#warp pipe canyon

[lore-of-the-mushroom-kingdom]

Piranha Plant Pipeline's Location

So there is a track from Mario Kart Tour known as Piranha Plant Pipeline or Warp Pipe Canyon, given it's theming I believe this is located in Pipe Land from Super Mario Bros. 3.

[honourablejester]

Numenera Setting Notes: Points of Interest Part II

Moving over into the Beyond, the less-than-settled area of the Ninth World. This will have to be multiple posts, because the Beyond is huge and weird and woolly, and there’s a LOT out here. Not going to lie, I do think it’s cooler than the Steadfast? While the Steadfast has some cool weirdnesses in it, it is generally calmer and more medieval-fantasy toned. The Beyond has a lot more batshit SF vibes, and I’m here for them.

This is all literally just from the first half of the Discovery Corebook chapter on the Beyond. It’s HUGE. But. Some locations/setting details from the Beyond in Numenera that make me happy:

Part II: The Beyond Part I (Numenera: Discovery)

The Cloudcrystal Skyfields. Literally the entire area. This is what I want out of vast science fantasy worldbuilding. It’s a sky full of huge crystals floating over a desert formed from the shattered shards of fallen ones. There’s a dune sea pierced by crystal shards. There’s a moving city in there called the Crowd City that’s built/formed of corpses, strange, preserved, possibly petrified corpses, and this whole city crawls around the place, and everyone (sensibly) avoids it. There’s a lake so transparent it’s invisible and the fish seem to be swimming through air. There’s a mountain in the middle which may or may not exist, because some people can find it and others can’t. Uxphon, the main living, inhabited city in the area, built up off the plain in the Black Riage mountains, is built into a twisting complex of massive ceramic prior-world piping that extrudes out into a canyon. I just. If you have a fantasy, high magic, high tech universe, feel free to go off a bit with the landscaping, you know? Have an invisible lake and a vast field of crystals floating in the sky and a corpse city crawling around the place, why not. Go off a bit. Have fun. Make it big and bonkers and just a little bit horrifying. The Cloudcrystal Skyfields are excellent and I adore them.

Mt. Zanlis, in the Black Riage Mountains. Worshipped as a living being, a god, and Aeon Priests say that the heart of the mountain is artificial and run by a reality-warping AI that makes weird weather, teleports people into and off itself randomly, and generally makes life weird in the vicinity. Because everybody loves a living machine-god mountain that makes weird weather, right?

Hidden Naresh, in the Black Riage Mountains. Basically a hidden fungal skid row, it’s a weird writhing creepy bioluminescent fungal city in the mountains whose primary export is psychedelic substances (‘mycos’) and despair. Humans and abhumans and all sorts of others find their home there. The city’s leader has a harem of Nibovian Wives, which appear to be basically genestealers, who take human, ahem, genetic material and transmit it to ultraterrestrial (possibly Lovecraftian) entities who use it to make distinctly nonhuman children. So. Weird creepy drug city full of alien genestealers? I mean, why not.

The Slant Milieu, again in the Black Riage Mountains, or rather just below them. It’s a wide strip of land that is blasted flat by a constant wind off the mountains called the welkerwind. As in, trees grow sideways along the ground instead of up, if they grow at all, sort of blasted flat. People live in burrow towns in a network of prior-age tunnels that honeycomb the area, and most of the wildlife in the area is ferociously wind-adapted. And valuable. There’s a (very dangerous) insect here called a caffa whose iridescent goldgleam wings and golden silk from their cocoons is really valuable, but also really hard to gather, so there’s a whole tense industry around collecting enough of it to trade out to big cities in the Steadfast. There’s also a whole community of once-criminals and their families who were sent here as forced labour to harvest them, and who realised that this was the perfect land to slaughter your guards and vanish into instead. And the only tall things in the area are two prior-age artefacts. The first is the windmoldens, which appear to be hundred-foot-tall ancient black wind turbines, which would probably power quite a lot, but nobody can figure out how to hook up to them. The second is the Susurrus, which looks like a massive junk sculpture, but is actually an environmental musical instrument, which is played by the welkerwind. I honestly love this entire area as well. It’s the concept of katabatic winds writ really large. I love it.

