#there is no way this design still qualifies as “mysterious” so that must finally be changed to fit.

[idlenight-art]

RIVER VILLAIN SUIT REDESIGN BABY. HE IS DONE.

Maelstrom. The ocean and pirate themed Anarchist running wild in Los Diablos. He cuts an imposing figure wherever he goes to terrorize the ones pulling the strings in this city. And looking damn good doing it.

[theromanticrationalist]

Discovery 4x01 Kobayashi Maru

Wow.

That actually turned out way better of an episode than I had expected! I wasn’t really into it at the beginning, but as the story unfolded, it become so much more compelling. That ending. Absolutely chilling and devastating. Space is brutal, yo.

Discovery Season 3 finale left me with a lot of mixed, disappointed feelings, but what they’ve introduced here could make up for it if they follow through with what they are promising. I really want to see them build Michael into the character I know she can become, but first she must deal with a lot of her core issues and suppressed trauma. I absolutely LOVE President Rillak’s inclusion in the story and the challenge she presents to Michael. That whole last conversation between the two of them, as Rillak reveals her true intention for joining the Discovery on their mission, and her brutally honest assessment of Michael’s weaknesses as a Captain was SPOT ON. This is the kind of stuff I love to see in my Star Trek. To me the celebration of diversity isn’t just about working together, but it is about “iron sharpening iron.” It is about pushing each other to become our better selves through the give and take, through the controversy and the conflict, through the disagreements, through the weaknesses and the failures, and how one chooses to learn from those failures. Star Trek hasn’t always been consistently great with this concept, but I think it is a powerful thread of the franchise. I am excited that this what they are promising for this season! Yes! Let’s really put Michael through the wringer, as she has never truly learned yet the lesson of her Vulcan Hello - she is still acting out of those same impulses.

Of course can I just say SARU MY CAPTAIN. I lovedlovedlovedloved the scenes with him on Kaminar! I love the Kelpians, their culture and their race, and it was exciting to see how they’ve developed over the centuries. Of course, it was beautiful. Loved the design of their counsel chamber! But truly I loved his moment with Su'Kal, and how the young Kelpian was sharing such wisdom to Saru, to help him understand that he needn’t struggle between his love for his people and his love for Starfleet, that Saru can find that balance within himself. Saru too still has a lot of undealt with trauma because of his having to leave Kaminar, his people, in the dark (for a time) while he went on to live in the light. That’s pretty traumatic!

I think if season 3 had made this internal struggle much clearer in Saru and not make the narrative feel like Saru and Michael were at odds in competition for Discovery, then I wouldn’t have felt so resentful that they gave Michael Discovery over Saru. They really made it seem like Saru was somehow not fit to be Captain because of his heart was divided between his two loves, which is 1000% not even the case. It would have been more apt to focus on what does Saru actually want, does he truly want to be Captain? Because clearly he is more than qualified - even more so than Michael at this point. But they seem like this is what they’ll be focusing on this season for Saru and I am excited!

Dude, I want to live here! Look at all the gorgeous colors and shapes! A kind of space-goth under-the-sea aesthetic. So cool.

Well, we shall see what this new challenge and mystery brings for our Discovery crew! I hope it is amazing!

Oh, I love my precious little worm child. Adira is always standout for me. She is SO stink’in cute! She is like the Chekhov of the group!

[bopinion]

Album of the month / 2021 / 08 August

I love listening to music - gladly, all the time, everywhere. That's why I would like to share which music (or which album, after all I'm still from the vinyl generation ;-) I enjoy, accompanies me, slides up my playlists again and again...

The Beatles & George Martin

LOVE

Rock-Remix / 2006 / Parlophone, Apple, EMI (Universal Music Group)

When you hear the term "remix," it's usually a DJ putting a danceable techno beat under a pop or rock song. And often enough, this leaves the original performer or composer turning in his grave to the same frantic beat. But there are also exceptions. And one of them this time is my album of the month.

34 years ago in Québec I visited a kind of circus performance that was new to me. There were no animals, but excellent artistry. The whole thing was embedded in an almost psychedelic production of sounds and music and light effects and projections. Although individual acts, the whole was dramaturgically staged like an opera or a musical in one piece. The name of the circus was "Cirque du Soleil". A concept that in the following years and decades went from French Canada around the world and celebrated legendary successes everywhere - including artists in residence in Las Vegas. The visionary founder Guy Laliberté also became known worldwide as an impresario and, incidentally, a billionaire.

There are bands I really regret never having seen live. For example, The Queen with Freddie Mercury, although at least I met the latter once in a club in Munich - well, we were in the same room for a few hours. But there is also the opposite, for example The Beatles. As much as I appreciate these musical titans, a concert seems rather witless to me: film footage shows four musicians on stage, initially even dressed alike, operating their instruments without notable movements or show effects and trying to permanently drown out screaming young ladies. But maybe I only comfort myself with this assessment, because I was and am simply too young to be able to experience John, Paul, George and Ringo in their active time on stage. Anyway.

Guy Laliberté and George Harrison were friends. And at some point - I imagine the two of them over a cup of yogi tea after meditative yoga, one handing the other the joint "You, I have an idea..." - the idea was born to bring together the two cultural phenomena Cirque du Soleil and The Beatles. As a composition for all senses, new and timeless, ecstatic and colorful. After all, it was Harrison who was always eager to experiment. He converted to Hinduism in the 60s, gained experience with psychedelics and transcendental meditation and introduced oriental instruments, first and foremost the sitar, into Western music and is thus considered one of the most important pioneers of world music. A development that goes hand in hand with my personal taste: the longer their hair got, the more I liked their music.

It was only after Harrison's death that Laliberté was able to close the deal with the rights holders of the music (Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Yoko Ono and Olivia Harrison), which can thus probably be considered a kind of Harrison's legacy. For the show was not to simply put together a soundtrack of the old familiar hits, nor were the compositions to be reinterpreted by other musicians. No, the original multi-track recordings were to be used to create new adaptations of the original songs. And who would be better qualified for this than George Martin, who had already produced groundbreaking albums with the Beatles themselves. In the process, he advanced from mere producer to arranger and idea generator, who also revolutionized recording technology by using overdubbing, for example. It's hardly surprising that he is often referred to as the "fifth Beatle".

In general, Sir George Henry Martin, Commander of the Order of the British Empire, is a man of musical superlatives. He is recorded as the producer of 4,836 titles, but one assumes considerably more. And that includes not only The Beatles, but also a wide variety of works for Emerson, Lake and Palmer, Gerry & the Pacemakers, Manfred Mann, Little River Band, Ultravox and many more. His 30th number one hit was "Candle in the Wind" by Elton John. Martin founded the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts with McCartney, was one of a handful of producers inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and received the BRIT Award for "Best British Producer of the Past 25 Years" in 1977, among countless other honors.

So George Martin went into the studio with his son Giles Martin, who had produced INXS and Kate Bush, among others, following in his father's footsteps. And not just any studio - of course it had to be Abbey Road Studios (again). With the original recordings, the team not only created new variations of the original pieces, as they could have been created alternatively with the Beatles themselves. For example, they enriched the acoustic version of "While my Guitar gently weeps" with an orchestral accompaniment and combined the rhythm of "Tomorrow never knows" with the vocals of "Within You without You". Thus, a soundtrack project for a circus stage show ultimately became a new album by the Beatles. No wonder that Sir Paul himself described "Love" like this: "This album puts The Beatles back together again. It's kind of magical." And Ringo added "George and Giles did such a great job combining these tracks. It's really powerful for me and I even heard things I'd forgotten we'd recorded."

The documentary "All together now - A Documentary Film" by Adrian Wills (director) and Heidi Haines (screenplay), which won a Grammy in the category "Best long form Music Video", also fits the project's ambition. It tells the entire story of LOVE's creation, from the first meetings of the creative team around Martin and Laliberté to interviews with, among others, McCartney, Starr, Yoko Ono, John Lennon's widow, and Neil Aspinall, the Beatles' longtime road manager and event technician, to the first rehearsals of the stage show in Montréal.

LOVE is more than a medley of hits by the mushroom heads, but rather a kind of rock opera that is a first-class listening experience even without the accompanying show. Says George Martin: "The Beatles always looked for other ways of expressing themselves and this is another step forward for them." And father and son succeeded with remarkable creativity. The new version of "Because" is still directly harmless, since it uses the birdsong of "Across the Universe" as well as the final chord of "A Day in the Life" played backwards. "Glass Onion," on the other hand, became a grandiose collage with elements of the songs "Things We Said Today," "Hello, Goodbye" (background vocals), "I Am the Walrus" (background vocals), "Penny Lane" (flute), "A Day in the Life" (orchestra), "Magical Mystery Tour" (effects) and "Only a Northern Song" (effects). State-of-the-art technology in digitization, mixing and mastering also ensure the finest sound quality.

Speaking of sound quality: a show that relies so heavily on music must of course also rely on a perfect acoustic performance. Created by French designer Jean Rabasse, the LOVE theater at The Mirage / Las Vegas houses 2,013 seats set around a central stage. Each seat is fitted with three speakers, which sums up to a spectacular sound system with 6,351 speakers designed by Jonathan Deans. The stage includes 11 lifts, 4 traps, and 13 automated tracks and trolleys. The theater features 32 digital projectors creating very large high definition digital 100' wide panoramic images, even on four translucent screens that can be unfurled to divide the auditorium. That's what I call "being in the middle of the action".

Reportedly, the theater cost more than $100 million - which doesn't even include the development of the show. And unfortunately, it also means LOVE can never go on tour. So I won't be able to avoid traveling to Las Vegas one day for that reason alone. Which I trust will be on the event calendar for a few more years to recoup its costs. And so the circle closes: Decades later, I would once again enjoy Cirque du Soleil in North America - and thus also experience The Beatles live in a somewhat different way.

Here's a trailer for the Las Vegas Show LOVE from the Cirque du Soleil:

https://youtu.be/hIJZAfyRlD4

[bastardsunlight]

About Racer X

Rex Racer

Alias(es): Racer X, the masked Racer, the Harbinger of Boom, Agent 9

Car(s): Shooting Star (road car), Falling Star (T-180)

Alliance(s): CIB (Inspector Detector, Minx, et. al.), Racer Motors (particularly Speed—the rest of the family is dubious), Taejo Togokhan (formerly—no love lost there), "Black" Jack Binelli (formerly—as Rex, working on his leash), Prince Kabala of Kapetapek (formerly—mentor, friend, possibly more)

Bio: Rex Racer is the firstborn son of Mom and Pops Racer. Raised in a loving home and surrounded by racing, mechanical know-how, and the love of the sport, it is only natural Rex would lean into becoming a driver. With the engineering knowledge of his father, he could easily have become a designer, but Rex longs for the freedom of the track. Setting the record at Thunderhead in his early twenties, the youngest driver ever to do so, Rex is off to an auspicious start. A dangerous crash at a later track that would otherwise have qualified him for the semi-finals and thence, the 82nd Grand Prix, puts him out of the running that year. He suspects foul play, but to what extent, he cannot know and his family simply does not have the money to find out. It is then that he realizes he must play the game to break it and soon after finds himself at odds with Pops. 

One stormy night, he leaves the keys to the Mach 5 with his beloved brother Speed and walks out the Racer family front door, presumably never to return. His journey is harrowing and takes him into a very dark place that eventually results in what looks like his death. In exile, hidden away and needing to find another method of changing the rotten industry that is combat racing, Rex finds a patron in the prince of a small but extremely prosperous island nation called Kapetapek. Kabala, ailing but still an extremely skilled driver, teaches Rex everything he knows about rally driving, the vicious end of the sport, without tracks or very much in the way of rules. 

Rex is a natural and Kabala teaches him to harness that raw talent and mix it with his aggression to make one of the most dangerous drivers in racing. Kabala also finances the plastic surgery that will change Rex’s face and make him unrecognizable even to his family. Re-emerging as the mysterious Racer X, he joins with the CIB who recruits him almost immediately after watching him in a notorious rally. He has been closely allied with them—particularly Inspector Detector—ever since. From behind the dark lenses of his signature mask, he watches over his kid brother with the care of a circling bird of prey, though it is not upon Speed he would pounce, should harm come to him.

Appearance: Tall, broad-shouldered, with a rasping sort of growl for a voice and otherwise unknown features, after his change, only his eyes remain the gentle, gray-green of his mother’s. It is for this reason he rarely removes his mask. Has his mother’s red hair, rather than his father’s black, like Speed.

