#she doesn't seem to have many assassins left specifically in her house

[thunderboltfire]

Related to this post, Sestna would be grandma's absolute nightmare.

Mechanically difficult to dispose of (maybe poison would be an option, but who knows if the Grey Wardens aren't weirdly resistant to toxins), politically difficult to get rid of, and not at all willing to consider her authority (especially not after the Inner Demons).

Sestna's definitely noticed that she's immediately fallen out of grandma's good graces. Unfortunately, she has lost her last remnants of a survival instinct three weeks beforehand and hasn't found it since.

[katerinaaqu]

Do tell me if you have addressed this before... Does Circe eat the pigs that used to be humans? Does she keep them to be eaten specifically, she eats them only sometimes, are they just trophies?

Would it count as cannibalism if they aren't human anymore?

Are there other animals on the island that used to be pigs?

Oh it has been quite a while since the last time I engaged to a conversation related to the matter! It doesn't matter if I had or hadn't addressed this before given how intriguing and fascinating subject it is! And to be fair I doubt there is one clear answer either but it is definitely a subject on the table (yeah pun intended! Sorry!) So here goes;

It does seem that Circe has many different animals in her court, like lions and wolves who appear to be her escorts. It is of course unclear whether those are indeed transformed humans (as Plutarch suggests for example to his work "Bruta Animalia Ratione uti" or Apollodorous with his Epitome who claims that some of Odysseus comrades were turned to other animals too) or actual creatures (Homer implies that she "bewitched them" but that could also mean simply that she controls their will). It is in fact Eurylochus who also expressed that the wolves and lions that guard her could be human when he tries to persuade the companions not to follow Odysseus to the house of Circe:

If we go to Circe's palace she will turn us all to swine or wolves or lions to guard her great house perforce!

(Translation by me)

Although it is some fear that Eurylochus has, it is hard to determine if that was a wink of Homer's as to what these creatures actually were. But either way they do seem like they do her bidding so it does seem possible that the animals she creates are also of practical purpose so to speak. So that also makes me wonder indeed that the pigs were there for purposes of that kind too. Now would they have other purposes other than food? Absolutely such as tracking or even, mind you, disposal of leftovers from cooking or food but I am almost certain that the pigs would have been used for food. Thus increasing the urgency in Odysseus's soul to save them. He wasn't just giving them back their humanity, he was potentially saving them from doom. Odysseus seems to imply that with these words:

But you have hostages my men in your halls and you have evil wiles in mind by keeping them there

(Translation by me)

Bear in mind how the word "wily of mind" is given with the word δολοφρονέουσα but the word φρονέω (to think/to plan) sounds incredibly close to the word φονεύω (to kill/to assassinate) could it be a correlation here? Perhaps. Now of course it needs to be said that contrary to homeric writing ancient people didn't eat meat THAT often anyway much less pork which was used through and through when cooked even bones and fat so it is hard to say when or how often Circe would demand a meal of pork or whether she would knowing that they are humans or not. It is kinda left there. It is not strictly said that the pigs were there for food in general so it is kinda left on interpretation at least as far as Homer is concerned. There seems to be a debate among some people on whether for example his companions even retained their reason throughout the process which is even more tragic to think of! That their memories of their homeland were gone so they had no idea what was happening but they knew they had to be human but they had no human speech to express themselves either which seems like being trapped in your own body which is another interesting notion of their transformation.

But I believe the essence of hurry and the feeling of urgency and sadness in Odysseus when his comrades were concerned that means he feared their actual life was in danger not just their dignity as human beings which already was bad enough for the ancient Greek standards. It seems that Odysseus at least feared that Circe would possibly kill them in their pig form or that the feeling wouldn't leave him alone even when he did extract the promise from Circe that she had nothing in store for them. By n large Odysseus's instinct was correct so I would say the danger of them being potentially killed or even devoured was strong there. Now whether Circe herself would devour the pigs or offer them as food to her wolves or lions is also another story but as I said I think the threat against their life was serious there.

