《Into the Sun》4 The Sun Also Rises
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Day 1. November 15th, 2059: Morning
The next morning, Kate and Andrew arrived in the docking bay and boarded the lab's latest Jetstar. As they were settling in before takeoff, Kate said, "I'm going to sleep if I can. My cat must've sensed something was afoot and kept waking me last night. I hope you don't mind."
"Gleason should know better!" Andrew said with a laugh. "It's no problem Kate, I have plenty of work to do. Do you want a wake-up call?"
"No thanks, sleep helps me with the time change. I'll go with whatever it feels right," Kate said with a yawn sitting down in the white leather seat beside Andrew.
"Sure."
"Gleason is usually so good, very atypical." She leaned forward to open the cabinet in front of her and then pulling out a small blanket. "He kept knocking stuff off the dresser. Then jumping and walking on me, and then right back to the dresser again," she said with a compassionate laugh. She took off her shoes and spread out the blanket." Then he must've gotten bored, and only my feet interested him. I am exhausted," she said, reclining the chair.
Andrew listened.
Catching herself going on about her cat, Kate turned towards him. She put her hand on his arm, adding, "I am glad you joined me, Andrew. It means a lot."
"My pleasure, Kate. Should be fun," replied Andrew with honest excitement for the trip.
With that, Kate pulled the cover over her shoulders, closed her eyes, and fell into a deep sleep. The small jet car was comfortable with four passengers, let alone two. A more recent model, it had interactive electronics. Engine noise suppressed through engine and cabin quieters. Andrew smiled, happy for the comfortable seat, quiet ride, and an adventure with Kate.
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Breaking free of the morning clouds, a bright light flooded into the cabin of the Jetstar. Andrew, squinting, looked out at the bright blue broadening sky. Soon after takeoff, the cloud bank walled the jet from any view. Now, rising above 3000 feet, he could see Mount Mitchell stand above the clouds. A few other mountains on the blue ridge were tall enough to peek through the mist. The rest buried in a patchwork blanket of all shades of gray. Mount Craig rose to the right of Mount Mitchell at identical height.
While still very bright, the cabin auto-dim restored most of the cabin light level. Distant cumulus drifted thousands of feet higher than Mitchell's 6,682-foot peak. Andrew couldn't keep from squinting at the open sky before him, and the view had a unique sensation on Andrew. It reminded him of sailing on the smooth, open sea with a brisk wind at his back. He stood to take in the beautiful, if not alien landscape.
Craig was, in fact, the 2nd tallest peak east of the Mississippi, 40 feet lower than Mt Mitchell. He compared the two peaks but couldn't tell the difference. Andrew wondered if 'tallest peak' meant as much to mountains as they are to humans. He had risen in the lab's hierarchy, and many complimented him for honest and thoughtful work. Not caring much for professional titles, he was grateful for exciting projects and working with good teams. Gazing out at the mountains above the clouds, Andrew wondered if Craig would be jealous. Or, possibly, he felt admirous like a father whose son grew tall and strong, eclipsing his father's height. With their nearly north-south alignment, neither were in each other's shadow. Without a third party to tell them otherwise, they likely would have no idea a height disparity. Reflecting on their ancient age, 'If I were a mountain, I could be content taking in the world around me.'
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Andrew's stomach grumbled with mild hunger as he realized he skipped breakfast. 'If earthquakes were hunger pains, would mountains eat?'. He smiled at the question. He and Ray played a game awarding random points for strange dichotomous questions. Andrew was confident Ray would enjoy this one.
The Jetstar soared higher to avoid upcoming mid-level turbulence, climbing to above 6000 feet. From the dispenser, Andrew selected his favorite protein shake flavors, chocolate with banana. He relaxed in his chair, taking in a deep breath. He thought about how Ray's day was going, the upcoming conference, and the work he had to finish in the afternoon.
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Symbiosis: The Beginning
[Complete at 9k words] Dr. Phillip Shirley has dedicated his work to ParaSymbio: genetically engineered parasites used as an alternative treatment for leukemia. However, when a mutation reverts the parasites to how nature intended, Phillip and his wife Brenda become trapped at Phillip’s place of work, cornered by coworkers now controlled by the once friendly symbionts. If Phillip and Brenda want to escape unscathed, Phillip must face the very things he created.
