#my office is filled with shed fake fur

[justyeghost]

Nearly Done... | Puppet Making Handcam

Nearly done with the Puppet. All that's left is attaching the arms, putting on some eyes, making a nose, a tongue, and maybe some antenna.

Hope you can join my on my VStream Channel for the rest of this project.

[delphoxqueen]

Clawd Wolf’s Journal- Wave 2 (2010)

{Go to the bottom of the post to read the actual diary pages!}

This Journal Belongs to:

Clawd Wolf

If you can’t be honorable then be smart and keep your snout out of my journal.

Name: Clawd Wolf

School: Monster High

September the 18th

I don’t think I’ve ever been hit in a game as hard as I got hit last night and oh monster was I sore this morning. We won the game which makes the pain a little more bearable. The worst part was I saw the hit coming and had to stand there and take it. The play was 13 Weak Bootleg Goblin- I made a perfect fake and rolled right which fooled everybody on the defense except the ogre playing outside linebacker who hit me as soon as the pass left my hand. Not only did he hit me, he drove me into the turf and landed on top of me. The only thing worse than the hit was the ogre stink that came with it. When I say stink I mean he smelled like the inside of a rubber boot filled with stinky cheese and raw fish that had been left in the trunk of a black car during the hottest week of summer. I’m I probably notice it more being a werewolf because of my enhanced sense of smell but I honestly think ogres must turn up their scent glands for games. I couldn’t even see how the play turned out because he’s laying on top of me yelling “How’d you like that Wolf boy?” Then I hear the crowd going crazy and I just said, “Scoreboard.” Funny how the pain goes away, at least momentarily, when you complete a big play. Of course on the field you never want to let another monster know they hurt you… just like real life.

September the 21st

Rockseena chewed up a pair of Clawdeen’s shoes. Clawdeen accused Howleen, in Clawdeen’s defense it did kind of look like Howleen’s work, and I had to break up the fight and fork over some cash so Clawdeen could replace them. There goes my money for the month. Why are girl’s shoes so howling expensive?

October the 1st

I went to the furmatologist to see if he could do something about my shedding problem, which seems to be getting worse lately. It’s so screeching embarrassing I don’t even want to wear short sleeve shirts any more. Of course being a werewolf means it grows back as fast as it falls out so I’ve got an endless supply. I’m like a hairy snow globe. Anyway, I wish I could say that I walked away with a solution, cream, pull or heroic guest that would allow me to finally leave the house without a lint brush but that didn’t happen. The doctor said that some werewolves are genetically afflicted with this and that there is no cure. He gave me some ideas on how to manage the condition and a pamphlet about a support group. I was like, “A support group?” Come on monster, give me a break. The last thing I want to do is spend an evening hanging out in some back room at a community center listening to other werewolves howl about fur loss. I’ve just got to monster up and deal with it. What I wouldn’t give to switch problems with Clawdeen.

October the 7th

Somebody at Monster High is trying to reopen old tombs regarding Cleo’s past relationship with me and by “somebody” I mean Spectra Vondergeist. I probably should have ignored it but I didn’t. I found her and told her to knock it off since she didn’t know she was talking about, she called me a dumb jock, I called her a lying phantom and she wailed a path across the school protesting her innocence and demanding an apology. We both ended up in the Headmistress’s office where I was lectured about the “responsibility of being an example to younger monsters who look up to me.” She told Spectra to stop involving the whole school whenever she has a problem and that almost caused her to go off again but she managed to keep it together. I know every monster wants to know what happened but it’s really none of their business.

October the 12th

HH Bloodgood has decided that every monster in school has to write an essay on our haunted heritage. She wants to put them all in a big book and pass it out to the students at the end of the year. In her words this will “better help you to understand yourselves and your fellow monsters”. I need to ask dad and mom how much information I’m allowed to give since there are some things we don’t talk about outside the pack. Our history is written in the Valde Lupus Libri and even within the book there are sections I’m not allowed to read until I have a pack of my own. One of those sections tells what happened to cause the bad blood between werewolves and vampires. I asked dad about it one time and he just gave me “the look” so I let it go. I can probably write about the things every monster already knows; like how during the full moon our senses get sharper while our strength and speed doubles or how we’re allergic to silver and wolf’s bane. We’re not undead so we don’t live forever, but 400+ years isn’t just a drop in the coffin either. I guess I could also put down where we’re from and how our original alpha became a werewolf but I definitely need to get permission before giving out that kind of info.

October the 18th

The stink from my confrontation with Spectra continues to linger and today I had to stop Clawdeen from going after Cleo because Clawdeen still thinks Cleo dumped me for Deuce and broke my heart. That’s not how it happened so I told Clawdeen the real story. When Cleo and I first started going out I had just been voted captain of the football team and Cleo had taken over her sister Nefera’s spit as captain of the fear squad. I was the BMOC -Big Monster on Campus and she was Her Royal Hawtness. It was like living in the perfect nightmare. Even then I think we were enjoying the attention more than the relationship. We were friends, still are in fact, but the spark just wasn’t there. There was a spark between her and Deuce though. You couldn’t help but see it when they were around each other. I confess I was a little jealous but soon I got over that as our perfect nightmare suddenly came to an end. My wake up call came in the form of a season where we lost every game but one and I completed more passes to the other team than I did to my own. For Cleo, it was thinking she could just pick up her sister’s pom poms and not miss a fear except she was so bossy half the team quit and the half that stayed just did their own thing. We probably would have broken up then but the thought of adding any more drama to what was already going on was too much to think about. So we stayed together and kind of leaned on each other through it all. Eventually I started to make better decisions on the field and Cleo learned that leadership involved more than barking orders. So on the night before the last game of the year we decided to break up. Cleo told me that she knew Deuce wanted to ask her out but didn’t dare because she was still dating me and that she wouldn’t say yes for the same reason. That was that, except Cleo wanted to be able to tell everyone that she broke it off because she didn’t want anyone thinking that the captain of the fear squad got dumped. I told her I would my lie about what happened but I wouldn’t say anything to contradict it either. Looking back I think it was dumb on her part to care so much about social status and it was especially dumb on my part to be “heroic” about it. When I finished, Clawdeen called me a monster jerk, punched me in the arm and then gave me a hug. Girls are so weird.

October the 25th

I’ve got a pretty big test in Biteology coming soon and since it’s impossible to find a quiet spot in our house I went to the library to study. I finished up there and just as I was leaving a storm blew in and it started raining. The temperature came down with the rain and by the time I got to my car I could already see my breath. On the way home my sweet fang started to howl so I stopped at this coffee place and grabbed a large coffinccino with whip cream cause, you know, that’s what I like. I got about a half mile down the road when I couldn’t find my iCoffin so I pulled over to see if it had fallen in between the seats. As I was looking for it I happened to glance across the street and saw this freaky cute monster standing on the sidewalk. It was raining pretty hard by then and I couldn’t quite make out her face. I rolled down the window just as the wind changed direction and for a brief moment and I caught the scent of nightshade and lilac shampoo.

Draculaura? I got out and yelled her name. She looked up and I said to myself, “Oh monster, what’s she doing out in this weather without a coat or umbrella?” Good thing dad always keeps one of his “eventuality” kits in his car with everything a monster might need in an emergency, including one of those compact umbrellas. I grabbed it and ran across the street to where Draculaura was standing by. Ordinarily I would have cracked some kind of joke but she looked so miserable I just opened the umbrella and helped her back to the car. Once we got in I handed her the coffinccino and turned up the heater. We sat there for a moment with the car running and I asked her if she wanted me to take her home. She nodded and I drove her back to her house. They don’t have a covered drive so I walked her up to the door and made sure she got in. She gave me a kiss on the cheek and darted inside before I could say anything which is a good thing because I felt like I’d been hit by that ogre again only all I could smell this time was nightshade and lilacs. After I got home mom asked me where I’d been. When I told her the library she just looked at me and said, “If you say so.” I thought that was weird until I was caught my reflection in the hall mirror and saw a perfect imprint of lips in Draculaura red.

About Me

Name: Clawd Wolf

Age: 17

Monster Parent: The Werewolf

Killer Style: Casual ala Clawdeen… it would be dumb for me not to listen to fashion advice from her.

Freaky Flaw: I shed… a lot. When I get out of the shower my family becomes the proud owners of a fur-lined tub. I might as well comb my hair with a lint brush to save the extra step.

Pet: A gargoyle bulldog named Rockseena. She’s my number one rock solid fan.

Favorite Activity: I love football. I love training, the strategy, the competition, and the atmosphere on game day. It’s the perfect sport.

Biggest Pet Peeve: Monsters who think that football players are all dumb jocks. I’ll compare GPAs with anybody… okay maybe not Ghoulia Yelps :)

Favorite School Subject: Biteology. I want to go into sports medicine when my playing days are over.

Least Favorite School Subject: Home Ick. Seriously, I can burn water.

Favorite Color: Teal

Favorite Food: Steaks and lots of it.

BFF’s: A pack leader can’t play favorites.

[fallintosanity]

lucis apparently managed cell phones and some local-to-insomnia version of the internet without ever achieving flight of any kind, much less space flight. niflheim has magitek airships but not much by way of advanced digital tech. for that matter, gaia has PHSs and sort-of-internet on them and is approaching spaceflight, but also has fully functional holographic training rooms. 

technology, how does it work?

part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7, part 8, part 9, part 10, part 11

Noctis slept nearly the entire ride to Rocket Town, which was a full twenty-four-hour flight in the helicopter, counting the stop in North Corel to refuel and let Reno get a few hours’ sleep himself. Cloud almost thought Noctis was faking being asleep to avoid having to make small talk - or avoid the probing questions about his history and training Cloud had intended to ask - but the couple of times Cloud had tried to get a reaction out of him, he hadn’t responded any more than when Cloud had first tried to wake him up that morning. 

He had no idea how Noctis could sleep that much and still be yawning and bleary-eyed when they climbed out of the helicopter onto a field just outside town, but at least the guy was on his feet. Reno led them across the field and into the town, which was far smaller than Cloud remembered - just a couple of houses, including Cid’s, plus several buildings which looked like offices or storehouses for the rocket program. The rocket itself towered over Cid’s house, shiny and incomplete, a metal skeleton with its wires and tubes and tanks exposed to the elements. 

Noctis whistled softly as he spotted the rocket. “The hell’s that thing for?” he asked. 

“The President wants to send a guy into space,” Reno said with a shrug. “Dunno why, it ain’t like there’s much up there except dark and cold. But apparently that whole thing’s what it takes to launch someone into space.” 

“Huh,” Noctis said. His expression suggested he hadn’t ever considered spaceflight before, but then again, most people hadn’t. And if Cloud didn’t figure out how to warn Cid about the faulty oxygen tank before it forced him to abort the launch, no one else would. Maybe he could find a way to do that while he was here. 

