#just another fun adventure in the life of a debt collector

[inonibird]

When Qymaen’s work took him to Coruscant, he liked to tackle his collections from the top-down, starting at the grandiose skyscrapers of the surface and descending through the ecumenopolis into the gritty underworld. He supposed other agents might have preferred the opposite: work their way up from indigence to affluence, get the low profile clients out of the way before enjoying the more lucrative commissions that came from the wealthy upper levels. Qymaen’s priorities, however, lay in what brought him greater pleasure—and he garnered immense satisfaction from releasing a healthy dose of pent-up violence upon deserving parties, most of whom tended to make ends meet in the undercity. He always saved the best for last.

On this particular excursion to Republic City, the best and last saw him ducking into a public refresher to wash the blood from his knuckles while his IG-100 units waited patiently outside.

Qymaen’s position of commander of the Collections and Security Division did not preclude him from continuing his usual collections duties, even minor assignments—not that he minded in the slightest. He did have the means to send forces of droids in his stead and issue orders from the comfort of Muunilinst, and once or twice he conducted his affairs thus, but he knew from the outset such was not his preference. When he was Khagan, he threw himself into battle at every opportunity, and while his assignments for the IGBC hardly qualified as warfare, the sentiment still stood. He took what he could get, and then some.

Perhaps that was why he’d beaten this last client’s face to an unrecognizable pulp after he’d already paid the owed credits. A bit much; remarkably cathartic.

—

Chapter 8 of Part Four - Collector of the Sahuldeem series is up! (And wow, chapter art will actually be posted in a timely fashion! It’s already drawn!)

Also yes, posting can happen either on Mondays or Fridays now. Because sure!

[clanwarrior-tumbly]

Spamton with an s/o who’s half magpie and is very adventurous and loves collecting things, wanting to take spamton (who they thought was was regular doll) on a bunch of fan adventures!

For funsies I wanna relate this S/O to the Bird (That Carries You Over A Disproportionately Small Gap)

........

For most of your life, you've been a collector of many things in the Light World. Whatever you found that was disowned and looked appealing was kept on nice shelves in your home

Like your distant cousin from another timeline you were always determined to see the world and expand your collection. Even if you found nothing for hours you didn't go home till you had something.

One thing led to another and you soon found yourself in the Dark World. But besides gaining protective gear and resilient wings, you also had a backpack that can hold infinite items!

This was absolutely going to be fun!

So you fly around the Cyber World, finding a lot of cool tech and gadgets. Heck, some nice shopkeepers called "Addisons" even let you take their samples.

But when you ventured to quieter parts of the city, you happened upon a weird blue egg with a pink bow and....

A damaged male ventriloquist doll hanging halfway out of the dumpster.

Now this was one of your most interesting finds, so after getting the blue egg thing you lift the lid and pick the doll up with your talons-

Only for him to jerk to life and start spouting his name and sales pitches, like he was running on a script. You dropped him out of fright and immediately had regrets as he landed face first on the concrete.

Yet he springs up like nothing happened, gawking at the realization you're a Lightner.

"THANKS FOR THAT, LIGHT n er!! I REALLY NEEDED THE PICK UP [The Phone And Call This Number Now] LINE!!"

"Oh no I didn't mean to do that...Spamton, right? I-I just thought you were a regular doll and not a Darkner."

He would've been offended..had he not realized Ms Pipis was missing. "MS. PIPIS??? WHERE ARE YOU?? I CAN'T FIND YOU!!!" He screams as he leaps back into the dumpster.

It takes you a full minute of him yelling "MS PIPIS" without further explanation before you realize he meant the egg with the bow.

So you take her out and handed her back to him, once more feeling guilty bc you stole her. Fortunately Spamton didn't think so.

"OH YOU'RE A REAL LIFE SAVER, LITTLE BIRDIE. THANKS FOR KEEPING MY [Beautiful Pipis] SAFE AND SOUND. HOW CAN I EVER REPAY MY [Crippling Debt] TO YOU?"

"Well..um...I've just been flying around collecting stuff and I've always been kinda lonely. Care to join me?"

"OH BOY OH BOY WOULD I!! BEATS LIVING IN A GODDAMN [Garbage Can], THAT'S FOR SURE!" He jumps into your bag no hesitation with a toothy grin, keeping himself halfway out so he can talk to you without vanishing into the abyss.

Welp, it seems you got a travelling companion for life now.

And a smelly one at that, but you didn't mind.

[eastofthemoon]

Feathered Friends

A silly one shot that wouldn’t leave my head.

Archive of Our Own

Rating: G

Series: The Owl House/Ducktales 2017

Summary: Luz tries something to get her back to the human realm, unfortunately the human part wasn't present. 

-----------------------------------------------------------

Luz rubbed her hands eagerly as she looked over the handheld mirror. “Alright, mysterious device of arcane mystery, let’s see if you can bring me back to the human realm!’

“Are you sure you want to do this, kiddo?” Eda asked as she crossed her arm. “We know even less about this thing than your last portal attempt.”

“But the inscription says it leads to another world when you twist the handle,” Luz said as she clasped her hands.

“Doesn’t mean it’s the human realm,” Eda added. “There are plenty of bizarre worlds out there. For all we know this thing's connected to a world of man eating toe bats or something.”

“Where did you two find this outrageous ornament anyway?” King said as he poked the mirror.

“<i>We</i> didn’t,” Eda said with a deep sigh, shoving King’s paw away. “Hooty coughed it up and apparently doesn’t even remember where he picked it up.  Not that he remembers much to begin with.”

King grimaced. “Yuck, he really needs to be more aware of what he eats.”

“Anyway,” Luz continued as she put her hands on her hips, “it’s still worth trying.  Worst case it should lead back here, right?”

Eda sighed as she ruffled her hair. “All right, but I’m coming with you. King, how about you?  Up for a little interdimensional exploration?”

“Naw,” King said as he left the room. “My tummy is craving hot chocolate and I’ve decided to graciously fulfill its demand.”

“Save some for me,” Luz said as she picked up the mirror. “This shouldn’t take long.”

“Well, those are some ominous last words, but let’s give it a go,” Eda said as she placed a hand on Luz’s shoulder.

Luz bit her lower lip as she gave the mirror handle a hard twist.

The mirror sparked madly, before suddenly erupting with blue energy.  The mirror seemed to shine, and the energy formed into a swirling portal.

“Alright,” Luz said with a deep breath. “Here goes.”  Holding the mirror close to her chest, Luz stepped through the portal together with Eda.

They found themselves in a room. A very normal human looking room with a bunk bed and human style clothes scattered around it.

Hope flickered in Luz's eyes. Was it possible? Had she made it home?! Did she-

Someone, not Eda, cleared their throat and Luz turned.

Her joy evaporated.

Four pairs of eyes were staring at her. Eyes belonging to what seemed to be humanoid ducks. One was wearing a pink dress with a cute bow, another wore a blue shirt and a stunned expression. The third wore a red hat and shirt and seemed to be working out what question to ask first, while the fourth wore a green hoodie and held a soda can.

“Um...Hi,” Luz said slowly with a nervous smile. “Please don’t freak-”

The duck in green growled as he rubbed his eyes and set down the soda can.  The actual soda can, Luz found her eyes drawn to it. “Dewey, I thought you promised not to invite extra-dimensional beings into our bedroom again!”

“It wasn't me!” the duck, likely named Dewey, objected. “I mean, it was me that other time, but in my defense the number of views for my show have never been higher.”

“While that may be numerically true, that is strictly relative,” the duck with the red hat replied dryly.  "The number of views were even higher that time you left the camera on for twenty minutes of Mrs. Beakley cleaning the carpet."

“Uh….” Luz said as Eda looked around.

“Talking ducks? Hey, I think I’ve been to this world,” Eda muttered.

Before Luz could ask what she meant, the duck with the cute bow bounced up to her.

“Hi, I’m Webby!” she greeted and pointed behind her. “That’s Louie, Dewey and Huey! What’s your name?”

“I’m Luz, and this is Eda the Owl Lady,” Luz replied, slightly amazed by her chipper attitude. “Sorry, we didn’t mean to barge in-”

“Boys, what was that noise?!” shouted a female voice with a British accent.

“One second,” Huey said as he poked his head out of the room. “A portal opened and now we've got visitors from another world.”

There was a brief pause. “Are they dangerous?”

Huey pulled his head back. “Hostile or non-hostile?”

“Well, some call me a foxy mama and I've slain many a heart, kiddo,” Eda said with a wink.

Huey raised an eyebrow and glanced at Luz. “Non-hostile then?”

Luz nodded as Huey poked his head out again.

“They’re not dangerous, Mrs. Beakley!” he shouted.

“Alright, I’ll be up once these dishes have been dealt with,” the voice shouted back.

“You guys are oddly calm about this,” Luz said as she tilted her head.

Louie scoffed as he shoved his hands into the front pocket of his hoodie. “Please, on average we get at least one weird portal opening in our house a month.”

“It was twice last month,” Dewey replied and shivered. “I still can’t get that centaur’s song out of my head.”

"Averages, Dewford!"

“Okay, then,” Luz said, wondering to herself exactly what kind of life these ducks had.

Huey pointed to the mirror in Luz’s hand. “So, given the evidence, my hypothesis is that this is what created the portal.  It wasn't red, so I'm assuming it doesn't use the same method as the Solego circuit - is it magic?  Runic designs, or some sort of divine blessing?”

Luz blinked and blushed realizing she had almost forgotten she was holding it.

