#the golden demon of kabuki

[chevvy-yates]

[NC_RES]_17112045-NCA arki_portraits_010_DA_KB_WA.file ///core:_arki.file\\\

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⚠️ READ: Please do not repost/reupload any of my art here or to any other platform, or I will be forced to do anything to get it annihilated.

Akki/Arki belongs to @nervouswizardcycle. ♥️

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First picture is the cover artwork for:

///CH01_THE_GOLDEN_DEMON_OF_KABUKI.file\\\ from Cyberpunk 2078 – Pandemonium

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Additional info behind the cut:

Tbh I always didn't like the existing menpo masks of the game as they look weird to me and not 'classic yokai/oni mask' enough. The more happy I was about the 'Yokai International' mod by manavortex. Once I saw them on nexus I knew that this is the point where I could finally vp the starting artwork picture for the story.

There's lot's of textures and brushes added as I knew right from the start (through another vp project I haven't posted yet) that the ingame given effects won't satisfy me so I had to add them in post process.

I've done stuff like that years ago (mostly for work) but have always been too lazy to do it right from the start in vp (plus I was learning how to use my ingame tools first). And tbh I will only do it where I think it is neccessary as it eats a lot of time until my annoying perfectionism is 'okay' with the result.

Spent three evenings/nights (after work) on both pics. Second was faster done as of the existing layers/settings from the first, just tweaking the effects a bit differently. The second pic is only an addition for the normal vp post as I didn't use it for the chapter pdf.

The golden mask is recolorered as it appeared red in the original picture due to me having a red light spawned for a more dangerous feeling. Hair that clipped through the mask needed to be retouched by redrawing it and then it was just basically playing around with effects.

Here's the (already color tweaked with Lightroom) non-effects pics, so you get an idea of what has been added and what has been there already.

I took only two pics – nothing more as it was exactly the poses I wanted to have. I lightened up the 'maw' part of the mask to give a feel of a real maw at first but when you look closer you see Arki's beard and bottom lip. The second pic doesn't focus so much on this as mentioned it got not used as keyvisual for the chapter.

'The Golden Demon' refers more to his golden coat and the golden gloved claw, rather than a golden mask. Yet for the key visual I wanted the mask to appear golden as we do not see his coat and the mask was more important in my opinion.

[nervouswizardcycle]

In the early 2070s one district became known for being cleaner of gang activity than others. Kabuki. With it, rumors about the Demon of Kabuki began to spread, and first-ever sightings were reported. This supposed entity is said to roam streets dressed in a long golden coat, with a bat, and have one hand armed with golden claves, wearing a mad Oni mask. Demon's hatred towards Scavengers and Tyger Claws inspired others to mimic his rumored appearance making the chance of identifying the real one almost impossible.

For years, many claimed to have seen him deal with gang members, being rescued by him, or simply witnessed being looked at by him, but after interviewing locals gave the same story about one particular event that spread a myth city-wide. When the body of a Scavenger leader was found hanging from the Torii gate at the Kabuki district entrance, Demon was sitting atop it, wounded and exhausted. Some even claimed he waved at them, but nobody was there when NCPD came to collect the body. But despite the many sightings, no one has ever been able to get a clear look at the Golden Demon's face, and collected footage was deemed unreliable because of the difference in appearance, gear, and behavior, other solid prooves suddenly disappeared without a trace, and places of his activity are often burned, destroying evidence. Experts believe that the myth of the Golden Demon is a prime example of mass delusion phenomena, where a group of people collectively create a false reality that they all believe to be true. It's likely that the people of Kabuki have convinced themselves that the Golden Demon exists as a way to cope with the high levels of gang violence and crime in their district. Some say, the real one died long ago, in some shootout, or succumbed to wounds from Scav leader, but the myth lived on. The demon became known as Akki, which means wicked Oni, and believers left offerings or even tried to summon him, for help against those who did them wrong. The district itself is the only one not being claimed by a gang.

[overthattwilight]

Just some lines changed in the Korean dub of Ninjago

(Only for lines I can remember I was bored lol)

Season 1 Episode 5: Can of Worms

(When Kai finds Wu's lesson book from Lloyd and takes it)

Original

Lloyd: It was the perfect plan, until you had to show up and mess everything up-

Korean dub

Lloyd: I was having fun! That's my uncle's, so give it back to me!

Note: When the door is closed, Lloyd's voice doesn't get muffled. You can still hear him saying his words

Season 1 Episode 6: The Snake King

(When Kai drops off Lloyd at the arcade and leaves)

Original

Kai: Sorry, shorty!

Korean dub

Kai: I'm busy. Bye!

Note: I made the translation like this, but actually, instead of "I", Kai calls himself Hyung(형), a word for big brother in Korean. Even when not siblings, this can be used for boys older than boys. Sometimes in Korea, we would replace "I" with other words depending occasions. This is that case

Season 1 Episode 7: Tick Tock

(When Wu explains his past, and Jay is surprised Wu and Garmadon were friends when they were little. Then Jay explains about Lord Garmadon)

Original

Jay: The King of Cruelty, the Doer of Destruction, the Captain of Chaos...and you two were friends?

Korean dub

Jay: He has a face like a demon, his hobby is destroying, and his speciality is taunting ninjas! But you two were...in a good relationship?

Note: Personally, I find the descriptions in the Korean dub fun

Season 3 Episode 3, Blackout

(When Kai encounters Tech Wu)

Original

Kai: Sensei? What have they done to you?

Korean dub

Kai: Sensei? What happened to your face?

Note: So in the original, Kai realizes what happened to Wu. But in the Korean dub, it sounds like Kai is still processing to understand what happened to Wu

(When Cole and Jay goes to attack Tech Wu)

Original

Cole: More like Tech Wu!

Jay: Bad Sensei, bad!

Korean dub

Cole: Yeah, it seems like that!

Jay: Yeah, he's not Sensei! Attack!

Note: By the way, in Korea, Tech Wu is "Evil Wu". Kind of something more direct so the children audience can understand better? Also it's fun to find how Jay in the original said "Bad Sensei, bad!"

Season 3 Episode 6, Codename: Arcturus

(When the Lloyd gives the Golden Power to the ninja, and they show off their powers)

Original

Jay: Anyone shocked to see me do this? Huh?

Cole: No dirt of my shoulder!

Zane: Chill out!

Korean dub

Jay: Hey, you guys can't do this? Huh?

Cole: Oh say that after seeing me!

Zane: Look at me, too!

Note: The puns related to the elements weren't kept in the Korean dub. It might able to make those element related puns in Korean, but I think the process would be hard

(When the ninja goes to space and the others find out. Garmadon being angry to Wu)

Original

Garmadon: You wanted them to take risks, to see how far they'd go. Is this what you had in mind? How far? How far must they go?

Korean dub

Garmadon: I told you the ninja shouldn't be left doing what they want. You said to have trust in the ninja, and now this happened! What are you going to do now? The ninja went to space!

Note: Actually in this part, Garmadon called the ninja as "the kids", not as "the ninja". Either can be interpreted as the ninja are kids Garmadon has responsibility, or the ninja are little kids who are still immature in Garmadon's eyes

Season 4 Episode 2: Only one can remain

(When Master Chen appears and he greets the elemental masters)

Original

Chen: Now, everyone can all DI-RECT your attention to me!

Korean dub

Chen: Now, say goodbye to the world! A new world will be unfold!

Note: Considering the original was using a pun by using the syllable(which di from direct sounds like die), it was hard to use the same pun in Korean. Therefore the line was changed

(When the Kabuki people appear to lead the elemental masters to their rooms)

Original

Jay: Ugh, just what this place needs. Creepy Clowns!

Garmadon: Not clowns, Kabuki. Chen's jesters.

Korean dub

Jay: Ugh, who are those people? With faces white as heck!

Garmadon: They are dressed up as Kabuki. Actors for traditional Japanese drama.

Note: I believe the reason why Garmadon in the explained what Kabuki is because the children audience won't know what Kabuki is. But...isn't Ninjago different from our world? Even if there are many Japanese features, are they called as 'Japanese'? Or another word?

Season 4 Episode 7: The Forgotten Element

(When Nya reunites with Zane)

Original

Nya: Zane! You're back!

Zane: What? What is on my back?

Korean dub

Nya: Zane! You've changed a lot!

Zane: What? You're not saying I'm old, right?

Note: Since the original made a pun using "back", it was impossible to keep this pun in the Korean, due to language difference. Therefore it was changed to what is seen. Also, Nya's line can somewhat be seen as greeting someone who you haven't seen for a long time. In this context "you've changed a lot" can be seen as "you've grown a lot". I guess that's why Zane said about being old

[midnight-raven]

Futuristic Four ft Riley & Miguel as Sinner Demons

Idea inspired by Anon. Original ask here -> post

The Underworld; a dark and chaotic realm ruled by Xibalba, where the souls of those whom have sinned in their previous lives are sent to spend the rest of eternity.

Follow the lives of six demons as they try to live the rest of their eternal afterlife to the fullest.

(Closing off the rest of the post because of mentions of dark topics. Proceed with caution.)

⚠️ TW: Mentions of Death, Suicide, Slight Torture, and Mentioned Substance Abuse⚠️

If not a fan, please do not read ahead.

Thank you.

HIRO HAMADA

Age: 18

Alias: Kage

Species: Cybernetic Kabuki Demon

Cause of Death: Building Explosion

Hiro and his brother, Tadashi, were researchers in a lab that mysteriously caught fire. Hiro had made a deal with Xibalba, to spare his brother's life, even if the deal condemned his own soul.

Afterwards, Hiro was reincarnated as a demon in Hell. At first, he worked as a Bot Fighter for Yama in the Greed Ring, until Hiro decided to start an assassination business, to investigate those whose deaths were unnatural and unsolved.

VIOLET PARR

Age: 18

Alias: Dark Wings

Species: Harpy Demon

Cause of Death: Bullet to the Heart

Violet was a young super who was declared an enemy after she deflected a bullet with her shields and accidentally struck an innocent bystander. Shunned by her family, Violet lived a life on the run from the NSA, until she was finally cornered.

Reincarnated in the Wrath Ring as a Harpy Demon, Violets’ power grew with her rage, as she continued her path as a Vigilante of Justice. Vowing to never be hurt again, and to work alone.

WILBUR ROBINSON

Age: 17

Alias: Surge

Species: Electricity Demon

Cause of Death: Electrical Surge

Wilbur always knew he could never live up to his fathers golden legacy, which led him to reckless actions with dire consequences. This created a rift between him and his Dad, that could’ve been repaired in time… but it was too late.

In the Greed Ring, Wilbur was captured and used as a living battery for an underworld casino, and spent decades being drained of his powers towards the brink of death. Until he was saved by a vigilante known as ‘Dark Wings.’

PENNY FORRESTER

Age: 17

Alias: Renegade

Species: Camera Demon

Cause of Death: Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

In her previous life, Penny was a popular actress, featured in many movies and gossip magazines. But beyond the spotlight, Penny was cracking under the pressure of her stardom and demanding agent. Until the day she took her own life.

Reincarnated as a demon with a camera lens for her right eye, Penny became a freelance photographer, to expose people's true colors. As well as making her first friend; her protective and loyal hellhound; Bolt.

RILEY ANDERSEN

Age: 17

Alias: Little Miss Sunshine

Species: Clown Demon

Cause of Death: Struck By A Car

Her parents would describe Riley as a ‘happy girl’ but everything changed after they moved. Riley became cynical, a shadow of her former self. And then one day, everything hit the fan.

Reborn in the seven rings, Riley became a special clown performer, with the help of her impish friends; Anger, Fear, Disgust, Sadness, and Joy.

MIGUEL RIVERA

Age: 18

Alias: De La Cruzcito

Species: Skeleton Demon

Cause of Death: Smoke Inhalation

Kicked out by his family at 15, Miguel tried to make his dream of becoming a musician true, but living on his own, Miguel had to take on certain jobs to survive. After a long day, Miguel fell into a deep sleep, not realizing a room nearby had caught fire. He woke up dead.

In his afterlife, Miguel got the opportunity of working with famous musician; Ernesto De La Cruz, who took the young boy on as his protégé. And as long as Miguel does everything Ernesto ask, he can live out his dream. And never have to return to his former life again. It’s worth it, right?

(Thinking about making a separate post for each characters to further explain their lives, afterlives and the sins they committed. Even maybe some Fanart for how I picture them.)

[twomiddlefingersforthehaters]

Yatai Stalls:Japanese Street Food :- Street food vendors are known as Yatai in Japan and while they can be seen in abundance at festivals.

The text written in those colorful nobari :

串だんご (Kushi-dango)

Dango is a Japanese sweet that has been loved by Japanese people for a long time. Dango is a dough made by adding water to powdered grains such as rice, rolling it up and steaming it. Currently, skewered dumplings are often recognized as so-called dumplings, but there are also dumplings that are not skewered. Dumplings flavored with soy sauce, miso, and soybean flour have long been popular among Japanese people. There are also dango called hanami dango and tsukimi dango, which are often seen at events and are said to bring good luck.

たこ焼 (Takoyaki)

Diced octopus encased in a light batter and rolled into a ball with spring onion and ginger and topped with green seaweed, sauce, sliced and dried bonito, and sometimes drizzled with mayonnaise. The exterior of a takoyaki ball is a nice golden brown while the interior can be a touch molten. A single order of takoyaki typically contains about eight balls that are topped with shaved bonito flakes (katsuobushi), aonori seaweed flakes and drizzled with mayonnaise and takoyaki sauce.

おでん (Oden)

"Oden" is very popular winter dish all over Japan, and each region has original taste, as Ozouni new year soup. Various kind of ingredients slowly simmered in flavorful dashi broth.

• Masks

Traditional Japanese masks (お面) are mostly decorative and can easily be found at festivals and shrine events. Masks have long played an important role in Japanese culture. Most of these masks are archetypes borrowed from mythology, ancient dances, or noh theater and military costume. Traditional masks are still used by theater actors or Shinto dancers. The most popular Japanese masks are often inspired by yokai; Supernatural Japanese creatures that appear in popular legends and beliefs. In Kabuki theater, they used makeup to embody characters such as demons or to translate expressions such as anger, feelings of sadness or rage on the faces. The Kabuki actors, as opposed to the Noh Theater, do not wear masks. The mask has also the function of hiding any individual traces of the actor. The fox mask is worn on the faces of many festival goers during Shinto ceremonies. Kitsune mask always using White colour based with red patterns. Inari Shrine had red colors everywhere included on the fox statues of the shrine. Most of the foxes serve Inari has white fur. In most of Japanese festival, Kitsune mask always using White colour based with red patterns. The mask of the fox used in Noh play or Kagura play is white. Kitsunes are believed to have from one to nine tails. The number of tails a kitsune has indicates its age and strength. Kitsunes can come in different colors but turn white or gold upon gaining their 9th tail. The Nine Tailed Fox, or Kyuubi no Kitsune, can hear and see everything that goes on around the world. They wear these (kitsune) masks, in order to attract good benefits and thus ensure a good harvest.

Here are the masks I identified from the panel above.

1. Ramenman in Kinnikuman series

The Japanese manga series Kinnikuman was written and illustrated by Yoshinori Nakai and Takashi Shimada, known as Yudetamago. The series follow Kinnikuman, a superhero who must win a wrestling tournament to retain the title of prince of Planet Kinniku. The manga was first published in Shueisha's magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump as a two one-shots in December 1978 and March 1979. The regular serialization started with the publication of the first chapter in the May 28, 1979 issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump, where it was serialized weekly until its conclusion in March 1987. Tatakae!! Ramenman is an alternate-universe and spin-off series to Yudetamago's previous work: Kinnikuman. It is focused around the character of Ramenman, who travels the land to fight various enemies. It was serialized in Shueisha's Fresh Jump magazine from 1982 until 1988.

2. Kamen Rider (1971 TV series)

Kamen Rider is a tokusatsu franchise created by manga creator Shotaro Ishinomori.

