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The Ditto Phoenix Archer first appeared in Ditto Story 4 (The Battle for the Fountain), but left at the end. She returned at the beginning of Ditto Story 5 (Redemption), and has remained in the story to the present day. She travels with three phoenix companions---Brianna, Anna, and Diana---as Phoenix Archer, a travelling vigilante with some unique abilities. She also goes under the alias of Vanessa Jones, an archaeologist with three younger siblings---Rose, Tara, and Sarah (who are really her phoenix companions in human form). Her real name is Ryana Armaya (ree-AWN-ah are-MY-ah), "Armaya" being her middle name; her last name is currently unknown.
Species and Abilities
No one is quite sure what Phoenix Archer is, other than her phoenix companions; she appears human most of the time, but some of her abilities hint otherwise. However, those abilities also aren't up to the full strength an adult phoenix's would be, so they only make things more confusing for those trying to put the pieces together. So far, it has been hinted that Phoenix Archer has phoenix blood, but is partially some other species.
Phoenix Archer is partially telepathic, though it would appear her telepathy is limited to receiving messages from other telepaths, and occasionally talking to her phoenixes silently, as well as a few other things she can "sense". For instance, she can sense a "familiar prescence", which is, essentially, being able to tell when someone she knows fairly well is nearby. This power also seems to apply to vampires in general...though she has never mentioned sensing other humans, Elves, or any other species (in general) than vampires.
This telepathy also gives her at least one more ability that has come in very handy for her: with it, she can change her appearance. At least, she can change her hair and eye color, though she has been unable to change what her face looks like. How she accomplishes this is she figures out what she wants to change her appearance to, then she sends out a telepathic "pulse" which fools all other minds into believing her appearance is whatever she choses. This works on any organic mind, even a telepath; it's virtually unnoticable by telepaths, since it's very subtle in nature, and it can affect those resistent to telepathy because it doesn't affect the consciousness, unlike other forms of telepathy. It affects the visual parts of the mind. The only minds the "pulse" wouldn't affect are synthetic minds, like robots.
Phoenix Archer's second ability is the ability to control three elements through three different weapons: fire through a specialized dagger, ice through a specialized dagger (two different weapons), and lightning through specialized arrows. She has very basic control over these elements, and can only use them with her weapons.
Phoenix Archer's most noteworthy ability is the ability to extend and retract two golden, eagle-like (more likely than not, phoenix-like) wings from her back. These wings are made of what seems like flexible, organic golden metal; it can even deflect bullets, though it's clear that this isn't the best solution (Phoenix Archer has noted that it makes it more difficult to fly with a wing hit by a bullet). Though it appears to be an easy and painless process, she does have two scar-like marks on her back where her wings extend.
Without any use of her abilities (referred to in the Stories "As Ryana"), Ryana has bright, wavy red/gold hair, which falls just past shoulder length, and her eyes are light blue; almost cyan. Her face can be described as non-descript, yet somehow ethereal. For the most part, the only people who Ryana ever (willingly) lets see her in this appearance are her phoenixes.
In her Phoenix Archer disguise (referred to in the Stories "As Phoenix Archer"), she keeps her hair and eye color, but she wears a mask to protect her identity. This mask covers the bottom part of her face, like a bandana, and is made of a dark gray material. However, embroidered on the mask is a design that looks something like a storm cloud; on the very top, there is a cloud-like black strip of fabric, and out of this fabric comes a yellow lightning bolt pattern. (Phoenix Archer has a cape with a similar pattern---black hood and a lightning bolt running down the back on a dark gray material---but the inside doesn't have the lightning bolt, so she can turn inside out when she needs to blend in.)
She also wears fighting robes, which have a mostly dark, but warm color scheme. On her shoulders, a decorative, gentle curve of fabric (reinforced with some kind of ribbing) which slightly resembles a curled flame is present, both curving towards her neck, and her sleeves end just below her elbows. It's assumed that most of the robes are one piece, since she has actually been able to sheath her daggers, horizontally, on her belt, then conceal them by pulling some of the fabric around and wrapping it (somewhat loosely) around her belt. Beyond the belt, there is a split-skirt that goes just beyond her knees; she also wears pants which reach all the way down to her boots. Her boots defy the rest of her color scheme; they have a monochromatic blue scheme.