Personality: Gruff, brusque, no-nonsense, Racer X is a far cry from the fairly upbeat, but exceedingly sharp Rex Racer. Rex is the kind of guy with whom you want to be friends; Racer X is more like Batman.

tag: harbingerofboom

[eluoleanorder]

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[astonishinglegends]

Ep 200: The Disappearance of Frederick Valentich Part 2

“It seems to me that he’s playing some sort of game. He’s flying over me two, three times at a time, at speeds I could not identify.”

– Frederick Valentich - 7:08 pm, somewhere over the Bass Strait in Australia, October 21st, 1978

Description:

When the facts about a paranormal event yield no more answers, investigators and the public alike tend to turn their attention to the experiencer's character to ascertain its authenticity. So what kind of person was Frederick Valentich? A once-lost aircraft accident report from Australia's Department of Transport, which resurfaced in 2012, has shed some light on Valentich's behavior and state of mind leading up to the moment of his disappearance. Through extensive interviews with his family, friends, associates, and the flight personnel he came into contact with, a picture emerges of Valentich's disposition. Although there were some puzzling actions and statements by the young pilot, overall, he appeared to be a dedicated and serious student of aviation. Yet if a paranormal cause of his disappearance is off the table of consideration, then the answer must lie in one of his shortcomings, right? This has led to speculation that Valentich intended to abscond with the aircraft and start a new life, or he planned a mysterious suicide, or that as a UFO enthusiast, he simply mistook stars and planets for a UFO and crashed trying to avoid it. As we delve further into the details and analysis from the official report in part two of our series, we're joined by listener and lifelong Melbourne resident Chris Tyler. Being quite familiar with the case, Chris will lend his own insight into the mystery and illustrate this enchanting Australian backdrop's prevailing attitudes and characteristics.

Location:

Moorabbin Airport, where Frederick Valentich took off from on October 21, 1978, headed for King Island across Bass Strait.

Reference Links:

“Capturing the Light” – The true story of Dorothy Izatt on Amazon Prime

The Frederick Valentich case on the original Unsolved Mysteries, Season 5, Episode 2 on Amazon Prime

“Last Light: the Valentich Mystery” from The History Listen with Kirsti Melville on ABC.net.au

“Disappearance of Frederick Valentich” on Wikipedia

“What Happened to Frederick Valentich? Possibly the scariest UFO case ever” by OzWeatherman on AboveTopSecret.com

“Valentich Case Files Finally Released” by Kandinsky on AboveTopSecret.com

“The Valentich Abduction/Disappearance: 40th Anniversary” by MirageMan on AboveTopSecret.com

“The Abduction of Fred Valentich” from The Unexplained Files on Discovery UK – YouTube clip of Melbourne Flight Advisor Officer Steve Robey describing his radio communication with Valentich

Complete episode on the Valentich disappearance from The Unexplained Files on the Discovery Channel

Cessna 182 “Skylane”

Valentich’s missing aircraft report online, from the National Archives of Australia

Download of Valentich’s missing aircraft report as a PDF

Bass Strait

Moorabbin Airport

“'Truth' was out there after all –An accidental discovery sheds new light on the mysterious disappearance of a pilot in 1978, writes Miles Kemp” from The Advertiser

Australian UFO researcher, Keith Basterfield

Melbourne, Australia

Tasmania

King Island, Tasmania

Visit King’s Island

“Biography of Bette Nesmith Graham, Inventor of Liquid Paper” on ThoughtCo.com

Bette Nesmith Graham on Wikipedia

Australian crayfish

The TCAS or Traffic collision avoidance system

“What C.S. Lewis and Martin Luther Would Say About Our Coronavirus Panic”

Black Death

Second plague pandemic

“Plague was one of history’s deadliest diseases—then we found a cure” on NationalGeographic.com

Suggested Listening:

Check out our good friend Gledders’ paranormal podcast, ANOMALY, where he, his co-host Steve Freestone, and Forrest discuss some of the more weird and wild events of 2020 and more in his latest 2-part series. Click here to subscribe and listen on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, the website at anomaly.co.uk, or anywhere excellent podcasts are found.

And then after that, check out Gledders’ “80’s Mix Tape” for the best in 1980s music, Saturdays, 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. in the UK, or stream anytime at Huntingdon Community Radio HCR 104 FM!

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Credits:

Episode 200: The Disappearance of Frederick Valentich Part 2. Produced by Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess; Audio Editing by Sarah Vorhees Wendel. Sound Design by Ryan McCullough; Tess Pfeifle, Producer, and Lead Researcher; Research Support from the astonishing League of Astonishing Researchers, a.k.a. The Astonishing Research Corps, or "A.R.C." for short. Copyright 2021 Astonishing Legends Productions, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

[vraelgard]

"Please, lend us your aid."

Princess Lilliana stands, her hands clasped as if in prayer, in front of the Ciemnica clan witch princess, Cica. Cica's orange eyes flicker over the princess, still in her armor, to Moonlight, Ivory, and Ebony beside her; and the whole myriad of foreigners behind her. 

Some of them look a little worse for wear, others hardly more than ruffled. They've brought with them the ingredients required to restore Tenebrae. All that's left is the mirror of the Ciemnica witches. 

Moonlight steps forward, stopping next to Princess Lilliana. 

"We have gathered the proper ingredients--and now we must combine them into a potion and spread it on the surface of the mirror. Then, we must reflect the light of the moon onto Tenebrae...and the spell petrifying him will be broken," Moonlight says. 

"Yes. I'm aware of what the rumors say about that spell," Cica says shortly. "But you must understand where I'm coming from." 

She reaches into her pocket, pulling out a small compact from her pocket, embellished with a moon design. 

"This mirror is imbued with the power of the moon itself. It has been passed down from one Ciemnica witch princess to the next. From my grandmother, to my mother, to me. It is a precious heirloom and I cannot trust it with just anyone."

Cica pauses, turning the compact over in her hands, silent for a long moment. 

"However... Tenebrae is our patron–the sage with whom we have formed a pact. I fear that if he is not restored soon...the witches of my clan will continue to suffer."

She turns, almost subconsciously, to look in the direction of the Ciemnica Witches Commune. Considering how badly those whose powers came from Tenebrae were faring, it was a safe bet that the Ciemnica witches weren't any better off. 

"Very well, Princess. I entrust my mirror to you," Cica says softly, holding out the mirror for Lilliana to take. "Bring back Tenebrae. And put an end to this eternal night."

* * * * *

Now, Lilliana stands, mirror in hand, everyone gathered once again behind her--this time in front of Tenebrae. Or rather, the statue that was once him. 

"The potion is ready," Moonlight says quietly. 

Lilliana nods, holding out the mirror for Moonlight to carefully spread the potion over. It gives the mirror a peculiar shine, somewhere between silver and purple. 

"The moon is at its apex...it's now or never," Lilliana whispers to herself. 

She lifts the mirror above her head, catching the light of the moon that shines through the roof of the temple. The light then reflects off, hitting Tenebrae with its beam. 

As the light strikes the statue, it begins to spread, covering Tenebrae in moonlight. After a moment, the light becomes unbearable to look at directly, and Lilliana instinctively lifts an arm to cover her eyes. When she lowers it, the Sage of Dark, Tenebrae is standing in front of them, no longer a statue. 

"Princess--Moonlight--Count and Lady Blackgrove," Tenebrae says, his voice soft. He looks stunned at the congregation that's gathered in his temple, and his gaze lingers for a moment on those who he acts as the Patron to. "You...saved me. You have my sincerest gratitude."

"Yeah, um, that's great and all, but would you mind doing something about this...eternal night situation?" Ebony pipes up, and Lilliana can't resist elbowing her. 

"Yes, of course," Tenebrae says. It seems he's long been accustomed to Ebony's lax nature. He lifts his hands, seeming to concentrate before light slowly begins to fade back into the sky. As if sunrise had finally come.

"What about the moonstone?" Moonlight asks. 

"We haven't recovered it," Lilliana admits. "I...apologize. I don't...know who took it or where they've gone."

Tenebrae shakes his head, offering Lilliana a small smile.

"I understand. We will recover it eventually. I have no worries. As long as Lumen's sunstone is safe."

Lilliana nods, and turns to those who accompanied her. For those who chose not to, they would receive a quick video message on their phones stating the exact same thing. 

"Those from worlds far beyond, I must continue to ask for your aid. Some of you will be receiving Travel Visas. Those with Travel Visas may now travel to the Blackgrove area--and should you find yourself here, please take caution when fighting any lingering monsters...with any luck we will be able to drive the remainder out of our country. I thank you greatly for your service to Vraelgard."

Lilliana bows to those in attendance, and for those receiving the message, it ends after that. It's not often the princess bows her head before those below her station. But it seems as though she is truly grateful, more than her words can express. 

* * * * *

Those wandering the Blackgrove forest would likely stumble across a certain woman with bubblegum pink hair and cat ears, holding dual swords. Accompanying her is a man who looks permanently exhausted, one eye hidden beneath an eyepatch. It seems he has no problems with aim, wielding a rapier with ease. 

The woman is doing quite a few impressive moves when she suddenly freezes. She turns to look at the foreigners who are staring at them, and she nudges her partner. 

"Will...they're staring at us."

"That's impossible," he says, turning to look at them. "We're invisible. Also I told you not to--"

"William, I'm serious! Look!" she emphasizes, pointing at the people staring at them. 

"What the fu--" before William can finish, the woman tosses her swords into the air, where they seem to vanish. 

She takes a step towards the foreigners, a strained smile on her face. 

"Hey there! So it appears the infinite night bullshit is over with, but uhh...I think Tenebrae made a teensy weensy screw up. Can you pretend you didn't see us, pretty please?" she says, giving the closest person a wink.

"Kino, I don't think that's going to work," William says with a sigh. He steps forward to join her, making a motion as if sheathing his rapier, but instead it too disappears. "...Alright. You've seen us. And you better not die if you don't want to see us again."

"Will--" Kino scolds, slapping his shoulder.

"We're reapers, Kino!"

"Yeah, and we made a promise to the princess that we wouldn't appear before people unless we were bringing them back?? Can't I just wipe their memories? Please? Pretty please??" Kino asks. 

"You would have to rip their souls out. I.E. Kill them. And then put them back in. I.E. The way resurrections work," William says, giving Kino a flat look. 

"Fiiiine," Kino says, rolling her eyes. She points at the foreigners who are still staring at them with wide eyes. "You all? Try not to die, okay? Because I thiiiink you're gonna remember it. And as someone who remembers her death? ...It sucks. See ya!"

With that, Kino waves and turns around, leaving the group with William. After a few feet, they seemingly vanish--whether into the forest or going to a new plane of existence, who can tell?

* * * * *

A mysterious figure stands high in a tree on the edge of Blackgrove, looking over the monsters that linger, and the damage that has been done. 

A smile creeps onto his face, and in the blink of an eye...he's gone. 

MIDNIGHT: END. 

CONCLUSION SUMMARY:

What’s new in Vraelgard?

Glad you asked! For those who are Commoner rank or higher, Blackgrove will now be available as a location for threads and housing! Yes, you can now move to Blackgrove! You can find the updated locations list HERE or through the masterlist! If you are not of Commoner rank or higher, you will still find that strange fog lingering over Blackgrove, so any attempts to go out there will be met with utter failure. Hope you didn’t lose anything while you were gathering components! 

What’s happened with Tenebrae and people whose Patron Sage is Tenebrae?

Thanks to your hard work, Tenebrae is now back to normal! He may occasionally be in his temple, but he’ll probably need some time alone to deal with the horrifying experience of being turned into a statue. For those whose Patron is Tenebrae, you’ll find yourselves completely back to normal--better, even! You’ll also find that you feel great during the night, so let’s hope you’re nocturnal to burn off all that energy. Or maybe it’ll just let you always have a good night’s sleep?

Can we continue threads after the event is over?

Yes! If you have an unfinished thread, go ahead and feel free to continue it. However, you cannot start new threads.

Can we now rank up?

Of course! Please send rank up requests to @kingdomshall, where they will be processed. Make sure your event threads are linked on your rank up page, as well as your threads with their word counts. Now that there are other apartments available to you, you can put in a request for a housing change if you qualify, too!

What’s with the reapers, what??