The Ausren Woods, in the Plains of Kataru. I’ll be honest, I just love the shape of this entry. It takes the form of several excerpts of a diary found in the woods, a ten day arc of a visitor admiring these lovely purple trees and their absolutely delicious fruit, and then getting sick, and then getting too sick to move, and then growths coming out of their stomach, and then the growths burrowing into the soil, and crippling them with agony when they try to cut them, and then the diary ends. And then, after all that, there’s this lovely dry note by the Corebook itself at the end: “The Ausren Woods are a large forest of purple trees that grow nowhere else. Do not eat the fruit of these trees.” That’s it. That’s the entry. A quick horror short story, and a dry ‘don’t eat the fruit’ at the end. Excellent.

The Beanstalk, in the Plains of Kataru. Because they wanted to play on one of the class names being ‘Jack’. But. This is why I love Numenera’s playing with POV. To the medieval-era people of the Ninth World, it’s a metallic beanstalk up to a giant’s castle in the sky. To a modern reader of sci-fi, I’m here wondering is that an orbital elevator? It’s a tower of metal and glass that leads up to the ‘stalk’ a strip of a strange material about 10ft wide and a few inches thick, that just extends beyond view into the sky. The whole edifice causes a local gravitational distortion that has five huge boulders hanging in the sky around it. Not for any apparent reason, so it’s possible they’re just a side effect. And, like. That sounds like a gravity-isolated orbital elevator to me? If I was a Nano in its vicinity, my fingers would be itching. There is a thousand-strong town under the rocks outside, pushing any buttons you might happen to find is likely a bad idea, but gosh I wanna push some buttons. The top end of the elevator, if it is an elevator, could be broken and I’ve just zoomed myself up into orbit to die, which would likely be karma given that I might have just killed 1000 people, but … I wanna push the button, Max?

Dessanedi, the Jagged Wastes. Again, as a region, and for the same reason as the Crystal Skyfields. It’s a sheet of splintered glass. The whole area. It’s a desert that got literally glassed, and then carved up by wind or other forces in the aftermath. I just love when fantasy lets its hair out and gives me some alternate landscapes. There’s little beetles in there called Warrow Beetles that eat glass and it’s gently noted that most things therefore can’t eat them. I love it.

The Great Slab, in the Jagged Wastes. Because it’s a jazzed up sci-fi version of the Lost World. The Slab is a vast artificial plateau, whose strange organic synth-metal sides ooze a red-black oil that makes them impossible to climb, and which contains a giant gash on top called the Driftless Valley that’s its own whole little isolated ecosystem that has nearly no contact with the outside world. Nobody’s been up there, because the slab is featureless otherwise, and the sides are impassible. So unless you find a flying machine or ability, you ain’t getting up there. So … anyone want to play Lost World/Dinotopia up there?

Druissi, a town in the Ba-Adenu Forest. It’s ‘built on the visible part of ancient, unknown wreckage that generates a stable, low-level heat year-round’. Which. Concerns me? I know it’s been there for hundreds or thousands of years and it’s been fine, but the combination of ‘wreckage’ and ‘heat’ just has me concerned. Like. I would want measurements over time scales. How stable is stable? Is it stable but increasing? Because, yes, making clever use of ancient machinery to live your life, very cool, but also … wreckage. That’s generating heat. I have concerns.

The Untethered Legion, also in the Ba-Adenu Forest, but towards the swampy, bayou-esque southeastern extremes, where the forest is a morass of red oily mud that dries itself grey and hardens and then liquifies itself in cycles, and births black mutant hounds as it liquifies again. And an army of biomechanical humanoid riders waits to ride them every time, just gathering in the forest, waiting for gods know what. This is one of those ones where I feel like the science fiction perspective makes it worse than the fantasy one. Because the fantasy perspective is just a cursed land birthing demons. The SF one is a vast biofactory manufacturing supersoldiers/supersoldier mounts. I don’t know if it’s just me, but somehow that makes it worse.