When she is pretending to be Vanessa Jones (referred to in the Stories "As Vanessa"), her appearance, minus her actual face, is almost entirely different. She uses her telepathic abilities to make her hair appear straight and black, and her eyes appear brown. She tends to wear a simple green travelling dress (with yellow trim), and she rarely wears anything that she doesn't want to get dirty in. The only exception is when she's at any kind of social function, and even then, she tends to wear simple outfits.
When she is disguised as Vanessa, she is somewhat friendly, but you can almost never get past the surface with her. To anyone who pays attention or spends a lot of time with her, it's clear that she's putting on an act. While Vanessa, she tends to be kind and listening, but she is also very practical and rarely likes it when a conversation goes on for a long time about nothing. Occasionally, she will even lose her temper and make a cold comment or two. (She rarely ever shouts out of anger.) In any situation involving a vampire, she is likely to lose her temper.
As Phoenix Archer, she adopts a very milataristic and cold attitude. She maintains (or tries to maintain) a very intimidating and menacing appearance to her enemies, but often fails against anyone she doesn't catch by surprise. She is also absolutely determined; she will do anything, minus things that cross her moral boundries, to accomplish her goals. Since this is the most real side of her most people see, she is most likely to be truly sympathetic and compassionate towards people she doesn't know when she is Phoenix Archer...though this is rare, since she spends little time with people.
When she is at home with her phoenixes, her personality comes out the most. She is actually very contemplative, and spends most of her "spare time" looking out a window and thinking. Generally, these times without having to act does her a lot of good and she's at peace, but if she's been going through a hard time, these can be somewhat detrimental. Not even Ryana's phoenix companions can pick up on this, but she really does enjoy fun things in life, and deep down inside, she still is a child at heart. She does a very good job of hiding it, though.
Phoenix Archer always prefers to have the upper hand, generally getting it through subterfuge and intimidation, but actually rarely uses force; she's not as strong as she'd like people to think. Also, she never kills anyone unless it's absolutely necessary.
Little is known about Ryana's background. It's been established that she has been travelling with the phoenixes for most of her and their lives (since she was 21 in her first appearance and the youngest of them was 15, it's likely it's not an exaggeration), and that, for the most part, she has had no adventures they don't know about, and there are very few people she knows that they don't. However, it's also clear that, before she met them, she went through some kind of rough experience with a woman named Hasaré.
Sometime while they were travelling together (and possibly more than once), Phoenix Archer and the phoenixes met up with Ditto Hunter, a bounty hunter with a formidable array of magical weapons and gadgets, and with almost no moral objection to many heinous acts, such as assassination. Since their morals clash, their relationship has become one step short of enemies.
Ditto Story 4: The Battle for the Fountain
Ryana/Phoenix Archer's first appearance in Ditto Town occured while she was travelling around the area. She'd heard of Ditto Town and had asked Brianna, who is a fire phoenix with the ability to scry (limited ability), if she would see what was going on. Brianna discovered that a man (J, though they never were directly told this) was promising to rid the town of evil. Phoenix Archer was suspicious, being a full believer in the evil nature of mankind, and decided to check it out. The first thing they did was take on their human disguises, and after that, they entered Aurora's Tea Shoppe. This was when they first learned of the Inn Between...and of the vampires in Ditto Town. This immediately caused an emotional response from all four of them, but Vanessa was able to contain them and head to the Inn Between. At first, things were all right, but when Boo-kay locked them in when Vanessa didn't pay the rent right away, she lost her temper and kicked him across the counter. They quickly moved out, and they found a cottage which was available for renting. It was the right size, so they rented it.
Not long after that, Phoenix Archer and Anna went out on a survey of Ditto Town and caught two bank robbers. When she caught them, she tied them up using ice, and left the inscription "Phoenix Archer was here" in the ice. After this, she went on "patrol", as she dubbed it, multiple times. In fact, she was there when Cymru mourned the death of her chicken, DaVinci. Seeing the two holes in the chicken's neck, she assumed it was a vampire's work...partially because it looked like it, and partially out of her prejudice against them. Just as she was about to leave, she ran into some of the members of the Ditto Team. After a short discussion, in which she revealed her suspicions, she left.