Now as to whether someone were to slaughter one of them as they are a pig and whether that would be cannibalism I mean it definitely is an intriguing question. It seems that when myths are speaking on the transformation of a person to an animal, they still keep being referred to as people (see for example Aktaion when he is transformed into a deer by Artemis and devoured by his dogs, he is still mentioned by name) That and also the fact that as I said there even was a thought that his men maintained their reason even if trapped to the voice body and possibly behavior of an animal. Now there is also the question of what was considered "cannibalism" and such given how mostly we see it to human-shaped creatures but if human reason is enough as well as the birth as human (and birth and blood played a huge part in Greek literature as well) I think in one way it would be considered really problematic and yeah borderline cannibalistic if not straight out cannibalism if one were to devour one of the transformed pigs. And I find it also interesting how pigs were chosen of all animals especially with later years' talk about eating pork or how ironically close to dna of humans is the dna of pigs! So in one way I am just amazed at the connotations that are almost 3000 years old!

I hope this helps a bit! ^_^

[kyogre-blue]

Started Black Eagles, yaaaaaaah

White Clouds is so tedious. It's probably easier if you don't try to keep notes while playing, but god...

First, notes about the Holy Mausoleum and the Holy Tomb:

Holy Mausoleum entrance is in the back of the cathedral, on the left. The Holy Tomb entrance is via an elevator that Claude couldn't figure out how to operate, but I can't recall if we know where the elevator actually is. I'll check if there's anything more about it when I get to that part again.

The Mausoleum is described as "where the saints of the church slumber" and it's open to the public once a year on the Rite of Rebirth. There is also a coffin for Seiros. The Sword of the Creator is there for some reason. The Holy Tomb is where Sothis slumbered long ago, before the monastery was even constructed, before ZANADO was built, where her throne is, and also where the Crest Stones of her children are kept. I would assume no one is allowed in at all.

It seems like the Mausoleum is a decoy for the Tomb, and the Agarthans do attack it earlier on precisely to target Seiros's coffin, whether for her Crest Stone or just to check if there's anything there.

I do wonder why Rhea left the Sword there for real tho. Speculation: did she intend Byleth to find it...? Otherwise, weird move in general.

Second, notes about Edelgard's actions and plans throughout the school year:

She specifically spends the entire year coordinating moving hidden troops into position to attack the monastery, disguising them as (iirc) merchants and pilgrims. It still takes them two weeks to actually attack because the calendar is an awful system, but the implication seems to be that she joined the Officers Academy specifically for this.

She hires Kostas to "kill as many noble brats as he can" while she, Dimitri and Claude are out on a mission together without their classmates. It seems like she also planned to use this opportunity to get rid of the teacher accompanying them so that Jeritza would be able to stand in as the Black Eagles house teacher? Not too sure about this, it seems to be more implied.

At the same time, the Agarthans spur the Western Church into spurring Lonato into rebellion, which is used as a distraction for the Western Church's mission to either assassinate Rhea or steal from Seiros's tomb. Edelgard seems to be aware but doesn't actively participate.

Solon has the Death Knight, on loan from Edelgard, kidnap Flayn and uses her blood to experiment on villagers in Remire. Afterwards, the Agarthans use artificial Crest Stones to experiment on Academy students. I haven't seen the BE take on this, but presumably Edelgard is also aware but doesn't actively help?

Monica was kidnapped last year, reasons are unknown.

At the end of the year, Edelgard leads an Imperial force to invade the Holy Tomb to get Crest Stones. iirc, this was her own operation, not the Agarthans.

The main point of question I have is how far along were the Black Beast experiments before Solon got Flayn's blood. Was the obviously still incomplete experiment on Remire necessary, or was the process already complete and he was just fucking around? Could they have started the monster production business without Flayn?

