GROUNDED: Favorite (ouch) exerpts - CH. 2

Realized I haven’t done one in a while after posting in response to @rhodee​

Bebs, thankies for reading if you do; and if you haven’t, this one’s for you. Cause yeah. I get the feels still just re-reading it even.

---------===========PAINT IT BLACK -CH2-PS:2-\\TONY//

“ Hey…  uh,  Lolo? ”

 “ What is it? “ he could hear him getting up the stairs. “ There’s a man that looks suspiciously like he’s come at least from your family of fantasy parade brigade, coming to the door. You know anything about this? “

    “ If I did, I wouldn’t have been as surprised as you about the sound of his apparent arrival.. “  was tossed at him on his quick way past. He was out the door and talking with him, before Tony took his own first step out; and caught sight of the three unmarked coming up his driveway. Loki had the Lord of the Rings extra well in hand apparently, but that set of trucks? He knew the model. “  Shield.  Looks like there’s some for me to handle, too. “ was said to him on his way past them to meet the other suits at least, past the back bumper of his ‘gini. It wasn’t a surprise that Romanov and Fury were the first to appear out of the trio of off-roaders. He really, wasn’t happy to see Barton right that second though. Especially with that ready to shoot set to his mouth and gait. “  Guys!  I was, just about to call you. “

                            “ Yeah I would hope so. “

                 “ Hello sir! “ was Nat completely ignoring him and stepping past to try and get … actually, and as following her brought the battle-dressed guy back into his view; why was the off-worlder she was after in the full regalia bit headed the other, way already now? And, brief twist of a too familiar device? He was gone, under the same boom. Same flash of upwards light.  Before  Nat even got a response; though how he got out was not a good sign.

 “ Was that the  Tesseract?  “ brought his eyes back to Fury, disbelieving he hadn’t been the only one to see that. Or maybe hoping he hadn’t? “ Hey! “ whipped Tony’s head back around just in time to see Loki “  I ain’t done   talkin’  to you! I ain’t even started!  “ at full speed dashing back into the house and vault the weird new railing rather than take the stairs they’d fixed. 

                 “ ...something’s wrong.  “ 

                                     “ You  think?  “

“ No, Nick.. something’s  very, wrong. “ his feet started moving late? But he was in the door and at that rail faster than the others could even get in the door. The computer was in view down from the railing. He wasn’t there; but he could hear him moving. The lack of care and crash of things falling wasn’t his way. Wasn’t his style. 

               “ Loki..? “ his feet couldn’t get him fast enough down those spiral stairs into the much smaller workshop. No answer. He could hear the hiss of a few curses, see the lock was busted on his tech garage and the doors wide open. The side light on, and harsh, fast movements going on inside between the crack of the door and the mesh wall his tools were plugged and hooked into. That alone; the space he’d promised not to go into and fact it was busted open like that; blatantly abandoned that fast. That just amped up the adrenaline, and dropped Anthony’s stomach a few more feet into his knees.

          “ Must be something, to make you break this rule, like this:  broad daylight.  We agreed,  yeah? No .. making folks, or  me; suspicious by screwing around with my garage. Computer parts,  okay.  No  suit mechanics; no  ship parts or heavy tech. Nothing substantial that might pass as or be  able  to be weaponized. That was the deal. “ only paused the motions as he slowed down, angling himself carefully to try and see what he was doing. What he might be looking for. “ I know the stuff in there  better’n  you, you know! You  wanna  tell  me; what you’re lookin’ for and; what the  hell  is going on?  Real  good time for it right now. Cause I think you’re making Barton’s bow hand  itchy, as is. “

  “ Let it, itch. “ pulled Tony’s head back a few degrees. He was taking pieces of unfinished suit bits apart. Hands moving fast, at the wielding iron and punching directions into the cutting laser like he knew what he was doing. “ Stand  aside, Stark; Nat, you too. “ Stark couldn’t see what  he was making; but it  definitely  had a purpose. This wasn’t tinkering, going on at his bench. He was more worried. “ No, “ came at a glance. He was also impressed and feeling a little cheated.  Didn’t know he had the knowhow..  “ I  won’t. I trust him. “ was said firmly enough, and with enough truth and concern behind it that it was almost flat when he finished: “ And this is  my  house. Take that gun and get the hell  out of it. “

