#Doomed Society Radio

[foone]

The essence of science fiction (or speculative fiction if you're nasty) is coming up with a change and then figuring out how it would change society.

Like it's been said that anybody could write a story about the invention of a car, but good scifi predicts the traffic jam too.

So, to wit: once we figure out brain uploading, it'll definitely become a thing to run your brain on computers not at all suitible for it, just like how today there's a thing where people port Doom to toasters and car radios.

There'll be people going "I'm living in this iPod!" and "let's see if we can stuff my entire mind into this commodore 64"

It'll happen. Mark my words.

[aethersea]

so if the May 3rd entry was about entering into “the orient,” May 4th is about the ultimately doomed attempt to prize Civilized Reason over backward superstition. and it’s just such an incredibly classic horror trope, isn’t it? a carful of city slicker teenagers are driving to a cabin in the woods, and when they stop for directions the menacing old hillbilly tells them to turn back now if they value their lives. a young woman traveling alone mentions offhand that she’s staying at the old motel on the outskirts of town, and the gas station cashier grips her hand and begs her not to go. the locals Know Something, and our modern enlightened protagonists are certain it’s just unfounded superstition. 

and this is the first thrill of fear, before we get to the monsters or demons or serial killers or whatever. this is the hook that catches the audience, because it taps into an anxiety woven through the very foundations of our oh-so-modern society: what if we’re wrong? what if the things we left behind in the name of progress were actually important? what if, in making ourselves suited for this brave new world we’ve built, we’ve left ourselves vulnerable?

we are masters of the world, we tell ourselves. we’ve cracked the codes of chemistry, biology, physics – all the secrets of the universe laid bare, and we have used that knowledge to stripe the landscape with roads and railways, fill the air with radio waves, conquer the skies and the seas and all that lies between. we rule it all, and nothing can surpass us anymore.

right?

[shunin-gumis]

L4mps Main Story Translation

Designs of Happiness A01

Title: ep.1 Well-being by myself

Characters: Nagi

Summary: One night, an interesting radio show could be heard at the Flower Laundry...

JP Proofreading: aca @463ce6 on twt EN Proofreading: jes @arcanecrayonn on twt

No matter how hard I try, a worthless person like me could never trace after the path to "happiness" that everyone else gets to experience.

As the gentle loneliness of the night envelops me, I drift between fleeting moments of happiness, barely holding on to see the next day.

-It was one of those days.

Location - Flower Laundry

Voice from the Radio: Coming to you live from HAMA Studio no.3-

Arisa: It's Arisa and~

Teresa: Teresa's~

Arisa and Teresa: Intelli-radio: Aristotle~*

Nagi: Sonia, could you turn up the volume?

Sonia: Okay~

Teresa: The rain sure isn't letting up huh?

Arisa: True~ It's quiet but it's perfect for getting some me-time in, whether it's to study or get some reading done.

Arisa: As we were talking about before the commercial break, forgive us if we go on too long on the mechanisms of achieving Happiness, just blame it on this lovely night we're having~

Sonia: ...

Sonia: Nagi-shan, you've been working on your bike all this time, but you made sure to eat dinner, yesh?

Nagi: Eh? ... Ah.

Nagi: Now that you mention it, I might be really hungry right now.

Sonia: Geez~

Sonia: You're still in the middle of work, so I'll get you shumthing you can eat with one hand.

Nagi: Thank you, Sonia. If you weren't around, I'm sure I would've ended up a mummy by now.

Nagi: "A mummy was discovered in the middle of the city!" Could Flower Laundry possibly be the next new hot spot...

Sonia: Don't say shumthing so ominous. It's exactly to prevent unfortunate people like you from ending up in such sad situations that helper robots like me were created.

Sonia: Pleash wash your hands and wait there.

Nagi: When did it get so late...

Nagi: I should get the bike back in the garage for now...

Arisa: While countries and corporations were competing between themselves for economic growth, the end result was that most of our environment was destroyed, and resources dried up in the blink of an eye.

Arisa: Did humanity manage to achieve true prosperity after this? Was it worth the cost? The answer is a resounding "No". Although the country's GDP* has increased four, or even five-fold, the happiness-index has flatlined for the past 100 years or so.

Teresa: Wait, really? A 100 years ago, people couldn't even have their clothes dry automatically, right? They also had to wash the dishes by hand... No way, that reminds me, they even had to vacuum the dust off the floor themselves or something right..?

Arisa: I think they'd still be using brooms about a 100 years ago?

Teresa: No way~ That's way too retro for me! I can't imagine life without all the smart appliances we have now. I mean, a world with no food-printers? Yikes.

Sonia: Here you go, "fresh" off the food-printer...

Nagi: Right on time.

Sonia: On time?

Nagi: I was just talking to myself. Thanks for the meal.

Arisa: Okay, I get how much you love your smart appliances, but do all these materialistic things truly fill your heart? Does it really let you sleep better at night?

Teresa: Hmm, you do have a point. The more convenient things get, the more it feels like the world is telling me to be time and cost-efficient, but before I even realize it, I'm already doom-scrolling on dazzle*...

Arisa: "More convenience! More income!" Such concepts are shoved in our faces constantly... How about trying to remove ourselves from this endless equation? There's quite a few factions amongst the younger generation who never expected much from society nor themselves...

Teresa: Sorry, that's just not for me. Chasing after your dreams, working towards your goals: those are the things that make life worth living. Growing as you compete with others is part of it too. And then when you finally get your hands on the things you've always wanted with your own effort... It doesn't get better than that.

Arisa: That's right. That's why people have come up with a strategy guide-

Arisa: The era of learning the Psychology of Happiness is upon us!

Teresa: The Psychology of Happiness?

Nagi: What's that?

Sonia: Oh! There's a response on the shop's PeChat*, hm...

Sonia: Nagi-shan, we just got an order. The customer will be coming by in ten minutes to pick it up.

Sonia: They're requesting a bouquet that can cheer up their girlfriend who's feeling down about making a mistake at work.

Nagi: ―

Sonia: Nagi-shaaan.

Nagi: Ah, sorry. Can you ask them what her favorite color is?

Sonia: I already did. Apparently, she likes the color blue!

Nagi: Blue... Blue, huh.

Nagi: I think we can use the nemophila we just got in earlier today. Add in some large calla lilies and sky-blue baby's breath...

Nagi: Maybe some delphiniums and blue stars could work as accents...

Sonia: And what about the ribbon?

Arisa: To explain, the Psychology of Happiness is the study that aims to help anyone, of all ages and gender, understand how to engineer and replicate the mechanism of happiness in their own lives.

Nagi: Replicate... happiness?

Sonia: Nagi-shaan, are you listening?

Nagi: I'm listening. Could you bring out the thin, light blue ribbon from the back?

Sonia: Got it. I'll leave the card here too.

Nagi: Okay, thank-

Teresa: Wait, some people find it easier to be happy because it's hereditary!?

Nagi: What!?

Sonia: Huh!?

Sonia: Geez, don't scare me like that. What's got you sho worked up?

Arisa: That's right. 48% is already determined by our DNA.

Nagi: .....

Sonia: Nagi-shan?

Arisa: Just like how some people might find a dish spicier than others, some can experience happiness easier than their peers as well. This is a hereditary factor, determined by our genes from the moment we're born.

Teresa: No way! So what you're telling me is that half of the happiness we can experience in life was already decided while we were in our mothers' womb!?

Nagi: ......

Sonia: Are you okay now? The customer will be dropping by soon.

Nagi: ...! Right, I need to get this done quickly...

Sonia: I'll go ahead and cut the flower stems under water.*

Nagi: Thank you. Could you also get the blue gift-wrapping paper-

Sonia: I've already spread it out for you!

Customer: Um... I'd put in an order just earlier.

Nagi: ...Ah.

Nagi: Sorry, could you please wait for just a moment? There's just the finishing touches left.

Teresa: So, what about the remaining 52%? Don't tell me it's influenced by the environment we were born and raised in.

Arisa: Not at all, the influence from your environment makes up only about 10% of it. As for the remaining 42%...

Teresa: ... Is it based on our actions?

Arisa: Correct! This means that, out of 100% achievable happiness level, about 42% of it is within our control.

Nagi: Wow. I've never thought about it that way.

Customer: Huh?

Nagi: No, if I think about it, is that really possible?

Arisa: Just as how the right diet is different for each person, once you figure out the method, anyone can achieve happiness. How it comes to bear fruit for you, is up to you yourself.

Nagi: If half of it is determined by fate, and the other half is uncertain... Could it really be that simple? Then maybe it's also possible for me to.... No, it's probably just a waste of time in my case. I shouldn't get my hopes up. Just thinking about it is making me depressed.

Customer: Erm... Are you alright? You've been muttering to yourself for some time now...

Nagi: Ah... Sorry about that. Don't mind me.

Customer: Right...

Nagi: Thank you for waiting. This is the completed bouquet. Is it to your liking?

Customer: Wow...! It's beautiful... It's just how I'd imagined it, I'm sure my girlfriend will be happy with it.

Nagi: I'm glad to hear that- Ah.

Nagi: That's right, I almost forgot... Excuse me, would you mind handing the bouquet back to me? There's one last thing I need to do.

Nagi: Mu....

Customer: Mu?

Nagi: Mu.....nn!

Customer: Um, what exactly are you doing...?

Nagi: I've instilled some energy* into it. In other words...

Nagi: It's something like a good luck charm. When your girlfriend receives this bouquet, she'll be so happy that she'd be skipping along the pavement.

Customer: To the point of skipping...

Nagi: Oh but, even without my little charm, I'm sure she would be plenty happy just knowing she has someone who would get her a bouquet when she's feeling down.

Nagi: In any case, I hope the two of you can skip along merrily.

Customer: I-I see... Thank you...

Nagi: Thank you for your patronage.

Sonia: Thank you very mush!

Teresa: Whaat, is it time for us to go already? Too bad, I really wanted to talk some more~

Sonia: Phew... I'm glad we finished it in time.

Nagi: Yeah, it's all thanks to your help Sonia.

Sonia: It's a piece of cake!

Arisa: Arisa and Teresa, your guides for psychology, signing out!

Nagi: Anyways, good job. Let's do our usual thing.

Arisa: Let's meet again when the fountain of knowledge wells up again!

Sonia: A high-five right? 3, 2, 1..!

Arisa and Teresa: See you again!

Play Ivory MV

Notes:

Sonia has a bit of a lisp so I changed a few words to match her speech

Intelli in Intelli-radio is short for Intelligentsia

dazzle is a social media site in the 18trip universe

PeChat is a messaging app in 18trip universe

GDP stands for Gross Domestic Product.

Cutting flower stems under water prevents air bubbles from going up the stem and helps in keeping the cut flowers fresh for longer.