“Uh, yeah, again sorry, we kind of just found it and were experimenting,” Luz said as she held it up. “I’ll just turn so we can-”

“Now, hold up, kiddo,” Eda said with a smirk. “I’ve been to this world before and it’s actually pretty fun. A lot more accepting of avian people than the Boiling Isles, if you catch my drift.  It might actually be worth having a short visit here.”

“I can’t help but note you’re not asking our opinion here,” Louie asked.  "I should really start charging tolls on interdimensional travel..."

Dewey stepped forward and pointed. “More importantly will you or will you not come onto my show for an interview?”

“How much are you willing to pay?” Eda said.

“Nevermind that,” Webby said as she grinned at Luz. “Are you a magic user?”

“I’m, er, a witch in training,” Luz said as she rubbed the back of her neck. 

“Oooh, I should introduce you to Lena and Violet,” Webby continued. “We can compare notes - do you have a scrapbook of arcane secrets too?!”

“Oh really,” Luz said as her eyes sparked. That did sound like fun.

“Kids,” a female voice called out and another duck - female-sounding, wearing a pilot uniform - entered the room. “Beakley mentioned something about a portal-”

Suddenly, she gasped and pointed.  “Eda Clawthorne! Is that you?”

Eda frowned and tilted her head. “You look kind of familiar? Do I know you?  You're not a debt collector, right?”

The duck laughed and pointed at herself. “It’s me, Della Duck! Remember? I took your staff for a joyride? We had a bonding experience over nachos?”

Eda blinked, and a smile appeared as she snorted. “Della?! Ha! Wow, it’s been ages! You got old girl!”

Della laughed. “You're one to talk! Didn’t you have red hair?”

Eda snorted as she ran a hand through her hair. “True, but I am still a foxy mama though.  Silver is in.”

“I have several questions,” Huey asked.

“And I smell the start of a delicious backstory,” Luz added as she rubbed her hands.

“It’s not that big of a deal,” Della said. “Scrooge, Donald and I ran into her once during one of our adventures.”

Eda chuckled. “Yeah, that was a fun ride. Hey, did Scrooge ever get over the ‘you know what’?”

Della paused, and suddenly sucked air in and looked anywhere <i>but</i> Eda. “Yeah, about that. Great catching up and all, but you should probably leave before he hears that you’re here?”

Eda froze. “Y-you've got to be kidding.  Don’t tell me that old coot is still alive-”

“EDA CLAWTHORNE!”

All heads turned and Luz spotted an old duck wearing a red jacket, a top hat on his head and an angry scowl on his face as he pointed a cane at the visitors.

“YOU HAVE SOME NERVE SHOWING UP HERE!”

“Oh boy,” Eda said as she grabbed Luz’s arm. “Time to go, kiddo!”

“What?” Luz cried. “But what about-”

“Oh, no you don’t!” Scrooge yelled as he wrapped his cane handle around Eda’s wrist. “YOU AREN’T GOING ANYWHERE UNTIL YOU RETURN THE COPPER PIPES YOU STOLE YOU SHIFTY SHORTCHANGING CHARLATAN!”

“Copper pipes?” Louie asked in disbelief. “Really?  In this economy?”

Eda rolled her eyes as she wrapped her hands around the cane. “Aw come on, Scroogey no need to be so hostile-”

Scrooge snarled. “I have every right to be horrendously hostile you-”

“Even when I specifically came here - across the dimensional void - just to bring back those pipes?” Eda gestured to the corner of the room. “All six of them, right over there!”

“What?” Scrooge looked. “I don’t see-”

Eda kicked Scrooge off his cane and watched the duck tumble flat on his face.

“And that definitely makes it time to go!” Eda said as she took the mirror, twisted the handle and sparks started to fly. “Say your goodbyes, kid, because we are out of here!”

“Uh, okay,” Luz said as Eda pulled her towards the emerging portal. “Sorry about this!”

“No worries,” Webby said as Dewey helped Scrooge up. “Send me a letter! I've always wanted an extradimensional pen-pal!”

Luz could see Scrooge rallying to give chase, but her view was abruptly eclipsed by the swirling blue of the portal as she was pulled through. Both Eda and Luz collided at the foot of the couch as the portal disappeared behind them.

King sipped his hot chocolate as he peered over them from the couch.

“So!  How was the site of my future conquest?” he asked.

Luz pointed an arm up. “Not the human realm, but we met some friendly talking ducks and I got Eda backstory so I'm still calling it a win.”

“And I got a free cane,” Eda declared as she waved the cane up in the air.

Luz narrowed her eyes. “You should really give that back.”

Eda snarked. “Luz, trust me, that guy has a ton of these things.” She held up in the air and fiddled with the handle. “I wonder if-”

A laser blazed out of the cane's tip without warning. Hooty yelped, spiraling out of the way it shot through the wall behind him.

“...Oooh, Mama like,” Eda cooed, eyes sparkling as she raced outside. “Let’s see what this bad boy can do!”

“Mass destruction! Untold mayhem! Unfettered obliteration!  It's my turn next!” King shouted as he gave chase.

Luz sighed as she put down the mirror. “Alright, so...I can check off the mirror at least.  Not a way home, but not bad.  Maybe leave the Owl Lady here next time.”

Luz heard more blasts being fired, and the growing sounds of rampaging fires. She briefly considered going outside to reduce the carnage, but decided it might be better to write that letter to Webby instead.

[fanfiction-funtime]

Alexander Vodka lines

I did most of the characters, but some I don't know or genuinely can't think of anything. Hope this is good >-<

Hello: Hey there, your that Traveler fella ain’t ya? Hope I don't owe you copyrights for  the name. Hm? I don’t? Well then, what can I help ya with?

Adventures? Sure why not, I could use the inspiration.

Two names: You’re curious why I have two names? Well it's sort of a thing in Snezhnaya that officers and other high ranking people have two names, like how harbingers do. Since I’m a high ranking member of the Schneznayan authors association, well former member, I have the name “Eis Cay’zar” meaning “ice ruler”. And Alexander Vodka is a pen name. Hm? What's my resistance name and real one? Well now Traveler, a man must have some secrets.

Change of tone: Ah yes, people often find the way I change from more eloquent speech to more casual off putting. Well it's the same reason I wear two sets of clothes: sometimes I feel like looking like an old noir hero, other times I like looking like a new age caped crusader. Sometimes I like sounding high society, other times I enjoy sounding like I’m from Khaen’ria.

How do you know about Khaen’ria: Well I was looking for accents and found out about a place called “New York” or something, a bit of investigation and I discovered everything. My source? That's a secret, ehe.

Good morning: Mornin’ Traveler! What's in the mornin’ paper?

Noon: Lunch time, my favourite time of the day. Let’s go get some pizza, I’m famished!

Afternoon: Almost time to punch out, let's go knock some skulls first.

Night: *yawn* Today was fun, thanks buddy. Get some shut eye, or if you can't come meet me at (wanmin/angels share/the tea house), first rounds on me!

When it rains: I am so glad I got over my fear of contacts.

When it rains(with glasses outfit): Hey can we get under something? I can barely see!

When it stops raining: The smell that comes after rain has always been one of my favorites.

When it snows: Perfect weather to bundle up with a nice hot cup of hot chocolate!

When it stops snowing: Do you ever miss home, Traveler?

About freedom: I warned Barbados, you know that? I knew that as long as he saw it coming, Signora wouldn’t stand a chance. But he just looked at me and said, “good, when I’m gone mondstadt will be truly free of the gods”. That’s a man I’d follow to the depths of the abyss and back.

About Venti: Speaking of Barbados, he’s a great drinking buddy. Me and him knock back a couple hundred rounds whenever I’m in Mondstadt! Course I’m always paying the tab, but I consider it a way of repaying him for making songs about my books.

About Kaeya: The cavalry captain? He’s pretty cool if you ask me, modeled as Rex Mondoleon for the cover of a historical fiction book I made. But I’d still like to know what he’s hiding behind that smile.

About Diluc: Don’t tell him I told you this, but one time I found Diluc after he was hit by an abyss spell that made him drunk. While he was drunk he kept ranting about how sorry he is for kicking out his brother. The poor guy has all that forgiveness in him but he’s too afraid to let it out.

About Jean: The acting grandmaster of the knights is someone truly deserving of respect. She leads by being a good person and earning the respect of her people, and she has never once tried to cover up the mistakes of the knights. In fact if a knight makes a mistake she’ll rush out to fix it. Jean should be the grandmaster, not that crooked old bastard.

About Lisa: Lisa was my first friend in Mondstadt. She mailed me about getting copies of my books into the Mondstadt library, I said I’d do a signing to promote a new one, one thing led to another and now we have tea every ninth day of the month.

About Rosaria: Don’t tell anyone, but I’m very sure she’s a vampire. A nice one, but still.

About Barbara: Awe that little doll? I once saw her kill multiple fatui because they threatened some sick and injured travelers. So I think she’s a great person, takes compassion to save lives and guts to handle taking them as well.

About Bennett: Bennett? Yeah I know him, nice kid. He likes my books but kept breaking them, so now I make special enchanted ones so he can’t break them even if he tried.

About Razor: The guardian of wolvendom? He’s a weird one alright, but he’s not a bad guy. I taught him how to read and write.

About Fischl: That crazy kid? I don’t care what everyone else says, she’s nice. People need to learn to just leave people alone, she’s not hurting anyone with her persona.

About Noelle: You will never find someone more dedicated too...well anything than Noelle is too the knights and her training.

About Klee: Klee and I are great friends! Nothing is more stimulating than massive explosions!