             He heard the hissing sounds of Nat’s breath catching on words behind him; convincing Barton to do as he said. Heard the small click and shift of the safety. Yeah, he knew he’d been right on that one; but it still bit a little that was the situation they were in. “  Good girl  .. I’ll treat you to something, later. Leave us alone. Or close enough to make us feel  it? I smell something personal in the air. “ 

                  “ We’ll be right upstairs. “ had him nodding, and; as soon as he heard them clear that last steel step: taking a few forward. He knew they’d be in earshot. Or at least one or two would. He was betting heavily on all though; and wasn’t unconcerned enough to care. That they were here that fast said he and Loki had been right and they had been at the least; watching, listening, or both, for a while.

           “ You know I’ve trusted you. Still do; and a lot more than I  should  . “ slowed him down a little while he was attaching a power source. “ Come  on  man. What’s goin’ on. I’m  shit  , at reading minds so  please  , don’t make me turn the key, slap the metal on; and put you on the  floor  to get the answer out. We both know neither one of us want that. “ breath in. “ Woulda done it by now if either one a us  did . “

   “ You wouldn’t understand. “ 

                                        “ Won’t know that until you try me. “

 “ I have to leave. -- “ 

                            “ What, no. Definitely no-- “

                                                                       “ I’ll come back. I promise.. I  will  finish this work. “

                            “ -not  happening. What the hell has got you so suddenly ...crazy!?  “

                  He heard the words. He did. They just; exploded in his ears afterwards. Left him completely deaf, numb; and absolutely bereft of the ability to think of anything but. It didn’t register, right away. But oh.  Oh man, did he  get it. The quiet. The sudden  rush  to get down here, and get home:  somehow.

 All Tony could see, in his own mind; was the pretty way she would fold her mouth in when she was trying not to laugh at one of either of their stupid jokes. The quiet way she lit up when he said in so many words over those two days how much, her son took after her. The way she just; stood of to the side with the smallest happy smiles, laugh lines softening that already warm face: watching them play chess from the corner, or right there at one side of the table pouring for them while they threw out all sorts of conversations at each other.  At her  . The curtsies, she flipped him every now and again, once she realized it made him laugh too. Inwards and otherwise. The words she’d tossed at their back,  trusting him ; on their way out of that place.

       “ I don’t..  “ 

                        The air sucked right back into his lungs, took the rest of the words with it so he  almost  choked on them. All he could think of, was his own mom.

    Couldn’t  be right.

                                      Wasn’t , right.

                                                                   Right?

          “ I don’t think I heard you right. “ 

     And then he repeated it. Same tone. Same six words. Like his head was as still as the raging tornado going on in Tony’s..  No. Worse.  And he  knew  it. Knew; the only way to keep his hands steady, from breaking down into an unrecognizable heap of blood, tears and bone turned jell-o was to keep moving and keep his words even. Control  himself  ; if he couldn���t control the  situation . Because..?

                    Because I’ve been here. There. Right there.

           He saw it. The contained shake to his joints from the effort to keep it together and keep moving. Keep from stalling out and falling down. Hear, the deafening silence in between the much needed white noise of putting together whatever was being made between his fingers and the screaming, bleeding shock of insanity pushing it and being pushed away all at once in the same space.

         That was me.

                                I heard it too. Didn’t want to.

                                                        “ My mother’s dead. They killed her. “

                                           I heard him right.

Now. Breathe. Think.

         Because he can’t, not right now and not really.  

 In, and...             

           “ Tell me what you’re looking for.  And what you’re making. “ ..came out. Probably in the same tone right as he just reached over and tapped the panic button to his right. Just a little touch. With a really big backlash he put on reserve for later. He knew and didn’t care. Not about  that . 

              Eight inches of steel slab hydraulically powered to shut them in from the upper floors, and the open sea to his left. It wasn’t quiet either. And that aside, did not close without more than a few curses and calls of his name from above he was blatantly ignoring before they were sealed away behind it on all sides. The emergency lighting came up a second later. Tony was already next to him, peeling back his sleeves to help out where he could. “  One  thing I’ve learned in the week since we started working together? Four hands are better than two, when they’re ours. “

                             “ Give me the sitrep if you can, when you can get the words out. “ was said as he flipped on the extra lights above board. “ I’m in. “ he saw him turn his head, but didn’t meet the green-grey stare. And because he knew; because he was moving like that; and the guy didn’t take him back with him, but he remembered way more clearly now; that he had said he would see him: that he did.. “ You’ve got a plan. I’ll follow it. “

