#DORA SPHINX

[literary-illuminati]

2024 Book Review #61 – Those Across The River by Christopher Buehlman

Months and months ago, I asked for recommendations on books that actually tried to make werewolves horrifying instead of just some variety of urban fantasy or romance archetype. Those Across The River was one of the few real recommendations I got, and then spent most of the year languishing on my To-read shelf until I had entirely forgotten why it was there. It does very much fit the requirements asked of it, and in concept is really quite a juicy idea. Unfortunately, it’s rather let down b execution here – both in terms of prose and of content.

Frank Nichols is a historian – or was one, anyway. After an affair with a college's wife named Eudora becomes public and he responds by running away with her, his career prospects take something of a swan dive. And in the midst of the Great Depression, there are far more wannabe academics than there are jobs for them. So, after living for a time with his brother in Chicago, the two of them move down south to take up residence in the small southern town his mother fled as soon as she was able, where Dora might at least draw a salary as a school teacher. And, more importantly, where Frank can research his great-grandfather, a confederate planter killed by his own slaves in the last days of the Civil War whose ruined plantation lies somewhere nearby, to write the biography that will restart his career.

Times are tough there too, and soon after the pair of them move in there is a town meeting where it’s agreed to end the monthly tradition of driving a pair of hogs across the river to thank God for their good fortune. While God doesn’t seem to mind much one way or the other, the creatures living in the woods who had made feasts of those pigs certainly do, and on the next full moon raid the outskirts of the town to make their displeasure known. From there, things just about only get worse.

So as mentioned, this is the vanishingly rare sort of story made in the last couple of decades that take ssomething recognizable as werewolves and actually tries to play them straight as something awful, threatening, and horrifying. I think this mostly works – there’s only a scene or two I’d really call horrifying, but then with books that’s an incredibly high bar for me. It manages the tone and atmosphere of a proper horror story throughout, and never lets the werewolves stop being strange an dangerous.

A large part of this is, I’m sure, just the fact that no one in the story is even the tiniest bit genre-savvy or awae of what a ‘werewolf’ is, as a cultural figure. Beyond providing the isolation and lack of outside forces that might help, the period setting does an incredible amount of work in just making it plausible that no one in the story was aware of what kind of story they were in. This is actually probably the first straightforward monster horror story I’ve read or seen in a while that wasn’t in some way trying to comment or make cute references to the wider genre.

The period setting is, werewolves aside, easily the most engaging thing about the book. Less so for the particulars of the world than the character of Frank. The entire book is spent in his head, marinating in his internal monologue, and it’s a wonderfully strange and uncanny place – the story makes a liberal college professors from New England in the 1930s seem more genuinely alien (and often repulsive) than most genre fiction manages to make feudal aristocrats or cybernetic oligarchs.

The prose is interesting. Often good, but just as often reading like someone’s very self-conscious pastiche of mid-20th century ‘Great American Novel’ writing. Which I think is intentional, but does begin to wear on you – there’s only so many times you can read a guy say ‘how like a sphinx!’ when describing his fiancee before it grates. The exception here is Frank’s traumatic nightmares of his time fighting WW1 in France, which I reliably found quite evocative and striking.

The book’s politics are, well, bad, but in an absolutely fascinating sort of way. Better to say that the book is torn between the themes and politics it wants to have, and the mixture of genre requirements and I guess an author and editor who didn’t care much about subtext that leave it sending too drastically different messages. It’s probably one of the most interesting things about the book.

On the explicit, textual level, the book is very conscious of all the petty cruelty and flagrant brutality that went into maintaining the Jim Crow South, and views e.g. the way Frank calls it ‘the States War’ with jaundiced irony. There are passages talking explicitly about the injustice of sharecropping, and the vulgar racism of all the townspeople is presented as one more reason to view most of them with contempt. And of course the supernatural evil driving the whole story is the bloody legacy left behind by a confederate slaveowner who hunted and consumed human flesh wearing the skin of a beast, whose shadow looms large over the entire story. The book is generally very clear that ‘racism = bad’.

And yet-

This is also a story where functionally every black character is an inhuman, man-sexually predatory, man-eating beast in human skin (there is exactly one ‘good’ werewolf, he’s a yankee), where the indigent drifters walking through town begging for work really were sinister malefactors mapping things out to return with their friends latter, where the protagonist’s fiancee having dubiously consensual sex with a black man is very much presented as part of her own transformation into an insatiable, uncontrollable, literally babe-eating werewolf herself.

Horror has a reputation for being a reactionary genre by default, which this book feels like a decent argument towards. More, it was published in 2010, and I might owe that whole decade of pop-media critique being elevated to spectator sport that it’s genuinely hard to find stuff quite this unselfaware getting published these days.

A very fitting Halloween read I suppose, in the same way watching an ‘80s slasher is.

[fsanyadarkpaw]

Can I ask you about your dnd oc? The tiefling half devil character you posted sketches of recently. She looks cool

I wanna know more about them

What’s her subclass?

What’s the little animal sitting on her staff?

Does she give good hugs? (She looks very huggable)

Oh gods HI!!! YEAH I love questions.

Well, for starters, her name is Nymphadora! She's half-elf half-devil (but thinks she's a tiefling).

