#Video Review: MANE Breathing Again

[thejoyofviolentmovement]

New Video: Rising Aussie Artist MANE Shares Lush and Anthemic "Breathing Again"

New Video: Rising Aussie Artist MANE Shares Lush and Anthemic "Breathing Again" @manemusicAUS @evabnmebsterb @marauder @CDMcClean

Paige Court is a rising Adelaide-based singer/songwriter and pop artist, best known as MANE. She exploded onto the Aussie scene with 2019’s breakout hit “Chasing Butterflies,” which amassed over 2 million streams and landed at #7 on the Spotify viral charts. Her debut EP. 2020’s Coping Mechanisms and follow-up single “Hi Lo” were released through Dew Process/Universal Music Australia and were…

[popculturebuffet]

Amphibia Reviews: The Shut-In

More Halloween Havoc, whoop woop! The Plantars return just in time for Halloween! It’s Shut-In in Wartwood, their version of halloween, but less of a focus on getting candy and more on getting suplies to protect yourselve and barricade yourself in so the moon dosen’t turn you into a monster. I remain not suprised. To pass the time our heroes tell some true spooky stories and Polly tries to find one they weren’t around for.  Phone-Mo: Anne and humanized versions of Polly, Maddie, and Toady watch a cursed video and soon disappear by one. Nothing ominous about that! Dead End: A young Hop Pop serves as Chauffer for a mysterious man played by george takei and death seems to follow them at every stop. Oh myyyyyyyy.  Skin Deep: Sprig and Ivy go to fetch a lost ball and end up running into the skin stealing seamstress. Arson naturally insues..  It’s Terror Time again, with full recap and spoilers, under the cut. 

Whelp, no dancing around it this airing order is weird. And look airing shit in a weird way has been disney’s past time since the 90′s, Darkwing Duck’s airing order is a waking nightmare, and this very show had all of season 1 air within the span of a month and a week in order to get it on disney plus by launch, star vs had it’s last season burned off in three months, and Ducktales pre-covid flip flopped from airing week to week to just one for some reason and then no others for months. Consitency is not their strong suit is what i’m saying and it’s not new.  And yes I get these holiday special episodes are mecurial: their built specifically to slot in wherever without really upsetting continuity: The Casagrandes recently aired their first season 2 episode before even finishing season 1, so this isn’t just a disney thing, while speaking of disney things ducktales had it’s first proper halloweeen episode air the week before a spring break set episode, with a christmas episode set to air next month. What i’m saying is I get these things sometimes don’t air in production order, but it’s less excuable on Disney’s part here when it’d take airing exactly one episode for this not to be a tad jarring. Not enough that it spoils the episode nor does the episode effect the ongoing story or continuity in any way, so it’s not TERRIBLE but it smacks of lazy incompetence on Disney’s part and I wish they’d do better already. 

Okay that rant out of the way we can dive right in! It’s the annual Shut-In in Wartwood! Basically their verison of halloween but instead of a fun spooky holiday, it’s the annual tradition of getting various things from the neighbors to help stay indoors during the blue moon, which in wartwood turns whoever views into a monster. Because of course their halloween is a fight for suvival. Also theirs pumpkins everywhere with their versions of jack o lanterns being fear gourds which.. okay. Point is instead of candy the kids trick or treating has turned up rusty nails, a hatchet, a first aid kit and anne, winning the night, a flamethrower! On one hand it’s neat these exist in wartwood via fire breathing slugs. On the other I do worry about Anne accidently burning everyone and everything down so please take that from her. 

The Plantars then lock themselves in. To stave off bordeom, Shut-In tradition is to go around the fire and tell each other creepy true stories that happened to them. Polly tries going first but just has the Inn story from last season which they were all there for.. thought hat dosen’t make complete sense as they werent’ awake for all of it and shoudl’ve just let her tell her side of things. But eh it sets up polly’s plot so fair enough. Luckily anne has one. So we get our first tale of terror Terror Tales of the Park/Treehouse of Horror III Styles...

Phone-Mo 

Anne’s story is very clearly made up, though no one really calls her on it and it DOES add elemnts from the domino II story from last season so fair enough.  Rather than use her real friends, which is fair enough since she just sadly had to say goodbye to Marcy and probably isn’t handeling the guilt well and Sasha you know.. tried to stab her a few months back then tried sacrifcing herself for Anne’s own well being. Point is thnking about them is a loaaded issue right now so instead she dreams up human versions of Sprig, Polly, with a bucket on her foot for a shot which is a nice visual gag, as is how we meet them, along with Maddie and for some weird reason Toady. I mean I do get Ivy is in our third story, so fair enough, but they could’ve used.. anyone else. Wally would’ve made more sense honestly and he’s also an adult but he’s also you know Anne’s friend and not some town asshole she vaugley knows. It’s just weird. That said I do love the human designs for everyone and they clearly put a lot of work in knowing the fans would like them, with little touches like Polly having pink hair, sprig having his normal haircut he does under the hat but not covered up and toady’s phone having a little keychain of his amphibia version. Also while they all have diffrent names including Anne I won’t be using them on the grounds that I don’t wanna. 

Anne and the plantars are watching a funny internet video when Toady and Maddie offer to show them one that’s apparently cursed and makes whoever watched it disappear. Sprig talks Anne out of it and keeps her from watching anyway but Polly’s naturally all in. ON the way to class, once sprig is gone, anne ends up watching it and liking it anyway because she has no self control and freely admits it.  Naturally given this is a halloween episode, the others start disapearing, with Maddie coming to anne with support after Toady vanishes which again is just.. weird. It’s just weird to hear anyone car about wether toady lives or dies. It keeps throwing me off. Anne reasssures her but sure enough the second anne’s gone Maddie’s phone eats her alive. Still nice to see her again. Regular Maddie should get a hoodie. Also anne apparently eats the corners of her sandwitch so she dosen’t have to share. Clever girl.  Back at home where Anne continues to mock whoever it is told her she can’t write stories as she makes a gila monster and a flamingo make out, where are they I must hurt them, when Sprig calls panicked that polly is missing and admits i’ts a good thing they ddin’t watch the video.. yeah about that. Sprig is of course freaked, and soon the video pops on anne’s phone and soon the weird cat thing inside comes to life and then turns deadly.. also it turns out it eats the host then forces them to be int he background of the video, which was hinted at earlier with one guy having been in there for 35 years.. despite having a smartphone. Well this is anne’s story I don’t think she knows those didn’t exist once. 

Luckily Anne figures out how to beat it.. in the most hilarious way possible. by disliking it, since liking and commeting linked it to her, she weakens it before finishing it with a rude comment. It’s.. i’ts purespun comedy gold. This frees everyone else and they leave along with sprig.. but eggs are left behind. Dun dun dun.  Final Thoughts on Phone Mo:

First off .. I have no idea what FOMO means so the title left me as lost at first at the plantars... oh okay it’s fear of missing out.. should’ve remebered that from brooklyn nine nine and amy’s legendadrily bad case of it. Aw well a decent story, if the weakest of the three. It does have an incredibly funny conclusion, neat human designs, and an intresting setting given while school stories are common, usually we don’t get that here so it’s a nice break from the norm. But compared to the genuinely chilling with a funny and odd climax next two, it’s just okay. Not bad, but not quite as good.  Back in the present, Polly once again tries this time with children of the spore, once again being shot down though that being said hop pop’s line of “I was responsible for that one” was given a great delvery by charlie addler. Also Anne missed Wally’s birthday and he’s sad. oh Wally. Though i’m sure she’ll make it up to him.. at least he’s back home. So anyways speaking of HOp Pop, it’s his turn for a story...

Dead End:  And it’s a story from Hop Pop’s Youth! Given we’ve never SEEN hop pop beyond his present day and only heard the ocasional scrap, it’s REALLY nice to hear. It dosen’t tell us a ton more granted, but we at least see what he looked like, get to hear charlie adler use a slightly less aged voice for him and get to see him with a luxrious golden mane of johnny bravo hair, which is as hilaroius and glorious as it sounds. 

Back in those days Hop Pop was a coachman. He still had the farm, but given how tight things are now it’s not a stretch to assume he could always use some extra coppers to keep his family we never get to know about besides the grandkids fed. He also prides himself on honest work, not taking payment till the rides finished and the customer is satisfied which is INCREIDBLY risky, but I do kinda get it both for Hopidah’s sense of honor and because it seems clear he mostly does it in town by the fact all his stops this ep are within wartwood or close enough, so clearly it’s mostly people he knows personally.  This time though the rider is the well dressed, crimson red Mr. Littlepot, played by George Takei. Best known for Star Trek, being out and proud and since coming out after years and years in the closet, using his celebrity to help promote gay rights and other good stuff. He’s also known for saying ohhhh myyy and this clip from futurama. 

I got a lot of respect for the guy, He was even in archie comics once after Kevin Keller was introduced. So it’s nice to see him doing some voice work and he kills it here.. pun intended but more on that in a sec. Littlepot has some simple rule: keep driving no matter what hapepned where he was.. and given both places he ends up have someone dying, once by a horrifying looking snake, it’s clear somethings up. IT also nicely builds the tension as hop pop tries to steady himself, but is clearly cracking as he realizes his client might be murdering people he knows.. and he could be next. As Hopidiah KNOWS each person Littlepot visits and it nicely ratches up the tension. But turns out he’s not a killer.. he’s simplyd eath himself come to collect those already about to die. 

It’s a nice twist: The genuine trappings of the guy make you think h’es some form of the devil, the crimson skin, yellow eyes and cultured demanor.. it’s only as he goes you start to realize what the man actually is and even then he easily could still be frog satan. But no he’s just the frog reaper and defends himself to Hop Pop when confronted: He’s just doing his job, just like Hopidiah, getting people where they need to be. Unforutnately for Hop Pop his final stop is the farm.. though thankfully for him he hasnt come for Hopidiah.. just his hair. Yeah it’s a nice comedic twist on an otherwise chiling and well done story that what the devil came to take is his hair.. which he starts wearing hilariously. So Hop Pop lives but sobs, and Anne points out it was pretty fucked up. 

Final Thoughts for Dead End:  Not much to say. This one was dripping with atmosphere, Takei was utterly awesome and need to do more voice work, and the comedic ending twist was really damn funny. Top notch. 

Polly tries again, gets shut down again and is now really understandably frustrated at not having a story. Naturally given the other plantars have gone though, Sprig does. And he dosen’t have at itle at first until one cuts him off ....

Skin Deep:

Ivy’s Back! 

Yeah I was genuinely worried the return ep would break up either her and sprig or hop pop and silvia.. and while the second one remains a horrifying sword of damocles over my head, Sprig and Ivy are fine and Ivy gets a nice spotlight episode here. It was a pleasant surprise to get some fresh info since i’tll be months till we find out anything else.  So the young couple are playing bugball down at the old courts, when a couple of guys they were up to no good, started making trouble in the neghborhood. Sprig got in one little fight and Hop Pop got scared he said “your moving with your auntie and uncle to bell air”. He begged and pleaded day after day but Hop Pop packed his suit case and sent him on his way. He gave him a kiss and then he gave him a ticket Sprig put his walkman on and thought he might as well kick it. First class yo this ain’t bad, drinking orange juice out of a champagne glass. Is this what the people of bel air live like, yo, this might be alirght!   He whistled for a cab and when it came near the liscene plate said fresh and it had dice in the mirror, if anything he could say that this cab was rare but he thought man forget it yo holmes to bell air. He pulled up to the cab about 7 or 8 and yelled to the cabbie yo holmes smell ya later. He looked at his kingdom and he was finally there to sit on his throne as the fresh prince of bell air. 

So then Will walked into the mansion and wait.. wrong show.. so the young couple are playing bugball when they loose their ball, and it goes off into the creepy part of the woods. Ivy also looses her hat and is self concious about her hair. Looks fine to sprig but she’d rather not. Aww she’s insecure. But the two head off with Sprig getting more and more nervous, as Ivy details a legend about the area of the seamstress, a mysterious recluse who steals your skin! Naturally Sprig is nettled while Ivy says it’s fine and does what anyone would do upon finding out the ball went into a creepy abandoned shack in a world where it’s clear murderers are pretty common: kick down the door! It’s the perfect crime. 