TW: Blood mention!! I woke up at 2 in the AM with a bloody nose. Funny thing is, I can handle blood UNLESS it comes from my nose. A nosebleed makes me feel faint real quick, which is super inconvenient, because if I pass out I’ve just gotten blood everywhere. I spend like an hour trying to distract myself so I don’t faint. I was wondering if you could write the RFA’s reaction to something like that? It’s totally fine if you can’t, me sending a request was very impulsive. :P

lkjhgfddhgkgk what a mOOD

a) im upset bc i wrote this and then delETED IT ON ACCIDENT so im vvv sorry if it seems repetitive, im real tired and so done with rewriting kjgfddklasd

b) i’m the exact same anon! anyway, i hope you’re okay //hugs

tw: blood

Yoosung:

its approx 1:29am when you wake up to taste blood trickling down your throat

gdi not again

you quietly slip out of bed, careful not to wake yoosung as you stumble around to look for a tissue

suddenly you’re hit with a wave of dizziness and you trip, hitting the edge of the bedside table with a BANG

 “…MC? what was that?”

yoosung wakes up as your swear profusely under your breath, trying to cover your face before you get blood everywhere

he turns on the light and faces you

and promptly shREIKS

“MC OMG YOU’RE BLEEDING”

“really. i couldn’t tell.”

after getting over the initial shock, he helps you over to the bathroom, cleaning you up gently and grabbing you some tissues and a towel

how on earth did you get blood on your elbow MC

oh no wait thats just a cut from the bedside table nvm

wAIT-

he dips the towel in cold water and rests it against your neck, changing it when it gets too warm (idk thats just what i do to help my bleeding noses so ┐(´∀｀)┌)

talks with you and distracts you by drawing little patterns on your skin for as long as it takes for your body to stop inconveniencing you

will wait up all night if necessary

many tissues were sacrificed that night

Zen:

ahhhh no shit shit shit this is the worst possible time

you’re backstage at one of Zen’s shows, waiting for him when you sneeze into your elbow

when you pull away, you see the familiar red liquid and promptly sigh, holding a hand t ot. he bridge of your nose and wobbling as you get to your feet

thats when Zen bursts into the dressing room, chatting excitedly. he sees you and stops short

…..

quick say something MC!

“Nice show, Zen.” (really MC?) “Thanks babe. You alright there?” “Yep. Just peachy.” “You sure?” “Uh-huh. positive.”

you take a step forward and immediately c o l l a p s e

Zen catches you in his arms (looks like you fell for him //slapped) and guides you back to the couch, laying you down

“yeah, nope. just stay there, i’ll grab a towel and some tissues” “yeah, okay, good plan. thanks zen”

he brings you some water and chocolate and distracts you by singing and talking about what he thought went well during the show and what could’ve been done better

you give your input every once in a while, half struggling to stay awake

its ok bc even if you faint (which would still suck), Zen will still take care of you

bc he loves you

many cuddles until you feel better

Jaehee:

[she likes to consider herself a rather prepared person

but nothing could prepare her for this]

she wandered into the kitchen late at night, wondering why you weren’t in bed yet

she didn’t expect to see you passed out, sitting on a stool, resting against the sink and covered in blood.

actually screams in terror (she thought you were dead

rushes over to you and panics, immediately checking your pulse

you’re still alive, oh thank god

relief for a second before realising that jhghjk you’re still bleeding

she props you up and carries you to the bathroom, laying you down in the bathtub before washing you off

there goes that outfit rip

googles what she has to do from here bc does she wake you up? does she wait for you to wake up?? she is Not Prepared

settles on waking you up by gently shaking you and talking to you until you wake up

So Relieved when you begin to stir and open your eyes

you’re hella confused as to how you got into the bathroom but it all begins to make sense when you see jaehee sitting on the edge of the tub, worried as all hell

oh beb, MC didn’t mean to make you panic im sorry

stays with you and comforts you everytime it happens so she never has to go through that fear ever again

Jumin:

it had to be now, didn’t it? this very moment. of course. it just had to be during a celebratory ball.

you felt it coming as you chatted with some friends and you instantly began to panic

okay, okay, stay calm MC. You’ve done this before, it’s okay. everything’s okay.