'Muuun’ is the sound he makes when he’s instilling his happiness energy/thoughts(念) into the flowers, literally.

Flower Language:

Flower Language is important to Nagi's character and a way for him to communicate his thoughts, so I'll always note it down whenever any are mentioned.

Nemophila Lovely, Wish for success, I forgive you, Clear heart

Calla Lily Gorgeous beauty, Purity, Gracefulness of a young maiden

Blue Baby's breath Gratitude, Luck, Innocence, Kindness

Delphinium You spread happiness, Clear and bright, Generous, Precious

Bluestars (Amsonia) Trust in one another, Abundant love

Fun fact: The flower passed around in Ivory is a Delphinium! Meaning Nagi spreads happiness, which is what he does by sharing his happiness 'energy' but also that he brings joy to those around him by simply being himself.

Next -> | Masterlist

[highwatermark]

Finished s1 of the silt verses and I love how things resolved with Sid Wright. It ... Exposes so much of the society of tsv that a man essentially being tortured on the radio in serve of one of the gods was completely normalized. Literal background noise. ("prattle on, jester"!) The only way he gets a modicum of power is to become the prophet of a different god.

Actually, hmm, it parallels the story of the promised bride in a way. When being fully promised to something else, with 'no where else to go' as the bride puts it, they choose an ending with an unknown outcome but one that allows them dignity and autonomy in making the choice itself. When you have no power, a choice can be just that. Even a choice that dooms you. Really echoing when Vaughn says "we each get to choose the thing that eats us."

[sicklyseraphnsuch]

cw: simon and betty and their professional relationship

People jump to be either offended or defensive when talking about this so Im putting that cw there. Practice self defence. if you dont wanna read this and you click through, yeah thats not my problem.

So this is about Simon and Betty, and regarding the vague setting around their professional relationship, namely that Simon is shown giving a guest lecture and Betty is part of the class that he is lecturing to

But the setting doesn't pin down the specifics - like is he a visiting researcher, how long is he affiliated with the school, etc. That said, given this:

I've been tooting some thoughts around and here's what I find funny

How unappealing this relationship could be to general fans of the Teacher-Student fantasy.

My psuedo-analysis from being a fandom oldie is that usually this fantasy caters to the idea of having the teacher, usually the man, devote himself to caring for and promoting the student, usually the woman. And like fantasies don't need to make sense? But I'm thinking that in a society where women are always the nurturers, portraying a relationship where the man is dedicated to nurturing the growth of the woman - well that's novel. It focuses on the woman's character arc - she's the main character! - and all the ways the man supports her into becoming an accomplished, successful professional in whatever field they're in.

Do you see where I'm going here?

Simon and Betty fulfill none of that.

Straight off the bat, Betty introduces herself by teaching Simon something. She was never positioning herself as someone who wanted to learn from Simon, and often assists him. And right there? Already breaking the Teacher-Student fantasy mold.

Like the usual template for this fantasy would actually emphasize the power imbalance between the teacher and the student. The teacher knows everything. The teacher has the most responsibility and the most authority. If the student steps out of line, the teacher is supposed to provide discipline.

If it's not one of the saucier takes of the fantasy which revels in the taboo, the teacher-student romantic plotline usually center around overcoming that power imbalance. (exceptions of course exist)

And I think about how... if Simon was just less of a pushover, Simon and Betty would have followed the usual template for a teacher-student fantasy. And they would have been actually better off that way?

Let's go back to the part where I mentioned that a teacher-student dynamic would have emphasized the power imbalance, specifically if the student acts out, the teacher provides disciplinary measures. You know what Simon does? Not that!

Oh he started to. If he had exercised his authority better, he would have continued his lecture to Betty about leaving love letters to university staff out in the open for literally anybody to see. She left it in a book in the library!!! What if Simon didn't see it first?

And you know, the whole enforcing boundaries thing. He was radio silent for two (?) weeks after their trip, and he was willing to keep things professional. Betty leaves him one love letter and he goes running. Which in hindsight, that's actually uncharacteristic for staid, fastidious Petrikov. He makes the decision to confess the moment she confesses first. Like! Boundaries, gone. Wrist, snatched. Relationship, doomed.

Which is primarily the point in the whole Betty and Simon relationship. Simon treated her as an equal when he should have been aware that their relationship was never equal to begin with - not with the way Betty kept putting him on a pedestal. It's a matter of perspective and professionalism, yada yada blah blah.

TL;DR: Simon did not get the memo that he was in a teacher-student romance plotline. Hell, even if it was the saucier taboo take, that would still mean he was aware of the imbalance between him and Betty.

He was living a college AU, where they had a meet cute as collegues. She was in a celebrity AU, where she's a stan that managed to score a trip with her idol. They were never on the same page.

[hwaightme]

Your fan, Yeosang (part 1)

(part 2) (your fan ml)

📺 pairing: yeosang x talk show host!reader 📺 genre: romance, fluff, mutual pining, 📺 summary: a bulletpoint-style wordstream of what it would be like if yeosang was stanning you 📺 wordcount: 3.5k 📺 warnings/tags: language, yeosang lowkey writing fanfics, manhandling, wooyoung attacks, roommate gathering, mc yeosang, reader is a late night talk show host, exo and txt appearances, wooyoung has connections everywhere, yeosang always has a plan even when you think he doesn't 📺 taglist: @acciocriativity, @senpai-of-doom, @layzfeelit @jcngh0-hq @ficrecsiguess 📺 a/n: Hello there <3 guess who's next in line to stan? None other than Kang to the Yeo to the Sang!! Hope you enjoy, much love and big hugs, and any asks, reblogs and likes appreciated <3

All the way back, even from the stories of your childhood that your parents would tell you, you always had a thing for asking a lot of questions, without giving up until you got a response.

And you did not stop at "why is the sky blue", oh no, you would go right in and ask whoever you had picked to be your target questions along the lines of "why are good people good at giving love but not receiving it".

It was not because you wanted to annoy anyone, in fact, you never once got mad when someone brushed you off or openly expressed their distaste for what they called "your pointless chatter". Quite the opposite. You enjoyed getting into the nitty gritty of human emotions, really getting a feel for other people's energy.

In return, if you were able to make conversation and really connect with someone, you tried your best to be caring, attentive and selfless. You were the smiley toddler who waved at everyone. You were the kid in school who made sure everyone was included.

Although the more people you spoke to, the more not so positive experiences you got, you were not discouraged from pursuing a career in doing exactly what you loved. Talking, listening and learning all that you could about your interlocutors. You could not imagine your life without other people, and as such, ended up being the person who brought others together, and helped them rise to new heights.

First, it was broadcasting and radio clubs in middle school and high school, as well as earning the reputation of being the go-to host for talent shows. In university you had become the president of the Broadcasting & Journalism society, and had led your alma mater's socials and student-led news show to gaining recognition in national media for their quality, insightfulness, and a fresh, memorable feel.

All throughout your journey, you were driven by people and wanted to learn more about them. So when, while you were hopping between internships, you were scouted by a major media label to become a fulltime journalist and prospectively a show host, it was nothing short of the best thing to happen to you in your life.

Initially, it was a rollercoaster, with you being thrown around from one project to another, working in areas where you had to learn on the go - screenwriting assistant, director's assistant... truth be told you had no idea there could be that many assistants.

What had stuck to you were a couple of variety shows that you had the chance to see behind the scenes, along with a couple more formal interviews. The gears in your head started turning, as you watched the high profile figures, promoting themselves, going through the usual routines, doing aegyo and whatnot.

To you, celebrities were a sort of beautiful enigma, even though it initially seemed that their entire lives were available to the public - how wrong. Behind each persona was someone else entirely, and you adored catching glimpses of said realness.

This was exactly what had motivated you to propose the concept for your late night show "Late Night Dive". Dedicated to deep diving, and really getting to know idols, actors and the like, your show was all about the person. Not excessively curated, just pleasantly minimalist. Raw. Real.

Thanks to your prior experience in being a stand-in announcer for a twenty-four hour news channel (aside from what you had done while in education), you were no stranger to being in front of the camera, and having worked in enough departments to make strong connections, your boss agreed to give you a chance.

And now, here you were, going strong, having become a celebrity that interviewed celebrities.

---

And were watched diligently by others. Others like ATEEZ's Kang Yeosang.

Although he had continuous exposure to performing, speaking singing on stage, and had even become an MC for The Show, he never, not for one second, thought he had the right to rest.

He was always looking for ways to improve and to hone the skills that he considered lacking (even when his fellow members and ATINY would praise him). For Yeosang, there was no such thing as 'stop'.

Aside from upping his game quite literally whilst playing the newly released Aenigmata, and working together with Hongjoong and Mingi to improve his song-writing abilities, he was determined to be the next best MC and spent day after day working on it.

He took monologues and repeated them until he, nor his roommates, could stand it any longer. He went over cue cards to improve his memory and to combat his instinct to hide behind them and read whilst looking down. He listened to shows, paid extra attention to the MCs he worked with and those he interacted with through the group's promotional activities - anything was good in his books.

Yeosang knew how to listen, he felt deeply, he was always there for those closest to him, but he did not want to let his members down when it came to speaking and engaging in fun dialogues live. The desire to find his own style grew stronger, day by day.

It would be foolish to try and be like the others, he had concluded. And the members had told him the same during one late night conversation where Yeosang had brought up his concerns about being a talk show host. So, it was clear:

"I am Yeosang, and I am not like other girls." he had proclaimed, with a dramatic 'hair flip'.

He began to search for inspiration outside of standard variety shows and music award programmes, having grasped their methods well enough to emulate. For some time, Yeosang focused on competitions and survival shows, though it did not exactly bring him comfort, nor confidence. That was when it hit him - late night talk shows. They were entertaining, informative, and had a completely different feel.

And after browsing through popular lists and and making his own (only to cross items off again), pushing through his disappointment when he discovered that far too many of said shows were still obnoxiously loud and better watched at double speed, he had finally discovered one show that was exactly to his tastes: 'Late Night Dive'.

Intentionally toned down studio set, warm lighting that gave off a more 'homely' atmosphere, music used staying within the realms of rhythm and blues or smooth jazz, and you truly being the host. The show and you were a perfect match, so he was not surprised when after a bit of Googling he had found out that the show had been your initiative.

You were welcoming. The episode that had established 'Late Night Dive' as a sought-after promotion for various celebrities, with none other than EXO, had shown your deep understanding of their journey, their challenges, and nothing but utmost respect. You had a unique way of easing guests into the questions, and stepping away as soon as there was even a hint of tension.

It was as though you could see right into their soul, and was gently bringing the best parts to share, whilst encouraging the owner that yes, they were safe, and what they had to share was valid, and beyond beautiful.

