#Inon Man

[dencyemily]

LUNC and USTC Prices Surge Following Terra Luna Classic Upgrade

A significant security upgrade by L1TF, the core developer team for Terra Luna Classic, has sparked a positive response from the market, driving a 5% rise in LUNC (Terra Luna Classic) and a notable 12% increase in USTC (TerraUSD Classic). This move highlights the community's trust in the platform's commitment to security and stability. Meanwhile, Terra Luna Classic continues to grapple with regulatory challenges, including a delayed trial for Do Kwon, co-founder of Terraform Labs, amid legal battles with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Security Upgrade Impact:

The core developer team, led by Vinh Nguyen, has introduced a comprehensive security upgrade for Terra Luna Classic. The upgrade addresses critical security risks and responds to concerns within the community regarding legacy components in the system. The positive market response, reflected in the uptick of LUNC and USTC prices, suggests that investors and traders appreciate the proactive approach to enhance the platform's security. The upgrade is expected not only to bolster security but also to lay the groundwork for future infrastructure developments.

Legal Saga Continues:

Despite the positive momentum from the security upgrade, Terra Luna Classic is entangled in a legal battle with the SEC. Do Kwon's trial, initially set for January 29, has been delayed as part of the SEC's efforts to hold Terraform Labs accountable for alleged securities law violations. The SEC has accused Terraform Labs and Kwon of a multi-billion dollar crypto asset securities fraud, alleging that Kwon misled investors about the stability of UST, leading to substantial industry losses.

Market Sensitivity to Security:

The cryptocurrency community's positive reaction to Terra Luna Classic's security upgrade underscores the market's sensitivity to improvements in security and stability. As the legal battle with the SEC unfolds, investors and traders are closely monitoring these developments. The positive response to the security upgrade showcases the significance of addressing community concerns and implementing proactive measures in the dynamic cryptocurrency landscape.

[docktowndame]

I’m a little bit insane about the fact that the Mage Pride and Fenris Theme tracks are basically parallels, more than that, actually.

[erin-unknown]

Music Shuffle Game

THE RULES: You gotta shuffle your 'on repeat' playlist on Spotify then post the first 10 songs.

Thanks for the tag @flowersforthemachines 💕

~

Purple tracks are from character playlists and Orange are from my general writing playlists.

The Old Churchyard - Offa Rex, Olivia Chaney (there's a different recording of this song that I consider Branna Hawke's theme song but this version is on my Maxwell Trevelyan playlist)

Burning Piper's Hut - Beltaine

Rockhill - Beltaine (lmao again?)

Moch Sa Mhadainn (feat. Griogair Labhruidh) - Bear McCreary, Griogair Labhruidh

Take Me Home, Country Roads - John Denver (from my Sara Ryder playlist for Mass Effect Andromeda - I imagine this blasting from the stereo system she's rigged up in the Nomad)

Hawke Family Theme - Inon Zur (from my Branna Hawke playlist)

100 Years - Florence + The Machine (for my loves, Maxwell Trevelyan and Dorian Pavus)

The New Dark Age - Coyote Kid

Feed the Machine - Poor Man's Poison (on at least 2 D&D character playlists, including Jennet the genderfluid pirate captain and Fornix my mid-level Zhentarim agent and cleric of Loviatar)

Abracadabra - Lady Gaga (this song just has a hold on me)

~

You're all lucky(?) that my WH40K obsession is on hold because of Veilguard, because otherwise this would all be industrial metal and the Mechanicus soundtrack.

I'm not sure offhand who has and hasn't done this yet? But extremely low-pressure tags for @awardenandacrow, @covertleathers, @taashyvashedan, and @taamlok.

[elfruits]

veilguard thoughts and opinions after 6 hours of gameplay!

i expected to not love the dialogue but MAN do i dislike it. the voice direction and writing just feels all wrong so far (except for rook, varric, and morrigan). thankfully around hour 6 it started to improve a bit. praying it keeps getting better because 60+ hours of this will be such a slog. i refuse to give up before collecting all the companions and encountering dorian.

i'm really enjoying the rogue combat though! i've had fun and don't find it too repetitive yet. also the graphics really aren't bad at all. i'm playing on low settings on my steam deck and the environments are still beautiful. unfortunately the soundtrack doesn't hit the same as past games and this REALLY affects the vibe. missing trevor morris and inon zur's compositions :^(

right now i'd rate the game a 5/10. replay value feels limited and i keep oscillating between disappointment, hope, and disappointment again. weirdly it's left me yearning for another da2 playthrough, but alas, i must persevere

[sea-dukes-assistant]

This isn't new, but the most recent one I posted on AO3 (written in September). It was inspired by a prompt I came across here one day, which was "Finding their partner's sex toy and making them play with it in front of them." As far as the timeline of this entire clusterfuck, I wrote it with the intention of this happening after our first time, but before Sea Duke's Solo Tour of Massive Sex Appealing™.