3. Chiaotzu in Dragon Ball

4. Sun Wukong

(The picture I'm using from Toriyama's bonus illustration featured in Dragon Ball's 6th volume)

In the novel, this headgear is something that binds sun wukong. Originally, he didn't wear it, but after following Tang Sanzang, that is, his master. At the beginning, he liked to kill some ordinary people without any spells. Tang Sanzang felt that his character was very bad, so there was a god, she called Guanshiyin Bodhisattva.This Bodhisattva also taught Tang Sanzang a formula. She used the temptation to make Monkey King wear a hat, and then the hat became this headgear, if Monkey King wanted to kill ordinary people.Tang Sanzang can recite formulas, and this headdress will shrink, giving Monkey King a headache and unable to use any spells. @dob-siki thank you for the information!!!

5. Hyottoko mask

Hyottoko means this facial expression or a mask with this funny face. It's a man. The pouting bent expression of his mouth is very significant. The size of the left and right eyes can be different too. In the mask or the person, who wears the mask often puts Japanese cotton towel (Tenugui) around the head. This character originally came from ancient traditional Japanese dance called Bugaku. The face of this character is an old man playing a funny and ridiculous role. He saw a beautiful couple dancing beautifully and admired and appreciated their dancing while drinking a lot of sake. He was very impressed and tried to dance like that with his wife. But they were too drunk and too old to dance gracefully, so their "dance" turned out to be very funny and awkward. There are many different stories about Hyotoko in Japan. The name Hyottoko came from Hi-Otoko (fire man). He is blowing air through a hollow bamboo stick to make fire. And his expression is showing how hard he is trying. His mouth is also known to resemble sake bottle. Hyottoko masks are commonly used during traditional Japanese dances in order to bring good luck.

I don't know whether the following findings are correct or wrong.

6. Lokai in Star Trek : Let That Be Your Last Battlefield (1969)

This is what came to my mind when I saw white on the right side and black on the left side.

[brookston]

Holidays 10.23

Holidays

Asian Corpsetwt Day [Every 23rd]

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Weekly Holidays beginning October 23 (3rd Full Week of October)

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Festivals Beginning October 23, 2024

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National FFA Convention & Expo (Indianapolis, Indiana) [thru 10.26]

National Pasta Association Annual Meetng & the World Pasta Congress (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) [thru 10.25]

Sycamore Pumpkin Festival (Sycamore, Illinois) [thru 10.27]

Feast Days

Allucio of Campugliano (Christian; Saint)

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Christmas (a.k.a. Feast of Señor Noemi, the Child Jesus; Apostolic Catholic Church)

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The Finding of the King Jubilation (Shamanism)

Fontenelle (Positivist; Saint)

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Ignatios of Constantinople (Christian; Saint)

Island Heads (Muppetism)

James the Just (a.k.a. James, brother of Jesus; Lutheran, Episcopal Church (USA), Eastern Orthodox)

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Hebrew Calendar Holidays

Feast of the Ingathering [21 Tishrei] (a.k.a. ... 

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Lucky & Unlucky Days

Taian (大安 Japan) [Lucky all day.]

Premieres

Almost Blue, by Elvis Costello (Album; 1981)

Arches and Planes or The Old Chisel ‘Em Trail (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S4, Ep. 172; 1962)

Auntie Edna (Pixar Cartoon; 2018)

Baba O’Riley, by The Who (Song; 1971)

The Big Countdown or Tally in Our Alley (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S4, Ep. 171; 1962)

Big Hero 6 (Animated Disney Film; 2014)

The Black Parade, by My Chemical Romance (Album; 2006)

Chili Corn Corny (WB LT Cartoon; 1965)

A Creep at the Switch or Sudden Pacific (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S2, Ep. 66; 1960)

Dictionary of the Khazars, by Milorad Pavić (Novel, English Translation; 1989)

Dumbo (Animated Disney Film; 1941)

The Dumbconscious Mind (Phantasies Cartoon; 1942)

Elizabeth (Film; 1998)

The Flying Sorcerers, Parts 3 & 4 (Underdog Cartoon, S2, Eps. 27 & 28 1965)

Hello, by Adele (Song; 2015)

Hold the Wire (Fleischer Popeye Cartoon; 1936)

I, Claudius, by Robert Graves (Novel; 1934)

I Will Survive, by Gloria Gaynor (Song; 1978)

The Last Hurrah (Film; 1958)

Life Is Beautiful (Film; 1998)

Live a Little, Love a Little (Film; 1968) [Elvis Presley #28]

The Magnificent Seven (Film; 1960)

My Neighbor Totoro (Anime Film; 2005

On the Waterfront, by Budd Schulberg (Novel; 1955)

Orgazmo (Film; 1998)

The Picnic (Disney Cartoon; 1930)

Pink Sphinx (Pink Panther Cartoon; 1968)

Pleasantville (Film; 1998)

The Queen’s Gambit (TV Mini-Series; 2020)

Rehab, by Amy Winehouse (Song; 2006)

Reservoir Dogs (Film; 1992)

Rock the Casbah (Film; 2015)

Rugged Bear (Disney Cartoon; 1953)

Rules for Radicals: A Pragmatic Primer for Realistic Radicals, by Saul D. Alinsky (Philosophy Book; 1971)

$7.50 Once a Week (Money Rock Cartoon; Schoolhouse Rock; 1995)

Sourdough Squirrel or Hardrock Rocky (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S2, Ep. 65; 1960)

The Spider and the Fly (Silly Symphony Disney Cartoon; 1931)

The Stork’s Holiday (MGM Cartoon; 1943)

The Times They Are-A-Changin’, recorded by Bob Dylan (Song; 1963)

Treasure of the Temple (Animated TV Show;Jonny Quest #6; 1964)

Trespass, by Genesis (Album; 1970)

Today’s Name Days

Johannes, Oda, Severin, Uta (Austria)

Borislav, Ivan, Severin, Teodor (Croatia)

Teodor (Czech Republic)

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Iacob (Romania)

Alojzia (Slovakia)

Juan (Spain)

Severin, Sören (Sweden)

Fifi, Josefina, Josepha, Josephina, Josephine, Josie, Pepita (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 297 of 2024; 69 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 3 of Week 43 of 2024

Celtic Tree Calendar: Gort (Ivy) [Day 25 of 28]

Chinese: Month 9 (Jia-Xu), Day 21 (Geng-Shen)

Chinese Year of the: Dragon 4722 (until January 29, 2025) [Wu-Chen]

Hebrew: 21 Tishri 5785

Islamic: 19 Rabi II 1446

J Cal: 27 Orange; Sixthday [27 of 30]

Julian: 10 October 2024

Moon: 57%: Waning Gibbous

Positivist: 17 Descartes (11th Month) [Herder / Vico]

Runic Half Month: Wyn (Joy) [Day 2 of 15]

Season: Autumn or Fall (Day 32 of 90)

Week: 3rd Full Week of October

Zodiac: Scorpio (Day 1 of 30)

[brookstonalmanac]

Holidays 10.23

Holidays

Asian Corpsetwt Day [Every 23rd]

Aviator’s Day (Brazil)

A Better Way with AI Day

Broken Diamond (Elder Scrolls)

Celery Day (French Republic)

Chinese American Day (California)

Chulalongkorn Day (Rama V Day; Thailand)

Claire & Henry’s Wedding Day (Time Traveler’s Wife)

Disabled Ace Day

Doctor’s Day (Mexico)

Event Organizers Day

Fallout Day

Frost Descends (Chinese Farmer’s Calendar)

Global Day of Action for Child Survival

Heavs and Earth Creation Day (Ussher)

Hoar-Frost Falls (China)

International GNSS Day

International Museum Meme Day

International Print Day

International PTEN Awareness Day

International Snow Leopard Day

International XLH Day

iPod Day

Kabuki Syndrome Awareness Day

Liberation Day (Libya)

Lock Your Meds Day

Lung Health Day

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Mole Day (Chemists)

National Aviation Day (Mexico)

National Bioenergy Day

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National Horror Movie Day

National Maine Sanctuary Day

National Mole Day

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National Slap Your Irritating Co-Worker Day

Nemzeti ünnep (Hungary)

Operation Safe Stop Day

Paralegal Day

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Peniamina Gospel Day (Niue)

Swallows Leave Capistrano Day

Timber Innovation Day

TV Talk Show Host Day

Ueno Tenjin Matsuri (Parade of Demons; Japan)

Unity Day

Universal Children’s Day (Australia)

World Edible Insect Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

Boston Cream Pie Day

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World Mozzarella Day

Independence & Related Days

Day of the Macedonian Revolutionary Struggle (Macedonia)

Neeburm (Declared; 2021) [unrecognized]

Republic Day (Hungary)

Woodland Patchwork (Declared; 2013) [unrecognized]

4th Wednesday in October

E-Waste Wednesday (Canada) [4th Wednesday]

Heat Pump Water Heater Day [4th Wednesday]

Hump Day [Every Wednesday]

International Print Day [4th Wednesday]

Lung Health Day [4th Wednesday]

Purple Wednesday [Wednesday of Last Full Week]

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Universal Children's Day (Australia) [4th Wednesday]

Wacky Wednesday [Every Wednesday]

Website Wednesday [Every Wednesday]

Weird Wednesday [4th Wednesday of Each Month]

Whatever Wednesday [4th Wednesday of Each Month]

Weekly Holidays beginning October 23 (3rd Full Week of October)

Global Health Equity Day (thru 10.27)

National Red Ribbon Week (thru 10.31) [Last 9 Days]

Festivals Beginning October 23, 2024

Colisium International Music Forum (Kazan, Russia) [thru 10.24]

Golden Leaves Con (Hasliberg, Switzerland) [thru 10.27]

National FFA Convention & Expo (Indianapolis, Indiana) [thru 10.26]

National Pasta Association Annual Meetng & the World Pasta Congress (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) [thru 10.25]

Sycamore Pumpkin Festival (Sycamore, Illinois) [thru 10.27]

Feast Days

Allucio of Campugliano (Christian; Saint)

Amon of Toul (Diocese of Toul; Christian; Saint)

Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius (Christian; Saint)

Aravind Adiga (Writerism)

Beginning of Scorpio (Astrology; Pagan)

Bobby London Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Bob Montana (Artology)

Christmas (a.k.a. Feast of Señor Noemi, the Child Jesus; Apostolic Catholic Church)

Feast of the Most Holy Redeemer (Christian)

Festival of Forgotten Gods

The Finding of the King Jubilation (Shamanism)

Fontenelle (Positivist; Saint)

Giovanni da Capistrano (Christian; Saint)

Ignatios of Constantinople (Christian; Saint)

Island Heads (Muppetism)

James the Just (a.k.a. James, brother of Jesus; Lutheran, Episcopal Church (USA), Eastern Orthodox)

Jean-Louis Forain (Artology)

John Capistran (Christian; Saint)

Joséphine Leroux (Christian; Saint)

Juan Luna (Artology)

Lawren Harris (Artology)

Maggi Hambling (Artology)

Matthew Quick (Writerism)

Michael Crichton (Writerism)

Navami [9th Day of Dashain]

Peter Pascual (Christian; Saint)

Richard Mortensen (Artology)

Romain (a.k.a. Romanus) of Rouen (Christian; Saint)

Scorpio begins (Astrology; Pagan)

Servandus and Cermanus (Christian; Saint)

Severin of Cologne (Christian; Saint)

Strip for Your Lover Day (Pastafarian)

Surin (Christian; Saint)

Theodoret (Christian; Saint)

Hebrew Calendar Holidays

Feast of the Ingathering [21 Tishrei] (a.k.a. ... 

Feast of the Tabernacles (Christian)

Festival of Shelters (Christian)

Harvest Home (UK)

Kirn (Scotland)

Mell-Supper (Northern England)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Taian (大安 Japan) [Lucky all day.]

Premieres

Almost Blue, by Elvis Costello (Album; 1981)

Arches and Planes or The Old Chisel ‘Em Trail (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S4, Ep. 172; 1962)

Auntie Edna (Pixar Cartoon; 2018)

Baba O’Riley, by The Who (Song; 1971)

The Big Countdown or Tally in Our Alley (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S4, Ep. 171; 1962)

Big Hero 6 (Animated Disney Film; 2014)

The Black Parade, by My Chemical Romance (Album; 2006)

Chili Corn Corny (WB LT Cartoon; 1965)

A Creep at the Switch or Sudden Pacific (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S2, Ep. 66; 1960)

Dictionary of the Khazars, by Milorad Pavić (Novel, English Translation; 1989)

Dumbo (Animated Disney Film; 1941)

The Dumbconscious Mind (Phantasies Cartoon; 1942)

Elizabeth (Film; 1998)

The Flying Sorcerers, Parts 3 & 4 (Underdog Cartoon, S2, Eps. 27 & 28 1965)

Hello, by Adele (Song; 2015)

Hold the Wire (Fleischer Popeye Cartoon; 1936)

I, Claudius, by Robert Graves (Novel; 1934)

I Will Survive, by Gloria Gaynor (Song; 1978)

The Last Hurrah (Film; 1958)

Life Is Beautiful (Film; 1998)

Live a Little, Love a Little (Film; 1968) [Elvis Presley #28]

The Magnificent Seven (Film; 1960)

My Neighbor Totoro (Anime Film; 2005

On the Waterfront, by Budd Schulberg (Novel; 1955)

Orgazmo (Film; 1998)

The Picnic (Disney Cartoon; 1930)

Pink Sphinx (Pink Panther Cartoon; 1968)

Pleasantville (Film; 1998)

The Queen’s Gambit (TV Mini-Series; 2020)

Rehab, by Amy Winehouse (Song; 2006)

Reservoir Dogs (Film; 1992)

Rock the Casbah (Film; 2015)

Rugged Bear (Disney Cartoon; 1953)

Rules for Radicals: A Pragmatic Primer for Realistic Radicals, by Saul D. Alinsky (Philosophy Book; 1971)

$7.50 Once a Week (Money Rock Cartoon; Schoolhouse Rock; 1995)

Sourdough Squirrel or Hardrock Rocky (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S2, Ep. 65; 1960)

The Spider and the Fly (Silly Symphony Disney Cartoon; 1931)

The Stork’s Holiday (MGM Cartoon; 1943)

The Times They Are-A-Changin’, recorded by Bob Dylan (Song; 1963)

Treasure of the Temple (Animated TV Show;Jonny Quest #6; 1964)

Trespass, by Genesis (Album; 1970)

Today’s Name Days

Johannes, Oda, Severin, Uta (Austria)

Borislav, Ivan, Severin, Teodor (Croatia)

Teodor (Czech Republic)

Søren (Denmark)

Leevi, Liivi, Liivia, Liivika (Estonia)

Severi (Finland)

Jean, Simon (France)

Johannes, Severin, Uta (Germany)

Iakovos, Jacob (Greece)

Gyöngyi (Hungary)

Giovanni (Italy)

Daina, Dainis, Severins (Latvia)

Odilija, Ramvydė, Sanginas (Lithuania)

Severin, Sørene (Norway)

Iga, Ignacja, Ignacy, Jan, Marlena, Odilla, Roman, Seweryn, Teodor, Włościsław, Żegota (Poland)

Iacob (Romania)

Alojzia (Slovakia)

Juan (Spain)

Severin, Sören (Sweden)

Fifi, Josefina, Josepha, Josephina, Josephine, Josie, Pepita (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 297 of 2024; 69 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 3 of Week 43 of 2024

Celtic Tree Calendar: Gort (Ivy) [Day 25 of 28]

Chinese: Month 9 (Jia-Xu), Day 21 (Geng-Shen)

Chinese Year of the: Dragon 4722 (until January 29, 2025) [Wu-Chen]

Hebrew: 21 Tishri 5785

Islamic: 19 Rabi II 1446

J Cal: 27 Orange; Sixthday [27 of 30]

Julian: 10 October 2024

Moon: 57%: Waning Gibbous

Positivist: 17 Descartes (11th Month) [Herder / Vico]

Runic Half Month: Wyn (Joy) [Day 2 of 15]

Season: Autumn or Fall (Day 32 of 90)

Week: 3rd Full Week of October

Zodiac: Scorpio (Day 1 of 30)

[beek33per]

Fioralba (chapter 11)

Asa healed Cory’s bruises and scratches while easing Fallon’s scrapes.

He dealt with Kabuki’s wounds then, carefully picking out the teeth embedded in the flesh with tweezers. The demon barely grimaced, maintaining a serious expression as Asa did his work. “We appreciate the blow you took for Cory.” 