But Reno didn’t lead them to Cid’s house - instead he went to one of the smaller side buildings and opened the door without bothering to knock. Several startled scientists looked up as they entered, but the surprise quickly changed to relief. One of the scientists, an older woman with steely hair and a nearsighted squint, rose from her seat at a desk and crossed to greet them. “I’m so glad you were able to get out here this quickly,” she said without preamble. “We need to start adding the plating to the frame within the next two days or we’ll have to strip it back down and redo the weathering for safety. But the materials for plating are all stored in the barn the coeurls took over.” 

Reno nodded lazily, as though he had any idea what she was talking about. “We got just the guys for you,” he said, and jerked a thumb at Cloud and Noctis. “Commander Cloud Strife, SOLDIER First, and Noctis Caelum, SOLDIER Third. They’ll wipe out those coeurls, yo.” 

Under his breath, Noctis muttered, “Lucis Caelum.” If Reno noticed, he gave no sign, but Cloud filed it away for reference. He’d been wondering how Noctis’s name worked - Noctis didn’t seem to mind being addressed as just “Caelum”, but clearly it bothered him not to have the “Lucis” part included in a more formal introduction. 

The woman didn’t seem to notice Noctis’s correction, either; she turned to Cloud and said, “Excellent. Please let me know if there is anything my team or I can do to assist.” 

“Just point us to the barn, ma’am,” Cloud said, “and stay inside.” 

“Of course.” She stepped around Cloud, half leaning out the door to point. “Follow this street to the edge of town. You’ll see the barn out there; it’s the third one out, the only one without sides. But be careful - the coeurls have been seen as close as the farthest houses.” 

Cloud nodded and glanced at Reno. “You staying here?”

“You’re the SOLDIERs, yo,” Reno said. “I’m just the chaperone.” 

Noctis snorted, his eyes glittering with amusement. Cloud couldn’t blame him - Reno wasn’t exactly anyone’s idea of a responsible adult. Or at least, he didn’t appear to be so. It was part of what made him so dangerous. Cloud shook his head and led the way back out of the building, Noctis trailing on his heels as he followed the woman’s directions out to the edge of town. Curtains flicked aside in the windows of the houses they passed, and a few curious children were bold enough to lean out to stare. Cloud and Noctis ignored them.

“Got a plan?” Noctis asked. 

“Kill them fast,” Cloud answered. “Magic slows them down, but doesn’t hurt them much, so don’t waste time on materia.” 

“Not even fire?” Noctis asked, then when Cloud shot him a curious look, added, “I thought coeurls didn’t like fire.” 

Cloud shrugged. “I never noticed a difference when I fought them before. They’ve shrugged off every element I’ve thrown at them. It’s best to go straight for swords.”

“Okay,” Noctis agreed. He swung his rifle off his shoulder and began checking it over, careful to keep it pointed at the ground. “Then you go in close, and I’ll cover you.” 

“Just don’t shoot me,” Cloud said. 

“Yes, sir,” Noctis answered, lazy sarcasm dripping from the words. 

They reached the outer edge of town, denoted by the end of the white picket fence that lined the road. From here, Cloud could see the half-finished barn, its corrugated steel roof poking up above a pair of nearer sheds. He couldn’t hear anything unusual, but coeurls were quiet beasts right up until they tried to kill you. In a low voice, he said to Noctis, “Get up on the rooftops. Try to get a clear line of fire.” 

Noctis nodded and slipped away along the side of the nearest shed, while Cloud kept walking along the road toward the barn. The dirt was too dry and packed to make out paw prints, but here and there he spotted tufts of pale yellow fur, or deep claw furrows. A low noise, an almost electric zap, caught his attention from somewhere behind the shed where Noctis had gone, and Cloud drew First Tsurugi and stepped forward, ready to provide backup if one of the beasts had snuck up on Noctis. But no coeurls appeared, and a moment later Noctis himself leaned over the edge of the roof, rifle in hand. He’d gotten up there remarkably fast - maybe there was a ladder or something. He waved an all-clear to Cloud, then gestured that he was going to get closer to the barn. 

Cloud nodded back and resumed his own walk forward. The sound he’d heard had probably just been something inside the shed, some bit of machinery for the rocket program. Time to focus on the coeurls ahead of him. He checked the materia slotted into his sword, making sure his Barrier was ready, and his Restore, too, just in case. Noctis had proven incredibly competent so far, but against this many coeurls, it wouldn’t hurt to be prepared. Satisfied, Cloud raised his sword and stepped around the last shed into full view of the half-built barn. 

The barn was long and low, little more than a corrugated roof held up by steel beams over a cement floor. Stacks of huge wooden crates, bales of rebar, and piles of steel plating lined the edges of the floor, with an open space in the center presumably for loading and unloading. Half a dozen coeurls were sprawled on top of the crates like oversized housecats. They lifted their heads at Cloud’s approach, their long whiskers floating deceptively lightly in the slight breeze, tips sparking with deadly magic. 

Cloud knew from experience that they wouldn’t attack unless he struck first, but they were also territorial - if he got too close to the space they’d claimed, they’d view it as an attack. The way they were spread out around the barn, some of them a full ten feet up on top of stacks of crates, meant he’d be swarmed no matter which one he went for first. And coeurl prides were usually eight to ten animals, so there were likely several more somewhere he couldn’t see. He really should have arranged some kind of signal with Noctis - with this setup, it would be much better for Noctis to shoot first, to distract the beasts while Cloud closed on them. But he didn’t want to risk looking up on the roofs for Noctis now, and potentially giving away his position. 

A sudden gunshot rang through the air, and the coeurl perched on the highest crate jerked and died. Noctis had solved the problem by shooting it in the eye. The rest of the coeurls yowled in fury, leaping to their feet and focusing on Cloud, the only threat they could see.

Cloud didn't hesitate - he leapt in, First Tsurugi flashing as it sliced through the thick hide of the nearest beast. It twisted at the last second, and what should have been a fatal strike instead opened a bloody line along its flank. Another gunshot cracked nearby and a coeurl crouching to pounce on him fell dead. Cloud took down the one he’d struck, but then had to dodge into a narrow space between several stacks of crates as magic exploded around him, heat blasting his face and ice crackling on its heels. 

“Cloud!” Noctis yelled. “Look out!”

Cloud whipped around, squinting in the shadows behind the crates - just in time to spot the gleaming eyes of the biggest coeurl he’d ever seen. Its whiskers sparked and snapped and suddenly the air filled with lightning. 

Electricity raced along Cloud's bones, seizing his muscles and spiking agony through his body. He dropped to the ground, First Tsurugi falling from his grip. For an awful second he was back in Nibelheim, in Hojo’s lab, strapped to a table as the scientist electrocuted him and laughed— 

Then Noctis shouted his name again and he was back in the present, in a narrow gap between huge wooden storage crates, facing down a massive coeurl whose whiskers were already crackling with renewed power. 

Cloud scooped up his sword and flung himself free of the gap, half-crawling out into the open space between the crates and the wooden wall of the adjacent shed. Thank Odin, the giant coeurl didn’t follow him out; he didn’t think he would have been able to escape again. Electric surges still jolted along his limbs, making his motions jerky and unstable as he struggled to his feet. He glanced up, looking for Noctis on the roof of the shed, but it was empty. Only then did he register the sounds of a fight on the other side of the crates - growling and claws on concrete and battle cries. Cloud staggered around the crates and finally spotted Noctis, out in the center of the unfinished barn, ShinRa broadsword flashing as he fought the coeurls. 

The electric blast must have really done a number on Cloud - Noctis’s motion was a blur, bluish afterimages trailing behind him as he dodged and spun through the coeurls’ attacks. He spotted Cloud, relief flashing across his face before he had to drop low under the whiplike lash of a whisker. Cloud blinked furiously, scrubbing a hand over his eyes until the afterimages faded and his muscles quit spasming. He still took the extra precious second to cast a Restore on himself before raising First Tsurugi and diving back into the fight. 

Noctis had taken down two more of the beasts already, which meant he had a kill count of four to Cloud’s one. Cloud was hardly a competitive guy, but if he let that stand, he’d never hear the end of it from the other Firsts. He split his sword, slicing through the pair of coeurls harrying Noctis from behind and giving the other SOLDIER a moment to breathe. Noctis had come in strong while Cloud was down, but he was clearly flagging now, moving more slowly and having trouble dodging the combination of magic and claws flying at him. Cloud leaped into the air, combining his swords once more and swinging the full weight of First Tsurugi onto the back of a coeurl about to take a bite out of Noctis’s arm. The creature screeched in agony as it fell to the ground, its spine severed; Cloud’s next swing took its head. 

“Thanks,” Noctis gasped, then, “Shit—” 

Cloud didn’t waste time turning to look; just flung up a Barrier around them. The way Noctis’s eyes had widened was enough to tell him the big coeurl had finally reappeared. Another surge of electricity battered the Barrier as Cloud spun around, tearing the protective magic to shreds and sending static tingles along Cloud’s arms. The big coeurl sat at the open front of the barn, blocking the only way out that wasn’t over or through the crates. Two more coeurls, only slightly smaller, flanked the big one, their whiskers sparking. 

Noctis muttered, “The coeurl acquires charge from the particles in the air. If you see it seated on its haunches, stay back.” He sounded like he was reciting something, a touch of a strange accent coloring the words. 

Cloud nodded agreement. “The big one’s about to cast again. You take the one on the left.” 

“Got it,” Noctis said, just as the big coeurl’s whiskers lashed. 

Cloud called another Barrier, bracing himself against the onslaught of electricity. Over the crackling he heard movement on the crates behind him - but even as he started to turn, Noctis leaped over the Barrier, over the lightning barrage, to land sword-first on the leftmost coeurl. Cloud swore under his breath and followed, charging through the last of the electric storm toward the big coeurl. Electricity sparked and crackled along his muscles and First Tsurugi’s edge; he gritted his teeth and pushed through it, splitting the sword as he reached the rightmost coeurl. 

Its whiskers snapped at him, but Cloud rolled low under them, driving the point of the hollow blade into the beast’s throat. It gurgled and died, and Cloud yanked the blade free in time to roll to the side, away from the swipe of claws as long as his hand. The big one was the only one remaining, and if they could just kill it before it was able to charge up another blast— 

Noctis appeared behind its haunches, sword swinging low and hamstringing it even as it tried to spin on him. Cloud took the opening, his main blade plunging into its torso as the hollow blade took its head. The beast collapsed to the ground, the magic gathered in its whiskers fading to nothing and leaving the barn silent except for Cloud’s and Noctis’s panting breaths. 

* * *

“Mako mutants,” the steel-haired scientist said grimly as she handed Cloud a cup of hot tea. “We’re seeing them more and more lately, although normally they stay closer to the reactors.” 

“What’s a mako mutant?” Noctis asked. He sat next to Cloud at the rickety table in the scientists’ office, apparently none the worse for wear despite his mad dive through a coeurl’s electric blast. Cloud remembered how Noctis had dived through his own Bolt spell during their spar a few days ago, and resolved to ask him what his trick was. 

