Ryan had to admit it, being the damsel in distress was a nice change of pace. Usually, he was the one doing the rescuing.
But it wasn’t very relaxing, for the Junkyard had erupted into complete chaos. An increasingly taller Frank traded blows with Wyvern in dragon form, the colossal reptile pushing her opponent against a pile of molten trash. For every hit the superheroine inflicted, the Psycho seemed to gain additional height. However, Lanka sniped him with white-colored spheres from...
2021-01-12 10:33:16 +0000 UTC
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When the bathysphere reached the shore, it stopped at the only place which the Meta-Gang hadn’t opened fire on yet: their own turf.
Ryan walked the streets of Rust Town, people fleeing the neighborhood in panic on the other side of the road. The toxic atmosphere, already terrible, was now saturated with smoke and ashes. Without his mask on, the courier might have coughed every minute. The locals were so terrified of the orbital bombardment, that they trampled on other people while try...
2021-01-09 11:01:33 +0000 UTC
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Chapter sponsored by you, dear patrons.
-------------------------------
It was said that the Thessalan League included a hundred cities, but only three were worth talking about. Mighty Thessala, which gave its name to the alliance; the great land power of Orthia; and the shining city of Pergamon.
Observing the city from the Foresight’s deck and under the cover of darkness, Kairos had to admit the nickname was on po...
2021-01-09 11:00:54 +0000 UTC
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Well, Ryan had to admit it. No matter how savage the attack, it had been a perfect sneak headshot. Wardrobe probably didn’t feel any pain.
“Wardrobe!” Reload shouted in panic, dropping everything to try and treat his teammate’s wound. It was in vain though; the courier had seen the bullet go from one side of the head to the other, and unless she had regeneration, the shot had slain her instantly. The Yellow Genome’s blood was flowing out of her skull and onto the ground, while...
2021-01-07 11:02:48 +0000 UTC
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Back when he played open world games, Ryan always loved to set the AI against itself. To lead one monster on the path of a settlement, and then watch NPCs fight computer-generated enemies for his entertainment. The courier always found it relaxing.
The real-life sight was a lot more stressful.
Dynamis’ aerial force had unleashed a rain of missiles, which Jasmine’s anti-aerial defense had mostly detonated mid-flight. Geist, now a howling specter the size of a building, also red...
2021-01-05 11:41:55 +0000 UTC
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Choose January's Perfect Run Past Fragment!
1) How to tame your Plushie
Raising a murderous interdimensional rabbit in captivity is hard work. In this award-winning documentary, Ryan "Quicksave" Romano tells you of his long struggle to understand and 'tame' his own creation. Warning: 18+ rating, viewer-discretion is advised.
2) The Perfect Car
Some say dog is man's best friend, but they're wrong; when you're out in the was...
2021-01-03 11:08:34 +0000 UTC
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“I win,” Ryan said, resting on the flower garden in the outer wall’s shadow.
“Again?” Geist complained, the ghost overseeing the game with a doubtful expression. Apparently, his phantom skull of a face could squint. “It’s impossible. How can I keep losing?”
Well, it was hard to catch someone capable of stopping time.
In the end, that trip to Bliss island had been a disappointment. Every time Ryan tried to ‘visit’ a restricted area beyond the walls and the...
2021-01-02 10:10:29 +0000 UTC
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“Ten thousand gold coins would be a fair price.”
For a second, Kairos thought he had misheard. Cassandra had finished examining the phoenix egg alongside Rhadamanth, the enormous, ruby-like artifact standing proudly on the sand. It radiated warmth. “You mean silver coins, my aunt.”
“No, ten thousand gold coins,” his aunt replied gravely. “Which would make it worth around two hundred fifty-thousand silver coins.”
“A phoenix’s egg is a prized magic...
2021-01-02 10:10:21 +0000 UTC
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Sitting around Vulcan’s workbench in the depths of her lair, two Genomes brainstormed around a sketch. For the past hour, they had struggled to solve one of the world’s most important questions; some would say, the only question worth answering.
How many guns could you fit into one power armor?
“It’ll be better with rocket launchers,” Ryan said, discussing his armor’s design. Vulcan had chosen a design that fit the courier’s body rather than an enormous mech; an exos...
2020-12-22 11:12:06 +0000 UTC
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The arrows hit the Scylla’s back, and her hound-heads let out a wail.
Kairos wondered if it was one of pain or surprise, for most of the arrows failed to do anything. As Nessus had warned, they bounced off or broke against the creature’s invulnerable skin… with one exception.
Kairos’ arrow had pierced the creature in the left shoulder, red blood dripping from the wound.
The Scylla Andromaque turned around, the hound heads around her waist snarling at the raiders. How...