“I am your bodyguard, it is what it is expected of me.” The young man replied. One by one, the teeth clinked as he dipped the tweezers to fall into the vial. With the pieces he had collected from Kabuki, Asa would have enough to use in his mixtures.

Haruna had regretted the decision to cross the sea by boat, but Asa found it to be a productive journey, if not an enjoyable one. For his first encounter with the swarm of Den Moder, that went pretty well. He was thankful that none of the party lost a limb, as regeneration of a whole-body part would’ve been taxing. 

Mermaid's teeth were hard to come by in large quantities. He understood what it took to get them now, and appreciated Ms Cabbage’s efforts to keep supply well stocked. He hoped the banknotes he transferred to her would keep the Golden Mantle Apothecary running for many more years. Their journey would be lengthy, and Ms Cabbages guidance in areas besides the procurement of materials was going to be very useful. Echoes of an old conversation between him and the giantess rang in his mind.

He settled the thread and needle into his bag, finishing his stitch work on a specific cut. Asa turned to Haruna before she spoke. Kabuki had been thinking to himself what a bloody mass he would’ve been if Asa hadn’t helped him.

”We’ve nearly reached the isle.” the sorceress said. The tone of Haruna’s voice was cautious, hushed despite the distance from the still far shores of the isle. However, she did not seem afraid. “ I’ll wake Cory and Fallon. It won’t be long until we’re received by patrol ships. We’ll have to make our way past their outposts.”

Asa nodded looking back to Kabuki’s puncture wounds. He rubbed them clean once more with an unstained bandage and proceeded to heal it. Supplies were going to be scarce, and Asa made sure to ration them. Kabuki remained stoic, feeling the strange magic pour over his skin. The demon was watching the little blood he could see scab over, the threads that sealed one puckering wound unravel, weave and freshen to smooth healthy skin. This was the last of the wounds Asa laboured over, at least for the early morning.

”How do you do this?”

Asa smiled beneath his mask, jovial over the prospect of such a question. “With patience and utmost care.” 

Kabuki stretched in front of him. Just enough to make himself comfortable, turning and shifting far enough for Asa to miss his grumble. It was the demon’s way of dismissing a talk, Asa knew this.

Kabuki had seen many healers. With the reputation and hazards keen to a mercenary, such visits were necessary. Being in shape was highly important for this job, and he wasn’t complaining about the treatments Asa gave him. However, despite receiving an answer from the mysterious doctor, the red coloured demon would have preferred the more technical aspect of the response. Preferably how he did such magic, how the doctor came by it.

Kabuki was not surprised. Magic in Nenas was not rare. Sorcerers, witches, warlocks, and anything to do with magic was rather rampant. Overflowing in methodology and principle, affecting everything in any way that the caster directed.  Individuals learned in specific arts and skills, gained powers influenced by professions they held in their past. Whether their past was on Earth, Nenas or any other world did not matter. Whatever the person devoted their life to, would determine the kindling of their magic. Blessing it with strength, especially so if it was their passion.

Indeed, the doctor’s magic was not of mortal means, it had too much divinity in its touch, in its mannerism. Though Kabuki did not decide to pester the masked man with questions and instead thanked Asa...

Yet the demon wondered, what made Asa Lee’s magic so potent? What past did Asa’s memories hold? What past did the sorceress hold? Was it filled with as much strife and pain as his? Or was it peaceful? Uneventful except for experiences of the mundane sort?

Fallon’s waist-length green hair lightly brushed over his healed shoulder. Fluttering wings flapping near his ear. She had been hovering over him. The fae watched him groan. “Why do you invade my personal space?”

”I’m not even touching you. My hair slipped.” Fallon’s fingers gathered the tendrils of loose hair. As she combed them onto her shoulder, her wings reflected little of the morning’s pale light like stained glass, littering the ground with various colours. 

Asa had gone with Haruna to make breakfast. Both of them had been assigned to watch the horizon for the time being. They let the winds drift them towards the predestined course as they sat together. 

Fallon uncorked a spare stash of the alcohol Ms Cabbage had given her, offering Kabuki a sip from the leather jug she kept slung in her underarm. After the mutual enjoyment of the beverage and the silence, Kabuki’s mood lightened and a tidbit of his curiosity came through. 

“Does he always keep that mask on?”

Fallon guessed Kabuki referred to Asa. Her breath whispered in his ear. He leaned closer ever so slightly. “I’ll let you in on a little secret.” She paused “I don’t know.” 

Laughter erupted from Fallon at the young man’s expression. Kabuki was fed up with her already. The demon smoothed out his hakama, gripping the sheath of his weapon with a weak façade of patience. ”I’m going to eat breakfast.” 

The fae was still laughing, peeking her head through the trapdoor to Cory’s puzzled face. A delicious scent wafted from the kitchen.

A while later,��everyone was up the deck. Cozi and Moon had snuggled in the hull, littering the area with themselves. They rolled on the floors and climbed cabinets, chairs and shelves. Every time Kabuki checked in, the cats had moved from one place to another. The game had been amusing, until the very moment the ship jostled with weight and Kabuki bumped his head against the border of the doorway...when the wood of the ship had come into the grips of the tall (fifteen to twenty ft) giants stationed at the shallows.

The Quebracho had been dragged from the sand. Set in a barracks that acted as a holding port for ships, merchants and their goods.

Giant silhouettes stretched on a small part of the shoreline fortifications that decorated the sea forts. Sentries consisting of pairs of armed giants and goblins were stationed at the top of the wall. Overlooking the shorelines’ further defence.

Hands of all sizes held spears, knives and slingshots. Their facial cues varied from expressions of neutrality to threatening glee. Cory had noticed several stoic giants standing tall, along with their partners of contrasting stature: impish goblins, baring their sharp teeth.

Full daylight had not set foot on the isle yet. Sunlight had yet to linger in on every rock, building and creature. Though that did not deter the speed at which each of them was snatched from the transformed carriage. Cory had been the first to meet a tight compressing palm. 

Cory had been set down in a cage that opened to a separate pen, crowded with people in colourful clothing. She had been locked in, but many people in the other room had nearly squeezed to the edge of the door. Haruna, Asa, Kabuki and the cats had been set down into the cage next.

“Where’s Fallon?” The intricately woven net that acted as the top of the cage slammed the fae to fall into Kabuki’s arms. Asa turned his beak to the “umph”, ready to tend to injuries. 

“Are your wings okay?” Cory asked.

“Those damn boggins are lucky they are.” Haruna opened the cage door as the fae discarded her spite. 

“Thanks.” She said, winking at Kabuki as she slipped upright from his catch. 

Kabuki nodded, turning his horns upward to the cage top. Cory is about to ask the same “What’s going to happen to the carriage?”

Asa with his cane in one hand placed the bag down and tapped his coat. “Right here.” 

“Wonderful!” Haruna remarked, “Let’s go.” They stepped into the room, closing the cage door behind them. The chaos of the crowd seemed to mould into lines, starting from the centre and spiralling chaotically to several booth stations embedded in the walls.

”New arrivals!” One booth-man greeted, hardening his posture behind the glass of a booth. 

“Gods, creatures, and humanoid-folk, welcome.” Another advertised, waving flamboyantly ruffled sleeves showered in inexpensive jewellery at them. Haruna led the group, Fallon yanking Cory from the clutches of a, particularly shady person. She shoved Cory in between Haruna and Asa, while she and Kabuki watched their rears. Moon sat by Cory, mumbling about how he missed the carriage as Cozi rolled her eyes.

“Paperwork to fill out...for whom?”

“Disciples of Disease,” Asa said sliding gold at the goblin. 

The goblin bit the coin, resuming formality and addressing Asa as “Lord.” 

A voice blathered more announcements through a P.A system in the background.

”I see.” The goblin paused, rather grim. “Now, your pass and permission slip?” 

“None,” Haruna said. The goblin grinned enthusiastically enough for Cory to feel discomfort.

“Right this way.” A switch flip and mechanical whirs opened a door layered with several bars and mechanisms. An elevator opened, revealing its well lit and polished interior. 

Moon invited himself into the elevator, flailing his tail impatiently as footsteps approached him. He jumped as the bars latched closed. Layers of shutters lapped onto each other. The room went dark, and the light flickered on again. A sign just above them blinked a set of random letters until they cohesively jumbled together to read:

 “Dungeons?” Moon said, almost displeased. Cozi groomed the grey coat of a paw, in the same manner, one would roll their eyes.  A clank, then a whir and an abrupt drop... 

Cory’s fingers were gripping the railings behind her. And the cats had scrambled to grip at Kabuki’s legs. She moved into the corner where the elevator buttons should have been. “Why are they taking us to the dungeons?” 

“This is exactly what we want. “ Fallon tuned her lute and strummed as she flapped her wings enthusiastically. She leaned against the railing and played a skilful string of notes. “It’s how we gain membership in the isle of Jewels. “ 

Kabuki tensed his shoulders. “I know what’s in the towers, but how are we going to get to them from the dungeons?”

The sorceress slipped folded parchment into Cory’s hands. “The dungeons are connected to underground tunnels and catacombs.”She pointed, gesturing to the layout of the map. It was a wrinkled picture.

”The network is vast, so extensive that all the prisons are connected.” Asa paused, continuing “ We’ll roam free, for the most part.” 

Cory eyed the map, a section reading “torture chambers.”

“So I guess people steal a lot…cause um, security is tight.”

“Quite a thief’s haven,” Kabuki added sarcastically. The elevator opened. Moon stepped out, paws in a puddle...

It was a dark, damp chamber enclosed by stone walls, scented bitterly by sea salt. The hall extended far, light emanating from white crystals embedded in the walls. Helmets loomed over them, shading the faces of many stone guards who rose to the arched ceiling. “How welcoming,” said Cozi, not fond of the damp smell.

The hall echoed with a sound of translucent thrashings, possibly from the waves crashing on the rocky shores. The lights inside of the elevator dimmed, and the crystals beckoned them with brightness. Cory held Cozi, Moon leading the group further into the hall.  

”First we have to get past the outer ring. The sooner we leave the Merchant hovels, the sooner we can begin our journey into the real labyrinth.”

The group noticed there were many other elevator doorways dispersed throughout the walls. The high ceiling went even higher, further into the hall where there were blurs of noise.

The passengers of Quebracho, presently needless of their carriage; had walked into the underground towns of the Isle of Jewels. And briefly perused through its crowded alleyways and hovels until the tumult of their residents had faded away.

No one dared stroll past the edges of ghost towns. 

To begin with their official journey into the labyrinth, there were lots of stairs. So many stairs Cory’s legs hurt. The screams of the tortured didn’t help anybody feel better. 

Fallon did as best as she could, and played music to distract herself. Her companions keenly listened. 

 Everyone walked to the sound of their footsteps, and eventually to Fallon’s focused but fluttery tune. She played the lute/instrument as she had in the elevator when a dissonant note broke the ambience. 

Why did she stop playing?

“That’s some pungent mould.” The fae sniffed. “And that’s blood.”

The group looked at their feet.

Asa inspected it more closely. “Yes. That would be the point of no return.” 

The P.A system rattled as Asa spoke. Now they were on the other side of the line. “Be not afraid disciples, for I only punish those who bestow harm upon my beloved sisters and send the foolish back to the darkest pits of the tower." She declared with a voice of confidence. "Many dared to leave this bitter and wretched place, but they were only proven to be fools once they've been defeated." The harpy explained as her voice becomes more serious a tone. “You had a choice to live out your lives before entering this labyrinth. You consider yourselves brave enough to escape this place.” She continued. “Brave enough to challenge the lord of fire and blood who lies beyond.”

Haruna’s ears heard from the top of the walls, and lead her eyes to a screech of gears; cranking upward to reveal darkness gaping with a drain. A vent, from which something was supposed to come out from.

Fallon stepped back, bumping into Cory. To which the human girl said. “Okay. We still have some time, it’s just leaking a little water.” Even more foaming liquid gushed out.

“What the hell is this a death box?” 

Immediately a message chimes in as if being spoken through very poorly maintained audio equipment. “Flooding will begin in T-minus—“ A woman’s voice continued to blare on the system.

“Move!” Haruna yelled, slamming her fists into the ground. Pillars of sharp blue spiralled from the edges of the water solidifying into a thick frost of ice. Easily, shards of ice began to fall, crashing onto the floor as pressured streams of water sprayed through.

As more water still flowed, more walls materialized before them, so many that they had been pushed to retreat to the end of the hall. The sorceress’s skin was inflamed with power, the ice pulsing with weight as she lined the final wall with her spell. 

“Moon!” Cory was already swimming. Kabuki’s horns would soon poke out of the water, Cozi laying on the demon’s shoulder as Moon paddled. 

Fallon fumed as she started flapping her wet wings and arms closer to the end of the hall. Asa let himself sink to the bottom and began running with his bag and cane, to the end of the tunnel. He jumped up for air.

But they were trapped, the surroundings perfectly displaying their skills. Cory had nothing to show for it. 

The human could only stare. Discerning the form of the statue avidly...beautiful, elegant and entrancing with its curving veils and crescendoing crown. 

A'marie Aladyah. But something was missing. 

Behind the statue was an emblazoned mural, displaying intricate designs and movable parts. Holes and switches covered the back wall. 

”It’s a dead-end!” Kabuki exclaimed in frustration. The fae zipped around sticking her fingers in any crevices and holes desperately looking for a switch. Nothing worked.

The strain in Haruna’s voice made itself apparent. ”Look harder!” Cory continued to scrutinize the statue for the missing detail. 

Fallon began searching the statue’s details. The fae’s lips parted in the translation of Nena's script. “Hold this answer, till a circumstance true...Lady A'marie Aladyah will bring safety or rue.

Beseech your plea to her eye...

The goddess of wishes, in goodwill with all eyes open, shall grant desires not greed. Let her sight be your guide, in this battle against the tide.  Open them, to our advice. “

As Fallon recited the writing, cracks ruptured through the air, indicating the walls of ice were about to burst. Haruna materialized the water surrounding her feet higher to form a freezy barricade: a temporary platform, preventing any further distractions. “Wait—“

Pressure slammed them underwater. Cory swam upward, instinctively looking for air, only to find a stone ceiling. She met the face of the statue. Cory’s fingers gripped the crown as she pulled herself closer to the statue’s face.

 Two gazing eyes overlooked the area below and in the middle of its forehead, was an eye, closed. 

Here goes.

Cory tapped the eye. She blinked. The statue blinked. And Cory ingested the sudden burst of fresh air lingering at the surface. The human sank with the receding waters, finding herself at the base of the statue, again. 

“Thank you. “ Fallon coughed stretching her draping wings and looking at them in dismay. Asa was prim, nearly perfect as if nothing had happened, but wet. Kabuki held the two soaked cats. Haruna, nearly exhausted of her magic, regained composure.

The statue beheld them, emanating radiance from its newly opened eye.

“We have to enter the labyrinth.” Haruna sighed, worn. “Turn the levers.”

Fallon ran her hands through her hair and wrenched out the water she could. She shook her wings again as Cory started breathing more steadily. “I’m not going to be able to fly high enough. I have to let my wings dry. Sorry.”

Kabuki’s eyes glowed momentarily, he snarled and leapt to the untouchable levers in an instant. The demon landed on all fours by the time the doorway peered from the ceiling above them.

A rope lowered from the opening. Cozi stretched, licking her wet fur in disgust while looking upwards. It tasted like saltwater. The cat stepped in thin air and began to float upwards like a balloon. 

The wall of levers shrieked a mechanical clamour, emitting a cranking sound to a deafening point.

“Well, go on and climb people!” the grey cat demanded. Kabuki dismissed the claws that embedded themselves to his back, moving quickly but being careful not to let Moon fall. At some point, Asa tossed his bag and cane to the demon while he hung onto the rope with each pull upwards. 

Haruna dashed a spell of levitation to Cory, allowing the girl to dangle near the top of the rope. The hatch was closed, water gushing.  Cory pulled through, adrenaline excitedly pumping her veins. 

Asa steadied himself, setting down wet parchment on the floor, his beak pointing to Haruna... to the hatch, that shut with her below. 

Cory only realized it now. 

“We have to go back for Haruna.” Kabuki pounded the hatch, attempting to break or pry it open.

”We’re on our own.”

”Don’t you mean she is on her own?”  Kabuki remarked.

Fallon snickered. “She’s the toughest woman I know. Listen to Asa.”

