Difference between revisions of "Template:Featured Articles/14-2025"

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<td valign="top">[[Image:placeholder.gif|left]]'''Moment of Awesome - [[Amanda Sefton|Amanda Sefton/Daytripper]]:''' ''Following the events of [[Dixie Dead Shake]], [[Garrison Kane]] checks up on Amanda and [https://xp-logs.dreamwidth.org/4525847.html#cutid1 how she's dealing with things].''
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<td valign="top">[[Image:Moa_cuckoos.png|left]]'''Moment of Awesome - [[Stepford Cuckoos|Fourteen/The Stepford Cuckoos]]:''' ''During an interview with [[Arthur Centino]] to determine [[Collective Soul|what is happening to the psychics in the mansion]], Fourteen decides to do some experimenting of their own.''
  
"We'll be fine. Hell, anyone betting against Jean is an idiot." Kane's grin was electric. "And you. Fuck, Amanda. I died and came back. I pulled a guy out of the grave who was your biggest enemy or first boyfriend or something depending on the dimension?" Kane took a deep breath. "I am alive and you're a big part of that. I was ready to die. I didn't want it but fuck, going down fighting for the people I care about.. that's better than just wasting away.
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The idea of memories sticking to things was a fascinating one, to be sure. For a moment, she was tempted to ask to see an example, so she could see how it interacted with her own ability to recall and suppress memories but decided against it.
  
"Ugh, don't even start with Adam. It was bad enough trying to explain what happened with him to Topaz." Amanda shook her head. "And I knew you'd do something like that. Better to burn out than fade away? I just wish it hadn't been on my behalf, but I get it."
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"I do not suppose anyone has been complaining about gaps in their memories, have they? I suppose it is possible, though unlikely, that the portion of my power that interacts with memories has been acting up?"
  
"Really? Klar had me. I beat him because of Logan and Judd. I learned how to be meaner than them." Kane said. "But that was because I was up against something dark and vile. I don't know Adam at all but... he came from a world where he was rescued and you weren't. How much does that change?"
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This got a hard blink from the man.
  
"Because that's not all he is. He's one part Roma's fucked up pretend world, yeah, but he's also one part the memories of this world's Adam that I had in my head. The fucked up bastard who got left behind when I got out." Amanda shook her head. "He tortured Topaz, nearly killed me, put a curse on a bunch of random people here... The only thing that stopped me from drowning him in the swamp was that Tante vouched for him. And the Roma version was the one doing the steering."
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"Oh?" Arthur's face had gone back to careful neutrality. "Memories?" His stunned look was quickly swept under the rug in lieu of professionalism. "That does sound like it would be hard to notice. I can't say I have heard anything in particular." He looked down for his notepad again, but started. It was across the table. He leaned forward to fetch it, flipping to a calendar. Back to business. "Have you or your sisters been out of the mansion for more than a day in the last three months?"
  
"Look, I'm not an expert in any of these magical elements. But Amanda... that guy was lost. He was talking about Remy and Strange and all the people I remember from the old universe. He might be different. Doesn't he deserve a chance?"
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Celeste's eyes flickered towards the notepad for just a moment, before back up to Arthur's face. "A few," she admitted easily. "Shopping to do, and we get so stir-crazy if we're kept inside for extended periods," she said with a small smile. Translation: She hadn't gotten to amuse herself by confusing random people on the street. "You know how it is."
  
"That Adam? Totally. And the other, the one from this world?" Amanda paused in their walk, thinking everything over, every memory Adam had shoved in her head. "Him too," she admitted reluctantly. "I carried him around in my head for five years, because I couldn't just let him die. And again, Tante brought him, them, into this world, I just have to trust her."
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His expression remained neutral, if not a little cold. Or, at least as cold as Arthur Centino might ever get. "I've felt that way before. Like an itch, but in your soul. So, to summarize: you and your sisters are broad range telepaths and have not noticed anything off with your abilities." A twist of confusion, again, and Arthur squinted. "Did you change your hair, Celeste?"
  
"No, you don't. You need to make a choice. I don't know any of this, but it is your call."
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Celeste actually smiled at that. "I have, in truth. I am surprised you noticed, to be quite honest." She tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear.
  
She stopped and looked up at him. "Why? I didn't fucking ask for this, I was fine with how things were. Tante decided to do what she did, why is that my call?"
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"I like the ponytail," Arthur said. "Good to change things up. Sporty, even, although that's Phoebe's thing." His voice had a distracted quality, like there was a puzzle he couldn't quite work out. The blond smiled. "I suppose that's all then, unless you can think of anything else that might help us figure out what's happening."
  
"Because the universe isn't fair. Was there anything to save? If so, you have a chance. If not, accept it and take him out." Kane said intently.
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Celeste thought for a moment. "I have nothing more that comes to mind." She gave a delicate shrug, placing her clasped hands on the table. "I do hope you have found this helpful?"
  