Aside from that, I wonder why they killed Monica. There doesn't seem to be anything special about her, and as far as I know, Hopes didn't really give her any traits aside from being an Edelgard fangirl. Did Edelgard have her snoop around, and the Agarthans got rid of her for that? This is purely speculation tho.

As for the story itself so far, not much to say. Edelgard doesn't really appeal to me as a character, and I can't say that's changed with the C ranks I've gotten on the BE team.

The Eagles team itself is... uh. Well, tbh they are basically the same level of two-joke characterization as the Deer, but less endearing and more trainwreck. Hopefully, their B and As will have more substance.

Liveblogging notes:

Just realized that the armor of generics with Seiros and Nemesis was the exact same as a thousand years later. Medieval stasis indeed.

Thinking about it, the game starts on Seiros and Nemesis. VW ended on Nemesis for better or worse. I guess BE routes will end on Seiros, in a sense? But I don't think it'll make much sense in CF.

Sothis says to drift through the flow of time to find the answers we seek, but we're not... seeking anything...

Man, fem Byleth with her lipstick and blush... I just can't get used to it. Her face looks so weird. That oufit too... sigh

Those boobs are huge.

If you choose Eagles, Manuela chooses Golden Deer and Hanneman chooses Blue Lions.

This house is a disaster.

Hanneman specifies that he designed the Crest analyzer in his office. I wonder if his is the only one? Are they common, or do they not exist outside this? I had forgotten that people can just make their Crest appear in the air, like how Edelgard is doing during one of the early cinematics, but if everyone can do that, then I suppose there isn't really a need for analyzers normally?

Reminder that Edelgard hired Kostas as the Flame Emperor, explicitly to kill Dimitri and Claude.

The Knights of Seiros are accompanying us to the monthly mission.

Claude says his class's mission in month 5 is "downright peaceful" compared to hunting down Kostas.

Edelgard and Ferdinand C: Edelgard's mocking voice is... sure a thing. Ferdinand refers to "copyists" producing pamphlets. What is that like?

Knights were already dispatched to Gaspard when Rhea tells us about going there to do "cleanup" at the end of the month.

Linhardt and Caspar argue about which of their dads tops in their Foe Yay encounters.

Caspar's dad killed Petra's dad when Dagda and Brigit invaded the Empire.

The dark mage who is creating the fog has dialogue very similar to the other Lonato soldiers, so it seems like he's not with the Agarthans.

Edelgard comparing herself to Lonato is... a thing. She switches between calling their reasons for fighting "unreasonable ideas of justice" and "a higher cause" within four text boxes.

During Rite of Rebirth, everyone prays for the Goddess's return. Rhea and Seteth will be in the Tower. What even is the Goddess Tower?

Claude says GD was ordered to help the Knights patrol due to the supposed upcoming attempt on Rhea's life.

Edelgard can't swim.

Edelgard says the system of nobility has only been around for 1200 years. Which... is an interesting number. It would have had to start before the war between Seiros and Nemesis, which means Seiros didn't start it... Did Nemesis do it??

"Hail the mighty Edelgard, though red blood stains her story... Heavy as her crown may be, she will lead us all to glory... To a brighter dawn, we shall carry on... Hail, Edelgard!"

The Eagles all make a big showing of being scared of Rhea executing the Western Church would assassins.

Arundel/Thales shows up in a scene with the Flame Emperor. He mentions that Rhea is still alive, but like... the Western Church was never even going to where she was, they weren't actually doing an assassination?

The Flame Emperor basically confirms they were expecting Seiros's remains to be in the Holy Mausoleum, NOT the Sword of the Creator.

Arundel calls Nemesis a "thief," to Edelgard's surprise.

The Death Knight is explicitly Edelgard's guy, but she loans him to the Agarthans.

Nemesis getting mentioned by Rhea in the next scene flows better after Arundel mentions him first.