Naturally Sprig gets more unernved, finding a set of needles and thread, which gets a great gag as Ivy points out that’s nto that uncommon.. but the giant pile of skin they find sure is!

Oh.. it gets worse me. Sprig finds the ball. and the Seamstress who has a horrifying patchwork of skins on her and wants to add theirs.. the kids are naturally spooked and prepare to flee but she wants their skin and grabs ivy! Thankfully she breaks free and Sprig busts some off.. OH GOD.. and it turns out she’s a glass frog! .. turns out theres a kind of frog that has translucent skin.

But yeah obvoiusly the show takes it a step further, and her skin is entirely see through. Poor girl. Ivy sympathizes shows off her hair.. then puts her hat over the Seamstress’ eyes and tells sprig now, and sprig starts a fire, and the two start to escape when he grabs Ivy’s leg!

Thankfully Ivy breaks free and the two leave her to die. Sprig compliments ivy’s hair, ivy gets him a smooch it’s all adorable and they defintely murdered someone who defintely murdered a lot of people. Horay!

Naturally the rest of the family is freaked out by this with Anne wanting to know if ivy being bitten means sh’es infected and Hop Pop wanting to know if one of her skins was his friend fred he hasn’t seen in a while. Sprig then spooks them by having ivy show up, complete with a burlap frog skin.. maybe. She could’ve been lying. We dunno. Ivy heads home to risk her life for a good gag, depsite the fact her boyfriend’s house is right there and her mom and grandmom clearly had to sign off on this shenanigan given the night. But this life risking prank naturally risks some life as Polly has ran off to look at the moon to get her own story. The rest of hte family runs after her only tfind it did.. ntohing. She’s apparently fine just fine and they assure her the fear they felt thinking she might become some kind of monster was scarier than any story and the rest of them head home with polly following.. after transofrming. Turns out the moon DOES make you into monsters but she’s fine with it. She’s got her legs now! Everyone screams understandably, Anne finally realizes this isn’t quite a holiday the end. 

Final Thoughts on Skin Game and the special as a whole: Easily my faviorite, partly for shipping reasons as I do like Ivy and Sprig together, and partly because it really let Ivy have a roll OTHER than sprig’s love intrest. Sure she still smooched his cheek and their clearly still together, but she got to be proactive, badass and hilariously impulsive and trollish. It was a nice change of pace and the story itslef was the best of the bunch to me becuase of that, though Dead End was really close.  Overall this was a nice treat, a good anthology with lots of fright and humor and a nice wraparound story arc with polly, as well as some nice call backs to previous episodes. An utterly excellent halloween special i’ll probably be revisiting every year and another slam dunk from disney this year. The airing snaufu really dosen’t hurt it any and in the future this one will likely be after Return to Wartwood on D+ anyway so no harm done. Great all around. If you liked this review follow me for more amphibia whenever it comes back, ducktales reviews every monday, and loud house reviews every saturday or sunday depending. And until next time stay safe, stay spooky and happy halloween!

[rnmsmalltownlegends]

Work: scream in there Rating: M Author: @usbournejez​ Character/Pairing: Michael Guerin/Alex Manes Recommended by: @skrtl​ Review: I love some heavy angst especially if it’s in a long fic. Alex and Michael talking and being honest and showing their emotions to each other is what I live for. Also Alex and Isobel are friends. And Michael goes to therapy. Meaning everything is amazing here.

Work: the night isn’t fading Rating: T Author: @haloud​ Character/Pairing: Michael Guerin/Alex Manes Recommended by: @spaceskam​ Review: This is one of the best things I think I have ever read. Seriously, I love it more than I can accurately describe. Michael’s mindset and his inability to keep track of things and just... everything. It takes sick!fic to a whole new level. I couldn’t recommend it more.

Work: we had it almost  Rating: Video / T Creator: @isakvaltersnake​ Character/Pairing: Michael Guerin/Alex Manes Recommended by: @cosmiceverafter​ Review: I became a shipper of Malex instantly. I then wanted to read the fics, see all the graphics/artwork, and yes, watch the beautiful videos that these talented creators have brought to us. Katie is so talented! Every single video she creates gives me all the feels and I usually cry every time I watch. This is my favorite video of hers. I remember after seeing it for the first time, I watched it over-and-over again. The edits combined with this beautiful song (Repeat Until Death by Novo Amor) = something truly COSMIC. Please go watch her creations; you won’t be disappointed. Thank you, @isakvaltersnake​! 

Work: In a Cold World, It’s a Warm Place Rating: G Author: @craashdowns​ Character/Pairing: Michael Guerin/Maria DeLuca Recommended by: @lire-casander​ Review: Sometimes you stumble upon little gems on your dashboard that make you fall in love with them upon the first read. This AU is one of them, a story about the people we find home with. It has a poetic essence that captured me and never let me go. It’s probably my favorite story for this pairing, since it has everything I love in them: their characterization is perfect, Michael is a musician and Maria plays hard to get, and I would quote the whole fic to the author.   

Work: Mylex Adventure Art Rating: G Artist: @djchika​ Character/Pairing: Kyle Valenti & Alex Manes & Michael Guerin Recommended by: @i-never-look-away​ Review: This piece of art is absolutely delightful to me. The Alex and Kyle scenes were some of my favorite on the show so far. I love the dynamic that they have. And then when we got Michael added to the mix, it just made for an amazing teamup. This art is such a wonderful play on the 3 of them and the adventures they probably will have. Looks like Michael had to be the rational one this time, I could honestly see all of them of them taking turns in each position at some point. I also really love Kyle's response and that he's somewhat hiding behind Alex. That's actually a really smart idea Kyle!

Work: When We Were Young Series Rating: T/M Author: Obsessivecompulsivereadr Character/Pairing: Michael Guerin/Maria Deluca, Michael Guerin/Alex Manes Recommended by: @insidious-intent​ Review: This was the first series I read after the finale, where I felt like I could breathe. The first work in the series was the first time I could read character conversations without feeling like characters voices were written in the right age and with the level of emotional complexity the show had implied. Alex’s emotional turmoil, Maria’s strength, and Michael’s spiral are so vividly painted that it resonates immediately and permanently. I have gone back to this series over and over again, and it remains one of my favorites.

[lostwithspace]

Dead Space

~~ @brothers-iin-arms​‘s Razok and @lostwithspace​ Rio are on a mission for the Blades to try and find some technology of an ancient race that was thought dead, in an area of space almost no one goes into. What awaits them in the dead of space?

(Thank you so much for @cairis-in-the-field​ for help with editing, she helped me so much polishing it up) 

Rated: M, Theme: horror, TW: gore (Not inflicted)

Story under the cut

"Are you sure this is worth it?" Rio inquired with a grimace. The tall Galra adjusted his tight-fitting, single-piece suit, checking over his readouts to ensure there would be no issues once in space. "I'm not the biggest fan of space walking without being tethered to something larger than myself."

Razok was checking over his own gear. As a member of the Blade of Marmora, he wore his standard operative gear as it was able to withstand absolute vacuum. Both were aboard Rio's ship, The Onyx Moth, preparing for the expedition ahead of them.

"The Lithome were a scourge to the Galra Empire almost 700 years ago. Most were thought to be wiped out in a massive unified strike across their territory. They were said to have been a pain in Zarkon's royal behind and they had technology that made most Galra tech more than useless. So, yes, we were sure this would be worth it.”

He grinned at Rio.

"Besides; I thought you were super horny for these long-lost pieces of tech."

The taller, younger Galra's white mohawk mane bristled a bit in embarrassment, his ears tips tinting red. A simple 'Shut up' was all he could retort with, which elicited a chuckle out of his companion. Getting back to completing his preparations, Rio moved about the small launch area that had been set up on his ship, and collecting his needed equipment for the mission into a backpack.

Knowing they’d already been over this and asking about it again would likely irritate Razok, Rio decided to risk it anyway.

"Just for clarification, you know, again: the Blades found the body of a Tuuvian, floating through space, in a suit that had evidence of a Lithome cruiser recorded on internal video in his helmet.  A body, mind you, that was at least a dozen decaphoebs old. Based on the internal readings, they traced the body back to this dead zone from which the only things that normally leave are the faint emergency signals of ships long lost.  And we're going to jump in there. Did I miss anything?"

Razok gave the younger Galra a deadpan stare with his one good eye, the other blank with a scar running over it down his face.  Refusing to repeat himself again, he slid his swords into their sheaths behind his back with a loud click.

His preparations finished, the Blade lifted up his portable body sled and secured himself to it with a cord.  It was as long as Razok was tall.  What looked like a flattened pod that was intended to carry a person was actually a powerful rocket with two fins on each side that came out from either side in the middle.  Attached to each fin was a small maneuverable thruster.  On top of the sled were controls for the rider and a screen with telemetry readings - which were currently pre-programmed with the first part of their trip.  An engine at the rear of the sled provided most of the propulsion.

They weren't the most stylish, elegant or subtle, but they would do the job.  Rio had more than been up to the challenge to make them when Razok had contacted him about it on behalf of the Blade of Marmora.  Now that he was going to be one of the passengers, there were at least one-hundred different design choices he’d have made.

"The pictures were matched to the records we have on file, boy," the Blade spy explained, with the little patience he had remaining.  "I couldn't think of anyone else who would be able to handle this type of mission, be able to confirm what we could use, and get us there and back. You're not coming away with nothing for your troubles either. Make sure we get there without issues and we should be fine."

"Everyone else turned you down once you told them where you were going, didn’t they?" Rio couldn’t help but smile at the complement as he clipped himself in against his own sled.

"Pretty much."

Both of them tapped a sensor located behind their jaws. Their suits’ helmets curled up over their heads and sealed them in. They did a quick set of final checks, ensuring their suits were working as intended.

"Now move your literal tail!  We have a few vargas of flight ahead of us."

Razok's test of the suits’ shortwave communications was certainly successful. Grimacing at that bit of sass, Rio began the decompression of the launch area and deactivation of gravity.

Both of them mounted their sleds once they were able to float without gravity pulling them down and they pushed themselves out of the launch bay. When they were clear of the Onyx Moth, they activated their rockets and sped away into the darkness.

*~*~*

Razok's voice buzzed in Rio's ear after a while.

"Things seem to be working. I hope you were right about these rockets."

Apparently, it was Rio's turn to repeat himself, but - since it was talking about mechanics and technology - he was more than willing.

"The dead zone is a dangerous place for almost any ship; several integral parts of most modern ships’ functions just won’t work here on their own. Only smaller or more primitive methods of electronics or technology will work here. Quintessence fields, manufactured wormholes, even most engine designs and computers in the Empire, can’t function here; they are all either destabilized or unable to be powered. People don’t know why, and most expeditions and studies into the area were fruitless, or just ended. Rumours go between failed ancient experiment, natural spatial anomaly, to an ancient God’s dead body.  Any version you choose: it’s a no-fly space marked for most people these days.

“What we’re using today though; simple combustion engines, some basic computers, generators, and a few other things that are a few steps above primitive.  Even still, we may experience some issues, but our main essentials shouldn’t be affected.”

"So why has no one else escaped this place before - like our frozen pal that was picked up?"

"Probably because, like me, most people dread and fear the idea of taking that final deep leap into space. The chances that a random body being found in the deep reaches of space is also very minimal, the Blades were lucky to have stumbled across this one. Also: who uses combustion engines anymore? Unless you brought them in, you wouldn’t be able to leave with most other methods of space flight."

Razok grunted a response. The conversation died and silence filled the rest of the trip, except for the sound of each of them breathing. Rio spent most of the trip trying to remember the information that he had been able to scrounge up on Lithome technology, while Razok had gone into a zen-like calm as he reviewed his plans and own information. Within a varga of leaving the Onyx Moth, they entered the area itself. Other than some annoying static with their coms, there was no noticeable changes.

Eventually, against the blackness of space, their destination came into view: a vast stretch of derelict vessels, most floating near each other, so after millennia and the draw of gravity it started to form an enormous mass that was nothing more than twisted metal and technology. Rio had earlier stated that ships from all ages of spacefaring littered the area, but most weren’t intact or recognizable anymore. The outer edges of the cosmic breaking yard would have more intact wrecks and farther spaced apart debris, which is where their first destination was. The further in an explorer went, the older the ships were.

At least: that was the theory.