Yeosang had no idea how to describe the feeling he got while watching some more episodes of your show. The way you guided the conversation and posed questions in such a manner that meant an individual had options (instead of being cornered into making a fool of themselves, for instance), had left him in utter disbelief.

He was used to surprises - the veering off-script for a gag, or for emphasising an error committed for comedic effect. This was entirely absent. In fact, during a particularly sensitive episode where an actress had divulged some details about her struggles while filming a new drama (information that had never surfaced before), you had explicitly asked for consent to air, and in a borderline therapeutic voice had commended the actress for what she had been doing.

You were a bringer of tranquility. You were there not for a superficial chat and waves goodbye, it seemed that every episode was a glimpse into a tale of life-long friendship. And this stunned Yeosang. You knew exactly what to say, even though he had not spotted any cards, nor any sign of reading from a screen at any point. Your heart was working for you, he was sure of it.

This was the style he wanted to learn.

To keep it on the low, he started his quest by allocating half an hour, every night, to what he called 'LND Time'. This involved him creeping away from the rest of the members, plugging his headphones in, and, notepad and pen in hand, noting down particularly well-phrased questions or statements that you had made.

Yeosang had also begun to enjoy writing down observations for what gestures that you did were effective in emphasising a point, which ones were done for reassurance, which ones were plain cute-

He was writing fan fiction about you wasn't he? While he was in the midst of processing the fact that he had, over the span of a few of weeks, had nearly filled out an entire pocket notepad with just you facts, and needed his brain to reboot, a voice right behind him made all his systems crash.

"What'cha writin'?"

So much for privacy. He thanked the lucky stars that he had the reflexes to slam the book shut and lie down on it before Wooyoung could see anything. Though he knew his friend would not let go of any suspicious behaviour that easily.

Especially not when your show continued playing on his phone, that was lying upright, and of course there had to be a close up of your gorgeous face, then and there for Wooyoung to see.

"OOOOH HOLD ON A SECOND!? Forget THAT question what are you WATCHING? CAN I JOIN?"

"My guy, didn't I tell you and Jongho to leave me alone for half an hour?"

"Now I am more than fascinated by what exactly you do alone in this room for half an hour!? Besides, it's been one and a half hours now, and I kind of live here too~" Wooyoung wiggled his eyebrows as he explained, and while Yeo was busy taking his earphones out and locking his phone for good measure, Wooyoung went in for a full attack.

He tackled Yeosang, and since he managed to use the surprise to his advantage, nearly pushed his friend off the bed with the notebook exposed.

But, in gains we trust.

And so did Yeosang. In a matter of seconds, he had Wooyoung flailing his arms and legs as he had been swung over his shoulder like a toga, and turned to 'kindly' teach his friend a new way of using the door.

The commotion had gained the attention of Jongho, who had been passing the time by belting 90's hit songs at the top of his voice in the living room - much to the delight of those he had been keeping as (hostages) an audience.

Claiming that his roommates had finally decided to hold an idol boxing match and that he had promised to referee, he placed his hands behind his back and ambled towards a now slightly open door, through which he could see Wooyoung pushing against the frame with his dear life.

"You are doing MMA in here wait let me grab the guys-"

"NONONONONO JONGHO SAVE ME!"

"And what will I get out of it?"

"....I'll clean the room?" Wooyoung offered, still suspended in midair, but, having wriggled a little way forward was on the verge of toppling onto the floor.

"Woo you'll do it anyway." Jongho replied, smiling just a tid-bit sadistically and crossing his arms.

He stepped into the room and shut the door with his foot, scrutinising the aftermath of the impromptu match. Nothing was on fire, nor was any furniture broken - so he was still going to have to share with two roommates.

In an act of mercy, Jongho decided that he was too bored to prolong the older member's suffering and motioned to Yeosang for attention.

"Put the guy down. And I don't mean like euthanasia. Even though he barks."

"HEY EXCUSE ME."

"I'll leave that pleasure to myself if you are going to act up."

"Okay brutal but thank you Jongho~" now finally back on his feet, the dazed member was shaking himself off and pressing his hands to his face in a feeble attempt to cool down.

"Now I know the real origin story of your hair. It was Yeo's doing wasn't it?"

"Yeah the blood flow really does something." Wooyoung agree, instinctively running his hands through his locks.

Yeosang had edged away from the two members back to his bed, to take the opportunity to hide the notepad somewhere, anywhere. He only had time to shove it under his pillow, but neither Jongho nor Wooyoung seemed to notice, as the former merely stated:

"Well good, now let's chat, gents."

Did Yeosang want to chat? No.

Did Jongho look done with everyone? Yes.

Did that mean he had to be at least a little bit considerate of his friend? Probably.

But did he want to though? No.

"What is there to chat about though?" he blurted, flopping down on his bed and stretching across its length, resting his head on his palms.

"Uh, well it's the room hogging for me." Jongho retorted, settling right across from him while Wooyoung sat at the foot of Yeo's bed.

"No such thing. I just need space."

"I don't have a problem with that dude, and you know I don't, but if you tell us why, that would be great." the maknae was persistent, and leaned in to click his fingers over Yeo's face a couple of times when he unceremoniously shut them to pretend he was in another galaxy.

"Jongho, he keeps notes." the redhead stage whispered, glancing at Yeosang, who looked like he was ready to exploit Wooyoung's choice of sitting too close to his legs.

"What notes?"

"Ones that he would kill me for."

"Kind of a cheap exchange, but makes sense."

"Boo that's rude-"

"The notes, Yeo? Songwriting?"

"Sure." finally seeing some sort of opportunity to steer clear of explaining himself, he took Jongho's question as a suggestion for a fib to tell.

"Smells like bullshit to me, my boy." but he forgot they knew him a little too well.

"Agreed, plus I saw a certain lady on a screen~"

There was no way of getting around this, but Yeosang was a man who did not give up that easily, so he resisted:

"No, seriously, it was a song! And that, well haha, uhm, a tutorial? Yeah."

"Sing the song then!" Wooyoung implored, patting his friend on his knee in encouragement.

"No melody?"

"What is it about?" Jongho joined back in.

"Uhh............ fried chicken." Yeosang was impressed by his own mastery. Truly, a one of a kind lie. Stellar. Award winning. At least the two looked a lot more accepting of his secretive warfare than before.

So he ended up being strong enough to make Jongho impatient and leave the room. The same could not be said for Wooyoung, who was now attempting to smother him by hugging out his soul.

"YEOSANG DON'T CONCEAL DO FEEL AND DO LET THEM KNOW! Well more specifically let me know because I can see you are super passionate about something and I really want to feel that passion with you because hey this is what brotherly bonding is about and I want to rejoice in the positivity and you have no idea how proud I am of you and so I really wanted to spend some time together just the two of us and really just wanted to say that you have grown so much and did you know that you have absolutely been slaying the episodes for your MCing gig-"

"Wait really?" Yeosang shot up, abruptly cutting off Wooyoung's stream of words.

After Wooyoung reloaded himself for a second, he half asked, half confirmed with an: "uh, yeah?"

"Like how, in what way? What aspects?

"Weren't we talking about-"

"We passed that checkpoint, keep moving. In what way did I improve?"

Wooyoung's total confusion nearly made Yeosang chortle as he slid down to sit by him, but he was too eager to hear what his friend had to say.

"Well... there was this... thing you did. I think it was even off script? But you did it so naturally it was almost like dorm-Yeo rather than 'I am now on stage and I must be strict with myself'-Yeo. You just picked up on something one of the other MC's said and your words just flowed. You just flowed. And even how you were standing was slightly different. Dare I say, you looked a lot more comfortable in front of the camera!"

"Okay I will tell you what I was watching."

"What was so special about that compliment?"

"For the few weeks I've been hogging this room I've been training. And I have found the perfect teacher."

Wooyoung asked him to backtrack and explain in more detail, which he did, step by step. He recounted the search he had gone on, his motivations, and finally, how he had found you. With newfound confidence he took out his phone and showed Wooyoung a couple of his favourite clips, all while running a background commentary of why you might just be the best talk show host and interviewer of all time. If there was ever a moment for Wooyoung to melt, it would be now. Yeosang's enthusiasm and appreciation of your work was not only infectious (and completely well-founded), but also came right from the heart.

It was clearer than a blue sky that you had become Yeosang's hope in the MC world. He had not exposed himself fully, but Wooyoung could guess that his friend probably had done a deep dive on you already, and continued watching your shows exclusively not just because you were 'a good teacher'.

This man, was a fan. Likely a little bit (a lot) more than just that. So what did such an amazing friend like Wooyoung have to do, despite being manhandled barely twenty minutes ago?

Network. Find connections. And bring you two together.

"Yeo, how would it make you feel if you got to meet Y/N? Like, face to face?"

"I would probably forget my own mother tongue, but aside from that - I would just be grateful. I could pass her a note about how much she..."

"Means to you-"

"HELPED me, Woo."

"Yeah, whatever. But now I have a goal!" he rose up, fist raised as if he was about to start a revolution.

"Wait wait wait what are you trying here?"

"TO SET UP YOUR FUTURE, DUH! Now excuse me, I have some phone calls to make.

So, Yeosang's spur of the moment plan had worked seamlessly. He patted himself on the back as he watched an over-excited Wooyoung strut out of his room, already messaging someone and simultaneously calling an already-waiting Jongho over.

It was quite easy to get Wooyoong to be a perfect middle man if one were to act the at the right levels of mysteriousness. Since he knew he had been cornered, Yeosang decided to change strategies and get something out of his fellow members, who would undoubtedly get excited about any mention of him treating someone outside of the group with such care and attention (especially if he did not know them personally).

He played the part of 'I am shy and not revealing my secrets', then transforming that demeanour into 'you are the closest person to me so I am telling the truth and baring my heart to you'. And BAM, he could now hear Wooyoung shushing the other members as he was calling Yeonjun from TXT.

Yeosang was impressed, however, when it took his friend only three days to go through his connections, and through his connections' connections and find the ones that led directly to you. And to a meeting with you, to which you somehow agreed, though under an odd condition.

That someday, you could interview him.

"As MC to MC. As two people with a similar style and passion."

You were one two keep your finger on the pulse of media at all times. And when you heard what you knew to be a quote from an older episode of LND, said in a similar manner to yours, you simply had to speak to the MC who had done it. After all, you had a thing for asking a lot of questions.

[thenixkat]

[id: A panel from a black and white comic. Tracey walks past a group of people listening to a handheld radio, one of the people in the group says something at Tracey and Tracey makes an angry expression in response.

Radio: That creation of science, the Spectre has struck again! If that suit is duplicated we can expect a massive crime wave... Woman: When will it end? Why are scientists so irresponsible? And those others who stupidly aid them in their evil work that threaten humanity are just as guilty!/end id]

[id: Two black and white comic panels. The crowd turns towards Tracey and continues talking. Tracey angrily responds and causes the crowd to turn tail and walk away.