The Nemesis cover story has him defeating "wicked gods" which is interesting that their religion acknowledges other gods can exist, even if they're wicked.

[wickedbarnes]

Guns and Roses (Pt. 1) | John Wick x Reader

Part 2

PROMPT: With Helen's passing, the infamous assassin, John Wick is finding ways to recover and find meaning to his life once again. It wasn't until he comes across the new flower shop downtown that he realized he will do whatever it takes to grip onto the tiny leverage of salvation that's wearing sundresses with flowers in her hair.

THEME: Non-Con. DubCon. Obsession. Dark!John x Innocent/Naive!Reader. Abduction. Lots of smut. Don't read if any of these make you uncomfortable.

NOTE: This is the newly reconstructed plot for Beauty and The Beast that I had put on hold for many weeks. I hope this makes up for the inconvenience I've made for putting that story on hiatus. In this fic, Helen Wick was killed rather than dying of an illness that's why John is taking it way harder than in the movies.

John remembers it like yesterday. It haunts him in his dreams every night, making it harder to fall asleep everytime. The bags under his eyes were the constant reminder of his sleepless nights. He doesn't even remember the last time he even slept properly. He only slept peacefully when he was with Helen. But now that she was gone, sleep felt more like a chore that he couldn't really finish.

A sigh had left his lips as he put the empty mug in the sink, deciding to just wash it later on when he gets home. Home. Is this even home anymore? John looks around the house that he had built specifically for Helen and him and noticed how gloomy it was despite how classy and refreshing it looked. It was empty and quiet and... and it lacked the energetic aura that it once had.

John closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. He needed to stop moping around and finish his tasks for today. After Helen's death, John had found himself going right back into the world he had worked hard to get out of. What was the point anyway? It was all he had left. Might as well die working surrounded by his enemies rather than die alone.

But then again, he'd die lonely either way.

John solemnly got ready. It was Helen's death anniversary, he had to look his best. He got dressed in a fine tailored suit. A brown one, for a change. The same suit that Helen loved so much. John also made sure to pack an extra black suit on his way to the Continental. He didn't want to waste the day away by feeling down all the time. He knew Helen would be disappointed in him.

When his hair was gelled to perfection, John had packed his weapons and hoisted a pistol or two and some knives in their holders. After that, he was good to go.

John brushed his fingers against Helen's picture that was hanging on the wall before he got out of his house and locked the door behind him, walking over to his beloved Mustang that also had memories of Helen in it.

Flowers. He needed to get some flowers for her. He hoped there was a near flower shop so he wouldn't have to drive so far. The nearest one was an hour away from him and the cemetery where Helen rests. He wasn't in the mood for such a long drive.

But it seemed fate had taken pity on him. Because not long after, he had spotted a small flower shop that seemed as if it was fairly new. A fair amount of customers were inside and John decided to park his car on the side of the road before he turned the engine off and walked inside, the bell ringing as he opened the door.

The people inside looked up at him curiously, some seemed to know him and gave him a nod. Some of them were too scared to even acknowledge him.

John wondered where the staff were and his question was answered when a woman walked in carrying a bouquet of carnations with a soft smile plastered on her face before she handed it to an elderly woman.

"Thank you so much, my dear. You never fail to make the best bouquets." The woman's compliments emits a laughter from the girl that sounded so melodious in John's ear.

It reminded him of how Helen once laughed. But hers sounded more carefree and gentle.

"Anything for you, Mrs. Jameson. Do have a good day." The girl smiled and with that, the woman left and it was just her, John, and one of the assassins he had recognized from the Continental.

"And what can I get for the two gentlemen?" The girl asked and John heard the man beside him speak but he found himself tuning him out as he took the moment to stare at the girl who was wearing a yellow sundress. The assassin would watch her write down on her little notepad, taking notes of what the man beside him was asking her to do and what kind of flowers he wanted.

John watched her move around, noticing the little daisies that were tied around her hair. She pretty much looks like a fairy and the fact that she was much smaller and daintier than him didn't help either.