2020-12-22 11:11:47 +0000 UTC
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Genome parties were always fun, but the aftermath sucked.
When he returned home to Jamie’s place, Ryan found it in ruin. The floor had been buried underneath beer bottles, pizza boxes, trash, and stuff best left forgotten. Someone had drenched the sofa in a suspicious fluid, and while DJ Brain had survived the apocalypse, a partygoer drew a smiley face on the vat’s surface. Even with repeated time-stop, it was a struggle to clean up the mess.
Ryan was still working on it by th...
2020-12-19 09:50:33 +0000 UTC
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At long last, the Foresight reached the island of Scheria by nightfall. Though the darkness made it hard to see it clearly, the landmass became visible behind the horizon, illuminated by the stars above.
The satyrs swore the oath and thus were incorporated into the crew. While they proved friendly fellows, the humanoids also caused some troubles hitting on the crew’s female members; though Cassandra, a harsh taskmistress, quickly disciplined them. Rhadamanthe had taken time a...
2020-12-19 09:50:28 +0000 UTC
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Hi everyone,
Just to inform you that I will be taking a short break starting with December 24th. With the Christmas celebrations, New Year's Eve, and all the associated family stuff, I won't be able to write reliably during that period. I also want to set some time aside to review the second Vainqueur Audiobook by Jack Voraces, which has finished production and should hopefully be out for the end of the year (YAY, finally!).
As such, Tuesday 22nd's Perfect Run
2020-12-19 09:50:14 +0000 UTC
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Where could Mechron be hiding?
Smashing through blast doors and steel walls, Leonard Hargraves felt something wrong in the atmosphere. Space itself bending and twisting. Something created powerful magnetic fields inside the base, tearing apart the very fabric of reality.
As he had thought, Mechron’s fortress also counted as a particle accelerator. Did the Genius activate it? For what purpose? How could it help repel the army at his door?
“Pythia, where do I go?” Leonar...
2020-12-17 10:08:01 +0000 UTC
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When mortal heroes climbed Mount Olympus to overthrow the old gods during the Anthropomachia, the cosmos collapsed into chaos. A great flood overflowed from the heavens, drowning the Earth; only those who had fled to the mountains survived, their sanctuaries turning into islands.
Thousands of years later, the endless ocean called the Sunsea blanketed the whole world save for a few islands. Most of it remained unexplored, even to this day.
The Thessalan Sea, the part of th...
2020-12-17 10:07:52 +0000 UTC
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- Ruins of Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina; October 2014.
Constructed inside a valley surrounded by five mountains, Sarajevo had once been a beautiful place. A perfect mix of small, pastoral houses and tall modern buildings, the city had housed events such as the 1984 Winter Olympic Games, survived the Yugoslavian wars, and thrived in the aftermath.
But that was long ago.
Today, Sarajevo was a vision of hell. A steel graveyard ruled by a madman, its skies dar...
2020-12-15 10:37:22 +0000 UTC
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The entire Augusti high command had gathered around a table near the villa, and none of its members dared to speak.
Allowed to sit between Vulcan and Livia at the mafia princess’ behest, Ryan kept his arms crossed as he observed the scene. The various ‘Olympians’ formed a circle, all of them eyeing their leader warily. Mercury’s mummified head had been placed at the edge near Pluto, while Narcinia sat with her parents. Mars kept an arm behind his chair, clearly the most relaxed ...
2020-12-12 10:54:03 +0000 UTC
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It ended as well as expected.
With Ryan naked and shackled to a bed, a maniacal Vulcan in a black nightgown on one side, and the plushie on another.
“It was all a trap,” the courier accused the mad Genius, straining against the shackles. “You only cared about the plushie!”
“Very good, Ryan,” Jasmine said, playing with her knife. The inactive plushie looked on while sitting on a chair. “Now, tell me everything you know about it.”
“I would, but I look d...
2020-12-10 09:54:20 +0000 UTC
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In the marshes north of Lissala, there was a place where no animal dared to approach. A deep cavern, home to a monster of legends.
A foul bog surrounded this lair, an expanse of mud, black waters, and poisonous plants. The remains of countless men and animals rot in the waters; the toxic stench of the area killed those who lingered without wearing protection for too long.
Carrying an amphora full of wine, a bag of meat, and his spear, Kairos looked at the cavern with slight appreh...
2020-12-10 09:53:51 +0000 UTC
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A few minutes before the shootout, Ryan was sitting behind Vulcan inside her mech, both partners in crime observing Dynamis’ HQ through a computer screen. The tower looked like some game’s final dungeon, with increasingly dangerous enemies guarding each floor with the boss at the very top. It almost made Ryan wish for a suicide run, but that would be for another time.
His suit awaited him.