We're playing pathfinder so she's actually a thaumaturge (in case you're not familiar (cause I really wasn't when we started playing) with their system of classes, it's sort of like an exorcist who uses enchanted artefacts and their knowledge but can't cast magic on their own). So, yeah, she has an enchanted elven sabre (it goes back into her hand when she throws it around — and she loves throwing things around) and a magic mirror that can create her duplicate.

The animal she has around is Mrs. Dawson, a sort of... Devil cat? A devil sphinx? Dora doesn't know where she got her from, but presumes it's her familiar.

PRESUMES is a really big word in her story since she lost all of her memories so she THINKS she's a warlock and has a deal with some devil lady who gave her the cat as a familiar and all of her magic trinkets. (Little does she know that the "devil lady" is actually her mom and they made no deal...) So, basically, she's on the journey of retrieving her memories. Mostly because it's an odd thing for a whole town to forget everything connected to one person (her mom), right? Her dad (an elf wizard-scientist, studying other planes) lost 30 years of his life, which is wild to him also.

That being said, when you only have memories of the past, like, three years, you're a bit naive. So she is. She has no idea what she's doing, but she's vibing. She also has a whole package of abandonment issues but, uh,,,,,,, maybe next time.

BUT, YEAH, you DEFINITELY can and SHOULD give her a hug. She might steal your shiny things but she loves hugs and she does them well with all she got, including the tail. (Mind her accessories, they can get stuck in your hair and clothes.)

[rubin-therubix-loverofblorbos]

THE GANG'S ALL HERE {WARNING: PICREW 😦}

Julius Demain Pidieu but what his voice sounds like to me. Sadly, he looks five months old because the picrew I am obsessed with had no wrinkles🥺. He no longer looks like a sweet sphinx cat😭

APRICOT UN'AUTRE PIDIEU IN THE HOUSE. SHE HAS NO CONTENT DESPITE BEING JULES'S CANONICAL DAUGHT- oh. Jules has no content. Like father like daughter 😞.

THIS AUSTRALIAN IS HAVING GAY SEX WITH JULES. {Argent Étolie Chevalier is an OC} {He has like fifteen piercings but I forgor 🤡}

Mommy? sorry. Mommy? sorry. Mommy? sorry. Mo- {Dolores Toujours Pideu, Apricot's cool lesbian albino trans aunt that is going to kill me with her beauty}

Callahan Cyra Jumanah is Dolores's sweetheart, and I AM ALSO GOING CRAZY OVER HER. POWER COUPLE ULTIMATE EDITION. { Some people think she's faking her condition -chronic pain in her left leg and fatigue- because she can walk [with a cane]} {She has to hold Dolly back}

LET'S GIVE IT UP FOR MASC GENDERFLUID PEOPLE WOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOO {Coquille Bleue Pidieu is the eldest sibling of the three and can sense colors, shapes, and shadows despite being legally blind.}

WE ARE OUTGUNNED, OUTMANNED. OUTNUMBERED, OUTPLANNED- {Captain Héraklès Alcides Puissant-Redevance of the RCM is an old family friend}

WHERE THE HOOD WHERE THE HOOD WHERE THE HOOD AT-{Amoureux Perdue Du'Passe, Jules's former work partner and spouse. Sadly, he was killed on the force a few weeks after Apricot died of brain cancer. It was not a good year for Mr Pidieu.}

W. what if. Jeannie-Marie but when she was young. She was able to work around the giant black ink stain on her yellow dress by finding a thick but comfy sweater. She's one of those people who cannot fucking feel heat so she's alright. {PRETTY WONMAN😳🤤 WITH COCK?????? AMAZING 💯💫⭐🔥🌟✨⚡🎉🎊❤️🧡💛💚💙💜🤎🖤🤍♥️💘💝💖💗💓💞💕💌💟❣️❤️‍🩹❤️‍🔥💋🫂🫀👁️👅👁️👀👍👏👌🤌🤙🤝🤜🤛🙏}

Look, Young Renė was a little cinnamon roll. He could make the most "Fuck dem kids" person into preschool teacher worthy in less than an hour. But y'know, kindness sometimes drowns in hate and PTSD. Although, current Renė MIGHT not make you want to throw a fucking grenade at him if you're at the "Okay, you can put your hand on my wrist BUT THAT'S IT." stage. Zero people are currently at that stage because J-M isn't part of the lore anymore. Also, yeah Renė's trans. trans people can be inconsiderate assholes, we're not sparkles and rainbows. I mean, Look at me. I might not be inconsiderate but I CAN be an ass-of-the-hole.

Lieutenant Leo hey uh what's that say? K. WHAT. KITSURAGI??? OH MY FUCKING GOD. W H A T? {<-My brain in the process of making this guy up.} {LOOK IT'S KIM'S HALF [?] SEOLITE DAD!} {Btw despite the resting bitch face he's a nerdy sweetheart that loves cars. y'know like his son. I'm going to cry.}

Cecelia Davenport/Kitsuragi, Kim's fuckin' MILF of a mom. She and Leo LOVED to match. I'm welling up again. Btw she wasn't fully finished because it was three fucking AM when I made her so. 😔.

I feel like Gaston was a little fuckboy in his teens. I mean, he was still polite though and that lead to conversations like: "So uh [Lip bite} What're you doin' later? OH, FUCK you're grandma's recovering from cancer???? That's amazing! I hope she gets better soon! I can buy some flowers for her if it would cheer her up a bit! Have a good day!" Then Renė comes up and is like "Dude. You fucking sweetheart. Stop acting like a charity and get some goddamn pussy."