“If you’ll excuse me for a moment. I just need some air.” you left the conversation, ducking into a nearby hallway and leaning against a table. you stayed like that for a while, beginning to feel faint

~meanwhile~

jumin is wandering around the ballroom, looking for you. he meets up with your friends who tell him you stepped out for a little fresh air maybe 20mins ago.

oh okay

he knew you so he knew that you were most likely fine but there was a little nagging voice in the back of his mind that told him something was wrong. so, he gave it another ten minutes or so before he began to worry

excusing himself, he stepped into the same hallway that you were in before stopping dead in his tracks at the sight of you

you were collapsed in a chair, almost unconscious, with your nose still fuckin bleeding

jumin.exe has stopped working

needless to say, you immediately left the ball and went straight home

he ran his fingers through your hair as you rested, helping you wash your face and just whispering sweet nothings or sitting in silence w/ you until you finally fell asleep

contacts many doctors to figure out this problem so your health doesn’t decline

helps distract you by talking about new projects or funny things he overheard at the office or wine

Saeyoung:

oof this is untimely

you were just getting out of the shower when you glanced down and noticed a steady trickle of blood making its way down your chest

“ARE YOU KIDDING ME”

you could’ve sworn it was just water like three seconds ago

asdtyjkl now you have to go back and shower agAIN aaagghhghh

you go to hop back into the shower when you’re suddenly overwhelmed by dizziness

CRASH

seven jolts at the massive bang that echoes through the house. even saeran sends him a text to ask what the hell that was

it sounds like it came from the bathroom,,, and wait, weren’t you taking a shower?

the worst case scenarios flash through his mind and in half a second saeyoung’s up and dashing to the bathroom

when he gets there his eyes widen and he starts knocking on the door frantically

he can smell that very familiar, metallic crimson scent. (lololol seven is a bloodhound now its canon bc i said so)

“MC!! MC!! It’s me, open up!”

picks the lock when you dont get the door

literally freezes on the spot when he sees you on the floor, surrounded by bright red blood

“Holy shit, MC!!!!”

panics. a lot. he doesnt even care that you’re naked, he needs you to wake up and now. he needs you not to be dead.

basically faints from relief when you groan in pain, bringing a hand to your head to shield your eyes from the light.

“seven, what are you doing in here?” “i thought you were dead MC!” “huh? ah- oh… that… i’ll explain that later… first could you, uh, hand me my towel?” “What? …!”

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

anyway, he shows you all his gadgets whenever you have a bleeding nose so you don’t have a repeat of the above incident.

he helps you clean up the blood afterwards. he’s,,,, surprisingly good at it,,,,

whoops i had a nap while rewriting this

Askbox Open || Requests Open || i love feedback! and also pls chat w/ me i’m v lonely

Hi readers, bookworms, and robots!

This actually happened a few days back, but I’ve been so busy with space things I rudely forgot to update my page. Shame, shame, shame on me!

As you might recall, back in 2017 I was a part of the amazing PEW PEW anthology series. A set of amazing, hilarious space adventures that I couldn’t believe my little stories had the honor of being presented with. Out of the three novellas I submitted, two of them followed the adventures of Miss Planet Earth: awakened thousands of years in the future with her visa long since expired, our poor Katra has to find her way back to a home that no longer exists – with Space Pirates in tow.

When the rights reverted back to me this spring, I secretly started putting together pocket paperbacks of Katra’s adventures. And now, after weeks of waiting for the approval… they’re online! Well, Miss Planet Earth I is in paperback, Miss Planet Earth II (The Amulet of Beb-Sha-Na) is still just an ebook. But in any case, they’re now available for your viewing pleasure!

Miss Planet Earth is avilable here in ebook and pocket paperback, Miss Planet Earth and the Amulet of Beb-Sha-Na is available here in just ebook format (for now!)

Check out the very first chapter to see if it’s your cup of tea!

A pageant queen out of time. A secretive assassin in the wrong body. Space pirates and demented droids. It’s been a long day.

Katra Zorento won the title of Miss Universe only days before first contact was made. Armed with only her charm and her golden bikini, she was sent to compete on the real stage, against the rest of the Milky Way – only to overshoot the arrival by 13,000 years.