About Amber: She always has interesting stories to tell, like one time where she got rid of some bandits by making a dummy merchant cart filled with explosives! Or the time she had to help a kid get her pet giant snake out from the cathedral!

About Zhongli: Heh, he thinks he’s slick, but I know he’s Rex Lapis. Gotta say I kinda hate him for just giving up his gnosis, however he did it to free his people so I can’t be mad.

About Ninnguang: Never much cared for economics because I don’t know much about ‘em, so I can’t say anything about her business sense. But I can say that she’s a great leader who puts her people first.

About Keqing: Haven’t talked to her enough to know much, but she’s dedicated to her people and that's enough for me. Her dislike of blind faith in the gods is definitely enough to make me want to get to know her better though.

About Qiqi: Qiqi’s a nice kid, I don’t care what anyone says her being a zombie doesn’t make her bad.

About Baizhu: Snake man? Nice guy, helps me be accurate in my books. Always worry about him though, one hot breeze and he’s out like a light.

About Xingqiu: Xingqiu always tries to hide his good deeds, and while I can respect anonymity I can’t let a hero go unsung. So I’ve written multiple short stories about him using a different name, and put in the beginnings that it’s based on a true story.

About Chongyun: His popsicles are great inventions, I’ve played around with the idea a bit and made flavored ones. So far I’ve got strawberry and grape down and am working on this weird fruit called a..Banananana? I think?

About Beidou: Captain Beidou is so cool! She tells me stories about her journeys out to see and I write about them, but after seeing her in action I can’t really say that I do her justice.

About Kazuha: Kazuha has suffered so much, yet he refuses to give up and curl up away from the world when he so easily could. I have immense respect for him.

About Xianling: You’d be surprised at how good slime and boar tusk can be.

About Xiao: I’ve written down many myths and legends of the yaksha, but sadly I've never seen him in person.

About Verr Goldet: Oh she’s great company! Good business sense, and always polite.

About Gorou: Many people rightly attribute the Resistance’s survival and victories to general Kokomi, but it’s wrong to say general Gorou isn’t a brilliant strategist. He knows how to rally his men against impossible odds, and how to keep them standing against them. I’d follow general Gorou into battle any day.

About Ayaka: Ayaka seems so lonely, I hope when this is all done she can have some form of social life.

About Thoma: Thoma’s as cool as he seems. He always has a level head, and solves problems smoothly and without issues.

About Yoimia: KABOOOM!

About Kokomi: One time I was doing an interview of her excellency, to boost morale and draw new members. I intended on asking for her autograph, only for her to ask for mine! I’ve been riding that high for a while now and still ain’t come down.

About Signora: I hate fatui, but without that she has some good qualities: most of her power is her own unlike most other harbingers, and she’s a sharp dresser. Plus she’s actually justified in her choice to join the fatui, not excused, but isolation can justify many crimes in my book. But no matter what I can’t forgive her. She attacked my friend without a chance for him to fight back, and was unfairly cruel. Nothing can justify that, and I will not forgive her as long as she remains unapologetic for her cowardly cruelty.

About Childe: Fatui are scum, but Childe’s probably the best of them: he personally tries to keep civilians and the weak out of fatui business, and he’s only in it to make sure his family lives well. He also is powerful on his own, but most of his strength is the Tsaritsa’s well deserved gifts. Still though, he’s just a single stressful day from losing all his morals. I can’t leave the fate of my homeland to a madman like him, not unless he gets therapy.

About Scaramouche: Scaramouche...that bastard, it’s been five years and he still owes me 30,061 mora.

About the Fatui: The fatui are really just people who are lost or genuinely believe they’re in the right, and while I can sympathize and respect many of them I can't agree nor can I just stand by and watch. The grunts usually aren’t that bad, honestly they’re more like underpaid graduates new to the workforce, but the fighters you see daily? Almost all of them are scum no better than raiders, and debt collectors are the worst of them because they’ll do anything they can to scam you out of everything in their contracts.

About us-commissions: You know, if you’d like to commission a biography it’s 100 mora per ten pages.

About us-inspiration: You’re a font of inspiration for me, ya know that?

About us-fellow rebels: I’ve been with ya enough to know that this path you’re on, the one to find your sis/bro, you’re fighting against something far beyond my ability to deal with. I won’t abandon you, I’ll be here every step of the way.

About us-friends: We’ve been through a lot pal, I’m glad to call you my friend. Please, call me my rebel name: it’s Belgrade, named after the city where some very brave men took their last stand against oppression.

Hobbies: Well you have reading and writing, otherwise? Can't think of anything.

Favorite food: Grilled tiger fish, come get it while it’s hot!

Least favorite food: I really wanna try it, but I can’t have almond tofu. Or any nuts. Closes my throat right up.

Something to share: Hehe, I got embarrassing dirt on all the harbingers. Signora? She has a Tsaritsa body pillow. Scaramouche? He knits sweaters for his pet pig, cute but he hates letting people know. And Childe? Hoo man, the pics I’ve got on him have put a pretty mora on my head.

About me: Hey have you seen my dice? I wanted to teach the mondstadt kids how to play them...hm? What?! No, not gambling! It’s, uh, a tad embarrassing...h-hey look! Literally anything else, let's pay attention to it!

About me II: Alright! These rolls are great, can’t wait to use them next game. I’m so proud of Fischl, so young yet so imaginative. She’s already-ah! T-traveler! What are you doing?..

You know I’m the one meant to be learning the secrets here.

About me III: Back in Snezhnaya, everyone looks down on things that don’t “conform” where even the most rigid of nations like Inazuma have stopped caring. Adults can't play games, men can’t wear dresses, can’t even have a “weird” sense of humor. No laws against it, but being outcasted is...it’s not good…

About me IV: I wish I grew up in Mondstadt. The kids there are so free to be themselves, and the adults aren’t pressured to be nothing more than working hands. It’s not perfect, after all people are rude to Fischl and Benny for being “different”, but it’s better that’s for sure.

About me V: Hey traveler...this is...no it’s not embarrassing. You’re my friend and I have no reason to be embarrassed by wanting to enjoy time with you! Fischl’s going to run a pen and paper dice game, ever played one? It’s super fun, you get to be anything you want really, and it’s a great way to bond.

You will? Great! I’ll help you make a character!

Alexander’s troubles: It’s so hard to find publishers these days. Noone wants an actual plot, they just want twist after twist. What’s up with that?! Shock value is no substitute for characters you love living fulfilling lives.

Happy birthday: Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday you crazy bastard, happy birthday to you! Seriously pal, you put yourself in harm's way every day it seems, we literally met when you were fighting an actual god! Actually, know what? No danger all day! We’re wrapping ourselves in blankets and just relaxing!

Feelings about ascension-intro: woah, somethin’ feels different. I like it!

Feelings about ascension-building up: man, I’m feeling inspired all of a sudden! Hey traveller, give me a prompt!

Feelings about ascension-climax: HA! I don’t know what high I’m riding but I like it, I just finished writing a whole book series!

Feelings about ascension-conclusion: WOO! YEAH! ULRICH MIKAEL KEEPS WINNIN’!-I-I meant Alexand-ah forget it, I’m feelin’ too good to care!

OCs:

About Louis: That crazy inventor guy from Fontaine? I heard he got used by the fatui, damn shame that. Noone deserves to have their heart played with like that.

About Spritefather: You ever heard of Spritefather? I’ve only heard legends, but the fanmail I keep getting tells me that sometimes things are only legendary until someone writes them down.

About the Storytraveler: There’s this woman who travels from universe to universe to fix things, she’s in Teyvat right now. You should meet her, really nice person. But her powers are a bit weird, why does she transform like that? It takes so much time!

_____________________

Tagging: @love-psxlm, @storytravelled, @genshin-obsessed, @golden-wingseos

[immanuelmbgv896-blog]

5 Newbie Gta 5 Mobi Blunders You Can Deal With Today

Hong Kong as well as mainland China players clash on GTA V.

Komentarze dla GTA 5 Masz jakieś wskazówki? Coś Cię drażni? Podziel się tym z innymi użytkownikami serwisu:.

When the automobile is flipped upside down, a new feature likewise permits the gamer to roll-over a lorry. One more one-of-a-kind attribute is that the character switching feature is performed in a Google Earth-styled manner and was displayed during a Game Informer trial, which was revealed to have run smoothly as well as without lag. The PC, PlayStation 4 as well as Xbox One variations offer an unique attribute, the first-person mode, where the whole video game can be played through the eyes of the lead character. Cars have actually described interiors different from one another; capturing is like that of a dedicated FPS game. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of Grand Theft Auto Online allow as much as 16 concurrent players, while the PlayStation 4, Xbox One and also Windows variations enable approximately 30 concurrent players.

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There are also submarines that gamers have the ability to utilize to explore the midsts of the Pacific Ocean. The Rhino from previous GTA titles has returned, including a new complex intending system and also a sensible representation of a container.

Ways to Play.

Grand Theft Auto V for PC is offered for purchase on Immediate Pc gaming for a portion of its retail price. You will get a main trick and be able to play the game in seconds. The game is set in the fictional community of San Andreas which is based loosely on generic southern The golden state life. While much of the game's scripted action happens in the city, the globe is a lot bigger than previous GTA offerings, and players can explore easily.