If you have died in Vraelgard, you will find a location in Blackgrove where the Reapers hang out. They’re the ones responsible for putting your souls back into your bodies if you die, so do try to be nice to them. This does, of course, mean that you will also now remember your death, and everything after it. Painful! 

[ververa]

‘From Eden’

That’s just a little experimet of mine 😌 Sorry if this is shit 🙏 Also sorry if there are any mistakes,but I’ve written it on my phone.

Ally Mayfair-Richards x Ellie Steple

Ellie was beyond annoyed when she was asked to go to the masquerade ball. It was a charity event and she was supposed to be a representative of the organisation for which she was working. The psychiatrist didn’t like the idea from the very beginning. Who could blame her, she was a doctor not a party animal after all. However, since she didn’t really have a choice she took the trouble and made a splash.

Since the moment she got off of the black Aston Martin everyone was looking at her. It’s not that she wanted to be in the spotlight. She just liked looking smart and stylish. And she, for sure, did in a long, white dress with a V-shaped low neckline and a white, lace mask on.

Ally, who was a host of the event, was entranced since she had laid her eyes on the other woman. The mayor had no idea who the beautiful lady was, but she got lost in everything about her. There was about a million people in the place, but Staple was the one who had Ally’s attention. There was something about her. She was like a fire. The power she was emanating made the politician got out of her mind. She wanted to play with that fire even at the price of getting burn.

The psychiatrist didn’t really socialise at the party. They were all too boring for her, but she couldn’t leave just like that. She was sitting at the table, tied down with a boring conversation, when she spotted Ally. Ellie could feel the woman’s gaze and she couldn’t deny it was giving her a tingle. She kept on talking with the group of morons, who acted as if they’re experts in her field, but actually knew nothing. She was fighting the inner need of punching the man, who was constantly speaking However, since Ally had come into view she had a nice distraction and the whole conversation became more bearable. Ally came as a mysterious and excitative creature. She was like an unexplored object of study. An undiscovered case that cannot be decipher just like that. She was one in a million. And Ellie as a psychiatrist wanted nothing more, but to see the rest. To examine. To touch. To taste the secrets that were hidden behind a black and white mask which the woman was wearing. Yet she wasn’t going to do anything about it. She didn’t have time for all that. Besides romantic relations weren’t for her – she kept on telling herself.

Ally was waiting patiently. She knew already that the other woman noticed her, so she was hoping the beauty would make the first step. But as she spotted a man hitting on her ‘haul’ she couldn’t wait any longer.

“What is somebody like you doing in a place like this alone?” the man asked Ellie

“Go away, darling, if you don’t get a death wish” the psychiatrist said not looking at the stranger

“I see, you like to play hard to get”

“No” she shook her head “My tolerance for stupidity is just limited”

Ally – who was right behind them – couldn’t help, but smiled at the other woman’s response.

“I’m sorry for leaving you alone for so long, baby” Ally said embracing the psychiatrist in attempt to deter her potential rival

Ellie was taken aback by a sudden touch, but she didn’t let it show. She only smirked at the man and decided to play along.

“That’s alright, sweetheart”

“I’m sorry, are you lost?” Ally addressed the man

“I… well no. I thought… I mean you shouldn’t leave such a beautiful woman alone. Someone may try to steal her from you”

“You mean a person such as yourself? Well, I think that my dear darling wouldn’t fall for a lowly and boring type of a man like you” Ally moved even closer to Ellie

The psychiatrist leaned into Ally’s touch. She couldn’t stop herself from smiling widely amused by the man’s face expression.

“Right. I’ll… I should check if they’re not looking for me”

“Oooh definitely” the mayor agreed

“That would be a shame if they wouldn’t be able to find you” Ellie added sarcastically

Finally the man left them alone, though Ally didn’t move. She was still having her arm wrapped around Ellie.

“I really appreciate your help, but I’m not your baby” the psychiatrist shifted trying to escape Ally’s hold

“You could be though…” she was cut off by Ellie’s intense gaze

“Could I?”

“For sure”

“I’m not that easy, dear darling”

Ally smirked

“Do you enjoy the party?” she asked sure that she would be able to take the pride of being the one who organised it

“Honestly, I do not. It’s the worst party in my life. I mean no offence, I don’t like such events in general, but it’s just horrible. The food is awful and cold, but the worst is probably limited range of alcohol. I mean well the bartender is visibly not qualified enough. They could have found someone better, who wouldn’t try to flirt with every moving creature. He clearly is desperate. I’d say a bit obsessed. Probably has some kind of mental disorder. That should be checked before they hire anyone…”

That was pretty a lot of information for Ally to take, but she did it as good as she could.

“Well, I’ll keep that in mind next time”

“Wait” Ellie looked at the other woman intently examining her features “It was you… You organised the ball. You’re Ally Mayfair-Richards? Oh shit, sorry… I didn’t realise…”

“That’s okay. I do appreciate honesty”

The psychiatrist smiled awkwardly.

“So, since you don’t enjoy the party, would you like to go on a walk? I’d like to somehow compensate you for all the inconveniences… And hopefully, maybe you’d like the garden that I designed”

“Actually, I’d love to. Anything is better than those imbeciles and their retrograde way of perception”

They kept on talking about everything and nothing. Ally still knew barely anything about the other woman, but was taken by the conversation piece. There was something magic about Ellie. Something wholesome and precious. Something in her had such a power that Ally could barely tear her eyes away. And when she looked into her eyes Ally got out of her mind.

“Oh no” Ellie sighed spotting two men going towards them “Here we go again” she rolled her eyes causing Ally to chuckle

“Do you know what I like about men?”

“What?”

“Their girlfriends” she said and kissed her

It was a gentle and rather a short kiss, but it left the psychiatrist breathless

“Well… that definitely compensates for all the flaws of the party” Ellie smiled

“Why don’t we see where it go?”

“Let’s figure it out”

That’s all it took for them to end up in Ellie’s hotel room.

“You’re mine. All mine” Ally whispered kissing down the other woman’s neck and slowly taking off her lace bra

“I’m yours tonight…” Ellie moaned at the feeling of Ally sucking on her collarbone

Ally had her mind made up from the very beginning. Since she saw gorgeous doctor she wanted to feel her body and couldn’t resist it. And she got what ahe wanted.

Seeing Ellie like that – dishevelled and completely lost in lust – she felt as if she was watching her groovin’. She was moving so naturally that Ally was in awe. She enjoyed every second. When Ellie wrapped her cold fingers around her throat and let her head fall back Ally was on the edge of glory. She couldn’t feel anything, but pride that she was a part of that incredible rite. She was moved more than ever before by anybody and wanted the moment to last forever. At that moment Ally knew that her new desire was to praise Ellie as if she were a goddess, because for her she truly must have slithered on eart from Eden.

@misssmephisto

[dramioneasks]

HP FESTS: DramioneFanfictionWriters (Part 2)

DFW's First Birthday GOGO Fest 2019:

The Minister's Decree by LadyKenz347 - M, 5 chapters - Ten years have passed since the Battle of Hogwarts and birthrates have steadily declined. In order to save the Wizarding World, the Minister enacts a Marriage Law.And Hermoine Granger is ready to burn down the patriarchy to make sure that doesn't happen.

Tempo by bionically - G, 4 chapters - Draco's good deed is punished. How bloody typical.On the verge of a suitable marriage, a chance meeting with a mysterious time witch gives Draco a chance to review his options.

Quite the Declaration by Frumpologist - M, one-shot - Glimpses into Draco and Hermione’s evolving, secret relationship.

Bare One's Soul by Felgia_Starr - E, one-shot - Ten creatures around the world have been chosen to study at Scholomance to become the most glorious warlock the world has ever seen. There, Hermione meets Draco Malfoy of the Purebloods, the most infuriating boy she's ever put her eyes on and the only one with whom she feels a connection.What happens when they bare their souls to each other?

Ichor and Aureum by fandomfairytales - E, one-shot - Based on the prompt/ gorgeous aesthetic by Felgia_Starr so, I've done my best to give it a little bit of everything (the only thing I couldn't work into this franken-prompt-fic was an accidental marriage what with the word limit).

Hermione Granger and the 'I'm sorry but I have to work with WHO?' by highlyintelligentblonde - G, one-shot - Hermione's Head Girl, Draco's Head Boy- neither of them know the other is though. What could go wrong? ;)

To My Wife by MykEsprit - T, one-shot - Draco admits to an obsession.

Game On by BiscuitsForPotter - M, one-shot - As co-Head Boy and Girl, Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger just can't seem to get along. Hermione won't let Draco have a say and Draco refuses to listen. In an effort to force them to work it out, Professor McGonagall sets up a series of non-traditional detentions to get them to work together and communicate better. Her chosen method: board games. What could go wrong?

Of Love and Ducks by frecklesandbroomsticks - T, one-shot - Draco and Hermione take a trip to Paris. Things don't quite go as planned.

You make me see clearly now by ruthy4vrsmoaked - E, one-shot - You make me see clearly now... the rain is gone.She never asks permission to seat at his table. She just sits, drinks her tea and eats her cake. He has no other choice than to endure her unsolicited opinion on his life. The start of something none of the two expected.

Golden by msmerlin - M, one-shot - In a world where magic is forbidden and bounty hunters are on the prowl, Hermione must try to outrun the Crownland's most notorious hunter, The Harrier, when her secret is exposed. Magic Suppression AU.

A Game of Chance by TheLastLynx - M, 4 chapters - Hermione barely registered Harry calling out after her to let in someone he was apparently waiting for. So when she rushed out, deep in thought, she smacked straight into the tall person standing just outside the door. ‘Careful there, Granger,’ someone with a pleasant baritone said, chuckling under his breath. ‘No need to hit on me.’  Hermione’s head snapped up. The pointy face of Draco Malfoy looked down on her, something like humour brightening his pale eyes. She raised her chin, ignoring the heat in her cheeks. ‘Don’t flatter yourself, Malfoy.’ These past weeks, the London Muggle casinos have seen unprecedented losses. When Number 10 gets concerned and starts pressuring the Ministry of Magic, the D.M.L.E. tasks Hermione Granger with investigating the poshest of them all, Les Ambassadeurs. Is it all just an unlucky streak or might be magic to blame? And why does she keep running into Draco bloody Malfoy at the most unfortunate of times?

Magic in the Air by otterlyardent - not rated, one-shot -  On his twentieth birthday, Draco has the first of many dreams, meant to lead him to his soulmate. The other problem, however, is that he's quite certain his dreams revolve around two women. Add in a request from Hermione Granger to assist her with a case, and Draco finds himself in a right mess. Canon divergent. Soulmate AU.

Healing Properties by MrsMast - T, one-shot - Hermione needs a cure for Dragon pox. She decides to go to the one man she knows that can help.

Wise Words by CourtingInsanity - T, one-shot - Both stuck in a war they didn't start, Hermione and Draco forge a strong bond on the night Dumbledore falls. 

Not My First Mistake by savedprincess85 - M, one-shot - Hermione is a hard-working lawyer. Draco is a rugby player. Will they hit it off when Harry tries a bit of matchmaking?

DFW Trope Fest 2019:

The Essence of Veela by Elena78 - T, one-shot - Hermione doubts herself before she starts her new job at the Ministry and finds herself caught up in a predicament of Molly's. As she tries to resolve her part in this situation, a personal one arises.

The Dream Connection by Pureblood_Muggle - M, one-shot - Hermione is going stir crazy. She's having dreams about Draco Malfoy of all people. If only she could figure out why!

A Wide, Dark Sky by perilous_circumstance - T, one-shot - Set an indeterminate amount of time in the future, the wizarding world is travelling across Space. Hermione is a veteran of the Second Wizarding War and a Junior Auror aboard the giant Station, the large starship that houses the main parts of the Ministry, Hogwarts and other communal parts of the wizarding community. She is battling residual trauma leftover from the War, as well as a painfully awkward attraction to her former-Death Eater colleague, Draco Malfoy. When they are sent on a routine shuttle mission and disaster happens, Hermione is forced to confront her feelings for the insufferable git.

Near the Dragon's Eyes by fandomfairytales - E, 3 chapters - Late bloomer. That’s what they called her, adding yet another title to follow her other asinine monikers.With magic as strong as hers how could she possibly be anything else?What a joke. Of course, she took it all in stride; pushed herself harder, striving and struggling to make herself worth more than her lack of Alpha, Beta or Omega designation. But even the abject awe or generalised jealousy she inspired didn’t prevent the surreptitious glances or whispers behind hands about the girl who simply 'wasn’t witch enough.'