DORA THE DIVORCE EMPLOYER- {Not to be omni but oh my god. oh fuck. golly gee. I wolf whistle while my eyes pop comically out of their sockets and I spontaneously combust then pour a giant bucket of water over myself and steam rises from my ears like a train} {She's not actually in this AU but I love her and felt like making her}

Elizabeth is the type of girl to try and look professional but still go all out. She finally got out of the gardener's clothes and is slaying hard. Now, speaking of har-

Made Marie without her hijab because I'm a feral fucking animal and I legit couldn't imagine her hair correctly without reference and ALSO

REMADE YOUNG RENÉ BECAUSE I HATE THE FIRST ONE. Also I hate that you can't color the facial hair because it looks like his hair is dyed when he's just like that.

LOOK, IT'S LILLIANOVICH! What the FUCK would this bitch wear when he was a kid? Just made some shit up bro. Also, I like to think he uses reading glasses even though he has pretty good eyes overall.

THERE WE GO

LINK: X

[vrexrobo]

Top 10 Zyuranger monsters

[skreel-the-red-thing]

Ok, here’s characters I hope we’ll see in Hades 2

- CIRCE : I’m very happy to get to meet Hecate, but why not another super cool witch ? Circe could be a checkpoint, like Eurydice was, givin Melinoe potion or some stuff for the road. Or she could try to turn us into pig, which can be very fun too.

- ODYSSEUS : If Circe, why not that bastard ? Yeah, Achilles what hella cool and Theseus stupidly funny. BUT ODYSSEUS ? My personnal fave greek hero, looking foward to play riddles with him.

- SPHINX : Speakin of riddles, I hope we get another mythical creature like Asterius. Would love a Sphinx, or...

- CHIRON : ... a centaur ! Pleaaaase I want a centaur so bad. Chiron would be great, but if I remember right, he don’t go to the underworld after his death. So maybe another centaur ? Who we could fight ?

- AEOLUS : (I think it’s his english name ? In french we say Eole) : I was wondering what kind of help Melinoe could get, since Zag got most of the pantheon already. Maybe Zeus and family will return with some additionnal people like Apollo, but to be honest I hope for a new set of gods. Aeolus is the god of wind, very powerful in the lore, could be awesome !

- HERA : She wasn’t in the first game, so maybe this time ? Most of people don’t like her and think she’s a bitch, and yeah okay, killing children is not cool even if your husband cheats on you. But I like her, would love love to see her design in Hades style. 

- HEPHAESTUS : I want a fire god ! I want to burn everything ! He or Hestia, whatever, but I want fire power !

- PROMETHEUS : Or if not a fire Olympian, then maybe a fire Titan ? Since we’ve seen (Pan)Dora, maybe we can see Prometheus ? Cool guy, could be an help fighting Kronos.

Wow, what a long list already. Gonna stop there before exploding with excitement

[toku-action-figure-news]

Power Rangers Lightning Collection Monsters Wave 2 leaked - Eye Guy & Pirantishead

With the first wave of Lightning Collection Monsters soon to release, Hasbro’s Power Rangers collector’s spin-off line isn’t set to end with Pumpkin Rapper and King Sphinx -- according to new listings, it appears that a second wave is set to consist of MMPR Season 1′s Eye Guy (also known as Zyuranger’s Dora Argus) and MMPR Season 2′s Pirantishead.

Both of these figures are set to release in April 2021, and will likely be 30$ USD like their predecessors.

[rompstompchomp]

Rampage Origins: Leon The Lion Part 1

Legendary Leos

Nemean Lion

(Depiction from Hercules 2014 film)

In Greek mythology, Hercules’ First Labor was to slay the Nemean Lion, a creature who’s hide was impenetrable. After trapping the animal, Hercules was able to stun it with his club and eventually used his enhanced strength to strangle it to death. He then proceeded to try to skin the corpse, but had to be informed by the goddess Athena to use the creature’s own claws to successfully remove the pelt.  The gods then placed the lion’s remains among the stars as the constellation Leo to commemorate Hercules’ victory over it. Hercules continued to use the pelt as armor, as it protected against the elements and most weapons. Several film adaptations have made the lion bigger and more monstrous (such as giving it the fangs of saber-toothed cats), but it was traditionally depicted as just a normal sized lion with very tough skin.

Kuroiga Griffon (Latitude Zero 1969)

When Dr. Malic’s minion Kuroiga fails too many times for his liking, the mad doctor removes his brain and places into a huge hybrid lion-eagle creature as punishment. However, this turns out to be a fatal mistake, as the Kuroiga Griffin turns against his former master and attacks the villain’s submarine, causing its laser to go out of control, leading to an avalanche that crushes the villain and his minions. The hybrid creature in this film takes its name from a mythological creature, the griffon:

In ancient Iranian, Egyptian and later Greek myth, griffons were creatures that were half eagle, half lion. Much like dragons, they were thought to guard vast treasures and their feathers were supposedly a cure for blindness. While the Kuroiga Griffon seems to have its parts reverse (a lion in front and eagle in back), it still fits the basic elements of the griffon species.