As they pulled in closer, the flat digital displays in front of each of them lit up.  With a signal from Razok, they turned themselves towards an outer section of the ship graveyard. They had gotten a hit; a unique low power signal the Tuuvian ship had which was still active.

They wove their way through the local debris with little problem. The distance between most of the major debris allowed for them to maneuver with no issues.

Their destination was fairly easy to spot as they neared; it was a more modern designed cargo ship. Compared to the other ships in the area, it had the least issues with it structurally.  It appeared to have landed roof first into the remnants of an older, unidentifiable hull of a destroyed ship. 

Slowing themselves with a few maneuvers, the two pulled up beside the vessel. Using their magnetized boots, they made landfall. Razok opened the access with a quick code he had obtained from the deceased alien and they made their way inside after securing their rides.

After confirming there was atmosphere, both Galra retracted their helmets. Razok led the way towards the bridge, wielding one of his swords. The swords were able to take any shape their wielder chose, but as he normally did, he had it about as long as his legs from tip to pommel, in a slightly curved, single-edged conformation.  It reflected the light projected from the shoulder mounted flashlight on Razok’s suit, making the light dance across the walls.

Rio followed in behind him, a simple laser pistol held in both his hands, eyes searching wildly around them.  His mind was picturing hidden things lurking in the darkened interior, waiting to leap at the both of them. Their breath misted from their mouths, the ship barely warm enough for a normal living being.  Power settings seemed to have been set low, trying to increase reserves and sustain whatever crew might have been on board.

Luckily, nothing appeared as they arrived at the bridge.

After a quick sweep of the area, Rio got to work. He pulled his bag from his back and removed an older portable computer that Razok could have mistaken for something from a landfill, and a small generator. Crawling under the main control console, he opened up a compartment to reveal the ship’s black box. He connected the computer and generator to the indestructible recording device and turned on both as needed. As he had hoped, with the extra power, he was able to connect to the ship’s records.

“One problem down.” He gave a thumbs up to Razok as he crawled back out and started to go through records.

With the tech nerd at work, the older Galra left him on the bridge to properly clear the rest of the ship. Luckily, with work to distract him - and the entire place being lit now by the power of the cosmos, his computer, and the display windows - Rio’s mind was no longer jumping at shadows.

“The ship is empty,” Razok reported as he came back after some time.

“That’s good. I don’t think anyone could survive this long even if they were transporting military field rations - but if they had, they would definitely be banging their heads off the walls.”

The Blade cast his eye around the bridge in an assessing glance.

“No, I mean it’s completely empty. Most of the personal stuff of the crew is still here, but there are no bodies anywhere on the ship - and there was definitely more than one person running this ship.”

Rio looked up from his work. “That matches the logs: The black box recorded at least four passengers. The ship matches the information from the Tuuvian’s suit. Looks like they were honest merchants that FTL jumped with incorrect coordinates. They were lucky that they didn’t collapse into a flat pancake with their inertial field failure.”

Razok’s face showed how bad of an experience he would expect that to be. “But that would mean there would still be bodies - just plastered across the windows and bulk head instead of floating around. The body we found was still intact and didn’t look like it had traveled through transparent aluminum.”

“No, yeah - you’re right,” Rio agreed, his tail flicking in thought. “Maybe they went out looking for resources? Food and supplies to last them ‘til… Well, I’m assuming what they hoped would be a rescue.”

“The only option at this point. Unless you can get anything more useful, we’re moving on. Hopefully there hasn’t been that much drift and we can find that ship before we pass the turn back point on our fuel.”

“Not much here; it stopped receiving information from most of the systems when they entered. There was some reading that it got before the shut down and there appears to have been a larger mass of ships near-by. If they were able to get those readings, they probably headed there. I could probably get the general direction. But other than that, there isn’t much else to go on. Probably means we will have to stick with that picture and our good old ey-senses, to find it once we’re near.”

Razok gave him half a tick and a glare to gather up the equipment.  The glare shifted to a playful smirk behind Rio’s back before they headed back to their vehicles.

*~*~*

While the dead zone itself was huge, the debris field was speculated to sit in its center and was relatively smaller. People theorized that most ships' existing inertia usually carried a disabled ship a great deal closer to the field, and then the existing gravity pulled it in closer. The larger the field got, the more ships that were pulled in.

With the minimal information they had, thankfully it only took less than a varga for them to discover the partially ruined vessel they were looking for. Originally coloured white from what they could see, the vessel had obviously been marred by time and countless collisions. If there had been more bulk to the ship that had been attached by a connecting section, they had long since broken away. What had once been a ship now resembled the dome of the skull of some giant ancient, left to the elements of space.

Pulling up beside the ship, they put boots down on the surface. Looking around at the expansive ship-side, the ancient hull curved beyond their vision. Most of it was very unremarkable. The appearance was overall smooth unless someone was standing right over top of an area, then, the minute textural details became clear.

"There weren’t many locations that I could see as we flew by that could be an access door."

Rio pulled out a scanner the size of his hand and started to try and get some readings. The device’s power fluctuated even as it turned on and he cradled it as if that would protect it from whatever was disrupting it. He knelt down on the surface of the ship and pressed it up against the metal.

“Find an entrance yet?” Razok asked.

Even their communications were acting up as they both got a brief earful of static. Razok waited for it to fade before he asked again. He scanned the surrounding debris field for any signs of movement or life, but nothing revealed themselves to his eye. It might’ve had something to do with where they were, but the silent oppressiveness of space seemed to be amplified. Death had set up a little shop out here; ready to sell you different kinds of dying. Though the selection was vast and varied, they were all out of 'quick and painless' - the most popular choice for anyone unlucky enough to be there.

“I think I’m getting something. It’s - wait-” Rio's device blinked a few times, before dying all together. “Gah! Stupid place!”

“What? What was it?”

The younger Galra shoved the dead device into a pocket of his bag with force and began to rub his arms simulating warming them up through his suit.

“It said there was power inside, but that can’t be right. A ship this old... I can’t think of a kind of power source that could survive here for this long and still function.”

“You mean except possible lost alien technology that outclasses what we have today?” Razok quipped back

“Yes - except for the exact thing you used to bribe me here. Now to find the way in and get out of this giant abyss of death.” He waved his hand above his head.

After a few doboshes of searching, Razok was ready to just pull out his swords to cut through the hull.  He was saved from resorting to that when Rio called for him. The other Galra had been wandering across the surface and had found a hidden access door, which he had been able to open, leading to an access way inside. Getting ready to enter another ship, they both secured the body sleds at the entrance, armed themselves, and slipped into the interior of the ancient ship.

Upon entering, their eyes quickly adjusted to the interior of the ship. Frost seemed to coat the hallway leading from their point of entrance; it coincided with the frigid temperature inside the ship. Checking their suits’ indicators, there did seem to be actual breathable air, but they kept their helmets on for the moement. It appeared that - like the Tuuvian ship - minimal environmentals were working, but gravity either no longer worked or it wasn’t a system able to function in the zone.

The two Galra moved away from the entrance, weapons drawn and held at the ready, despite no evidence so far of anyone else aboard, dead or alive. As they closed the hatch fully, which shut out the light that had cascaded in from the cosmos, it seemed that Rio’s device had been correct: there was a dim glow coming from somewhere along the walls.  It bathed the entire interior with a soft blue light. In sections where ice coated the hall fully, it took on a blue colour from the light, appearing like a glacier had pushed up against the roof and floor. Where the ice was thin or bare, the white walls of the actual corridor peeked through, helping to reflect the minimal lighting. The ceiling and floor were coloured in a matte grey where it appeared between the ice. Spaced out at regular intervals were curved structural beams, each one painted brown.

Without the ice, the interior would have looked like a leafless winter forest. Now, it took on a more sinister look; like the inside of the corpse of some dead giant animal whose ancient bones break through the ice every so often.

“If there’s power to light the ship,” Razok observed, “then the main computer might still have some power as well.”  

They had both been moving through the forest of ice for a short time, passing mostly shut doors and branching hallways. The doors that were open led to utility, storage, or living quarters, but they were all empty of any sign of life.

Rio nodded numbly, his eyes drifting over the frozen walls. Occasionally he glimpsed his own reflection when it lined up with him, but the lighting made him look pale and sunken.

“That would mean going deeper into the heart of this place,” he said. “Hopefully: the closer we get, the more obvious where something like that might be.”

He gave a shiver, even though his suit kept his temperature regulated. The icy atmosphere was getting to him.

“Then we should be quick,” Razok decided. “This place is starting to give me-”

They were turning a corner when Razok stopped and held out a hand for Rio to stop as well. While there had been other areas of hallway that had seemed damaged, or barricaded by ice growth, this time there was the giant form of an alien. Curled in on itself, the body took up most of the hallway, held in place by the lack of gravity and wedged between several ice protrusions. It gave the appearance of being caught in an icy web.

Approaching slowly, they were able to pick out some details and features: the alien’s skin was stretched over its body, giving way to very little muscle mass underneath. The thing looked like it had died of starvation. Bones were visible over most of its body, even through the layer of white fur that covered the stretched skin. Its arms were wrapped around its legs, held against its chest, both of which appeared long and gangly. Its head was long, face pushing out into almost an animalistic muzzle. If the two Galrans were to hazard a guess: if the creature stood up, it would be head and shoulders taller than Rio. It wore a rough breast plate covering on its upper body and its legs were covered in the remnants of a suit. Its entire body was coated in ice and frost.

“Is this what a Lithome is supposed to look like?” Rio tried to lean in and get a better look of the alien’s face, but was blocked by its positioning.

“From what I read, I would say yes - but it’s bigger than what I was expecting. The records we do have said they were on average with a Galra.” Razok looked along the walls and ground to see if there were any traps, devices, or some other thing that might show how the Lithome had gotten in this predicament.

“Maybe they ate their vegetables. Is there a reason why they’re just in the middle of the hallway?”

Razok gave a weak snort at the weak attempt at a joke. “Probably fell asleep. They were a hibernating species; helped them live on their planet, which could have long-ass winter seasons. Some records stated those winters could last entire decapheobs.”

“You mean it just fell asleep and never woke up?"

"And frosted over like an over frozen hunk of ghork meat left in a freezer." The shorter Galra tapped his sword against it as emphasis. The sound of metal on ice echoed more than either of them expected - or really wanted.

They exchanged a look.

"This place is giving me the creeps. Let's just go get this over with." Rio turned back the way they had come.

"Agreed." Razok turned to follow, but froze and hissed: “Wait!”

A layer of ice on the creature’s back had cracked, following the arc of the alien’s back. Razok took a step back, wary, as the Lithome's head snapped up half an inch. Its eyes were opened; dark red pin pricks, sunken into their sockets, swept about the area to take in what may have woken it. Entire sheets of frost and ice broke away as the body of the alien unfurled and stretched. A yawning maw revealed a great number of serrated canine-like teeth.

If someone later had asked: Rio couldn’t have told them if it was or ice that had frozen his mag boots to the ground or a chill fear down his spine. Having turned back again to see what his companion had seen, his eyes widened in horror as the apparently not dead, just sleeping, ancient enemy of the Galra awoke. Both hands hands shook around his drawn weapon, pointed downward and forgotten for the moment.

The red eyes suddenly focused and locked onto the two invading aliens. It reached out and grabbed hold of the structural brown arch above it and used it to stretch itself, looking even more emaciated than before in doing so; like a creature that had been killed and stretched by an incompetent leather worker. The alien let out a guttural growl that seemed to come from deeper than its body would allow.

The noise snapped Rio out of his frozen stupor. He automatically raised his gun at the alien, but his arms were caught by Razok.

"What're you doing, boy: trying to get us killed?"

"It's going to kill us," Rio hissed between clenched teeth.

"Yeah, it will - after that peashooter of yours either pisses him off with a scorch mark or you hit his chest piece and it bounces back, hitting one of us!"

Rio looked back at the awakened Lithome. He noticed the chest guard it wore was made of a strange sort of white metal, and he realized it was made of lithite; one of the things they were hoping to find and that he had studied a bit. It was rumored that in war Lithome soldiers were deadly - not just for their warrior prowess, but also because most shots fired at them killed the shooter by reflecting most energy projectiles.

Even as these thoughts sped through his mind, their newly awoken acquaintance's eyes gave chilling stares to both of them, its brain analyzing them.