 “Ms Cabbage warned us of the dangers she could, but this labyrinth is constantly changing. We’ll have to move fast. It changes every few hours, and if we’re not in a safe zone—“ 

”Our death is guaranteed.” Kabuki noted.

”Except mine.” Asa added cheekily.

”Either we’ll be dead or prisoners. “

Cory shifted her stance, her eyes detailing the scratches and indentations in the wall... The traps...“How do we identify the traps? More importantly, how do we survive?” She asked, almost in a tone of panic.

”The overseers are mostly kind enough to give the margin of changing times. We’ll be hearing their voices soon enough.”

“Wasn’t that one of them?” Kabuki questioned.

”Yes.”

“Overseers so there’s two?”

”Three. Law, Order, and Enforce.”

“Sounds like a procedure. Heh. Three harpies.” Kabuki chuckled.

Fallon stretched, flailing the water off her wrists. “I’ll go on ahead. Kabuki stays in the middle with Cory, Asa will cover the rear.” To which, they all agreed.

”Remember, you can’t just walk off. This is a dungeon.” 

Fallon’s wings fluttered as she turned to Kabuki.  “I know, I’m inspecting this trap.”

”Without this map, the chance of your survival drops significantly. Unless you find a goblin.”

Similar to the previous room, the hallway was hollow and long...adorned with statues, the accompanying wall crystals. Empty, except for the voices of a strange wind, weak and mingling with their breathing. Cory could see her breath as she sent her shivers down her spine.

Someone in the distance wailed, as best they could through muffled walls. The very shadows entombed a presence. Everywhere they stepped smelled keenly of death like a tomb.

The black cat squirmed in Cory’s arms. Moon’s ears flicking, listening to tripping, disabling, and maneuvering of the traps. The cat was trembling, but not from fear as Cory thought. Moon was just cold, like everyone else. “I hope Haruna will be okay.”

The girl nodded.

 In the last few days alone, Cory had experienced the hospitality and danger of Nenas. She was not even close to learning how to defend herself. Magic didn’t look like a feasible option and that ‘skill’ that Cory had demonstrated at the bridge against Kabuki was pure luck. “The grace of the gods.” as Fallon complimented her many times when the subject was brought.

In the distant foreground, Cory’s ears grasped to Fallon’s words ahead. ”Watch the arrows. We have to disable the trap.” Asa guided and followed Cory at the rear, switching his glance forward to back.

 Cory despised being the only one standing around during a battle, the only one with doubts about defending herself. Her cat contributed more to a situation than she could have. Moon was stealthy to evade her for two days. He was competent enough to leave his victims with a clawed eye and torn fin! Cory didn’t want it to be that way. 

Cory exclaimed. “Asa!” The girl’s elbows scraped stone while she was kneeling, stinging from the recovery of a push to the floor. A stout pole of wood, sharply cut, had nicked the small of her back... Asa’s gloves, which had interfered with the direction of the pole suffered a rip from the slash; revealing a slit of red underneath. The plague doctor hissed below his breath.

Further along, Fallon yelled. “Is everyone alright?” The fae had advanced quite a distance. 

The same P.A. system blared in everyone’s ears. “ Changing time will be in five minutes!” 

Moon dusted off his fur by shaking and complained. “I hate this place.”

“Were good!” Cory caught a glimpse of Asa: his black beak mask nodded. He was quick.

“Sounding off!” Kabuki grimaced. A pit plummeted in front of them, the red demon’s claws grappling the edge. 

Cozi was happily floating above him, she was looking down past Kabuki’s gold horns. “Shit.”

Cory and Asa pulled the young man out. Both of them spotted a red-tipped spike in the pit. Cory noticed the streaming blot on the floor. “Your foot’s bleeding.”

Asa voiced his assessment. “But it’s minor, not that deep, just a puncture on your sole.” 

“I know,” Kabuki growled, then hollering to Fallon. 

 She ducked an incoming spear. Splintering and blocking another with her rapier. “Don’t take Cory through here!” The statues that stood parallel to each other with their spears, activated. Hulking in their stature in the likeness of giants, they shot light from their spears. ”Lasers!” Fallon indignantly screamed.

“Find a safe zone! Look for the eye motifs, anything to do with sight, regroup.”

The same, alien voice wailed again, clearer in tune, alone and longing…humming in wait in the present echo, much like the one Cory heard earlier. Everyone could hear it now. But they had no time.

“Cory!” Kabuki snapped.

“Follow the statues with the fully opened eyes!” Asa looked upwards, squinting his eyes to see under their helms. “Look where they’re looking.” This way.” he said.

Asa’s directions were getting them somewhere!

Kabuki kept looking back to see if Fallon followed them. She had not. 

“Why do you keep running your hand on the wall?” The demon asked. Asa had been doing so for a while. The frequency of traps lessened, much to Cory’s pleasure.

Asa nearly tripped. “Because...” the plague doctor gestured, “illusions.” His hand was deeper in the wall, had phased past it.

”How did you know?” Cory gasped.

”The overseers have certain preferences. We happen to know about a few, thanks to Ms Cabbage.” Kabuki escorted them, keeping an eye on their rear. ”She has more to hide than we do.” Asa spoke. “ Ms Cabbage is one of the six champions.”

Cory bit her lip and shrank closer to Asa.        ”Guys, I’ve been hearing—“

Cozi hissed, hovering over them like a grey cloud. 

Kabuki felt something too. A presence of the in-betweens, much like his own foul curse. “Eyes sharp. Feet light. And quiet.”

Pound. Pound. Each batter, the walls were setting off a crumbled dust. A statue toppled. A mist of dirt storming over the figure that arose...nearly to Kabuki’s colossal size. High above its huffing breath, rested a crest of polished horns, tainted in some parts by gold. Gleaming on its shoulders, on the ornamentation of its head.

Kabuki’s yellow eye and his blank one, locked with the Minotaur...

An eldritch face, somehow gaunt despite the bulging strength. It had white hair and ruby-clotted eyes, the head of a bull: one that was craving, hungering. As if it had waited years to eat their group specifically.

 Slowly the creature approached, tasting the air loudly in search of flesh. The creature had but one intent for them.

Nourishment—  in the form of blood and the warmth of prey. 

That scent that it sought for, was on the demon that shadowed over the smaller things. Over a thing that smelled so human, a scent it hadn’t tasted in years until now— 

The bull staggered in its charge, Kabuki’s right shoulder ramming into the wall from the force. Kabuki’s muscles strained and he yelled, roaring at the Minotaur. He was firm, projecting his vigour to heave it to the side. 

 But one horn slipped at full force as another was caught in Kabuki’s hands. Cozi flew above them, sweeping downward and up again just in time to avoid the second Minotaur’s clutch. Asa slashed it while Cory ran. Moon hopped beyond the sharpness of its reach, to the statue helms.

 Cory was on the verge of its path, tripped by its clutch and immediate release when it had been blinded...by dust and the sudden slice of a blade. The bull had blocked the metal slice with its ivory crown.

She ran and ran, but still, she could hear its bellow and the hoofs pounding close behind.

The human girl ran back to the narrow passageways that they came from. Past a gallery of tapestries, a nest of rats and a jail full of rowdy prisoners. 

A goblin knicked her leg as she turned a corner, biting her viciously, until she kicked it’s scraggly teeth out of its mouth. 

Her lungs hit the floor.

Cory snatched a broken string, snapping a trap that Asa had deterred into its delayed detonation. Spears sprung from the walls, staking organs, limbs, scraping the bones. Covering its eyes with blood. 

The crimson bathed fur that had seized her, unfurled its palm weakly, groaning, huffing in pain as it looked at the human with pleading, disfigured eyes.

Cory crawled under the mangled form staked on the spears. The Minotaur breathing deeply, desperately trying to wiggle out despite the pain. There was a cracking snap as its weight broke one of the many spears stabbed into its body. Then another as its fury echoed through the hall.

She snatched a sharp stick. Her legs practically flailing at the speed which she ran. Heading left two times and then going right again. The goblins, minotaurs and other jailed denizens perused the wholly unexpected sight around their bars. 

Murmurs and laughter ensued as she passed them. And she stuck close to the wall, remembering the incident with her leg.

“She lives!”

”Lets give you some more scratches champion.”

“Come on, give us the secret to getting out!”

“That’s one lucky human.”

It was all a blur until Cory heard Kabuki scream again.

Arriving to see a downed Minotaur and an exhausted demon before her: Red drooled from the bull’s teeth and wounds, onto the floor and back to the horn-skewered wound. Splinters of its broken horns littered the ground next to its carcass. The Plague Doctor found himself promptly picking up the splinters of the horn, storing them in a transparent bag.

Kabuki nodded to him, signaling he was fine and he pointed to Cory. “That was—good. I thought you weren’t going to live.”

The shock in Cory’s was just settling in. She dropped the sharp stick.”Thanks.” 

Asa propped his scythe-morphing cane against the wall. The masked plague doctor gave Cory a quick examining glance, dismissing the blood on the human girl. Then he saw the teeth stuck on her calf.

”Get off that foot. Sit down.” 

She saw the full wound now. An oval like etching in her skin, decorated with a few blood, soaked goblin teeth. She was starting to feel the cut on her back.

“How did you escape so cleanly from that goblin?”

”How did you escape as the cleanest from that Minotaur?” Kabuki laughed, patting the floor next to him.

“Goblin was poking out from a jail. It wasn’t loose.” Thankfully, she thought.

“The thing was hungry.” Kabuki said. Leaving Cory to wonder whether he meant the goblin or Minotaur.

”We need to check up on Fallon. What time is it?”

“A fifteen minute break, so I can check your wounds.”

…

“Damn it all!” Fallon yelled. “Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!” The fae punched a wall she had gone through. She was in cramped hallway that was about half her height. And she made herself crawl. 

She sighed. At least this was better than wing destroying lasers. ”Goblins. I just have to find a goblin. No map, just get a goblin.”  She continued following the eye inscriptions in the walls, letting the light of a few crystals guide her way. 

The silk carpeted stone floor eventually turned to wood, and through its cracks orange light illuminated the dimness of the tunnel. The air had a stuck and cloying fragrance. Fallon sniffed.“Rot. Rotten? Blood?” The smell was enough to wrench her stomach out of itself.

The crystals above had seemed dimmer as she crawled closer to a trapdoor: to a ladder that seemed lead down a stairwell. The trapdoor slammed against the wall, causing her wings to flutter in surprise. As Fallon pushed herself out the trapdoor, her hands touched the floor. The ladder only had 4 steps. Half her height. 

Creeping down, the smell only got more pungent until it merged with the scent of fresh blood. The fae followed it.

Unlike the cells Fallon had seen elsewhere in Isle of Jewel’s these were cleaner, with marble floors, sturdier looking cells. The bars and locks were polished and within the room there were seven cells, one of which was not empty.

She noticed that after flipping the light switch. 

The prisoner was laying prostrate on the floor; hands and ankles bound tightly to force them into that position. He was covered in bruises, as well as deep lashes, clothed in not much of anything besides his wounds.

 Fallon spoke to break the silence.

”Your not a goblin…”

”Dullahan.” He grunted. His wrists wriggling in an exhausted attempt to loosen his bindings. “I’m a Dullahan.”

He looked half dead, in the way that his vigor easily did not fail to come out in the red of his blood.

 “Well. I guess you’re in jail.” The fae said.

“No shit Shergoblin, now free me.”

“You must be someone really dangerous.”  

The light made the red of his hair glow more potently. His stare worn, tired evidently, from the circles which darkened the skin under his eyes, somehow still captured the spirit of his will.  “I'm wrongfully convicted.” 

“Aye.” Fallon rolled her eyes. “Because people who break the law, break it cause they usually don’t believe they’ve done anything wrong.”

Fallon ignored him. Leaving him to mutter more obscenities.

There was a desk full of drawers and her attention came to be entertained by its confines. Mostly paperwork. She pulled a drawer out and disregarded it immediately, eyeing a group of files held down by bottle. With dissatisfaction upon finding it empty of alchohol, Fallon eyed a specifically mistreated file. With a picture of the dullahan and a name:

“What do we have here? Cystenian?”

He grit his teeth. “You’re obviously not with Enforce.”

”How do you know?” Fallon teased. She flipped through the file, clicking her tongue.“You have nice armor.”

”Don’t even think about stealing it.”

”Wouldn’t even wear it. I’m clearly fae.” 

Cystnenian “hmmphed” at the reply Fallon spat. Then he added nonchanchalantly:

“Is that bottle empty?”

”Yea…”

”I know where she keeps the wine. If you get—“ “Which way’s the wine?”

The air became colder, drier as the atmosphere blackened to complete darkness. Eyes looked on them, glowing faintly in illumination. The white crystals, humming with a voice spoke: ashen, tinged with a sprite of venom. 

”Hear me.”  A voice said fiercely, the echo enclosing them. Frost crept up the walls and blood-covered skin shivered with the gnawing wind.  “Disciples of Disease, you have travelled far.” The crystals farthest from the shivering group gleamed. “Further you shall try.” 

Where the group stood in the dark was guided with each step, forward, to a grand door, emblazoned with the luminescent stones. Ice had paved the way, crawling up past the cracks and into a gargantuan room. To an arena of unbelievable size...

Light caught the glow of the low hanging ice; which were like chandeliers from which jewels and golden riches were encapsulated and dangled over them, additionally decorated with ribbons of strange-looking plants. 

Asa, Kabuki, and Cory wandered in intrigue, astray from the main path. Ancient writing sprawled the path, denoting the carved words in Nena's script.

Trial of Stamina.

Amidst the air so full of ornaments, tinged so sweetly from cloying fragrance was the harpy herself. Her face was covered in gold by a mask, blending otherwise perfectly into the landscape, if not for her brown feathers; which draped from bare shoulders in the manner of which one would think to be a thick cloak. 

Underneath the creature’s wings, Cory spotted her gangly snatching grip, quietly choking something on its perch.  One being crushed and writhing, another grovelling in admiration. The harpy’s fingers tapped the shiny metal on her head.

Pan: her mask, which in its style was contorted to an exaggerated expression seen commonly in Greece…bore an elaborately embroidered headband designed with motifs of nature. It rimmed the sprouting decorations that mimicked the pointed horns of satyrs of old.

“I shade thine expression.

Or preserve one’s emotion. 

Worn, I am stoic regardless.” 

Order hummed, her victim choking beneath her. “Answer.” She said rather forcefully, dousing her words with powdered sweetness.

Her grovelling servant exclaimed in praise. “A mask, oh most feared mistress!”

”Indeed.” The harpy’s mask glared menacingly, a toothy smile sneering through its taunting gape. Cory wanted to yell; to say something! 

But the lash was too quick. Unseen by the rest of the group until a corpse unravelled in a plummet to their feet. The goblin bleeding from his neck...splayed before them in blood.   

“Disciples!” The harpy’s voice called. “ Find the mask, for there is only one among these treasures!” She whipped the air, causing the goblin beside her to scramble to the nearest corner. The cracks rebounded and flayed, summoning her very own cacophony of controlled chaos.

The icicles above them were dropping in masses. Shatters of ice pierced walls, lodging themselves in any skin they could find. Crystal spikes revealed their points—while parts of the floor fell to harsh pitfalls and Minotaur’s emerged by her command.

Cozi dodged many of the projectiles, flying upwards to safety. Asa had stuffed Moon into his bag, which floated beside him as he slashed at the falling ice with his scythe. 

Kabuki hunched over Cory, grimacing as he shielded her from the sharpness that rained above them.

”How the hell do we find that mask?” Cory yelled. 

“I’ll locate it!” Cozi assured. “Five Minotaurs are closing in on your position!”

“Follow the Nenas script!” Asa said, holding his scythe above his head, hacking at the obstructions in his way.

Minotaurs barged in where they could, tracking Cory’s scent. Three had landed in the traps, others wandering the maze of falling icicles and piling treasure. Cozi searched and searched to no avail, there could be no obvious place for a mask. Too many masses of trinkets, gold, jade and pearl covered the arena in mounds frozen in ice. 

It was madness. More so after Order flogged the remaining Minotaurs in the direction of the disciples. Lashing at Cory whenever she could. 

The harpy’s cunning had separated them, detaining Cozi in a bejewelled cage as she trapped Asa and Moon. The demon remained, jumping, dodging, and at times protecting the human girl when he could.