Dora Sphinx/King Sphinx (Dinosaur Squadron Beast Ranger Episode 5: Scary Riddles, March 27, 1992/Season 1 Episode 1: Day of The Dumpster, August 28,1993)

Dora Sphinx disguised himself as a gameshow host and offered children who entered his contest a chance to win a trip around the world if they could answer five riddles. However, those who couldn’t answer his riddles within the time limit were blown away by his wings and imprisoned in trees that were scheduled to be cut down. Dora Sphinx eventually encountered the Dino Squadron and imprisoned a few of them who weren’t able to correctly answer his questions. However, they were able to escape and trick Dora Sphinx into revealing his weakness (his headdress) via phrasing it as a riddle. While he tried to fight them off with blasts from his staff and his gigantic size, the Dinosaur Squadron were able to destroy him and rescue the imprisoned children. The King Sphinx incarnation was created specifically to kill the Red Ranger, leader of the Power Rangers. He was shown to have many of the same powers as Dora Sphinx, but could also fire a barrage of question shaped fire balls at the Rangers.

King Sphinx is based on two versions of a similar mythological creature from ancient Egyptian and Greek mythology:

The Egyptian Sphinx is typically depicted as a guardian of the tomb of a particular pharaoh. In fact, the statue was carved with the face of the pharaoh buried within and was also to show their close relationship with the fierce sun goddess Sekhmet, who was often depicted with the head of a lioness:

There were many breeds of sphinxes in Greek mythology: some with the heads of hawks, others with those of rams. However, the most famous sphinx of Greek myth was the Theban Sphinx:

Much like the goddess Sekhmet, the Theban Sphinx was a mix of lioness and woman, though in opposite capacity. She also had the wings of a bird (most often though to be those of an eagle). She would ask them a riddle and devour those that could not answer it. Eventually, Oedipus answered her riddle and she threw herself to her death from the high rocky area she inhabited.

Dora Chimaera/Goatan (Dinosaur Squadron Beast Ranger Season 1 Episode 44: Swordswoman! Japan’s Best, December 25, 1992/Season 1 Episode 44: Lions & Blizzards, February 10, 1994)

Dora Chimaera was able to fire beams from his lion head’s eyes and create gusts of snow and tornados from his goat head. He used his snake tail to absorb people to use their talents (such as singing and playing sports). The Goatan incarnation was mostly the same, though the explanation of where it got the sports items is missing and it has two voice actors (one for the lion head and the other for the goat head).

Dora Chimaera/Goatan was based on the Chimera from Greek mythology:

A hybrid lion/goat/snake monster that breathed fire, the Chimera was said to be female, though most depictions have been male (in some variations, she is said to be the mother of the Theban Sphinx and the Nemean Lion). The hero Bellerophon was able to fight the Chimera by riding the winged horse Pegasus out of range of her fiery breath and firing arrows at her. He finished her off by equipping his spear with a lump of lead that melted when exposed to her fiery breath and consequently killed her. The name chimera subsequently was used to describe any mythological creatures with two or more parts of various animals and/humans.

[eloise-beaulieu-curse-breaker]

Eloise Beaulieu

She is my MC in HPHM.

Name: Eloise Beaulieu

Birthday: November 15th, 1972

Birth Place: Alpes-Mont Blanc. France

Hogwarts House: Slytherin.

Boggart: Lord Voldemort (formerly), Rarepick (after fifth year).

Patronus: Eagle (formerly), Sphinx (after her marriage with Barnaby).

Animagus form: Eagle

Hair color: Blonde platinum

Eye color: blue/ gray

Skin color: pale.

Family:

Belmont Beaulieu (father) Isis Beaulieu (mother) Jacob Beaulieu (older brother) Barnaby Lee (husband) Iris A. Lee ( eldest daughter) Bastien R. Lee (son) Céline D. Lee (youngest daughter)

She´s the youngest daughter of Belmont and Isis Beaulieu and only sister to Jacob ( he calls her Pip since she was born).  Eloise is an ambitious and loyal young woman  with her loved ones. When she and Jacob were little, they used to camp on Easter days with both parents to gaze at the stars. After her brother disappears weeks after Christmas, she develops animosity towards winter.

In August 1984, she meets who would become her best friend and roommate at Hogwarts, Rowan Khanna in Diagon Alley. Both girls are selected for the House of Slytherin a few days later. The next day she meets Mérula Snyde with whom she would have a feud until the fifth year, when they would become allies against Rarepick and the Cursed Vaults.  

In 1988 she became the apprentice of Patricia Rarepick along with Mérula Snyde and Bill Weasley, at the end of the year the teacher betrays the Curse Breakers Team and abandons them in the Buried Vault. Eloise frees her brother from a portrait and he appears away in search of the red haired woman.

In her third grade, she starts talking to Barnaby Lee (a Slytherin of her class). They start out as friends but after attending the Celestial Ball together the following year they both begin to develop  feelings for each other.  They go on their first date and on Valentine´s Day 1989 they go as couple to the Lockhart Event at Hogsmeade, giving their first kiss that night at the Hogwarts Greenhouses. In the Spring Festival   they annouce their relationship to their friends.

She lost her best friend  to Patricia Rarepick during her sixth grade, Rowan came between a killing curse and Ben Cooper. Eloise became emotionally isolated from her friends until Barnaby gets her to talk about her feelings and she begins to accept that her friend has died. She and Mérula decide to become allies temporarily to defeat Rarepick. They form the Circle of Khanna to avenge the death of the Slytherin.