No, he shouldn't be oggling her like this, he's married!

A widowed man, you mean.

He had to bite back the groan at the thought. But instead, he gathered his composure and smiled down at the woman when she came back carrying the bouquet her other customer had requested.

"Here we are. Fresh tulips for you, sir." She happily handed the bouquet to the man who paid her generously and put some tip in her tip jar.

"Thank you, miss, they're beautiful and uh..." The man glanced at John and smirked slightly at him, "And do have a safe day. It gets dangerous these days."

The girl seemed to miss how the man looked at John with mischievousness in his eyes and John was kind of thankful for that because he didn't find it amusing at all.

"I'll keep that in mind, sir, have a nice day." The girl smiled and averted her gaze to the notepad she had as the man patted John's back before whispering quietly near his ear.

"Shouldn't stare too much, Mr. Wick." John looked at the man on his way out, ignoring the way how he taunted him by giving a two fingered salute.

"And for you, sir, what would you like to have today?" The girl's voice brought him out of his thoughts and looked down at her as she looked up at him patiently waiting for his answer.

"Oh, uh... daisies, please." He answered, ignoring how shocked he was with his answer. Daisies weren't Helen's favorite flower. But the girl seemed to beam at his reply and John smiled softly at that. Smile. It's been a while since he smiled.

"Nice choice, I like daisies." She said and wrote it down on her notepad, "Do you want the daisies to be mixed with something else?"

John thought for a moment and saw the tiny rose tattoo that she had on her wrist.

"Roses. Red, please."

The little fairy in front of him smiled and wrote it down on paper before she looked up at him, "These are good combinations, no one has made these one up yet, I haven't made them up yet to be honest."

"Well I guess I have a new profound talent now." John replied as a giggle escaped from the girl's lips.

"That, you do! The person you're gonna give this to is gonna be happy with them, I'm sure."

"I wish they were here to appreciate them."

"Oh, are they somewhere far away?"

He sighed, "Yeah, something like that. She uh, passed away."

Murdered, he wanted to say.

The girl's eyes widened and John could tell she immediately regret asking any questions but he didn't feel the need to take any offence.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't know, I shouldn't have asked." She said apologetically but John found himself shaking his head and smiling softly, feeling patient with the lady in front of him.

"No, it's alright. It's been three years, I've moved on."

Have you? He questioned himself.

"Still. I shouldn't have been so nosey." She bit down on her bottom lip and gestured over to the chair behind John, "Please, sit! This'll take a while I hope you're not in any hurry."

"No, please, take your time." John would say as he took the opportunity to sit down.

John didn't want to oggle at the girl while she worked but he found it hard not to. She moved with such grace and poise it was as if he was watching a gracious ballerina dancing in front of a thousand audience. The sundress she wore flowed freely with her moves and the slight breeze that came in from the windows blew her hair softly until a tiny daisy fell from her soft mane and landed onto John's knee.

The assassin carefully took it and while the girl wasn't looking, he quietly placed it in the pocket of his coat, making sure he wouldn't lose it. And it surprised him why he was keeping it safe with him in the first place.

His thoughts were suddenly interrupted when he heard her softly calling out to him. And John immediately stood up and walked over to the counter where she happily handed the bouquet in his hands and John took in how elegant yet adorable the arrangement looked.

"I made sure to pick out the prettiest red roses I had. I believe all of them had recently bloomed." The girl smiled and placed something on the counter and John looked down to see a tiny cactus situated on a small pot, "To make up for being so nosey earlier."

Innocence. John felt an overwhelming wave of innocence from her that it almost shook him to the core. Not even Helen was this soft.

Oh, God. Why was he comparing Helen to her?

"Oh, no, I can't take that. It's alright, I didn't take any offence." John would say and gently pushed back the cactus to her but she almost looked as if she was about to pout at him but instead, pursed her lips together.