There's wanking, and Sea Duke being himself. As always, if dude sex gives you the vapors, find something else to read.

"What's this?" He asks, a puzzled look on his face as he rotates his hand to examine it.

Dear god no, he's found my stroker.  Shit this is embarrassing!  Mortified, I try to salvage some dignity.  "Uuuhhh...that's uuuhhh...that's my right hand enhancer," I attempt to explain.

Philip still looks confused by the object.  "Your what?"

"You know," I reply, making the jacking off motion with my hand, "that."  I hoped that would be the end of it, and we could go on about our day, but no, no I wasn't that lucky. "Ah," he says. "How does it work?"

ARE YOU SERIOUS?   I take it from him, and point to one of the opened ends.  "You know...," I make an in-out motion with my index finger "but with your cock."  It occured to me that he may truly not know what a stroker is used for, because he's never had to use one.  Between his wife and myself, he hasn't exactly needed artifical means, but I can't shake the feeling that he is purposefully playing dumb about this. There's an uncomfortable pause, one that doesn't make me feel this awkwardness will end anytime soon.  "Will you show me?" he requests, eyebrows raised, and I swear I can see a smirk on his face.

I raise one eyebrow at him. "Do you...do you really need me to?" I ask, unable to process his continued ignorance on the matter.

  "Well, as you've said yourself, sometimes one needs a demonstration to better understand."

Oh no he is NOT using that against me!  That's for learning new things, not having an audience while I wank!  "I...uh...I've never had an audience," I admit, looking away from him.  "I don't even think I could get hard."  I feel my ears get hot with embarrassment.

Philip calmly gets closer to me, almost erasing any personal space between us.  He effortlessly removes my T-shirt, tossing it on the back of my chair, and then places his hands on my hips.  Before I can protest, his lips are at m ear, nibbling at it as he makes his case, arousal obvious in his voice. "As I've told you before, don't do it if you're uncomfortable.  Buuttt...," he gives me a seductive once over with his eyes, "you know what seeing you get off does to me.  And I can only imagine what sort of...absolutely filthy things went through your head before our first time together.  I wonder how many times you were...hard at work, taking care of it under the desk, trying to be discreet."

I exhale loudly out my nose, the pressure of my pants on my erection being too much to bear now. "I'm gonna...gonna need the-" I start.  One thing I've always loved about him is he can get me going with words alone (well, his accent helps a lot, too).

"This?" A mischievous grin on his face, he holds up the tube of lube.

"Yeah," I sigh, gently taking it from him, "that."   He might be annoying at times, but thankfully he's also efficient.  Admittedly, knowing that my arousal turns him on so much is intoxicating; I'd never thought of myself as a particularly attractive man, having been called "cute" more than anything else, or being shunned due to my height.  Hearing him admit, albeit indirectly, that he gets hard at the thought of me rubbing one out to him was all I needed to get over my performance anxiety.   By the time I had gotten a satisfactory amount of lube inside the silicone tube, he'd made himself comfortable inone of the leather chairs facing my desk, sitting rather casually, his left elbow on the armrest, head resting in his hand.  I intentionally avoid eye contact, lest I lose my nerve and ultimately my erection, while I try to get my pants undone with one hand.  "Fuck sake," I mutter under my breath, my efforts unsuccessful.  

"Take your time," he says, somewhat amused.  

I place the stroker on the desk, and take a breath to settle myself, quickly flexing my fingers as a way to try to focus my concentration on my dexterity.  Slow is smooth, smooth is fast.  I unbuckle my belt, get my fly undone, and unceremoniously push both my boxers and pants down enough to free myself.  I then turn my upper body to clear some space on the desk before, yes, hopping up to sit on it, bare assed, because I know my legs won't be able to handle this (the bad one especially). Heck it, I'll get the disinfecting wipes out later.  This seem to further amuse him, but I don't blame him because I'll admit this is a ridiculous situation I find myself in, and I'm aware I am not the most graceful creature on this Earth.  I push my pants and boxer further down to my ankles, then reach for my stroker.  I close my eyes and, after a few moments to get in the right headspace, slowly slide the stroker onto my cock.  After a few months of not having to use it, it takes a bit longer than usual to find just the right pace, that rhythm that hits just right.  I sigh once I've found it, then focus on my tried and trusted technique, working myself up and trying to think of...well, not having an audience.  My mind finally settles itself onto a thought, this time of him getting over here to do this for me.  I squirm a little, and begin getting vocal.

"What do you think about?" he asks.  