After graduation, both decide to travel for some time before settling in a flat near the MInistry. Once they were back, she began her training at Gringotts as a curse-breaker. Barnaby begins to work in the Department of Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures at the Ministry gor a few years before he came magizoologist, he proposes to Eloise in November 1993 and few months later they moved to a home in the area near to The Burrow.

In 1996 they welcome their first daughter, Iris Altair Lee. Barnaby and Eloise quit their jobs a few months after Dumbledore’s death and protect their little family.

On May 2,1998 they are summoned by Tonks to fight the Voldemort and their army, leaving Iris in care of Andromeda Tonks. Eloise saved Fred from being killed by a Death Eater, but she collapses into her husband´s arms when she learns that Tonks and her husband have lost their lives, leaving little Teddy in the care of his grandmother.

In 2001, they welcome twins Bastien and Céline. Bastien is given his middle name  “Rowan” in honor of his mom’s roommate at Hogwart. Céline is named “Dora” after Auror Tonks, a close friend of her parents.

FIve years later, Eloise quits Gringotts and starts a new business with Penny  Haywood- now Winger- Once Iris graduates and the twins enter Hogwarts, Barnaby and Eloise resume their research trips.

[majingojira]

Super Robot Wars: Pacific Rim

A While Ago (over a month ago), I asked people what they thought Pacific Rim would connect to in a Super Robot Wars game.   Now, I’m going to share my thoughts based in part on those thoughts, and some of my own after scouring every entry in the whole series. 

Which means, this is gonna get weird. 

This will go stage by stage, because Pacific Rim, even including Uprising, can only really bring in a few stages.  

Stage 1: The Kaiju War

In this prologue stage, we’d have Gypsy Danger battle Knifehead, but with one piece of added help:  Getter Robo!  

Even then, it goes about as well as you expect.  Not only does Raleigh’s brother die, but so does Musashi! Both mecha are taken down in the battle, but not before Knifehead is destroyed. 

Stage 2: The Wall

This one occurs in Australia, and has Striker Eureka appear to help against the Kaiju.  The Player’s character and current crew/battleship (probably the Nadesico-C) appear to aid against it, or against another foe before the Kaiju/Jaeger show up.  Pretty straight forward, but a MYSTERIOUS PERSON is watching and says that they are glad they have allies even after all this time. 

Stage 3: The Drift

This is where Raleigh is recruited into the Pan-Pacific Defense Force. Which is currently on its last legs because the World Government's Autonomous Peacekeeping Organization, the A-Laws, funded the wall instead.  

So far, Stacer Pentecost has recruited the usual crew from the film (Probably only Eureka and Gypsy are playable), but he has a few more.  Getter Robo G (Ryou and Hayato help Raleigh a little emotionally because they are bros and this is OLD SCHOOl Getter), Great Mazinger (from Mazinger Z Infinity), and ... 

Kiryu.

Stacker Pentacost also leaves to talk with “The Ambassadors” before letting Mako take over the rest of the tour.  

When Mako and Raleigh drift, and the RABBIT occurs, we get a level of Coyote Tango battling Onibaba.  

Stage 4: Double Event

Shortly afterward, we have a double event, and this is where things get ABSOLUTELY NUTS. 

The event occurs, and by the time the level ‘starts’, all the mechs are injured and Crimson Typhoon/Cherno Alpha are already destroyed. 

Battle for a bit, then EMP fries the mechs. 

And things get worse.  Remember, Kiryu is in play, so it goes nuts -- but not in the way people fear. It still attacks the Kaiju, just not under the player’s control.  They have to beat on it a bit to allow Akane to get in the cockpit and ‘talk it down’.

It roars one last time and goes into alignment.  

But how can you beat it down?  Well, Great Mazinger and Getter Robo G manage to survive the takedown, but because Great is Size M, and G is Size L, and the Kaiju/KIryu are Size LL, this is tough stuff. 

Which is where the Ambassadors come in.  The Fairies of Infant Island call Mothra (Imago) (Size LL) to aid.  

That helps, and when Kiryu regains control, it calls Godzilla himself to aid.  

Which is also when Gypsy Danger arrives.  

So now the player has Great Mazinger, Getter Robo G, Kiryu, Mothra, and Godzilla to fight 2 Kaiju.  

To which the Mysterious Person from before says “No, no, no.  That won’t do!”

Suddenly! The city tears itself apart and a strange castle descends from the clouds.  From the castle, riding a bicycle through the air comes the witch Bandora. 

Yes, we’re going there! 

Bandora proclaims that she is glad to see her allies from 65 Million years ago are back. Now they can get back to slaying out all life on earth!  And she’s also particularly miffed to see a Dinosaur still around.  She summons several Dora Titans (her mook monster), Griffozar, and Dora Minotaur to aid the rift Kaiju.  

At which points the player's battleship arrives. 

As soon as one of the Kaiju or Dora Minotaur is defeated (Griffozar retreats), the restore to full health with the others.  After some doom proclamations, Raleigh and Mako rally with a few others, and we get the last bit of aid.  

At which point, the last bit of help for this overly-complex level arrives.  

Daizayujin and the Zyurangers.  

Heroic speeches and butt-kicking apply aplenty.  