Later, Vanessa was in Lianna's Apothecary with her "sisters" while Lianna and her vampiric assistant, Giles, were working, and while Cymru was there. While she was there, she lost control of her restraint and openly asked Lianna why she trusted a vampire to work there. While Giles was trying to convince Cymru to leave the room with him so he could discuss something with her, Rose made a cutting comment about trusting vampires...unknowingly letting Cymru know that Giles was a vampire. After Cymru fainted, they decided it would be best to leave.
Around the same time, the Ditto Artist disappeared. Phoenix Archer decided to look for her, and after a few hours, finally found her, unconscious with a strange substance on her mouth. Phoenix Archer recognized it; it was designed to knock someone unconscious and keep them that way. When she learned that someone has stolen her horse, Hwesta, Phoenix Archer promised to look for her. Taking Diana with her, they both began surveying the area, and eventually ran into the Vice President, Frinio (FRIendly Neighborhood Insane One). After a short discussion, they agreed to take her with them on their search, and called Anna and Brianna to join them. After some searching, they finally found a small house with a stable. After they landed, they discovered that the stable was filled with several stolen horses, many of them from the Ditto Town Stables. They ran into the woman responsible, and despite her attempts to deceive them, then eventually to threaten them with her gun, they managed to apprehend her.
They took some of the horses back to Ditto Town and, on the way, they ran into those who had been involved in the Battle for the Fountain (including the Vampire Fancier and some of her vamps, but they were able to contain their tempers this time). After some explanation, they headed home. A few days later, Vanessa visited Lianna in order to apologize for her actions since she was leaving Ditto Town. (She mentioned she would've apologized to Giles, too, but she didn't want a repeat of what had already happened.) During their conversation, Vanessa mentioned (under her breath, but Lianna heard it) that she wished she could get over her bad feelings for vampires, but she couldn't. A few minutes later, she also apologized to Cymru.
While she half-heartedly left Ditto Town, she reflected on the love she had already developed for the town. As she took one look back, Ryana declared, "From now on, I am the Ditto Phoenix Archer."
Ditto Story 5: Redemption
After the phoenixes and Phoenix Archer endured an (unspecified) incident in Archenland, they decided to take a visit to Ditto Town, as they all had begun to like the Town and hadn't been their since their first visit. However, the phoenixes had to stay in the town they were in another night, so Phoenix Archer went on ahead of them. It was a fairly normal flight...until she was almost in Ditto Town. She landed in the woods because she needed the rest, but as she was there, she heard something. She looked through the trees and saw a woman leading two men; the two men were carrying something, and the woman appeared to be in charge of them...and very irritated, possibly angry, with how slow they were moving. She also seemed concerned about getting caught, which prompted Phoenix Archer to enter the scene, ready with both daggers.
Upon landing, Phoenix Archer realized she recognized the woman, but because of her mask, the woman didn't recognize her (however, it's stated that the woman would have recognized her had the mask been removed). The woman pulled out some kind of blue/grey powder and threw it on Phoenix Archer, who was knocked unconscious moments later. As it turns out, the powder was designed to erase memories; unconsciousness was a side effect, and she would've easily been brought out of it if anyone had so much as laid a hand on her. If Phoenix Archer had remained unconscious for three hours, her memories of running into the woman would've been erased.
However, just two hours later, Erik Silvermoon the gargoyle was flying by and noticed her lying on the ground. Concerned for her welfare, he landed by her, then tried to wake her up. As soon as he touched her, she woke up, and during their conversation, she realized that all her memories of the event were muddled. She remembered seeing two men carrying something, a familiar woman who made her angry, and the powder getting thrown at her shortly before she blacked out. However, she couldn't remember who the woman was...only that she had met her before.
The next day, the phoenixes arrived at the same cottage (which was still available for rent) and Phoenix Archer told them of her encounter. The next night, she and Anna went on patrol, and they ran into (yet another) pair of people trying to rob the bank. They caught them handly, though for some reason, it seemed like they had more of a motive than just robber.