I whine softly, not because of what I'm doing, but because I'm reluctant to divulge that information.  Sensing my hesitancy, he gives me an offer I can't refuse.  "If you tell me, I'll take care of that for you."

A few breaths to gather myself, and once again I give him what he wants.  "Being your plaything," I admit, giving my cock a gentle squeeze.

"Mmm that's interesting," he muses, curiosity clearly in his tone.  "Can you elaborate?"

Shit, where to begin?  "Bent over your desk...on the plane...fancy hotel...threesome...," I pause, slightly hesitant to continue.  I steal myself to open my eyes.

"Go on," he says, nonchalant as ever, adjusting himself ever so slightly.  Oh jeez ok he likes what he's hearing.  I sigh out of relief this time, close my eyes again, and continue.

"Tease me, deny me..." I feel my ears get hot and my orgasm building. I open my eyes and look down to see drops or pre-cum dripping out of my dick.  "Wanna wear sexy underwear for you...and...other things...want you to...wear your uniform and...fuck...pull rank in bed..." Despite my embarrassment, I can feel I'm on the edge, and the idea of the last admission gets me over.  "Want to...holy shit...want to submit to you! JESUS CHRIST...FUUUUCCCKKK!"  I lean forward and ride out one of the most intense orgasms I'd had, doing my best to aim my load on my stomach.  "Holy shit," I exhale, laying backwards on my desk trying to regulate my breathing, while I stare at the ceiling and contemplate my life choices.  The room is spinning.  I feel the kind of emotionally sick, like I've just drunk dialed my crush and word vomited at them; the anxiety is settling in.  Minutes seem like hours and I can't stand the silence anymore.  "You...uh...you said you'd..."

"Well, you finished before I got that chance."  I can practically hear the smirk in his voice.  I hate him (not really).  I slowly sit up, avoiding eye contact as I ease myself off the desk, and pull my pants back up, trying to regain my dignity as I get myself back together.  

"I quite enjoyed that."

"Glad one of us did," I mutter, grabbing some tissues and cleaning up.  Out of my peripheral vision, I see him get up and make his way over to me.

"Look at me," he commands, softly.  I do so, swallowing hard as our eyes meet. Gently, he places a hand on each side of my face. "I'd love nothing more than to indulge all of that," he tells me.  "You know, if you want to get a commission one day, you're going to need to improve your self-confidence."  

"Yeah," I agree, quietly.

"One way to do that is to realize just how desirable you are.  You haven't been the only one with, shall we say, workplace distractions."

A small smile creeps across my face.

"Anyway you needn't be embarrassed; if you can't tell me what you want out of this, I can't fix it.  Or I have failed to you because you can't trust me."

"OK, yeah...I...thank you," I sigh.

He leans in and gives me a slow but sincere kiss.  "Right!"  He lightly smacks my cheek. "Now that that's sorted, I have some things I need you to proof-read for me.  They're on my desk; you can do it now or tonight, perhaps naked and straddling me so we can discuss.  Your choice, but I prefer the latter."  With that, he walks briskly out of my office.

I think...I think I'll let that wait...

[ettadunham]

inon zur, the man you are.

is this cheating? maybe. possibly. probably.

okay, so context. i have been doing this thing where i play a random adventure game spit out by a random generator program i created (because i'm a nerd). as a result, every now and then, you'll find a short write-up about some weird obscure little video game on my tumblr blog. it's just one of the many things that you have to put up with if you decided to follow me for whatever reason. sorry.

then one day, said randomizer spit out syberia 3, and let me tell you, i was delighted! this was the first time i had a game i already played on my list, so obviously, this meant a replay. but not just any replay. i now had to replay the entire series! obviously.

is this what i've done for other games that came up before? no. but you guys don't understand.

syberia is my special little guy.

syberia 1 and 2 are not only largely the reason for my long-lasting obsession with adventure games, they have arguably raised me. i am the human person i am today because i played syberia while listening to complicated by avril lavigne when i was 12. these are the foundations and building blocks of my personality. everything that's wrong with me comes back down to this.

so, yeah. to say that i was excited to get back to this one is a slight understatement. i was vibrating on a frequency previously undetected in human physiology.

i also start with all this to emphasize that, yeah. i have my rose-tinted nostalgia glasses on when it comes to these games. that doesn't mean i don't have my criticisms, especially looking at the game today, but... i cannot not love syberia. it's just science.

i should probably talk about the game itself at some point though, right? i can't just assume that the one person reading this (i see you! hey! thank you <3) is as familiar with the ins and outs of voralberg automatons as i am. so, let's do a synopsis.

syberia is a 2002 point-and-click game about a lawyer named kate walker, who hyperfixate on her work mission to find an old man a bit too much, while going on a train adventure with an autistic-coded automaton named oscar. hijinks ensue!

the game was designed by french developer benoît sokal (rip, king) as a follow-up to his previous game, amerzone. as a kid, i have played through all of his games i could get my hands on, but it's been a while, so i can't quite tell you how much those hold up. from what i remember, he definitely liked his adventurer protags... as well as some potentially questionable depictions of made-up indigenous people.