When this is done, Bandora retreats, Godzilla slinks off (for now), and things are hashed out. 

Remember in Pacific Rim when Newt said that they tried before back with the Dinosaurs?  Guess who also has a beef with the Dinosaurs?   Getter Robo, yeah, but also Bandora.  

Which is why they have a villain team up for the game. 

So many of the big Ranger moments (IE: The Green Ranger arc) have Pacific Rim moments scattered throughout. 

But after that, the next big level is ...

Stage 5: The Breach

The assault on the breach, Bandora beefs things up, Godzilla helps out once again, and if you do things, Striker Eureka is kept around. 

At the close of the level, the player still need a Big Boom to close it.  So, it ends up a mix of big attacks (IE: Shine Spark) to seal it for good.  

After this is a Time Skip where we set off to fix Pacific Rim: Uprising. 

Stage 6: The Rogue Jaeger

This is all about setting up the new recruits, and fending off some other faction that is attacking.  Doesn’t matter who, but the rest of it plays out as normal. The A-Laws are gone, but many threats such as Doctor Hell and Bandora are still active.  

Stage 7: The Black Jaeger

This is the Obsidian Fury attack on the UN, though obvious Mako doesn’t die.  She gets to come back with Raleigh for Gypsy Danger’s return.  But she’s still hurt and there’s damage to the UN and all that.

Stage 8: Arctic Battleground

Gypsy Avenger vs Obdidian Fury 1v1 until Bandor gets involved, revealing she now has “Dokita-Clay” to make her monsters even stronger! 

This big battle against Dora Frank also sees the appearance of Bandora’s master, Dai-Satan (Yes, really), making this a rough battle. 

And it’s all a distraction. 

Stage 9: Shatterdome Attacked! 

The Mass-Produced Jaegers are revealed to be pawns of the Precursors.  Newt was put under a spell by Bandora to corrupt the program from within, and now they and more Super-Monsters are on the attack. 

The base is aided by the return of Earth’s Kaiju: Godzilla and Mothra.  Godzilla gains his ‘ultimate’ attack in this battle “King of the Monsters” --where he summons all the other earth monsters (Rodan, Anguirus, King Caesar, and Mothra) to beat down on a foe.  So the base is saved, especially when your reinforcements arrive, but 3 rift kaiju have been released. 

Stage 10: TOKYO S.O.S.

3 Kaiju from the rift.  Backed up by Heterodyne, Bandora’s monsters (ALL of them, serving as minions here, probably maybe 3 or 4 from a list of: Dora Minotauros, Dora Sphinx, Dora Raiger, Dora Knight, Dora Tortoise, Dora Frank, Satan Frank, Dora Unicorn), Mass-produced Jaegers, Obsidian Furies (as elite mooks), Griffozar, Dai-Satan, and Dora Talos.    When one of the Rift Kaiju is destroyed, the Mega-Kaiju is formed.  

And when Dora Talos or Dai Satan is brought to 0, it fully heals and Dora Talos turns into Satan Talos. 

But this is the last battle for Pacific Rim and Zyuranger.  And as you can see, it’s one hell of a big blow-out. 

And it’s still not the final kaiju enemy, that comes from Godzilla’s end, as King Ghidorah.   But that’s his own journey.  

[geekbroll]

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers - (Dinozords vs King Sphinx) - 1993 Milton Bradley - 100 Piece (Sparkly) Puzzle #4471-6 - 12.5” x 15” The Puzzle seems to be missing a Dinozord. The Black Mastodon Dinozord (Guardian Beast ZyuMammoth) is in the lower left corner. Fighting on the other side of King Sphinx (Dora Sphinx) is the Red Tyrannosaurus Dinozord. (Guardian Beast Tyrannosaurus) Flying top left is the Pink Pterodactyl Dinozord (Guardian Beast Pteranodon) and in King Sphinx’s grip is the Yellow Sabertooth Tiger Dinozord. (Guardian Beast SaberTiger) The Blue Triceratops Dinozord (Guardian Beast Triceratops) seems to be missing. #mightymorphinpowerrangers #powerrangers #megazords #megazord #miltonbradley #puzzle #puzzles #jigsawpuzzle #jigsawpuzzles #powerrangerspuzzle #sparklypuzzle #sphinx #ancientegypt #cartoonpuzzle #mumratheeverliving #zords #dinozords #kyoryusentaizyuranger #supersentai #guardianbeasts #dinosaurs #tokusatsu #dinosaursofinstagram #dinobots #toku (at Portland, Oregon) https://www.instagram.com/p/Byg9KqRhoFP/?igshid=i748wl17kwsi

[weirdletter]

Spectral Realms, No. 9, edited by S.T. Joshi, Hippocampus Press, Summer 2018. Cover art by Daniel V. Sauer, info: hippocampuspress.com.