This game is really fun, has several tasks alongside the major tale and also I suggest it to individuals who enjoy single-player video games. Grand Theft Auto V additionally includes Grand Theft Auto Online, the ever-evolving and also dynamic Grand Theft Auto universe with online bet approximately 30 gamers, consisting of all existing gameplay upgrades and also content released because the launch of Grand Theft Auto Online. Grand Theft Auto V received "global recognition" evaluations on Metacritic getting a metascore of 96/100 on PC and 97/100 on PS3, Xbox 360, PS4, and Xbox One. On whatoplay.com, it receives an aggregatee score (playscore) of 8.62 on COMPUTER, 9.29 on PS3, 9.64 on Xbox 360, 9.32 on PS4, and also 8.99 on Xbox One.

Download Grand Theft Auto V.

Grand Theft Auto V is an action-adventure game played from either a third-person or first-person viewpoint. [b] Gamers total objectives-- direct scenarios with set goals-- to proceed through the story. Grand Theft Auto 5 is probably among the very best games I have actually ever before played. The story is great and the online setting is really enjoyable as well as a really great experience.

Grand Theft Auto V broadens the multiplayer function that existed in Grand Theft Auto IV. The multiplayer is treated as an additional title as well as is called Grand Theft Auto Online. In GTA Online, multiplayer teams from Max Payne 3 can be rollovered to GTA V. GTA V has actually multiplayer attributes connected to Superstar's Social Club. Grand Theft Auto V has even more lorries than in any kind of various other Grand Theft Auto game to date, with a range of vehicles, consisting of planes, helicopters, automobiles, energy lorries, emergency service automobiles, motorcycles, and jet skis. Gamers have the ability to fly aircrafts, which was a cut attribute from Grand Theft Auto IV because of the minimal dimension of the map, but the attribute is currently offered in Grand Theft Auto V as a result of the much bigger, open globe map.

Testimonial Grand Theft Auto V (2120 Testimonials).

Grand Theft Auto V has the best range of very vehicles to date, in addition to one of the most amount of automobiles, in the whole GTA series. The Cheetah is one of the few cars to show up most of GTA video games. New tasks have been included, such as yoga, triathlons, jet winter sports, parachuting, scuba, golf, as well as tennis diving. Random occasions have actually likewise been contributed to the game and can show up anytime as the player discovers around the map. The mobile phone has actually returned from Grand Theft Auto IV yet is now just used for calling the player's contacts, surfing the internet, and fast conserving.

The game Saints Row IV has a DLC pack of clothing and tools named GAT V, which is a recommendation to the initials of Grand Theft Auto V. The publisher, Deep Silver launched it totally free on PC, mocking GTA V's absence from the platform at the time. Gamers can ragdoll by pushing X/Square/SPACE (Xbox/PlayStation/PC) then B/Circle/R (Xbox/Playstation/PC). Multiplayer holds up to sixteen individuals on Xbox 360 as well as PlayStation 3, as well as thirty players on the Xbox One, PlayStation 4 as well as COMPUTER variations.

Playing as a protester.

Superstar Games, the pc gaming firm behind GTA V, did not promptly respond to a request for remark. The Hong Kong protests are being played out on Grand Theft Auto (GTA) V online.

The story is centred on the heist series, and also numerous objectives include capturing as well as driving gameplay. A "wanted" system controls the aggressiveness of law enforcement feedback to gamers who dedicate criminal offenses. Grand Theft Auto Online, the video game's on the internet multiplayer setting, lets up to 30 gamers participate in a selection of different participating as well as competitive game modes. wonderful video game can play it like each day fun to be able to play with close friends and also have the ability to download and install great mods as well as have a good time.

, if You Can not Do the Time ...

The game sold 11,210,000 copies and made $800,000,000 on its very first day of launch, setting lots of records, and at some point making $1,000,000,000 within 3 days of the game's launch. The video game is played from either a third-person or first-person viewpoint, and its globe is browsed on foot or by lorry. Gamers manage the 3 lead protagonists throughout single-player and also button amongst them, both throughout and outside goals.

The capturing technicians are much better in regards to the feel of the auto mechanics as well as larger contrasted to the melee auto mechanics in the game, that being said, melee has been boosted over the previous titles too. As opposed to the old means of selecting via all the tools sequentially, there is now a Tool Wheel, which resembles the one included in Red Dead Redemption, an additional video game made by Superstar Gamings. Grand Theft Auto V draws inspirations from various Superstar titles in the past, including Max Payne 3, Twelve O'clock At Night Club, Manhunt, as well as Red Dead Redemption. As one of the most waited for computer game titles to be launched in 2013, the game was widely anticipated prior to its release. Grand Theft Auto V was released to global praise, holding ratings of 96 and also above on MetaCritic and GameRankings, along with obtaining excellent scores from over 30 customers.

Like all previous Grand Theft Auto video games, Grand Theft Auto V has dated conflict, though has been checked out by some as substantially even more questionable than its precursors. Players can play as pets (enhanced version), unlike in any kind of various other Grand Theft Auto video game.

Check out all Autos, Motorcycles, Helicopters, Planes, Boats, and all other automobiles. See what are the fastest vehicles in GTA Online, one of the most pricey, or the overall top carrying out vehicles in GTA V. GTA V is the initial video game in the collection since Grand Theft Auto Development where the gamer can store all the weapons in their stock instead of replacing them. Grand Theft Auto V is the very first game in the franchise to include in-game incidental songs (not counting cutscenes, debts as well as time out menus, as several earlier games had incidental music for these aforementioned sequences).

Certainly among the very best video games out there right now and can not await the launch of GTA 6. this game has a small cost for all things that it uses, believe me, you won ´ t regreet acquiring it and also pls inform a good friend to do it with you. In GTA 5 you can see the largest as well as the most comprehensive world ever developed by Superstar Games. Additionally the chance to affect the life as well as actions of three major characters. This mix of a number of characters history will certainly make the game as amazing and also interesting as possible.

Wszystkie piosenki z odświeżonego GTA V - zobacz kogo usłyszysz.

Giving people the center finger is one more new function the player can use while in a car. Superstar suggested that the player do this in different areas around Los Santos to see the outcome; depending on where the player goes to, they will certainly get varied reactions from pedestrians. Grand Theft Auto V progresses almost every technician that was in the previous Grand Theft Auto video games.

The Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and also Xbox One variations add one more 162 tracks to the in-game radio. The first-person sight is only offered in the Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and also Xbox One variations of the game. Staffs win multiplayer suits to make experience factors as well as climb up on-line leaderboards.

Buy Grand Theft Auto V Rockstar.

The COMPUTER version, at first set up for synchronised release with the console variations, was delayed up until 14 April 2015. According to Rockstar, it called for extra development time for "polish".

Before launch, it won Most Expected Video game at the 2012 Spike Video Game Awards. The video game was testimonial collectors Metacritic as well as GameRankings' highest-rated for the year 2013. The video game appeared on numerous year-end checklists of 2013's best video games, receiving success from independent journalist Tom Chick, CNET, Edge, the 31st Golden Joystick Awards, the fifth Yearly Inside Video Gaming Honors the Spike VGX 2013 Awards, Angle Magazine and also Time. It was named the most effective Xbox Video Game by Canada.com, GameSpot, and IGN, and the Best Multiplatform Video Game by Destructoid.

Three days after its release, the video game ranked 2nd on IGN's "Leading 25 Xbox 360 Gamings" listing. Editor Ryan McCaffrey took into consideration that the open globe's range and detail was successful most of other Xbox 360 games. He called the game "a triumph both for players and for the medium itself, and it deserves its runaway success".

Grand Theft Auto V.

The Xbox One as well as PlayStation 4 versions were released on November 18th, 2014, and also was later on have a peek here launched on April 14th, 2015 for the COMPUTER. A re-release of the video game was revealed for Microsoft Windows (COMPUTER), PlayStation 4 as well as Xbox One at E3 2014. This improved variation includes a boosted draw range, finer appearance details, denser website traffic, updated climate effects, and new wild animals and also plants.

Cars.

It includes a brand-new on-foot first-person sight alternative, which called for the advancement team to overhaul the computer animation system to fit first-person gameplay. The PlayStation 4 and also Xbox One versions were launched on 18 November 2014.

Grand Theft Auto Online.

Superstar released a technological patch on 5 October in an effort to solve the issues, but issues continued the 2nd week complying with launch as some players reported their personality progression as having vanished. Another technical spot was launched on 10 October combating the concerns, and Superstar offered a GTA$ 500,000 (in-game money) stimulation to the accounts of all gamers linked to Online given that launch as compensation. Due to the widespread technological concerns present at launch, numerous customers complained their Grand Theft Auto Online experience yet typically acknowledged its flexible exploration as well as vibrant material as toughness. Grand Theft Auto V got multiple nominations as well as honors from pc gaming publications.

In November 2013, Hardcore Player put the video game third on their "Top 100 Games of the Generation" list. They mentioned its enhanced capturing and also driving auto mechanics over its predecessors, and considered the multiple lead character layout "a welcome modification of pace" that could come to be an eighth-generation video gaming standard. In December, The Daily Telegraph noted the video game amongst their "50 best games of the console generation". They called it a "cultural behemoth" that "will certainly be Superstar's long-term tradition". Several players reported link difficulties as well as game ices up during load displays.

Duration.

Grand Theft Auto V (additionally called Grand Theft Auto Five, GTA 5, GTA V, or GTAV) is a video game created by Rockstar North. It is the fifteenth installation in the Grand Theft Auto series and also the successor of Grand Theft Auto IV. The original version was launched on September 17th, 2013 for the Xbox 360 as well as PlayStation 3.

