing body armor...and Max shoots Emma in the face! Not teasing either...now why did he do that?

I can "walk" again

ABSOULTY!! B

I'm a bad bad boy

Yep, remember what happened to last poor slobs that attacked the house, gotta be sneaky about it, find an angle...maybe an angle that Amy sets out for them...here little mouse, look at all that tastey cheese