"Gaaalraaa…" it growled out, bearing a mouth full of teeth. "Why you on Lux's ship…?"

The Lithome's speech was slurred and stunted, but it was difficult to tell if that was from them just waking up, the natural way of speaking, or both.

"Lithome," Razok addressed it - no, them - while releasing the younger Galra’s arms. He lowered his weapons non-threateningly. "Lux - I am Razok, of the Blade of Marmora. Do you remember who we are?"

Lux started at the Galra, completely ignoring Rio and his pistol. After a few ticks, their mouth peeled back in a deep, guttural laugh. Their lips peeled back farther than was expected and revealed how deep their maw truly went, displaying teeth all the way back to the throat.

"Blade of Marmora? Weak now! Half blind and cowards. Remember allies of Lithome. You trapped here as Lux?"

Razok's face twitching was the only sign of his temper. That just seemed to make Lux laugh more. Still, the Galra was able to keep his voice even.

"No, we're here to investigate." He stopped for a moment to weigh his options. "If you help us get some information and equipment to help fight the Galra Empire, we can help you get out of this area of space."

Rio shifted behind him, but kept his opinions and comments to himself for the moment - something Razok definitely appreciated, knowing how free the younger Galra could be with his tongue.

"Yes, leave. Been too long,” Lux stated in a gravelly flat tone. “So hungry." The giant Lithome turned in the zero gravity to face away from them. "You follow; Lux will show you to main area."

Bracing an almost skeletal arm on a brown arch, Lux used the structure to continue their movements down the hall; grabbing onto one and pulling themselves up and past it to another one. It looked like they had practice with the ship since having been stranded or had at least trained in zero gravity.

"So we're going to trust the giant alien that just woke up from a frozen nap?” Rio asked as soon as Lux was far enough away. “And looked at us like it wanted to crush us as soon as it saw we were Galra? Not to mention I don't know about having someone of his size use one of the body sleds-"

The warning glare he received from Razok stopped the stream of comments that were flooding from Rio's mouth.

"The Lithome share no love for the Empire,” the other Galra said. “Lux could be an asset and would be better to help interpret anything we find. He - assuming Lux is a male - can at least show us what we can get from this crate."

They both followed after Lux, who had waited for them at another junction to catch up. Lux perched sideways on the beam, red eyes following them akin to some monstrous bird of prey. As they sufficiently caught up, it dashed down the next hallway. Whether perched or moving through the halls, the Lithome's body seemed to take up a large amount of space. It could easily touch both walls at the same time, but was quite agile enough not to hit or touch anything it didn't mean to as it moved through the ship. Lux moved with an odd and unnerving motion. It seemed at once both flexible and also stilted with sharp, unnatural movements.

"That being said,” Razok commented after their guide had moved far enough ahead again, “if this is a trap: he may lose his only way of escape and that would just be stupid. But being stranded does weird things to a mind. Stay on guard, do what I say, and I promise I will get us out of this."

Rio nodded with a grimace, looking down at his pistol. At least, he could be a momentary distraction before being eaten.

*~*~*

Despite their dread, Lux did lead both Galra to a larger area onto a walkway going out to a pillar in the center of the room. It looked like it had been nailed directly through the ship. The giant processor soared up and down into darkness, surrounded by empty space on all sides, except the metal catwalk which led to and from the doors on the walls. The Lithome explained that it was the main computer and Rio's eyes lit up as he took in the design. Technology unseen by Galra eyes for eons suppressed his fear and he enthusiastically got to work. He launched himself through the air and caught himself around the pillar of a computer, floating around to look for an access port or some other way of interfacing with the tech he had on hand.

Razok and Lux both stood and watched him move about, pulling equipment from his bag and setting up. The much larger alien's laboured breathing could be heard through Razok's helmet, which prompted him to retract it to make sure he wasn't hearing a leak. The alien didn’t seem exhausted, despite the workout just after waking from its ancient nap. Razok had very limited knowledge on the Lithome standard. The sound was pervasive, as though he could feel the breathing inside himself, and it started to agitate him.

"Lux, has there been anyone else on board with you or that has shown up, like us? There’s another ship that was trapped in this part of space relatively recently."

It took a few moments for the white alien to reply, their laboured breaths filling the air as they tried to remember. "No. Lux cannot remember last time they see someone."

Razok grunted in response and crossed his arms.

"Hungry," Lux muttered.

"We’ll get you something when we get back to the ship. Rio should have some food on board."

"Hungry..."

After several doboshes, Rio was still working away, having found an access section he could jerryrig a connection to his computer with assistance from the generator again. Having retracted his own helmet, he had his tongue stuck between his teeth, streams of breath blowing out in two directions around it. In the meantime, Razok was standing guard at the door, leaning against the doorway in a way that looked relaxed, but someone trained could tell he was anything but. He was inspecting one of his swords, having returned it now to a smaller dagger style. His breath fogged around him, leaving streaks of frozen mist in his hair. Lux waited, becoming almost a monolith of a creature, and only their breathing and eye movement showed signs of life.

"Rio, are you anywhere near done?" Razok called over to the technician.

"I'm trying to access an ancient database of a ship that has been running on the most minimum power for who knows how-"

"So... no?"

Rio looked up from his computer at being cut off, answering him with a shake of his head.

"Fine. Lux, can you show me if there are any places where you might have some equipment left over? Even if they're dead or broken, anything we take back might help."

The Lithome got up and went through the doorway. "Follow."

"Hey, technophile!"

Rio gave the other Galra a friendly glare and rude gesture in response. Razok tapped his ear to signal keeping their communication channels open before following Lux.

Lux led Razok and on a winding journey. While their route didn’t cross back on them, the Galra was sure he would have gotten lost if he wasn’t taking the precaution of marking their path using his claws. Several more routes that they passed seemed to have so much ice that it was nearly impossible to pass, but Lux didn’t bother with them, so it didn’t matter.

Razok was astonished by how cold it was in the ship, even with all the ice in the ship. Life support systems were operational, so there was some heat at work. He would have expected it to be a little warmer than the deep depths of space. Depending on their lineage, Galra weren’t without fur, but Razok didn’t think a fur-bearing Galra could survive naturally in this environment.

The glacial temperatures may have been intentional as Lux themself seemed more suited with his white fur (a theory that might have had more weight to it with a healthier-looking Lithome). Still, each time the Lithome had gotten close to him, Razok was certain that Lux was emanating cold. He was intensely curious as to what sort of biology made that possible. Lux was taller and more gaunt than anything Razok had been expecting. If a few members of their race had escaped together, though, that condition could be attributed to them breeding under tight and limited circumstances. He could also see it being due to the extreme hibernation Lux had been through, although he didn’t think that either explained the extreme height.  The only other being he personally knew to be that tall was his brother, Sozal, and that was due to his unique genetic heritage.

Nothing in the data packets that he had been able to dig up had mentioned anything about the Lithome being so gaunt, but the information in the packets were spotty at best. They were obviously exceedingly out of date; well past the time they were written.

They continued on through the ship.  Razok took note that they had to be on the opposite side of the ship from where he and Rio had parked their body sleds.  That fact added another layer of apprehension to his already rational worries.

He had no time to dwell on it as Lux brought them to a halt at a door that had seen better days.

"What happened here?"

"Weapon storage. Had issues."

The Galra could see evidence of destruction in the hallway nearby that might have been from when the ship had become part of the junk pile in the wrecking yard. Perhaps some of it had occurred when the ship broke apart over the long decaphoebs.

Razok didn't like it; aside from the parts further down, which looked like it was from a collapse, most of the damage was either on the door or on the wall opposite to it. The damage looked like scorch marks, mostly.

To be precise: they looked like weapons fire scorch marks.

"Open it."

Without hesitation, Lux first tried the panel beside the door despite it giving a few meager flickers of light.

Static filled Razok’s ear, causing him to flinch and hold a hand up to his receiver. "Rio, repeat that - I barely heard you."

"I asked: did you guys do something? I just got an alert!"

"Yeah; Lux just tried to open the door to the ship’s armory."

Lux turned to watched him with the barest amount of curiosity at the mention of their name. The lack of expression sent a shiver of unease along Razok’s spine.

"That won't work," Rio declared. "The system is in some kind of protective mode."

"In response to a breach? I’m pretty sure we’re near the edge of the ship opposite from where you and I entered."

"...no…? No.” Rio seemed more certain the more he spoke. “No - these seem to be a different protocol. I might be able to try and get it open, but that’ll draw power from what little life support there is."

"There doesn't seem to be anyone else here; Lux doesn't remember anyone else being here, anyway. There should be enough air to last us ‘til we leave. We’ll grab Lux a suit while we’re here."

"Alright, give me a few ticks. I’ve been running into quite a few walls on my end. I think I’ve gotten as much as I’m going to get with the tools we have here."

"We’ll get the stuff and then we can head out," he responded as he locked gazes with Lux.

The lights around them started to dim, more so than they were already. Eventually the lights went out and Razok turned on the flashlight attached to his shoulder. The two waited there for a bit, and from across the ship, several bulk heads away, there was the sound of grinding. The ice made the sound seem much closer than it was.

“I thought you said you couldn’t remember anyone else being here?” Razok’s fingers rubbed at the hilt of his dagger.

“No… No remember. No other Lithome.” Lux strained to remember but seemed certain of their answer.

“Rio, what was that? Was that you?”

"Didn’t that work? Thought those were some door controls. Hold o****" The com cut to static briefly before returning. "-thing else, if this doesn't work let me know."

“Did you really have to turn out the lights?” Razok asked half-rhetorically.

“Looks like they were the emergency lights, tied to environmentals; sorry,” Rio answered anyway.

Sighing, the two waited a bit more for something to happen. Before long, there was a grinding echo of parts long forgotten scraping together. The walls shuddered from the internal struggle, sending small shards of ice flying. Clearly, Rio had been able to find a way to try and control the doors - or at least attempting to open them. The one Razok and Lux were waiting at started to crack open, separated in the center. The two door panels barely opened before stopping. The internal mechanisms in the wall groaned in protest before giving up entirely.

Razok cursed and stalked up to the door, sheathing his drawn weapons. The crack was barely wide enough to fit his fist in sideways. Beyond the meager opening, the room was so dark he couldn't see anything. He reached his hands in and he couldn’t help but notice the other side of the door felt rough under his gloved fingers, as if it had been warped. Bracing himself, the Galra’s muscles flexed under his suit as he manually tried to pry the door open.

Razok had barely begun straining to open the door when he suddenly felt a deep chill behind him. Above his head, Lux's giant skeletal fingers worked into the door as well. The Lithome’s body now looming over the Galra, their cold breath washed over Razok as they both their put full effort into opening the door. Razok gave a successful cry as the doors groaned open more; enough for them to walk in.

The light from the flashlight illuminated the room. Whatever Razok was expecting, the scene was nothing like it. Unlike the rest of the ship, every inch of this room was painted rust red; the walls, the ceiling, and floor as well. The coloring was haphazardly done, as if someone had simply opened cans of paint and splashed it everywhere at random. Across every surface, like the rest of the ship, were frozen pieces of ice, but these pieces were lumpy and, from them, jutted pieces of bodies, horribly mangled.  Some of the bodies looked torn apart, as if some of them was ripped away by brute force. With no gravity, groups of iced remains gathered in the corners of the room; floating pieces and parts that hadn’t been frozen to a surface.

“Lux remember now…” Lux rumbled just behind Razok. Their voice and chilling presence felt like physical pressure now, even without either of them in contact with one another.

“What… What is this?!”  

Razok stared in horror. With the door open and air disturbed, the red on the walls flaked away, filling the air with particles, revealing the red rust ‘paint’ to be dried blood. There were bones, old but clean, haphazardly strewn across the room. Looking down near his feet at the entrance for the room, Razok discovered two bodies, frozen; one of them, with only half a face, stared back at him, but he could instantly recognize it from the remnants of the suit worn: Tuuvian.

“The last time saw people…” Lux loomed tall over Razok.  Their sunken eyes stared down at the Galran; their sockets seemed to fall back farther into his face until all there was, was two great points like black holes, seeming to pull everything in. “They barely filled me… I’m so huuuungry…”

Even before the Lithome had finished their sentence, Razok was already spinning around, grabbing both of his sheathed blades from over his shoulders. The blades gave a dim flash of light as they shifted, transforming from their small dagger shape out into identical long, curved, single-edged swords.