"No, please, I insist. I feel guilty for even asking you such a personal question. Just look at it as my gift to you, you wouldn't decline on a gift now, would you?" John stared down at her for a moment and watched her take his calloused hand in her softer one and made him hold the small pot.

"It's rude to refuse gifts from people, sir." She smiled and pulled back and John suddenly remembered how Helen had told her the exact same thing back then.

"Oh, come on, John!" Helen whined and pushed the velvet box back to him, "It's your birthday, you deserve this!"

"But, honey, this must've cost a lot, you shouldn't be wasting money on me." John reasoned out and pushed the box gently back to her.

"Wasting? I'm not wasting anything, Jonathan, you're being ridiculous!" Helen sighed and grabbed his hand and made him hold the box, "John, please?"

"But, I-"

"No buts."

John sighed deeply and finally gave in when he saw the twinkle of hope in his wife's eyes when she finally realizes he's taking the gift she gave.

"It's rude to refuse a gift, John. Especially a gift from your wife." John playfully rolled his eyes and grinned at her.

"Alright, alright." He chuckled, "Thank you, sweetheart. The watch looks incredible, I love it."

"Oh, I know it is. But you're welcome, baby. You know I'd give you anything and everything."

"Thank you." John replied after he zoned out for what seemed like eternity. He hoped she didn't notice him doing so, "It's adorable, I love it."

"It is, yes. I wish I could tell you some tips on how to care for one but I wouldn't wanna keep you from your errands. Besides, a simple search on the internet would help you out anyways."

John looked down at his watch and noticed he had been here for about fourty-five minutes now.

"Yeah, I'm sure I'll be fine by here." He fished out his wallet and handed some cash to the fairy girl and dropped a fair amount of tip inside the tip jar.

"Thank you, sir. And have a nice day ahead!" She smiled and John could've sworn the twinke in her eyes made her smile even more breathtaking than it already was.

"I sure will. You too, doll." And with that, he walked out of the store and silently hoped she didn't latch onto how he had called her doll.

Hopping inside his car, John carefully placed the bouquet and his new cacti on the passenger seat and began to slowly drive to the local cemetery.

"God, why the fuck would you call her doll?" He asked himself, gripping the steering wheel a bit tighter, "And you didn't even ask for her name!"

John felt frustrated. But why? Why was he? Is it because he called her doll and possibly sounded like a creep? Or is it because he forgot to ask her name?

Why would he ask for her name anyway?

John shook his head and focused on the road ahead. No, this is Helen's day. He shouldn't he dwelling on a certain woman who reminds him so much of a dainty little fairy.

When he pulled up at the cemetery, John carefully parked his car and grabbed the bouquet before he got out and walked over to where Helen's grave was.

Upon seeing her name, John felt more at ease but the sadness in his heart never seemed to go away even until now.

"Hey, sweetheart." He greeted her and lightly brushed his fingers against the tombstone.

"I got you flowers." He crouched down and gently placed the flowers on the ground before he reached up and lightly traced her name that was engraved on the stone.

Helen Wick.

A sense of guilt coursed through his veins. This was the first time he brought a different set of flowers for her. These were red roses and daisies and he only got it because of the girl from the store. Because he reminded him of her not because it was Helen's favorite.

Helen's favorite were gardenias. Why the fuck would he even get these flowers in the first place?

John's frustration was slowly growing and he was almost close to throwing and ruining the whole bouquet itself but something stopped him from doing so.

"It never gets easy, Hel. It's so hard without you." He spoke softly.

And somehow, he began to hope. That maybe it doesn't have to be so difficult.

That maybe there was something more than just Helen.

And John couldn't help but think back to the girl from the flower shop that wore a yellow sundress with daisies in her hair and a rose tattoo on her wrist.

It wouldn't be too bad if he paid her a visit next time...

Right?