Grand Theft Auto V additionally comes with Grand Theft Auto Online, the ever-evolving as well as vibrant Grand Theft Auto world for numerous gamers. With the large video game globe and also liquid auto mechanics of Grand Theft Auto V as a structure, Grand Theft Auto Online increases and also develops with normal content updates produced by Rockstar Games as well as the Grand Theft Auto community. Plante observed that the game would "bridge in between video games' existing and also the future", as well as proclaimed it "the closure of this generation, and the benchmark for the following". VideoGamer.com's Simon Miller considered it "the utmost swansong for this console cycle" that would certainly "cast a lengthy darkness over the next".

The COMPUTER version is capable of 60 frameworks per 2nd gameplay at 4K resolution, and also the Rockstar Editor lets gamers edit and also catch gameplay videos. Plans to create single-player downloadable web content were later on junked as the group focused resources on Grand Theft Auto Online and also Red Dead Redemption 2.

Conflict (missions).

rand Theft Auto V is an action-adventure computer game developed by Rockstar North and also released by Superstar Gamings. It was released in September 2013 for PlayStation 3 as well as Xbox 360, in November 2014 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, and also in April 2015 for Microsoft Windows.

[ramajmedia]

James Bond: 5 Title Suggestions That Were Better Than No Time To Die (& 5 That Were Worse)

There’s been a new trend in Hollywood recently where a studio will withhold the title of an exciting upcoming blockbuster until just a couple of months before their release. Star Wars: Episode IX was only officially named The Rise of Skywalker a couple of months ago and Avengers 4 wasn’t called Endgame until the first trailer hit last December. The latest such movie is Bond 25, which is set to finally hit theaters next February, a full five years after Spectre was released, under the title No Time to Die. In that half-decade of radio silence, many Bond fans suggested their own ideas for the title of the 25th movie.

RELATED: Everything We Know (So Far) About Bond 25

Here are five Bond 25 title suggestions that were better than No Time To Die, along with five that were worse.

10 Better: All the Time in the World

This one suits the plot of a retired Bond being reluctantly pulled back into the field. It’s also a good name for a finale and this new Bond movie is set to be Daniel Craig’s final time playing 007. Usually, a “finale” isn’t necessary in the Bond franchise, since each movie stands on its own, but since Spectre insisted on tying Craig’s movies together in a long-running and supposedly cohesive narrative, a finale is necessary for this run of Bond movies.

All the Time in the World sounds more like a send-off than No Time to Die, and for that reason, it would make a better title for Daniel Craig’s last movie in the role of 007.

9 Worse: 007

This one was suggested by a fan on Reddit based on the fact that the final Wolverine movie (at least in Hugh Jackman’s series) was called Logan and the sixth Die Hard movie is rumored to be called McClane.

But the Bond franchise’s titles have never followed trends (Casino Royale very almost did with the working title Bond Begins borrowed from Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins, but the producers wisely decided to change it) – they’ve always followed their own style. 007 isn’t a very Bond-y title. Ian Fleming would never have named one of his novels 007; at least No Time to Die sounds like a James Bond title.

8 Better: License Renewed

Bond fans didn’t want the new movie to follow the “edgy” trend that Daniel Craig’s movies have been following for the past couple with slick one-word titles, but then a superfluous title like No Time to Die seems like it’s pandering to fans and yearning for an era of Bond movies that’s simply over. License Renewed seems like a nice middle ground. It’s short and sweet, like Craig’s latest movies’ titles, and it’s not long and pontificating in a desperate attempt to sound like an Ian Fleming title.

But it does sound cool and it does allude to the Bond mythology, almost hinting at a reboot that will start fresh. As Craig’s last movie, this won’t be a fresh start, but it should strive to be a refreshing change after the disappointment of Spectre.

7 Worse: Risico

Bond fans have been waiting for the 007 producers to use this as-yet-unused Ian Fleming title for a while, but it’s hard to see why fans are pushing so hard for it. It doesn’t sound particularly riveting – or, worse yet, particularly Bond-y – and it only applies to a certain story that the movie almost definitely isn’t adapting. It would fit in with the one-word trend set by Skyfall and Spectre, but the word isn’t as captivating or mysterious as those words.

RELATED: Bond: 10 Actors That Could Fill 007's Shoes

Fans spent months trying to figure out what Skyfall meant. It actually turned out to be quite a disappointing answer – it was Bond’s childhood home in Scotland – but either way, the title inspired intrigue in the fans in a way that Risico simply wouldn’t.

6 Better: The Spy That Never Sleeps

When we catch up with Bond in his 25th big-screen outing, he’ll be retired and living in Jamaica before being pulled back into action. The title The Spy That Never Sleeps would suit this premise perfectly. He tried to retire – in other words, rest, and “sleep” whenever he wanted – but it didn’t take and he was brought back in for another mission, proving that he really is the spy that never sleeps.

The Spy That Never Sleeps might sound a little more like a John le Carré novel than an Ian Fleming novel, but Fleming still used “The Spy...” titling formula for The Spy Who Loved Me.

5 Worse: Property of a Lady

Based on a number of factors – the movie’s Valentine’s Day release date, Daniel Craig’s character arc leading him to settle down into marriage, Eon’s promise that Bond 25 will address the #MeToo movement – some fans proposed Property of a Lady as a title.

Property of a Lady is one of the few titles from Ian Fleming’s original James Bond stories that the movies have yet to use (the movies have rarely adapted the actual storylines; they usually just take a title and come up with their own plot), so it makes sense. But it’s just not as exciting a title as No Time to Die.

4 Better: Carte Blanche

This title is taken from a non-Fleming Bond novel. No one was ever expecting the movie to take the plot of the novel, but there’s an elegance to the title that fans like. It’s suave, it’s sophisticated, and it’s relevant to the world of espionage.

Ever since the James Bond movies started connecting with audiences and inspiring filmmakers, there have been dozens of pale imitations, each with their own shallow attempt to replicate a Bond-style title. Frankly, No Time to Die sounds like one of these rip-offs. Carte Blanche doesn’t – it has all the qualities of a great Bond title.

3 Worse: The Death Collector

A couple of fans suggested this title, which is likely a pun based on the term “debt collector,” but it’s a stretch, it doesn’t really make sense, and it’s not a very good title. Words like “die” and “kill” are often included in Bond titles, but as verbs, these are more dynamic. “Death” just sounds grim.

RELATED: 10 James Bond Villains, Ranked By How Evil Their Plans Were

We don’t want to focus too much on the human lives that Bond ends in these movies, because it’s not fun. The Death Collector sounds more like a slasher movie or a grisly crime thriller about the hunt for a serial killer than a globe-trotting, action-packed spy adventure.

2 Better: For Queen and Country

This one sounds like a real James Bond title from the Sean Connery/Roger Moore era (i.e. the era of classic Bond) in a way that none of the other Bond 25 title suggestions – and most of Daniel Craig’s existing Bond films – have failed to do. But it’s not so old-fashioned that it would feel out of place in today’s moviegoing landscape.

It would make a good title for Craig’s final Bond movie, because as the finale, it’ll need to wrap up his character arc and give him a send-off. Naming the movie after the reason that Bond travels the world and risks his life and takes down megalomaniacal villains would’ve been a good jumping-off point for that.

1 Worse: Shatterhand

This one was rumored to be the real title, or at least the working title, before those rumors are swiftly shut down by the Bond producers. Shatterhand is taken from Dr. Guntram Shatterhand, one of the many aliases used over the years by Blofeld. It would follow in the footsteps of the last couple of titles, Skyfall and Spectre – one-word titles beginning with “S” – but neither of those are classic Bond titles.

A classic Bond title is a zippy turn of phrase, usually containing the word “die,” so it was about time for the single-word “S” title trend to be broken and what better way to break it than with a phrase containing the word “die?”

NEXT: The Rise Of Skywalker: 5 Star Wars IX Title Predictions That Were Better (& 5 That Were Worse)

source https://screenrant.com/james-bond-better-worse-title-suggestions-no-time-die/

[how2to18]

GLOSS HIS NOVELS from Amazon blurbs and you might call Grady Hendrix a gimmick writer. He typically pairs a funny topic with a horror veneer (Ikea + evil prison warden ghost: Horrorstör, 1980s teen flick + possession: My Best Friend’s Exorcism), and his books often include a range of engaging paratexts (a mock Ikea catalog, a faux high school yearbook). But calling Hendrix a gimmick writer does a huge disservice to one of contemporary fiction’s most sensitive observers of the horrors that arise around — and sometimes because of — our efforts to grow closer with other humans. Through all the horror and tumult, in the humor and the nostalgia animating the psychological growth of his focal characters, Hendrix brings an encyclopedic awareness of the ways capital weighs down the labor force, crushing blue-collar workers in their daily efforts to keep ahead of the poverty line day after day.

Hendrix’s newest novel, We Sold Our Souls, won’t do much to rescue him from the gimmick writer gloss, but it puts the truth to the Wall Street Journal’s description of the writer as a “national treasure” in their review of his previous novel, My Best Friend’s Exorcism. We Sold Our Souls explores heavy metal, its fantasy allegories, and the horrors those allegories reveal. It explores the experience of the economically oppressed — the crappy jobs folks work just so they can work another day, the dreams forgotten (because who has time for dreams between shifts?), the desire to make art that bares the raw emotion and pain of poverty and the anger with a world that seems not to care. It addresses the inauthenticity and carefully crafted emotional landscape of “sellout” artists, and the underbelly of a violent America. It’s about Black Iron Mountain and soul-sucking corpse beasties. It’s rad.