A Weird Poetry Journal

Contents:   Poems The Visionary – Ian Futter Final Library – Ann K. Schwader Flesh Flowers – John Shirley Forty Years in Innsmouth – M. F. Webb A Dream of Vengeance (In Imitation of Robert E. Howard) –  Michael Fantina The Thing in the Forest – Frank Coffman The Urge to Write – Liam Garriock The Sorceress’s Lament – Ashley Dioses Cornflower Valley – Christina Sng The Willful Child – Fred Chappell Cat Girl Cantata – Michael D. Miller A Voyage Too Far – J. T. Edwards Are We Not Beautiful in Our Decay? – Allan Rozinski The Song of the Siren – Chelsea Arrington Acrostic Sonnet in Memory of Providence, R.I., 8 August 1936 – Charles Lovecraft A Bloodless Man – Mary Krawczak Wilson Great Mother – David B. Harrington Three Witches – David Barker Angry in His Grave – Darrell Schweitzer Toads – Wade German The Witch’s Son – Adam Bolivar Halloween Reverie – K. A. Opperman Contemplate the Alchemy of Dancing Quantum Particles – Kendall Evans Rek-Cocci Stirs – Scott J. Couturier The Loved – Ian Futter Antarktos Sequence – Manuel Pérez-Campos On a Poet’s 80th Birthday – Leigh Blackmore Spectral Realms: An Homage – Frank Coffman The Angel’s Pen – Charles D. O’Connor III Gautier Ghost Story – Chad Hensley Lucifer Romantico – Tatiana We Are the Owls – Jessica Amanda Salmonson Thalía – Manuel Arenas The Wendigo – Michelle Jeffrey She’s a Legend: A Song Sung by the Unsung – John Shirley Elegy for Futurism – Liam Garriock Spectral Noir – Deborah L. Davitt Graveyard Feline Morning – Benjamin Blake The Vampire’s Mother – Christina Sng The Dark Reclaims Us – Ann K. Schwader The Unseen – Mary Krawczak Wilson The Last God – David Barker Night Thoughts of a Nonentity – Manuel Pérez-Campos When Black Tom Came – Scott J. Couturier Scholar and Sorcerer: For S. T. Joshi, on His 60th Birthday  (22 June 2018) – Michael Fantina Flowers from Another World – Kendall Evans Dark Entry IV – Chad Hensley The Last Illusion of Robert Houdin – Jessica Amanda Salmonson On Wings of Fire – David B. Harrington The Merman – Tatiana Of Hooves and Horns – Michelle Jeffrey Weird Tales, the First Run: An Homage – Frank Coffman In Ligno – Deborah L. Davitt . The Mermaid – Christina Sng When Nightfall Comes to Ooth-Nargai – Manuel Pérez-Campos . The Autumn Sphinx – Liam Garriock   Classic Reprints   The Creaking Door – Madison Cawein . The Fairy Changeling – Dora Sigerson Shorter   Articles Clark Ashton Smith and Robert Nelson: Master and Apprentice: Part  – Marcos Legaria   Reviews   In the Footsteps of the Masters – Donald Sidney-Fryer A New Formalist – Frank Coffman Drowning in Delicious Weird – Russ Parkhurst Musings Philosophical and Religious – Donald Sidney-Fryer   Notes on Contributors

[teachmesentai]

Yeah, Dan and Geki get a lil possessed. It's fine. And yes, Dora Sphinx captures kids with riddles in the name of unfettered capitalism, whatever.

But, guys, Power Rangers was soooooooooo close to being part of the MCU. Find out how it all went down in Episode 2 of Teach Me Sentai!

Listen to full episodes here!

[pangga]

birthday greetings

(1)

To Sweetest Kylie; 

Dear, kahit bago ka palang sa Ferm napamahal ka na saamin. I hope maging happy and contended ka sa life mo, if there's a problem you can always talk to me, I love you! 

 Love, Amalia. 

(2) 

Hoy kylie una sa lahat first of all,     ganda ganda ni mavis,  the beautiful is mavis. Pakeo gabbi araw araw wala ka panty.  Apaka yabang mo magpost pake ba namin seyo.  Kamahal mahal ka ba? Ako lang naman nagmamahal sayo. Kaya wag kang pabebe diyan baka ma uppercut kita. 

:Pokwang

(3)

Happy birthdayyyyyy Kylieeeee mahlobesss so sweeeet stay alipin ko. 

From: Angelita Jovita amoy Kubeta warka! Mukha akong bruha! 

(4)

Happy birthday sayo!  ^o^ Sana maging positive ka sa lahat ng bagay.Mahal ka namin ≧∇≦ God bless you~~ Mag ingat ka everyday everynight latata haha ^o^ From:  Tantarantan! Cassia pa Cassia pa! Yes oh yes! CassiiiiiAaaAaaAah ooOooH yEeeAh ang ganda gAnda ni AmaLiAaaa

(5)

Hoyy kyluee haluu sayo hakhakhappy bortdu naman sayo diba?wla bang pa shanghai dyan?Charot de wish ko sayo pakabaet ka tas magingay ka naman minsan hakhak labeoo sana makita kona kayp soonoh panis lab keta ket dimoko lab.HHHAHAH From: sPhinX mainit init kasing init ng plingplongpling kamukha ko si Dora I love you Amalia ang ganda ganda mo

(6)

So so soooo ahm hehehe una sa lahaaaat belated happy birthday kylieeeee hehehehehehehe ahm so hindi pa man tayo sobrang klosss ano love na kita, ingay nito e charotttt so ahm... Ingatan mo sarili mo, always remember that you're enough. Stay strong na din! HAHAHAHAHA loveeelots! Fermiere's love you! I love youuuuuu hart hart yun laaang

From: Yvanna

[megwhalenblog-blog]