Cory had lured several Minotaurs into the traps, leaving only one to hunt them. Kabuki followed her. Their attention had been freed and both of them attempted to focus on the harpy—except they could not. 

Now, there were too many Minotaurs in the room. Too many to survive. A sharp sting curled up Cory’s leg, her hair dangling as she was launched upwards into the grasp of the harpy. She screamed, listening to Kabuki’s draining strength as ten Minotaurs pulled at his limbs.

Fallon rushed into view and howls were let off by lacerated Minotaurs. A whip strong, bulky and hard had sent flesh flying. Carving indentations with each strike that landed. Blood splattered, bathing the already stained whip red with a drip. 

“Cystenian!”

The figure threw the tip of his whip in Cory’s direction. It tapped the skin, sending a searing sensation down the harpy’s leg and Cory was caught in Fallon’s arms.

The lash of the Dullahan’s whip tangled with the harpy’s own. And below, Kabuki regained ground as Fallon ran her sword down the backs of several enraged Minotaurs. She sprayed spit in their faces, taking the chance to slash their eyes. 

As the demon branded his weapon towards the Minotaurs, Fallon addressed the Dullahan she called Cystenian.  “I’ll help you!” She kicked a Minotaur into a pit, finishing the job by gouging her sword into its neck.

A heavy, but young Irish voice answered. “No. This is personal! ” He turned in a charged rage as flares of incandescent wisps dashed to the whirling harpy’s whip.  

Cory finally saw the person. A crimson cascade of hair donned over obsidian shining armour. His weapon hallowed, and made of a string of fading bones.

”Hey!” 

Cory was spooked for a moment and just realized that she had been set down where Order caged Cozi. The helpless human rattled the door to the cat's kennel. “Thanks, but she has the key,” Cozi stated. “Did you see the mask?” Cory questioned, checking containers for a key, a weapon. She tumbled a stack of coins and treasure in her scramble. The coins were cold and her fingers were starting to get numb.

Below one Minotaur slammed into another Minotaur. “What the fuck Richard!” 

They heard Cystenian’s ranting. “You have goblins who worship you, giants that hate you, minotaurs who don't care and you still picked a headless man to torture!”

“No. But—“ The grey cat was interrupted. Cory jumped. Asa cracked and burst through the ice prison the harpy had made.

His hand squeezed out of the small hole and back in. “It’s the one she’s wearing. That has to be the answer.” He hissed, rubbing his irritated wrist. “We’ll be here forever if we search for it in the piles.” Asa looked at the cat. “Moon, it’s big enough for you.”

”I know.” The male cat replied. “I’m not going out there.” 

“It’s really cold.” Cory shivered.

Asa cracked more of the ice and crawled through it. The human girl composed herself. “We have to tell them.” She said.

“Go on,  tell them!” Cozi reaffirmed, fiddling with the cage’s lock to the best of her ability.

“We don’t know how the harpy will react. We have to think——“ Asa.

Cory blinked her eyes in disbelief and leaned over the balcony, screaming the message. “Get the mask on her face!” The Dullahan began attacking closer to the harpy’s head and Fallon had killed the last of the Minotaurs. 

“Avoid the whip!” Asa grimaced, shoving Cory out the way and catching the leather string with the handle of his scythe. The harpy was dragging him and darted upwards as Asa dangled from her whip. Cory began tossing coins at the harpy. “Watch it!” He said, and swung side to side, trying to weigh the harpy down. Order slammed Asa into several icicles and the doctor held on, only tighter.

The harpy was flapping in a frustrated manner, and Cystenian managed to hook her leg with his whip. It sent Asa down, arm scraping into place as his scythe now embedded into the wall had his hand hanging on… along with the harpy’s now limp whip. He almost yelped.

The harpy expected him to and so that was where she was looking. She felt a tug and her leg further sting at Cystenian’s spine whip dug into her feathers.

Fallon yanked the woman’s hair, kicking her neck as she took the mask, revealing the harpy’s somewhat deranged and delighted expression. Fallon cast the golden mask onto the floor, hitting all the priceless junk and making a mess of it. Asa picked it up. 

Order smiled at Cystenian. “That was—“ The harpy laughed. “A step! You beat me. I’ll let you have it, take it to my sister.”

With a gush of air, Order vanished, away in the translucent blue of the ice that was above them. Cystenian had cracked his whip one last time before hanging it on his belt.

Cory felt her leg now. It stung, badly and she saw the marks the whip had left her. Kabuki was covered in scratches and thinking. Both, quietly recovering from what could’ve easily been their execution. Cozi spectated above and Moon from below as Cystenian observed them, admiring the fact that he avoided any strain against the harpy. Admiring the fact that he was free…Quitting his job.

“Still haven’t found Haruna?” 

Cystenian saw the red-headed demon nod his head. A growl came off his shoulders and Fallon laughed. Cystenian puffed his chest and breathed a sigh of relief. 

Fallon patted the dullahan on his shoulder. “Thank you.”

”Care to show me the way out as you promised?” The Dullahan said, his Irish accent heavily coating the syllables of each word.

”That’s what we’re doin’ right now.” Fallon stated back, in the manner of her Scottish habit. “We have to track down the next harpy.” The green-haired fae examined a chip on her rapier before sheathing it again and began to strum her lute for a tune. She jumped down several steps after she zoomed across the room. “This way!” The fae hummed, indulging in the pleasant plucking of her stringed instrument. 

Fallon’s music echoed through the cavernous room, deep chords resounding against the walls as she led the way. She led them safely, past the monuments of carved ice into the tall tunnels guarded by the sentinel statues.

Asa quickly began bandaging the most accessible of cuts on himself as they travelled through the main labyrinth. 

“Is this allowed?” Kabuki murmured.

Asa kindly replied. “Fallon can usually tell the good from the bad. If she trusts him, we can.” 

“ I mean is the official? As a part of the group?” Kabuki clarified. “We should keep him.“ 

”Aye!” Fallon nodded, making it clear she was eavesdropping on their conversation. “We can all hear ya whispering just let the lad join the team, he hates his job anyway.” 

“We’re all ears to your ‘secret’ words back there,” Cystenian added.

Kabuki retorted almost teasingly “I wager you’re a worthy opponent to spar.” “So... are you, yes,” Cory said awkwardly.

Asa happily obliged to include both Fallon and Cystenian in the conversation. “Who are you then? We’ve been intrigued.”

The Dullahan presented himself as the group walked. “My name is Cystenian, born son of Niamh. I'm a dullahan. I've been saying people's names out loud for the past 500 years in Ireland. And I want to change that.” 

“ Pleasure. I assume Fallon has already taken the liberty and introduced us?”

“Yes, Failure has told me about all of you.”

“Failure?” Cory repeated, puzzled.

”It’s an eke-name he’s given me.” Fallon said. Cory’s face held visible confusion.

Asa chimed in. “ Eke-name—old English for nickname. 

“Any other mislabels?” Kabuki sighed.

The masked doctor snickered, not at all afraid to delve into delinquency. “I could be Ass.” 

Cory let a chuckle slip from her pent and tense throat. Fallon at this point was hysterically laughing, zooming above Kabuki while patting his thickly maned skull. “You could be Kabitch!”

Cozi pushed Fallon off to rest on the demon’s head. Participating in the conversation in the cutest manner a grey cat could. She curled up. “ I am still Cozi.”

“I am Moon and I am a boon!” The black cat nearly tackled the human girl. Cory laughed, cradling her black cat in her arms.

The dullahan smiled, eyeing the container Fallon drank from. He politely gestured to it, indicating his want. Fallon dropped it into his hands. “Failure I think this would be a terrible idea to join your party,” Cystenian said sarcastically.

“Oh, it’s not my party.” 

“ I fund this party,” Asa said, watching Fallon take her bottle back. “Everyone gets an allowance of 10,000 jewels.” The plague doctor’s beak turned at the sound of his zipped open bag; from which he pulled out as instantly as he plunged, a pouch heavy with notes and coin.

And they were merry. Joking and laughing and getting to know each other. It was fun! Cory was comfortable, less talkative with Cystenian but relaxed for the most part. The “disciples”,  as the harpy referred to them, were silent for a while after. Their path made them uneasy as they travelled.

They were making no business of conversation, the topics were sparse enough to spare distraction. Kabuki spoke of the obvious in an annoyed tone. He was anxious. “These traps are too easy.” 

“This area is too ornamental.” Fallon grimly agreed. “And it’s been a while since we last encountered a serious one.” 

“That’s an odd door,” Cory said. Her finger pointed down the east tunnel of the intersection they were in… towards a sun gleaming room.

A colossal door opened within it many other doors; comprised of circular shapes made of wood, carved into the wall at varying heights. Fountains adorned with delicate vines, protruded from the left and right walls with their trickling water at either side. The group flooded into the chamber, admiring the indoor courtyard.

”It’s a garden.” Fallon murmured.

”It’s a wall of doors.” Asa finished.

Cystenian plopped onto the furniture, scoffing as he dusted some feathers off it. Cory tried to count the entrances in the wall.

“Twenty-seven doors. Who the fuck needs that many?” Fallon swore. 

“Someone flies into them,” Asa observed, prying one open with a pull to its handle. Inside was a dimly lit room that extended farther, obviously echoing the sounds of a strong current of water.

Cory sighed and sniffed the flowers. All of the doors were presented with clear instructions on their frames: Pick me. Once.

“Quite peculiar, if I didn’t already know.” The doctor said. “I’ll go first since I can’t die.” Asa slipped in, the wood slamming shut into its frame despite his wish. He groaned. “ Ah well. At least I’m not dead.” The words above the frame changed: Fourth. Chosen.

“Do we break the door?” Kabuki yelled. 

“No!” Asa answered. “Choose one. Each of you! Give Cory the safe door!”

”Oh, gods! Snakes!” Fallon stabbed one, more slithering by.

“Number eight!” Asa yelled at the top of his lungs.

“You’re going up,” Fallon said, stuffing Cory into a particularly high placed door. 

“Wait!”

Slam! Cory slid down somewhere in the dark as cold water splashed on her head. She yelped as she landed in a moderately shallow collection pool. Order’s Mask glared back at Cory as she saw that Fallon had tossed it in too.

She was going to wrench her hair out but remembered it was short. Her footsteps were quiet next to the noisy water and she hoped not to attract anything that way. 

Then: The woman’s cries. Her lamenting singing. Cory was even closer to the sound than before. But was it wise to follow? She had two options.

Wait and allow something to find me.

Or move and find something on my terms. 

Courage had gotten the best of her. Cory would go on to find doom on her terms, be it quick or slow in these next steps. The human reached the tunnel's end, with only a raft and oar to welcome her. Cory took it. She manoeuvred in the half-dark, crystals occasionally shining across the way.

Cory latched her hands on the edge of the raft. Mask loose and about fall. “No!” The raft had hit the wall and she let the oar sink, but she had the mask.

Eventually, after drifting for a few minutes she saw a lever to the right side of her path. Cory managed to wedge the raft in the corner and flipped the switch. A passage creaked open and she jumped to it.  Cory had unintentionally made it to the source of the singing. It was a big room, with a dangerous harpy like the previous one before. Except this harpy did not consider hiding.

Everything about her was crumpled, somehow withdrawn, her figure slumped over. Gold shimmered starkly against her black sleeved garments, the metal of her mask and course, her beautiful brown feathers. Like Order, this harpy possessed a whip in her reach…

The wail the poor creature let off almost knocked Cory off her feet. She stayed quiet for a long time, wincing every time the harpy sang and sobbed idly. Every once in a while, she would strum a note on the lire beside her. Though from what Cory could hear, they were random, dissonant notes too far apart to be a coherent melody. Cory’s ankles were soaking in the rising water. Though it was less cold, that did not stop Cory from shivering. She was crouching at the bottom, suffering from terror and chills.

Order’s “boss room” must have been loaded with gold, but the lack of ice seemed to make the amount a lot more obvious. Cory assumed she did not hide well in the mounds of treasure. Her hair stood out too much amongst the trinkets. To add to her frustration the water kept rising, to the point where she was swimming. She was far from where the harpy was, but if she waded through the water loud enough. She’d be spotted. The acoustics of the room didn’t help. The mask seemed to her heavier.

Her legs and arms started to get tired, and she had no choice but to inch closer to the harpy. The human cradled Order’s Golden mask in her arms. In the hurry to rest her limbs Cory let a volley of coins splash loudly into the water.

The harpy’s voice ceased, stagnant now as it devoured Cory’s gaze. Ancient King Midas, with his lips, parted in woe…

The bird-woman had flown over. “So you are to be the safe one?” She whispered, her voice sad but in a beautiful tone. She hummed faintly, tracing the finery of her sister's mask. Cory hadn’t even seen her snatch it. “This mask is of my sister Order. Dear, dear sister…Is she dead?”

 Cory simply stood there, looking down away from the harpy. Her heart was pulsing through her veins, loud enough that the harpy made an abrupt pause in her ramblings, till they continued again. “Oh, they’ve sent a child. A poor little human girl.” the harpy sniffled. 

There was a silence. The harpy had gone off to stare at plant near her resting place. Above it she had accommodated an altar: a shrine in which a plant bathed in golden, iridescent light.  The plant was unlike anything she’d ever seen on earth, but at the same time it looked as if it had come from the roots of the ground.

Law stroked the harp with a wail.

The harpy pulled out a chest from under her feathers. Placed Order’s mask inside, only for the box to vanish again under her wings. Cory’s chin looked upward, claws guiding her head while she shut her eyes. “Shhh.” The harpy’s siren-like voice said. “You’ll be safe, come now Concordia.” 

Something went wrong.

Afterwards, Cory had felt everything swell, she felt her innards warped whole. She shrank and saw her skin become gilded. She only saw herself as part of the harpy’s collection, being placed amongst the other necklaces. Merely something to be looked at…

“Bummer that it’s a safe door. I wanted to test out that new technique.” Asa sighed.

”Fucking snakes! Get off!” Kabuki thundered. The demon had clamped his hand on its jaws.

Fallon stabbed another snake nonchalantly.  “I thought that saint patty guy got rid of them.” 

Cystenian also flicked his whip in turn at a remaining snake. “He did but Lord Cernunnos still has his snakes.” 

“Have you found another door yet?” Asa enquired from inside his door. “ And are you guys trying to follow it chronologically?” He crossed out the number twelve on the list of doors checked, tapping the door again to ask in confirmation. He began mumbling to himself. 

“Kabuki bit down a copper bird.” 

Asa groaned. “Open door number five.” 

“Opening door number 5,” Fallon repeated.

”Go through and find Haruna.”

The doctor heard a door shut. “Cystenian door number nineteen. Kabuki door number four. Take the cats with you.” 

“I will protect you with my life.” Cozi and Moon nuzzled at Kabuki as he said so.

Asa stuffed the list into his bag and moved further along, leaving behind the door. It was dark now that the candle wax he kept had gone out. Everyone would be on their own merits.

Asa shuddered as rats scuttled past his ankles. The doctor straightened his mask, cane and bag in hand. 

His tapping echoed in the narrow tunnel, in places that lacked a significant portion of light. The path that he took kept shrinking in size, and he crawled through it. 

A waterway had welcomed Asa as expected, and naturally so did a boat. It was stout and spacious aboard, Asa took to it easily. He was bound to run into Cystenian and Fallon and Kabuki.

Ms Cabbage’s notes managed to describe the labyrinth in a fairly detailed manner. They had been reliable for the most part in describing the inconveniences the group would find in general passages. Her notes would give recommendations on how to get past traps. The expected pressure triggers were just the beginning. Punji sticks, snake pits, slamming spike studded doors, bamboo whips, grenade and cartridge traps… and a bunch of others were mentioned.

 Some parts of the manual could be dismissed as wrong but Asa knew better. The labyrinth was engineered to change and a manual could only do so much. Precisely why it was refreshing to encounter a route that was familiar to Ms Cabbage’s notes. He was on the main waterway to a harpy’s lair and he expected everyone else to be too, in time.

Asa thought about Cory then. He questions if he had made the right decision: to send her in first. He had. He just needed to trust it with confidence.

Best not to think about it now.

Asa simply cruised until he found Cystenian about to drown.