We Sold Our Souls tells the story of Kris Pulaski in the wake of touring with her 1990s heavy metal band Dürt Würk (after “dirt worker,” a nickname for graveyard diggers), starting 20 years after her best friend, band co-founder, and lead singer Terry Hunter stiffed her, Scottie Rocket (rhythm guitar), Bill (drums), and Tuck (bass) with contracts that gave Terry sole rights to the band’s discography. That contract transformed him into the Blind King, headliner of nu metal supergroup Koffin (think KISS meets Slipknot meets Linkin Park), now the world’s most famous band. Working a night clerk shift at a Best Western in one dying Rust Belt town at a time, ostracized from her former bandmates because of her actions on the poorly remembered “contract night” all those years ago, Kris lives the life of a nobody. But seeing billboards for Koffin’s farewell tour lights a fire under Kris to seek out what she and the band deserve.

What follows is a cross-country adventure through conspiracy theories, metalheads, and intense scenes of visceral horror, as Kris sets out to figure out what really happened on contract night. In the first third of the novel, she meets up with her former band members, a reunion that ultimately ends in Scottie Rocket’s suicide and the murder of his family by UPS deliverymen assassins. Kris falls into the arms of Tuck, who schemes with Bill to imprison her in an elite, cult-like rehab facility named the Well. The Well is built atop the bones of the Witch House, a derelict rental in the Kentucky wilderness where Dürt Würk used to record, and which also served as the long-ago site of contract night.

The middle third depicts Kris’s escape from the Well. Overcoming mind-numbing drugs, Kris beats up her captors with her guitar and discovers creepy monsters slurping out the souls of the rehab inmates, eventually remembering that the same beasts carried out this vile procedure on her and Dürt Würk all those years ago. She descends into the eponymous Well, crawling her way through pipes and caves and guano and bugs and darkness to escape rehab.

In the final third, we see Kris down and out in small-town America; she’s missed Koffin’s farewell tour, but the tour proved so successful that Koffin is hosting Hellstock ’19, a 50th-anniversary celebration of Woodstock staged with heavy metal bands. Kris believes Terry is using Hellstock to sell more souls, the same way he sold Dürt Würk’s souls on contract night. More cross-country hijinks ensue, including a mob of Koffin fans violently tearing apart Kris’s friend JD at a rest stop. In the end, Kris reunites with Terry onstage and together with Tuck they play Dürt Würk’s final album, Troglodyte. No concert-goer souls are sold, the performance and the album save the world, and Kris rises to become a heavy metal legend.

We Sold Our Souls provides a convoluted but intelligible journey through the back-and-forth of life in poor America, Kris going where she must to do what she can to survive and try to stop Terry. Troglodyte serves as the heart of the story and its critique of capitalism. Like many death metal albums of the genre’s heyday, a fantasy story forms the underlying narrative: the tale of hero Troglodyte who rises up to throw off the chains of Black Iron Mountain’s oppression. Kris, Scottie Rocket, and JD believe Troglodyte tells the story of the world, forming the blueprint for Kris’s quest to defeat Terry and the soul-sucking monsters. Hendrix describes the album track-for-track throughout Kris’s journey, detailing the sounds, the guitar runs, the drum beats, the vocals. For Kris, the lyrics become a mantra and battle cry; in the course of her journey, they lead the way, as she and JD perform close readings of the lyrics that would leave any English professor giddy.

Between chapters, Hendrix provides paratexts — snippets of interviews with Dürt Würk, radio transcripts of discussions about Troglodyte — that drive home the album’s legendary status in the heavy metal scene. After contract night, Terry destroyed all but a few copies that circulated among bootleggers. Troglodyte told the truth about the soul-suckers and Black Iron Mountain, the force to which all successful musicians and sellouts owe their millions. Kris brings the legend of Troglodyte to half-a-million metal fans. The lyrics are bad and the sound isn’t great, but the music is profound; it’s authentic, and bares truth as critique.

The novel and its fascination with heavy metal and the mythology of Troglodyte poke subtle fun at the heavy metal genre and its self-seriousness, but also embrace that seriousness as a platform for critique. As with most horror novels, the monsters and moments of fear and revulsion in We Sold Our Souls are both affective, provoking emotional responses, and also deeply allegorical. Hendrix’s corpse-like soul-suckers, who gain access to souls through the fine-print stipulations in contracts, force black bile out of their unconscious victims and slowly lap it away with hideous tongues. They are creepy, the bread and butter of horror. The pages-long description of Kris’s escape from the Well is the most terrifying thing I’ve ever read and shares much in common with a similar scene from his earlier novel Horrorstör. Hendrix knows his audience; being trapped, knowing death is coming and we can do nothing to stop it, creates more visceral terror than any monster, and he writes the terror expertly. The entrapment Kris feels, Black Iron Mountain literally pressing her down with no space to move, her body breaking and her lungs collapsing — this too is allegory, for capitalism, for bills, for living paycheck-to-paycheck, knowing the next paycheck might not come.

Hendrix’s exploration of capitalism as horror in We Sold Our Souls restores to sight all that we are blind to, all that we blind ourselves to (sometimes purposefully, to make it all bearable), as we sell our souls, not to some Christian devil but to Black Iron Mountain, that specter of capital that takes, takes, takes. Hendrix’s description of Kris busking, purged of hope and lost in middle America after her escape from the Well, captures this deftly:

Every song was the same song. These were songs for people who were scared to open their mailboxes, whose phones calls never brought good news. These were songs for people standing at the crossroads waiting for the bus. People who bounced between debt collectors and dollar stores, collection agencies and housing offices, family court and emergency rooms, waiting for a check that never came, waiting for a court date, waiting for a call back, waiting for a break, crushed beneath the wheel.

The songs she plays are not the same — they range from heavy metal (Black Sabbath, Zeppelin) to the blues (Lead Belly) to protest anthems (Phil Ochs, Woody Guthrie) — but they share a purpose summarized in the album at the center of We Sold Our Souls. The mythology of Dürt Würk’s Troglodyte rears its head again and again in similar passages that capture in eerie encyclopedic detail, so painfully familiar to those of us who are/were those people, the life of economic hardship in the United States.

Kris, her nameless busking partner, the dead homeless woman in the graveyard, the half million swarming at Hellstock ’19: we are all Troglodyte waiting for Poincare’s butterfly to remind us that this is not all there is. We have to crawl out, escape Black Iron Mountain, and open the door with the cerulean hue. Grady Hendrix reminds us in We Sold Our Souls that there’s a way and a hope. Metal never dies.

¤

Sean Guynes-Vishniac is a PhD student in the Department of English at Michigan State University.

The post We’re All Dürt Würkers: Grady Hendrix’s Heavy Metal Horror appeared first on Los Angeles Review of Books.

from Los Angeles Review of Books http://bit.ly/2shkMja via IFTTT

[topmixtrends]

GLOSS HIS NOVELS from Amazon blurbs and you might call Grady Hendrix a gimmick writer. He typically pairs a funny topic with a horror veneer (Ikea + evil prison warden ghost: Horrorstör, 1980s teen flick + possession: My Best Friend’s Exorcism), and his books often include a range of engaging paratexts (a mock Ikea catalog, a faux high school yearbook). But calling Hendrix a gimmick writer does a huge disservice to one of contemporary fiction’s most sensitive observers of the horrors that arise around — and sometimes because of — our efforts to grow closer with other humans. Through all the horror and tumult, in the humor and the nostalgia animating the psychological growth of his focal characters, Hendrix brings an encyclopedic awareness of the ways capital weighs down the labor force, crushing blue-collar workers in their daily efforts to keep ahead of the poverty line day after day.

Hendrix’s newest novel, We Sold Our Souls, won’t do much to rescue him from the gimmick writer gloss, but it puts the truth to the Wall Street Journal’s description of the writer as a “national treasure” in their review of his previous novel, My Best Friend’s Exorcism. We Sold Our Souls explores heavy metal, its fantasy allegories, and the horrors those allegories reveal. It explores the experience of the economically oppressed — the crappy jobs folks work just so they can work another day, the dreams forgotten (because who has time for dreams between shifts?), the desire to make art that bares the raw emotion and pain of poverty and the anger with a world that seems not to care. It addresses the inauthenticity and carefully crafted emotional landscape of “sellout” artists, and the underbelly of a violent America. It’s about Black Iron Mountain and soul-sucking corpse beasties. It’s rad.

We Sold Our Souls tells the story of Kris Pulaski in the wake of touring with her 1990s heavy metal band Dürt Würk (after “dirt worker,” a nickname for graveyard diggers), starting 20 years after her best friend, band co-founder, and lead singer Terry Hunter stiffed her, Scottie Rocket (rhythm guitar), Bill (drums), and Tuck (bass) with contracts that gave Terry sole rights to the band’s discography. That contract transformed him into the Blind King, headliner of nu metal supergroup Koffin (think KISS meets Slipknot meets Linkin Park), now the world’s most famous band. Working a night clerk shift at a Best Western in one dying Rust Belt town at a time, ostracized from her former bandmates because of her actions on the poorly remembered “contract night” all those years ago, Kris lives the life of a nobody. But seeing billboards for Koffin’s farewell tour lights a fire under Kris to seek out what she and the band deserve.

What follows is a cross-country adventure through conspiracy theories, metalheads, and intense scenes of visceral horror, as Kris sets out to figure out what really happened on contract night. In the first third of the novel, she meets up with her former band members, a reunion that ultimately ends in Scottie Rocket’s suicide and the murder of his family by UPS deliverymen assassins. Kris falls into the arms of Tuck, who schemes with Bill to imprison her in an elite, cult-like rehab facility named the Well. The Well is built atop the bones of the Witch House, a derelict rental in the Kentucky wilderness where Dürt Würk used to record, and which also served as the long-ago site of contract night.