...let's circle back to that after syberia 2.

but yeah, while we're here, let's actually get some of my criticisms out of the way. this is a game from 2002 written by a french dude and... you could say that it's of its time among other things. for instance the man kate is looking for is mentally disabled, and the game is a bit too liberal in its use of the 'r' word to describe him. (and yes, it was considered an offensive and derogatory term in 2002 too, people were just more inclined to use it back then.)

there are other aspects of the game that one might critique as well, that i mostly find charming. the dialogue is at times clunky (almost as if it was written by someone whose native language is not english...), but the voice actors do a nice job adding character (and possibly tweaking their lines just enough) that it absolutely works on me to this day. it's a little wacky, a little silly, the puzzles sometimes require some pixel hunting, but that's just how these games work!

this one also had the cocktail puzzle, which, in my opinion, is one of the best in the entire series. it really has everything! when i become super rich, i'm going to build that cocktail machine in my house.

other highlights of the game include the big communist boi looming over you in komkolzgrad and just... any other automaton or mechanical machinery in the game. including your train, obviously.

the overall aesthetics of the game? immaculate! i want all my devices to work with a wind up mechanism now.

the one thing though that, in my opinion, truly elevates syberia over its contemporaries is its music. god, the music!!! most people might be familiar with inon zur through his scores for games like the later fallout or dragon age games, but to me, he's always gonna be the guy who went so insanely hard for this somewhat niche little adventure game series.

his score coupled with the automaton designs and the beautiful scenery? absolutely breathtaking. prettier than any modern game.

in conclusion: kate walker, call me!

EDIT: as it was just pointed out to me by @greyaged, the first syberia game was actually scored by nicholas varley and dimitri bodiansky, and only from syberia 2 onwards did inon zur become the series' main composer. needless to say that they all did a fantastic job, but i definitely want to give an extra shout out to varley and bodiansky here, now that i know that they were the ones responsible for this particular game's score. the tracks and motifs they introduce here carry over to zur's scores, and they definitely cement syberia's legacy as a game series with one of the most memorable video game soundtracks in my book. <3

[coesmos]

  ind.    ,    sel. , private  sam coe  from bgs' starfield    .        ▬▬        *   written by  kat    .     she/her , 25+    .     est. sept '23    . ( i have finished the main story of starfield . may contain tagged spoilers . )

carrd . memes . promo . pinterest . spotify .

❝ up  until  then  ,      i  tried  my  best  to  be  the  dutiful  son  .      hated  it  ,      but  man  i  tried  .      but  this  …  it  was  a  rush  ,      a  thrill  .      lying  through  my  teeth  to  customs  ,      even  that  shady  delivery  guy  .      it  felt  like  i  was  finally  ,      truly  living  .      [  …  ]      so  more  jobs  started  coming  .      and  everywhere  i  went  ,      suddenly  ,      dangerous  people  were  much  better  armed  .      i'd  hear  about  armed  conflicts  and  civilian  casualties    innocent  casualties    and  i'd  pretend  that  wasn't  me  . ❞

[girlfriendsofthegalaxy]

❤️🤡?

HI SORRY THIS WENT TO DRAFTS but

jesus fucking christ.

favorite lyric: i love how this opens with the rustiest guitar chord known to man. i like the shift to the ambient wandering music at around 1:30.

describe this song in the worst way possible: theme music for gay anti-american propaganda.

[flaminhotleto]

Sup, I’m Banana and this is the blog where I keep my selfshipping/self-insert stuff.

I don’t have an actual dni other than minors, but I am one of those fucked up proshippers the teens warned you about. i also do block liberally and capriciously.

Under the cut are my fictional and celebrity others and the emojis I tag them with; modern COs are just gonna be referred to with their emojis because I don’t feel right putting their names on here, but you can ask me who they are in dms lol.