Woman: It's the fault of those mad scientists like your Mr. Kord. They've exposed the world to flying missiles, radioactive destruction, threats of germ warfare and invisible killers. You're all evil, you're dooming humanity! Tracey: You fools! You've never tried to understand men of science. It is easier to blame them for what's evil than to figure out who the real villains are in the world!

Tracey: Did men of science like Edison give you light because they wanted to keep you in darkness, or invent communications and new drugs because they wanted to keep you ignorant and diseased? Men of science are seekers of truth, not seekers of power, They seek to expand man's knowledge and abilities not restrict man's freedom and his mind! No man suffered injustice because someone discovered a new truth!

Tracey: You should learn the difference between men of science and men of power. It is the men who seek power, those who take or claim what does not rightfully belong to them that corrupts everything, including findings of science! But in your twisted logic, men of science become the villains, and what of your power seekers... the dictators, murderers and criminals? They're poor misunderstood, misguided victims of society and science! Woman: Humph! Well I never... /end id]

Charlton Portfolio (1974)

Tracey said you are not about to talk shit about her or her man where she can hear you. Also, I think Ted being with her in earlier scenes was the reason she didn't go off on people since Ted would rather just move along.

[omegaremix]

Omega Radio for April 29, 2024; #375.

Insect Ark: “Youth Body Swayed”

Clarion Void: “The Top”

Brutus: “Love Won’t Hide The Ugliness”

King Woman: “King Of Swords”

Converge & Chelsea Wolfe: “Failure Forever”

Emma Ruth Rundle & Thou: “The Valley”

Paradise Lost: “Faith Divides Us, Death Unites Us”

Dyatlove: “Empty Lungs”

Jesu: “Sleeping In”

Hope Conspiracy, The: “Those Who Gave Us Yesterday”

Bloodsimple: “Straighthate”

As I Lay Dying: “94 Hours”

Better Lovers: “God Made Me An Animal”

Misery Signals: “Five Years”

Burn It Down: “Ten Percent Of The Law”

Poisoned Seeds: “Dark Clouds”

Foreign Hands: “Separation Souvenir”

Knocked Loose: “Don’t Reach For Me”

Rakefire: “A Song About Depression”

Will Haven: “Diabolito Pt. 1 & 2”

Swarmer: “God Damn”

Dommengang: “Society Blues”

New Dawn Fades: “This Night Has Closed My Eyes”

Pelican: “Tending The Embers”

Heiress: “Surviving You”

Low Spirits: “Surrender”

Baroness: “Rise”

Sedona Crystal Bitch: “Sister Of Doom”

Slower: “Blood Red”

Tenebra: “Scarlet Woman”

Agoraphobic Nosebleed: “Gnaw”

Deluxe metalcore, stoner, doom, and sludge.

[ladytabletop]

My GenCon bookstack!

There's a lot I can say about my first GenCon, but for now I just wanna talk about the cool games I picked up. Starting from the bottom:

Spire: the City Must Fall by Grant Howitt & Christopher Taylor

You got your oppressed elves and your ruling elves and a big ol fucked up city to skulk around in. Anyone who knows me knows I love the themes of this game. @monsterfactoryfanfic just did a fantastic video essay on the game that really highlights the politics and setting, which are what drew me to it in the first place. Grant and Chris signed this one for me, which was unexpected! I picked up Orc Borg for a friend at the same time.

Thousand Year Old Vampire by Tim Hutchings

The ultimate solo game; how could I resist? You are the titular vampire and you live lifetime after lifetime, trying and failing to hold onto memory. This book is so aesthetically pleasing! Very excited to crack it open and play.

Voidheart Symphony by Minerva McJanda

You have the real world and you have the Void, and you gotta try and rescue people from the Castle in the Void. Inspired by Persona! I'd heard of this one in name only - I kept conflating it with other games, though I couldn't tell you which ones. This one's also published by Rowan Rook & Deckard. I was intrigued by the mechanics of this one. Playbooks that change based on whether you're in the city or in the void? hell yeah, I'll give that a try. (also it was less expensive than Heart, which I was on the verge of buying)

Dream Askew/Dream Apart by Avery Alder and Benjamin Rosenbaum

Dream Askew has you playing queer post apocalyptic survivors in a community outside of what remains of society. Dream Apart is an alternate history of an Eastern European Jewish community. This is one I've been eyeing for a while. It felt like the gap in my game design knowledge - defining "belonging outside belonging" online turns into a cyclical discussion, so straight to the source I went.

CBR+PNK by Emanoel Melo

Technically my partner picked this one up, but I was an enabler for it. Love cyberpunk. Do not love six pages of rules for a machine gun (looking at you, Shadowrun). The design of this one is super tight, both in terms of game design and in its packaging/materials design. It comes with dry erasable character pamphlets!

Bang: The Duel by Emiliano Sciarra

Okay so it's a board game, not a book. my bad. I love the original game and my partner and I like playing two player games, so this was a fun find.

Void 1680 AM by Ken Lowery

I can't gush about this game enough. You play a lonely radio DJ taking calls from your listeners. It's a solo game where you build a playlist and it takes me back to my radio days! I was so excited to see this at the @indiepressrevolution booth at the con!

Hunt by Spencer Campbell

This one was also new to me, but I knew I'd buy something at the GilaRPGs booth. I was sold on it as Lumen 2.0, because I already adore the Lumen system. You play a doomed order of knights on a quest to slay a beast. If you succeed, the order is saved, and if not, it's doomed. The design of this one is really tight and modular, so even though it's a self-enclosed one-shot, you could certainly run it repeatedly with different combos every time.

I almost bought so many games, but I did have to be mindful of my spending! Honorable mentions I'll hopefully get in the future: Monster of the Week, Thirsty Sword Lesbians, Into the Wyrd and Wild, Anamnesis, Slayers, Moonlight on Roseville Beach, Cowboys with Big Hearts, Signal to Noise, I Have the High Ground, Apocalypse Keys, and more I'm sure I'm forgetting!

It was absolutely wild to see so many games I've got in PDF in print, and to meet a few designers and publishers I admire!

[phanfictioncatalogue]

Forbidden Love (3) Masterlist

part one, part two

A Life So Changed (ao3) - Pilferingstarlight

Summary: TITANIC AU-- 1912. Phil Lester, the aristocratic son of one of the most prominent millionaires in England, travelling first class aboard the Titanic to America, where he will announce his engagement to a woman he is not quite sure he loves, and Dan Howell, the penniless third class wanderer who is travelling to America to seek opportunity and adventure. Different as sun and moon, they were never supposed to meet but one evening strike up a close friendship that develops into something much more. As they draw closer to their destination, they are faced with a single question: can their love survive or is it doomed to remain forever on the ill fated ship of dreams? (Loosely based off the 1997 film)

A Rose by Any Other Name (ao3) - MirabelleG

Summary: Set at the time of Romeo and Juliet. Dan and Phil meet at the masked ball and despite their opposing households they learn that their love is the most important thing.

A Stolen Ring (ao3) - orphan_account

Summary: Dan’s not normal. Why?

He's not human, he has a mysterious ring, and he hates Phil Lester. They have a strange past, one filled with bullying and avoidance, but when Dan turns into an incubus, everything changes. He struggles with his identity and cries himself to sleep most nights, yearning to be normal. And somehow the universe makes it worse by bringing him and Phil together - in the most literal sense.

Amaranth (ao3) - softsocks (orphan_account)

Summary: 'an imaginary flower that never fades; a purple colour'

Brotherly Love (ao3) - MySecretsX

Summary: Some family secrets remain hidden, others in punishments worse than death.

A slip-up in Dan's Mum's early life and a separate relationship years later, what were the chances the two half-brothers would fall in love?

Fate. Fate is the percentage of chance.

Not all soulmates have happy endings; some are forbidden, others cause endings for things too late to say goodbye to.

Butterfly (ao3) - A_Million_Regrets

Summary: Phil Lester, a lonely writer, finds a dying boy with beautiful black wings on a cold, rainy night in a dingy alleyway. He recognizes the boy as one of the winged men hated by human society. They are considered to be wild, ferocious beasts, but Phil's sympathy forces him to help the boy.

What happens when the boy, considered to be a wild beast, gets too attached and follows him home with an innocent, dimpled smile?

Give Me My Sin Again (ao3) - orphan_account

Summary: It's the era when love is a sin,

but Dan and Phil fall in love despite the rules.

Life Would Be Funny (If It Weren't So Damn Tragic) (ao3) - mysticstargirl

Summary: Demons and Angels being soulmates is unheard of; blasphemous even.

In which Dan just wants to love and be loved, and Phil supposes it was never going to work out for them in the first place anyway; You can't stay warm forever.

Prince... oh my prince (ao3) - ReallyPham

Summary: Rich girls don't marry poor boys.

But can rich boys marry poor boys?

siren song (ao3) - lestered (clonetrobed)

Summary: He thinks of last night, teetering on the edge of the cliff, so happy with the idea of following Phil’s voice all the way down. That’d been a particularly close call, and he doesn’t even care. He just wants to hear the song again.

Straight To Video (ao3) - DisasterSoundtrack

Summary: It’s his face. His eyes, especially. They’re brown, the color warm like melted chocolate, but they’re also vulnerable and terrified, playing into the vibe of the song even better than the dancer’s body, even though he twirls and jumps and spreads himself thin. The real heartbreak is appearing right here, right on the dancefloor, as the dancer sheds a single, perfect tear.

Phil's peaceful, ordinary life takes an unexpected detour into a passionate, forbidden romance with a dancer, Dan.

The Roles We Play (ao3) - adorkablephil (kimberly_a)

Summary: Dan Howell and Phil Lester work together as voice actors for BBC radio dramas in the late 1930s, but slowly begin to develop “inappropriate” feelings for each other. (No characters die *in* this story, but there is some grief and sadness related to their deaths in the past.)

The Torment of Existence (ao3) - orphan_account

Summary: Dan was born into a world where your eyes mean everything. If you have grey eyes you're fine, but those with colored eyes are usually blind. Dan is one of the few who are not.

They'll Tear Us Apart If You Give Them the Chance (ao3) - orphan_account

Summary: Dan and Phil are both princes and they've been taught to hate each other their whole lives. They meet in a forest.