The company was helpful. Cystenian’s whip latched onto switches that needed to be flipped as Asa steered. The man-made river drained into a set of bars that led to God's know how deep. In summary, the waterway was a dead end. The dullahan’s charm convinced Asa to abandon the boat. 

They were treading through a dark hallway, following the crystals embedded in the wall….and then they weren’t. Cystenian couldn’t describe the feeling exactly, but there was something else at work. Either the walls manipulated their path or this hallway had morphed into the fog.

Asa adjusted the beak of his mask, as one would shift the glasses farther up the bridge of their nose.

”Who—who is that?” Cystenian breathed.

Haruna sat cross-legged, meditating while swirls circled all around her. She was drenched in water from head to toe, not a scratch on her head. A strained expression on the sorceress’ face. 

“More guests.” Law hummed as she dropped someone in front of them. Cozi, Moon and Kabuki were unmoving. 

The centre of a stadium revealed itself behind her, with treasures and riches bursting. Red curtains, blue ribbons and flowers bloomed; under the griffin horde that perched over its high ledges. 

“It’s that humming Cory was talking about earlier,” Asa said. 

Law chipped a wing piece off Fallon’s unconscious body, lumping her in with Kabuki and the cats. “Moon, Cozi, Kabuki, Fallon.”

“Concordia,” Asa said as the golden chain slipped from the cracks of the harpy’s claws. The mask glowered at the locket, then at them.

“Wretch.” The dullahan hissed.

“You.”  Law put a finger to her mask’s lips. Her voice was soft, ghost-like and ethereal in texture. Somehow haunting the air in each word before she spoke.

“ You have presented to me the mask of my sister, Order. To have come this far you have done well. And in the unlikeliest event that you should be on your way...Heed. Evils were far worse than the epitome of our wrath prowl beyond these lands. Dragomir.” 

The harpy let the name simmer in her mouth with distaste. “He has taken much and should you fall a victim to his magic…It shall be a fate worse, than the respite of death.”

Cysyenian whipped his arm out suddenly. And the dullahan’s whip went limp the opposite direction before it struck, lashing his face instead. He found Law hovering across from him and his skull throbbed. 

 “It’s not potent enough!” Law hissed. The fingers at the edge of her wings curled in anger. Asa looked to the previously unconscious group.

Cozi rolled off the black cat, awake. “Get up Kabuki! Before she drugs us again!”

“Suffer!”

Asa dodged an incoming fireball. Kabuki leapt to absorb another. The red demon, tearing through the harpy’s wings, spun onto his side as Law knocked him to the floor.

Law’s whip writhed as she flew: wriggling as if it were a live snake, summoning the griffins towards Asa. He struck them down.

Enraged screams escaped Law’s throat at the sight before her. Gold materialized in front of Haruna; the coins compressing into one metal surface: a shield to stop the harpy’s onslaught. Lash! Lash! Lash! It dented the metal and the shield shattered to a million pieces that cut the harpy.

Fallon charged her rapier past Law’s side, Cystenian’s whip dragging in her other hand. The dullahan tackled the harpy, embedding a knife into her shoulder.

The harpy flailed her wings against the floor. She hurled the golden locket and let off a shrill scream. “Give it back! ” Laws nails were swiping inches from Cystenian’s face. She sobbed, now completely paralysed from Haruna’s spell. Law looked at her mask in Cystenian’s hands, looked at the blood running down his face.

Asa kicked a griffin off its side to get his cane and bag. Haruna surveyed the group, worry finally showing on her face. “Asa? Where’s Cory?” 

“You can ask her.” Fallon pointed to Law, wiping blood off her rapier. The plague doctor handed Haruna the locket. Kabuki huffed as he smoothened Moon’s black fur. Cozi smacked her chops. “I will eat you.” The cat hissed.

“Turn her back.” The sorceress commanded, slamming the harpy’s knees to the floor. 

 Law let more tears stream down her face while looking up at the locket with her unmasked face. She concealed it in her claws and let the locket morph back into a human girl. “Go away.” the harpy whispered, waving her feathered arm to the exit.

Cystenian’s boots echoed as he left the room.  Moon yowled sharply behind him. They all left to wait outside until Haruna and Cory were left alone in the room with Law.

Haruna glared at the harpy, supposing the awful things Cory had suffered at Law’s magic. 

“Can I hug you?” Cory muttered.

 Haruna hugged her tightly as any mother would to their child. Cory held her posture stiffly, expressionless in everything but her stare. 

Law winced.

Cory’s voice trembled into a whisper. “It’s not her fault.” 

Cory’s eyes were glassy. She looked at Law, in her crumpled form and doleful cries. The words of sympathy for the harpy nearly fell out of her mouth. 

Cory only managed a whimper amongst her sniffling before Haruna led her away.

Eventually, the group was back to wandering in the tunnels. However, it was only for a short time that they travelled through torchlit darkness. 

Reunited once again, all six of them witnessed the stairs of an ancient and worn tower, covered in cracks and moss. The cackles of the last harpy rained down upon the disciple’s ears, her shrieks getting louder as they stepped closer to a large stone door where the final challenge will soon begin. With only a simple push by Kabuki opened the heavy door with ease, the rest following behind.  Once entering the final stage, the arena rained with ribbons of Aegean blue and soft shades of purple.

Upon the centre was once of many keys to open the isle of the sun back to the world. 

It formed in a cluster of blue, both dark and light shades providing light to a grand sphere of similar colours to its small counterpart.

Only hovering in the air barely touching the curved pillars to support its weight. The last floor was surrounded by stars and exposed to the cold winter air.

An ear-splitting shriek came falling from the sky as a woman ascends to the ground, arms covered with grey feathers with a blue shrine to them. Her face is covered with a mask that dons the face of the youthful Dionysus, set in gold and amethysts, emeralds and stain-glass pearls adorn her hair styled to form a crown of grapes and ivy.

"Be not afraid disciples, for I only punish those who bestow upon harm upon my beloved sisters and send the foolish back to the darkest pits of the tower." She declared with a voice of confidence. "Many dared to leave this bitter and wretched place, but they were only proven to be fools once they've been defeated." The harpy explained as her voice becomes a serious tone, raising her arm in the air, piercing the air with a cracking sound of her whip. She continued her warning. "Are you brave enough to escape this place with what you seek for your journey? Dragomir, lord of fire and blood sends fear to those who live far and wide in Nenas. He has everyone's eyes and ears, no one is safe." She began plucking a handful of glass grapes from her hair, holding them in her palm briefly before striking them to the cold ground. From the broken vessels, erupted fog. 

Enforce’s wings spread at their full length, and withdrew upwards, fading; until purple smoke enveloped her to obscurity. Laughter encircled them. Mocked the disciples tauntingly in its manner…as the tail of her whip slithered into the thick fumes.

The disciples huddled, coughing as they maintained their ground. Cory was pushed to the centre with Moon still in her arms. They had lost clarity of the room to muddled depths of the smoke. The sky which was once clear above them became thick. Cystenian’s armour clattered, he grimaced, hunched over, more so than the rest of the group. It was affecting him drastically.

Kabuki tried to swat it away. “This is no natural fog!”  

Enforce’s laughter continued to echo throughout the room as the disciples brushed their shoulders closer together. Both cats stuffed themselves within Asa’s bag.

Fallon grimaced, her shoulders readjusting back in the strain as her battered wings fluttered weakly.

Haruna breathed out heavy gusts to keep the smoke away. “Stay close to me. I can’t clear all the smoke out. It’s going to take time.”

“Why? Why are we here?” Cystenian groaned. “I don’t—“

Cory squealed: the harpy’s whip had just missed Fallon, flailing back into the purple fog. Fallon’s rapier frantically pointed to the smoke. “You’re lucky you had both your sisters soften me up before getting to you! Else you’d be facing me at full power!”

“Fallon don’t separate.” Kabuki snapped.

“I won’t!” Fallon said and dodged the attack again.” The fae’s eyes were beginning to water. She grits her teeth, looking at a massive chunk of her wing on the floor. Fallon began cursing. 

Asa swatted the fog in the air. “Fallon Viramoth where in the 7 Hells are you going?  “A bitch cuts my wings and I'm gonna cut a bitch's life short.” 

“Cut me, Then we’ll see if we truly live by the same creed!”

The dullahan couldn’t see any of the group. 

A crack of Enforce’s whip came from within the smoke, as she strikes Cystenian in the back, he gasped at the pain unaware he was inhaling in her smoke with fear flooding his mind.

“Augh!”Cystenian ran his fingers onto his scalp. The dullahan’s eyes were bloodshot from the gas. 

Kabuki rubbed his eyes. Fallon dug her nails into her hand. “How on Nenas does this bird wench manage so many whips?”

Fallon was busy keeping back a stray griffin. She finally poked through its wings, into its chest. She didn’t have enough time to dislodge the sword before Cystenian’s whip curled with sting on her forearm. “Oi! Stupid quack-brained—“

“You’ve delivered me to the overseers!” His whip bounded again.

“This the only way out you—“ 

Cystenian knocked the fae back. Fallon rushed to hit him in the jaw, but fell prey to his whip.

Kabuki assumed Cystenian’s whip was misguided, only to be proven wrong yet again. Blood sprinkled the floor next to him, matching the red of his skin. 

Cory held onto Fallon. “This— this is too much blood. Asa!”

”I’m fine!” Fallon began coughing. “It’s the smoke. It will overwhelm us.”

The plague doctor slashed at the incoming whips, while dodging. “Just a second!” 

Cystenian lashed his whip in every direction trying to strike his new allies. In his eyes, they have been replaced with what fears.

”Get your damn dominatrix fetish sorted, Cystenian.” 

“Really Fallon—“ The dullahan fisted the ground beneath him when he saw that he had missed Cory. The fae had zoomed and yanked herself and Cory behind Kabuki. 

Fallon knelt, clutching at her sword getting ready to block incoming whips.

“So the smoke is manipulating you now?” He guessed.” The demon stepped forward blocking Cystnenian’s off from the human and fae pair. Asa moved in, silently tending to the attack coming for Fallon.

The dullahan ignored the comment, knocking his elbow into Kabuki’s teeth. Cystenian’s armor dented.

“As enjoyable as this is,” he dodged “Stop fighting me.”

”No!” Cystnenian’s whip nipped the edge of Kabuki’s shoulder, only for the oni to shove him back, further away.

“We are getting you out. “

“If that were the case you would have gotten me out already…and it wouldn’t have been through them.”

A harpy’s voice chimed in. “Oh—but it should be. This is the only way out.” 

Kabuki’s roar filled with pain, and fell flat against the symphony of cracking whips. His feet dragging, he yanked and snarled, now farther away. 

Smoke floundered in the air with each of the Harpies’ wing beats. Haruna was tied in.

As Kabuki screams in despair, Haruna is trying not to inhale the hallucinogenic smoke, with her eyes watering. Collapsing to the ground, her hand over her mouth and nose, rolling onto her back she can faintly see the stars through the purple smoke, she was hit with sudden realisation. Haruna moved her hand, taking the risk of inhaling the smoke she exhaled a large squall of wind. Knocking the harpy and Kabuki off their feet. 

With the smoke gone and Haruna coughing, she slowly gets back on her feet. Animosity poured over Kabuki’s expression, over his judgment. His being responding only as a feral, wild demon.

Obey me Kabuki.

Haruna noticed the spell. Anger running through her veins, she flounces her way towards Kabuki, pulling his hair and punching him in the face. Shoving him to the side, Haruna makes her way to the warden, gripping onto her glass grape headpiece.

"What kind of fool doesn't have a roof for their dungeon!" The sorceress yelled at the harpy, ripping off the Dionsian headpiece. Smashing the grapes on cracked tiles, and immediately casting a spell to transform their smoke to a liquid.

“Enough games!” The harpy snatched the mask back from Haruna. The three overseers don their masks and face her without fear.  Shadows emerged at the edges of the sorceress’s eyes, ready to let loose; to defend and retrieve what they needed at all costs.  Only, severe magic compels the harpies to still. Whether it was from Haruna’s magic or their contract, Enforce did not know, but she sensed something as ancient and unmistakable as those who had helped to forge their bond to the goddess of the wishing flower.

Cystnenian was lashing just beyond the corner of the sorceress’s eye. “Get out of his reach!” Haruna’s warning came late. He whipped Cory and Fallon.

Order revealed herself to Kabuki, and liquified the floor beneath him. Causing the demon to somehow plunge into hard stone. His eyes stung as he submerged and stretched his limbs into the air.

“Asa!” Moon meowed. He threw his bag, Cozi flying with it. The harpy moved to confront Haruna, her whip dragging behind her carelessly, until it was gone.

A whip snared Kabuki’s wrist and Order exclaimed in frustration. The demon found himself clutching at it, like some makeshift rope!

She willed it to strangle Kabuki’s  neck, but it only tightened in Kabuki’s horns. The demon snarled, yanking his neck and arms away once Asa had pulled him out. And he let himself fall limp, except for the deep breaths his chest heaved.

And the harpies realized the cats had stolen the keys. Nothing more could be done. Their enemies were now champions.

Everyone breathed in silence for a moment. Cory held her arms. “Where Cystnenian?” 

“Right here.” Order huffed.

Cystenian gasped, on the verge of being choked to death. The Irish-man clutching at the tightening whip, allowed his fingers to slip in between his skin and the leather. 

The joints of his left gauntlet pinched into his skin, straining his neck—

His body fell to the floor as the harpy’s fingers pulled the hairs on his head. Throwing itself on the floor to scramble for its own out-of-reach whip. Cystenian suddenly lost feeling of everything below his neck. His senses snapped free.

”Let me go.”

Cystnenian’s body, lying motionless on the ground began to tremble and convulse: neck suddenly bleeding red fog.

It twitches as it rises to back his feet. All but one harpy watched in silence, as a spear materialises from his hand.

“What—what is this?” Order had dropped the dullahan’s head, backing up between her sisters. 

The seemingly possessed suit of armor walks towards the disoriented head, grabbing a hold it. Fallon knelt in the fog as Asa treated her wounds, chuckling to herself about skunks. Asa observed dullahan with his own speculation.

Law flapped her wings, then again, and again until her mournful visage faded and only two harpies were left. Order growled.

Enforce spoke to them. “Disciples…I decline to your victory.” She bowed.

She bit back the harshness of her tone when addressing her sister. “Order, it is time to leave them. The next prisoners shall escape if we dwell on this defeat.”

”I don’t care to torture them anymore: their pain is useless to me. I want him—he needs to pay!“ 

Enforce crossed her wings as if closing a cloak.

Order pointed a finger at Cystnenian.    “ It was my money and he damn well knew it— headless chook-hair bastard…”

Cystnenian jeered. “Is that all you can throw at me? Your bad insults and pitiful self-worth?…You're the one who is the headless chook here. You know damn bloody well, that dried up olive was drunk.”

“What hell did you just call me—”

Fallon stood next to Haruna, grimacing as she attempted to snicker at her own statement. “These two fight more than Mr and Mrs Paterson.” Haruna resisted the urge to crack a smile, the corner of her lip and her eyes brightening in demeanor for just a second.

Enforce pulled Order back, eyeing the disciples. A door revealed itself, appearing in the blink of an eye. “Take your leave, we are tired and do not care to entertain you.”

Glares were exchanged and  the disciples all went through the door, knowing  little of what awaited them next.  

A'marie Aladyah, seer of everything that can be

[savage-kult-of-gorthaur]

ROGUE METAHUMANS -- SUPERMAN'S JUSTICE LEAGUE -- THE SILENT CAVALRY: FACES & FIGURES OF EARTH-22.

PIC INFO: Resolution at 1777x2752 -- Spotlight on a "Kingdom Come" art print by Warner Brothers, c. early 2000s, collecting the wraparound covers from the first three issues of the legendary 1996 mini-series and assembling them into a single impressive image. Artwork by Alex Ross.

Now, for this massive-as-fuck character roll call, and THE largest one I've ever posted on Tumblr to date:

ROGUE METAHUMANS (issue #1): Blue Devil II, Shiva the Destroyer, Judomaster II, Buddha, Von Bach, Nuculoid, Mr. Terrific II, Nightstar, Tusk, Demon Damsel, Pinwheel, Cathedral, Stars, Manotaur, Black Mongul, Kabuki Kommando, Huntress III, N-I-L-8, Trix (after Matrix) Captain Atom, Magog, Spectre, Tokyo Rose, Stripes, Joker's Daughter II/Harley Quinn, 666, Phoebus, Lightning, Thunder, Swastika, Germ-Man, Stealth II, & Catwoman II.