However, there was nothing supporting this and no more clues arose, so they decided to move onto some signs of a possible ancient culture in the area. Since Phoenix Archer was an archaeologist as Vanessa, she decided she wanted to check it out so she and Rose went to investigate a promising site. While they were digging, Miss President Ashley Clark approached her, which didn't faze her...until she found something buried at her site. After pulling it out, she discovered it was a crate full of pottery...and below it were 17 green crystals. After some discussion, it was decided that Miss President should take a crystal to the Ditto Labs for investigation, in case it was dangerous...but unbeknownst to her, Vanessa slipped one of them into a pocket and brought it home. She put the crystal in a safe place and decided to do a little more investigating.
Without her knowledge, around this time, a few other events happened: first of all, Hasaré hired Ditto Hunter to find her, unaware that he had ever met her before. Ditto Hunter, on the other hand, didn't ever even report back to her; he had an agenda all his own. Still, he used this as an opportunity to find Phoenix Archer, now that he knew she was in Ditto Town. This led to him staking out her cottage for a few days, having reason to believe (correctly) that she was Phoenix Archer. However, he was called away by some personal issues, and he didn't contact her until much later.
When Vanessa came home from town one day, she discovered that the girls had tried to do some testing of their own on the crystal---and had actually ended up breaking a sledgehammer they used on it after they got a little too curious and carried away. A little while later, she ran into Miss President, who was, for some reason, wearing one glove. They had an awkward conversation, in which they both convinced the other to tell them what they knew. Vanessa started with her admission, but she didn't learn much...except that the crystal caused her hand to glow strangely.
Little happened to her for nearly a month, but this time of peace was interrupted during the Christmas Party. Vanessa and her "sisters" had gone, mostly because they knew it was the kind of event that, if you didn't attend, you needed a good explanation for all the people who asked you about it. While she was there, Rose and Tara saw Ditto Hunter reading in a corner. Mostly recognizing him, they relayed this information to Vanessa, who went with them to talk to him. During their conversation, he revealed that he knew who they were. Startled by this revelation, Vanessa decided to take it somewhere private so they could finish their conversation.
Ditto Hunter informed her that he was looking for some people to help him with something, and she was one of the people on that list. He didn't specify what he wanted her to do; just that it would help him exact revenge on the Organization for what they did to his people. She questioned his ability to make her do anything...then he revealed that he could kill every magical creature within a quarter mile radius if she didn't. However, she reminded him that doing it would make him just as bad, if not worse than what the Organization had done. Finally, he relented and admitted to being an "idiot", and was even willing to let her kill him if she chose. Despite his sudden change of heart, the phoenixes came up with an idea to convince him that she wasn't Phoenix Archer, so she took the opportunity anyways. Despite some guilt she felt about acting harshly towards him while he seemed somewhat repentant, she still pulled off her act to the best of her ability and convinced him that she wasn't Phoenix Archer. After this, Ditto Hunter left, and the phoenixes went to bed. Vanessa, on the other hand, went back to the party.
Not long after the party, a man named Max came to break out the two bank robbers Phoenix Archer had put in jail soon after coming back to town. Phoenix Archer caught them during the escape, but underestimated them and ended up in a bad situation. Max seemed to recognize her, and stated this. If the Tireless Engineer hadn't arrived, she probably would've eventually been beaten. Now very confused, Phoenix Archer later broke into the jail in order to interrogate Max, but she didn't get very many answers out of him. Mostly, she learned that who he was working for wasn't involved with the Organization, and that it was "a lot bigger than you", in Max's words. In other words, her run-ins with who he was working for were coincidental...according to him.
Soon after this, Vanessa went back to the dig site...only to discover the crystals gone. (The woman had two of her henchmen steal them the night before.) Frustrated, she decided to look for them that night...but she was distracted by the announcement that the Organization was going to attack, and that everyone who could fight would be needed. She and the phoenixes decided that the safety of the Town took priority over their mystery, and prepared to fight in the battle.