“Beasts warped by overexposure to mako,” the scientist explained to Noctis. “Bigger, stronger, faster than normal monsters. ShinRa tries to keep the areas around each reactor clear of potentially dangerous fauna, but they can’t be everywhere.” 

“Plus, we’re seeing more natural mako fountains,” another scientist added. “I’m starting to wonder if AVALANCHE isn’t right after all, about us hurting the Planet—” He broke off with a hiss and the kind of wince that meant he’d been kicked under the table.

“AVALANCHE is a terrorist organization,” the steel-haired scientist said pointedly, with a sharp glance toward Reno where he was sprawled at a desk on the other side of the lab, seeming absorbed in reading something on his PHS. “Their proselytizing isn’t backed up by our research.” 

Cloud bit down hard on his tongue to keep from saying something he shouldn’t. Now was neither the time nor the place, not with Reno here, though he stole a glance at the second scientist’s name tag: Govert Velner. He’d have to come back here sometime soon, not just to talk to Cid about the rocket, but to encourage Velner’s interest in AVALANCHE’s work. 

A sudden chirp from Cloud’s pocket saved him from the awkward silence that descended over the table. He pulled out his PHS and flipped it open: a new message from “Treasure Princess”, aka Yuffie Kisaragi, the ten-year-old daughter and heir of Lord Godo of Wutai. Cloud had been trying to pay closer attention to her messages ever since he’d had to haul Yuffie out of the Northern Crater with a mated pair of blue dragons on their heels. She claimed not to appreciate his attempts to keep her alive - backed up by literal kicking and screaming every time he showed up to rescue her - but she kept sending him updates on her location anyway. 

Skimming the message, Cloud sighed and rubbed a hand down his face. He’d thought she’d finally started to listen to his admonishments to stick to less dangerous parts of the world; the last few times he’d had to rescue her it had been “only” from the wilds of the southern part of the West Continent. But she’d apparently made it back up to Modeoheim, and was planning to strike out for the Northern Crater again.

“What’s wrong?” Noctis asked. 

Cloud sighed again. “It’s complicated. But… would you mind if we ran an errand before going back to Midgar?” 

“What for?” Noctis tilted his head, clearly trying to get a look at Cloud’s PHS. 

Cloud tossed it to him to let him read the message, then raised his voice. “Reno?” 

“An errand to where?” Reno asked, proving he’d been paying more attention to the conversation at the table than he’d been letting on. 

“Modeoheim.”

Reno lifted his head, one eyebrow raised in curiosity. “What’s up there?” 

“Yuffie Kisaragi.” 

Reno’s other eyebrow joined the first and he sat up straighter. “Isn’t that the princess of Wutai?” 

Noctis’s head came up sharply, grey eyes flicking between Reno and Cloud. Cloud just nodded. “Do you guys mind?” 

Reno shrugged. “Whatever, yo. I don’t have anything pressing back home.” 

“Sure,” Noctis agreed. “Do you want to go now?” 

Cloud nodded again, setting his empty tea mug on the table and rising to his feet. “The sooner the better. She’s only ten, but you’d be surprised how much trouble she can get into.”

[ciathyzareposts]

Missed Classic: Trinity – Is This the 50s? Or 1999?

Written by Joe Pranevich

Welcome back! Last time out, I explored the strange mushroom forest that I was dropped into after the end of the world. This “wabe”, as I think it is called, is a strange place set in the shadow of a gigantic sundial and includes giant bees, an impossible flower garden, a cottage with game design notes, and a half-dozen mushrooms with little doors. But this isn’t The Smurfs: each mushroom appears to have been created by a nuclear detonation. As I closed out last time, I finally worked out how to control the movement of the “sun” overhead to drop shadows on each of the doors. I opened the first door and was dropped back into reality, somewhere and somewhen.

This game remains difficult to write about. My usual style is a bit flippant and just not appropriate for the subject matter, but I also cannot help to be quippy. I’ll try to keep the tone light as much as I can, but this is a difficult game with difficult themes and some of the scenes in this session are disturbing. I had to step away from the game at one point for a few days. Fair warning, but on with the show.

Ray Palmer seems like such a nice guy.

When I walked through the mushroom door in my previous post, I arrived in a rickety room filled with equipment that I do not understand. The white door remains open and I can use it to return to the mesa in the wabe, but then it closes immediately after. No amount of resetting the sundial opens the door again so I assume there is no way back. Will I only get one shot at each doorway? Is there a way to know what order I have to take the doors? I hope Mr. Moriarty won’t be too evil about this, but I am prepared for a lot of saving and reloading.

The equipment that I stand next to is radioactive and obviously a nuclear bomb, but I’m not positive which bomb it is. Climbing down the scaffolding, I find myself in a large room with aircraft hangar-style doors. They are too heavy to open, but there’s a button nearby so it’s not much of a puzzle. A second button activates an intercom speaker and a voice informs anyone listening that it is six minutes to detonation. I’d better hurry! I open the doors and head out onto a tropical island. Thanks to the manual’s history lesson, I guess that this is the H-Bomb explosion in 1952. The documentation just says a “remote island in the South Pacific” and I was fairly certain that was Bikini Atoll, but a quick Wikipedia search informs me that the first test was actually on nearby Enewetak Atoll.

Focusing on the present, I notice that the tide is coming in. That voice in my ear sniggers that “Gnomon can tether tide or time.” Whoever he is, he’s less clever than he thinks he is. We start exploring from our vantage point on the south of the island. To the west is a second island with a single coconut tree. Thanks to a mob of attacking crabs, there is no way to get to that island or its lone tree. To the north is an “extension” of wood leading off the island, described as being like a six-foot in diameter drinking straw connecting the facility to someplace offshore. It’s too high up to climb and I do not see a way to access it from the hangar shed. While exploring, a shark follows me around the island, but when I reach the eastern shore he reveals himself to actually be a friendly dolphin! That’s cute, but… er… he’s going to die pretty soon.

R.I.P Flipper. None under sea were smarter than he.

Beyond that, there doesn’t seem to be much to do here. After a time, I notice that the western island has sunk under the tide and only a single coconut remains floating in the water. There is no obvious way to fetch it but it screams “puzzle” and must be important for something. I eventually work out that the dolphin is actually incredibly intelligent and fetches the coconut for me when I ask. I break it open with my axe but find only coconut milk inside. What did I expect? A priceless gem? The “milk” leaks out quickly and I restore so as not to lose it. Could that be “good enough” for the potion at the cottage? The magpie said that we needed milk, honey, garlic, and a lizard. Surely, this vegan substitute for milk isn’t “good enough” for a magic potion, is it? With nothing else to do and the timer ticking down, I leave my paradise to its fate and return through the white door.

I do some fast Googling to learn that the island was called Elugelab; the blast destroyed it utterly, leaving only a 15-story deep crater in the ocean bed where an island once had been. The wooden “straw” led to the nearby Teiter Island which survived the blast. There doesn’t seem to be any real-world counterpart to the tiny island with the coconuts; as a tidal island it’s not likely to have appeared on any maps and Moriarty may have just made it up.

When I return to the “wabe”, I immediately try the coconut milk in the potion and it seems to work! I’m not sure how that counts, but I have three ingredients now. I need to find a lizard.

Princess Peach has seen better.

The Mushroom Kingdom

With my first trip out of the way and the knowledge of how to open the doors, I take stock of the rest of the portal toadstools:

The first is in the meadow where I started. It doesn’t open again now but presumably led to Kensington Gardens.

The second is the toadstool at the waterfall.

I cannot find the third. I suspect that it is near the boy blowing bubbles and possibly somewhere I need to fly to if I can work out how to gain altitude. Or perhaps the boy is sitting on it?

The fourth is the one that I just explored on the mesa.

The fifth is in the garden behind the magpie’s cottage.

The sixth door is on the moor far to the east of the map.

I cannot find the seventh, but I expect that it is probably wherever the ferryman takes you.

My guess is that Mr. Moriarty is clever and has made each of the toadstools independent so that you can take them in any order. I therefore try the second one next and am immediately proven wrong: it leads out into Earth orbit with no spacesuit and nearly instant death. Nukes in space? There must be a way to survive there to do whatever I need to do, but I’m pretty sure I don’t have the means yet.

The death scene at least offers some hints as we arrive, dead, at the ferryman’s river. This time, we have a coin and use it to board the boat to the great beyond. Other than that, I don’t glean any further hints how to cross without dying so I restore and try the next mushroom.

As a kid, I visited the Psygnosis offices in Cambridge. It was amazing. By coincidence, I later worked in the exact same office long after they had moved out.

Mother Russia

I take the fifth door next and arrive in what appears to be an elevated shack on the Siberian steppe. It’s cold and gray and someone is speaking in Russian on the loudspeaker. Google fails me and has no idea what “dyevianatsat minut” means, but Infocom was likely using either a nonstandard (or simply outdated now) romanization. My guess is that they meant “devyatnadtsat’ minut” (девятнадцать минут) or nineteen minutes. Plenty of time, right?

I climb down from the shack and immediately step on a rodent underfoot. In fact, the ground is mobbed by hundreds or thousands of creatures all racing to the northeast. They “look something like hamsters, with long brown fur and beady eyes”. Should I follow them? Or see where they came from? I try heading “upstream” against the tide of creatures, but Russian guards kill me so that’s not the way. I follow them instead to discover a cliff edge where the rodents are jumping off in apparent mass-suicide. Only then does the game tell me what you already figured out: they are lemmings! Of course, lemmings don’t actually jump off of cliffs, right? That’s just an urban legend spread by an old (faked) Disney documentary?

At the cliff, I discover a single trapped lemming in a fissure. I rescue it but it quickly bites my hand and disappears into the mass. If I release the magpie, I can grab it and then stick it in the cage. Is that a good trade? Do I need the magpie for anything? Remembering back last week, I did not get any points for it (only for the cage) so maybe not? Also, lemmings are not lizards even if they have the same starting letter, and even if the potion took coconut milk instead of cow’s milk, that would be too much of a stretch. I find nothing else of interest on the tundra. I even jump off the cliff once but just drown in the frigid Arctic water. Once there is nothing left to do and the countdown is presumably getting close, I head back through the door.

Doing some real-world research, I learn that I wasn’t on the Russian steppe after all: the Soviets did their nuclear testing at a site in Kazakhstan. I was close enough though since that was part of the Soviet Union until 1991 and Moriarty would likely not have seen it as a separate country. The test site was 100 miles west of Semipalatinsk (now called Semey) and the region sees many health problems thanks to all of the tests performed there. There doesn’t seem to be any real-world analogue to the cliffs as the nearest bodies of water I can find to the test site are frozen lakes around 25 miles to the northeast according to Google Earth. Am I looking too deeply at this? Absolutely. I’m procrastinating writing the next section.

A spoonful of sugar helps the deep existential dread go down?