SUPERMAN'S JUSTICE LEAGUE: Original Red Tornado, Hawkman, Lady Marvel, King Marvel, Aleea Strange, Human Bomb, Midnight, the Whiz, Captain Comet. Bulletman II, Brainiac's Daughter, Bulletgirl II, Robotman III, Sharman VIII, Golden Guardian III, Powerman, Hourman III, Sandman IV, Red Tornado III, Living Doll, Tornado, Avia, Atlas, Atom-Smasher, Donna Troy, the Ray II, Wonder Woman, Red Robin, Norman McCay, Red Arrow, Superman, Aquaman II, Power Woman, the Flash, & the Green Lantern.

BATMAN'S SILENT CAVALRY: A Bat-Knight, Steel, Menagerie, Deadman, Huntress III, Cossak, Ace II, Batwoman II, John Jones, Mysteryman, Zatara II, Samurai, Dragon, Creeper, Nuculoid, Wildcat III, Lightning, Condor, Nightstar, Obsidian, Mr. Scarlet, Ralph Dibny, Spy Smasher, Phantom Lady II, Tula, Blue Beetle, Red Hood, Darkstar, Flash IV, Fate V, Green Lantern VI/Jade, Batman, Captain Marvel, Oliver Queen, Black Canary III, & Dinah Queen.

Source: https://comics.ha.com/itm/memorabilia/comic-related/alex-ross-kingdom-come-cover-print-warner-brothers-c-2000s-/a/121715-12639.s.

[lazywolfwanted]

MKR x Ink!Demon![Y/N]

[Chapter 3]

Reader is gender neutral, I ain't like choosing gender so I make S/O use they/them.

English is not my first language, so there might be a bad grammar and wrong spelling.

They don't know why.

Why are they following the group of six from a far, "T'sk." they spat. They follow them not because of the offer but they just wanted to make sure the monk is safe.

They didn't know why they care, but the monk have reminds them about someone from the past.

'Urgh! Knock it off [Y/N]! It's in the past! He's gone!' they scream in their mind. Paused, they look down on their palm.

'He's gone...' they sigh, looking back where the group are. They saw their were resting so they went a little closer and hid behind a tree.

As the night went unfolded, the ink demon stare down at the group from the tree banch. They still questioning on why they care about if the monk is safe or not, they just couldn't tell.

They saw one of the bushes move, a demon then appeared and saw the sleeping group. It bare it teeth when it saw Sanzang, launching forward only to be pulled by the legs.

It look at the back to see a puddle of black inks, an inky hand was gripping it's legs. Pulling the demon in the liquid, the demon screech before fully disappeared through the inks. Wukong jolt awake and look around, seeing nothing. He groan and rub his head, he then saw a puddle of inks slowly disappeared from the corner of his eyes.

Next morning, they follow the group from afar. Watching them through shadow, they can't believe they're doing this just because they wanted to make sure the monk is safe and sound from harm.

I mean he is safe under the protection from the demon trio but the ink demon was insisted and follow from the back.

'Urgh, why am I doing this again?' they ask in their mind.

Let just timeskip already:

The ink demon keep a hawk eyes on the group, Bajie once pointed out about he have a feeling they being watched.

Without the group knowledge, the ink demon was protecting them from other demon that try to sneak attack.

Their reason is still the same, to make sure the monk is safe. They keep on telling themselves to just leave the group alone but their soul was refusing on leaving them...not yet at least...

Nowadays, they could tell that the Sage has become suspicious. They keep hiding themselves from him whenever he glance back or snuck away from his master to just wanted to caught who has been watching them over.

Now they're in a palace, the ink demon have a bad feeling about the place.

'Something's not right....' they follow after the group where a mistress greet the monk. The demon trio was looking around, they move a bit closer to heard the conversation of the mistress and the monk.

They then caught a small pink creature was sitting on his shoulder, 'Since when?' they ask themselves. Shaking their head and trail after the golden cicada.

"This right here, is the room where you can find the kage. He already expected you to come." the mistress said and walk away, the monk knock on the door while the ink demon silently went inside.

A raspy voice call and invite him in, he was hesitate but walk in. The ink demon wait in the corner of the room, watching them in shadow.

"Ah, the golden cicada. I hope you have a nice day." the kage state, they squinted their eyes suspiciously. "And a Qi Energy? I have heard about it." he added.

The monk gave him an uncomfortable look, "You seem uneasy, don't worry. I won't bite." the ink demon grow silently.

𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘏𝘦𝘯𝘳𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘳.

The kage walk closer towards the monk, "I heard you want to have a stay in here for one night. I have order the kabuki to set it for you." the monk back away as the kage walk closer towards him.

"But to bad thought..." he open his mouth, showing him a sharp teeth and long tongue. The monk gasp, the kage launched forward only to be tackle down by something wet.

The ink demon screech, baring their teeth at him with their black eyes glaring at him. Summoned a puddle of inks under them and push the demon inside with them following.

The monk breath heavily, an inky hand shot out from the puddle. Pushing the person out to revealed the ink demon. They look at him with ink cover their upper face, fully out from the puddle and wipe away the ink from their face.

Putting on their glove, they walk towards the monk. "You good?" they ask, snapping out from his gaze, "Yes, thank you for saving me." the monk state ans smile at them.

"Yeah yeah whatever. That bastard was suspicious so I have to follow you." they said while glancing away.

"I hope you two have a great day." they said and bow before leaping through the ink and disappeared from the two sight.

A black flower was place instead of a ink liquid.

Finally, this take four days. I left it in draft thanks to school for that.

[theultimatefan]

FAN EXPO Chicago Celebrates 50 Years Of All Things Fandom With The World’s Greatest Comic Creators

Fifty years ago, fandom was changed forever when Nostalgia ‘72 took over the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont Illinois, creating the first space in the midwest for fans to gather and celebrate comics. Now known as FAN EXPO Chicago, the convention will return for its biggest show yet - bringing an incredible round-up of legendary celebrities, comic creators, voice actors and cosplayers to the Windy City from July 7 to July 10.

To celebrate the golden anniversary, FAN EXPO Chicago has assembled an incredible roster of superstar comic artists and writers, headlined by legends Brian Michael Bendis (writer, creator of “Naomi”), Geoff Johns (writer, creator of “Stargirl”), Joe Quesada (CCO, Marvel Entertainment) Greg Capullo (“Batman”), Marc Silvestri (celebrating 30 years of Image Comics), Kevin Smith (“Daredevil”), Leinil Francis Yu (“X-Men”), Jorge Molina (“Batman”) and dozens of others.

In 1972, Chicago collectibles dealer and local school teacher Nancy Warner made history when she united 2,000 of Chicago’s biggest comic fans in the midwest’s first ever comic and collectibles convention. Beginning as a space by and for comic collectors, and expanding to include exhibits, attractions and celebrities from all walks of fandom, what is now known as FAN EXPO Chicago is gearing up for its biggest year ever - while paying homage to the traditional comic culture that started it all.

“While the phrase ‘comic con’ continues to grow in popularity with convention groups throughout the world, it sometimes feels like those groups have left the actual comics in the dust,” said Andrew Moyes, vice president of FAN EXPO HQ. “Fandom culture is more than just blockbuster movies - it’s a deep loyalty to and appreciation of the classics and a celebration of the everlasting impact those comics, characters and creators have had on each of us. At FAN EXPO Chicago, we’re working to take the fan experience to new levels, while also staying true to the root of who we - and our guests - are.”

Other standout creators attending include Zeb Wells (“Amazing Spider-Man"), Jock (“Batman: One Dark Knight”), Steve McNiven (“Star Wars”), Jose Luis Garcia Lopez (legendary artist, “Batman vs Hulk”), Dike Ruan (“Shang-Chi”), Michael Golden (legendary artist, "Batman,” “Daredevil”), David Mack (“Kabuki,” “Jessica Jones”, Ben Templesmith (“Wormwood,” “30 Days of Night” and Tony Harris (“Starman,” Ex Machina”). See the full creator list and keep an eye out for more additions at https://fanexpohq.com/fanexpochicago/comic-creators/.

Comic fans will particularly revel in the special Comic Guest VIP packages just announced featuring Heroes in the Windy City, Jock, Silvestri, McNiven and more. See the full list at https://fanexpohq.com/fanexpochicago/comic-guest-special-event-packages.

In addition, superstar celebrities will reunite, including “the Hobbits” of the iconic Lord of the Rings trilogy (Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Dominic Monaghan, Billy Boyd), Stargirl’s Brec Bassinger, The Book Of Boba Fett’s Ming-Na Wen and stars from The Mandalorian, Jay and Silent Bob, Clerks, Cobra Kai, Star Trek, as well as a stacked roster of voice actors includes Futurama’s Billy West, Star Wars: The Clone Wars’ Ashley Eckstein and the hottest leads from My Hero Academia and Demon Slayer. With additional guests and attractions representing dozens of the greatest franchises across genres and decades, the massive lineup will create the ultimate playground for fans of comics, sci-fi, horror, anime, gaming and more.

FAN EXPO Chicago will host attractions for fans of all ages and fandoms, including panels, autograph sessions, photo-ops and meet-and-greets and retailers and artists from all over the world selling unique merchandise, artwork, memorabilia, comic books and collectables. Exclusives for FAN EXPO Chicago include DC Batman #251 Special Chicago Edition, 50th Fan Expo Chicago exclusive/limited edition: bag, t-shirt, pin and many others.

FAN EXPO Chicago will take place from July 7 until July 10 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont. The show will be open from 4 p.m. until 9 p.m. on Thursday, 10 a.m. until 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. on Sunday.

Tickets start at $22 and can be purchased at www.fanexpohq.com/fanexpochicago/buy-tickets/. For more information and to stay up-to-date on new guests and attractions, visit www.fanexpohq.com/fanexpochicago.

[chevvy-yates]

——HIZUMI CHIGASAKI's 2075 LOOK——

lorebit:

Hizumi has already heard rumors about the Golden Demon of Kabuki as Tyger Claws brought the neighborhood legend back to Japan, that some mysterious demon is fucking up their clan rapidly overseas in the NUSA in their favorite trafficker metropole Night City.

Hizumi immediately adapts to the Kabuki demons look so they can cause mayhem and confusion amongst the Tyger Claws even in Japan, as they hate them to the bone. They are only missing the samurai mask yet (they will have later as keepsake of their dead brother who was dumb enough to join the Claws and didn't make it).

—

I bought cyberpunk like stuff in Tokyo for pimping up some real life Hizumi outfit that is before 2077. I love Japan has an official shop with stuff like that as I only know etsy shops selling similar gear. In this shop, located at Laforet in Harajuku, I was allowed to try everything on if I wanted to and look at it to be sure to throw my money at them without a doubt. I could have bought so much more but I had to restirct myself a little with it as it's really not that cheap and you still have to be careful as it is mostly plastics that can break easily.

Ladies and gentleman, the loot:

mask

bracelet

cardholder

ears

key holder

earring

by the brand:

中央町戦術工芸

Chuoucho Senjutsukugei

Already did a small shoot in Japan but I'm not so content with it (as I was tired but wanted to at least have some shots done in Japan).

So this is probably going to be an earlier outfit/style Hizumi had when they still haven't traveled over to the NUSA as they only start doing it once their brother joins the Tyger Claws in 2077 with Hizu tailing him to try and talk it out of him and for bringing him back home.

So that's why Hizumi has/will have no face cyberware and uses red contact lenses (no kiroshi). The golden clawed glove is their own interpretation of the one that the Golden Demon of Kabuki is said to have. They will eventually cross path with the mysterious cryptid of Night City in 2077.

[nervouswizardcycle]

Yess!! Here you go: 1, 6, 16, 17, 18

19, 22, 23, 28

30, 33, 38, 42, 46

49, 55, 60, 63, 68

Okay, I obviously want to know a lot. Take your time!

Net lords, that's a lot of numbers. So let's go in parts, first row of questions. 1. What is their full name? Do they have any nicknames? What are they, and why did they get them?

(Spoilers) If there were any documents left in city systems, they would tell, ID 2045011017 birth name is Eugene Night-Blaze. But this didn't happen yet. He is Arki. Just Arki. Golden demon of Kabuki, furious oni keeping at least one place in city Tigers free.

6. Which of the four elements would you associate with them?

Fire. If he could spit napalm, he'd do that. Any vile gang nest needs to be cleaned. Yes, he is the one behind countless city fires.

16. How would you describe their style?

Style over Substance. That's the rule. But if you want something named, Neo-Kitsch, Neo-Militarism, High Fashion, Businesswear, Urban Flash. Edgerunner. For any place, any situation. Hide or stand out, merge with surroundings, get inside. He is blessed with mercenary gift to fit in any look, have a thousand faces or none.

17. Are they an early riser or a night owl?

Night Owl for sure. But you can always pop a pill and don't sleep for a couple of days to get the job done.

18. Share three songs you associate with them. 

Kaikai Kitan by Eve Burning Pile by Mother Mother Bury the Light by Casey Edwards

[dragonrajafanfiction]

The Wedding (End): Black Swan Bay Nightmare

We’re almost done with this. HOLY HECK. My brain is melting out my ears on how to finish this series in the most impactful way. MC gonna hit the end of this story like a METEOR. Just you wait!

@rurifangirl

You startle awake with a gasp. You’re lying in the snow. The breeze is frigid, but you’re well protected in layers of warm clothing and fur. You don’t remember falling asleep but you immediately know where you are. 

Black Swan Bay, 1991, Christmas Eve.

Of all the orphans that day, you were the oldest and the number 3 ranking. You were tall, muscular, but your body was not womanly like Khorkina. Your hair was black as soot and your eyes were charcoal. You weren't a white icy queen, like Renata. So you had no one to dance with you at the party.

The blizzard that day was very intense. The wind howled around you like a screaming demon. But you stood tall against it, looking into the distance. Not a ray of light could be seen in the sky. The world was plunged into a thick darkness and the whirlwind swept the snow powder into a white dragon in the sky. Black Swan Harbor closed the main entrance. All the doors and windows were boarded up so that the snowstorm would not affect the atmosphere of the Christmas party.

You walk toward the recreation building, Golden Hall, where the party was being held. You’re not hampered by the snow or the wind. You were a hybrid and this great storm was only a mild inconvenience for you. You lift your head and look behind you. Your instincts were trained and always good. You could sense when you were being followed. You wait for several seconds, but nothing happens. You turn around and continue to walk.

You push open the door, and the warm air and music poured in, shards of gold leaf flew in the air, and the golden hall was brilliantly lit.

 Soldiers played accordions and young girls sang and danced. Children gathered around the huge Christmas tree to make wishes and tiptoe to reach the gifts on it. The scent of beef soup, baked sweet cakes and the perfume of women filled the air. The appearance of the Doctor sparked a tidal wave of applause as the Doctor greeted everyone with his hands raised.

 "My dear friends, today is Christmas and an important day for Black Swan Harbor. Our friend Major Bondarev from Moscow has confirmed to me that our research work has been highly commended by our superiors! Soon we will be able to go home in groups to visit our families. Everyone here will be rewarded, you will have military medals and be able to go to the Caspian Sea for vacations! You are a credit to your country! Let's sing and dance! On this wonderful night!"

You stand apart from it all. Your heart filled with a terrible rage and sadness. Liar. He’s a liar. He was lying this whole time. 

The golden hall was getting more and more lively. The room was getting warmer. The young people were dancing the sailor dance. They got so hot that they took off their uniforms and threw them aside. The nurses took off their outer clothes, showing the white lace of their underwear under their undershirts. 

They had all been drinking a lot, and their eyes were nakedly provocative. The smell of hormones overpowered the smell of perfume, stimulating everyone's body to redden. They danced and embraced. The soldiers put their hands in the undershirt of the nurses, they bit each other's lips like lovers and bloodthirsty beasts. 

The children also stirred up, following the adults' example and hugging each other in a face-to-face dance. Anton and Khorkina are eighteen years old, Yakov is sixteen years old, and look very different from the thin and small Renata. The boys' upper lips had grown moustaches. While the girls' breasts had filled out and their waists swayed lightly as they walked.