Soteria by Felgia_Starr - M, one-shot - 150 years after Voldemort won the Greatest War, nothing has changed. The Rebellion is still fighting against His regime. The Salvation is still defending their benevolent Dark Lord. Several generations came and went, but the world remains the same. Who knows? Maybe things will change soon. Maybe when fate forces Prince Draco of the Salvation and Hermione of the Rebellion to meet in the only neutral zone in the world, something different will finally happen.

Pinned by bionically - E, WIP - Draco doesn't know what he's expecting when he follows Blaise down a dark alley, but it certainly isn't this.For a man with an addictive personality, this isn't going to turn out well.

CATastrophic Love Potion by rennaissance_woman - not rated, one-shot -   What do you get when you cross a bored feline and an owl on a mission.

Hello. (Is it me you're looking for?) by weestarmeggie - M, one-shot - A series of meetings that can only be described as "meet cutes" lead Hermione to her one true love just as a spell cast on Halloween the previous year predicted.

Finding Granger by TheImperfectionista - T, 6 chapters - When the Ministry introduced the Pureblood Reparations Act, Hermione found herself with a tax bill for being Pureblood. Despite being told she qualified for an exemption, the witch began a search for the truth of her ancestry with the most unlikely financier of her journey.

Questions Later by Pandorascube - M, one-shot - Hermione's life of isolation changes with a mysterious stranger's appearance.

Broken Barriers by Snowblind12 - M, one-shot - Tensions run high when Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger return to Hogwarts after the fall of Voldemort. As Head Boy and Girl, how will they ever get along? A story about tradition, booty shorts, and learning to trust.

Higher Love by PartyLines - M, one-shot - Hermione Granger learns about love in the conviction of Draco Malfoy.

The Unlikely Governess by Art3misiA - T, one-shot - The Malfoy children are little terrors. They drive away every Governess Draco hires.Will a certain curly-haired witch be able to tame his wild offspring, or will it all be a disaster?

Revenge by TriDogMom - M, one-shot - Hermione has a secret- she liked revenge.

More Than One Way to Win by scullymurphy - M, 7 chapters - “That’s damn near impossible, even for me,” Blaise shook his head. “I think we’ve hit the bar. Is there anyone who would be more difficult to shag?”His words were hanging in the air when Draco felt a magnificent plan spring fully formed into his mind. Could it work? He thought it could. A grin split his face and he said, “I know someone.”“Who?” Theo demanded. “Granger.”“Oh fuck ME, I can’t believe we forgot her!” Theo was really slurring now. “She would never let any of us get within ten feet of her precious, pristine knickers. Not that I wouldn’t love to,” he leered. “But yeah. Impossible.”“Impossible, you say?” Draco tilted his head to the side and regarded his extremely pissed friend. “Would you care to wager on that?”

Dark Affair by Kaarina_Riddle - T, one-shot - Dark Draco! Hermione and Draco have a secret affair and someone finds out what will they do? Will they be caught?

Regards, Hermione Granger by HufflepuffMommy - M, one-shot - Hermione and Draco form a relationship through writing letters while Draco is in Azkaban.

DFW 20/20 Challenge 2020:

Bookworm to Badass by Pandorascube - T, WIP - Guess who will rescue our Draco-in-distress?

Hindsight by floorcoaster - T, WIP - It's a New Year and Hermione decides it's time to make some changes.

Fireworks by Felgia_Starr - T, one-shot - Pressured by their managers, Draco and Hermione come together one evening during the Midnight Kiss Ball, a yearly get-together of greedy record labels, eating up business deals like they’re treats, disguised as a New Year’s Eve party for artists to celebrate their success during the year.

Grave Awakening by savedprincess85 - T, WIP - Hermione is mourning. Harry wants to help her. No one knows exactly what happened to Draco. One chapter a month for the year 2020. 

The Green Pheonix by Gidgit2u - M, WIP - A betrayal at the beginning of sixth year causes Draco to swear allegiance to the Order of the Phoenix.Having recently come of age and as both hold the position of Prefect, Hermione is the perfect choice to become the Order’s handler of the grieving Slytherin.Despite years of hate and animosity, Hermione and Draco need to overcome their past and put aside their differences in order to help defeat Voldemort. As the war crescendos, the two must fight prejudice on all sides as they discover they may not be as different as originally thought.

Pretty Petty by TriDogMom - M, one-shot - "Damn right I'm pretty." "I said petty."

All Things Unsaid by TheImperfectionista - T, one-shot - "Many of the faces he knew from work, but he never liked any of them or had a desire to sit with them in the canteen for lunch. That was one thing he never told her. She was the only colleague, he enjoyed working with."

This fest is ongoing.

[theofficersacademy]

Morfis is the name of a metropolis of magic to the south of Fódlan, as well as the boundless desert that surrounds it. In the distant past, it was called the City of Illusion. Thanks to an intricate web of trading routes, rumors of its profound and mysterious magi continue to spread.

DESTINATION: Morfis

CARDINAL BEAST TARGET: Leto, Serpent of the South

Leto, a small, draconic Demonic beast with one large, cyclops-like eye. It flees at the first sight of danger, and those who have encountered it claim that its cries are like a wailing human’s. Apparently it possesses great magical power, the ability to heal itself as well as seal all magic that isn’t its own within 10 meters of itself. The Mage Society of Morfis plans to test its combat prowess once it’s captured.

TEAM POST GOAL: 100

TEAM TAG: #ArcadiaLeto2019 is to be used on all event-related IC posts

Places of Interest

Morfis Proper: Once you set your eyes on his sprawling metropolis, you realize that even the most fanciful descriptions of Morfis fail to fully describe the splendor of this city of magic. The local mage society have agreed to assist you and provide whatever you need, whether it be weapons or new magic techniques, but on the condition that the monster be captured alive so that they can keep it for experimentation. If they can’t have Leto, well, perhaps the souls of fresh, young Fódlaners will be good enough for what they have in mind...

Ruins of Serret: The Morfisians are rather tight-lipped about what these ruins are, exactly. Nestled in the heart of the desert that surrounds their oasis city, the ancient stone seems to ebb and flicker, one moment solid, the next little more than an illusion. But there seems to be some tie between them and Yevaud, who can often be seen traversing the skies above it.

The Tower: An enormous structure that dominates the skyline of Morfis. Though the native people don’t seem bothered, you find that you can’t look at it for long, lest a gripping feeling of bone-deep dread paralyse you with panic. You find that the ‘master’ of the tower is a man named Estarriol, apparently descended from the Mage-King. The most you can glean about the place is that maybe it’s used for divination of some kind...?

NPCs of Note

Maiherpri: Leader of the Mage Society? Or just the member of theirs that’s been designated as liaison. Either way, she seems happy enough to help. She insists on coming on every expedition and being involved in each step of the plan. Her enthusiasm appears innocent enough, even if her obstinance about catching Leto alive can get a little grating... but sometimes, you get the feeling that she’s watching you a little too closely.

Yevaud: At first, you can’t believe your eyes. A talking... dragon? But Yevaud appears as human and intelligent as any of you, even if he doesn’t seem surprised by the Fodlaners’ shock. The other Morfisians treat him with respect and fondness, almost like an old friend or family member. He doesn’t claim to have any interest in this hunt, but doesn’t mind answering your questions.

Estarriol: Questions about who he exactly is and what his role is in Morfis, as well as what the Tower is for, are all answered indirectly, sometimes conflicting, until you’re not sure how much is truth or what to believe, if anything at all. But he’s shown you his magic, and it’s beyond anything you’ve ever seen. So the rumors about Morfis are true after all... If anyone has the answer to getting past Leto’s defenses, it’s probably him.

Mission Task Board

Preparation at Garreg Mach

Before setting out to Morfis, it might be a good chance to learn a little more about where you’re going. Stories of the place abound, but if you’re going there, it’s best to be prepared. The library would be a good start, or maybe you can ask around. There’s got to be something someone knows, somewhere, more than just dazzling stories...

It’s only been a couple days since the address by the academy heads, but already new chaos has gripped the monastery. The envoy from the Sreng outpost was found dead early in the morning, his body heavily mutilated by what seems to be dark magic and left at the monastery gates. Who would do this?

The Hunt for Leto

Estarriol insists that the key to defeating Leto lies in the Caedaein Catacombs far beneath the city outskirts. The Lich King’s coffin is said to contain a weapon of incredible, inconceivable power, but nothing of incredible, inconceivable power is ever easy to get. You can’t help but wonder if this is some kind of test... or worse.

Your pursuit of Leto leads you to the shore of the island. The screech of dragons draw your eyes upward and indeed there they are: Yevaud and the serpent Leto are fighting in the sky. Drops of green blood fall to the ground – Yevaud seems to have the upper hand. Less work for you, right? Until you realize that your ticket out of Morfis is dependent on Leto being captured alive.

There have already been several stories of people wandering off, drawn by the sound of Leto’s cries, indiscernible from those of a human in terrible suffering. They’ve never returned. The Mage Society’s theory is that something about the Beast’s cries mesmerizes the mind and ensnares one’s willpower. So in order to even approach it, you need to learn a warding spell to protect your psyche. [Grants Reason +1]

Weeks and weeks of dead ends, false leads, and narrow escapes have led to this. Finally, you have the Cardinal Beast cornered. The final showdown is here, except you realize that Leto has one last defense: her nature is that of a magic suppressant, meaning physical weapons are the only way to subdue her. Will you capture her for Morfis in the end, or kill her? [Grants Any Skill +1]

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I only thread with my teammates?

‘The Hunt for Leto’ tasks, as well as any threads taking place en route to or within Morfis, can only be written with your teammates. ‘Preparation at Garreg Mach’ tasks, or any threads taking place pre-departure at the monastery, can be written with anyone.

These aren’t the only threads I can do, right?

Of course not! These are just prompts to help give some ideas of possibilities. You’re always free and encouraged to make up your own threads.

How do I claim the skill points?

In order to qualify for the skill point, the thread must clearly allude to the listed task and preferably feature the task being completed. You do not need to message the masterlist to claim your skill point.

Can I only do one task?

Nope, you can do as many as you’d like with as many different partners as you’d like! You can do the same task with more than one person! However, you can only claim any skill points once.

What if my partner leaves or drops a skill point thread?

If the dropped thread has at least 5 notes (not counting likes, only reblogs with replies in them) and you have hit at least 400 words on your end, you may still claim the skill point.

My muse has ties to this location. Will this affect any of my headcanons?

All worldbuilding has been written to have little to any relation to playable muses. However, we understand that there are certain muses that have ties to these locations. Anything written by the mods is only for the enjoyment of the event and the benefit of our participants. Embrace, refute, or ignore what you’d like! It’s your city regardless of what team you end up being on or whether or not you choose to participate.

[adelth]

Signs of Life

It’s mermay! I love me some mermay! (But honestly I’ve got too many WIPs to start another one) Luckily, I remembered I had a 2k ficlet that technically qualifies sitting around on my drive. I don’t think this will ever be a full story, maybe a series of one-shots once I finally wrap up some of my other projects. If that doesn’t scare you off, here’s my very sci-fi contribution to the fine tradition of writing about mermaids in may.

Title: Signs of Life Rating: T Warnings: one vicious swear? Relationship: Yuuri Katsuki/Victor Nikiforov Summary: Victor Nikiforov just needed a place to repair his ship, but landing on a long-abandoned planet leads to discovering the mystery of its sole remaining inhabitant.

“No,” said Victor, eyeing the warning that flashed across his center console with dismay. “No, no, no. Don’t do this right now.” The console responded by chiming out a stall warning, in contradiction to the overspeed alarm that was still active, and the fact that a stall was impossible outside of an atmosphere anyway.

Already suspecting the source of the error, Victor turned off the autopilot. The alarms silenced themselves, but his brow didn’t unknit. He reached up to flip the switch for his secondary autopilot to take over, a partitioned backup to the system that was currently failing. The alarms immediately started up again, this time including a particularly shrill siren that warned of a hull breach. He’d only just managed to slap it into silence when a truly dire dangerous terrain message came blinking across his viewport, though apparently only the midship attitude control sensors could tell he was about to slam into some catastrophic obstacle.