Before the battle, Phoenix Archer and Ditto Hunter had another conversation, in which she found out he had recovered somewhat, emotionally, since their last encounter...and he was now somewhat trustworthy. He also surprised her by telling her he was married...and hinted they might have something in common. During the battle, Phoenix Archer and the phoenixes acted mostly as flying, long-range fighters (both like and unlike the gargoyles' fighting). Only two things happened of note that concerned them: first of all, the phoenixes demonstrated a new ability; somehow, they were able to rejuvinate themselves, physically and magic-wise, though they hinted it had side effects, which is why they didn't do it often. Secondly, two strange beams of laser-like light appeared multiple times, every time against an Organization soldier. Phoenix Archer never learned all the details, but she later discovered that it was Miss President (and Cloaked/Neveah), using both her (Miss President's) crystal and Vanessa's. (Phoenix Archer never learned how she was able to make laser-like beams.)
After the battle, Phoenix Archer and her companions felt a great deal of joy at their victory, and openly fell to their knees in order to thank God for it.
In their last participation in the story, Phoenix Archer reflected on the battle, especially the strange beams, but decided to hold off investigating for a while.
Ditto Story 6: DisOrganization!
It has been a while since the battle against the Organization, and Vanessa decided it was time to investigate the disappearance of the crystals. However, when she arrives at her dig, she finds the tracks she had seen before gone---a recent rain had washed them away. Frustrated, she briefly questions not looking for them right away, but quickly reminded herself of why she had made the choice. As she is thinking it over, she hears a sound, which leads her to believe someone is nearby. However, after looking around and not seeing anyone, she shrugs it off, assuming it's a rabbit, and leaves.
However, it wasn't a rabbit, it was one of "the woman"'s men; a man named Warren. He (correctly) assumes she knows about the crystal, and reports it to his boss. However, because he didn't catch Vanessa's name, and the only thing he could say about her appearance (other than the basic description) was that she looked vaguely familiar, all he ends up doing is putting another person on the list of people his boss wants to find.
The same day, Vanessa discussed turning 18 with Rose. When phoenixes turn 18, they undergo some kind of change, though exactly what this change is is unknown. Vanessa mentioned that she had been disappointed when she turned 18 because nothing happened to her, but was assured that Rose would be fine when her birthday came up.
One night, while Phoenix Archer is on patrol alone (she and Brianna split up for a while), she ran into Ditto-Bot, the newly created robot/assisstant/"son" of the Ditto Mechanic. As they were talking, all the power in town blinked out for a few moments, but was back before either of them could even react. Neither of them knew exactly what it meant, and decided to check it out (Phoenix Archer reluctantly let Ditto-Bot tag along). They flew around for a while, but going on Phoenix Archer's intuition, they headed towards the woods instead of the power plant. Instead of finding what they were looking for, however, they found a group of vampires---one they could tell didn't belong to the Vampire Fancier. They also saw a human prisoner, who Phoenix Archer recognized from town (though she couldn't identify him). Phoenix Archer sent Ditto-Bot back to town for help, while she worked on rescuing the prisoner...who turned out to be Yves McCory, the Ditto Town detective. She escaped with him barely in time, but just as they were headed towards home, the Ditto Town Detective asked her not to tell anyone he was out there...and threatened to find out her identity and tell everyone if she did. Though angry about the blackmail, she agreed, mostly because she didn't want everyone to know about her activities.
After explaining everything to Ditto-Bot (in sketchy details, of course), she went back to her cottage, where they discussed the power outage. The next day, Phoenix Archer and Diana went to investigate it at the actual power plant. However, what they didn't know was that Jean and Claude, the two "ghosts" from Isaac the Star Defender's universe, and pulled a trick on the woman, and she was sending men to investigate what had happened. When they arrived, Diana sensed ice near by, and found it in a freshly-dug hole underground. They dug it out, and discovered not only the ice, but what the ice was under: a strange, metal hook. (The ice was there via the prank Jean and Claude had played on the woman.) As they were inspecting it, however, they were attacked by the men the woman had sent to investigate. Despite their best efforts to defend themselves, one of the men shot Phoenix Archer with a tranquilizer dart, which forced Diana to rescue her and retreat. Immediately before and during the battle, both of their names were said.
When the men reported back to the woman, she asked for details about who they attacked, intrigued by the fact that there was a phoenix there. As soon as she heard "Phoenix Archer"'s name, she knew exactly who she was. She sent her men away and commented that Ryana had chosen a very foolish and simple alias.