Now, with her visa expired and no one on her side, she must make the arduous trip back to the planet that once was Earth… That is, of course, if dashing space pirates don’t get in the way. And to make matters worse, her fiancé’s brain might be trapped inside her head. Katra’s only allies are a mysterious assassin trapped in a 9 year old’s body and a ‘service’ droid with memory issues. But if she survives this, she could win the most valuable crown in the universe…

Chapter 1: In which mistakes were made, and visas revoked

Katra Zorento woke up to find she had overslept the pageant by 13,000 years. Her fingers were still frosty as she sat at the desk, trying to warm them in the soft fabric of her leggings. To her left was the open casket she had been pried from: her cryogenic sleeping pod, packed with her makeup bag, her red ball gown and a bikini. There was also the large golden disk she had brought from Earth, a replica of the one from the Voyager probe, a gift for the Council of Twelve. Every member of which was now dead. The council itself abolished 4,812 years ago, after an incident with a gas cloud which proved once and for all that diplomatic missions and fire breathing dragons do not mix. At least not on a spaceship. All this Katra gleaned from the overstuffed office she found herself in. Posters covered the walls, telling the history of this weird planet through snippets of Public Service Announcements. The Council’s abolition was a stark reminder not to travel through nebulas in the first place. They tried the gas – and ended civilization. Don’t gas and drive. The entire floor space was taken up by her pod, two chairs, and a desk, so Katra had to tuck her legs under her seat since there was no room to put them down. Across from her sat what appeared to be a formless blob of gelatin, which wobbled back and forth on its hovering chair, as if waiting for her to speak. Every once and a while, a paper on its desk would ruffle, though how it was moving Katra had no idea. “You understand your visa has long since expired, yes?” the blob said. The voice was loud, and somehow directly in Katra’s mind, which made her spine tingle. She had never met a telepathic alien before, nor any kind of alien, so the entire experience was a little unnerving, to say the least. “Yes, but, what happened?” she asked, trying to keep her still thawing limbs from trembling. “I was supposed to meet Chancellor Forbin and…” “As I explained earlier,” said the blob’s voice, somehow conveying a sigh through its haughty mightier-than-thou airy voice. “Chancellor Forbin has been dead for over thirteen millennia.” “But the trip was only supposed to take fifty years,” Katra protested, “and where is Marcus?” “Marcus?” “Yes, my bodyguard, Marcus. We were put in cryo-sleep together.” “Ah, the male.” The blob mentally ruffled the pages on the desk. “I thought they explained after they woke you? And your visit to a dislocation officer didn’t make it clear to you?” “I’m not quite sure what a dislocation officer is, exactly.” Katra looked down at her lap and tried to avoid eye contact. Not that there were any eyes to latch onto, but gazing in the blob’s general direction made her mind swim uncomfortably. “You’ve been sent to see a dislocation officer – me – because your traveling companion’s mind was too damaged by the time spent in the cryo-sleep.” “Marcus is dead?” Katra couldn’t help but glare at the blob in complete shock. Marcus. Dead. He was – no, had been – more than just her bodyguard and constant companion. The two of them had been engaged to be married upon their triumphant return to Earth. And now he was dead. And was there even an Earth to return to? She wanted desperately to ask all those questions, and more. But she was face to face with a sentient slice of Jell-O and not quite sure how to proceed. Her heart shook with silent, terrified grief. “His body passed away not long after your departure from the planet formerly known as Earth,” said the blob, “though… how much do you know about dislocation?” “Absolutely nothing.” “Ah.” The blob seemed to hesitate. “Did the officer who put you in the chamber explain the process employed to preserve your body during the cryogenic session?” “Vaguely,” Katra replied. It might have been thousands of years ago in history, but for her it was less than an hour ago that the strange man with gray skin had hastily sputtered some space jargon before sealing her and Marcus into the pods. That in turn was only minutes before she woke up in a strange orange room, surrounded by giant lizard-men trying to spray her down with a hose. “So you know the consciousness is downloaded to a quantum cell, in case the physical mind is damaged in transit.” Katra’s heart leapt. “So Marcus’s mind is still alive?” “Yes, and no,” the blob almost seemed embarrassed at this. It was hard to tell, what with the lack of facial expressions. Or any face to speak of, for that matter. “Due to a malfunction that must have occurred during the incident that destroyed the male’s physical mind, his