Victor growled a credible impression of a Hexxii curse his favorite techmonger was fond of. The language wasn’t particularly friendly to human vocal cords, but Victor had a bit more leeway than most in what he could pronounce. He wasn’t entirely sure what the expletive meant, truthfully, but based on usage he’d gathered that it was more or less equivalent to “motherfucker.”

Perhaps due to the circumstances of his exposure, it had become Victor’s customary reprimand when hardware failed him at inconvenient moments. Inconvenient but not disastrous he reminded himself. At least it was one of the sensory control modules that had gone haywire, and he wasn’t actually at risk of sudden decompression or crashing into a non-existent terrain feature.

Theoretically Victor could still finish his journey if he was willing to pilot the whole way manually, but that would make for a very long trip. He was flying single-handed, as was his preference, and even he could only go so long without sleep. He’d lose time looking for a safe place to berth, on top of the time he actually spent sleeping. He also wouldn’t be able to travel through the most convenient spaceports, where traffic control mandated the use of autopilot to prevent accidents.

He slouched back in his seat, blowing his bangs out of his face as he stretched his legs. He wasn’t stiff, neither he nor the pilot’s station were designed for that, but the stretch still felt good.

Taking a long moment to gaze through his viewport, he let himself be entranced by distant pinpricks of light while he reminded himself why he traveled this way, instead of in one of his parent’s well-staffed schooners.

He reached across the small flight deck and tapped his fingers against the hull of his ship, a reinforced strut just within reach. Titanium alloy over a high carbon nano-ceramic, warm fingers against cold metal. Withdrawing the hand, he set a finger against his own mouth; the texture was soft and giving this time, warmth against warmth.

He discarded the thought of calling his family for help.

On balance, these were his options: he could take the long way home, he could suit up for an EVA, or he could find a place to land and do this the easy way. There’d been a similar failure not long after he’d purchased the cruiser, and he’d replaced the entire module not five years ago. Aware that the three other modules were still original, he made a point of carrying a mostly built spare, ready to be modified as a replacement as needed.

Still, although he had an electron beam gun on board, he wasn’t eager to try welding in a hard vacuum. He’d much rather land somewhere with enough of an atmosphere to make a more conventional arc weld viable. Better yet, he’d like a garage where he could just pay someone else to do the work, but he was a long way from that kind of amenity.

There wasn’t a planet chartered for habitation within several days travel, he knew that already. Humans hadn’t claimed so very many worlds that they were hard to keep track of just yet. There was a siderophilic asteroid mining operation, but unless they were feeling very accommodating, they weren’t going to help him. It was more than likely a fully automated enterprise anyway, without even disgruntled employees he could bribe. His techmonger had opinions about the kind of law-skirting that happened on the far edges of civilization, where obscure businesses might avoid either decommissioning or emancipating the almost-AIs they relied on for decades.

Changing his parameters as he flipped through the ship’s directory, Victor started looking for any nearby planet that might suit his needs. His new search brought up Proxima-b, a rocky planet with a breathable atmosphere, which looked to have gone uncolonized due to the 200 km deep ocean that covered the entirety of its surface. It was tidally locked, one face continually scorched by close proximity to its sun, so tight was its orbit around the small red dwarf.

His cruiser was reasonably versatile, but it didn’t have pontoons. If Proxima-b was entirely undeveloped, he would have to move on. That said, there was a long expired commercial exploration charter attached to the planet. Very long expired, Victor realized, hunching forward with interest. The project had been abandoned almost 200 years ago, and given where they’re located…

Scanning through the registry, Victor sought out the corporation that had filed the charter, and cross checked the dates. He whistled in appreciation. Proxima-b had been claimed for exploration by interests located on Earth, back when it would have taken 20 years for a spacecraft to travel between the two. It must have been one of the first commercial planetary charters on record. They’d gone all that way… to harvest semiconductors and dopants?

And here Victor had been under the impression that platinum group metals had been the elements sought out by space’s first prospectors.

The now defunct venture seemed to have been focused on boron in particular, which was downright odd. Chemically uncombined, elemental boron was only found on Earth in small amounts deposited by meteoroids, and might well have been worth mining. What could have been extracted from the waters of Proxima-b, however, seemed unlikely to differ all that much from what could have been extracted from Earth’s own oceans.

Astrobiologists, on the other hand, had a decided interest in extraterrestrial boron. When combined with water it became borate, which stabilized ribose in a way that made the formation of RNA, and therefore the storage and replication of genetic information, possible.

It was, in short, a sign of life.

Victor hesitated to assign motives to people who lived centuries ago, but a for-profit enterprise secretly seeking out proto-life seemed dubious. Maybe it was easier to do so as a resource management company than a research firm for some reason? Victor had little knowledge of contemporaneous space travel policy, only lingering disquiet.

Why Proxima-b had been abandoned, at least, wasn’t mysterious at all; intense solar flares were eating through the atmosphere. That wasn’t entirely surprising behavior from a red dwarf like Proxima Centauri, but having the brightness of the star suddenly increase by a factor of 1000 during a massive flare certainly was. For a span of seconds Proxima-b had a sun 10 times brighter than Earth’s own, and that had been enough to scare the prospectors away. They’d been planning to build their operation on the dark side on the planet, but no one wanted to be exposed to that kind of radiation.

Happily, they looked to have left a landing platform and maintenance facilities behind, the bare beginnings of a testing site. They’d be ancient, but all Victor needed was somewhere to land. Repairs would only take an hour or two, and the chances of Proxima Centauri happening to do something unfortunate during that time were minimal. Cautiously optimistic, Victor charted a course and engaged his thrusters.

~

Victor had been prepared, been half expecting even, to have to scupper his plan. There was every chance the centuries-old facilities on Proxima-b would be unusable, left to the seaworld’s irradiating flares and briny fathoms.

Instead, they looked pristine. They weren’t modern, they didn’t look like they’ve been updated in 200 years, but they’d been assiduously maintained.

Victor almost forwent landing, worried he was about to drop into a very cleanly smugglers nest. His sensors weren’t detecting any lifeforms, but he wasn’t entirely confident they were to be trusted given his current troubles. The landing pad was right there though, and truthfully Victor was loath to leave the mystery unprobed.

The landing itself was uneventful, save for the moment the platform lit up to welcome his arrival. He’d nearly pulled up in shock, but the process seemed automatic, rather than a herald of hostile intent.

He armed himself before leaving the ship, taking time to poke around the floating base before beginning his repair. There wasn’t much to it, besides the landing pad, there was a combined hanger and workroom, along with a barebones office and washroom. There weren’t even bunks, though he supposed cots might be stored somewhere. The whole structure rolled with the waves below, nearly sending Victor tumbling more than once.

He was testing the shower, which somehow still ran fresh water, when a loud creak from the workroom made him snap to attention. It was followed by a heavy clang, which sent shivers snaking up Victor’s spine. There was nowhere to hide - the shower didn’t even have a curtain - and he couldn’t go for his gun without being terribly obvious. Caught out, he raised his hands and turned slowly around.

Whatever he’d been expecting, it wasn’t an equally stunned man half protruding through a hatch in the floor, dark hair wet and chest naked. They both stared for moment, then the stranger nearly sent himself back down the hatch he flinched so hard.

“I’m sorry! I wasn’t…I didn’t.” He stopped, looking up at Victor as if he was the inexplicable element in the room. “I didn’t think anyone was coming.”

Without giving Victor a chance to come to terms with his own confusion, the stranger began hoisting himself onto the platform. Victor got a brief view of skin moving over flexing muscle, before being entirely distracted by the black tentacle that infiltrated through the hatch to grip a handhold on the wall and help pull the…man…through.

He didn’t have legs. What came through the hatch after the man’s torso was a mess of thick, black, prehensile coils. Victor had a hard time keeping track of what they were all doing, but one reached out to close the hatch behind the man as he moved away, familiar with the space and how to navigate it.

He bustled around - opened a locker here, replaced something in a drawer there - incredibly industrious with his many limbs. It had the distinct air of nervous busy-work, which alleviated some of Victor’s fear, if not his shock.

“I tried to keep everything running, but I’ve had to prioritize essential systems. I ran out of containers for samples, so it made sense to cannibalize the testing equipment for parts. I know it was expensive, but not even my batteries can be recharged indefinitely, and I’ve lost more than half the solar panels to weather and wear.” The man didn’t look at Victor as he spoke, half facing away to monitor his tentacles working.

“What are you?” Victor asked, perhaps insensitively, but unable to parse through his confusion to find any other question.

The man slowly put down the screwdriver he’d been holding, transferring it from hand to tentacle to workbench. He turned his head, one eye meeting Victor’s over his bare shoulder. His eye was brown and normal, but the pupil rapidly swelled and shrunk twice, dilating in a way that was thoroughly artificial. His torso sagged, even the tentacles seemed to wilt.

Then he was gone, back down the hatch in a rush of black, without even saying a word.

[wordpressmigrationhelp]

8 Mistakes While Outsourcing WordPress Development Projects

In order to succeed in today's fast-paced digital era, managing time is the basic attribute that one should acquire. Let's say you have an exciting idea for WordPress development, but you have no idea how to execute the idea and give it life.

 Do not worry anymore, there is assistance available to solve this mystery, which not only saves time but also adds depth to the quality of the work since they are the masters of that particular field. Although the question arises, how to select the most appropriate WordPress developer from the excess of available developers?

 In this article, we have compiled for you the 8 most common mistakes you should avoid when outsourcing WordPress development company in 2019 and ways to avoid them.

Mistake No. 1: Incomplete background investigation of the company

 Here you talk about all the possible questions in mind. The success rate of the company. How many applications have you developed so far? If you feel a little unsatisfied, it's time to move on to the next one. Trust us, complete satisfaction with the team and your work is absolutely necessary.

 Solution

 Ask them for their portfolio and take a look at their work. You may even talk to your former clients to get reviews to get to know them better before committing to them in the long term.

 Mistake No. 2: lack of communication with the team

 Would you like to hire a WordPress web developer who does not understand your WordPress design? Definitely not! Therefore, you should avoid barriers such as a culture that could hinder communication.

 Solution

 The best way is to start the conversation through emails and then keep in touch regularly to receive updates, suggestions, etc. It is essential that the outsourcing team understands your requirements so that at the end of the project you get what you want.

 Mistake No. 3: incomplete knowledge of your own requirement

 If you have not thoroughly examined the features you want in your CMS, how can you explain it to the developers?

 Solution

 This includes the design, the purpose, the timeline, the budget of the application. In addition to the integration of social networks and how it could help the business. It would be useful if you write down all the main features and analyze each of them in detail with the developers of the application to avoid any confusion or lack of communication.

Mistake No. 4: saving time could harm your app quality

 We cannot stress enough the importance of time in the current competitive nature of the world. Everyone is in a hurry to reach the pinnacle, so naturally, you tend to give priority to developers who promise to finish the task in the shortest possible time.

 Solution

 Amateur developers could give you an attractive timeline on how they would complete the task, but they almost never did. It is always safer to go with people with experience, even if they take a little more time, the final product would make it worth the wait.

 Mistake No. 5: Choose money over quality

 Money is as important to us as food for the human body. Therefore, we are always looking for ways to do the job using the least amount possible, just like when we hire WordPress developers. To save money, you are willing to compromise the quality of the application.

 Solution

 Obviously, only amateur and inexperienced developers would require less money, but the result could be a big setback for you. It is always advisable to select the most profitable output from the best application developer companies. Select the 3 best developers that suit you and try not to make the list regarding money.

 Mistake No. 6: incomplete cross-   platform information

 Obviously, it is better if WordPress is available on all platforms. This guarantees a high success rate and reduces the cost of development. The application while it starts on iOS and Android, may also be available on other platforms (Blackberry, Windows, etc.).

 Solution

 In comparison with an application that is developed exclusively on the native platform, it would have slightly low quality. It is desirable to find an agency that is good in both native and multiplatform development.

 Mistake No. 7: Know-how of the latest technology

 It is possible that the WordPress development agency is still using obsolete designs and technology and is not up to date with the latest technology. Consequently, at the time of the launch of the application, the technology may be obsolete.

 Solution

 Along with the company's portfolio, you must also verify the competencies of the company and know if they are compatible with the tool and modern technology offered in the market. To avoid this, make sure you have done a complete investigation of the developers with whom you will pay and work.