Julian Devorak (The Arcana) ⛓️

Asra Alnazar (The Arcana) 🔮

Muriel (The Arcana) 🐻

Armand (TVC) 🥀

Kamado Tanjiro (KNY) 🎴

Leah (SDV) 🏔️

Elliott (SDV) 🦀

Rauru (LOZ, TOTK au) ☁️

Sonia (LOZ, TOTK au) ⏳

Ganondorf (LOZ, my own au) ⚔️

Adaman (Pokemon) 💎

Lycion (Dunmeshi) 🐺

Fleki (Dunmeshi) 🐦‍⬛

Chilchuck Tims (Dunmeshi) 🔓

Qui-Gon Jinn (Star Wars) ☯️

Anubis (Lioden) 🖤

Fuchsia (Animal Crossing) 🍬

Pavel Chekov (Abrams Star Trek) 🧭

Xavier Thorpe (Wednesday) 🖌️

B.anzoin H.akka 💜

A.xel S.yrios 🐕

Jos.uiji Shi.nri 🎏

Mi.nase R.io 👻

Mac.hina X F.layon 🤖

R.egis Al.tare 🩵

Lan Sizhui (The Untamed/MDZS) 🦋

Chen Yu (xianxia oc) 🪈

Yang Hui (xianxia oc) 🍵

Sekikaze Nao (oc) ❄️

Jack Pryor (oc) 🐑

Jules (oc) 🎮

Cody (oc) 📹

CO #1 🌰

CO #2 📖

Date Masamune (sengoku-era daimyo) 🐉

Self Insert/OC tags:

Leto Oksan (Arcana) 🕯️

Myosotis “Blue” Inon (Arcana) 🎐

Lydia McGovern (TVC) 🎤

Matsubata Ineko (KNY) 🧊

Dove (SDV) 🍁

Tsaara (LOZ) 🍃

Fianne (LOZ) 🪻

Devon (Pokemon) 🏮

Firuin (Dunmeshi) 💫

Whynn (Dunmeshi) 🧀

Nazha Saparei (Star Wars) 🧿

Violet Tyler (Star Trek) 🔬

Rīta Nagains (Wednesday)🫀

C.H. 🕹️

D.S. 🦌

Lan Yu 🌨️

Liao Xun 🌾

Yang Huang 🌅

Suzuto Anri “Ebi” 🍤

Rebecca Graham 🧺

Brianna/Ian “Denver” Cole ☕️ (sometimes a woman sometimes a man, depending on which one i’m feeling)

Danielle ✏️ (closest I have to a pure self-insert, gets put in multiple unrelated ships/AUs)

Merrit Schermer 🌷

Ship tags (there’s no actual meaning to the emoji order lol)

⛓️🕯️, 🔮🕯️, ⛓️🔮🕯️ - Julian/Leto, Asra/Leto, Julian/Asra/Leto

🐻🎐 - Muriel/Blue

🎤🥀 - Lymand

🧊🎴 - IneTan

🏔️🍁, 🦀🍁, 🏔️🦀🍁 - Leah/Dove, Elliott/Dove, Leah/Elliott/Dove

☁️🍃, ⏳🍃, ☁️⏳🍃 - Rauru/Tsaara, Sonia/Tsaara, Rauru/Sonia/Tsaara

🪻⚔️ - Fiannondorf

💎🏮 - Adaman/Devon

🐺💫, 🐦‍⬛🐺, 🐺🐦‍⬛💫 - LyciFiru, FureFiru, LyciFureFiru

🔓🧀 - ChilWhynn

☯️🧿 - QuiZha

🧭🔬 - PaVio

🌨️🦋 - YuYuan

🪈🌾 - YuXun

🍵🌅 - Yangcest

🍤❄️ - EbiNao

🐑🧺 - Jack/Rebecca

🎮✏️ - Jules/Dani

📹✏️ - Cody/Dani

📖☕️ - (redacted)/Denver

🌰✏️ - (redacted)/Dani

🐉🌷 - MasaMeri

[holidaydipstick]

why the hell in fallout 3 do they not let you tell your dad bout the events that transpired in the vault after he left. i know there's a user-made mod that adresses it, that isn't my point. from a story telling perspective it seems unreasonable to sideline the logic that your character escaped a violent escalation of tensions that involved being shot to death by security forces, and that your only response to your dad upon rescuing him and his interrogating you as to why you left 'the safety of the vault' is that 'you missed him (sad puppy face)' or that 'You Didn't Need The Vault... Youre A Badass.'. maybe it's endemic of the writing process and how ideas were considered for the story as a whole but this videogame is sticking to me like glue evidently so i want to interrogate Why. other than that adam adamowicz' art gave the game (and subsequently half of fallout new vegas' it's visual identity and style and that inon zur did a bang up job on the soundtrack. like what are the core ideas that keep me coming back. i think that comparing fallout 3 to earlier fallout games and coming to the conclusion that it is not a good game because it is not a good 'Fallout Game' isn't fair because they didn't really try to construct the game on fallout's set of guidelines. there's no hard moral choices but there IS a parody of the idea of morality through the ever-present 'karma system' where they show you the little vault man mascot dressed up as Satan from the bible. hey i never really though about it that much but it's kind of funny that your character is raised christian but is obviously not a practicing christian and that your secondary interaction system is this indirect karma/guilt tracking system that marks your descent into immorality as literally being like satan from hell with a pitchfork, goatee and horns. ohhhhh you're soooooo evil now hehee.