Hiroshima

The sixth door is my only remaining choice, located on the moor just north of the ferryman’s river. Stepping through, we find ourselves in midair and falling fast. Unlike in the space section, we have a few turns to experiment before we land with a splat and I have an idea what to do: open the umbrella! Doing so slows our descent enough that we land safely in a children’s sandbox. Writing this section is choking me up, so I’m going to pause by just giving you the room description:

Playground, in a sandpile

A set of children’s swings move back and forth in the humid breeze. Behind them stands a long building, its windows hung with flowers and birds folded from colored paper.

Mounds of dirt are heaped around a dark opening to the east. It appears to be a shelter of some kind.

Several small children are happily chasing dragonflies north of the swing set. Turning south, you see a group of adults (schoolteachers, by the looks of them), wearily digging another shelter like the first.

Somewhat shaken, you rise to your feet in a child’s sandpile. In the pile, you see an umbrella, an axe, and a birdcage.

We know what’s about to happen and it’s devastating. I gather together my things and discover that I can really only move east towards the shelter without being caught. Inside is a disgusting and rough hewn bomb shelter, filthy and smelling of urine from the people that had to relieve themselves while waiting out the terror outside. It’s an awful thought. There’s a spade on the ground which I pick up, but otherwise there’s nothing else to do.

I leave and discover that a girl is now playing in the sandpit. She spots me and nearly runs to her teacher, but then she spots my umbrella and her curiosity gets the best of her. I can tell that she wants it, so I hand it to her and she runs off into the shelter to play. Could she be the scarred woman in London? Do I even want to consider that?

There is still nowhere else that I can go safely, but seeing folded paper cranes in a nearby school window gives me a thought. I follow her into the shelter and hand the girl my unfolded origami crane from the beginning of the game, the one that gave me the message to go to the Long Water by 4 PM. She folds it back into its original crane shape and I gain three points. It glows with a strange energy. I return outside and the crane grows into a giant living paper bird. I climb on its back and it takes me up to just outside the white door, still suspended in midair, where I can leap off and through. Whew!

From a game perspective, that was an interesting segment and very much “on rails”. If I had not brought the paper or umbrella with me, I could not have progressed, plus it was really only two rooms that I had to move back and forth between to advance story segments. More than any other section of the game except perhaps the first near-future in London, this paints a human face on the misery of the bomb. Honestly, this section wrecked me and I needed to take some time off from the game. I’m really not cut out for reviewing this type of emotional experience. This game hurts. I don’t even care that I don’t know if that was Hiroshima or Nagasaki, I’m done and need to move on.

“You can either look at things in a brutal, truthful way that’s depressing, or you can screw around and have fun.” – David Spade

Calling a Spade, a Spade

With no more toadstool doors to explore– I haven’t found the third or seventh and the second one kills me immediately– I resolve find places in the wabe where my new items might be useful. I still have up a spade, a lemming, and an open coconut. It takes some experimentation, but I’ll skip my failures and move straight to the good part: I can open the crypt in the cemetery!

Using the spade, we pry off the lid to see the corpse of the “Wabewalker” (me?). This was well-hinted since I was told earlier that I needed more “leverage” to move the lid and a spade is certainly leverage. I had hoped the grave would be empty, but instead I look down at a “great missionary or explorer” in his final rest. I hope this game does not go all Infidel on me. The corpse is wearing a burial shroud, a bandage around his head, and two strangely colored boots: one red and one green. Like any good tomb raider, I strip the corpse and take all of his stuff. His mouth hangs open once the bandage is removed and I discover a silver coin inside. Fare for the ferryman? The boots each have a strange (but empty) recess at the tip of the toes. Do I have to hide something in them? With the corpse thoroughly desecrated, I’m nearly halfway through the game: 49 points!

While exploring, I also get the brilliant idea to float the Bubble Boy’s bubble out through the “space” doorway. Amazingly, it fits! The bubble immediately freezes to create a protective shell and that somehow keeps us from dying in the cold vacuum of space. Unfortunately, there is no way to control the bubble and the white door drifts rapidly away from us. After a time, a satellite comes closer and then departs again without letting us do whatever we are supposed to do. There is briefly a Star Wars-style laser destruction of a missile, but nothing to do except wait it out and die. There are still things that I am missing before I can conquer outer space.

What happened to the other five stories?

Desert Island Decameron

I wear all of my burial clothes and the ferryman lets me on the boat! He takes the silver coin as payment (but not the London 20p one) and deposits me across the river. There is no entrance to Hades or two-headed dogs, but there is a small island with the expected toadstool on it. When I arrive with the seventh symbol set on the sundial, I emerge into another rickety shack next to a large metal ball covered with wires.

There are voices outside and if I leave prematurely, I am killed– more on that in a minute. But if I explore the room first the voices eventually leave. I use that time to try to open the bomb via an access panel that I discover on the side, but no dice without a screwdriver. I even try using the London coin, but it doesn’t fit. A book sits discarded on the floor, the Desert Island Decameron. Doing some Googling, I discover that it is an “unconventional anthology of humor”… a strange thing to find in a room with a giant bomb, but perhaps one of the guards needed a little light reading while he considered the hellscape that he was potentially helping to create. Inside is a bookmark with a poem on one side and a diagram scrawled on the other. I get four points for reading it so it must be important, but the only part we can “see” in text is the legend: “RD=DET, BL=POS, ST=INF, WH=GND”. My guess is that we are looking at a wiring diagram and an explanation on how to defuse the bomb. In any event, it’s useless without the panel being opened.

Once the voices are gone, I exit and climb down the ladder. At the bottom is a padlocked box… and our friend the roadrunner! He’s finally back in his natural habitat and seems happy to see me. He even drops the ruby at my feet! I pick it up to gain a few more points and from this moment the roadrunner follows me around. I cannot open the padlocked panel, even when I try to smash it with the axe or spade. Letting the lemming go doesn’t help either and I do not see any lizards here.

I’m going to pass on delving too deeply into my explorations of the New Mexico desert for now, except to say that we only get a few turns before we die and even with successive restores I do not find much of interest. I suspect that I am here before I am ready; maybe I find a way to slow down time? Maybe by defusing the bomb at the beginning, the test is delayed by a few minutes and I can explore further before dying?

Perhaps more importantly, this is the message that I get when I inevitably die:

All at once, the desert around you disappears in a flash of startling brilliance! You jam your hands over your eyes in the awful glare; never see the fireball closing in at many times the speed of sound; and never feel the stellar hear that annihilates much of the state of New Mexico.

The real Trinity test, which I am certain is where this gate has taken us, did not nuke the state of New Mexico. It was relatively modest as far as later bombs were concerned and so something must have happened to change history. Have I finally stumbled on the plot of the game? Did someone or something interfere with the Trinity test to make it even deadlier than before? It’s a great twist if that’s what happened and I am eager to see how the game continues.

For now however, I am stuck and have a few open problems to solve:

I have yet to find the third toadstool. I thought it was by the Bubble Boy, but since we use the bubble to go to space I was probably mistaken. I will have to search for it since there’s something I missed someplace.

I do not know what to do with the wight, either to help it or kill it. Could the crypt’s skeleton key by the solution to the lock in New Mexico?

I do not know what to do in space.

I do not know what to do with the magnetic meteorite.

I do not know where to find a lizard. It seems most likely to be in New Mexico, but I doubt it given that even if we find a way to reopen the doors, I don’t seem to have a path back across the river to the main part of the wabe.

I did manage to get 70 points, but I’ve reloaded now to before crossing the ferry so I will have to get some of those again.

Time played: 2 hr 15 min Total time: 7 hr 25 min

Inventory: bag of crumbs, small coin (20p), silver coin, red boot, blue boot, bandage, burial shroud, credit card, wristwatch, birdcage with lemming, broken coconut, and silver axe. (Not all being carried at once.) Score: 70 of 100

source http://reposts.ciathyza.com/missed-classic-trinity-is-this-the-50s-or-1999/

[frangipanidownunder]

Returning the Past: Part 5

Mulder and Scully are honeymooning in Far North Queensland. Much to Scully’s chagrin, Mulder has delved headlong into a mysterious case of strange lights, Tasmanian tiger sightings and abductions. It’s not long, before they run into trouble…

Read part 1, part 2 part 3 and part 4.

The facility ‘Eddie Romero House’ was ensconced behind a security fence. She frowned at the recurrence of the name. Years of being an investigator made it impossible to think of coincidences and serendipitous happenstance. Years of being an investigator on The X-Files showed her that even the smallest of coincidences was likely to be anything bug.

Sunlight filtered through menacing clouds and pinged off the metal pickets. Mulder buzzed the intercom and itched at the skin on his arms. A security guard walked from the main building to stand outside the gate.

              “We’re looking to talk to somebody in charge,” Mulder said.

              “Do you have an appointment?”

              “It’s urgent we speak to somebody. It could be a matter of life and death.”

              Scully looked at the ground, impacted red dirt crumbling at her footfalls. Mulder’s flair for the dramatic, coupled with this dogged insistence often got them entry into secure facilities but the guard didn’t seem impressed. They had no badges to flash, they had American accents, they had no jurisdiction.

              “Professor Callow is in meetings. He won’t be available until tomorrow.”

              “Callow?” Scully said, looking at Mulder. He did the customary slow blink that told her he was on the same page as her. “We’re friends of his daughter’s. Please tell him it’s urgent that he speak with us.”

              The guard lifted the radio to his mouth and static crackled. She rubbed the back of her neck and Mulder paced. A pair of green and red parrots screeched past. A vehicle reversed from a steel shed to the left of the main facility, stirring up a plume of dust.

              “He says he’ll see you. Follow me.”

 Professor Callow was seated behind a wooden desk bearing all the hallmarks of an office that hadn’t seen a change in twenty years. A Rolodex next to a rotary dial phone, a blotter pad, a stationery holder filled with Biros, pencils, a plastic ruler, Tippex. There was a framed photo of two men, one a younger Callow, rifle propped against his shoulder, standing over the corpse of a large animal that Scully couldn’t make out. She peered at its familiarity, then recalled the crumpled version of the photo on Steph Callow’s living room floor. There were glass cabinets along each wall, containing skeletal remains and stuffed animals with blank eyes and dull fur. Faded posters on the wall depicted a variety of Australian marsupials, and directly behind the Professor’s chair was a map of Queensland.

              “You know my daughter somehow?” he said, his accent clear-cut English.

              “She took us on a walk through the Daintree.” Scully looked at a poster of endangered and extinct animals. Toolache wallaby – bearing similar markings to the kangaroos they’d seen that first morning, broad faced bandicoot, lesser bilby. She checked out the small signs propped up against the stuffed creatures, Eastern hare wallaby, brush-tailed bettong.

              “She was a promising zoologist, she had a knack for research. Stephanie studied hard. It’s a shame.”

There was something tight about the older man, Scully thought. Something closed off. She’d seen the same thing when Mulder was returned. An outward show of vagueness that really just covered up an inability to articulate the heart of the issue. He was scared.