You press yourself to the wall, but they still come at you, hands searching, not asking you to dance but chasing you! You cover yourself with your hands, swatting away their fingers, slapping their faces. Their faces are horrific and stretched into rictus grins. Their eyes are wide and blood shot.

You flee. You run into the night!

A loud bang! And you throw yourself to the ground. A ball of flames is rising from the laboratory building, red and gold, mixed with black smoke. Debris is thrown into the air, streaming fire behind them like fireworks.

Every single building went up in flames like this. But everyone was in the dance hall. Finally, the Dance hall itself went up.

“Renata! Renata!” You are running and the shadow is chasing you, faster and faster!  You skid to a halt.

Four children are on a dog sled. They’re trying to run. But Bondarev is approaching them. Bondarev pulls a gun. With expert precision, he puts a bullet into their hearts. One for each child. You fall to your knees and that’s what saves you. Visibility is down and you don’t move as he looks around. Next to his foot is a small piece of chocolate. Vera.

A hand takes yours. It’s Renata. You crawl away and she leads you back to another sled. This sled was pulling something large and very heavy. Along with your friend Z, who smiled at you sleepily. He wasn’t tall and proud. He was weak and couldn’t even walk. He looked at you directly and asked. “Who is that?”

Suddenly, everything stops. The wind, the snow, Renata, the explosion. Time completely stands still and you’re the only one moving.

“Who… is… that?” Z asks again.

This was a dream. You knew what was going to happen next. A big explosion, bigger than you’ve ever seen in your life even up until today, would turn all the Black Swan Bay into ashes. You and Renata would be shot from a helicopter. Renata would push you into the icy sea.

But despite your mind going through the beats, the image before you didn’t change. You follow Z’s gaze and you see a man in a tuxedo looking bewildered. “Ruri…?” You tilt your head. “You’re not supposed to be here.”

The dream ends. You open your eyes. It’s still dark, but the air is warm. Your chest and stomach hurt. You’re staring into the eyes of Ruri Kazama. Those swirling hypnotic mandarin shapes were the last thing you saw when you went to sleep. “Where am I?”

Ruri Kazama does not answer. “How did you break it?”

“Huh?”

“How did you break it?” Ruri’s voice was a low threatening growl. “No one has ever broken free from me.”

“Break… what?” 

You’re surrounded by deep humid forest. The air was alive with insect sounds and sounds from croaking frogs, and night birds, nothing like the silent howling of the winds of Siberia. The sky was still dark and the wind still blew and the rain still fell. Ruri Kazama is staring at you. 

His bone spines are still embedded in your body, pumping a steady supply of clean blood to keep you from turning into a deadpool and dying. You don’t remember when you fell asleep or how long you’d been out. “Where are we?” You ask again.

“Tama River area. It’s all woodlands here. Very isolated from Tokyo. I’m taking you to where God will awaken.” He finally speaks. 

“Okay. What about Herzog?”

“He won’t touch you. He needs me. He will honor my request to have you there with me.”

You look down and see that you’re high in a tree, several yards off the ground. Ruri Kazama’s long white hair drapes like fine cloth behind him. Ruri Kazama has changed from his tuxedo to the great colorful kimono of the stage. You’re still in your wedding dress, but the skirt has been cut shorter so as not to be so unwieldy. 

He crouches and then jumps, hovering over the canopy of green leaves. He jumps from tree to tree like someone dancing over stones to cross a river. He’s so graceful, his long hair sails behind him like a tropical bird. These mighty leaps were like the rocking of a rocking chai. Even though he would jump over twenty meters at a time, he landed with silent grace. You found it soothing.

Once Ruri Kazama killed Herzog - again - you wondered what he would do after that. What was his end game? Even though he was lovely as a human, it turned out that he had the same philosophy as Herzog. The winners devour the losers without mercy. You didn’t think there was any real limit to his killing. Even though he said he would go back and become a performer of Kabuki, it was far more likely that he would go back and kill his brother and every Hydra member. Cassell would send their members after him and he would kill them all too… or die.

Who would he not kill? Who would not hunt him? Both of those lists seemed to begin and end with your name. You were the last person in the world he wanted. You were the last one in the world he trusted.

All noise in the forest has fallen silent. Dawn is breaking but it’s still dark with clouds. There are no birds. The wind rattles the naked treetops. When you turn and look, everything is covered in a heavy layer of what looks like snow that has miraculously endured the heavy rain. On closer inspection, it looks more like spider silk. The blanket stretches as far as the eye can see. Under the blanket is a thick layer of dead leaves as though autumn came and the trees dropped all their leaves in a matter of hours.

“We’re here.”

“Everything… looks dead.” You say. “What’s are those white threads?”

Ruri is accustomed to explaining things to you now. “It’s a growth from God. It’s feeding on all the surrounding life. It detects a heartbeat and quickly cocoons it. We have to keep moving or we will be swallowed as well.”

You were on the edge of the silky, fungal growth. Looking further into the woods, you would see that the trees ahead have been completely encased like cocooning insects. Even the ground was covered. “How are we going to make it through all that?”

A loud thumping sounds overhead. Ruri stands up as a helicopter flies low. Lightning flashes and you see it clearly in relief against the sky. 

“Hold on.”

He unsheathes his sword and the power from it lifts him in the air with an extra burst of height and speed. The ground races away from you and the black helicopter rushes towards you. The open cockpit comes into view and he lands cleanly without a sound. A seat was open so he sat himself down as though he were a simple passenger.

"No. That's something like spider silk!" The pilot said. He spoke in a quivering fearful voice, like he was seeing a ghost.  But the ghost was behind him. He was going to die. He didn’t deserve it. But you couldn’t stop Ruri.

Not yet.

You only watch as Viper Fang appears in his hand and pierces the copilot clean through the head, his blood filling his flight helmet.

 "You…  who are you? How did you get up here?" The pilot turns in a panic and you see he’s wearing a Cassell College badge and what looks like a camera on his head. The black lens shimmers like an eye. It would see you, attached to Ruri Kazama.

Viper Fang moves so fast, the cherry-red blade seems to grow from his heart in a flash. You couldn’t speak out loud but you mouth the words as clearly as you can to the camera. “Caesar. Don’t worry about me. Thank you. Goodbye.”

A terrible sound resounded through the helicopter, the sound of a long sword being drawn from a heart, the blood spurting, sounding like wind.

You weren’t on the helicopter for long. It turned out you were less than one kilometer from the great hole in the ground that held the underground lake full of mercury. Without a care, Ruri Kazama leaped from the helicopter. You look up and watch it fly away to crash somewhere. The ground rushes towards you but Ruri uses Viper Fang against the ground, buffering your descent politely before landing. You wrap your arms around his neck and bury your face in his shoulder, using your hair as a veil to look through. All the members of the Devil Clan around you are shocked by your sudden appearance. Ruri Kazama stood still like a demon. His eyes glowing in the steady downpour, daring anyone to approach. But no one does. Quite the opposite. They are curious about you, but the killing aura is so strong they swallow that curiosity and decide that some answers aren’t worth dying over.

The well is many meters across and spanned by a large cross beam. Ruri walks over it and stands there, holding onto you.

White filaments crawl all over the inner walls of the water storage wells. They grow from the bottom, like the mycelium of some kind of mold. These mycelia can not only stain soil and trees, but can even penetrate steel. They can grow to several meters long, hanging on steel beams or trees, like countless slender hands swaying in the wind.

On the cross beam, Ruri seemed to fall asleep, his long hair drenched by the rain. There was nothing to do but wait. His eyes were open but empty. He was like one of the wooden doll children. He would move when instructed.  He didn't say anything and didn't listen. You immediately adopt that empty eyed posture. It is as familiar to you as a sort of meditation. The lightning flashes again and you see a smile on his pale empty eyed face.

The people working in the well were wearing protective clothing with extremely corrosion-resistant coatings to protect them from being stained by the white silk. The pumps are working at full capacity and twelve streams of blood red water are pouring into the deep well. This chemical reagent was mixed with the serum extracted from the deadpool fetuses. 

The bones of dragon-like and snake-like corpses were soaked in the mercury tainted well, and the bottom of the well was still filled with the deadly mercury vapor, so the Hydra members did not have time to explore the well thoroughly. The Iwarui Institute concluded that there was no longer any living thing in the well, but right after they left, a large number of bubbles were rising from the bottom of the water, as if something was spitting bubbles at the bottom of the well.

Humans always repeatedly make this kind of mistake. They never really understand the dragons, always imagining them as creatures similar to themselves.

White bubbles piled up on the surface of the water like foam. The heavy smell of blood filled the deep well and the water temperature gradually increased to near boiling. Millions of dead lung snails floated up with the bubbles. Their stench from being cooked alive and the smell of blood became a putrid aroma, enough to make an ordinary person gag. The pool of boiling water was like a soup pot full of flies.

The King General Herzog strolls along the beam after Ruri Kazama and praises him in a poet-like tone: "Smell it? This birthing smell! This is the smell of life being born! That great life is waking up! This day Satan returns from hell to earth, and it will cleanse this rotten and bony world with fire, and a new world will be reborn by fire."

He stopped. Ruri stared at him with a clear threat.

“Oh come now, won’t you let me see her? It’s been so long!” He pleads.

After a moment’s consideration, Ruri pulled back the veil of your hair. You were staring at Herzog with your tongue out and your eyes crossed.

Dr. Herzog leaned back and clutched his stomach in roaring laughter. He staggered and slapped his knee, whooping and hollering like a mad man. “It’s been so long, MC. You haven’t changed one bit! Hahaha! Hahahahahaha!” He lifts his mask slightly to wipe away a tear. “Never one to take anything too seriously.”

Ruri Kazama did not answer. He just smiled grimly, as if he was incomparably joyful.

“The god has awakened. Now please lend it your precious blood for a moment and pay homage to the newborn god." The king general patted Ruri Kazama's shoulder while still chuckling at you.

And just like that, you were accepted onto what you were sure would end up a killing field like Black Swan Bay. Herzog will not let anyone leave this place alive. You were sure of it. But you play along and smile. Just like in Black Swan Bay, he will hype everyone up that they’ll be able to go home. Everything will be amazing. And then...

Boom.

Ruri Kazama drew his long knife and slit his wrist, pouring his blood into the deep well. It was only a few hundred milliliters of blood, and there should be no trace at all after being diluted by the large amount of water in the well, but at the precise moment those blood beads touched the surface of the water, the whole red well shook, as if something huge was stretching its body in the depths of the mercury.

"Sonar detects large object coming up to the surface!" The engineers working at the bottom of the well stepped back in fear, leaning their backs against the well wall.

 The King let out a large dramatic shout.   "Let's welcome the return of God!'' 

[dragynkeep]

adam’s non white coding ♥

or hey, stop calling this very heavily non white coded, minority character with the most in universe racism suffered white while lifting up other very obviously white characters as your poc kweens thanks.

brought this over from twitter bc why not lmao. there’s two parts; potential jewish coding & very set in stone asian [japanese] coding with a potential chinese coding in there too. this is not meant to be a defence for adam or whatever but point out that he is very much nonwhite coded, he has suffered the most horrific & scarring racial abuse in show compared to the other faunus & making him out to be an evil white man is just plain false.

first his set in stone asian / japanese coding.

og outfit ! very reminiscent of yakuza style suits, tying into his delinquency & connections to a criminal organization [the white fang.] interestingly the first thing they got rid of when making him an uwu nazi supremacist with a very facist looking outfit. there wasn't a need for adam to change his outfit, he hadn't gone through any character arc. they just wanted him to look more like a nazi for The Evilz. gross.

weapon. he fights using a chokuto, which is a " straight, single - edged japanese sword that was produced prior to the 9th century. " if raven & blake's weapons can count [which they don’t but uwu] then. so can adam’s.

fighting style. adam's fighting style is iado; a " japanese martial art that emphasizes being aware and capable of quickly drawing the sword and responding to a sudden attack. " adam's fighting style is heavily connected to his weapons, to the point he was stuck without them in v6.

mask. his white fang mask is eerily reminiscent of kabuki masks, especially when in connection to animal spirits like kitsune ! adam created the mask too, this wasn't part of the white fang's original design.

demon bull king. a chinese one rather than a japanese inspiration that comes from heavy fan theory is that adam is the demon bull king to sun's sun wukong. it feels more appropriate than him being gAsToN anyways, considering blake is taken from the og fairytale & not the disney one.

now for his less set in stone jewish coding.

name. adam is a hebrew name that most people associate with christian & therefore White™ but nope. hebrew. J E W I S H. by the same vein yang can be considered chinese for her name, adam could be considered jewish for his.

red hair. in europe before the 20th century, red hair was synonymous with " jewish people ", it was supposedly our " otherness " being manifested. it's also referenced in the torah in relation to esau & david.

his faunus type as a bull. bull symbolism is all over jewish mythology, from exodus to the frontiers of israel to the synonymous golden calf & demon bull. the golden calf itself is an idol supposed to represent yahweh.

the sdc & his brand. when i first saw the brand it reminded me of the identification tags / numbers tattooed onto jews during the holocaust. the sdc is a factory that enslaves a minority run by a german named family. death camps were not the only camps to exist & more often than not, we were sent to work in labour camps & many were COAL MINES. considering dust seems to be the equivalent for remnant to our worlds coal, hmmst.

diaspora. this one is less connected to adam & more the faunus as a whole but there are a lot of comparisons to the faunus being placed in menagerie as an ethnostate & the jewish diaspora.

so yeah. adam at the very least could be considered japanese in the same vein yang is chinese, ren is japanese / chinese, sun is chinese; etc. do i think there are a lot of unfortunate implications that come with this, & his potential jewish coding? of course, but erasing these codings to prop him up as an evil white man against the poor uwu “ poc blake ” when she’s whiter than white bread won’t erase that & only leads to even more unfortunate implications.

there we go, adam’s not white. ♥

[rrukka]

Question Tag

Tagged by @typintypos-blog  Thank you!!

Rules: tag ten followers you want to know better 

Name: rrukka

Star sign: pisces

Height: around 150cm

Middle name: I have no middle name(most Japanese do so～( ˘ω˘ ) )

Put itunes( I use youtube music so that is what you get) on shuffle. What are the first four  five songs that popped up:

Broken Clocks － SZA

ain't on the map yet － Nulbarich

Sweet and Sour  － Nulbarich

調和 oto － KOKIA

I believe ～海の底から～ (Umi-no soko-kara ) － KOKIA

Please listen to this song when you have a moment!  *:゜☆ヽ(*’∀’*)/☆゜:。*

Grab the book nearest you and turn to page 23. What’s line 17:

 …ウェイターなのが明らかで、燕尾服を着こみ、グラスの載ったお盆を… 

  　　　　　　　　“ Fire and Hemlock (Japanese ver.)” Diana Wynne Jones

I love DWJ!! ヽ(*´∀｀)/

Have you ever had a poem or song written about you: I wrote a poem when I was a kid(*ﾉｪﾉ)   “my daddy’s bed smells nice” …(>///<)

When was the last time you played air guitar: I've never done it!

Who is your celebrity crush: Koushiro Matsumoto ← Kabuki actor♪

What’s a sound  you love:  I love a sound of playing acoustic guitar strings(๑ˇεˇ๑)•*¨*•.¸¸♪

Do you believe in ghosts: Humm…I’ve never seen but felt my great-grandmother when I was 6(She passed away when I was 5). I don’t know for sure but I want to believe it.

Do you believe in aliens: No.I don’t like the movie... :((llФｗФ｀)):

Do you drive: Yes.Only when traveling.

If so, have you ever crashed: Actually yes...ehehe(ﾟ∀ﾟ)

What was the last book you read: mystery novels of Alice ARISUGAWA

Do you like the smell of gasoline: No('､3_ヽ)_

What was the last movie you saw: Captain Marvel ヽ(*’∀’*)/

Do you have any obsessions right now:  GH obvious,   anime JOJO－Golden wind －, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba

Do you tend to hold grudges against people who have done you wrong:

Maybe not.I just sleep…I will forget all the boring things in one night(*´罒`*)

Are you in a relationship:Uhuhu It's a secret(灬ºωº灬)

Tagging: anyone that wants to do this! ｡ﾟ+.(*｀･∀･´*)ﾟ+.ﾟ 

It was fun! Thank you♪ 英語間違ってたらごめんね！