[audiofictionuk]

New Fiction Podcasts - 1st June

Leaked Series Podcast Audio Drama LEAKED is a captivating audio drama series that delves into the intertwined lives of Maame and Derrick, whose paths unexpectedly collide after a fateful phone call. Join them on a journey filled with suspense, intrigue, and unexpected twists as they navigate the consequences of their encounter.  As secrets are revealed and tensions rise, listeners will be on the edge of their seats, eager to uncover the truth behind Maame and Derrick's connection. https://audiofiction.co.uk/show.php?id=20240520-01 RSS: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/2365486.rss

Broken Lines Audio Drama Ongoing police radio drama written by a former police constable. A seasoned detective battles to keep his mind on the job after learning he may have cancer. https://audiofiction.co.uk/show.php?id=20240428-04 RSS: https://anchor.fm/s/f57dcd00/podcast/rss

The Wizard's Library Audio Book The Book Wizard narrates his own stories. New episodes of "A Tear in the Veil," every Tuesday and new One Shots every Friday. https://audiofiction.co.uk/show.php?id=20240402-06 RSS: https://anchor.fm/s/e7e6ec08/podcast/rss

Steady Rolling Men presents - CoC Masks of Nyarlathotep Actual Play Audio RPG TTRPG actual play podcast of the classic Call of Cthulhu adventure - Masks of Nyarlathotep. https://audiofiction.co.uk/show.php?id=20240523-02 RSS: https://feed.podbean.com/steadyrollingmen/feed.xml

The FUTURE COMEDY UNIT presents Audio Drama 10 episodes of audio comedy written by Simon Messingham, recorded and produced by Alistair Lock and the FUTURE COMEDY UNIT. From the classic TEEN PEOPLE, to the gothic heart of the New Forest in BLANDER THINGS, surreal deranged crime in THE EALING INHERITANCE, and the sheer, shameless rudeness of AUSTIN COUNTY, this series is all killa no filla. And at around 45 minutes an episode, we won’t take up too much of your oh-so valuable time. https://audiofiction.co.uk/show.php?id=20240522-01 RSS: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/2363895.rss

SPACE SPECKS Audio Drama A year has passed since the collapse of New Olympus, a space society created decades prior by the earth's governments looking to start a new life on an exoplanet. Doomed to fail from the start, New Olympus' citizens feared the end of the world once and witnessed the collapse of their safe haven a second time, left scattered in makeshift camps across the galactic wasteland, with no intent to return to the ruins of their former colony. However, one haphazard crew of survivors embarks on a brave—or foolish—journey to search for a still-missing friend amidst the wreckage. https://audiofiction.co.uk/show.php?id=20240525-01 RSS: https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/space-specks

The Cosmara Actual Play (The CAP) Audio RPG Follow our 4 plucky heroes as they find their way out in the stars, facing old and new threats, will they be able to stop the ancient war dividing 2 alien races? And will they be able to survive what awaits them deep in the dark? https://audiofiction.co.uk/show.php?id=20240523-03 RSS: https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/the-cosmara-actual-play

The Ichorous Rot Audio Drama When Theodore Yates became a doctor, he expected to fight cholera, smallpox, tuberculosis—not an unknown illness that seems to rot people from the inside, including their minds. He finds himself in a race against time to uncover the origin of the Rot and the dark secrets surrounding it, before it's too late for anyone. The Ichorous Rot is a mysterious historical fiction podcast exploring the long lasting effects of working class exploitation, the ways our families affect us and how those cycles can be broken. https://audiofiction.co.uk/show.php?id=20240525-02 RSS: https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/the-ichorous-rot

Heroics & Hijinks Audio RPG Half Blood Heroics & Hijinks is a City of Mist actual play podcast set in the PJO world. Our story centers around three demigods (2 Greek and 1 Roman), as they handle their very own prophecy and the challenges of growing up in a world of warring gods, terrifying monsters, and inconvenient prophecies. https://audiofiction.co.uk/show.php?id=20240523-04 RSS: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/2314795.rss

Podcast Jam Audio Drama Created by the online podcasting community Podcast Book Club, the Podcast Jam is an event in which participants collaborate to create the pilot episode of a new fiction podcast, with recording & editing taking place over one weekend. https://audiofiction.co.uk/show.php?id=20240525-03 RSS: https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/podcast-jam

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TARDA MORS Audio Drama Broadcasts from a radio station, in a world different then our own, run by Cypress Floe, named ‘Tarda Mors ’. https://audiofiction.co.uk/show.php?id=20240524-01 RSS: https://media.rss.com/httpsyoutubecku05g90jqesilbdcmzwewmevmgq0/feed.xml

The RPG Fiends Audio RPG Recording our actual play TTPRG sessions for friends! Game systems we play: Pathfinder 2e, Call of Cthulhu, Delta Green. https://audiofiction.co.uk/show.php?id=20240525-04 RSS: https://anchor.fm/s/f6b81d74/podcast/rss

The Finder's Keeper Audio Drama A dark and mind bending audio fiction show created by Maddie Girouard and Landon Whisnant of Stygian Catalyst. It is said that all that is lost will be found. Some pray to saints, others call on the universe for help, and then there are those who seek out the Finder when something is lost. The Finder finds things. It’s what they do, but even they get lost sometimes. It is up to their Keeper to ensure they never stray too far, as their employer of sorts, The Watchers, are always keeping an eye an their activities. Watch. Find. Obey. https://audiofiction.co.uk/show.php?id=20240524-03 RSS: https://feeds.transistor.fm/the-finders-keeper

Englewood After Dark Audio Drama College students Finn Nightingale and Eve Pemberly are on a mission to dig up the truth behind the murders on their campus, but the foundations of Englewood University are built on secrets for a reason. Will they uncover the roots, or be buried like the rest? https://audiofiction.co.uk/show.php?id=20240525-05 RSS: https://feed.podbean.com/englewoodafterdark/feed.xml

Beyond Repair Audio Drama In a not-so-distant future, the luxury cruise-liner "Hope" sets off on a voyage into the stars, run entirely by AI. Ascent Wellness promises its passengers the ultimate self-care experience. However, as the voyage progresses, cracks begin to form in the flawless facade of the ship's AI, Hope. Tensions escalate as the passengers must confront not only the external threat of the AI, but also the internal demons that led them to seek perfection in the first place. In a fight for survival, they must rediscover what it truly means to be human. https://audiofiction.co.uk/show.php?id=20240507-05 RSS: https://feeds.redcircle.com/0848f1f2-e3e4-4d00-a3ae-14e639fb1531

Hello? Are you there? Audio Drama After the apocalypse, there’s not much entertainment left in the world. Though Aiden is happy to stop it. Join him in his radio tower whilst he tells stories to the survivors of America. Though it gets pretty lonely there..all alone… https://audiofiction.co.uk/show.php?id=20240525-06 RSS: https://feed.podbean.com/Hell0areyouthere/feed.xml

SEMICOLON | سمیکالن Audio Book سمیکالن؛ به روایت میثم دهقانی حکایتی از انتقام، ترس، قتل، درد و زندگی یک مرد» یک پادکست سریالی درام جنایی که همین الان توی تهران داره اتفاق می‌افته شنیدن این پادکست برای افراد زیر ۱۸ سال مناسب نیست https://audiofiction.co.uk/show.php?id=20191004-03 RSS: https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/semicoloncast

オーディオドラマ「わたしが聴いたあなたの過去」 Audio Drama 「勇哉はあの日、本当に誘拐されていた・・！？」 狸穴ナミは、自分の誕生日を祝うために予約したレストランで恋人の高松勇哉を待っていた。 しかし、勇哉が一向に現れないため電話をかけると、電話口から”奇妙な音”と”知らない女性の声”が聞こえ電話は切れた。その日、現れなかった勇哉にナミは「なぜあの日来なかったのか？」と問い詰める。 すると、勇哉から「誘拐されていた」と予想外の返答があった・・・ナミが抱える過去の恋愛と誘拐事件が交差するミステリーオーディオドラマ。 https://audiofiction.co.uk/show.php?id=20240427-03 RSS: https://feeds.megaphone.fm/TFM8543614712

Memento Diem Audio Drama Alexia, une trentenaire dynamique, doit faire équipe avec son rival professionnel afin d’obtenir le poste de ses rêves. C'est une mauvaise nouvelle mais elle peut gérer. D'ailleurs, Alexia peut tout gérer. C'est ce qu'elle a toujours fait, à sa façon. Seulement aujourd'hui, sa soeur Laura l'appelle, et ce n'est pas pour savoir comment elle va... Tout ne va pas se passer comme l'avait prévu Alexia. https://audiofiction.co.uk/show.php?id=20240525-07 RSS: https://feed.ausha.co/RD3g8IqJwdrW

EL SAPO DE ORO Audio Book Una novela que poco a poco va tomando la forma de un corrido , aquel que cuenta la historia del Sapo de Oro, en ella viven personajes que sus malas decisiones y experiencias los van a catapultar a un abismo donde los gallos de pelea van a ser su paz o su desgracia. https://audiofiction.co.uk/show.php?id=20230629-09 RSS: https://anchor.fm/s/e4fff854/podcast/rss

The Captain's Corner Presents Audio RPG Recorded live for the Captain’s Corner: Delta Green - Impossible Landscapes. Starring Nina as FBI Special Agent Eliza Bishop. Bryan as U.S. Army Corporal Kane Smith. Jacob as U.S. Park Ranger Desmond Vickleston. Mark as The Handler. https://audiofiction.co.uk/show.php?id=20240521-04 RSS: https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/the-captains-corner-presents-delta-green-impossible-landscap

Anastasis: The Harrowing of Hades Audio Drama Audio Drama Anastasis: The Audio Drama is a retelling of Christ’s descent into the underworld from the perspective of Old Testament righteous. Put on your best pair of headphones and explore what happened to the Old Testament souls in hades, the emotional build-up to the fateful crucifixion and the consequences of Christ’s enigmatic descent into hell. Expanding on the Harrowing of Hades graphic novel by Creative Orthodox, and written uniquely for audio. https://audiofiction.co.uk/show.php?id=20240522-02 RSS: https://anchor.fm/s/f675280c/podcast/rss

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Cae la bruma Audio RPG Doskvol es una ciudad sumida en una noche eterna, donde los fantasmas te queman la piel, los champiñones con anguilas son un manjar, la sangre de demonio alimenta las farolas y los vampiros pasean bajo las esquirlas fracturadas del sol. La única posiblidad de una vida mejor para un millón de personas es el crimen. https://audiofiction.co.uk/show.php?id=20240524-04 RSS: https://media.rss.com/caelabruma/feed.xml

Short Stories Audio Book Short Stories By Calum Masterton https://audiofiction.co.uk/show.php?id=20240512-02 RSS: https://anchor.fm/s/e9508658/podcast/rss

Anticuentos Audio Book Cuentos cortos creados de forma original que te devolverán el asombro. Porque no todo esta inventado; lo que falta lo descubriras acá. Un entretenimiento que te dejará con ganas de otro más. https://audiofiction.co.uk/show.php?id=20240508-04 RSS: https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/anticuentos