[shinglescat]

Man, i'm having fun in Starfield, even tho it's more like FO4 with all its vices than Skyrim, even tho the first impression was rather bad. No matter boring planets, loading screens and uninspired writing and voice acting, the core gameplay is stupid fun.

Never thought that telling an NPC (Sarah) to stfu would be so amusing.

Also, dear god, why did they go with Inon Zur again? His scores always cause head aches.

[thearchdemongreatlydisapproves]

URL Tag Game

Thanks for the tag @asocialpessimist

Rules: spell your url with song titles and tag as many people as the letters!

T- The Chain- Fleetwood Mac

H- Himna Generacije- Dubioza Kolektiv

E- Exit Music (For a Film)- Radiohead

A- Am I Dreaming- Metro Boomin

R- Railroad Track- Willy Moon

C- Chant- Hadestown

H- Human- The Killers

D- Dog Days Are Over- Florence and the Machines

E- Enjoy the Silence- Depeche Mode

M- Mage Pride- Inon Zhur

O- Oxbow- Lorn

N- Non-Stop- Upsurt

G- Guggenheim Assemble- Daniel Pemberton

R- Rabbit- Joyhauser

E- Empire- Of Monsters and Men

A- A Man Without Love- Engelbert Hmperdinck

T- The Last Agni Kai- The Track Team

L- Little Black Angel- Death In June

Y- You Want It Darker- Leonard Cohen

D- Disco 2000- Pulp

I- I Wll Never Die- Delta Rae

S- Safe In Mind (Please Get This Gun From Out My Face)- UNKLE

A- A Divided Land- Sarah Schachner

P- Pala Tute- Gogol Bordello

P- Perspektiva- S.A.R.S.

R- Rasputin- Boney M

O- Oh Grey Warden- Maryden Halewell

V- Völuspá- Wardruna

E- Ezio's Family- Jesper Kyd

S- Sing Along- Sturgill Simpson

Also yeah I'm not tagging that many people, sorry I have too much anxiety for this

I'm gonna tag as many as I feel comfortable with and if anyone wants to join please do!

@time-traveling-machine @elvhenn @hanarinhightown @callista-curations @lilolilyr @korblez @sleepingfancies @ioniccolumns

[dongtopus]

Ill-fitted for the job

The ouroboros stepped carelessley and bare-footed over the loose gravel of the stonebreakers yard of Khol. It's body swung dramatically, bending near ninety degrees on either side with its arms hald out at its sides, imitating the wider gait of the workers it had observed recently.

The skin that covered its head, shoulders and torso was still shiny and moist. Inone hand, it held a bucket upside-down and by sheer chance alone, it held the pickaxe correctly.

Its body swung loosely back and forth like a weakened spring as it 'greeted' the three men shovelling slag into a grinding machine.

It stood, bolt still for a moment and regarded the trio.

"WHITE."

The trio exchanged glances with one another. The smalest guy nodded at the creature and kneeled down to make sure his boots were still tied.

"Alright?"

Its disguise having flawlessly convinced the human workers, it saunted on, the Ourobos' entire body swinging wildly side to side and its shoulders' rotation hurling the bucket and pickaxe all about the place.

"Don't make it obvious."

One of the workers broke away from the trio and ran off behind the containers, waving his grey,dusty vest above his head.

Up on the ramp, two Kholeans spoke the afternoon away as they sorted through the last batch of castings

"-Turns out it was a concussion. Barely hit him and he was concussed. He goes to bed that night, doesn't get back up"

"A pebble?. They're really clutching at straws these days. Have they really just empited the locals of any good labour already?"

A small rock bounced nearby and with irritation, the pair of vampires turned to the breathless man running toward them. He pointed across the ramp and it was not hard to miss.

Still wobbling wildly, sauntering with imitated gusto, an Ouroboros attempted to walk into Khol in search of abundant meals.

One vampire passed a chipped off piece of flash from a casting.

"Miss, and I'll tell the higher ups that you were the one that killed the bloke"

The vampire clicked his tongue and took deadly aim. The eight-inch piece of leftover metal tore through the Ouroboros' face and shoulder so quickly and with such force that it blew the creature twelve yards back down the ramp, where its body curled in on itself.

The vampire slapped his musuclar hands against his hands and stood up, taking a sharp breath in.

"Right. I'll go hang out with the lads down the end then."

"Yeah.." The other replied, breaking off another piece of flash and tossing it into a bucket

Clink

"Good shot."

"Yeah."

Clink

[anestofmuses]

Yuki chuckled as well, glad that Sergei approved of the joke.

"Right? Maybe inone of those fancy colonies?~ he laughed now, before nodding in a more serious but happy manner now.