TAGS: @a-really-bi-girl @fanficsrusz @fairylightsandchai @pinkzsugar @edgiestwinter @paanchu786

[lizabethstucker]

Asimov's Science Fiction (March/April 2017)

Digging into my backlot of science fiction magazines. A mixture of verse and stories. I've only reviewed and rated the stories. This particular issue is the 40th Anniversary one! 3.8 out of 5 "Soulmates.com" by Will McIntosh Daniel wants someone to share his life with, to love and be loved by. When he meets Winnie through a dating app, he thinks she could be the one almost immediately. Emily, his former girlfriend and current best friend, is more suspicious, doing a deep dive on who Winnie could be. Which, considering they never meet in person despite Winnie being in Atlanta and Daniel in Athens, not that long a drive, is valid. Starts extremely slowly, assumingly to establish the characters. Not my favorite way as most writers don't do a good job at it. I'm not entirely certain that this is actually science fiction, despite the use of Artificial Intelligence. As to Daniel, I found him to be incredibly childish, blind, immature, and boring. He learned absolutely nothing from his experience. I struggled to complete this novella. 2.5 out of 5 "Number Thirty-Nine Skink" by Suzanne Palmer It started simply enough, an expedition designed to bring life in balance to an empty planet. Then the humans left suddenly, leaving Mike willingly behind with Kadey whose programming makes the creatures populating the area. When Mike dies of cancer, Kadey continues her work. Until the night something changes. Poor Kadey, struggling with loneliness, possibly incomplete programming, and the knowledge hidden from her regarding why the humans left. Sad, yes, but with a more hopeful ending that is also a beginning. Lovely story, so well written. 4.5 out of 5 "Three Can Keep a Secret..." by Bill Johnson & Gregory Frost A convoluted tale of assassins, misdirection, love, greed, and con-artistry with an almost noir feel to it. It's almost impossible to give a synopsis that isn't chockful of spoilers. The first person narrator isn't totally reliable, but still intriguing in what he shares. I loved this more than I expected with this strange little story. FYI, in case you don't know, the title is from an old saying. Three can keep a secret if two of them are dead. 4.5 out of 5 "The Ones Who Know Where They Are Going" by Sarah Pinsker A child must suffer so the city can be happy, or so they say. One particular child is taken from her mother, locked away in the dark with no social interaction beyond the delivery of food. As time passes, language is lost and memories of a happier time begin to fade. Then one day the door isn't shut tightly and the child gets out of the tiny dark room. She crawls up the stairs, each step bringing back a particular memory, heading for freedom. But at what cost? Rip my heart out, why don't you? Two and a half pages of the most gut-wrenching narrative. The tightly woven writing is painfully descriptive. And the ending! Oh, the ending. I just cannot deal with it. 5 out of 5 "Invasion of the Saucer-Men" by Dale Bailey Teenagers have been foiling alien invasions for some time. After all, the adults are either locked in their homes consuming television or would dismiss the very idea of aliens. The newest landing of a flying saucer bonds together teens out at the local make-out point. Per the author, his idea was to take the cheesy sci-fi and horror movie titles of the 1950s and treat the core idea with some emotional and thematic nuance. Here we have a group of teen archetypes, from the football star to the nerds to the beauty. There are also the followers that are always found in high school. This brings back memories of too many cheesy nights at the drive-ins in my county. I've always found my sympathies fell with the aliens most of the time, faced with humans whose first response to the unknown was always violence. Horrible ending to this story. Horrible. CW: extremely graphic attack. 3 out of 5 "Kitty Hawk" by Alan Smale After receiving word of her brother's death, Katharine Wriht travels from Ohio to North Carolina to help her other brother. Instead of Orville preparing to pack up for the trip home with his beloved