The middle third depicts Kris’s escape from the Well. Overcoming mind-numbing drugs, Kris beats up her captors with her guitar and discovers creepy monsters slurping out the souls of the rehab inmates, eventually remembering that the same beasts carried out this vile procedure on her and Dürt Würk all those years ago. She descends into the eponymous Well, crawling her way through pipes and caves and guano and bugs and darkness to escape rehab.

In the final third, we see Kris down and out in small-town America; she’s missed Koffin’s farewell tour, but the tour proved so successful that Koffin is hosting Hellstock ’19, a 50th-anniversary celebration of Woodstock staged with heavy metal bands. Kris believes Terry is using Hellstock to sell more souls, the same way he sold Dürt Würk’s souls on contract night. More cross-country hijinks ensue, including a mob of Koffin fans violently tearing apart Kris’s friend JD at a rest stop. In the end, Kris reunites with Terry onstage and together with Tuck they play Dürt Würk’s final album, Troglodyte. No concert-goer souls are sold, the performance and the album save the world, and Kris rises to become a heavy metal legend.

We Sold Our Souls provides a convoluted but intelligible journey through the back-and-forth of life in poor America, Kris going where she must to do what she can to survive and try to stop Terry. Troglodyte serves as the heart of the story and its critique of capitalism. Like many death metal albums of the genre’s heyday, a fantasy story forms the underlying narrative: the tale of hero Troglodyte who rises up to throw off the chains of Black Iron Mountain’s oppression. Kris, Scottie Rocket, and JD believe Troglodyte tells the story of the world, forming the blueprint for Kris’s quest to defeat Terry and the soul-sucking monsters. Hendrix describes the album track-for-track throughout Kris’s journey, detailing the sounds, the guitar runs, the drum beats, the vocals. For Kris, the lyrics become a mantra and battle cry; in the course of her journey, they lead the way, as she and JD perform close readings of the lyrics that would leave any English professor giddy.

Between chapters, Hendrix provides paratexts — snippets of interviews with Dürt Würk, radio transcripts of discussions about Troglodyte — that drive home the album’s legendary status in the heavy metal scene. After contract night, Terry destroyed all but a few copies that circulated among bootleggers. Troglodyte told the truth about the soul-suckers and Black Iron Mountain, the force to which all successful musicians and sellouts owe their millions. Kris brings the legend of Troglodyte to half-a-million metal fans. The lyrics are bad and the sound isn’t great, but the music is profound; it’s authentic, and bares truth as critique.

The novel and its fascination with heavy metal and the mythology of Troglodyte poke subtle fun at the heavy metal genre and its self-seriousness, but also embrace that seriousness as a platform for critique. As with most horror novels, the monsters and moments of fear and revulsion in We Sold Our Souls are both affective, provoking emotional responses, and also deeply allegorical. Hendrix’s corpse-like soul-suckers, who gain access to souls through the fine-print stipulations in contracts, force black bile out of their unconscious victims and slowly lap it away with hideous tongues. They are creepy, the bread and butter of horror. The pages-long description of Kris’s escape from the Well is the most terrifying thing I’ve ever read and shares much in common with a similar scene from his earlier novel Horrorstör. Hendrix knows his audience; being trapped, knowing death is coming and we can do nothing to stop it, creates more visceral terror than any monster, and he writes the terror expertly. The entrapment Kris feels, Black Iron Mountain literally pressing her down with no space to move, her body breaking and her lungs collapsing — this too is allegory, for capitalism, for bills, for living paycheck-to-paycheck, knowing the next paycheck might not come.

Hendrix’s exploration of capitalism as horror in We Sold Our Souls restores to sight all that we are blind to, all that we blind ourselves to (sometimes purposefully, to make it all bearable), as we sell our souls, not to some Christian devil but to Black Iron Mountain, that specter of capital that takes, takes, takes. Hendrix’s description of Kris busking, purged of hope and lost in middle America after her escape from the Well, captures this deftly:

Every song was the same song. These were songs for people who were scared to open their mailboxes, whose phones calls never brought good news. These were songs for people standing at the crossroads waiting for the bus. People who bounced between debt collectors and dollar stores, collection agencies and housing offices, family court and emergency rooms, waiting for a check that never came, waiting for a court date, waiting for a call back, waiting for a break, crushed beneath the wheel.

The songs she plays are not the same — they range from heavy metal (Black Sabbath, Zeppelin) to the blues (Lead Belly) to protest anthems (Phil Ochs, Woody Guthrie) — but they share a purpose summarized in the album at the center of We Sold Our Souls. The mythology of Dürt Würk’s Troglodyte rears its head again and again in similar passages that capture in eerie encyclopedic detail, so painfully familiar to those of us who are/were those people, the life of economic hardship in the United States.

Kris, her nameless busking partner, the dead homeless woman in the graveyard, the half million swarming at Hellstock ’19: we are all Troglodyte waiting for Poincare’s butterfly to remind us that this is not all there is. We have to crawl out, escape Black Iron Mountain, and open the door with the cerulean hue. Grady Hendrix reminds us in We Sold Our Souls that there’s a way and a hope. Metal never dies.

¤

Sean Guynes-Vishniac is a PhD student in the Department of English at Michigan State University.

The post We’re All Dürt Würkers: Grady Hendrix’s Heavy Metal Horror appeared first on Los Angeles Review of Books.

from Los Angeles Review of Books http://bit.ly/2shkMja

[pink-valkyrie]

Leonis and the lionheart pirates

Disclaimer: I do not own one piece or its character all rights go to oda. The oc’s , the background for them are my bestfriends the-wallflower-artist. This written version is mine.