Amanda shot him a look and stomped down the hall without him for several steps. Then she stopped and paused for a moment before letting out a noise of intense frustration. "ARRRGH!" Then she turned and glared at him. "All right. Fine. There's something to save and I won't take him out. Fucking bastard didn't ask for Rack's shite any more than I did and he deserves the chance to show he's not what Rack made him." The words were spat out between clenched teeth, before she reluctantly relaxed. "Fuck, I hate magic. So bloody much."
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"Of course," was his automatic response. "I'm very happy that you all aren't suffering from this. No news is good news and all that." Arthur stood and stretched, gathering up his belongings. His usual warmth was back — everything before neatly swept away to disassemble later. "Please give my best to your sisters."
  
Kane paused and reached into the pocket of his jacket. "Would you like a Twizzler?" He held out the candy to her.  
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With that, he made his exit.
  
There was a long pause, where it seemed like Amanda was wrestling with whether it was worth trying to punch him or not. Then she reached out and took the red licorice from his hand. "I swear to fucking fuck, Gar. One of these days..."
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There was a long, long pause as the door clicked close. Phoebe leaned heavily on her palm from her chair, elbow planted on the table, staring where Arthur was sitting.
  
"Bam. Pow. Right to the moon." Kane said. "I got to be honest. You might want to talk to people."
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Then Celeste, standing behind where Arthur had been sitting, pulled out the chair and sat down.
  
"Which people? My girlfriend, who lost an eye to him?" Amanda bit down on the Twizzler viciously, as if it had offended her personally. "My mentor, who brought him back from the fucking dead? Topaz, who I just had to explain the whole thing to and who is curling into a self-defensive ball?" She chewed the bite of Twizzler meditatively and swallowed. "Remy would have understood this whole mess. But he's dead." And suddenly the waxy-tasting candy stuck in her throat.
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"Absolutely fascinating . . .," said three voices simultaneously: Phoebe, in the chair Celeste had started in; Celeste, in Arthur's; and Irma, who had spent most of the chat just leaning against the side of the door.
  
"Maybe start with Adam." Kane said mildly. Behind the affable good guy exterior, it was easy to forget that Garrison was not only exceptionally good at reading people, but he actually had a degree in psychology. It was easy to forget when he was sitting on a bar stool demolishing a platter of fried food the size of a middle-schooler.
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This deserved . . . experimentation.
 
 
And there it was, the truth she'd been avoiding. Because it was much easier to deal with memories, both false and not, than an actual flesh and blood amalgam. Her shoulders slumped a little. "Y'know, I need to get friends who don't call me on my shit."
 
  
 
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Latest revision as of 14:17, 28 March 2025

Moa cuckoos.png
Moment of Awesome - Fourteen/The Stepford Cuckoos: During an interview with Arthur Centino to determine what is happening to the psychics in the mansion, Fourteen decides to do some experimenting of their own.

The idea of memories sticking to things was a fascinating one, to be sure. For a moment, she was tempted to ask to see an example, so she could see how it interacted with her own ability to recall and suppress memories but decided against it.

"I do not suppose anyone has been complaining about gaps in their memories, have they? I suppose it is possible, though unlikely, that the portion of my power that interacts with memories has been acting up?"

This got a hard blink from the man.

"Oh?" Arthur's face had gone back to careful neutrality. "Memories?" His stunned look was quickly swept under the rug in lieu of professionalism. "That does sound like it would be hard to notice. I can't say I have heard anything in particular." He looked down for his notepad again, but started. It was across the table. He leaned forward to fetch it, flipping to a calendar. Back to business. "Have you or your sisters been out of the mansion for more than a day in the last three months?"

Celeste's eyes flickered towards the notepad for just a moment, before back up to Arthur's face. "A few," she admitted easily. "Shopping to do, and we get so stir-crazy if we're kept inside for extended periods," she said with a small smile. Translation: She hadn't gotten to amuse herself by confusing random people on the street. "You know how it is."

His expression remained neutral, if not a little cold. Or, at least as cold as Arthur Centino might ever get. "I've felt that way before. Like an itch, but in your soul. So, to summarize: you and your sisters are broad range telepaths and have not noticed anything off with your abilities." A twist of confusion, again, and Arthur squinted. "Did you change your hair, Celeste?"

Celeste actually smiled at that. "I have, in truth. I am surprised you noticed, to be quite honest." She tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

"I like the ponytail," Arthur said. "Good to change things up. Sporty, even, although that's Phoebe's thing." His voice had a distracted quality, like there was a puzzle he couldn't quite work out. The blond smiled. "I suppose that's all then, unless you can think of anything else that might help us figure out what's happening."

Celeste thought for a moment. "I have nothing more that comes to mind." She gave a delicate shrug, placing her clasped hands on the table. "I do hope you have found this helpful?"

"Of course," was his automatic response. "I'm very happy that you all aren't suffering from this. No news is good news and all that." Arthur stood and stretched, gathering up his belongings. His usual warmth was back — everything before neatly swept away to disassemble later. "Please give my best to your sisters."

With that, he made his exit.

There was a long, long pause as the door clicked close. Phoebe leaned heavily on her palm from her chair, elbow planted on the table, staring where Arthur was sitting.

Then Celeste, standing behind where Arthur had been sitting, pulled out the chair and sat down.

"Absolutely fascinating . . .," said three voices simultaneously: Phoebe, in the chair Celeste had started in; Celeste, in Arthur's; and Irma, who had spent most of the chat just leaning against the side of the door.

This deserved . . . experimentation.