brother's body, he is trying to continue with the flight experiments that killed Wilbur. Katharine finds herself engaged in helping, even learning to fly herself. This is a complete AU of the Wright Brothers and the birth of flight, through World War I and the suffrage movement. The writing is evocative of the time period and the dangers of experimental flight. I don't know why it didn't click with me, but I struggled quite a bit in reading this imaginative tale. I can see others enjoying this greatly, just not me. 3 out of 5 "Cupido" by Rich Larson Marcel is a genius at chemistry. He came up with a way to make pheromones specific to the pair he's paid to bring together, either by one of the potential couple or by a third party. The majority of the money he charges goes to pay for his grandmother's colon cancer treatment. As word gets around, he finds himself moving to smaller cities to avoid identification. As yet, what he does isn't illegal. He didn't expect to find himself attracted to his potential mark. Frankly, I don't consider this to be science fiction at all. The science is already viable. Add the consent issues which would be called dubcon (dubious consent) and I'm too busy cringing to enjoy. In my mind, Marcel is anything but a hero. 3 out of 5 "A Singular Event in the Fourth Dimension" by Andrea M. Pawley Olive was removed from the reducer pile, adopted by a childless couple to help stave off loneliness. Now that the second grandmother is living with them and Mama was pregnant, Olive is worried that she will be sent back to the pile, no longer needed. A loving, imaginative little android who believes in fairy dust, even if the fairies never seem to do anything magical like in the stories. Love doesn't have to be limited to just humans or blood relations. Sweet and touching. 4.5 out of 5 "The Wisdom of the Group" by Ian R. MacLeod There are theories and studies about group-think, how certain groups can intuit a trend or coming situation without any real knowledge. With the right group, the members could get wealthy or probably save the world, depending on their inclination. Samuel has been part of such a group since brought in by his professor while still in university. Now, years later, Samuel is wealthy, has a liv-in lover, three dogs with unfortunate names, and a gorgeous house in Washington state. But something is wrong, something that seems to be originating from Samuel. The response is usually to cut the wrong out of the group. A complicated basis for a disturbing story. I had to sit on this one for a while in order to determine what I felt about it. Definitely strong writing, could almost be considered psychological horror. I don't know if I would ever say that I liked it, but I recognize the work done and the uniqueness of the story. 3.5 out of 5 "After the Atrocity" by Ian Creasey Abu Hameed, the terrorist behind the attack that left ten thousand people dead, has also died during interrogation. The solution? A machine that can make exact copies, complete with memories, of an individual. Violet Ruiz, operator and creator of the machine, even made a duplicate of herself in order to work 24/7. As Hameed's copies die during the enhanced interrogation, more copies are needed. Soon Violet II wonders about the ethical implications. Well thought out consideration of just how far a nation is willing to go in search of revenge wrapped in the disguise of intel. Patriot Act, enhanced interrogation the Greater Good, dismantling both Habeas Corpus and the Geneva Convention, anyone? 4 out of 5 "Goner" by Gregory Norman Bossert In order to explore space, humans had to be converted from flesh into nanotechnology based creatures. The pilots call themselves Goners. Char's best friend's father is a Goner. Already fascinated with the idea of flying, Char uses a sliver of Pilot Clark to begin changing. While this is complete in itself, the story also begs for more. What is happening to Char? Will he be allowed to live his dreams despite his age? S fascinating a concept. 3.5 out of 5 "We Regret the Error" by Terry

Bisson A series of news corrections from the future. So many corrections, even some corrections of corrections. Taken individually, these are amusing. Pieced together, there is a much deeper story playing out. Oh, and a nice dig at Disney's well-known history of not paying some of their artists for their work. 3 out of 5 "Tao Zero" by Damien Broderick Teenagers, incredibly smart ones, have unprotected sex after winning $370 million in the Mega Millions lottery. The celebration leads to a child, the narrator, and the money to try to trap the Tao, the Way that cannot be named, inside a machine. I tried, I really tried to read this without success. After rereading the first two pages over and over in an attempt to struggle through, I put the story aside, hoping to pick it back up when refreshed. Didn't work. DNF