“What’s a shame?” Mulder asked, picking up a jar from a shelf. He held the jar out as he continued to challenge the professor, rattling the brown seed pod inside it so that it drummed with each word he spoke. “That Steph became a tour guide and not a Professor, like you?”

“No, no. It’s…her mother…the family. It was difficult. For all of us, but for Stephanie, a teenager at the time, it was. Well, she struggled.” Callow took the jar from him and set it back on the desk. His hands trembled.

“Your wife, Steph’s mother, what happened to her?” Scully watched the way he sucked in a deep, long breath, chest puffing out. The seed inside the jar, labelled Idiospermum australiense was pale yellow on the outside and a ridged red inside, reminded her of a golden apricot and she kept her eyes on it while Callow sunk back into his chair.

“She disappeared. Just vanished.”  Callow’s voice was shallow, like he’d told the story so many times it was just a rote response.

She looked back at Mulder, pressing her teeth into her lower lip. She wondered if they would ever relate any of their own history like that, without the passion, without the fire needed to continually reach for justice.

“Miriam went out to buy milk and never came back. We…just carried on. You do, don’t you? But Stephanie was never the same. Went to university in Tasmania, as far away from here as she could get. She worked hard but the spark, the passion for it had gone. After she graduated she went on a gap year to South America and when she came back she couldn’t settle. She told me once that being a tour guide was a way of always looking for her mother. As though she might just find her out there in the bush somewhere all these years later,” he smiled sadly. “She likes being outdoors. Just like her mother.”

“Have you heard from her recently, Stephanie?” Scully stepped towards him. “She’s missing, Professor Callow.”

Callow shook his head, an absent expression clouding his eyes. “I’m afraid that Stephanie has often gone ‘walkabout’ as they say in these parts.”

“We were with her when a group of men dragged her into a four-wheel-drive and we haven’t seen her since. The police don’t seem interested. Her house…there was a disturbance there.”

The old man pushed himself up from his desk, knuckles turning white. “She kept some strange company too. Abductees, she called them. She was adamant she’d been abducted too. Told me fantastic tales of being on board UFOs and lights in the forest. Crazy stuff. Nobody believes that kind of thing, do they?” Callow looked at Mulder and Scully lowered her gaze, breathing through the awkward silence.

“What did you make of her company? TasTiger Tours,” Mulder said, not rising to the bait.

“Taking tourists to see thylacines in the Daintree? When she told me what she was doing I told her that people would either see her as a lunatic or a scam artist. But it seems I was wrong. There are plenty of fools…” He stopped and Mulder offered him a accepting grin. “Sorry. You are entitled to spend your dollars any way you see fit, but Tasmanian tigers have been extinct for decades and most certainly did not inhabit tropical rainforest.”

“And yet both Dr Scully and I have seen thylacines in recent days. One was inside your daughter’s home.”

Professor Callow blanched and held on to the edge of the desk. “In Stephanie’s house? That’s impossible.”

“It wasn’t so long ago that this facility was being funded to research thylacine DNA with a view to potentially reviving the species. It’s not much of a stretch to consider that the animals might have escaped and thrived in the wild.”

Callow sighed and shook his head. “You sound like Stephanie. She had a penchant for the arcane. I wouldn’t be surprised if she’d faked her own abduction by this group of men, simply to get my attention. I’ve suggested she see someone, you know, a psychiatrist to help her with her troubles, but she wouldn’t be told. She seems to be a lost cause.”

Mulder continued to talk, despite the old man walking past him to the door. “There are precedents where animals have created their own enclaves in non-native regions. The fabled big cat stories around the world can be explained in this way.”

Callow opened the office door. “What you say is true, Mr Mulder. And I may agree, except for the fact that my project never created a single live specimen. The trials all failed.”

Mulder swigged from the water bottle as she drove. The light outside was weak and grey. “What do you think, Scully. Is he involved?”

              “He was frightened, Mulder.  I saw a man cowed not just by the weight of his wife and daughter being missing, but by fear.”

              “He certainly knows more than he was letting on, Scully.”

              She watched him lean his head against the window. “You need to rest, Mulder. You still look like you’re running a fever.”

              “I’m fine. I just need to clear my head to think. Callow’s experiments didn’t yield a live thylacine, according to him. Yet we know they exist. What would be the purpose of recreating extinct animal lines, Scully? Where does that fit in with the abductions, the lights? And why would the police dismiss the case? Even if Steph was well known in these parts as someone with a psychiatric history, why deny she even existed?”

        ��     “I’ve been thinking about that too, Mulder. And did you notice the name of the guard at the front gate?”

              He turned to her, cheeks flaming. “No, what was it?”

              “Galea. Same as the police officer.”

 They drove to the police station. The car park was deserted. Grey clouds pushed low over their heads and Scully scratched at the back of her neck. Mulder was slow to get out of the car. A sheen of sweat sparkled across his brow. She walked up the steps and rapped at the door. No answer.

              “Do you get a weird feeling, Mulder?”

              He didn’t answer but mopped at his forehead with the back of his hand. His chest rose and fell laboriously. She twisted the handle and pushed at the door. It didn’t budge. “If this is a joke, I don’t like the Australian sense of humour. Mulder,” she said, stepping back down to where he was leaning against the car door. “Get back in the car, out of the heat. Drink the water. I’m going around the back.”

              She knew he was sick when he complied without complaint. There were garden beds either side of the building, leaf litter piled high. Tall palms swayed on the increasing breeze and a pair of bird of paradise plants pecked at the empty air with their resplendent bronze beaks. The windows of the house were covered in cobwebs and the side door was locked. How had they not noticed the state of the place when they spoke with Officer Galea? Who were the other people in the building? Were there other people? She peered through the dirty glass of the back door but saw nothing but the marks of a building that hadn’t been inhabited for a while.

A car engine caught her attention and she hurried back round. A small blue SUV swung into the gravelled space next to their hire car and a middle-aged couple got out.

“If you’re looking for the police station, you need to head back that way, to Port Douglas. This one hasn’t been used for a few years now.”

“We were looking for Officer Galea,” Scully said, keeping an eye on Mulder, who was leaning his face against the window.

The woman shrugged. “The last copper here was Sergeant Blythman and she left to have a baby. That baby’s at primary school now. We just tidy up the yard. Len, give me that fertiliser. Those plants need a good feed.”

Scully opened the driver’s side door, but turned back to the couple. “Have you ever seen strange lights in this area? Blue lights?”

“You’re Americans.” Len joined his wife.

“We’re here on our honeymoon,” Scully said, as much to remind herself as to inform the couple. “We came here to report a crime here just the other day. Now it’s empty.”

The couple continued to remove gardening equipment from the back of the car.

“Who is Eddie Romero?” Scully asked. “It’s the name of a local research facility. It’s the name of one of the forest tracks. Our accommodation is Romero Sands.”

“He’s no-one special,” the woman said. “Enjoy your honeymoon. Go swimming. Do some bushwalking, but don’t stray off the tourist tracks. Have a nice time. Go home to your families.”

“Do you know Steph Callow?”

The woman exchanged looks with her husband. “Who are you?”

Mulder got out of the car, his body sagging. “What’s going on in this town? What are you afraid of?”

“We’re not scared,” the woman said, straightening up. “We’re just invisible. Nobody listens to us. They just want people to come here, spend their money. The tourist dollars rule. It’s like that film with the sharks, isn’t it, Len? You know the one, where the mayor of the island won’t shut the beaches down for the long weekend.”

“Jaws,” Scully said, looking over at Mulder. “Have people been hurt here? Killed?”

The woman looked at Len. “They’ve disappeared. But the government people say that they just lost their way, the forest is dangerous if you’re not careful.” She walked up to Scully and took her hand. “You two look like lovely young people. You don’t need anything like that happening to you. It’s the worst thing. People go missing and you never know what’s happened. You live every day like they might just come home and fling their coat across the hall and sit on their favourite chair and ask for a cup of tea, you know? It’s cruel, is what it is. Hope and dreams. It’s just cruel.” She rolled her lips together and took a long, slow breath. “You take care now. Come on, Len. It’s going to rain soon. Let’s spread this stuff and get home.”

 Mulder groaned in his sleep, deep guttural sounds that held fear. She often wondered how he processed all that happened to him. Besides the abject terror of the abduction, he had faced the death penalty. They had spent months on the run, looking over their shoulders, living out of cheap motels and even cheaper cars. He held it in, he held it together, mostly. She knew he thought he had to be strong for her, as she did for him. They both drove for days wearing their stoicism like armour. Back then, she knew the day would come where one of them would crack. She lay odds that it would be her first. That she would flip tables and throw away the hair dye and the Walmart underwear. That she would call her mother and write her brother. That she would tell Mulder she didn’t really love him and that she was leaving. That she would lie to save him. To save them both.

But in a long-forgotten town, in a long forgotten state, she returned with two bags of groceries and found him balled up in the corner of the darkened room, furniture broken around him, sobbing. The bags dropped to the floor and split open spilling the tins and packets in front of her. She let him cry against her chest until his tears soaked her vest. He didn’t talk, didn’t need to. She was grateful for that desolate place, grateful for the onerous skies and the stares of the townsfolk, grateful for the one store and flickering neon motel sign, grateful for the gritty coffee and the faulty ice machine. It drew out his sorrow and suffering and pushed hers down. She would never leave him. She would never lie to him.

 Now, she dabbed his brow with a cool washcloth, then pressed it around the back of her neck, easing the itch there. Wherever Steph Callow had gone, the dark forces in the forest were responsible. But with Mulder tossing fitfully by her side, there was no way they could go forward with any kind of investigation. She’d have to find a doctor’s surgery in the morning. He needed treatment.

“The light was so bright, Scully. It was so bright it felt like my eyes had been sliced open and silver was poured inside.” He pushed himself up and bunched the sheet across his lap. His voice was groggy, his skin tacky to touch. She gave him water. “I dreamt that Steph Callow was there with me, on that ship, Scully. She was trapped too, helpless and that bright light burned her and she burst into flames.”

While Scully made tea, he played with the remote, and a news anchor read out details of a mysterious death locally.

A member of the public called in the discovery of the body. At this stage, the police have not issued any details of the circumstances or the victim but there is a presence at Eddie Romero House.

“It’s Professor Callow,” Mulder said, calling her back to the bedroom. “He’s been killed.”

[fearofaherobrine]

Roleplay Server Log #212

“Dress Fitting, Mouse Hunt, Judge and Painter”

-The next day-

[Doc] Is standing on a block in the vine room hanging a poster on the wall. The main image is three birds inside a bulb of glass, but there's lots of small things in the background too.

[Deer] Comes up from the lab- Doc?  What is that?

[Doc] Steps down and backs off to look at it proudly- I have no idea! But I got it while I was irl and it just spoke to me for some reason. I've seen mideavil artwork online plenty of times and it looks like it must be a very old image.

[Deer] - It is certainly pretty, hey did Lie ever tell you what CP got her?