Not long after that, Warren was in town (on reconissance) when he saw Vanessa. Following the woman's latest orders concerning her, he went up to her and gave her (false) information about areas where he had seen suspicious activity, claiming he had a record of some kind and doubted the police would trust him. Vanessa, though she didn't trust him, took the information and thought it over. Despite the fact that it was obvious there was more to the situation than met the eye, Vanessa decided to investigate as Phoenix Archer. Because there were four areas, they each went to a different area. Since Brianna was turning 18 very soon, she had to leave immediately after she investigated her area.
Just as Phoenix Archer was about to give up her investigation, a trap door opened beneath her, and before she even had time to try to slow down, she was knocked unconscious by a sharp turn which caused her to hit her head on the top. When she woke up, she found herself in a strange room...and with the woman. As soon as she heard her voice and saw her, Phoenix Archer recognized her as Hasaré, and Hasaré called her Ryana more than once. She demonstrated some of her control over the situation by, first, paralyzing Phoenix Archer, then by forcibly changing her appearance into Vanessa's. After a brief conversation, in which Hasaré mostly taunted Phoenix Archer, she had Phoenix Archer transferred to a cell.
A little while later, Phoenix Archer was "treated" to another visit from Hasaré...though it was clear she was just their to taunt. At the beginning of their conversation, Hasaré mentioned Phoenix Archer's father in a clearly condenscending manner...which infuriated Phoenix Archer to the point of threatening to kill her. Hasaré was surprised by this turn of events, knowing Phoenix Archer well enough to know that she wouldn't intentionally---or maliciously---kill anyone unless it was absolutely necessary, but was distracted when someone brought a report to her...concerning equipment she was going to use with the green crystals. Phoenix Archer heard the part about the green crystals and realized that Hasaré had been the one who stole them. However, when she demanded answers, her only answer was, "They will help me accomplish my mother's dreams. Both of them."
Unbeknownst to Phoenix Archer or Hasaré, during this time, Diana and Anna were organizing a search party. They wanted to do it themselves, but when they went looking for Phoenix Archer, Anna ended up being knocked unconscious by a barrier...of what they later deduced to be anti-phoenix spells (something they know of all too well). They contacted both Miss President and Ditto Hunter. (They went to Ditto Hunter only out of desperation and they knew he could get the job done. Anna was (somewhat pleasantly) surprised to discover he was no where near as heartless and cold as he used to be; in fact, she saw him for the first time without his armor, and with his wife. It was so surprising she refused to believe it was him for a while.)
After a couple days, Hasaré approached Phoenix Archer in her cell one last time...this time with more to say than taunting. This time, she brought a syringe with a blue liquid inside it, and told Phoenix Archer she'd use it on her if she didn't give up the location of the final two crystals and/or swear fealty to her. Phoenix Archer pointed out that she didn't think Hasaré would poison her, so Hasaré told her it was something that for "someone with [her] mentailty", it was a fate worse than death. Phoenix Archer insisted she was bluffing and refused to comply, so Hasaré injected the liquid into her. Phoenix Archer lost consciousness soon after that.
Meanwhile, the rescue party began their search. Ditto Hunter and Galacia both went with Anna and Diana to where Phoenix Archer was lost. As they explored it, Ditto Hunter realized that, unless Phoenix Archer didn't have any phoenix blood (something he doubted), there was no way she could've passed through the barrier...meaning someone set it up after she went through. He reasoned that meant it hadn't been an unintentional disappearance; someone intentionally kidnapped her. Though Anna and Diana were startled by the news, and seemed to have an idea of who it could be, they refused to share any speculation on who it was with Ditto Hunter and Galacia.
They found the trap door and followed it to some kind of underground headquarters. It appeared to have been abandoned---recently, and everything there had been thoroughly removed. There was nothing left to analyze for clues. While they were exploring, they found an unconscious Phoenix Archer slumped up against a wall. After they woke her up, and the phoenixes briefly relayed their joy, she noticed Ditto Hunter and thanked him curtly. However, as she was about to leave, he asked her to tell him more about who kidnapped her. To everyone's shock (including Ditto Hunter's), instead of answering, Phoenix Archer whipped him with her wings, insisting it was none of his business, and that he should mind his own business. She stormed off, so Anna and Diana apologized for her. Anna informed him that they had a pretty good idea of who it was, and that that person might cause Phoenix Archer to react the same way to "her fiance, if she had one".