"Yeah, no matter what, we will handle things, one step at a time as we always do. That and Ilya made a mistake. Threatening Aikko was putting their own blood in the water. Every scary member of our family, will now want their head on a pike and no possible political immunity can stop them." Yuki smiled, Safiya alone had her ways, add in the likes of themselves, Kazuya and Chaolan in his more ruthless moments. Ilya was a dead man walking.

Sergei chuckled at the thought of living in space. "I'm sure that would be fun." He added to the joke. It was amusing that Yuki would bring up something as impossible as that.

"There aren't a lot of options at our disposal, but I'm sure we can handle whatever life will throw at us. We've done it so far."

[kyndaris]

Celebrating Legacy

Music is an important element in most people's lives. They keep us entertained during long car rides, or can serve to denote important scenes as the orchestra sweeps in during an epic moment during a movie or a video game. Many can recall iconic soundtracks or albums that have defined moments in their lives. I know I have certainly appreciated many a composer from Hans Zimmer to Inon Zur, and even Jeremy Soule. But there is one composer who sits above the rest when it comes to iconic pieces in a long-running video game franchise. And that is none other than Nobuo Uematsu.

So, when I read on Facebook that he was coming to Sydney to do a show with his conTIKI band, I had to purchase tickets. And I harped on bleachpanda to get them as soon as possible.

The day of the event came: 8 September 2024. After a quick dinner nearby, bleachpanda and I headed for Sydney's State Theatre along with another one of my friends (although he was seated on the mezzanine level as he'd bought his ticket separately and wanted to be seated up close and personal). In, we went, and watched in amazement as all the seats were taken up by others.

Now that I think on it, this should not have surprised me. The show, only featuring on a single day, had long been sold out. I would know, of course, because after watching Hamilton right before my birthday, I'd informed Sorrengail Nobuo Uematsu would be coming to Sydney and she'd tried to see if tickets were still available - so she could pay obeisance to the man who wrote such iconic music that is even now celebrated in the Distant Worlds and A New World concerts that tour around the world (except Australia - please come back and play the Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth soundtrack for us!).

As 7:30 hit, the lights in the theatre dimmed and Nobuo Uematsu emerged on stage. He settled down at his keyboard, outfitted with a laptop, and he began to play. It felt almost intimate, sitting there, a face in the crowd. As if we had been drawn into his private garage or studio where he might compose his music.

In quick succession, he played through modulated versions of the Opening - Bombing Mission from Final Fantasy VII and Blue Fields from Final Fantasy VIII. After a quick introduction where he asked if members of the audience knew of his work, he wondered if we would like to listen to more iconic Final Fantasy music, this time from some of the older games.

Of course, being such a big fan of the Final Fantasy franchise who has enjoyed even the musical rhythm game spin-offs, the other modular pieces were still identifiable to me. The first one he played was from Final Fantasy III: Legend of the Eternal Wind. He then followed this up with the iconic Clash on the Big Bridge from Final Fantasy V. But, let's be honest, who could forget Gilgamesh's iconic theme and which has featured again and again in different games.

With those two pieces done, Uematsu introduced a talented voice actress to the stage. She was there to narrate three stories, as well as voice each of the characters. All of the stories were accompanied by a video shown on the big projector screen in the middle of the stage. And every time, Uematsu would pull out a piece of paper that said: Play the video, Rebekah!

It even became a bit of a running gag throughout the show. Especially when the video for the first story stuttered a little and there was some banter between Uematsu and the voice actress regarding the technical difficulties.

But the show must go on! And poor Rebekah managed to pull through.

The first story was a boy who was out fishing. He was chatting with, I had initially assumed it was a friend, a kappa. I don't recall much of the dialogue except they were talking about a girl in town who was a little down. It ended with the boy heading back home and telling his mother about the catch.

Shinigami-kun with its jazz background music was a cute story about an apprentice Shinigami who was persuaded not to take a girl's father with the promise of a big bag of chocolates. And the third story, The Rules of the Other Side, had a fast-talking mobster fish that was seeking compensation for wrongs made to the ocean.

Just like that, the first half ended. After a brief intermission, the show saw the rest of Nobuo Uematsu's band take to the stage. These included a guitarist, percussionist and also a singer. I don't remember their names too well but a video on YouTube indicates they might be: Yasushi Yokokawa, Chihiro Fujioka, Rie Tozuka and Xiao.

All I remember from the introductions was the singer saying she was an otaku who had managed to become the vocalist for a band run by Nobuo Uematsu.

With the pleasantries out of the way, the band played through Suteki Da Ne, Melodies of Life and No Promises to Keep. All songs from the Final Fantasy franchise.