8 65The Curio Shoppe
Kellan Klein is an ordinary college student with an average, if traumatic and painful past. Everyone grows up grappling with depression and anxiety that seem to be genetic in a house with parents that, while loving, fight all the time and have weird ideas about what kids should and shouldn't do, right? Everyone deals with bullying, racism, judgement on their romantic inclinations and their family's economic status and just general shittiness, right? All of Kellan's friends sure did, and for all of them, entertaiment media were a welcome escape from their painful, dreary lives. After all, who wouldn't want to sail the seas with Monkey D. Luffy and the Strawhats, or help Meng Hao con increasingly powerful and influential people, or join Cecil Harvey and his friends on their weird journey to save the world, or make friends with Peter Parker while pretending to not know he was everyone's favorite wall-crawling superhero? Kellan certainly wanted to, and while he pursued college to seek out a career he saw himself enjoying, something felt inexplicably empty about his life. So when a decidely sinister force kidnaps him and the prettiest man he's ever seen saves his life and offers him his wildest dreams, Kellan becomes the shopkeeper of a mysterious, dimension hopping shop, complete with a system that helps him acquire items. abilities, materials, and other cool shit to stock it with, as well as some other neat perks. Will Kellan become a boring overpowered MC, like the kind from web fiction that he reads to sate his boredom? Will he keep his generally kind, sweet nature despite the shit he's gone through and will go through, or will he inexplicably become a scary, violent, irrational arrogant douchebag? Will he use his newfound abilities to explore the multiverse and improve the lives of himself and others, or will he become his own antithesis, a purely mercantile jerk obsessed with money and profit, with no concern for anything that doesn't help or hurt his business? Find out in The Curio Shoppe! Author's note: Please suggest possible setting he could visit in the comments. I'll gather ones i'm familiar with, and at the end of every arc, a poll will be held to decide the next location he visits. There will be polls for other purposes, and I might not always go with the poll winner if I feel one of the other options is more fun to read/write about. I will not use the settings of other RRL writers without their permission.Do not ask for that, unless the author in question gives permission. Most settings he visits will be slightly AU in some way or another, but please remind me if I drift too far from canon unintentionally or characterize a character wrongly. This work will eventually fit all tags I selected once he visits universes suited to those tags, so don't ask when or where a given tag is coming. I do not own the cover art, it belongs to Nicholas Belanger Thiel, and I will stop using it if he asks me to. Kellan doesn't look like the old man on the cover, though once he acquires a disguise-type ability he may occasionally use that appearance. The tapir, however, will be a thing, as despite looking like a failed attempt at an elephant, tapirs are cool and this dragon finds them to be kinda cute. The art, along with more of Nicholas's pieces, can be found at https://www.artstation.com/artwork/51bXz
8 196Primordial Dimensions
„Finally“ he thought, stepping through the spatial membrane, into the vast and dangerous `Primordial Dimension` where life and death are infinitely close. Having lived a rather short first life that ended unexpectedly, Shane found himself in the body of a newborn baby, within a strange foreign world. Terrifying existences with all kinds of abilities inhabit the planet, caused by the Primordial Dimension´s appearance. Even though humanity was on the brink of extinction, the Primordial Dimensions provided an unimaginable opportunity to reach higher realms, while imminently threatening them with the possibility to be conquered by unknown races. But who would have thought that the destructive and cruel Primordial Dimension where monstrous existences emerged from, would one day become humanity´s ray of hope? Follow Shane Suro on his journey through the vast Primordial Dimensions where he learns about freedom, friendship, cruelty, and betrayal.-->If you want to read more, go check out webnovel.com
8 89Prelude to a quest for employment
Niccolo had always dreamt of becoming an adventurer and all the fame and glory that went with it. As a young noble, he spent most time lying around and drinking, but when he hadn’t been doing that, he’d been practicing his swordplay. Now, he's finally out there in the world, together with a few companions that are motivated by more mundane and duller concerns, such as escaping poverty and famine. Set in a faux-Renaissance setting, with more heroism, snark and magic and less realism.
8 116Theurgy: The Journey's Dawn (Book One)
#1 THEURGY SERIES Lyse Opal, a born simple farmer who grew up in a small village of one of the most powerful empires of the world. One that had stayed in peace, recently disturbed. Of many things, he wanted to preserve this peace, become someone to inspire others, like the heroes he is told. To become a legend. Something that he wanted and Fate intended to exploit. In this age of monsters who lurk the lands, and those with the ability to change their forms and live among humans, his path has been directed, and he must rise even higher than legend if he wishes to save his family, his country and himself from a disastrous foe who threatens the stability of the world order with the power of ancient gods. In his journey to collect several ancient gems, he must oppose the dark power of an ancient, mysterious guild, summon the powers of divinity and defeat the immortal foe before all chaos breaks throughout the empire, and possibly the very corners of the world.
8 307change your mind
8 90