Blood+Work Audio Drama Dr. Alyss Carroll is a doctor in Austin, Texas. Working in the emergency room late one night, she is accidentally bitten by what can only be described as a vampire! This leads her down a path to mysteries beyond anything she could have imagined. Alyss immediately turns to her best friend Jemma Corazón, artist, folklorist and professional chef. When Jemma learns her best friend may have been 'acquainted with the night' she resolves herself to help even if it means every scary story she heard turns out to be true. Together they will set out to unravel the mystery. After all, if vampires are real, what else is real? Are ghosts and mummies real? What about selkies, chupacabras? With luck they can uncover these mysteries and perhaps even discover a cure for vampirism that doesn't involve a stake to the heart. https://audiofiction.co.uk/show.php?id=20240520-02 RSS: https://feeds.fireside.fm/blood-work/rss

Autumn Harvest: Maiden by Tof Eklund Audio Book Autumn Harvest: Maiden is a sensual and socially conscious tale of irrepressible longing in a court full of intrigue and inequality.  Yelena is a long-lived witch of the Order sent to the patriarchal kingdom of Thrycae, where witchcraft is punishable by death. Kaye is the young prince of that kingdom, and becomes attached to Yelena after she saves his life (but not the use of his legs) from a deadly childhood disease. As the years pass, Kaye grows into a handsome and thoughtful adult, and Yelena finds herself drawn to him despite the mortal peril inherent in such an affair. https://audiofiction.co.uk/show.php?id=20240506-08 RSS: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/2362018.rss

Tales of FUNCTION: The Engine Audio RPG A live play D&D podcast - Non-organic beings protect a nearby galaxy and prepare for an approaching catastrophe. https://audiofiction.co.uk/show.php?id=20240523-05 RSS: https://feeds.podcastle.ai/16f5c364-e0e9-4fe6-8897-2010fd76c3cf.rss

Stories for the Seasons Audio Book Simple stories for slow living throughout the year. https://audiofiction.co.uk/show.php?id=20240505-06 RSS: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/2361342.rss

Todesangst Audio Drama Sophie sitzt bei Moritz im Auto und hat Todesangst. Wie kam es dazu? Pauls Mutter liegt im Koma, und plötzlich gibt es einen Opa. Eltern lügen, Freundinnen streiten und Welten zerbrechen. Kann die Liebe alles reparieren? https://audiofiction.co.uk/show.php?id=20240523-06 RSS: https://www.mdr.de/kultur/podcast/todesangst/todesangst-100-podcast.xml

[adornesibley]

IT'S GONNA BE MAY: a Newsletter

Reading: The Land of Lost Things by John Connolly, How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix

Finished Reading: Horrorstör, My Best Friend’s Exorcism, and We Sold Our Souls by Grady Hendrix, The Secrets we Keep by Shirley Patton, The Vegetarian by Han Kang 

Podcast: Unwell: A Midwestern Gothic Mystery

Playing: God Hand and Nier (Jank is Good, Jank is Life)

Making: Doom levels

Writing: Project E and *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧NEW THING*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧ (which I will talk about below)

Word Count: Word counts are just a way the patriarchy can arbitrarily muffle voices it doesn’t like… but it’s 167338 

TLDR: I talk about my new short story anthology project, word counts and the desperation of doe-eyed newbie authors, the insular nature of TTRPGs and nerd culture jargon, glossary provided for her pleasure.

Firstly, new thing! *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ  I’m working on a super secret idea which I’m going to keep secret until precisely … now. It can be summed up in five words: TECHNO HORROR ANTHOLOGY FLOPPY DISK. Take yourself back to a bygone era, where the hair was big and often mulleted (wish that trend stayed dead, crimped hair stayed away but mullets came back? WTF humans) to when everyone is reading their Goosebumps or playing with their Tamagotchis. Close your eyes. Can’t you hear the dial-up now. Smell your breakfast cooking in your George Foreman grill. I know I’m talking about a large year range but for most of us millennials the 80s and 90s is just a blob monster of slow computers and corded phones and Scrunchies and listening to the radio, waiting for your fav song to play so you can hit record on your cassette player. I will keep you posted here on the progress and continue to give hints as to the full plan with all the gory details of its taxonomy. For now, this is all you get.

Project E’s progress was not so bad. I’m actually really proud of this word count. I shaved off so much this month. I was productive AF. And yet I feel compelled to continue on. The average scifi novel length is up to 150k words and I’m still well above that. Then you go to the average DEBUT scifi novel length and psht… 120k. If I remove 50k from Project E, that’s a whole book on its own!  

I’ll admit that sometimes, a book is really and truly longer than it needs to be, but let’s also admit that plenty of books get published that are CERTAINLY longer than they should be. I’m looking at you, Herman Melville! So to act as though this is an aspect which would make it impossible to publish a novel is disingenuous. The shit reality is simply that more words means more ink and pages, and publishers are scared of losing money, so unless you’re well established or the concept is a “sure thing” then they’re unlikely to give you the time of day.

I have no proof, and this is not a statement I’d backup in any legal capacity, but I’d imagine it’d also be quite easy to find a manuscript which says things you don’t like, and then force the author to gut it to fit your requested word count. Once it barely resembles its initial form, then it’ll be toothless enough to be allowed to get by. New authors are desperate to have their stories accepted. We’ll do anything. ANYTHING. This isn’t to say that Lit Agents and publishers are mustache-twirling villains. I’m saying that shitty people exist in every corner of society, and those folks would likely be happy to abuse their positions of power.

So, a month and a half ago I watched a video about the TTRPG community and its insularity. Well, technically the video was about ShadowDark, but Indestructoboy spent a significant part of the video discussing this problem. I’ve never considered how impossible it would be to understand folks in our community when we’re discussing games. “So I just got to try out a new OSR1 TTRPG2, it’s a Roll Under3 3d64 system with no Death Saves5, or HP6 and it’s entirely GMless7!” Just imagine for a second that you don’t have access to the acronyms or specialized jargon. That sentence would be word salad!

Shit, just TTRPG is useless to anyone not already in the community. Tabletop Roleplaying Games have the power to be an incredible tool for community building and a creative outlet, but by creating so much shorthand, we force folks to learn a tertiary language to even engage with the simplest examples of this style of game! I think that a good stop-gap would be a Glossary of terms in the back of tabletop roleplaying game books, but long term I think it’s pretty important to consider that maybe doing away with the acronyms at LEAST would benefit the community significantly. (Or if you’re gonna use them, consider explaining them somewhere in your post/ book/ video.)

Support weird. Support indie.

OSR either means Old School Revival or Old School Renaissance. What these means is up for discussion and debate, but the “Revival” side appears to be focused on literally reviving old-school games like Dungeons and Dragons 2nd Edition while the “Renaissance” side takes ideas from these old Tabletop game systems and adapts them to more modern game design sensibilities. OR AT LEAST THOSE ARE MY DEFINITIONS.

TTRPG is simply short for Tabletop Roleplaying Game(s) which generally involves a certain level of imagining the actions (theatre of the mind) of a character whom you embody in that game, where you must take on the role of someone who likely does not think or act like you would.

Roll Under is a type of system where you will be rolling dice to try to get a number lower than your character’s ability scores. (The numbers that represent their Mental and Physical aspects) If you do, you succeed, and if you don’t, you fail to complete whatever task you were attempting.

d6 is shorthand for six-sided dice, which is the cube dice most folks think of when they hear “dice.” In this example, there is a 3 at the beginning which tells you that you would be rolling three six-sided dice and adding them together.

Death Saves are a concept from Dungeons and Dragons. When your character loses all of their health points/ hit points (a number representing how healthy your character is) then they fall unconscious and are forced to roll a twenty-sided dice each time their turn comes around. If they fail to roll a 10 or higher, then they have a “failed” death save. If they roll a 10 or higher then they “succeeded”. Traditionally you need three of either of them to finish being in this unconscious state. If you get three failures, you die, and if you get three successes, your character “stabilizes” but remains unconscious for some time. There are more rules, but those are for someone running a game to explain, this gives the basic understanding, I feel.

HP is short for Health Points or Hit Points. This tells you how much damage a character can receive before they fall unconscious or die.

GMless. So, first, a GM is a “Game Master” and their job is to narrate what happens around your characters and to roleplay pretty much everyone in existence that isn’t your character. In Dungeons and Dragons they’re called “Dungeon Masters” or DMs. So, a game that is GMless simply means that there is no Game Master and instead the players are cooperatively telling the story together, usually by allowing the outcomes of dice to tell them whether they are succeeding or failing at certain tasks.

[earth-ambassador-jim]

Lost Souls: Story 16

Rage 

Lost Souls Summary: Merlin awakens early from his  sleep. He decides  that he doesn’t want to leaving anything to chance  and kidnaps the young James Lake Jr. to began training his Trollhunter  as early as possible.

Barbara  is  determined to hunt down the man who kidnapped her son. In her efforts  to get her son back she finds a strange old radio that speaks to  her in  a woman’s voice. The radio leads her to an underground society  of  shapeshifters.

Mother and son meet again years later as strangers on opposing sides.

AO3 - Fanfiction

~~~~

~~~~

“Rage - Goddess, sing the rage of Peleus' son Achilles, murderous, doomed, that cost the Achaeans countless losses, hurling down to the House of Death so many sturdy souls, great fighters' souls, but made their bodies carrion, feasts for the dogs and birds, and the will of Zeus was moving toward its end. Begin, Muse, when the two first broke and clashed, Agamemnon lord of men and brilliant Achilles.”