His weapons weren’t the only things that had changed.

What towered over him literally froze him on his spot, mid-swing.

Starting down at him, Lux’s head no longer resembled what it had been previously. Their fur and skin was being pulled back, like it had done before when they’d laughed at Razok, but now it kept going back until their skull pushed through. Stark white bone broke through and peeled away the skin. Above their head, two protrusions were pulling back the skin, catching the skin, helping to pull it back as they formed into large, magnificent antlers. In their eye sockets, the red was gone; now there was nothing but darkness: deep, terrifying, and above all, cold.

The creature formerly known as Lux opened its maw, which was now little more than bone lined with large dangerous teeth. The only reason the lower jaw hadn't fallen off was some strands of muscles anchoring it to the skull. A long, hard tongue slithered its way out, glistening in the glow from the flashlight as it snaked out to curled in around Razok’s face, the razor thin tip tracing over his cheek.

“So hungry - you will feed.” Both arms of the beast landed on the door, blocking the Galra from escaping with its massive body.

A deep, sucking wind pulled from inside the gaping skull. Razok could feel it pulling at him, drawing on something from deep within him. His stunned brain could barely think well enough to get an idea, as his extremities started to lose feeling, but what he could were distant thoughts - as if part of his mind was sunk deep under a winter covered ocean.

Unable to keep the energy in his arms, let alone his hands, they slowly lowered towards the deck beneath his feet. His sword tips chinked as they met the frozen metal; the grips barely rested in the slack fingers. His feet felt like they had frozen so much they might be part of the ship beneath his boots and his legs shook from the effort of holding him up. Even the tips on some of his fur started to take on a frosty white quality as if something more than just his heat was being drained.

The creature leaned in closer, eager to devour the meal in front of it. The weight of the beast caused the doors to creak as it neared.

Razok could only stand there. Not even the tip of frozen serpentine tongue slicing his cheek could wake Razok from his frozen stupor. In his mind, the thoughts were falling farther and farther away, turning to nothingness...

“HEY, RAZOK! YOU GETTING THIS!? COME IN!”

Suddenly, the ice in his head broke with Rio’s voice directly in his ear - and Razok leapt into action.

With decaphoebs of training and force of will, Razok’s hands closed around his weapons and he let his body quickly go limp, ducking and rolling awkwardly under the giant beast’s arm. Bringing the tip of one of his swords up, he pierced up under the creature’s arm; the blade sliding in. The effort required felt like he was pushing the sword through compact snow.  He shoved the blade past the breastplate and the tip of it reappeared jutting from the creature’s collar bone, cutting one of the straps holding the breastplate in place. Part of his study of the existing records had been focusing on the anatomy of the Lithome; particularly, where any weak points might be.

Given the size of this creature and the changes that had happened, though…

The creature’s jaw rattled up and down in a mockery of a laugh. It turned its body to face Razok, who quick kicked himself back a good dozen feet, withdrawing his sword. The breastplate that had been covering Lux fell away and under it, where its heart would have been - and definitely where the sword had just been - was a giant empty hole. The remnants of the rib cage lined the gaping space, broken, and where there should have been a heart or something equivalent was nothing other than an empty cavity; ice cold and dark.

“Heart best meal I ever had.” It looked down at the hole briefly. “Need that again. Need to FEEEEED.”

The entire ship seemed to shake and another cry came over the communicator. Still feeling the cold deep in his bones and his overall strength being sapped, Razok made his choice. Turning off his mag boots and sheathing one of his swords, he launched and propelled himself through the winter landscape like Lux had done before.

“RIO!” He yelled to the other Galra over the coms. “PACK, NOW! EVACUATE!”

“Why, what’s going on? I haven’t touched any other sys-”

“CODE THETA, GET TO THE SLEDS! THAT’S AN ORDER!”

Rio didn’t respond after that, so Razok could only pray the other man understood, but he couldn’t put too much thought to that. He swung his blade backwards, but instead of metal slicing through flesh, it merely knocked away one of the creature’s hands. What was once flesh stretched over bone was now revealed to be just bone, all the way back to its wrist. The fingers of the beast had become much bigger and sharper, so each one now look very much like the dagger stored on Razok’s back. Using the force from the impact, Razok shot forward again, and continued his desperate race to escape.

Rio was already packing up and moving. He had gotten to know his partner a bit since Razok first ran into him, but the fact he had used a Galra Empire emergency code spoke volumes. Combined with whatever had shaken the ship just before that, his mind began a horrifying reel of ideas with what could have happened, each one getting worse. Within half a dobosh, he was up, pistol in hand, and moving towards the entrance they had used to get into the ship.

Deeper in the ship, Razok ducked down a side passage. Doing so sent the creature shooting by behind him, buying him a few ticks. The sounds of claws gouging deep into ice and metal walls filled the corridors as it scrambled to turn itself around, a cry of frustration filling the halls. The Galra turned down another corridor, trying to take a winding route in a desperate attempt to lose the monster without getting lost himself. Thanks to his marking trick, he was able to keep to the correct passageways. He didn’t want to risk turning off his light, even though it might gave him away. If he got lost in the dark, he was as good as dead. If not eaten, then eventually frozen to death.

Rounding a corner onto a path he had followed Lux down before, the Blade came to a halt in front of a now slightly open door. It looked nearly identical to the door that had protected the armoury. This one seemed to have been the first one triggered when Rio was trying to open the other one. It had caught itself on some overgrown ice on the ceiling and floor, making for only a small passage in the center. It looked barely big enough for a child to climb through.

A raging shriek that sounded like the shattering of a mirror convinced Razok to try squeeze through despite not being able to de-age himself. It was definitely a tight fit; neither door panel giving a millimeter of space more than they already had. He was sure they were, in fact, pushing back against him. Razok had to take both weapons off his back as well as try and let out every bit of air from his lungs just to barely squeeze through.

About half his body made it past the doors before he could hear the creature’s movements, coming from the same corner he had came from. Spurred on, he was able to get the rest of his body through and then turned around. Through the crack, he could see the skeletal head come around the corner. Even from this distance, the Galra felt as though those eyes would swallow him up.

Grabbing one of his swords, he swung it into the ice at the floor, chipping it a bit. If he could get the door closed, then they would be able to escape.

At the same time, the monster turned its body to try and launch itself off the end wall.

A second swing shook the ice enough to crack, and the door shook. Looking up, Razok could see it was still caught on the ice coming down from the ceiling. One more, and they were free. It could take a while for the creature to bypass this section.

The beast’s jaw hung open, uttering a terrifying scream, as it dove through the air and giant skeletal clawed hands reached out towards Razok.

Razok hacked at the ice with desperation. If he could block this off, he and Rio could get away unscathed.

The beast landed against the door. Iits hand reached through the crack, grasping desperately, but Razok was quick enough to push himself back. He rolled through the air, prepared to defend himself against the beast again, when a gunshot rang out. Ice shattered, startling the monster into pulling its arm back.  The door then slammed shut and a guttural roar shook the entire ship as the creature was denied once again.

Further up the hallway, Rio stood, his hands gripped his freshly fired gun up and his eyes as wide as yellow dinner plates. He continued to stare directly at the door even as Razok flew to meet him. Their limbs tangled a bit as the Blade gripped Rio briefly. The feeling of another warm living being stimulated Razok, more than he had been since he’d begun his escape attempt.

“Razok! What the quiznak was that thing!?” Rio’s eyes were still wide, but forced his gaze from the door to look over the smaller, older Galra. “Are you alright? You feel frozen.”

“I told you to get going! What are you doing here and not at the sleds?”

Rio looked at Razok like he was insane. “I heard whatever that sound was and there you were trying to crack that ice like a madman with a sword. I was just down the hall, and I thought you-”

Their conversation was cut off as the sound of metal squealing filled the hallway. They both realized they hadn’t moved. The door that they had just closed began to bend as a force greater than what it was designed for smashed against it from the other side. Without saying a word, both Galrans took off towards their intended exit.

“Blow the hatch!” Razok flicked his helmet on as they turned a final corner and saw the exit.

Rio scrambled for the manual emergency controls while the other Galra turned and drew his swords, standing so both feet were on the door frame and his body parallel with the floor. The doors began to crack open. With the breaking of the airtight seal, the air started to vent. Both Galrans braced themselves as the internal environment drained; Razok stood above the door, air rushing past him, and Rio held on tight to the controls, his suit flipping on his helmet automatically.

As the decompression became less violent, Razok jumped off the doorframe and exited the ship by  grabbing the door ledge, flipping out onto the surface of the ship, and activating his boots. Rio followed after receiving a verbal cue from Razok. As he was letting go, though, a giant crash was heard as the previously sealed door opened. The technician threw himself out of the hatch, grabbing hold of Razok’s hand to ensure he didn’t fly away. Behind him, the broken door that had been knocked loose crashed against the open access hatch.

The beast quickly landed on top of it, the sound of already bent metal groaning in distress carried by the little air that was now whistling past the blocked opening. Both Galra dove for the body sleds. As Rio was about to tether into his, Razok stopped him and tethered both of them to his. They were jammed together awkwardly on the sled, but Razok ignored that as he took the other rocket and tied it close to the jammed door.

By this point, the blocked door was barely holding, and the creature’s massive, freezing hands reached out into the void, trying desperately to not let its meal escape. It clawed wildly at the edges of the access hatch itself. As it watched the two start to fly off, the void rippled it a cry. Even in the emptiness of space, the Galrans could feel it as the soundwave of the roar rushed over their bodies, as powerful as if they had been almost in front of it.

Razok turned the sled to the side and grabbed the Rio’s gun. Leveling off a shot, a pinprick of power flew forth. The creature’s head finally emerged, the twice-broken door having given away. As the partially skeletal, fully monstrous beast emerged, there was a quick flash of light - and suddenly a massive fireball of heat and flame engulfed the entire side of the skeletal looking ship. The rocket built into the other sled had exploded when the fired shot landed against it.

Riding the resulting shockwave, Rio and Razok flew off into the void.

*~*~*

The journey back to the Onyx Moth felt like it took an eternity. Eventually, the shock and terror of their escape had somewhat worn off, and the weight of what they had just experienced had settled heavily on their minds.

Rio had questions; wanting to know what exactly had happened with Lux and the beast, and what had happened to Razok. With the revelation that Lux was the monster - and the details of what Razok had found in the room - Rio went totally quiet for a bit, settling a bit closer to the other Galra. Despite the awkward fit of two bodies on one sled, they both appreciated the physical contact.

Razok had still not revealed what had happened when he had been caught by the monster. He wasn’t even sure if he would have been able to describe it if he tried.

There was a moment of worry when the rocket started to run out of fuel; they hadn’t planned for more than one passenger per sled. Rio started to panic; after all they had been through, his fear of getting lost floating through space without anything got his heart racing. Razok quickly calmed him down, pointing out the bright speck of the Onyx Moth in the far distance. Even floating freely, once they were closer, they were able to remotely adjust the ship to their location to pick them up.

Once they were back on the ship, Rio excused himself to his quarters, wanting to go take a long hot shower. Later, they would talk more, and find comfort in that they both had survived that harrowing experience.  They had survived, learned a few things, and would fly away to report their findings - and hopefully never, ever come back.

But before all of that, Razok could only think of getting something to eat.

He was starving.

[etudaire]

A big bang of “how to” stuff

There I was again tonight forcing laughter faking smiles so I made up this long ass post for y'all!

So you a potato. Me a potato. World conquered by we potatoes. But potato need survival tips. So your brotato (get it? Bro potato?) help you out. Yay potato. Go go potato.

Study related stuff :

1. Get good grades

Catch concepts, not chapters. Your portion is most likely gonna be super vast, so it’s helpful to know a little something from every chapter rather than knowing just 50% of your syllabus.

Figure out which concepts are important and master them.

Keep all assignments completed at least 1 day before submission date. This isn’t always possible but trust me if you do this you’re guaranteeing marks for proper submission. Job done early? Proof check and add touches to enhance that essay!

Let the teachers know that you’re working hard. I actually passed math because my math teacher knew I was working super hard on my math skills. Participate in the class, gather a bunch of doubts and then dump them on your teacher when the chapter ends.