With that, the phoenixes left. Before following, Ditto Hunter revealed to Galacia that he knew there was something wrong with Phoenix Archer...very wrong.
Ditto Story 7 (Untitled)
It's been a while since Phoenix Archer's capture. Rose has returned home, and has noticed that Vanessa has been very quiet and moody lately. She knows some of the details about her capture, but not even who captured her; apparently, Vanessa hasn't felt the need to divulge that information. Tara and Sarah have narrowed the list down to a few people, but they told Rose that if she wanted to know, she'd have to ask Vanessa...which is exactly what she chose to do.
Rose approached Vanessa and, after a little beating around the bush, finally got Vanessa to confess that it was Hasaré...and what Hasaré said to her. Despite her greatest attempts to hide from it, Vanessa was frightened by what Hasaré had in store for her. Rose attempted to encourage her by reminding her that she could stop letting Hasaré control her life...but instead of helping, it made the situation far worse. Suddenly, Vanessa completely lost control, and began shouting at Rose. However, her shouting didn't last long. When she came out of it, she immediately apologized...and informed her that she had no idea what had happened. She had lost complete control---not like normal anger, when you still know what you're doing and are just too angry to stop yourself. Vanessa literally had no control over her own actions and words. Rose didn't talk about it, but she began wondering what could've set it off.
One day, while Vanessa was taking a walk, she saw a flyer for the PATROL, which was recruiting members. Intrigued, she decided to see Tara Brecker about it. Later, she went to the bunkhouse as Phoenix Archer, and met with her about the PATROL. After reading the Member's Covenant, she came to a realization: she couldn't sincerely agree to everything in the Member's Covenant as long as she clung so stubbornly to her secret identity. She asked to meet up with all the "leaders" (founders) of the PATROL. Thankfully for her, the other two founders---the Ditto Rider and the Manipulator of the Mundane---arrived not long after she made that descision, and she was given a chance to fulfill her decision by revealing her identity to the three of them (though only the Rider recognized her as Vanessa). After they worked out a little bit of the scheduling, she went home.
When she got home, she talked to the phoenixes about what happened...and felt slightly guilty for not considering what revealing her identity would do to theirs. However, they didn't mind---after all, they'd adopted the identities for her sake, not their own---but Sarah made the mistake of commenting that they didn't need the identities anymore since Hasaré had already found Phoenix Archer. Unfortunately, that made Phoenix Archer uncontrollably angry again, and she snapped at Sarah over it. Tara snapped her out of it by grabbing her arm and scolding her right back. Though it did get Phoenix Archer to stop, there was still some tension that lasted for a few days. Also, Rose came to the conclusion that Hasaré was involved, since it was a mention of her that set Phoenix Archer off both times.
A few days later, Vanessa and Tara took a walk together, both knowing (but not saying) in an attempt to relieve the tension between them after Vanessa's last uncontrollable rage. While they were walking, they avoided discussing the issue, but just as they started to do so, they heard someone crying. After some looking, they found a strange girl with light blue hair and lavender eyes...unusual lavender eyes. The color extended past the irises and into the whites, almost like her eyes were bloodshot. She also appeared to be blind. However, just as Vanessa got close, the girl seemed (pleasantly) shocked that she was there and called her Evelyn. However, she quickly realized it wasn't "Evelyn", and that she just "felt like her". Just as they asked what was wrong and who she was, the girl fainted unexpectedly. Vanessa realized she needed medical attention and, with Tara's help, they got her back to the cottage...where they recruited the other two to get her to the Rescue Center. (More as the story progresses.)


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FRESNO, Calif. -
WY-FS final stats | Wyo WBB Season Stats
The Wyoming women's basketball team (13-12 overall, 8-7 MW) scored a season-low in points and had its four-game winning streak broken with a 67-50 loss against Fresno State Bulldogs (19-7 overall, 11-4) on Wednesday in Fresno.
"Too many scoring opportunities were missed in tonight's game," head coach Joe Legerski said. "I thought we played at an intense level, but it's a steep hill to comeback from a double-digit deficit when you can't convert on those opportunities."