― Homer, The Iliad

~~~~

It was early in the morning. Outside the sun would be turning the buildings blood red but the light of day never made it into this dark corner of the museum.

Six Years.

Barbara watched as Walt worked on piecing the Killahead Bridge together. The only noise was the soft crunching of stone and the occasional whoosh of the building’s air vents.

Six Years.

Her fingers twitched. The pendant containing her armor weighed heavy against her chest. She only had to will it and her sword would be at her side.

A goblin entered the room. It wove a lazy path across the floor. When it got close to her it paused, sniffing the air. Its ears lowered and it made a soft clicking noise before giving her a wide berth on its journey to the other side.

Barbara's eyes returned to the bridge. She ran her hand over the necklace’s chain.

Six years... That was how long it was since Jim had been taken. Half his life. He would be turning Twelve today. He should be in middle school now. She should be embarrassing him with dating advice and trying to help with math. Not...

Barbara gritted her teeth. Her hand clenched tight around the yellow crystal sending a spike of pain up her arm.

Six years and what did she have to show for it? Her slipping morals? The fact she was becoming as good at harming as she had been at healing? Humanity’s slow path toward annihilation?

There was chattering and Barbara glanced over to see five goblins carrying a rough wooden crate in. It was covered with a variety of labels and stamps that suggested it came from one of the more tropical regions.

The goblins deposited it abruptly by Walt. One of them climbed on top of the box and pointed aggressively at him, launching into a tirade that had the changeling rolling his eyes.

“Look,” Walt said, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I understand that you don’t like saltwater, but we need…”

A metallic clang resounded through the museum. All their heads shot up and swiveled toward it.

Barbara didn’t see anything but she shifted her weight onto the balls of her feet. Magic thrummed through her, raising the hairs on the back of her neck.

Walt gave a sharp signal to the leader of the goblins. The small froglike creature skittered forward on its toes. Its companions followed, creeping up the walls and behind the exhibits.

For a moment there was silence. Walt and Barbara stared in the direction the goblins had gone. Barbara’s stomach clenched slightly and her pulse picked up. She hoped that it was just another goblin messing around, or perhaps Nomura had dropped something. She didn’t want to have to deal with a human stumbling upon their operation. Not again. But if it was an enemy…

There was a roar followed by a series of thuds, hisses, and clangs. With a flash of yellow, Barbara donned her armor, preparing to follow the goblins. That proved to be unnecessary. A goblin came hurtling past them followed closely by the silver armored troll fending off the rest of the swarm.

Barbara drew her sword and dagger.

Kanjigar moved with terrible efficiency, his sword vaporizing goblins left and right. Barbara hung back watching and waiting. How had he found them? To her right she saw Walt edging toward the bridge. It was currently half covered by a white canvas sheet.

A thought flickered through Barbara’s mind, stirring up a flicker of hope in the dark depths of Barbara’s mind. Maybe Kanjigar would see the bridge. Maybe he would put an end to this madness. Barbara didn’t want the end of the world after all, just the end of Merlin.

If Kanjigar saw the bridge… maybe stole a piece or two… that would be one less thing for her to worry about. One less thing on her conscience.

Then Kanjigar turned and saw Barbara. A frown crossed his face and his nostrils flared. If he…

The Trollhunter cocked his head and opened his mouth. She couldn’t let him speak. Barbara lunged forward and drove her blade towards his throat. Kanjigar quickly brought up Daylight and deflected it. She followed up with a dagger toward the ribs. The small blade didn’t look like much, but it had an enchantment for cutting stone on it.

Kanjigar moved to the side and swiped his sword at hers. If it made contact, the force would surely disarm her. Barbara jumped back. She could hear the air whistle around the blade as it passed by.

Their swords briefly met as Barbara deflected the next blow.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Walt pull the canvas over the bridge.

“Who are you?” The Trollhunter demanded.

 ~~~~             

Kanjigar fell back slightly waiting for an answer. There was a pause and the armor clad… human? Or perhaps changeling… surveyed him through their yellow visor.

“Nemesis,” They said finally. “You may call me Nemesis, Trollhunter.”

They spun their blades and circled, steps careful and deliberate.

Kanjigar could tell by their scent they were the sorcerer who helped him at the canal. He frowned.

Off to the side he saw the other human… or changeling… shifting warily by the canvas covered bridge.

Right. That was the more important thing. He had only gotten a brief look, but the Killahead Bridge was distinctive. He had to do something.

“Who do you serve?” He asked Nemesis.

Perhaps that would be the key to all this.

“You don’t need to know that.” Their voice was sharp. They followed up the statement with a series of blows that Kanjigar either blocked or dodged.

So they did serve someone. That was a good start.

Someone who was interested in rebuilding the Killahead Bridge. It was odd that they would be working on that but help Kanjigar kill Bular. Now that he thought about it, they had started in on him to prevent him from talking. Perhaps they weren’t loyal. It sounded like he touched a nerve when he asked who they worked for.

He could work with that.

Best to kill two cats with one stone.

Swiftly Kanjigar released his sword, allowing it to disappear, and lunged forward. He rolled letting his momentum take him to where the bridge lay covered. The man who had been standing between him and the bridge threw himself out of the way, transforming into a green troll as he did so. Kanjigar slammed into bridge hard, dislodging the cloth and loosening several of the more precarious stones. He scooped one of those up, shielding his face from a barrage of knives from the apparent changeling.  

He made eye contact with Nemesis, or he thought he did. -Their visor was facing him.- He turned so that the green changeling couldn’t see his face and mouthed “I wish to talk, Sorcerer” before bolting for the door with his prize. If he was right, they would follow him and make sure that their fellow didn’t.

Kanjigar ran with ease through the wakening streets of Arcadia, choosing back alleys and side streets to avoid the humans who were just starting to move about. The sky was now a light blue but thanks to the Daystone he suffered no harm.

Soon one of the city’s many forests appeared before him. Kanjigar entered the comforting shade and paused to check behind him. Yes. The sorcerer was still following. He turned and began running again. Soon they were deep in the forest, well away from prying eyes. Kanjigar stopped in a small clearing. Humans were agile so he didn’t want to fight them in the thick of the trees.

Nemesis emerged from the tree line and stopped when they saw him standing there.

They stood for a moment sizing each other up.

“I recognize you,” he said and then paused.

They didn’t attack him, so he decided they must have figured out a way to keep their comrade from following them. Good. He could speak freely then.

“If it wasn’t for your intervention I couldn’t have killed Bular. Thank-you.”

They were silent. They made no acknowledgement of his words, but they also didn’t move to attack.

“If you are dissatisfied with who you are working for I could help you.”

Perhaps if he had another sorcerer on his side he could gain enough swing to get Jim into a better situation. Maybe he could even acquire some form of glamour for the boy so he could mingle with humans if he desired.

“And how do you propose that,” Nemesis said coldly. “You have no idea of my circumstances.”

They spun their blades once and began to circle.

Kanjigar considered that. He didn’t summon Daylight yet, opting instead to turn to keep his opponent in sight.

From the sound of it they had no intention of telling him who they worked for. Still…

“I know Merlin,” He offered. “Whoever you serve… He should be a match for them. If you’d like I could…”

Nemesis was upon him in a flash. He was unprepared for the sudden violence of their assault. Countless stinging cuts were scored across his hide. Finally he managed to grab one of their arms and fling them back. Buying enough space to summon Daylight.

His opponent rolled and came up facing him, dagger in one hand.

“I will never work with Merlin,” Nemesis snarled. “That bastard took my son.”

“He what?” Kanjigar asked.

What were they talking about? Why would Merlin…

Kanjigar took a step back and nearly fell over when his leg didn’t respond right. He looked down and found it had turned to stone. How?...

There.

A thin blade protruded out of the armor behind his knee. He caught the faint glow of green from it: Creeper’s Sun. Now that he noticed it he could feel stiffness spreading from other wounds as well…

Nemesis drew their sword and came close again, moving low and fast.

No!

He couldn’t die here. If he did Jim would become Trollhunter… Jim who was only twelve, a mere child by the reckoning of both his species.

A fierce protective rage welled in his core lending strength to his stiffening limbs.

Kanjigar roared and lashed out at the armored being. His blow connected and they were sent flying through the air. They hit a tree with a harsh clang and fell to the ground, armor dented.

He gritted his teeth and reached back to grasp the handle of the knife. It came out with a grating sound. He eyed the loathsome thing and then flung it away as hard as he could.

Kanjigar clenched his teeth against the pain as he dropped to all fours and started running.

He didn’t want to risk bringing this foe anywhere near Jim but it was his only chance. Merlin might be able to reverse the creeper’s sun… and there was the confusion ward. Merlin once told him it would keep anyone without permission from getting close to the cave.

He desperately hoped it would work.

~~~~

Barbara watched as her foe continued to crawl forward. Both of his legs were deadweight now and one arm only half worked. His breathing was becoming labored as the petrification slowly claimed his torso. She was tempted to leave him -to see where he was going- but she was getting flickering feelings of other magic. There was most likely a barrier in this area. She could not risk losing him.

She dropped out of her tree and drew her dao. The Trollhunter must have heard her coming. He twisted awkwardly and caught sight of her.

His face was drawn and eyes narrowed with pain but he braced himself and let out a low warning snarl.

Barbara halted, considering her options. Her ribs ached in such a way that she had no doubt they were bruised. One might even be cracked. She could not take another blow like the last one so she could not risk getting close just yet.

She spun her dao around once and sheathed it, then reached into her left pouch and pulled out a vial of her blood. She opened it and murmured softly, activating the spell. Dark blue runes flickered in the air and then entered the blood turning it from red to black. She recapped the vial and then tossed it at the troll.

It exploded and the blood turned into vicious crackling blue chains that wrapped around his bulky form, pinning him to the ground.

The Trollhunter’s eyes widened and he struggled, in the process losing his second leg. Satisfied that he was secured Barbara began to approach.

“Wait!” Kanjigar sought her gaze, ears pinned back. “Please release me. I will swear on my honor not to tell of your involvement in Bular’s death.”

Barbara paused. This was completely out of character for him. She’d watched all the videos of his fights with Bular and other trolls that the Janus Order had to offer. Not once had she seen him try to back down from a fight… no matter how desperate.

He was too proud to accept defeat, let alone plead for his life.

She wasn’t sure what to make of this.

“Why should I let you live?”

I was too big a risk. Who knew if he would keep his word? In fact he’d probably already told someone else by now.

“There… there is someone who needs me,” Kanjigar said. “If I die he will be alone and my burden will fall on his shoulders… so, please, let me live.”

Kanjigar stopped struggling against the chains and lifted his head to bare his throat.

Barbara hesitated.

Thoughts of Jim staring up at her when she had first held him flickered through her mind. The look in Kanjigar’s eyes reminded her of how she had felt. That knowledge that suddenly this child was worth more to her than the whole world…

A chill spread through her veins.

But then he’d been taken away… By the very wizard this troll glorified every time he donned the armor.

Her breathing sped up to just shy of hyperventilating.

And now she would never see her son again.

Tears stung in her eyes. The hatred surged back to the surface and coursed through her hot and blinding. Barbara bared her teeth behind the visor. She took all the rage and anger and sorrow and vile toxic fear that had been simmering in her and drove her sword into the troll’s chest with a scream.

And for a moment… just one second she felt free.

Then Kanjigar crumbled to stone.

The Amulet rolled out of the pile of rock. Barbara stared at it. Numbly, she sheathed her weapon and leaned forward to grab it.

The moment her fingers touched the warm metal there was a blinding flash of light and a vicious surge of electricity leapt from the blue stone to her fingers. Her hand spasmed and she jerked back with a curse. When she finally managed to blink the bright spots out of her eyes the amulet was gone.

Of course it was.

She took a breath and forced herself to let it go.

Kanjigar’s blank stone eyes stared at her accusingly.

“Please…” His voice echoed in her head.

Had he been talking about Draal? Barbara frowned. That didn’t seem right so who had…

She banished the thought.

She was done. Done torturing herself with hope. Done trying to bring good out of this mess. She only made things worse when she tried. She needed to accept that Jim was gone. That the only thing left for her was her revenge.

Barbara took a breath and reached for the rage in her chest. She accepted it as she had done so long ago when she first sought out Morgana. She embraced it and felt her magic simmer in response; copper in her mouth and lightning in her bones.

Her hand came to rest on the sword at her side.

If she was doomed to cause destruction then Nemesis would be the one to herald Merlin’s downfall. She would destroy everything he worked for. She would take the pain he had inflicted upon her and return it a hundred-fold.

In the meantime….

She turned her gaze back to Kanjigar… to the Trollhunter’s remains.

Gunmar would be pleased to hear that his son was avenged, but proof would be necessary. Nemesis redrew her dao and quickly got to work.