Try not to miss lectures because chances are you’ll remember that silly mnemonic your friend made up in class and get the answer correct.

Analysis of your exam type is super important. Want me to make a long ass post about it?

2. Be more productive

Having a stuydjo/bujo by your side helps hella lot.

Plan plan plan. Lists, organise lists and colour code them. Basically become Monica Geller Bing and you’re set for life.

Motivational quotes from pinterest almost make me guilty for not being productive and force me to do something.

Before starting your study session, dance around to upbeat music for like 5 minutes. You’ll see the difference I promise.

Seek out inspiration from your smart friends /tumblr friends /people you look up to by constantly reminding yourself about them. I always think of hermione granger because even randomly picturing her with books in my mind ignites that badass boss feeling complying me to study tf up.

3. Manage your time

Studyjo/bujo saves your life.

Wear a watch all the damn time, it will remind you of how much time you’re spending doing nothing. You’ll end up saving several extra minutes!

List out what you’re gonna do every hour of the day on a sticky note and refer to it when you feel lazy.

Get a super nice friend /parent /sibling who will constantly remind you to utilise your time.

Think of time as currency and pretend that it’s all a game where you need to save up as much money as you can to become a billionaire. Save up your time and become rich af.

4. Avoid procrastinating

Stduyjo/bujo again. You know the drill now.

A little bit of exercise before starting work generally works you up and sets the correct mood.

Knowing how ahead your friends are from you often makes you wanna catch up so try getting that motivation.

Set goals + rewards that actually matter to you. Maybe a face care spa day isn’t your thing but munching on a snickers bar is. Treat yo self.

Tell someone a detailed plan of what you are going to accomplish the next day. Now whenever you see that person you’ll want to prove to them that you’re doing what you promised. Or the guilt may drive you too.

Appearance related stuff :

1. Look more put together

Try the lipstick trick. There are days when you do not have the time /want to put on makeup, so just put on a lipstick that matches your outfit and you’ll automatically create an illusion of being more put together, boss af and fabulous.

Try out cheap (potato can’t afford sorry) but elegant accessories. If it’s a necklace try tucking it under the collar of your shirt and see the magic. Stick to one staple accessory that’s gonna be your trademark.

Tame that mane potato. Your hair isn’t gonna detangle itself. You gotta do it. I mean, don’t you love your hair?

Minimalistic colours rock. Some outfits never go old like flannels or white shirts or black dresses.

2. Feel beautiful

The lipstick does the trick for me.

Putting my hair in a sky high ponytail makes me feel like I’m a queen or something.

Save little compliments for yourself as reminders and when you get them you’ll feel 10x more beautiful than before.

Mind related stuff :

1. Deal with burnout/slump

Try to accomplish super tiny stuff. Break down every task into micromolecular basics.

Give yourself a ted talk. It works.

Sometimes the best way of dealing with burnout is by detoxing from the thing that caused burnout. Stay away form books and after some time you’ll actually want to study.

2. Study with slumps/mental illness

Step one is to finish homework /assignments. If you can concentrate on them, you’re good to go.

Do not take up a lot of load, just skimming through textbooks, reviewing notes, going over flashcards should do the trick.

If you desperately need to get shit done, just ignore the fact that you do not want to do it. It’s harsh on your mind but desperate times require desperate measures.

Avoid forcing yourself to study because you’ll not retain info like that.

Take it easy. But consistently. Maybe just one topic a day. But do not miss a day. A steady everyday practice goes long way in the future.

3. Strengthen self control

There are several apps that can help you with this, like forest. My top pick is the Tide app which has a gorgeous interface and super aesthetic timers with new pictures everyday. I shit you not every time I quit my pomodoro I feel the guilt of having killed 1000 puppies its worse and I avoid doing that at all costs.

If you study in your room, keep your phone in the kitchen for some time. Your lazy ass is less likely to get up and use the phone.

Switching the phone off before starting a study session works because I care for my phone like a baby and it feels horrible to switch it on and off and on and off.

Practice 30 minutes of digital detox everyday. You don’t have to study at that time, just stay away from everything that is technology. Read and book, eat a fruit, make a sandwich, paint, sing, dance, exercise. Study if you want. Just no gadgets.

4. Deal with stress

Yoga works. Potato body ain’t that flexible so just breathing exercises for a start is also enough.

Highly recommended : brain dump every night before sleeping can ensure that you’ll not stay up too late pondering over the meaning of your existence and world politics.

Having a hearty talk with someone you trust will also lift weight off your chest.

Pin point the cause of your stress and annihilate the problem. Slay it.

Life related stuff :

1. Drink more water

Carry a cool ass bottle of water with you every frigging where.

Make it a rule to have a drink everytime you go to the loo or you take a bath /shower.

Replace one of your daily caffeines /sugars with water. You don’t have to get rid of coffee because that’s just non potato ish, but maybe that third cup could be replaced with water.

Try a game thingy. Maybe everytime the word ‘procrastination’ pops in your mind take a drink. Wow, I’m so creative *sighs for eternities*.

2. Be more healthy

5 minute stretches right after getting up works you up.

Try one of those YouTube videos of 15 minute workouts. You can have 3 such workouts through the day and call yourself a fit potato.

Replacing one packet of junk food with nuts/fruits also works.

Everytime you hear someone say something related to money, have a banana. Random much? Nope, bananas are known to increase hormones that make you happy in your body, meaning you’ll feel full and happy. Maybe offer the person a banana too.

3. Be more happy

Eat bananas!

Take pictures of things you love, not things your followers love.

Puppies are a source of eternal joy.

Reading goofy/cheesy/romance books make you giggle and feel good in general.

Watching cheesy films or good ass romcoms works just well.

Friends was created for a reason.

Writing down what you accomplished today gives a sense of pride and satisfaction. Take that shit.

Tumblr has shitposts made basically to make you happy.

4. Find your true calling /figuring tf out what you wanna do with your life

Lists lists lists. Subjects you love, you hate, you’re good at, you suck at.

Consulting your teachers, family etc and find out what they think you’re good at. Sometimes other people can see traits of yours better than you.

Career tests rock.

You’ll figure it out in the end somehow.

And that’s about it for now folks, hope this helps. See y'all laterz~

Etudaire ♥

[wigwurq]

WIG REVIEW: STRANGER THINGS 2

Unless you have been living under a rock for the last week, you already know that STRANGER THINGS SEASON 2 DROPPED AND OMGOMGOMGOMG!!!!1 It’s been a week and somehow the internet hasn’t imploded over this show so I guess it’s time to talk about the wigs. As with Twin Peaks, I’ll be reviewing each episode as I watch them and adjusting whether the season as a whole wurqs. Let’s get demogorg-going! 

CHAPTER ONE : MADMAX

The Duffer Brothers live and breathe 80s nostalgia (obvs) so we open with a rando car chase in Pittsburgh because THE 80S (if the Duffer Bros really wanted to make this 80s accurate, it should have been Detroit or Chicago - THE DEMOGORGON IS IN THE DETAILS, isn’t it?) Anyway, some rando punk burglars are staging a getaway - with the help of some chick who is basically an older, more ethnic Elle. And she’s got a #008 tattooed on her arm. DUN DUN DUN.

Back in Hawkins, it’s a year after Will and Barb (RIP) got trapped in the Upside Down and everyone is doing JUST GREAT AND DON’T HAVE PTSD LET’S JUST LISTEN TO DEVO THANKYOUVERYMUCH. Oh and go to the arcade, where we meet our wiggiest non-wig in this dude eating cheetos and creepily demanding sister dates from Mike. 

We also meet Winona Ryder’s new boyfriend, RUDY RUETTIGER (aka Sean Astin)! No wig, but dang HE LOVES MR. MOM AS MUCH AS ME. YES!

Speaking of Winona Ryder, girlfriend got a MUCH better wig than last season. I still don’t know why she needs to wear a wig at all, but I mean…sure? Clearly the wig budget is bigger than last season (if they can afford to license every song of the 80s to play during the episode, they can throw a few bucks at Joyce Byer’s mane, so amen). 

Over at the high school, Nancy Wheeler got herself a haircut! She is clearly trying to channel some Jennifer Grey action but much like her body, this hair has no body (get this girl and this hair a sandwich). 

Just sayin’…she should have had more of that KFC. Joe Keery’s epic hair remains flawless. 

We are also introduced to the major wig of this episode (and likely, this season) in the form of a mulletted new bad boy, BILLY. I love that his name is Billy in a clear homage to Rob Lowe in St. Elmo’s Fire…but only time will tell if he can wail on a saxophone. This wig is…fine? It obviously looks like a wig so already that is a negative. Also I’m guessing everything about this guy is a negative.

Meanwhile, Nancy and Mike’s mom got herself a new ‘do! Welcome to the 80s, GIRLFRIEND! Bye bye Farrah waves, hello BANGS! Mama like. Damn fine wig. Still, why are you voting for Reagan (but of COURSE you are). BOO. #GeraldineFerraro4Ever

Meanwhile, Elle lives! But of course she does. And Millie Bobby Brown got herself a PERM just as the 80s intended. 

And she’s living with Sheriff Hopper who took time out of his busy schedule of looking at “poisoned” pumpkins (which is clearly a job for Moana, duh) to take care of Elle. He got hisself a daughter and she got herself a dad! SOBBING.

CHAPTER TWO : TRICK OR TREAT, FREAK

It’s Halloweeeen and of course our favorite foursome dressed up as the Ghostbusters (and NO ONE WANTS TO BE WINSTON). Sadly, they go to the lamest school ever where no one else dresses up for Halloween. BOO indeed!

Will is still seeing some pretty effed up Upside Down visions but more scary: this poor kid had to have a bowl cut in the show and in life! This is the ultimate commitment to your art! Pure terror!

Rudy Reuttiger continues to be our favorite dad, fully committing to vampire hair and teeth and then slow dancing with Winona Ryder to “Islands in the Stream.” DREAMBOAT.

Meanwhile, Elle is getting cabin fever from watching Susan Lucci on TV all day and her hair is looking bigger and curlier than ever! Still, sorry you couldn’t go trick or treating, gurl.

Over at the most 80s teen Halloween party ever, new badboy Billy is suddenly a popular beer chugging sweaty bohunk (who listens to Ted Nugent - yep, this guy is the worst!) Also of course his new pal is dressed as the bad guy from The Karate Kid. 80s VILLAINS CONVERGE! 

 Meanwhile, Will’s older brother, a so-called purveyor of good musical taste, thinks this chick CLEARLY DRESSED AS SIOUXIE SIOUX is a member of KISS! BLASPHEME! YOU ARE DEAD TO US, JONATHAN!

Oh and Steve and Nancy OBVIOUSLY had a couple’s costume, and one of the most confusing ones EVER. It was confirmed to me later that they were Tom Cruise and Rebecca De Mornay from Risky Business (and not Johnny and June Carter Cash as I had suspected)…but if that is true this costume is AN EPIC FAILURE. Why isn’t Steve just wearing a white shirt and no pants? Why is Nancy’s hair all bouffanted out like June Carter Cash? WHY ISN’T SHE WEARING A BLONDE WIG?!?! WIG FAILURE x100000000. BOO ON YOUR HORRIBLE ATTEMPT AT A POP CULTURAL HALLOWEEN PARTY, DUFFER BROTHERS! THE DEMOGORGON IS IN THE DETAILS! BOO ON YOU!

CHAPTER THREE: THE POLLYWOG

Dustin found a new friend in a trashcan (where all the best friends come from!) and quickly decided that he has discovered a new species which DEFINITELY WON’T MESS ANYTHING UP. Kids, amiright?

Meanwhile, it should be mentioned that Dustin’s mom is played by Netflix MVP Catherine Curtain (our favorite former guard from OITNB). This lady loves cats as much as I do and knows her way around a good Midwest mom wig. Amen.

This episode also gives us some flashbacks to explain how Elle came to live with Hopper. And we get some flashback wigs! As with all men’s wigs, this one sucks. The texture is a nightmare and the back flips up with little assist from this shearling coat.

Elle is definitely getting cabin fever and busts out to see Mike, which she does in the very 5 minutes he happens to be talking to Max (isn’t it always the way?) then totally makes Max ruin her ollie in a jealous rage and hightails it out of there. We’ve all been there, gurl.