 Mistake No. 8: Limit your scope of Agencies to known areas

 Hiring an application development agency from the known area may seem inside your comfort zone, but it will probably cost you more. Outsourcing to other countries and expanding their reach can provide you with a more high-tech WordPress site at an affordable cost.

 Solution

 You can get outsourcing help from independent markets. When communicating with developers from other countries, the language or time zone barriers can make the process a bit more difficult and take more time, but it will surely improve the final product. You can track your work through video calls or messages.

 Basically, what you are looking for is a company that fully understands your conditions and provides you with an exclusive application.

 Wrapping Up:

 In summary, when hiring a WordPress development company, one should always keep in mind some basic points. Thoroughly investigate the company, use the applications developed by it and look at its revisions. Do not compromise the quality of your application simply by saving some money or time.

 Qualified people with knowledge of the latest technology are always preferred. Do not search for companies within your locality but broaden your search as much as possible before getting the WordPress development services. Finally, have your application go through a test.

 In case you have already made a mistake in choosing the company, it is never too late to make a U-turn and select the other one. Working knowingly with the wrong company is a reckless decision.

[captainunderkrupp]

Erroneously Heroic

Emmet Brickowski seems to fall into being an accidental hero no matter what world he's in. And this one has superheroes. Who are weirdly insistent on him being a superhero, too.

Prologue | Accidents Happen

13 1/2 years later...

Emmet giggled to himself as he remembered, again, that a museum had once stood here. A museum he'd gone to! And now he was building something new over it!

Well, he and the crew. No construction worker really does anything alone when they're building. "Frank! Heads up!" he calls as he tosses a wooden joint over.

"Thanks!" Frank calls back, barely looking up as he catches it. Emmet chuckles, and then his watch starts beeping. He looks down, and notices that it's his designated lunchtime. 

"I'm going on break!" Emmet calls, more generally this time. No one really said anything back, though some called out "Me too!" "Me three!" while the rest focused on their work. They were building a new Octan office building, and they needed to get it finished as soon as possible for Mayor Business. He was being really generous with this contract, and they wanted to show that they were reliable in following the instructions his offices created! 

He settled in the empty lot across the street, where another building was going up. Larry said it was probably a coffee shop, or at least that was the rumor going around at his outlet of StarBricks. With its proximity to the Octan offices, it would get a lot more foot traffic, and Larry thought that would be good for his wallet. Emmet couldn't confirm it though, since it wasn't his crew who was working on it. Larry had been disappointed, but gave Emmet the usual Friend Discount (aka, the "you can use my employee discount, it's fine Em, it's not technically against the rules, chill out" discount) anyway. 

Emmet made sure to check around for possible Coming Soon! type signs, perhaps lying just out of sight behind scaffolding, but nothing. He sighed, and pulled out his sandwich and juice box, (no peanuts!) and settled in to eat. 

He was most of the way through his sandwich and regretting not taking smaller sips of his juice box on that hot day, when he heard a distant, resonate, and repetitive boom. Boom. BOOM. 

And it was getting louder. 

Emmet's eyes widened as he saw, just over the brickwork of the buildings on the next block over, a villain fight. 

The big villain of this battle seemed to be a man with rocket boots, who had barely any theme compared to last week's "Hawk Man". It was just lots of metal, with some purple decals. They didn't even glow. 

Oh man, Emmet should not have skipped the dream journal this morning. Those purple bits might have been important. 

He at the very least saw that a flying person in blue had just punched out the guy in the rocket boots. And he heard before he saw a giant four wheeler fly up over the buildings and ram him in the side. And that meant... oh dear. The rocket boots seemed to have stopped working and he was flying toward him. 

He knew that wasn't good.

He'd already jumped up when he'd seen the four wheeler, so all he had to do was drop his trash and run. Though, he remembered something in his dream, where he--

Oh, that's right. He got smashed into the ground by a flying man in a metal suit. That was painful.

They both rolled. Emmet's face hit the dirt, again and again and again as they spun. He felt himself run into some of the scaffolding, the weight of the villain's suit throwing them right through the support beams and the hanging tarps.

He had a passing thought of, considering this city, you'd think they'd make scaffolding more durable...

Then suddenly they were stopped, and Emmet hissed at the sudden bloom of pain in his forehead as something hard hit it. And not the wall, that had found his back, and he was taking his vacation days starting tomorrow. Ouch. Emmet winced as he struggled with the tarp and whatever had landed on his head to check on the injury with his fingers.

He was so preoccupied with the blood on his fingers when he pulled them away, that he didn't even notice the villain was getting up. And he was shaking off the landing a lot more easily. 

"Hah!" the guy chuffed. "Those heroes will regret ruining my test flight." He grabbed at the front of Emmet's sweater (--when did his safety vest come off? That's right-- he unbuckled it to eat lunch, it must have come off in the fall--) and pulled him close. 

In the process, the tarp that Emmet had been struggling to untangle from himself was suddenly pulled in mysterious ways over his head, and the thing on his head must have had some curve to it, because it suddenly slipped down and trapped the tarp to his head. 

And Emmet freaked. Out. Because he really hated small, dark spaces, and his head was stuck in one that was lit only blue through the tarp itself. He started flailing, struggling to find some end of the tarp or the edge of the glass or something so he could see and maybe not get punched in the face by a villain.

Suddenly, his hand met something hard, and slightly warm, and he heard a cry. His hand hurt now, too, which sucked, but he also wasn't getting dragged up by the front of his sweater, which also sucked but because he was falling down. At least he wasn't being basically held hostage anymore. 

He finally had a moment to grab at the tarp, and when he could see...

The guy was down. And apparently, was missing his helmet. Emmet realized, grabbing around his head, that the thing around his face must have been just that, fallen onto him in the time they were rolling. That explained how he could see; it wasn't just more shiny metal, it was glass designed to be reflective on the outside. 

He sighed, mostly in relief that the guy wasn't going to attack him too soon, and a little to try and relief the aches and pains through his body. A person just wasn't meant to be thrown across hard dirt with a full grown man in a suit of metal, and especially not through stuff. 

When the guy stirred, Emmet walked a little faster, hoping to be out of the dark space hidden under the scaffolding and maybe calling the police when the villain woke up. 

When he walked out, he had to shade his eyes a bit, having just been in the dark for several minutes... and he heard... voices?

He lowered his arm to see a crowd of people on the sidewalk, and the vigilantes metaphorically hovering in the middle of the empty lot. 

The driver of the four-wheeler, which was idling, was visible now. The driver stood in their seat, seemingly staring through deep red goggles at the scene Emmet had just exited. There was an enormous pirate themed robot and a large... cat? Horse? Horse cat with a horn? hanging out just behind. Emmet couldn't see the one in blue, but then he spotted them flying back and forth, keeping spectators back from the scene. At least they knew that civilians needed to be kept safe, even if they did throw a villain at him.

When the crowd spotted him, there was a momentary hush. And then cheering. 

Emmet was startled, for sure; what was it? What were they looking at? His head was still pounding, and the noise didn't help. He stretched, hoping to relieve the pain in his back, even a little bit. When he spun, seeing if he still had that movement...

His other hand hit something hard, and slightly warm. He winced,grabbing at his knuckles, and turned to see what he hit.

It was the guy in the metal suit. Apparently, he had gotten back up, and was coming up behind Emmet, but now he was out cold. 

Emmet had accidentally punched him in the face. He realized that must have been the thing he hit the first time; he'd just been too out of it to notice. He bit his lip, hoping this didn't qualify as excessive violence. He hadn't even gotten to call the police, yet. 

When he looked back to the crowd, he realized that the vigilantes were all staring at him. The one standing in the four wheeler lifted their goggles, and mouthed something. 

And then the robot standing behind her yelled, in an Irish brogue, "The Special?" Or, maybe he wasn't yelling, but he sure was loud. 

Somehow, the blue flying person shouted just as loudly, repeating, "The SPECIAL?"

A murmur went through the crowd, as if they were asking each other something. The Special was something repeated through the whispers, and Emmet groaned. He'd wondered what that one whisper was about in his dreams from the last week. He hadn't heard that phrase in so long in his dreams, so he really should have been on the alert for something finally happening with that. 

Finally, police sirens were starting up in the distance, so people began to dissipate, knowing that the most interesting part was over. Even the vigilantes were leaving. Emmet just sat down, relieved that nothing more was happening, and maybe he'd take a nice vacation after this. 

And then a blue something rushed over his head.

He fell over in surprise, the tarp crinkling under him. Emmet's heart was pounding again, after having finally calmed. "Hey! What the heck?" he cried, when the blue thing finally focused into the vigilante who'd been flying around the civilians. His own voice echoed around him in the helmet, and Emmet realized it probably wasn't so easy to hear him through the glass. 

Blue swooped again, close enough for Emmet to see where part of his helmet was duct taped together, and the yellow visor was cracked, revealing a gaping darkness behind it. It was terrifying, and Emmet fell further toward the ground, going from sitting to laying as fast as possible. 

He could hear a shout from his attacker, something like "Hey!" while Emmet scrambled away. His head was pounding in time with his heart, and it hurt. He was probably covered in bruises, rapidly purpling, and he just wanted to go home and lay on a bed of cute rainbow ice packs. He didn't want to be kidnapped by a rogue vigilante!

"--trying to h--" he heard, something static-y interfering in the voice. Emmet realized that it was the vigilante, and that he was so hard to hear not just because of that static, but because he was getting very dizzy, and he could hear the rush of blood in his ears. Moving so fast after a head injury was not a good idea. 

And in fact, this was reaffirmed moments later, when he passed out. 

AO3

[ladyloveandjustice]

Summer 2018 Anime Overview: Revue Starlight

(Also known as Shoujo Kageki Revue Starlight).

Karen Aijou is training at her school to put on the annual Takarazuka play, “Starlight”. She’s shocked when her childhood friend, Hikari, suddenly appears. She follows Hikari into mysterious elevator and finds her engaged in an even more mysterious sword fight with another student that’s preceded over by a talking giraffe for some reason. She’s told that this is a competition between “Stage Girls” for the title of “Top Star”. Karen sees that Hikari is in trouble, and quickly dives to her rescue, remembering the promise she and Hikari made to become stars together. Now Karen is involved in a truly strange competition...

I was super sold on Revue Starlight from the first episode. Girls fighting with swords? Takarazuka? A random giraffe? Utena references? Nice animation? This show was made for me, clearly.

And I came out of it satisfied. It was pretty surreal and pretty gay and that’s what I’m here for. It’s hard to explain exactly what the series is about without giving away some major plot twists, I’ll put it like this- it’s very much about two girls trying to upend the vicious, cyclic system they are caught in and there are definite themes of adolescence and identity. And some characters are not what they seem. I’m always down for that.

After all, the “Top Star” system only lets one person be at the top, while the others get their dreams crushed- but Karen wants to stand together with someone. There’s a lot of light critical examination of how Takarazuka in particular is structured here- I’d really suggest checking out these posts by Atelier Emily which dig deep into the subject. Basically, there’s this understanding in Takarazuka that the “otokoyaku” (the woman who the male roles) will be top star and its the “musmeyaku” (the woman playing the female roles)  must support her and consign herself to secondary status.

As Emily puts it “ [The musumeyaku must be] the perfect feminine foil so the otokoyaku’s masculine performance would stand out more in relief, [...], all while taking care not to skew too much into a romantic interest, so that young women in the audience can still imagine themselves in the arms of their favorite otokoyaku top star. Furthermore, they cannot achieve top star themselves, and must ensure that their talents do not outshine those of their otokoyaku partner.”

This whole dynamic plays heavily into the show- Claudine and Maya are the top otokoyaku/musumeyaku pairing in the school, yet it is Maya who gets all the attention while Claudine feels frustrated and like she’s second best. She wants to outshine Maya, but it seems like she just can’t. Meanwhile, Karen has this idea she and Hikari can be a couple who share the stage equally, which threatens to destabilize the entire system.

The series does not just examine Takarazuka but the nature of theater in general though, with the last episode in particular digging a little into the role the audience plays. It’s also touches on adolescent anxieties- we see characters coping with fear of the future and growing up, we see Mahiru struggling with her unrequited crush on Karen and her jealousy of Hikari and childhood friends finding their bond straining...of course, as expected of a series where a giraffe watches girls engage in sword fights while singing, these conflicts are expressed in a fantastical way much of the time.