[Doc] No, I hope it was worth the trip though, what a miserable mess.

-HerobrineCP has left the server-

[Doc] Hmph. Let's hope he's just running errands. I certainly don't feel like I'm missing anything- Xe turns to look at Yaunfen, who's dozing lightly on the bed near the stairs and then returns hir gaze to Deerheart, touching the corner of her cheek lightly with one gloved hand - Everything I need, is right here.

[Deer] - Aww, you are my everything as well

[Doc] Makes a rather sappy contented face, but it's geniune. - OH! I have something for you too. - rustles around - close your eyes and stick out your hands.

[Deer] Gives them a curious look before following their directions-

[Doc] Puts the string of star- shaped lights in her hands, the little battery pack is glowing faintly orange from the mix of red and glowstone dust inside of it. The stars themselves are each lit and cycling slowly through a rainbow of different colors. - You can look now.

[Deer] Looks and makes a small happy little gasp- They're so pretty!

[Doc] Not as pretty as you, but I thought you'd enjoy them all the same. I think you're supposed to string them along the walls or drape them over tihings.

[Deer] - Ooh!  We could make some copies to hang in Lie's green house!  I bet that would look pretty as well!

[Doc] With all her colorful flowers? That is a really good idea, and maybe some on the porch by the mushroom umbrella? Make a regular garden party out of it.

[Deer] - Oh absolutely!

[Doc] But this string... I was thinking... could maybe be in our bedroom? A bit of mood lighting for playtime? - Eyebrow wiggle-

[Deer] - Of course, or maybe it would look better around me?

[Doc] Makes a very low noise that's purely sexual-

[TLOT] Is in the next room and takes a deep breath. - Ahhhh, that's nice... My lamb?

[Steve] Yeeess?

[TLOT] Perhaps you should do our housemates a favor and volunteer to watch Yaunfen for a bit?

[Steve] fake put-upon look - Oh must I?

[TLOT] I think I can make it worth your while later. I'm going to go give Lie her dress and make sure it fits. I'll be back in a bit.

[Steve] Oh all right-

[TLOT] Love you.

[Steve] Love you too.

[TLOT] Walks outside and takes a nice breath of air and rolls down into his cat form in a burst of fog. With a happy little roar he goes dashing through the sunlight dappled grass towards Lie's home.

[Endrea] Is lounging out front while her children play-

[TLOT] Playfully sneaks up on her in the grass.

[Endrea] Is too focused on Willow and Oak to notice-

[TLOT] Jumps onto her shoulders and gives a small triumphant roar

[Endrea] Looks and snorts at him- Hello TLOT

[TLOT] Gives her a big lick on the nose-

[Endrea] Rolls her eyes- If you're looking for CP you just missed him

[TLOT] Nope! Not after the sour puss today. I'm looking for Lie.

[Endrea] - I believe she's tending to an injured dog...

[TLOT] Then I may be of help. Thank you dear lady. - Does a little bow, switching his tail around, and then leaping to the ground. - dog pen? Or in the house?

[Endrea] - Dog pen

[TLOT] Ah, curses. I guess I need to shed my fur - He pofs up in the fog again and goes striding down the yard with his cloak flowing in his wake- Hey Lie?

[Lie] - In here!  Stay still!

[TLOT] Goes to the gate. - Do you need any blood Lie? Is it bad?

[Lie] - Oh, this one just ended up playing a bit too hard and got bit

[TLOT] Silly dogs- leans on the fence- I brought you something when you're done. Though you may need to clean up first if you've been doing chores all day

[Lie] - Probably- She stands up after wrapping the dogs legs and she's covered in dirt, manure, and a bit of blood

[TLOT] Yeeeah, you may need a bath first....

[Lie] - I'll go set one up

[TLOT] How come you don't have one as part of your house Lie? I know you have some issues with the lava hardening on you.

[Lie] - Because normally CP is here and he'll usually toss me into the lava pool and then help me get it off

[TLOT] Get it off huh....? I presume that's a prelude to other things? - grins

[Lie] Freezes and blushes- Shut up

[TLOT] Pffft! I brought you your dress for the coronation, you should tidy up a bit and try it on.

[Lie] - Oh, okay- Lie quickly throws down some stone bricks and fills the space between them with water.  She also puts up some banners so she has privacy, but TLOT doesn't have to leave

[TLOT] Pulls out a block to sit on and faces away from her- For the queen's modesty, of course.

[Lie] - I'm not a queen TLOT

[TLOT] Smiles softly-  You're Cp's queen.

[Lie] Embarrassed noises-

[TLOT] I'm god to my mate, it's just a thing. It's nice to feel special.

[Lie] Slips into the tub- I'm not sure he has a term for what I am for him yet...  Well, other than his

[TLOT] What do you consider him? The same?

[Lie] - My mate, my love...- Then jokingly- My constant project

[TLOT] Snorts - That he is! What's the saying? No work of art is ever finished, only abandoned?

[Lie] - Perhaps, oh, by the way, could you give me some Nether rack?

[TLOT] Sure! - He opens the creative and pulls out a stack- Do you have a new project? Or just planning on refacing some walls and floors?

[Lie] - Some more plants, I created a tree for the Nether some time ago, but I want to try and make some more

[TLOT] Ah, some potted plants for his office at least. Doc told me it's huge.

[Lie] - More for like outside, if I have to end up spending time over there, then I will add more foliage

[TLOT] What kind of theme are you going for? Things that match the surroundings? Or contrast?

[Lie] - Mostly just seeing what will grow, the one thing I have gotten to grow is a tree

[TLOT] You need hardy stuff that likes the infernal heat... maybe like cacti? Without the spiky bits?

[Lie] - Maybe, like I said, we'll see what springs up

[Lie] Finishes her bath and redresses herself before removing the bath and the banners-

[TLOT] Is still facing away and tosses the stack of netherrack over his shoulder so it bounces into her inventory- Can I look now?

[Lie] - Yeah, I'm done

[TLOT] Swivels around and takes a sniff of the air- Much better.

[Lie] - Hey!  I didn't smell that bad!

[TLOT] sniggers- I'm just sensitive- he pulls out the dress- here you go-

[Lie] Takes the silk item, it's a long strapless white dress that has a short jacket which covers her neck shoulders and arms.  The jacket sleeves end in a light flair.  The jacket is a periwinkle blue and the edges of the actual dress are too, as is the mesh which covers her back which dips in a sharp v.  The entire outfit should fit her form well once it's adjusted-

[TLOT] Pull it on and I'll nip or tuck anywhere you need it.

[Lie] Turns away and hesitates before quickly switching clothes-

[TLOT] Well? Is it okay?

[Lie] - Yeah, I mean the shoulders are a little tight, but I think it's supposed to be like that, it's not like my movement is inhibited though

[TLOT] I can give it a little slack if needed...?

[Lie] - I think it will be fine, thank you, now to work on those plants...

[TLOT] Well go ahead and shuck it off so you don't get it dirty.

[Lie] - Oh, right- Starts hurriedly changing back

[TLOT] Fumbles around and drops something, - ah dammit! - The spawn egg breaks on the floor and a very tiny mouse scurries away from him-

[Lie] - Er, was that a mouse?

[TLOT] Yes! Sorry Lie! I was carrying it to give to Grinny. Dammit, it went under your armor stand!

[Lie] - Don't worry, either the Vulpix's will get it, Hope, or one of the barn cats

[TLOT] You know... maybe you should get it.

[Lie] - Me?

[TLOT] Yes, try out your cat-like reflexes. I bet you could nab it easy.

[Lie] Blushes- Um...  Uh...

[TLOT] You're already half undressed anyway, give it a shot. It doesn't have hardly any programming, all it can do is run from you.

[Lie] - Mmm...  Oh alright- She concentrates and shifts into her cat form

[Mouse] Peeks out from under the boot on her armor stand and scoots back underneath.

[Lie] Crouches down and focus' on the boot-

[Mouse] Moves a little bit behind the stand and makes a break for the bookcases, wiggling between two volumes.

[Lie] Takes off after it and sticks her paw between the books-

[Mouse] Scuttles up the back of the bookshelf and tries to run past her-

[Lie] - Get back here!

[TLOT] laughs- Sounds like me when it's Karen's bathtime.

[Mouse] runs up the side of the butts pumpkin and tries to wiggle under the sign with no luck-

[Lie] Leaps at it, getting into the hunt-

[Mouse] Panicky squeak as it jumps off the pumpkin and tries to go under the bed instead -

[Lie] Tears after it-

[Mouse] Climbs the sheets as fast as it can-

[TLOT] Go Lie go!

[Lie] Jumps on top of it-

[Mouse] Poofs into a morsel with a bitty squeak-

[Lie] There's a tiny bit of blood on her fur now- Oh!

[TLOT] Good job! That was some nice leaping and pouncing!

[Lie] - I...  I got a little caught up in it...

[TLOT] Hehe, I do some of our hunting the same way. Chickens are nicely challenging, and they taste good to boot.

[Lie] Bats the morsel towards TLOT- Yeah...  You can keep this

[TLOT] Ah, no taste for the prize, Lie is only about the challenge. - He flips it into his mouth like a mint. - Your loss.

[Lie] Can't get to the bit of blood on her- uuuuuuuuungh

[TLOT] Little floof is fussy about her white fur huh? - He takes the damp towel from her bath and cleans off the little bit of blood. - Perfect.

[Lie] - Thank you- She stretches a little and flops

[TLOT] So where did Cp jet off too? You seem relaxed, so I'm presuming it was something mundane?

[Lie] - He went to get the ingredients Sam asked for, he'll probably stop here first to check over with Sam what he got to make sure it's all correct before taking it to his server

[TLOT] Ah okay. So still no on the plumes for Cp's armor? -grinning-

[Lie] - He'd burn it before you could even add it

[TLOT] I know. But it's a fun thought. I know a little secret too.... - conspiritorial wink-

[Lie] Perks- What is it?

[TLOT] I saw Doc's outfit...

[Lie] - Share the secret?

[TLOT] It's a dress...

[Lie] - CP won't be happy about that

[TLOT] Too bad. I think it looks nice.

[Lie] Giggles- Now where did my clothes get to...

[TLOT] Points-

[Lie] - Thanks- She jumps down and rubs against TLOT as she passes him

[TLOT] Reaches down to scratch her ears. - Little huntress

[Lie] - Mind opening the door to my room for me?

[TLOT] Reaches for her- of course.

[Lie] Let's herself be picked up and purrs-

[TLOT] Happily pets her and takes her to her room, he squeaks open the door and sets her daintily on the bed.

[Lie] - Thank you, she pulls her dress out of her inventory- Will you put this in that chest under the window?

[TLOT] Sure - He walks over and squeaks open the chest, pausing there for a moment with the lid open - wanted me to put it in your toybox huh?

[Lie] Freezes as her shape becomes indistinguishable from glowing so brightly-

[TLOT] Blinks in consternation- That's a bit blinding!