Speaking of Max, her awful brother Billy makes some mention of her not actually being his sister . Oh god. HES NOT HER DAD, RIGHT? UGH. Also he continues his reign as a new sweaty bohunk always as he plays mullet basketball with Steve (and of COURSE he’s ‘skins’ not shirts. UGH). Also if you’re gonna be an 80s villain, I guess you should be a pro-sports 80′s villain, right? The demogorgon is in the details (I have a quota to say this once during every episode recap).

Meanwhile, through the power of 80s home video consumerism, Winona Ryder and her slightly better season 2 wig realize that Will’s effed up Upside Down visions might be for reals (thanks, wax paper!) Oh, and thanks for the terrible advice to stand up to demogorgons, RUDY REUTIGGER.

CHAPTER FOUR: WILL THE WISE

Whilst trying to stand his ground against demogorgons, Will gets possessed by one (again, way to go, RUDY!) Winona Ryder’s season 2 wig got a wurqout trying to figure out what the eff is going on with suddenly coldblooded Will and his effed up vine illustrations.

Meanwhile, Nancy and her Jennifer Grey minus the body perm and Jonathan who apparently listens to the Clash (ugh) have staged a stakeout in the most effed up public park ever and it totally worked - bitches got hauled away to Hawkins Labs immediately! There, they totally got Paul Reiser on TAPE saying some shady shit. Side note: is this show just a big commercial for RadioShack?

Back at the high school, apparently the only class is SKINS VS SHIRTS and Billy is king! His horrible mullet wig got a shower which did nothing for it but did lead to some pretty fabulous homoerotic dialogue. Ooh la la. As always, the demogorgon’s in the details.

Billy’s dried off coif looks HORRIBLE IN BACKLIGHTING - major 80s hair fail. This wig blows. Also, NICE CANADIAN TUXEDO.

Oh and Billy is a complete racist who likes to control everything his sister (?) does. Continuing in the long tradition of 80s villains who are just evil for the sake of being evil, Billy joins their lexicon. What are his motivations? WHO KNOWS?! HE’S JUST LIVIN TO BE AN ASSHOLE. Similarly, I would totally approve of this dude playing the James Spader role in a remake of Pretty in Pink. ALSO I TAKE IT BACK: NEVER REMAKE PRETTY IN PINK, PLEASE. 

In the end, Elle finds the secret file about her actual family and teleports to see her mama (SOBBING). And, as predicted, that pollywog Dustin found turns out to be a mini demogorgon who eats his cat. (DOUBLE SOBBING). I know y’all are still mourning Barb, but the death of Mews the cat might be the worst thing to ever happen on this show. RIP.

CHAPTER FIVE: DIG DUG

After Mew the cat’s tragic demise (known only to Dustin at this point), his mom continues her frenzied search for her beloved feline and her wig is as frazzled as she is. Still, Dustin’s mom is officially my favorite mom on this show not only because of her kitty love, but because she has a damn Mondale/Ferraro sign in her front lawn (and is apparently the only Hawkins resident not voting for Reagan). The demogorgon is as always in the details. #GeraldineFerraro4Ever 

Speaking of demogorgons, note to self: don’t go investigating them in a creepy vine/tunnel by yourself because you’ll probably end up being trapped there alone.

Great work, Hooper. 

Luckily Will’s art therapy home installation is about to get the cartographical analysis it needs from Rudy Reuttiger who is back in our good graces after his abysmally bad demogorgon advice. 

Winona’s season 2 wig remains shook but hopeful.

There remains to be no hope for Billy’s mullet wig, which took a brief break from skins vs shirts to drive his sister (?) to the arcade where Lucas gave her the 411 on Hawkins’ demogorgon problem. 

Speaking of truth quests, Nancy and her no-body perm is on one with the help of Jonathan and apparently their little road trip is so long that they had to spend the night in a hotel for the sole purpose of having this awkward “we’re not gonna do it” scene. Just drive through the night! You’re teenagers! 

Speaking of road trips, Elle found her mama! Buuut her mama remains to be a catatonic shell of her former self as does her hair. 

I guess if you’re catatonic, hair is the least of your problems, but this coif definitely needs some self-care. 

We do get some flashback wig action, and apparently even after having her child stolen away during a Twilight Sleep delivery, Terry Ives was looking pretty fierce in the 70s! 

Her sister, Becky, has a much bigger perm than last season and also a much bigger creepy factor. She doesn’t really question Elle’s sudden appearance or the faulty electrical work in her house, or Elle’s Poltergeist TV static communication skills. Maybe she’s just super trusting…or there is a Whatever Happened To Baby Jane? scenario afoot…

CHAPTER SIX : THE SPY

Good news: with the help of Rudy Reuttiger, Hopper got saved from the demogorgon tunnel! Bad news: Will is still possessed/his insides are burning/he has selective memory loss/he might be dying imminently. And Winona’s season 2 wig is PISSED ABOUT IT. She goes into full on Shirley MacLaine in Terms of Endearment mode and demands Hawkins Labs fix her son. Hey, you break it, you buy it. 

Meanwhile, Nancy and Jonathan’s super unsexy roadtrip suddenly gets sexy with the help of….a rando crazy wall journalist, and ton of underage vodka drinking, and a bunker with a french-doored guest room. Beyond the inappropriateness of serving copious amounts of booze to teenagers, this creep/amateur Francis Ford Coppola impersonator also fully pimps out his pad for late-night teenage sexcapades. And the following morning has the nerve to ask Jonathan “how was the pull-out?” THIS LINE IS OFFICIALLY THE WORST THING TO HAPPEN ON THE SHOW. YUCK.

Meanwhile, Dustin has gone code red with the disappearance of his now huge pet demogorgon and the only person at his disposal to help is: Steve?!?! Sure. This is bromance is actually the perfect antidote to any Nancy/Jonathan romance grossness. Not only should these guys be bffff, but Steve shares his hair secrets with Dustin and they include Farrah Fawcett hairspray. The demogorgon is always in the details and this one is pure happiness. Never change, you guys and #TeamSteve ALL THE WAY.

Lucas finally gets the code red message and hightails it over to Max’s house for help. Max’s house is basically an extended weight gym for Billy who is pumping iron while blasting Ratt with no adult supervision in sight. ALL 80S VILLIAN STEREOTYPES CONVERGE. Also Billy’s mullet wig is getting sweatier and curlier by the episode but not any better as a wig. However, this week we get a glimpse of one dangly earring which confirms his homage to Billy in St. Elmo’s Fire. We still need for him to wail on a saxophone and make jokes about Mare Winningham’s underwear for the homage to be complete, however. Oh also, Max’s big family secret is: her parents are divorced! DUN DUN DUN. 

Anyway, back at the old junkyard, Dustin, Steve, Max and Lucas spread around a ton of raw meat and gasoline and wait and see what happens (WHAT A PLAN!) Steve, the most popular guy in high school until that sweaty bohunk Billy showed up, seems unfazed by hanging out with two nerdy middle school guys and a “random girl” but does get a little too cocky when he breaks out of the bus to confront the demogorgons hisself. Also I’m pretty sure the Duffer Bros are trying to turn Steve into Michael J. Fox this season because he’s definitely wearing the same Nike shoes he does in Back to the Future and also OF COURSE THEY ARE.  Also between Steve’s nail bat and Negan’s barbed wire bat on The Walking Dead, baseball is officially dead to me.

CHAPTER SEVEN: THE LOST SISTER

Our girl Elle who is now going by her birth name, Jane, explains to her weird Aunt Becky what she saw in her Poltergeist shapeshift into her mama’s subconscious and while weird Aunt Becky finally decides to call someone about the rando tween that showed up at her house, Elle/Jane stole some dough and booked it out of there in search of her “sister”, another stolen girl who was experimented on at Hawkins Lab. Cue your least favorite Bon Jovi song and some POV shots of Chicago at night and suddenly we’re in every 80s teen movie ever shot in a city (the city was always Chicago).

Just beyond that building from Adventures in Babysitting and some trashcan fires (the demogorgon is always in the details) she is reunited with her “sister” Kali who you might remember from Chapter One of this season and her gang of misfit PUNKS!!!!!!!! 

Basically these randos are every stereotypical punk who was featured in 5 seconds-50 minutes of any 80s teen movie. White chick with a pseudo Cyndi Lauper ‘do, oversized bow and faux prep school look: CHECK! Kinda angry black chick still rockin’ a power ‘fro and 70s military duds: CHECK! Super angry white dude with an x-treme dyed mohawk, face piercings, dog collar, and a switchblade: CHECK! Looks angry black dude in black bomber coat described as a “teddy bear”: CHECK! Ethnic chick with tons of black eyeliner, asymmetrical half-shaved hair wearing an oversized coat, combat boots and fingerless gloves: CHECKCHECKCHECK! This is a perfect assemblage of PUNKS that would fit in perfectly at the most 80s punk party EVER. The Duffers outdid themselves here. As for wig quality? I mean….it’s about as good as the hair in that punk party link so I’ll give it an amen.

But what is the deal with these PUNKS anyway? Turns out that they’re not just stealin’ stuff to buy hair products and living in a cool warehouse that could easily double for the digs on any season of Real World. Led by Kali, they track down and murder former employees of Hawkins Lab (and also steal stuff - hair products ARE VERY EXPENSIVE!) Kali helps Elle/Jane tap into her rage so that she can move stuff and whatever. Here, Elle/Jane totally moved a big train for no reason! Way to go?

Most importantly, these PUNKS give Elle/Jane a PUNK MAKEOVER! Thanks to a gallon of black eyeliner and hair gel, a pop-collared oversized coat, french-cuffed jeans and white kicks,  she magically transforms into Dave Vanian (lead singer for The Damned duh!) While she could easily use her newfound LEWK to front a cool band, she instead leads the PUNKS to one of the former labworker’s houses. 

There, the sisters in their cool duds debate whether to let this dude live or die (Elle/Jane says nope after discovering the dude has some kids). And honestly, maybe y’all should just…go start a band instead? In the end, the cops bust in on the PUNKS’ digs and Elle/Jane buses it back to Hawkins.

The internet super hated this episode for a number of reasons: it’s pointless, it feels like one of those episodes where a popular show tries to incubate a spin-off of new characters (never to be seen again!), Elle/Jane is helped by her cool ethnic sister only to leave her behind, thus fulfilling the “magical negro” trope, her sister also helps her tap into her anger to better fuel her skills only to abandon them when it counts so all in all…it’s pointless. These are all valid points and I get it but I still liked this episode because any opportunity to enjoy silly 80s PUNK stereotypes is an hour well lived. 

EPISODE EIGHT: THE MIND FLAYER

Back in Hawkins, the lab is undergoing a teeny weeny bit of trouble ever since Will’s shadow monster tricked everyone into letting all the demogorgons loose and basically everyone is maybe about to die. Winona Ryder’s season 2 wig is NOT ABOUT TO LET THAT HAPPEN so just like FIGURE IT OUT, PAUL REISER.

Paul Reiser does NOT really figure it out but Rudy Reuttiger is ON IT because he knows basic (in the computer sense that is). Pretty soon Rudy is realizing that admitting you know basic is like admitting you can type - DON’T DO IT OR YOU WILL PROBABLY BE KILLED BY A DEMOGORGON. 

Bob is absolutely killed by a demogorgon (after saving everyone!), thus fulfilling the internet’s need for Bob to be the new Barb. #RipBob #RipBarb

Meanwhile, everyone’s least favorite skins vs shirts player, Billy, is gettin’ hisself ready for a hot date (who is the lucky lady????) He sprays some random hairspray on this disgusting mullet (definitely NOT Farrah Fawcett hairspray), sprays some cologne down his pants and he’s READY! This dude’s wig looks worse every single time I see it but I do have to throw some respect this character’s way for having a TANK poster in his room (the demogorgon is always in the details). Also why does every room in this house have a fireplace?

No time for questions! Billy’s dad is home and he is every 80s villain dad combined - an abusive, violent, terribly mustachioed monster. And now we get it! Villains beget villains; violence is learned at home. It’s all a cycle. Demogorgons, please kill this dude first. 

Back at home, Winona Ryder’s season 2 wig is an EFFING MESS and so is she. Shadow monster, get out of Will already! 