Junior guard Marquelle Dent led the way with a team-high 16 points, plus six assists and two rebounds. Senior forward Kayla Woodward added nine points followed by sophomore center Kaylie Rader with eight points and a team high six rebounds. The Cowgirls shot 22-of-55 (.400) from the field and 3-of-10 (.300) from beyond the arc.
Fresno State was led by senior forward Alex Sheedy with 25 points and five rebounds. Toni Smith added 12 points and a team-high seven rebounds. The Bulldogs were 27-of-57 (.474) from the field and outrebounded the Cowgirls 39-27.
The deficit remained at nine, 37-28, for the Cowgirls through the first couple of minutes of the second half. The Bulldogs responded with an 8-0 run to increase the lead to 17, 45-28. A basket by Dent ended a four-minute scoreless stretch followed by a Woodward basket closed the gap to 12, 45-33. Over the next eight-minute stretch, Fresno State would build a 20-point lead, 59-39. The Cowgirls tried to make a push and scored 9 of the next 11 to pull within 14, 61-47, with 1:55 remaining in the game. Unfortunately, Wyoming would fall short by the final of 67-50.
Wyoming struggled out of the gate as it turned over the ball twice and the Bulldogs hit two early field goals to go ahead 4-0. A basket by Woodward three minutes into the contest got the Cowgirls in the scoring column. Fresno State extended the lead to nine, 13-4, with a 9-2 scoring run. Started by a basket Kaylie Rader, Wyoming scored seven of the next nine points to close the gap to four, 15-11. The Bulldogs responded by outscoring the Cowgirls 13-2 to extend the led back to 15, 28-13. A field goal by Jordan Sibrel ended a three-minute scoreless stretch by Wyoming and eight straight points cut the lead to seven, 28-21. In the final four minute stretch, the teams combined for eight points as Fresno State took a 33-24 lead into the locker room.
Dent led all scorers for Cowgirls with six along with four assists and two rebounds. Mileto followed with five points and two others with four. Sibrel brought down four rebounds. Wyoming shot 11-of-25 (.440) from the field 1-of-5 (.200) from beyond the arc. The Bulldogs were led by Sheedy with 11 points and four rebounds followed by Toni Smith ten points and three boards. Fresno State shot 15-of-29 (.517) from the field, had 22 points in the paint and eight points off turnovers.
Wyoming returns home on Saturday to close out the week. The Cowgirls will host the UNLV Lady Rebels beginning at 2 p.m. MT in the Arena-Auditorium.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
"Magic is believing in yourself, if you can do that, you can make anything happen."
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
That is what I would like to give my child for life.
And a large portion of love that will always be here,
no matter where she will ever go.
– love in my corner –
more posts all over the world can be found by Francesca of FuoriBorgo


text:
Jim Marshall Installation
Jim Marshall Installation
Photography installation from legendary photographer and longtime San Francisco resident Jim Marshall in the windows
of the vacant San Francisco Unified School District building across the street from the SFJAZZ Center on Franklin Street at Fell Street.
Roll over the artist images below to see who is who, or scroll down to view the key.
Top Row
- Dizzy Gillespie
- Gerry Mulligan
- Mary Lou Williams
- Dave Brubeck
- Miles Davis
- Sonny Rollins
- John Coltrane
- Horace Silver
Middle Row
- Charles Lloyd
- Teddy Edwards
- Count Basie
- Joe Henderson
- Elvin Jones
- Vi Redd
- Mary Stallings
- Jackie McLean
Bottom Row
- Anita O'Day
- Duke Ellington
- Thelonious Monk
- Charles Mingus
- Nina Simone
- Bill Evans
- Nancy Wilson
- Tony Williams
We are very excited to announce this new installation by legendary photographer Jim Marshall in the windows of the SFUSD building across Franklin Street. The installation will be illuminated for all of Opening Weekend and run through May 2017.
Reel Art Press is offering all SFJAZZ Members a 30% discount on the new photography book Jazz Festival: Jim Marshall through September 30.Visit Reel Art Press and enter promo code SFJMJAZZ at checkout.
The discount will also be available for a limited number of copies at SFJAZZ during Opening Weekend, and is valid online only through September 30. Read this article in The Guardian about the release of this exciting collection of images, many never-before-seen.