“Should you be drinking while driving?” the courier asked Vulcan, who just finished ...
2020-12-08 09:36:22 +0000 UTC
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“When is the sound coming, blabbermouth?” Lanka asked Ryan for the third time, an elbow on the loudspeaker.
“When you find me another brain,” Ryan replied, tinkering with the device. A few people had already taken over the dance floor, but the house’s equipment couldn’t support a true rave party. Seriously, Ki-jung needed to stop buying Dynamis home products. They were barely a cut above pre-Wars Chinese imports.
Actually, did it count as collaboration when you brought...
2020-12-05 09:27:46 +0000 UTC
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Choose December's Past Fragment interlude!
1) Mechron's Last Stand
The Genome Wars were started by the rogue Genius Mechron, and they will end with him. Leo Hargraves' Carnival and hundreds of heroes gather in the ruins of Sarajevo, Bosnia–Herzegovina, to stop him before he launches orbital weapons. But little do they know, that Mechron has been playing with forces beyond his ken...
2) Our War in Malta
Augustus ...
2020-12-04 08:25:21 +0000 UTC
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Ryan loved Genome parties. They always involved a lot of property damage.
He had attended a few elsewhere in Italy, usually when he joined a group. However, this one looked like it would be the biggest yet; and since tomorrow would mark Quicksave’s first week in New Rome, the courier intended to cap it off with a bang.
Well, he had probably spent two months or so in the city across various loops, but still! This party may be something entirely new and surprising.
“...
2020-12-03 09:47:14 +0000 UTC
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It took two days of travel, but at long last, home was within sight.
The crescent-shaped island of Travia was the northernmost land mass settled by mankind after the Anthropomachia; only fools or madmen went further north, braving the eternal storm within which the dread Typhon remained imprisoned. The Eye of Typhon promised only death.
Standing at the forefront of the captured ship, which was apparently named the Delphinus, Kairos felt great relief at seeing the...
2020-12-03 09:47:01 +0000 UTC
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The current loop might be the calmest yet.
Ryan had finally optimized the Augusti path. He first completed the harbor mission without incident. Fat Adam didn't send anyone for once, and Ryan had previously taken care of Luigi. The truth-teller was scheduled to get out of the hospital on Wednesday, but Ryan intended to score a few goals during the hockey match’s second period.
Afterward, Jamie invited the courier to crash at his place, and he received a 'surprise' inspectio...
2020-12-01 11:30:18 +0000 UTC
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It was May 10th. Psyshock would attack the orphanage any minute, and Ryan intended to give the telepath a headache he would never forget.
A shotgun in hand and the Fisty Brothers equipped, the courier prowled the orphanage’s hallways, where the kids were busy gathering food and toys in travel bags. To his worry though, he found no trace of Len.
“What’s happening?” Ryan asked little Giulia, upon crossing paths with her. Unlike her fellow orphans, who had taken food...
2020-11-28 10:54:17 +0000 UTC
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Ryan woke up on a terrible mattress, with a cat on his chest.
The animal looked at the courier with its big blue eyes, as he emerged from his deep sleep. The Persian cat had a coat of fur of the purest shade of white, and the lazy expression of a creature sleeping eighteen hours a day without shame.
It was...
It was the perfect Bond Villain cat!
Ryan immediately let out a cry of joy, while the cat looked at him with noble curiosity.
“I’m gonna call you…” ...
2020-11-26 11:13:37 +0000 UTC
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Kairos was poisoning his spear to the sound of crashing waves, when his griffin Rook returned from its scouting. He had smelled blood in the water.
The eighteen year old [Rogue] raised his head beyond the deck, putting his bottle of [Hydra Venom] back around his belt as his companion landed to his side. The griffin, whom Kairos had raised from the egg, was no bigger than a foal; a tiny lion with a white eagle’s head, wings, and talons.
“They’re coming?” Kairos asked Rook, ...
2020-11-26 11:13:33 +0000 UTC
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Nightfall was upon Rust Town when Ryan arrived at the orphanage. His good and unwilling friend Ghoul was trapped at the back, missing most of his limbs. Hopefully, his presence would get the Land off the courier’s back for the evening.
“I would take you out on a walk,” Ryan told his captive while stepping out of the car, “but I don’t think this place was built with the elderly in mind. Besides, the kids there are too old for you.”
“BLEEP you!” Ghoul snarled. “I s...
2020-11-24 09:48:39 +0000 UTC
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The forces of Black Friday have broken the seal.
After a long struggle with editing, the Forever Serpent has invaded the realm of the gods, Amazon Kindle. Immortality for all is now within grasp.
Alternate link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08P22MQ45
Special thanks to all of you patrons (esp...
2020-11-24 09:48:34 +0000 UTC
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