The only solution seems to be making a hostage barn for Will’s Shadow Monster and we learn two important things: interrogation lighting makes Will’s bowl cut look shiny and lustrous and also Will knows morse code! CLOSE THE GATE, Y’ALL!

WHO ON EARTH CAN CLOSE THE GATE?!?!?!

Oh, right: Elle/Jane. Duh. 

CHAPTER NINE: THE GATE

Elle/Jane’s sudden appearance RIGHT AT THE PERFECT MOMENT leads to a bunch of mushy reunion hugs, all of which are delivered while Elle/Jane still has a bloody nose. If you really loved her, GIVE HER A DAMN TISSUE! Anyway, after everyone has a lot of FEELINGS, a plan is made: Elle/Jane and Hooper will go to the lab to close the gate and Winona Ryder’s season 2 wig will take Will and Jonathan to Hooper’s cabin to break Will’s Shadow Monster virus with all of the heat necessary. Sounds legit!

Steve, our new favorite character and sudden nice guy apologizes to Nancy and her new curly up-do for abandoning her drunken ass at the Halloween party and tells her to go to Hooper’s cabin with Jonathan. If this means more time for Steve and Dustin’s bromance, so be it!

Meanwhile, Nancy’s mom is taking some time out of her busy schedule of allowing her kids to disappear for days on end while she daydrinks white wine to have some ME TIME in a bubble bath reading a romance novel. Calgon, take me away! This up-do is even better than Nancy’s and the best Nancy’s mom’s wig has ever looked. Sadly, someone has the audacity to ring her doorbell just as she’s truly weewaxing and her good-for-nothing husband is out-cold sleeping in the study! UGH. WHO ON EARTH COULD BE AT THE DOOR?!

OOH-LA-LA! Don’t you love it when you’re reading about an oily bohunk and then one just shows up? And uses the dumbest line ever and asks if you’re Nancy’s sister, not mom?

I think Nancy’s mom got her groove back! Does this mean she’ll finally abandon her Reagan supporting, constantly napping older husband? Only time will tell but girl, your wig looks GOOD.

Thanks for the cookie, Nancy’s mom. Billy’s mullet still looks TERRIBLE.

Billy’s mullet then hightails it over to the Byers residence where he and Steve have a skins vs shirts rematch battle thus ensuring that Winona Ryder’s house is completely trashed at least once every season of this show. Steve puts up an admirable fight but he’s no match for Billy’s violent assholery. Also way to go doing nothing: Mike, Lucas and Dustin! The only one able to stop Billy is his sister (?) Max who sedates him with some of Will’s conveniently accessible sedatives and then threatens him with Steve’s nail bat. Max is the new Negan! All hail! Also Billy’s character never amounted to ANYTHING and we never got to see him wail on a sax so: missed opportunities all around.

Over at Hopper’s cabin, Winona’s season 2 wig is getting all kinds of swampy in the sweat lodge they’ve created to exorcise the shadow monster out of Will. What a MESS.

Meanwhile, Steve comes to in Billy’s car which is being driven by Max (and yes, we see the Indiana Jones reference, Duffer Bros!) and despite probably having a concussion from being wailed on by Billy, goes into the demogorgon vine tunnel to burn out some demodogs. This is where Stranger Things achieves peak Goonies status. 

Anyway, back at Hawkins Lab, Paul Reiser is totally still alive (yay?) and Elle/Jane is able to harness her anger just like her sister helped her to do and close the damn gate. Now will someone PLEASE GET HER A TISSUE?!

A month later, it’s Christmastime (because just like now, the 80s skips straight from Halloween to Christmas). Everyone is doing GREAT YOU GUYS. Dustin’s mom got a new cat (Mews 2.0) and he got hisself some Farrah Fawcett hairspray! Can this show actually bring back this product? I feel like it has the power to do so. 

Anyway, the hairspray of hairgod Steve transforms Dustin into THIS! YES! I have no idea why Steve drives Dustin to the Snow Ball but logic went out the window years ago with this show. I guess they just still have a bromance, which does warm my heart and #TeamSteve always.

Anyway, inside the Snow Ball, Lucas successfully dances with Max, who is wearing a striped velour shirt and burnt sienna corduroy PANTS to a semi-formal - ok gurl you officially won me over. Also some rando girl asks Will to dance and even though she calls him zombie boy, it’s nice. 

Sadly, no one wants to dance with Dustin and his duckie shoes (officially best 80s movie reference - the demogorgon is always in the details). Dustin 4Ever and all you Hawkins Middle School girls can fall into the upside down for not wanting to dance with him!

Luckily, Nancy is inexplicably chaperoning the dance and comes to Dustin’s rescue. Her up-do HAS NEVER LOOKED BETTER! Her no-body perm FINALLY GETS BODY! HALLELUJ! Also just look at the meeting of these two hairdos. Magic.

In the end, Jane (who is officially Jane now because Paul Reiser gave Hooper some official birth certificates about it - vegetable mom be damned!) shows up to dance with Mike because OF COURSE SHE DOES. Her hair is sort of a gelled down combo of curly and sleek and...ok? All these Snow Ball hair lewks are wigless anyway since no one wants Billy’s mullet to chaperone anything. And it is because of this awful mullet and Winona’s season 2 wig that I have to say.....

VERDICT: DOESN’T WURQ

[makeuptips10-blog]

20 Lady Gaga Red-Carpet Moments That Will Go Down in Fashion History

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20 Lady Gaga Red-Carpet Moments That Will Go Down in Fashion History

It didn’t take long for Lady Gaga to become a household name. The singer debuted her first single “Just Dance” in April 2008, and in months, she became an international sensation—both in the music world and on the red carpet. From her iconic meat dress (made with literal meat) at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards to the showstopping pale-pink Valentino princess dress she wore to the Cannes premiere of A Star Is Born last month, the 32-year-old has always been a risk-taker when it came to fashion.

And though her looks aren’t for everyone, there’s no denying that Gaga has carved a name for herself in the fashion world. To celebrate another year of Gaga looks (and her film premiere in A Star Is Born), we’ve looked back at her most iconic red carpet moments that will most definitely go down in fashion history.

2010 MTV Video Music Awards

If there’s one look to remember Lady Gaga for, it’s her meat dress from the 2010 MTV VMAs. The singer walked the red carpet in a red-and-gold dress that resembled meat, but it wasn’t until she was at the show that she slipped into her meat dress, which was designed by Franc Fernandez and made of raw beef. In an interview on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Gaga explained that the look, consisting of a meat dress, hat, boots and bag, was a statement against the US military’s Don’t Ask Don’t Tell Policy and a message to fans to stand up for what they believe in. “If we don’t stand up for what we believe in, and if we don’t fight for our rights, pretty soon we’re going to have as much rights as the meat on our bones,” Gaga said.

Photo: Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images.

2016 American Music Awards

Gaga’s fifth album, Joanne, was met with mixed reviews. But what it did bring fans was her iconic cowboy hat and suits. One of the singer’s most beloved Joanne outfits was at the 2016 AMAs where she wore a white wide-brimmed hat and a matching pantsuit that even Hillary Clinton would envy.

Photo: Frazer Harrison/AMA2016/Getty Images for dcp.

2016 Golden Globe Awards

Gaga might be known for her over-the-top fashion, but she can do understated too. For the 2016 Golden Globes, where she won an award for her work on American Horror Story: Hotel, Gaga wore a black velvet Atelier Versace dress that made her look like Hollywood royalty.

Photo: Jason Merritt/Getty Images.

2009 MuchMusic Video Awards

In true Gaga fashion, the singer walked the red carpet at the 2009 MuchMusic Video Awards in a dress made of blonde hair. The bodice was braided into a sweetheart neckline, while the skirt featured a mane of loose blonde hair. Sporting a blonde wig, Gaga accessorized the look with a dog-shaped handbag also made of hair.

Photo: George Pimentel/WireImage.

2015 Met Gala

The Met Gala was made for Gaga, so when she attended the event for the first time in 2015, she knew exactly how to do it. In collaboration with that year’s theme, “China: Through the Looking Glass,” Gaga wore a huge black-and-white checkered robe with a black crown and thick, drawn-on eyebrows.

Photo: Jamie McCarthy/FilmMagic.

2010 Grammy Awards

For the 2010 Grammys, Gaga wore a future-esque Armani Privé dress consisting of a spherical skirt wrapped in ribbon with a sharp, star-like object as an accessory. Gaga accented the dress with a pink lip and a yellow wig, adding to the space-like theme.

Photo: Jason Merritt/Getty Images.

2016 Met Gala

Gaga is no stranger to mixing technology and fashion, so when the Met Gala hosted its “Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology” ball in 2016, she didn’t disappoint. The singer wore a rock-‘n’-roll look with sky-high boots, a metallic blazer and a leotard made completely out of computer circuit boards.

Photo: George Pimentel/WireImage.

2008 American Music Awards After-Party

Gaga’s origami dresses and straight blonde hair were her signature in her early career. One of her most beloved looks was at an after-party following the 2008 American Music Awards. For the event, Gaga wore an origami-like dress with white latex sleeves, choppy bangs and crystal-like shapes on her dress inspired by ’80s design legend Thierry Mugler.

Photo: Chelsea Lauren/WireImage.

2017 Super Bowl LI Halftime Show

Gaga had a bucket-list moment when she performed at the 2017 halftime show for the Super Bowl LI. The singer wore a sparkling Atelier Versace bodysuit and matching knee-high boots embellished with Swarovski crystals. She also sported matching mask-like eye makeup.

Photo: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic.

2016 Oscars

Gaga had a full-on Marilyn Monroe moment when she attended the 2016 Oscars in a white Brandon Maxwell jumpsuit with a full skirt that trailed behind her. Gaga paired the dress, which also boasted a sweetheart neckline, with natural-looking makeup and voluminous Hollywood waves.

Photo: Jason Merritt/Getty Images.

2017 Grammy Awards

Gaga went full-on rock ‘n’ roll at the 2017 Grammy Awards where she wore an all-leather ensemble consisting of thigh-high boots, sunglasses and an Alex Ulichny top with a spiked choker and sleeves. Oh, and did we mention that it showed off major underboob? Gaga was performing with Metallica that year, which might make sense of her edgy ensemble.

Photo: Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic.

“A Star Is Born” Premiere at 2018 TIFF

After taking the world’s breath away at Cannes, Gaga did it again at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival where she walked the red carpet in a black velvet dress with a matching veil and sequined fascinator. In true Gaga fashion, the singer took her veil off dramatically mid-carpet.

Photo: Michael Loccisano/Getty Images.

2009 ‘V’ Magazine Cover Party

To celebrate her V magazine cover in 2009, Gaga wore a red lace dress that resembled blood, matching neck and face accessories, and a blonde headpiece that looked like the sun.

Photo: Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images.

2009 “The Dome 49” Red Carpet

In terms of hair, Gaga was first known for popularizing the now-iconic bow hairdo. One of her fan-favorite looks was when she walked the red carpet for Germany’s The Dome 49 TV show in a black geometrical dress with a bow of hair on her head.

Photo: Jakubaszek/Getty Images.

2012 London Fashion Week

Gaga’s black cocktail dress at 2012 London Fashion Week might pale in comparison to her other looks, but her headpiece is what made this outfit. The singer wore a circular hat consisting of flowers to haute couture milliner Philip Treacy’s LFW show in 2012 and turned some heads while she was at it.

Photo: Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images.

2013 MTV Video Music Awards

Gaga wore a cool Prabal Gurung black dress (and matching wig) at the 2013 MTV VMAs, but it’s what she wore during her performance of “Applause” that really stole our hearts. The singer wore a shell bikini with bottoms decorated with smaller shells and flowers. It was a sea-themed look that could even make the Little Mermaid jealous.

Photo: Kevin Mazur/WireImage for MTV.

2013 ‘Glamour’ Women of the Year Awards

Gaga made ghost fashion at the 2012 Glamour Women of the Year Awards when she walked the red caret in a white pearl-studded suit with matching shoes and frizzed blonde hair with white, frosted lashes.

Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Glamour.

2010 Brit Awards

For the 2010 Brit Awards, Gaga made a statement with a dramatic white ruffled gown with huge sleeves, which looked like a cape when she spread her arms. The singer accessorized the look with a white lace mask over her eyes and a giant lace-covered updo.

Photo: Brian Rasic/Getty Images.

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