[Lie] Whines and tries to hide under the blankets-

[TLOT] Takes out a vibrating egg and it buzzes in his palm. - That's a bit weak though. I think I could juice it up a bit... - He tips out the batteries and lets them clunk back into the box. He pulls out a bit of restone and picks a few pixels off it before slipping some inside.

[Lie] - What are you doing?

[TLOT] Just some minor repairs. - He twists the vibe to high and the buzzing increases a lot- that's better...

[Lie] Tries to slip under the bed-

[TLOT] Aww don't hide. I have something nice for you.

[Lie] - So I can hear...

[TLOT] I can feel that curiousity radiating from you....

[Lie] - Shut up...  I can't hear you!

[TLOT] Turns the little device off. - can you hear me now?

[Lie] Grumbles and her head pokes out from under the bed-

[TLOT] You're adorable.

[Lie] - So everyone says- She darts to the other side of the bed and crawls out, transforming back once she's clear of the bed and without her clothes

[TLOT] Eh, if you've got it, might as well flaunt it. Did you need anything else while I'm here?

[Lie] - No, I think I'm good- She pulls on her shirt

[TLOT] Maybe you should have some fun while you wait for Cp to come back? - with a quick twist he turns the vibe back on and reaches around to poke it up inside her-

[Lie] Shrieks and falls back onto the bed- TLOT!

[TLOT] Backs off quickly. - Just a thought.

[Lie] - Ngh!

[TLOT] I'm headed back. Take your time Lie, have a nice afternoon.

[Lie] - I hate you right now...

[TLOT] Wipes his upper lip with his forked tongue- that tastes like a bit of a lie...

[Lie] Groans and buries her face into the blankets-

[TLOT] Feels her growing arousal and sends a bit of it back to her -I'll just leave you to it. - waves cheerfully and departs

[Lie] Is muttering "I hate you" into the blanket over and over again.  However her legs clamp tighter as her pleasure grows, but it's not quite doing it for her leaving her in a state of frustration-

[Splender] Perks as he receives a message from his brother and he rushes off to Doc's-

[Doc] Is talking to Alexsezia about the poster-

[Alexsezia] It is really interesting. What's with the green cat eating the sun?

[Doc] It's a lion. I don't know why it's green.

[Splender] - Doc?  Are you here?

[Doc] Splender? I'm in the vine room.

[Splender] Teleports in- Oh, I didn't know you had a guest, am I interrupting anything?

[Doc] Nah, just a bit of chatting about art.

[Alexsezia] I've been doing lot of embellished stuff lately. Doc got me into looking at really old illuminated books on the internet.

[Splender] - Oh, okay, um, I have a message from my brother...

[Doc] Oh dear... not more bad news I hope? I saw Cp go out earlier...

[Splender] - No!  Not at all!  He's decided to send Judge and Painter here under the pretense of them checking on the others...

[Doc] They're okay in a digital enviroment? Mostly human?

[Alexsezia] There's a Painter? Judge sounds a bit serious though.

[Splender] - If it's brief they'll be fine, we've done it many times with the other pasta's when we needed to get them quickly from one area to another

[Doc] Okay... Splender? You're the expert, do I need to do anything in advance? Topics to avoid?

[Splender] - I think brother mostly just wants them to get used to this place and meet you before introducing them to the idea of having a child.  Those two can get pretty defensive around strangers...

[Alexsezia] Can I stay? Or will they attack me since I'm obviously digital/human?

[Splender] - So long as you don't offend them it should be alright...

[Doc] Offend?

[Splender] - Like harsh criticism, violence towards children...

[Doc] I'll be gentle.

[Splender] - Then are you ready for me to get them?

[Doc] Gives hir coat a bit of a tug and fluffs hir hair- Ready

[Alexsezia] Tries to brush some of the cat hair off her, but it's hopelessly woven into her chainmail shirt - I hope they aren't allergic to cats....

[Splender] - Not at all- He creates an opening and steps through, quickly returning with two in tow

[Doc] Hello.

[Alexsezia] Cheerful wave-

[Judge] Is a young looking girl with short blonde hair in a short white dress with tall white boots,  She carries a white sword but the thing which stands out about her are her eyes, they are deep and black with small specks like stars-

[Painter] Is taller than Judge with messy short black hair, he has a blue jacket and jeans on with sneakers.  His white mask has a blood painted smile on it-

[Splender] - Judge?  Painter?  This is Doc and Alexsezia!

[Alexsezia] Looks only slightly unnerved by Painter's mask.

[Doc] Nice to meet both of you. I understand you wanted to check up on the others?

[Painter] - That's what Slender told us to do, he's starting to get a bit antsy what with so many people gone from the house

[Doc] Well the pokemon trainers are mostly downstairs if you want to come with me. Strangled has taken to crashing in Lost Silver's room, and Glitchy is often hanging out with them too. I've offered Strangled his own space but he usually tells me to go die in a fire or something similar.

[Judge] - I suppose we could start with them...

[Alexsezia] Opens the lab door for them

[Doc] Thank you-

[Alexsezia] So you're an artist? I am too.

[Painter] - I doubt we think of the same thing when we think of painters

[Splender] Teleports off to warn BEN-

[Alexsezia] Oh... do you only do walls and houses or something? I work mostly on canvas-

[Painter] - Oh no, I use canvas, it's my paint that's different

[Alexsezia] Neat!  I make all my own pigments and dyes too!

[Doc] Watch out for the button at the bottom of the steps.

[Painter] - I gather my own paint

[Judge] Is getting a tad irritated at Alexsezia-

[Alexsezia] cheerfully- We're all crafty around here. Doc built this house.

[Doc] Blushes slightly-

[Painter] - I gather blood

[Alexsezia] Oh, so you just do monochrome work?

[Painter] - In a sense

[Silver] Is feeding his smaller pokemon-

[Doc] Hey Silver! Hows the team faring?

[Judge] Narrows her eyes at Silver-

[Alexsezia] Oh the little pink critter is adorable! I mean they're both cute but still!

[Silver] - Good, just feeding the smaller guys now, Strangled's taking care of the others

[Sylveon] Looks at Alexsezia- Syl!

[Alexsezia] Holds out a hand to see if it's okay to pet them-

[Doc] Silver has been a huge help with my own pokemon too.

[Espurr] Comes over and puts a morsel of food in her hand-

[Silver] - Er, Espurr?  She can't eat that...

[Alexsezia] No, I can't, but thank you little one.

[Espurr] Takes it back using telekinesis-

[Alexsezia] Psychic kitty...

[Doc] So how's the Zweilous? Do you need another helmet for the second head or is it behaving better now that you have the badge for it?

[Silver] - It's doing better now, I don't think it needs another helmet

[Doc] Excellent. Any progress with MissingNo?

[Silver] - Not really...  But it's not so loud anymore

[Doc] Hopefully it's because it's more relaxed now that it's not trapped? Poor thing might be a tad traumatized.

[Silver] - Maybe...

[Painter] - to cut down on time, mind telling us how Strangled and Glitchy are Silver?

[Silver] - Oh!  Well...  They're pretty good, I think Glitchy is exploring outside...

[Doc] I take it Strangled is still holed up in your room pouting?

[Silver] - Not right now, he's holed up down there feeding the larger pokemon and his

[Doc] Looks at the group - Up to you guys, bug him or leave him be?

[Painter] - I don't think we need to see everybody, that would take too long, just so long as we can get the general idea of how everyone is...  That should be good enough

[Doc] Okay. - Looks at Silver- Do you need anything while I'm down here Silver?

[Silver] - No, I'm good

[Doc] Alright. last I saw Grinny he was in the kitchen. Smile is outside somewhere probably playing with Liu-

[Judge] - Liu?  Oh, that's right, Jeff's brother's, right?  He was somehow brought back?

[Doc] A bit proudly- I had a bit of help from a friendly witch. She helped me reclaim his soul. So yes, he's alive, in a sense.

[Painter] - Can we continue now?  I'd like to get back to my projects...

[Alexsezia] Perks up a little - What are you working on? Subject-wise?

[Doc] Let's go then.

[Painter] - This and that

[Alexsezia] Been doing illuminations myself. Really old school. TLOT made me some gold ink so it really pops.

[Judge] Her hand is getting closer to her sword-

[Alexsezia] Trots ahead to hold the outside door politely-

-It's a lovely day outside with the sunlight sparkling off the deep blue waters of the bay and the sugarcanes bending lightly in the breeze.

[Judge] - It is bright out here...

[Doc] Yeah, it's nice. I prefer a good lightning storm though. - Leads them up the steps towards the road to the spawn

[gem] -is standing outside at spawn with eddy and Edward and her guardians-

[Doc] Hi Gem, got the whole group today huh?

[Alexsezia] Kneels and offers her arms to hug the little enders-

[gem] yea it's a nice day

[eddy and Edward] -hug alexsezia-

[Painter] - Who are they?

[gem] I am just you friendly space angel brine with my guardians and baby Endermen out for a day on this server.

[Doc] She's a digital glitch much like I am. Anyone with unusual eyes you encounter will likely be either a type of Herobrine or one of your creepypastas.

[Judge] - So many...

[Alexsezia] She's also a very nice neighbor. And BEN and Aven's roommate.

[gem] -sees judge angel's eye- wow your eyes are pretty

[Judge] Is surprised by this compliment-

[gem] they remind me of the beauty of space

[Judge] Has no idea what to say-

[Alexsezia] Looks at her straight on- Yeah! They do look like they have stars! I thought they were just black.

[Judge] Starts to hide behind Painter a little-

[Doc] Ah, don't be shy. we don't bite.

[gem] -makes a small cluster of stars and offers it to judge angel-

[Judge] Shies away-

[Painter] - She doesn't really like having her eyes talked about...

[gem] oh sorry I didn't know

[Doc] Oh, I see. It's just a thing around here. Lots of people with unusual eyes. - shows off hir own subtle green glow- Your housemate Cp's glowing white is almost the norm on this server.

[Painter] - Speaking of, he's been gone from the manor for some time...

[Doc] You guys don't know? He got married.

[Painter] Laughs a little- Yeah, that's a good one

[Doc] Honestly, I have a picture! Hang on- flips around in hir files

[Alexsezia] Nonono, I can do you one better - She pulls out a screenshot attatched to a bit of paper. It's Cp looking annoyed on the floor with Lie to one side and Notch and Stevie on the other. - The brine with the pretty white hair is his wife Lilinthia.

[Painter] Scrutinizes the picture, trying to remember details for later paintings- Interesting...

[Doc] Where did you get that?

[Alexsezia] I know people...

[eddy and Edward] -go over to judge angel-

[Judge] Looks down at them- Such strange little creatures...

[Doc] Ah, they're a miniature version of a common mob around here. The big ones are called Endermen, they're harmless unless you look directly at them, eye contact makes them go ballistic. But the designers who coded them were inspired by stories of Slenderman. - gestures at the little enders- Imagine those, but three blocks high; as tall as Cp.