upload was compiled with yours. So when you awoke…” “Shut. Up!” Katra could almost shout with glee. “He’s alive? In my head?” “Yes,” the cloud said, perplexed, “you do not find this perturbing?” “We were to get married!” she sputtered, “this is even better! Two minds, one body. For as long as we both shall live, in sickness and in health. This is better than marriage!” The blob swiftly tossed a stack of papers into the trash. Katra’s excitement faded. She had probably just lost a massive bargaining chip with her outburst. Marcus? Are you in there? I need you. I’m making a mess. Nothing. “You sure he’s in here?” she asked. The news alone was enough to bring heat back to her chest, drawing out the ice forever. “Safe and sound?” “Yes, the download was definitely complete,” the blob said proudly, “your mate’s consciousness is safely in your head. But he may not present himself at first: he must carve a space in your gray matter. Humans have gray matter, correct?” Katra nodded, though not entirely sure. It was the future, after all; maybe modern humans had done away with the stuff entirely at this point. “Once the consciousness emerges, he may try to take control of his new host body. We apologize for any inconvenience this brings you.” “What is inconvenient is me being here in the first place,” said Katra, her spark finally returning. Maybe it was the news that Marcus was safe and hers alone; maybe it was the heat creeping back into her extremities. Either way, she was majorly pissed. She crossed her arms over her chest and propped her extremely long legs on the blob’s desk. The blob said nothing. Katra wondered how it even saw what she was doing. “How come I wasn’t woken up in time for the pageant?” she spat, “the engineers calculated everything perfectly. A fifty-year trip, not a minute longer. What happened?” “Well, this is closer to ancient history for us, now,” said the blob, “you understand, a year after your departure for Earth, faster than light travel was invented.” “So?” “The council decided they didn’t want to wait another forty-nine years for you to arrive at the pageant when they could have everyone show up the next day. So Earth sent someone else.” “Who?” Katra slammed her hands on the table, making the Jell-O wobble. Which was an odd sight to see. It wobbled to one side and then back, like someone had poked it with a stick. “Don’t tell me it was that bitch, Riley. Miss Australia? She had no place as my runner up.” “Then you’ll be happy to know that Miss Earth – formerly Miss Australia, according to my notes – was eaten and digested by Miss Ma’jarkeen. Which is why the pageant was canceled and hasn’t been held since.” “So our ship got there and you… what? Put us in a warehouse and forgot to revive us for thousands of years?” “I’m sorry, not my department,” said the mound of gelatin, “I’ve already outstepped by pulling up so much information from this case. To make things short: we’re sorry for the inconvenience, and we’re sending you home right away.” “To Earth?” “It used to be called Earth, yes.” “What is it now?” “Super-freaky funland dark-side death-zone powered by MnM.” “You call that my home?” Katra sputtered. She would have stood up, indignant, but there was no space for her to do so in the tiny office. “What the fudge is super-strange dark world death thingy?” “Super-freaky funland dark-side death-zone powered by MnM.” “That can’t be Earth!” “Well, I’m sorry, but things change, child,” said the blob. “Your home planet had to make ends meet somehow. Becoming an escape room theme park was the logical choice.” “An escape room… theme park?” Katra felt as if the ice around her heart had gone right back to being frozen, as cold as the popsicle she had been inside the pod. She wished her eyes could shoot literal daggers across the room, but even if they did, she doubted they would hit the gelatin or harm it in any way. “Yes, and quite a nice one,” said the blob. “I brought my hovel-mates there a few cycles ago. Such fun! Much better now than it ever was before.” The pageant queen was fuming now, but she forced herself through the breathing techniques her coach had instilled in her and stayed focused. There was no point lingering on the fact that her home was gone, or the fact that everyone she ever knew or loved was now dead. Except maybe Marcus, her one love, her rock, who was living quite silently in her head. “I want to go home,” she murmured, under her breath. “Do not worry, we’re sending you back, all expenses paid.” “It’s not my home anymore.” “Well, I’m sorry, but according to your passport, it is.” The cloud made the little green booklet drift up before Katra’s eyes. “And your visa expired quite some time ago. So we have to send you back. You understand, of course.” “Of course,” said Katra, keeping that pageant calmness. “Do I get some kind of compensation, at least?”

    Miss Planet Earth hits Amazon shelves! Hi readers, bookworms, and robots! This actually happened a few days back, but I've been so busy with space things I rudely forgot to update my page.