9.1 “Untitled (Sphinx Hotel)” Dora Maar 1935

The focus is on the “Sphinx Hotel” sign on the building, which gives the effect of the people in the background just being part of a collective mass of tenants in the background. The contrast is not super high, which makes the photo look like a soft, old memory. The camera angle is from below and a little crooked, which makes it look like the photographer was capturing a moment rather than a posed image. The composition contains strong straight lines, and shadows within the rooms behind the people, and the color is a soft black and white, giving the photo the effect that it is a captured memory in the past with some eerie vibes. I think the exhibition text is needed to understand the message of the photo, but even the title “Untitled” and the text do not provide much context. The photo reminds me of an old hotel in American Horror Story where the tenants come to let out their inner “freak” – so that’s the vibe I’m getting from the piece is maybe this hotel was a place for lovers to go in secret away from the rest of the world.

 9.2 “Portrait of Dora Maar, forward facing, at Chateau de Boisgeloup Gisors, in March 1936″ Pablo Picasso 1936

The focus is on the woman in the foreground, and this gives a portrait style effect. The contrast has an interesting effect because it is lighter on the woman and her front, while the background is darker and shadowed. The camera angle is straight on, directed at the woman who is in a seated, angled position. The composition contains a lot of lines and edges, like the outline of her body and the desk in the background. All of these components contribute to a hazy portrait of a woman who looks unhappy in the space that she is photographed. The exhibition text might be needed for context of the mood and emotion of the photo, but it too is unhelpful. All the title informs is that it is a portrait of Dora Maar. The photo reminds me of anyone lost in thought or in a low place. She is hugging her knees to her chest, which is a sign of comfort or vulnerability.

[daytoursofpyramidsinegypt]

The pretty Dora from Taiwan 🇪🇬♥️👌🇹🇼. With us your trip very different. Discover your trip with largest company booking trip online. Contact us on what's app. Discover your smile with us. Booking your trip to Contact us on our email or directly message or what's app cell phone.  #egypttravelcc @eventsbysebastiant @kemet_black_land_egypt_tours #pyramidsofgiza @curitibacool #TourEgypt #VisitEgypt #Eгипет #Egipt #Egypte #Ägypten #Aίγυπτος #Egitto #Egito #Egipto #อียิปต์ @blacktravelworldwide #This_Is_Egypt #ThisIsEgypt #tripegypt #holidayegypt #touristegypt #tourist #Travel #travelegypt #bestofegypt #blacktravel #blackclub #beautifuldestinations #exploreegypt #world #worldtourism #Takemeback  #مصر🇪🇬❤️ @blackmentraveltoo @blackguidetravel @blacktravelmatters_ @wego @essencetravel @blackandbroad @blacktravel @travelista @turkish_tourists @kimber.unplugged @topofbrazil @braziltravel_oficial @ruken_____ @travelnoire @hardlyhome @wegotoo @mytravelcrush @blacktravelfeed @soultravel @cocoatravelersintl @willdrinkfortravel @blavitylife @travelisthenewclub @blackandabroad @isatheexplorer (at The Sphinx and Giza Pyramids) https://www.instagram.com/sightseeing_tour_egypt_cairo/p/BwwO4sBJa-s/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1bqbfytbjweig

[doragarciathebook]

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A post shared by Dora Garcia (@dora_garcia_lopez)

Posted @withregram • @juxtapress_it The Sphinx, otherwise known as the Yes and No Game, is an online artwork by Dora Garcia. It is interactive, engaging, a little addictive; it is artwork and play. But there lurks within it something of the forced confession, of a disquieting possibility for self-incrimination. As the game progresses, it becomes less about the identity of the player, and more about the identity of the enigmatic Sphinx. It’s only be sharing the innermost thoughts of the Sphinx (or by lying to it) that you can experience the entire piece. . The work reoccurs in other forms in Garcia’s oeuvre, originally it was enacted by a wandering performer who approached viewers with the same series or intimate questions during the artist’s exhibitions. . Dora Garcia recently contributed a print to our Justice series. She has a wealth of online performance art at doragarcia.org. We recommend diving straight in. . The Sphinx, anche conosciuta come Yes and No Game, è un'opera d'arte digitale di Dora Garcia. È interattiva, avvincente, e dà anche un po' di dipendenza; è un'opera e un gioco. Dall'altro lato, però, vi si nasconde qualcosa che ricorda una confessione forzata, un'inquietante possibilità di autoincriminazione. Mano a mano che il gioco avanza, ha sempre meno a che fare con l'identità del giocatore, ma bensì con l'identità dell'enigmatica Sfinge. È infatti soltanto condividendo i pensieri della Sfinge (o mentendo) che si può fare esperienza dell'intera opera. .Il lavoro è anche apparso in altre forme nell'opera di Garcia, originariamente fu oggetto di una performance da parte di un girovago che approcciava i visitatori con la stessa serie di domande, durante una mostra dell'artista..Garcia ha recentemente contribuito alla nostra serie Justice con una stampa. Molte delle sue performance sono disponibili online al sito doragarcia.org. Dateci un'occhiata. . #doragarcia #iorestoacasa #onlineart #performanceart #artworksonline #thesphinx #yesandnogame #justice #juxta (at Barcelona, Spain) https://www.instagram.com/p/B97GI98KNSm/?igshid=1kvui074ar5uk