[Painter] - Yeah we'll not mention that to him...

[Doc] Minecraft is a super popular game. I bet he already knows. It's not like it's an unflattering reference. Endermen are extremely formidible foes if you anger them. If they weren't deathly allergic to water, the players would be quite outmatched.

-There's a bit of laughter and the sounds of children playing a game up the hill-

[Doc] Ah, that reminds me. Lj's circus is down the coast. Our friend Herabrine and him worked super hard to repair everything. If you don't want to make the hike I can call for him in chat. If he's outside the woods he should hear me.

[Judge] - Please, the sooner we can get home, the better

[eddy and Edward] -wiggle there arms-

This message has been removed.

[Painter] - Such odd anatomy...

[gem] they are my cute little sweeties

[Doc] One of their game functions is to take random blocks, so the proportions were likely chosen to accomdate the block size. -types- Hey Lj? Two of your housemates are here to check on you. Can you come to the spawn for a minute?

[LJ] Pops into the air above them- Yeeees~?

[Doc] Gestures to Painter and Judge -

[Alexsezia] Hi Lj! You look great.

[gem] hey LJ how is the weather up there just as good as down here?

[LJ] - Well hello you two!

[Painter] - What happened to you?

[Doc] I removed his Insanity and... - xe turns to Lj can't see and points to the children playing nearby- a few other things got fixed too.

[Judge] - How odd...  I think you looked better monochrome

[gem] doc fixes a lot of things I swear xe is the best at it

[Alexsezia] I'm suprised... I'd think Painter would prefer the monochome considering his artistic mein.

[Doc] Blushes- Thank you Gem

[Painter] - No, I prefer a bit of color

[Judge] - He'll paint in normal colors if the mood strikes him

[Doc] Hey Lj, hows the candy crop coming?

[LJ] - Alright, I'm not much of a gardener though

[gem] -starts to make a tiny nebula-

[Doc] If you need any help, let me know. Can't wait until those ice cream cone trees start 'fruiting' Haha.

[LJ] - Nor can I

[Alexsezia] Wants to poke Gem's nebula-

[gem] -notices alexsezia looking at the nebula- do you want to see it?

[Doc] Turns to Painter and Judge- Should I try and find Jeff? He tends to avoid me. But he might want to go back with you guys.

[Alexsezia] Please?

[Painter] - Sure, it's him, Jane, BEN, and Herobrine left I believe...

[gem] -hands it to alexsezia-

[Doc] Uses hir pinpoint to look for Jeff before calling out to him over the chat- Hey Jeff? Judge Angels and Bloody Painter are here. Did you want a ride back to the manor?

[Jeff] - Nah, I'm good

[Doc] Calls out to Jane in a similar way-

[Jane] - Not right now

[Doc] I presume you can read the chat? Jeff and Jane say they're good.

[Painter] - Chat?

[Doc] Oh, I guess technically you're not signed in. Hang on - Xe takes out a command block and turns on the chat for them - Just think about what you want to type and do the hand motions-

[Judge] Puts in garbled gook-

[Alexsezia] Good effort, keep trying!

[Painter] - It's okay Judge, I know you have to look at the keyboard usually...

[Doc] Jeff? Jane? Can you repeat? I've got Judge and Painter in the chat now.

[Jeff] - We're staying for now!

[Jane] - For once I agree with the moron

[Doc] Anybody seen Liu? I'm sure he's got Smile.

[Jeff] - How the fuck should I know?  Although I'd like to have my dog back...

[Doc] It was just a general question for anyone to answer.

[Steve] Over chat - I saw him yesterday?

[TLOT] also chat - Not helpful Steve

[Steve] chat- Sorry....

[liu] -in chat- I am at my house

[Jane] - I don't know, maybe somebody should keep track of their damn dog!

[Jeff] - Bitch

[Jane] - Cunt

[LJ] Is snickering-

[Alexsezia] Chuckles and speaks aloud. She's holding the nebula gently- He's just mad that his brother played the hero last week and Jeff was nowhere to be found.

[Painter] - I don't understand...

[gem] -puts on her star crown-

[Alexsezia] One of our more belligerent Herobrine's kidnapped Jane for a lark and Liu battled valiantly to save her. MB just likes to rumble and if you kill him he'll usually just admit defeat and go home.

[LJ] Bursts out into raucous laughter-

[Alexsezia] You know Mix right? She delivered the killing blow!

[LJ] - You mean the little female brine?

[Alexsezia] Yeah! She has some kind of... of... power glove that shoots energy stuff!

[Judge] - I don't mean to be rude, but can we move onto the others?

[gem] -makes a rainbow planet crown and puts it on lj's head-

[LJ] - Ooo!  Pretty!

[Doc] Well... we can go by Lie's house if you want to meet her. It's on the way to BEN's place and I think that's everybody.

[Painter] - And why wouldn't we be seeing Herobrine?

[gem] which herobine

[Judge] - Ours

[gem] ah cp you mean

[Doc] He stepped out for a minute. Lie probably knows why. He's free to come and go and he still has loyal mobs on his home seed.

[Painter] - Then lead on

[gem] -pick up eddy and Edward- adventure

[Gk] Flaps down from the sky and lands near them - More pastas?

[Alexsezia] They're just visiting-

[Painter] - The hell is that?

[Gk] I'm a dragon, duh.

[Doc] He's also a Herobrine.

[gem] hey gk

[Judge] - So odd...

[Gk] Minces along, obviously in a good mood-

[Doc] Herobrine's are as varied as the seeds that generate them.

[Lie] took the vibrator out but is now a bit frustrated sexually and is heading outside to work on more plants for the Nether-

[Gk] Gallops a bit ahead and startles her intentionally-

[Lie] Yelps- GK!

[Gk] a bit too loud- Hey Lie! Have you seen Endrea? I'm supposed to help her babysit.

[Lie] - She and the kids moved to the back of the house where there's a bit more shade

[Gk] Okay! Goes trotting around the back of the house-

[Doc] walking up the path with the group- I swear helping Cp's dragon Endrea take care of her babies has taken 100 years of cynicisim off his shoulders

[Lie] - Perhaps, out for a walk Doc?- She starts putting down some Nether rack

[Alexsezia] We have guests Lie!

[Doc] This is Bloody Painter and Judge Angels, guys this is Cp's lovely wife Lilinthia. Lie for short. She's also a Herobrine.

[gem] -is flying just above the group- are you bringing the nether out of the nether lie?

[Lie] - Hello

[Judge] Steps uncomfortably close to Lie, scrutinizing her-

[Lie] - Er...

[Judge] - Innocent

[Doc] I guess that's accurate?

[Painter] - It means she has Judge's approval

[Doc] Ah. She's Cp's everything. His queen.

[Alexsezia] chuckles - The keeper of the little red cat.

[Judge] Backs off-

[Painter] - Well, at least we'll have something to report back about Herobrine and his mate...

[Doc] He's happy. Things aren't always perfect, but he's got a rather volatile personality, even without his Insanity, and a lot of pain inside that he has a hard time expressing.

[Painter] - No shit

[Alexsezia] At least he's not trying to randomly grief us all the time anymore.

[Lie] - That's true

[Doc] So why did he jet out again Lie? Painter and Judge came partially to check on him.

[Lie] - Oh, he's getting the food supplies Sam requested

[Doc] Almost time for the party huh?

[Lie] - I suppose so, TLOT just brought over my outfit for a final fitting

[Doc] Do you like it?

[Lie] - Yes, I do

[Doc] Okay, as long as you're happy Lie.

[Alexsezia] Ooooh! I want to see! I'll catch up with you guys.

[Lie] - But...  But my plants...

[Alexsezia] You don't have to equipt it! I just want to see! Real quick.

[Painter] - Onto BEN?

[Lie] - Oh alright

[gem] yay to the house

[Doc] It's a ways away, would you like a ride?

[Judge] - A ride?

[Doc] Oh yes. I get creative with a lot more then just my patients.

[Painter] Frowns beneath his mask- How so?

[gem] -is flying above the group in the circles with her guardians-

[Doc] Takes a few steps back and does a little flourish with hir lab coat; uncurling into hir dragon shape. Xe shakes out hir mane and tail, luxuriating in being essencially naked in the sunshine.

[Painter] Stumbles backwards- What the!?

[Doc] I needed to be bigger, there's plenty of things that would like to get in here and wreck this sanctuary. Cp and I are the strongest brines on this seed.

[Judge] - Well we know our Herobrine is strong

[Doc] And adaptable. Happily, so am I. It came in super handy when he was still being randomly violent. - Xe lays hir head down - just climb on and I'll carry you-

[Painter] Helps Judge on before climbing on himself-

[Doc] Ready Gem? We probably shouldn't race this time so I don't lose my riders.

[gem] we are ready

[Doc] Prances up on the air blocks and runs along, xe skims over Lie's horse pen to give them a good view and snakes around the roots of the gigantic tree.

[Painter] - So many painting subjects...

[gem] -is following close her guardians right behind-

[Doc] Look down there, some of our imported wildlife.

-Some of the mammoths are happily grazing-

[Judge] - So big...

[BEN] Is waiting out front-

[gem] -lands near ben- hey ben

[Doc] Makes a point of running near Aqua's pen to see if they'll pop out-

[Aqua] Looks at them from beneath the water-

[BEN] - Hey

[Doc] Makes a spiral down to the ground and loafs in Gem's yard. - Hi BEN, brought some old friends to visit.

[BEN] - Oh joy

[Judge] - Well hello to you to

[Doc] Clucks hir tongue- Better a friendly visit than a fight. I've had enough nonsense lately.

[BEN] - Whatever, you two have seen me, now get lost

[Splender] Comes out from inside the house where he had been playing with Hyrule- BEN that's not nice

[gem] oh splenderman I didn't know you where over would you like a cookie I made sugar cookies resently

[Doc] Twitches hir tail a bit- I had one, Snake gave it to me. They're quite good.

[Splender] - Oh yes! Absolutely!

[gem] I know I gave one to snake because he wanted to go over to your castle I wanted to make sure you guys had some -goes inside and come out with a stack of sugar cookies- if anyone wants of do take some

[Doc] Leans over and flicks out hir tongue like an open hand - pwese?

[gem] -puts a cookie on hir tounge-

[Painter] - Well, I suppose this is good enough for now, Splender?  Can you take us back?

[Splender] - Certainly, Doc?  I'll be right back

[Doc] Slurps it up and munches happily- Thank you-

[Splender] Takes the two pasta's and creates an opening, shepherding them through-

[Doc] At BEN - Well that went smoothly.

[BEN] Slumps a little- I'm just glad they didn't find out about Hyrule...

[gem] why?

[BEN] - Because Judge would have my head if she found out I had achieved something they had been trying for for so long

[gem] that makes it ironic because you weren't trying

[Doc] Well if they want to have a baby, I mean they'll find out eventually. But I'll protect your family as well.

[BEN] - Thanks