Kento Aster Leonis didn't have it easy growing up. Her mother died shortly after her birth leaving it to the newly retired vice-admiral to take care of his baby girl.  As she grew she dreamed of seeing the world after hearing her father tales of being a marine but didn't wanna travel down that path hearing how the marines were changing. As the girl turns into a adolescent teen her father begins to teach her the basic of fighting and martial arts. She later asked him to train her with a sword and her sixteenth birthday he gives her his sword and a heavy dose of training. She was a quickly learner. But as she and her skills grew she remained the ever bubbly and energetic child she always was. She wore her dark brown hair up in a messy bun, her emerald eyes sparkled lighting her freckled face that set off a beautiful glow when she smiled. It was disarming to think that this young lady had the slightest of skills but you just had to get her mad first then she went on a rampage. Oh how embarrassing it was for her father the first time he was called in to stop her. The kid had teased her a bit to much and bang she exploded, maybe she needed more discipline than he thought or maybe she had just been blessed with her mothers explosive temper. It was definitely the latter he thought of his late wife and how proud she would be of her daughter and he hoped of him to for raising her the best he could. It brought a smile to his face and a few tears to his eyes. As she finally settled down they had a talk, he paid for the damages down and the teenage boy the dare mocked his daughter was only mildly hurt and he was very apologetic it seemed so no actions would be taken. The pair went back home in silence, Leonis was very worried she had witnessed her fathers odd mood swings so she had returned to her calm self and reluctantly followed him home. Maybe I should just go to bed but as the door shut she would have no such luck having to endure another one of his painful lectures. It lasted two and half hours. Oh she should've ran when she had the chance finally she was free to go to bed. Before she shut the door she heard him call to her "Night sunflower." Smiling at the nickname he had given her for how it fitted her personality. Even though he had scolded her pretty good it was how she know he wasn't that mad and that he still loved her. "Night dad" She called back before settling for a peaceful rest. Her dreams were filled with her ideas of adventure. As she said as a child to her father "I want to see the whole world." ----------Years had passed and the sixteen year old was now a 20 year old woman about to set sail on a trading ship. It had been a hard goodbye to say to her father. For 20 years he had raised her to be the person she always wanted to be supporting her and loving her fully as a father should. Putting her first and now that she was leaving he knew to hold back tears until she was out of sight at least so she wouldn't waver anymore on starting her journey. She already picked a crew name for when she to become a pirate the lionheart pirates he laughed it suited his daughter, and what would hopefully be a crew. He knew that she was going to accomplish her goals, and wished her well, hoping that she'd find her new friends and contact him soon. She traveled the east blue islands, bumming rides while bounty hunting not having much luck. She meets her first mate and cook Ian, Dark hair, tanned skin and olive green eyes. He was quite the looker. Ian helped Lenois out when her temper gets her in trouble at the bar he was working at. His boss and coworkers are his ‘family.’ He was adopted by his ‘Boss’ when he was living on the street as a child. He was taught how to use knives/daggers.  Ever the gentleman he finally lost his cool, kicking one of the guys knocking him down before flashing his knives. "All you bastards against one lady isn't gonna work for me. So I'll give you a choice fight me and the lovely lady here or you can leave my bar now." The owner and Ian's adopted father stepping in." I'm not against fighting but you won't be brawling in my bar." Shortly after the odds evened out the other men left. After a couple hours of conversing and exchanging stories. Ian agreed to travel with Leonis as her cook. They took odds jobs and bummed another ride to the next island . Over time they noticed the marine base on the island they were on when return the bounties seemed very shady. Leonis and Ian discovered the marines involvement with a notorious pirate group! The pirates were dealing money to the marines for ‘protection’, while they terrorized the neighboring towns. The marines just coming a ‘little too late’. Leonis couldn’t handle that. Even if most marines take justice a little too seriously. Seeing marines become greedy and benefit on others misfortune is cruel! People  died over their greed! So her and her first mate take it upon themselves to end this. And after some grueling fights, she defeated the pirate captain. Then she turned and confronted the captain in charge of the marine base. Telling them she’s here to ‘claim a bounty.’ Tossing the bruised up pirate captain’s body on the ground. This begins a fight and she defeats the captain of the marine base to, revealing the ugly truth to the townsfolk to what’s going on. They were thanked profusely, and as a gift they were given some food and a old fisherman’s boat. At the moment there was no going back. They were seen as a threat to marines. Over time they begin to build a bounty, and start their life as the Lionheart pirates. Stopping at the next island Leonis and Ian would unknowingly meet their next crewmate on this island. As soon as they gathered their supplies and got some food at a near by bar things got bad with a encounter with a mercenary turns out the marine captain of the base didn't like being outed in such away. The hired killer caused quite a ruckus. Knocking  Ian unconscious  and wounding Leonis's shoulder. Making the decision to retreat and regroup. She grabbed her cook and decided to run into the crowd. Finally after losing him she ran into a back alley.  Trying to catch her breath after hauling the injured Ian's body at a frantic pace. She only hopped they got away when she heard a nearby doorway creak open. Slightly panicking our sunflower was met with a young woman. Stella Locke the blondewoman with bright blue eyes that had seemingly lost a spark was treat both crewmates in her office behind the door in the alley. "Thanks for treating us." The blonde  glanced up from working on Ian. "Oh you're welcome, can't say I'm doing it out of the kindness of my heart though. You are going to pay me after this. Right? "  A shocked Leonis recovered "Right." "So why the office in the alley way." "That's not important is it? Asking for information will cost you extra. but a piece of advice in the town you'll get in trouble prying into others lives. This town hasn't ever been very friendly." "Can't say I'm surprised your asking questions though you do look like outsiders." Finally understanding this woman was brash, cautious, and more than likely had a past that was too soon to share with strangers, Leonis lightened up putting her bright and cheer atmosphere. "Thanks for your advice. It's appreciated we are not from here. We were traveling here together our some friends for our crew. We got into quite the mess helping out some people on the island before this one. So as soon as you're done, I'll give you the money and we will be out of the way. " Smiling cause a crack in Stella's blank face causing her to smile in return, "As soon as I'm done with him you'll be next and after you pay you can stay until he wakes up. We won't have much business today anyway. " Surprisgly they had stayed awhile, when Ian had woken he cooked for his captain and the doctor, the three of them had shared a nice meal. She enjoyed that, it felt like it had been forever since talked to anyone friendly. She never enjoyed helping other as much as he had them. She felt happy. Actually she longed to go with them. After Ian and Leonis left Stella was greeted with the drunken angry doctor coming home and remembered why that was impossible. She was sold to the doctor by her parents to pay for their medical bills so they wouldn’t get killed by his ‘debt collectors.’ He forced to learn medicine and surgery in the worst of ways. She had long suffered while she still was the gentle and kind person she always had been working for that monster of a man an with his shady costumers taughter her how to keep to herself among other things. He was already a asleep. She would have to deal with him tomorrow afternoon when he awoke.-----Earlier the next day Ian and Leonis had took down the hunter that was prusing them." Lets celebrate by buying some food and going to see Stella!", "Whatever you want captain."  When they arrived they heard yelling, cussing, thing being thrown, being alarmed, They immedatiely busted open the door and on the floor was Stella tears in her eyes, bruises, cuts, and handprints forming. They were both upset with what they had just seen."Ian get Stella and get her out of here." Leonis was furious Ian had never seen her like this in the few months he'd known his captain not even the marine based incedent had upset her this much. She was seriously pissed off. "But captain.." "No you got to have your fun with the hunter, I'm gonna wreck this place and this awful person with it. No but's about it. Now please take Stella to a safe place and treat her then we'll go have our lunch together." As soon as they were gone things got serious. She kicked some equipment out of her way as they locked up in a fight. After blow was exchanged for a ordinary man he was was pretty good at dodging then she recived a cut to her cheek. He was brandishing a scapel. That's gotta go she gowled at him. knocking it out of his hand, she launched her self at him knocking him to theground where she punched him into a unconcious mess. She took something that appeared to be Stella's and left the office/apparment building in ruins. As she arrived Stella was asleep on Ian's bed. He nearly fainted when he saw the shape of his captain. She had dried blood on her. A few minor scratches and injuries, the dark and distant look was still in place. When he finally called out asking if she was okay,  she snapped out of it. "Yeah I do occasionally lose control when I'm mad but just fine. Is food almost done?" Going back to the chipper young lady that she was. "No it still likes alittle bit wanna clean up?" She gasped "Are you saying that I look and smell awful sir? " playful joking with him watching him squrim trying to fix his words. She broke out into laughter. " Relax Ian, I was planning on it actually, I do look rough. I let him land more hits on me than I should have. I didn't draw my sword once cause I was so angry. " WIthout waiting to hear a reply she dashed towards the bathroom. The hot shower felt nice, she dried off and put on some comfy shorts and a tank top floping down on the couch yawn. "We've had a busy day. " Just then Ian's door opened. "Leonis? Ian?"  In the kitchen Ian shouted, popping up like a daisy nearly giving the blonde a heartattack. "How bout a warning like your friend in the kitchen." Giggling a quick I'm sorry before melting into a smile. "You don't have to worry about that man anymore. You're free to live how you want. I got your things ." The blonde eyes widen. "What do you mean? What xactly happened?" Ian came out of the kitchen you can talk more after dinner which is done now. Losing her serious dinner. "Yay lets go Stella, Ian cooking its the best!" Ian looked at her "All you need to know is the captain took care of it and that you shouldn't worry about the past, just your present and future should be your focus now. It's kinda her thing to wanna help others even if it means putting her journey and goals to the side for awhile. That's just the kinda person she is."  "Ian, Stella! If your not in here in a few minutes to eat with me, I'm eating yours to!" A panicked look shot over his face, "Lets go or she will. I don't understand how that tiny 5'6ft frame hold all that food." Hurrying the there the three began to eat, talk, and joke around. It felt like they were a family. "Leonis are you by chance needing a doctor in your crew?" Stella asked. A smile lit her face. "Of course you want to join us?!" she asked getting excited. Receiving a nod. "I didn't always like this thing, I hated being a doctor, because of that awful man, but it won't be so bad. I actually enjoy helping out, and I want to be the best doctor in the world. " This is more like it. Finally we're looking like a decent crew. A cook, a doctor, and a swordsman for a captain. I specialize in knives, what about you Stella? I'm pretty good with talking myself out of tough situations.  Weapon wise guns (mainly pistols) , surgeons knife and other tools. I wanna find a special devil fruit, the mirror mirror fruit, rumor has it  you can make illusions with it, weapons, reflect and deflect attacks.  "OH your the coolest doctor ever, I'll definitely help you find that. It's a captains promise! I say we do a few more odd Jobs here, stock up on supplies and head out to find that fruit, maybe pick up some more crewmates along the way?" "Sounds like a fine plan to me captain." "What do you think Stella?" "Sounds great but how about one more day of rest before that?" "We can manage that. We'll put our plan into action of the next day of rest." Little did they know they were going to run into their next crewmate son enough. After their day od partying and relaxing the Stella and Ian went on to the task assigned to them. Leonis however wanted to find a carpenter/ well a repairman for the ship and all the odds and end jobs. Alot of the guys were interested until she said her crew ship and other things. "Sorry honey but I don't do those kind of jobs" "Sorry sweet thing you looked cute when you first approached me but I gotta go." "sorry no time to talk to a girl like you" "Wait, why won't anyone talk to me or help?" She sighed frustrated after the last guy had. Let without sparing her a glance. "What jerks. AN they call themselves men of craft. I'll help you,my names Max, miss what do you need?" She teared up. " I need help with everything my ship is falling apart and me and the other two don't have a clue on how to fix anything. It's a nightmare, thats just a few things, I really need a fulltime person. " She began to ramble. Finally a chuckle broke through and she stopped puffing out her cheeks thinking everything was a joke to everyone, how she wasn't taken seriously cause she was a young woman. "Calm down, I'll repair what I can but did you just asked me to become a member of your crew?' She tilted her head. She smiled a small smile already knowing an answer. I did kinda just ask you to become a member without thinking along with the other list of things I needed done. "I'll do it" Blinking. "I'm an impulsive man, while I take time and pride in my crafts I get bored easy this is the 2nd town I've been to in a month. I like to work and travel. So That offer a serious one. "Yes of course I'd love to have you aboard." Lets go back to the ship. After assessing it he began tearing things apart nearly giving her a hearttack. My motto is ‘You gotta know how to take something apart to build it better, so let’s destroy it.' He was quick to make repairs just as the other two came back. What is that behemoth doing? Ian that's not nice. He's repairing the ship and he's Our new crewmate! What?! I know I've been out of his way but I'd occasionally ask him a question when he was on break. On top of being strong, and a great repairman . He's good close ranger fighter, but he likes using his creations to fight. (Bombs, traps, guns, cannons, etc) Stella seemed interest. "You work fast captain." As she said that Max appear, His sandy blonde hair and brown eyes, tanned skinned, revealing his muscle. Stella whistled. "He's not from here either is he captain?" Ian Gawked at her I thought we were bonding like you and captain were yesterday. Flashing him a smile we were, I had fun. Don't get jealous cause your not the only male in the crew anymore this could be good for you. It'll even the score when you disagree with me and the captain. " Sighing stop trying to cheer me up" all of them boarded and and put the supplies away when Ian began cooking. There was plenty of talking about what would happen the next few days. The next day they decided to set sail bright an early. The next island and hopefully to find some information on the mirror mirror fruit. Join us next time as the Lionheart pirates continue their journey!