Before I go further, I should mention some cool things the series did that I really need to go back and examine- there’s a lot about the show I feel I haven’t grasped yet, and I feel I need to rewatch it before I’m able to grasp it completely. BUT I GOTTA GET THESE REVIEWS OUT BEFORE I DIVE INTO THE NEW SEASON, so this is what you get.

 One thing I missed out on is that the songs the girls sing while fighting are really connected to themes of the episode- unfortunately the release I watched did not translate them, so that was lost on me. The credits sequence was also an evolving one, the lyrics would change and it would focus on a different girl or pair of girls each time- but again, not translated, so I feel like I watched an incomplete version of the show. But I will get the whole package someday because I think it’s really cool the show did that.

 I was correct in guessing from the beginning that this series takes a ton of inspiration from Utena and also from Yuri Kuma Arashi (the director actually worked on that show) but this is very much its own thing. There are scenes in the first half that seem like they’d fit in with Love Live! or some other idol show, with girls just goofing around and ~following their dreams~, but the back half leaned way farther into the plot and metaphorical significance of the bizarre stuff that was happening. 

I think the main thing Revue Starlight has going against it is character- Karen doesn’t really change much over the course of the show. She matures and is challenged a bit yes, but not in a significant way. The Karen of episode 12 makes the same decisions and has the same goals as the Karen of episode 2 essentially did. There’s not that much to her other than her determination to become the top star with Hikari, as well as her very broad “cheerful, ditzy and persistent” I’m-the-main-character-of-an-anime deal. 

Hikari is a bit more complex, with some backstory and reveals about her character in store, but she also isn’t anything we haven’t seen before in a lot of ways. It was hard for me to get as invested in their relationship as I wanted- they’re just fine as characters, and they serve the themes of the show fine, but they’re so broadly sketched and kind of nebulous the emotional connection is not quite there for me. 

Which is too bad, because they are EXTREMELY Gay. Don’t expect any kissing or anything ground-breaking, but the stuff they say about each other is like you know. “I only want you by my side/be with my forever/YOU’RE MINE, EVVVVERYTHINNG 222222 MEEEE THE REASSSSON I LIIIIVE IS FOR US” that sort of stuff that leaves little doubt. 

The gay doesn’t stop with that.There’s also the fact that Mahiru’s is as blatant as she can be about her huge crush on Karen (she uh. goes looking for an indirect kiss at one point) and she sees Hikari as her rival, and is pretty much clearly correct. All of the other girls are clearly paired up and you’ll have them referring to each other as “my [insert name here]” or saying other stuff that barely qualifies as subtext and suggestively dancing with each other.

Like I said, nothing ground breaking, but it’s good as far as “It’s-not-as-text-as-I’d-like- but-really-barely-subtext” gay stuff goes.

Most of our background lesbians are just a lot more interesting than the main ones, but we’re not given enough time to connect with them as much as I’d like either. Their arcs could have been more fleshed out, especially the arc of one surprising major player. I think a series with so much going on and such a big cast to explore maybe should have been a twenty-six episode deal so it could dig a little deeper with the characters and build up to things a little more.

So yeah, if I’d talk about the quality of my emotional connection and the strength of the characters and narrative and in how incisive it is, it’s not nearly as good as Utena (which I wasn’t expecting it to be, THAT’S A TALL ORDER) and more on the level of its other major influence, Yuri Kuma Arashi. It is a lot more thematically cohesive than YKA and without the deeply uncomfortable aspects, thankfully. The series may have moe character designs, but it remains classy and never indulges in blatant fanservice that I can remember. 

There’s plenty of other things to touch on- there’s what  seems to be light examination of the ‘bury your gays’ trope, as we find out the play “Starlight” is about a pair of HEAVILY-queer-coded-girls whose story ends with them tragically cut down and separated, and the series engages with what that show means for these girls acting it out and whether they’ll have to meet the same fate.

 Honestly, it’s the kind of series you could write loads and loads of analysis for, so if you like stories you can interpret a lot and read a lot of things into, this is probably your jam. I’ve loved the discussion this series has encouraged- I advise checking out the Afictionado’s posts on the show! I can’t wait to read more about everyone’s perspectives on the show as I revisit it!

So yes, my final verdict? it’s a good show, and if you’re like me and you love stuff that centers around the relationships between girls, if you love stuff that’s full of symbolism and action and weirdness that looks at the construction of fiction and fighting unfair systems and if you think Takarazuka and musicals are cool as hell- definitely check this one out. I recommend it and there’s really nothing offputting about it I can think of. One of the “Top Stars” of the season for sure.

I’m excited to give it a rewatch and pick up all the things I missed the first time. Right now, It’s not in my top ten or anything and I can’t say it moved me deeply. it was just a bit to nebulous in a lot of ways- but its definitely a worthy addition to the “lesbians with swords” genre, and in the end, what better compliment can there be than that?

[madscientistjournal]

Fiction: Excerpts From the Audio Notes

An essay by Jim Dennath, P. (Eldritch) E., as provided by Jonathan Ficke Art by Leigh Legler

Day 1

Finally, a place where my desire to dream beyond the bounds of what a rational engineer may dream, to build that which ought never be built, to be the mad engineer that breaks down barriers, and possibly ends the world–Fimbulvetr Industries. I confess that I saw their job posting and sent my résumé to them on a lark–who would have thought that the premiere apocalyptic science and engineering conglomerate would want me? But they did, so here I am walking the austere gunmetal hallways, seeing the laboratories where the cutting edge of apocalyptic science is conducted. And everything is so clean! It’s the platonic form of Nordic design. I couldn’t imagine a better place to undergo hours of trite human resources onboarding nonsense.

At least they have a slogan: Building a Better End of Days, Today.

It’s perfect.

~

Fimbulvetr is not screwing around. I’ve been here a day and have access to the development lab of my dreams. Good devils below, there’s an entire team of assistants at my beck and call. The job is simple–as simple as engineering a possibly world-ending device is concerned that is–build a device to create a stable planar gateway to the nether realm to allow the creatures of the dark beyond access to the mortal plane of existence.

Should be fun!

Turns out the ancient Assyrians were super into the nether realm. The Fimbulvetr archives have hundreds of original clay tablets recovered (read: stolen or plundered) from archaeological sites across the Levant. As it so happens, however, I cannot read cuneiform.

Good news, though! Ivan, a twitchy Russian ex-pat with an eyepatch, has been the most useful in that regard. He tells me he studied and taught ancient languages at a university in Kiev, stumbled on something he’s only muttered about as “the impossible realities,” and they fired him for gibbering too much during lectures. Their loss is my gain.

There’s also a linguist to help interpret the texts, Bernice, an Alabaman with absolutely the sweetest accent and the keenest eye for the dark logic employed by the forces of darkness. Who would have imagined that demons employed passive aggressive language? When I expressed my disbelief, Bernice said “bless your heart,” and told me it makes her feel right at home. What a lovely person.

With Ivan and Bernice’s help, the task came into focus. We have a great deal of work ahead of us.

There’s also Jeffrey. He doesn’t talk much, and near as I can tell, he’s mainly here to pick up heavy things at my direction. He does so at a languid pace. He must be hourly.

~

Day 3

This was prototyping day. Based on Ivan’s translations, and Bernice’s helpful interpretation of archaic Assyrian linguistics, we needed both a lot of eldritch energy and a focusing medium to stretch the planar gate across.

First thing first, we measure eldritch energy in crowleys, like proper modern folk who are concerned with repeatable design. Ancient Assyrians? No such luck. They simply killed an absolutely mind-boggling number of people until they got what they wanted. I’m honestly a little impressed by their can-do attitude. It worked for them, so what grounds do I have to criticize? I can, however, complain that it makes their cuneiform tablets as hard to use as blueprints in a modern workshop.

Anyway, since we don’t know exactly how many crowleys we need, I’m ball parking the sum at: a lot of crowleys.

Also, we need something to channel the crowleys into a cascading web of interconnecting focus points–essentially a matrix of dark energy that can fray the boundary between our world and the eldritch void we seek to contact. The ancient Assyrians came up with an answer for this too. That answer is femurs. We need a lot of femurs.

If we need a lot of femurs, then we’re going to need a lot of volunteers. After all, each one can only contribute two femurs, and we’re going to need twenty-three femurs. That means approximately twelve volunteers, assuming our pool of volunteers does not include too many above-the-knee amputees or people with low bone density. This might be tricky.

~

Day 4

Not that tricky! You know what was tricky? Getting Jeffrey to gather all of the human thighs and separate the meat from the bones. It was a simple request, Jeffrey!

But, I digress. Did you know there’s a group of people on the internet who call themselves “thigh enthusiasts?” Naturally, I gravitated toward this group of people, as I figured that anyone so enthusiastic about thighs would likely have high quality femurs.

This was not, in fact, the case. The yield of quality femurs from a single thigh enthusiast, which one could reasonably assume be close to, if not precisely, two femurs, is actually much closer to 1.1 per enthusiast. Most are men in their thirties; how is their bone structure and density so bad? What comprises their diet that they have the bone density of an elderly person with a severe calcium deficiency? This is, of course, not the question I’ve been hired to solve. It must remain a mystery for another day.

What we lacked in quality, we were able to make up for in quantity. Thigh enthusiasts are an easily baited group. Promise an internet message board an abundance of thighs, and like ten grand each, and boom, even with the comically low femur yield, I’ve got all the femurs an engineer could possibly desire. Really, it’s almost a problem. I’ve practically got too many femurs. Jeffrey certainly thinks we have too many femurs, but that is a Jeffrey problem.

So, with a massive stockpile of femurs at our disposal, it’s time to begin constructing a web of twenty-three femurs arranged in a circle with a radius precisely calibrated to focus crowleys!

~

Day 6

Well, I’ve summoned a demon. More on this later. At least I won’t have to worry about Jeffrey slacking anymore. More on this later as well.

I rate this experience as a qualified success.

~

Day 7

Good news! We’ve sealed the demon in my original development lab. Fimbulvetr has given me a new workshop. It’s buried farther underground.

The boys upstairs have also given me a squad of armed guards at all times. Hans Jürgen leads the team of barrel-chested men with assault rifles and bandoliers of grenades. Seems a touch of overkill, but it wouldn’t do to have a demon ruthlessly dismember a useful member of the team.

(Oh … right, Jeffrey was–literally–pulled limb from limb by a seven-armed reptilian beast with eleven mouths and three wings. As it happens, and this would be a subject better suited for a mad evolutionary biologist, demons have very strange anatomy.)

In any case, we have a very solid prototype planar gateway generator in existence. No idea how to control it. No way to manage what passes through. No clue what’s on the other side, and the boys upstairs tell me it’s not nearly big enough.

On account of me not being dead, I am willing to increase my assessment of this situation from qualified success to moderate success.

Add in Jeffrey’s demise and we might be flirting with major success territory.

~

Day 5

Yes, out of chronological order, but I was far too busy fleeing a rampaging hell beast to take proper notes on the actual Day 5. So let’s all be aware that it was recorded on Day 7, but ought to slot in at Day 5. Deal? Deal.

So, get this, turns out virgins, not super effective conduits of eldritch power. I know, really came out of left field to me too. It’s all you ever read about: virgin sacrifice this, the world’s running out of eligible virgins that. Guess what, virgins, you’re not that special!

Turns out, the sanguineous humors of debauched people–now that’s the blood you want to charge a planar gate. So we threw an orgy. Well, we advertised an orgy, lit some candles, provided massage oils and a room full of impractically sized pillows, and once we had a room full of good old-fashioned debauchery underway, that’s when we threw a massacre. It was all very efficient.

I was able to capture thirteen crowleys of spiritual energy in the blood agony harvester (which we constructed mostly from tibias and fibulas, the ancient Assyrians–a very efficient people when it came to human sacrifice–were big on using every part of the sacrificial victim, particularly leg bones). Granted, we’re still getting a handle on precisely how many crowleys of energy will be necessary to sustain a transplanar crossing, but I figured what we had was a good first effort.

Naturally, excited as I was from that success, I couldn’t help but turn to my assembled femur matrix and plug in all that sweet human suffering. It worked, and after experiencing the fabric of realty shred before my eyes, and hearing the distilled shriek of millions of disembodied souls, a demon ripped through the planar gate and started absolutely taking Jeffrey to town.

I ran, sealed the door, and changed my drawers.