And then, because Nobuo Uematsu isn't defined by just the music he has done for Final Fantasy, he and his band played through two original songs and then a combination song with story. They were: The Child Who Came From An Egg, Oni, and Doppelganger. Suffice it to say, the two songs, with their accompanying videos, were a little surreal and impressionistic with their imagery. Especially with the koala bear headed men dancing on the sidelines.

I even wondered aloud to bleachpanda if the songs had been written when they were all on shrooms. The visuals certainly were a bit strange and almost psychedelic in nature.

Not that I'm complaining. It just seemed a little out of left-field for me. Then again, I like things to make sense.

And with the closing notes of Doppelganger, the band bowed and left the stage. The crowd cheered, hoping for an encore. After several long minutes (presumably because the band was changing into the ConTIKI show t-shirts that were being sold for $50), Uematsu emerged once more on the stage. He played an excellent rendition of To Zanarkand from Final Fantasy X before the band returned to the stage to play one of my other favourite songs: Kiss Me Goodbye - although I did find it odd considering it was the ending for Final Fantasy XII, a game Nobuo Uematsu did NOT compose. Still, it was great piece to end the night as me, bleachpanda and my other friend scurried to the train station to return home after a late night out in the city.

Was the ConTIKI show what I was hoping for? Not exactly.

Then again, it never said it would be a proper Final Fantasy concert. In fact, given it was a smaller setting, I wasn't entirely sure WHAT Nobuo Uematsu would bring to the table. Sure, his personal songs were a little strange and wacky, but given how well renowned he is as a composer, I'm sure people can offer him some leeway to do whatever he likes in his own private affairs.

The Reddit thread regarding the event, though, had a few mixed reactions from people attending. More than likely, they were expecting something a little more grand than an old guy sitting at a keyboard remixing his old pieces, but it certainly could have been much worse.

Here's hoping, though, that we DO get another Distant Worlds concert back in Australia in the not too DISTANT future.

EDIT: There was ALSO another story about a stone deity! When writing up this blog, I had the impression of four stories being told but could only remember three. BUT no, there was four.

[waynecowles]

A Billion

This is too true to be funny.

The next time you hear a politician use theWord 'billion' in a casual manner, think aboutwhether you want the 'politicians' spendingYOUR tax money.

A billion is a difficult number to comprehend,But one advertising agency did a good job ofPutting that figure into some perspective inOne of its releases.

A.   A billion seconds ago it was 1959.

B.   A billion minutes ago Jesus was alive.

C.   A billion hours ago our ancestors wereliving in the Stone Age.

D.   A billion days ago no-one walked on the earth on two feet.

E.A billion dollars ago was only8 hours and 20 minutes,at the rate our governmentis spending it.

While this thought is still fresh in our brain...let's take a look at New Orleans ...It's amazing what you can learn with some simple division.

Louisiana Senator,Mary Landrieu (D)was asking Congress for   250BILLION DOLLARSTorebuild New Orleans . Interesting number..What does it mean?

A.   Well .. If you are one of the 484,674 residents of New Orleans (every man, woman and child)Youeachget   $516,528

B.   Or... If you have one of the 188,251 homes inNew Orleans , your home gets $1,329,787.

C.   Or... If you are a family of four...Your family gets   $2,066,012.

Washington , D.C   HELLO!   Are all your calculators broken??

Building Permit TaxCDL License TaxCigarette TaxCorporate Income TaxDog License TaxFederal Income Tax (Fed)Federal Unemployment Tax (FU TA)Fishing License TaxFood License TaxFuel Permit TaxGasoline TaxHunting License TaxInheritance TaxInventory TaxIRS Interest Charges (tax on top of tax)IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax)Liquor TaxLuxury TaxMarriage License TaxMedicare TaxProperty TaxReal Estate TaxService charge TaxesSocial Security TaxRoad Usage Tax (Truckers)Sales TaxesRecreational Vehicle TaxSchool Tax State Income Tax State Unemployment Tax (SUTA)Telephone Federal Excise TaxTelephone Federal Universal Service Fee TaxTelephone Federal, State and Local Surcharge TaxTelephone Minimum Usage Surcharge TaxTelephone Recurring and Non-recurring Charges Tax Telephone State and Local TaxTelephone Usage Charge TaxUtility TaxVehicle License Registration TaxVehicle Sales TaxWatercraft Registration TaxWell Permit TaxWorkers Compensation Tax(And to think, we left British Rule to avoid so many taxes)

STILL THINK THIS IS FUNNY?

Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago...And our nation was the most prosperous in the world.

We had absolutely no national debt..We had the largest middle class in the world...And Mom stayed home to raise the kids.

What happened?Can you spell

'politicians'!  

And I still have toPress '1'For English.

I hope this goes aroundthe   U   S   A   At    least 100 times

What has happened to our country?????

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