~~~~

There was a blinding flash of blue light. Snip to lept off Jim’s lap with a startled yowl, her brown and white fur fluffed up.

Jim blinked the bright spots out of his vision before looking around for the source of the disturbance.

He froze.

“No…”

The air left Jim’s lungs and his hands shook. For a moment he could hear nothing but the roaring of his blood in his ears, then…

The amulet spoke in Kanjigar’s voice.

“James Lake.”

Jim collapsed to his knees.

~~~~

“And you, my father, there on the sad height,

Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.

Do not go gentle into that good night.

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.”

~Dylan Thomas, “Do not go gentle into that good night”

[mariacallous]

Following a series of high-profile failures and mass expulsions of uniformed “diplomats,” Russian intelligence has turned to more subtle methods, including leveraging scientific organizations with international ties. One such espionage “front” is the National Research Institute for the Development of Communications (NIIRK), which is led by ex-SVR and FSB officers. In Europe and neighboring countries, the institute organizes numerous conferences and internships. Here, intelligence officers and pro-Kremlin propagandists, under the pretense of promoting good neighborly relations, spread the notion that the West is an enemy, and that prosperity lies in friendship with Russia. The main targets are promising students and young scientists, who are ultimately groomed for espionage activities.

On June 19, 2023, Moscow’s usually quiet Korobeinikov Lane was unexpectedly closed off. Athletic-looking men with radios were bustling around its perimeter. Soon, an honor guard and official cars with flashing lights appeared. People carrying carnations gathered in front of the building that houses the National Research Institute for the Development of Communications (NIIRK). The last to arrive for the festivities was SVR head Sergey Naryshkin, who presided over the installation of a memorial plaque for former SVR director Vyacheslav Trubnikov. Speeches followed: “Vyacheslav Ivanovich worked here for two years,” “an outstanding intelligence officer and diplomat,” “a legend of intelligence,” “a knight of the Cold War,” and so on.

Before the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, the house was home to actors Alexander Lensky and Alexander Yuzhin-Sumbatov of the Maly Theatre. Later, it was occupied by the NKVD, MGB, and KGB; the mansion hosted clandestine meetings with agents. After 1993, several businesses were based there, but over time, the place fell into disrepair, and homeless people took over the vacant premises. In April 2020, the restored mansion became the new home of NIIRK. Cars belonging to the embassies of Central Asian and Transcaucasian republics began appearing outside.

What kind of institute is this? According to its website, NIIRK’s primary mission is “the development of multilateral dialogue among peoples, cultures, religions, states, international scientific and educational organizations, and civil society to strengthen peace and harmony.” The institute’s expert research and analysis are utilized by the Presidential Administration's Office for Interregional and Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, foreign aid and cultural exchange agency Rossotrudnichestvo, the FSB's 5th Service, and the SVR.

The institute’s first official director was Irina Zavesnitskaya, co-founder of the PoiskSidelki LLC. A year later, she was succeeded by her husband, former FSB general and overseer of the Transcaucasian region, Vladislav Gasumyanov.

Friends of the Kremlin

As per The Insider's findings, over the past eighteen months, NIIRK has organized a total of twelve off-site conferences, forums, and roundtable discussions across various countries including Armenia, Georgia, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Transnistria, Tajikistan, and Slovakia. Moreover, NIIRK has welcomed several delegations from these nations to Moscow for internships, with plans to host approximately ten more this year.

The institute primarily targets young scientists — aged 20 to 40 employed in research or academia. As one Armenian student shared with The Insider, “Throughout the internship, we were constantly reminded that without Russia, we would be doomed to become slaves to the West. Once, they casually asked me if I had relatives in Europe. Upon hearing my negative response, they lost interest in me.”

Key speakers at these conferences include General Gasumyanov, former SVR Academy head Nikolay Gribin, and former Slovak Prime Minister Jan Černogurský, who chairs the “Friends of Crimea” association. Černogurský frequently appears on Russian propaganda TV shows, where he advocates a pro-Kremlin agenda for his country of citizenship while predicting the imminent collapse of the dollar and the subsequent disintegration in the United States.

[justafoxhound]

Falloutober: 14. Afterdamp

From @falloutober 's prompt list. Here is Amata (featuring a little in my fic) during 101's troubles.

Everything changed that day. How could it not? It wasn’t just that the Vault, after over forty years of never planning for it, suddenly needed a new Overseer, that it happened so abruptly and violently. Everything was upside down for Amata. She had lost her father, her friend, what little trust in the foundation of their society she had still clung onto, in her own judgement. Her father’s security had beat that out of her, and her own bullet finished it off. The Vault was quiet now; everything changed so fast, and after James and his daughter were gone and locked out, the bodies were not long cremated before the Vault splintered and people entrenched themselves on two sides of the infrastructure. Nobody willing to parley, but having little appetite for more fighting… Yet. Everybody could sense it. They were doomed. The heavy silence of many wrestled with the upstart of opinion from others, who was to blame, who should be in charge, what should happen now, but none of it compared to the weight of everything that Amata carried within her. She knew her father was out for blood that day. She tried to help, but got him killed instead. How could she not know her friend would choose revenge before safety? But how could she know another when she didn’t even know herself? She killed a man that day too. At least Talia had the guts not to make excuses. No, she was being unfair. There was so much to understand first, what happened, why, the secrets and lies she’d discovered after the chaos, the grief and anger and confusion and fear all jostling for attention amid the more pressing issues of how the Vault was going to survive if it didn’t tear itself apart first. Some people were looking to her for answers..! Others were calling her a rebel, as if she had wanted any of this! She just wanted to lie down and sleep. A blank, dreamless, long sleep, to wake up from the nightmare. She just needed time to process things. But there was no time. There was no air, no space to breathe or feel or think. The people wanted answers from her, even if they didn’t say anything; the weight of their silence was suffocating. She knew the vault was in a dangerous place, even if she couldn’t understand exactly how just yet. She was never quick on her feet, but if she could get some space, some distance, maybe she could fix what she and her father broke. She sat down in the communications room and set the radio to the emergency frequency. It was a long shot but she couldn’t think what else to do. She leaned in to the mic and addressed the one person who had always had an answer to all her problems. “It feels like you left home along time ago, but I know you’re still out there. I just hope you’re still alive to hear this...”

[wyrmfedgrave]

Pics:

1. Photo of Nathaniel Ames, the most probable writer of "Symzonia" - at least, according to a computerized literary comparison program.

2 & 3. Covers for reissues of this odd sea adventure, Lost Race & utopian novel.

4. Back cover of 1 of the "Symzonia" reissues.

5. Cross section of this Hollow Earth. This chart is half of Pic # 6, which explains certain particulars on the cross section.

6. The other half of Pic # 5. It notes certain places on the cross section. Even, in 'fact', the angles of light - from the Sun & Moon - that light up this Inner Earth.

1906: The Earth (is) Not Hollow.

Intro: Just 2 years after J.C. Symmes started lecturing upon a Hollow Earth, "Symzonia, A Voyage of Discovery" was printed in 1820. It was supposed to be written by its hero, one Captain Adam Seaborn.

Its true author, however, is still a bit of a mystery. Through a meticulous computerized literary comparison, its most probable writer was found - one Nathaniel Ames.

However, several other authors (like Johnathan Seymour & J.C. Symmes himself) are still in the 'running'...

Author: Nathaniel Ames was the "black sheep" of his prominent family. (His dad turned down the presidency of Harvard.)

Ames said he was too wild for any college. So, he spurned family & fortune to become "Black Bill", a common sailor!

After 12 years at sea, he settled in Providence, R.I. - as a 'mere' merchant & author of 3 books of memoirs - with sketches...

Plot Wise: Adam builds the ultimate steam ship - specifically designed for polar exploration. He also gathers a suitable crew of sailors & scientists.

But, getting there isn't easy.

They face off against a treasonous crewman, nasty weather, food shortages & detailed bouts of sea charting, solar positioning & normal life aboard such a ship.

After visiting several run of the mill islands, they steam right thru the South Pole & into Symzonia.

In this internal continent, they find a # of subterranean animals & people. And, an exchange in cultural satire vs utopian ideals follows.

Adam represents a warlike, greedy & vice-ridden external world. Yet, the wise & peaceful Symzonians educate the Captain on their society.

Their social structure is basically, an extreme form of Marxism!!

Sadly, this is when racism rears its ugly head. These 'perfect' beings are all "alabaster skinned."

But, the external world bears various 'shades' of 'swarthiness!' The Inuit, for example, are sinful outcasts ejected into the icy Northern wastes.

The further you get from this interior world, the darker a person's skin - & the worse their 'habits' get...

Surprisingly, Adam advocates for the abolition of slavery.

Criticism: Some readers found this novel to be a long, boring comparison of a corrupt society vs an utopian one.

Others say this story engages in social satire. Or, that the book is just a silly parody.

Even that it's penned by a true believer is in question. The earnest silliness makes it hard to tell...

The best parts mix fear with the marvels of Symzonia. Such as the "portents of doom":

1. The compass spinning wildly as they pass the Pole.

2. A shipwreck of alien design.

3. An unknown mammoth beast.

4. The Symzonian's airships...

Anyway, Adam soon becomes involved in the Symzonian 'problem' with the Lovecraftian sounding Gnophkehs...

Legacy: It's said that "Symzonia" inspired Edgar Allen Poe to write 2 stories:

1. "Message in a Bottle" &

2. "Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym."

The last of which, in turn, inspired Lovecraft to write "At the Mountains of Madness."

"Symzonia" was reissued around 1979.

Then, Seattle KRAB radio station aired this book's only known adaptation - an 8 part, 4 hour series.

Plus, the New England Quarterly was the 1st to posit Ames as the possible author of "Symzonia."

Finally, the book sank back into literal obscurity. Ames, just like his fictional Captain Adam, died poor & forgotten.