~

(Oh … right, Jeffrey was–literally–pulled limb from limb by a seven-armed reptilian beast with eleven mouths and three wings. As it happens, and this would be a subject better suited for a mad evolutionary biologist, demons have very strange anatomy.)

Day 14

Good thing I had all those femurs, because the boys upstairs want a lot of transplanar gates constructed. Without Jeffrey (typical Jeffrey, even in death he’s slacking off), it took more than a week to build a whole bunch of gates in reinforced containment cells. That way, when the demons rip through, we’ve got ’em right where we want ’em. Locked up nice and tight until we can figure out how best to unleash them on an unsuspecting world.

So here we are, two weeks into the job (they’re paying me in arrears, which means I don’t get paid until the second pay period is complete, truly barbaric; hopefully my benefits are already accruing. I don’t want to miss out on any compound interest.), and I have twenty-three individually contained planar gates made from five-hundred-twenty-nine femurs. I wonder if I hunted thigh enthusiasts onto the endangered species list? Each planar gate sits in a specially constructed holding cell built of concrete and steel.

The holding cells themselves are all on a central corridor buried deep underground. At the end of the corridor is the control room, where I work. From there, I have the ability to route crowleys into the planar gates, as well as control each individual cell door.

Behind the control room, a twenty-three-foot diameter vault door that is twenty-three-feet-thick seals the whole operation off from the access shaft that leads to the rest of Fimbulvetr headquarters.

We are so ready to summon some demons.

Or, we would be ready to summon some demons, if we had enough crowleys. This is going to take a lot of massage oil.

~

Day 20

It’s been a tiring but productive six days. I like to think we’ve done the ancient Assyrians proud. Good thing we got a bulk rate on massage oil.

The blood agony harvesters are practically humming with energy, and the boys upstairs have quintupled my detail of armed guards.

A few keep very close eyes on me, and with the exception of Hans Jürgen, they communicate exclusively by way of hand signals, and are frequently checking their weapons and ammunition. It’s as if they assume that at any moment a demon might leap into this world. I asked Hans Jürgen about the increase in guards, and he says that they’re here to prevent anyone from being Jeffried.

Jeffried. His laziness has been immortalized by becoming a verb in the Fimbulvetr lexicon. Where’s the justice in that?

But let’s not let Jeffrey’s perpetual incompetence interfere with our objective. In the morning, we get to channel distilled human suffering into a series of arrays constructed from human long bones. What could possibly go wrong?

~

Day 21

A lot can go wrong.

Holy shit, a lot can go wrong.

I threw the switch and opened the crowley reservoir. The hair on the back of my arms stood on end as the cables that ran from reservoir to the holding cells and attached to the transplanar gates inside writhed like live serpents with the energy.

As had been the case with the first rift, reality shifted in front of my eyes, and an otherworldly howl threatened to burst my eardrums. The screams faded, but then a series of sounds like the piercing chime of twenty-three bells rang through the corridor, and I heard it even in the control room. A tiny red light blinked on the control panel indicating lock failure on each door.

Hans Jürgen flashed hand signs to his men and everyone spread out, rifles at their shoulders, covering the cell doors. It didn’t matter. Moments later, the cell doors ripped open and twenty-three demons tore out of confinement into the corridor.

Ivan and Bernice had volunteered to check each containment cell, so they were in the hallway and were the first to die.

The snare drum report of automatic weapon fire filled the air, grenades provided a tympanic percussion beneath the gunfire, but none of it mattered.

Everyone got Jeffried.

Everyone but me. I’m sitting in the control room behind a pane of glass staring into the nearly countless eyes of twenty-three demons and hoping they don’t realize that the control room door doesn’t actually have a lock on it.

Oh, shit.

[Inarticulate screaming]

Jim Denath, P. (Eldritch) E., holds the distinction of being the only youth scout to be dismissed from the national organization for designing an autonomous drone that hunted down and cooked ants with a magnifying glass. He parlayed that (minor) infamy into a scholarship to attend the Polytechnic Institute of Apocalyptic Studies, and subsequently a position at Fimbulvtr Industries, where he is now the only person with a professional engineering license currently being used as the torture plaything of twenty-three demonic fellbeasts.

Jonathan Ficke lives outside of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with his beautiful wife. He graduated from Marquette University with a degree in public relations, which (in a manner of speaking) is another form of speculative storytelling, His work appears in Mad Scientist Journal Spring 2018, Writers of the Future: Vol. 34, and Tales of Ruma. He muses online at jonficke.com and on twitter @jonficke.

Leigh’s professional title is “illustrator,” but that’s just a nice word for “monster-maker,” in this case. More information about them can be found at http://leighlegler.carbonmade.com/.

“Excerpts From the Audio Notes” is © 2019 Jonathan Ficke Art accompanying story is © 2019 Leigh Legler

Fiction: Excerpts From the Audio Notes was originally published on Mad Scientist Journal

[mst3kproject]

812: The Incredibly Strange Creatures who Stopped Living and became Mixed-Up Zombies

Okay, first off, fuck that title.  You know how I write out the full title of Attack of the The Eye Creatures every time I refer to it, out of sheer spite?  I'm going to do the opposite here.  I'm not even going to type out the full acronym. From here on, this movie is known simply as Mixed-Up Zombies, which would be a perfectly good title for a movie made by somebody better at movies than Ray Dennis Steckler.  Apparently the title he originally wanted was even longer, being a riff on the full title of Dr. Strangelove. You can google if you want to know what it was, because I'm not typing that either.

The posters bill MUZ as the First Monster Musical, which is a big fat lie.  I'm pretty sure that to qualify as a musical, a movie has to include more than one song-and-dance number that helps to tell the story, in situations where no sane person would be singing and dancing in real life. Horror of Party Beach (which billed itself as the First Horror Monster Musical) is also not a musical, because its songs have nothing to do with the plot and are all performed by the Del-Aires, who are presumably getting paid for it.  I Accuse my Parents is closer to being a musical, because the songs do express the status of the relationship between Kitty and Jimmy – but it's still not quite there, because Kitty only sings as part of her job.  Mary Poppins is a musical.  Singing in the Rain is a musical.  Fucking Jeeves is a musical.  MUZ is not.

The actual plot of MUZ is somewhat mysterious.  I can tell you that this is the movie where Alex the Chimp's creepy robot double wants us to get our tickets here! and the episode in which Mike and the bots keep making transvestite jokes that really didn't need to be made, but I'm not entirely sure what's actually going on in the story. I guess there are these two carnival performers: Carmelita is an exotic dancer luring men into the clutches of her sister Estrella, who turns them into zombie slaves and sends them out to kill people. Why the two of them do this I have no idea.  Possibly it has something to do with Estrella seeing the deaths in her tarot cards.  If her predictions won't come true on their own, then damn it, she'll make them come true!

This rather vague story is told to us through a character named Jerry, played by writer/director Steckler.  He bills himself as Cash Flagg, which is only slightly less stupid of a stage name than Touch Connors. Jerry can't touch Watney Smith on the Hate-O-Meter but he still scores a solid eight out of ten – he's a rat-faced, lecherous man-child who refuses to work because “life is meant to be enjoyed”.  I imagine this is what Steckler himself would say whenever his parents asked him when he was going to stop making terrible movies and get a real job.  Jerry takes his rich girlfriend Angie to the carnival and then ditches her in order to watch Carmelita's strip show.  I think we're supposed to believe that Carmelita hypnotized him into it but nothing in his prior behaviour suggests that this isn't something he would have done anyway.  Under Estrella's mind control, he murders a couple of dancers and then almost kills Angie when she obnoxiously twirls her umbrella at him.  In the end he is unceremoniously shot by the police, who do that a lot in these movies.

One thing that is unavoidably noticeable in MUZ is that somebody, possibly the costume designer and possibly Steckler himself, has a thing about female body hair.  We never see any actual body hair in the movie (even on the men), but the female dancers wear costumes that almost seem designed to make up for the lack!  Marge the dancer's outfit consists mainly of black mesh with a few opaque patches where something naughty might show, and the bit that covers her crotch is a black inverted triangle that looks much more like pubes than it does lingerie.  I thought this might be my own pervy imagination, but then we see the lead dancer at the girlie show.  She also has a black triangle on her groin, with a feathery top to it that makes it look like her pubes come up past her belly button, plus she's wearing that feathery thing around her shoulders that often looks much like armpit hair.  I don't know what to make of this. It's really weird.

Another thing that draws the attention is how tediously uninspired the nightclub scenes are. These, as Tom Servo observed, make up a significant portion of the movie, but they're just not very interesting to watch.  The comedian has the same repertoire as your divorced uncle at Thanksgiving dinner.  Marge and her partner look like they're at their first ballroom dance class and are doing their best to follow the teacher but have no idea what's going on.  The girlie shows Jerry attend consist mostly of dancers walking in circles or doing very limited steps in place, and singers who just stand there.  It's like we're watching video of a junior high talent show.  It's hard to say who's at fault for this... the direction certainly isn't very interesting, but neither is the lighting or the choreography, and the performers are okay-ish at best.  I think we're just looking at a paucity of talent across all fronts.

The various nightclub acts are irrelevant, anyway.  They're nothing but filler, and the movie uses filler to try to distract us from the fact that we never have any idea why these things are happening.  What is it that Estrella and Carmelita are trying to accomplish through their seduce-and-zombify routine? We don't know, because the two of them never talk to each other.  The sisters ought to have some kind of symbiotic relationship.  Carmelita brings Estrella gullible men to make into zombies, and we'd assume that this must also benefit Carmelita in some way – but how?  Is Estrella eliminating competition by killing other dancers who might rise into Carmelita's starring role?  If so then Marge, who is a drunk on the verge of losing her job anyway, was not the best victim to illustrate that.  If the two of them have some kind of larger plan, like world domination (or at least carnival domination), then we never see any hint of it.

The movie would honestly have been way more interesting if it had actually been about whatever the sisters' evil plan is, but instead, it's about fucking Jerry. I think Jerry's story is supposed to be a tragedy, in that Estrella and Carmelita take this happy young man and completely destroy him, but it's impossible to make that work when Jerry really doesn't start off with anything to lose.  He has no job, no ambition, no hobbies... he seems to live as a leech on the ass of his pompadoured, foreigny friend Harold, and his idea of a good time is watching bargain-rate strippers.  There are probably plenty of real people much like him, but they're not the people the average movie-goer likes or admires. A tragic hero is a man who loses everything, but Jerry never had anything except for his romance with Angela, and he ruined that all by himself.

Jerry is not only a singularly un-likeable character, he's not even any fun to hate.  The rednecks in Giant Spider Invasion were so absolutely awful that it was a good time just watching them scream and get eaten.  Jerry is too bland for that, even at his worst.  We fundamentally do not care what happens to this asshole, and as a result, his story is not at all compelling.

As dull and unfocused as the movie is, I think it might have an intentional theme.  Recall that Jerry doesn't want to get a job – he's a free spirit who wants to do his own thing and enjoy himself.  You occasionally hear self-proclaimed free spirits refer to those of us with real jobs as 'zombies'.  Maybe this is a story about Jerry finally having to bow to capitalism, which ultimately destroys him.  The scene about Jerry's joblessness and the fact that the movie bothers to contrast the semi-squalor in which he lives with Angela's wealthy family is just enough to make me think Steckler could have had some kind of economic point to make.  If so, the metaphor is not sufficiently well-developed to really say anything, and we aren't interested enough in Jerry to care in any event.

A lot of MSTies think this movie visually resembles Manos: the Hands of Fate. The two films do share a lack of decent lighting, a warm late 60's/early 70's pallet, and a general 'somebody's last known photograph' feel.  But while Manos' cinematographer was a guy named Robert Guidry who had never done the job before and never did it again, MUZ was shot by fucking Vilmos Zsigmond. You've never heard of him, but only because nobody knows the names of cinematographers – him doing MUZ is kind of the equivalent of finding out Hans Zimmer wrote the Haunting Torgo Theme.  Fifteen years after MUZ, Zsigmond won an Oscar for cinematography on Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and he went on to be nominated three more times, for The Deer Hunter, The River, and The Black Dahlia.

Ray Dennis Steckler also kept making movies, but his have titles like The Thrill Killers and The Sexorcist. Unsurprisingly, these have been nominated for zero Oscars and are too obscure even for the Razzies.  I'll see if I can find a couple of them for Episodes that Never Were.