I really am vibing with the Beyond, over here. The Steadfast, for all its obelisks and inverted cities and telepathic cliff faces, did feel much more ‘ease the audience used to medieval fantasy into this’ a bit, while the Beyond is taking the gloves off and shaking your sleeves out and going, ‘right, that’s done, now let’s get down to business’. Let’s throw some landscapes in here. Some orbital elevators. Some AI mountains. Am I being unfair? It’s possible I’m being unfair. But I just want to get a bit wild and woolly with my hyperworld-SF-viewed-through-a-fantasy-lens over here, and the Beyond feels like it brings that a lot more than the Steadfast does.

Looking forward to the second half of this chapter!

[dizzydennis]

My ideas for Sonic Riders 4!

Title:

Sonic Riders: Drift Dimension

I have a lot of ideas for a potential Sonic Riders sequel and I hope you can enjoy what I have to say. I am very passionate about the Sonic series and would love to see the Babylon Rogues again. I wrote a lot, but any comments or feedback would be wonderful! Check it out under this cut!

Story:

I would like the story mode to continue to split between Team Sonic and the Babylon Rogues. For the sake of making this cohesive, I will write out the narrative linearly.

Set a few years after King Doc’s tournament, Wave has convinced Jet to allow her to continue to investigate Babylon Garden even more under the promise that it would improve their Extreme Gears. The 3 Babylon Rogues go deep within the ruins of Babylon Garden by using their gravity modules (from Zero Gravity.) Wave is still worried about the black hole that could occur, but her calculations assure her that it won’t be a problem. However, while in the heart of this floating island, the gravity modules float into the rocky ruins and activate a bright light as Babylon Garden powers up.

Tails pilots the Tornado with Sonic, Knuckles, and Amy in tow. He detected the massive energy surge that cause Babylon Garden to light up. It seems like the garden is warping reality around it, but with their courage, they enter into the void.

It seems that Babylon Garden has teleported to another world. With their airship being grounded due to the warp, the Babylon Rogues hop onto their Extreme Gears to explore. Before long, they encounter a massive airship that completely dwarfs their own. Upon being captured, they learn that Jet’s father, Kaze, is the leader of this group known as the Babylon Legion. The Rogues have been reunited with their ancestors and family. Naturally, they’re overjoyed! Especially Jet who has been longing for his father for years.

Shortly after, Sonic and his friends encounter the airship and are reunited with the Babylon Rogues. Their fun meeting soon turns dire as the Babylon Legion surround and arrest Knuckles.

Later, Jet inquires about why they apprehended Knuckles. Kaze explains that years ago when they crash landed on Sonic’s planet, they had encountered a terrible Echidna Clan who were power hungry to conquer others. When the Babylon Legion refused to give their advance technology to the Echidna Clan, they were seen as enemies. When there were murmurs that the Echidna Clan had awakened a god of destruction, the Babylon Legion tried to get reactivate Babylon Garden to allow them to leave the planet.

Instead, Babylon Garden was stricken deep into the planet and the Babylon Legion was warped to parts unknown. Jet was baffled by what he heard, but he trusted his father. Upon meeting with Sonic and the others, they discuss what happened and that there were plenty of holes in Kaze’s story. Jet, upset that others would accuse his father, argues with them. However, there was one point that Storm brings up that cannot be ignored. How were Jet, Wave, and Storm on Sonic’s planet if the Babylon Legion were teleported to this planet?

They learn that when they were younger, Kaze had volunteered the three for an experiment to see if they could return, but in doing so, the 3 Babylon Rogues were stranded on their own with no real memory of what had happened.

The Babylon Rogues have to choose between siding with Team Sonic or the Babylon Legion, but they soon find out that Kaze intends to use his technology to convert Babylon Garden into Mecha Babylon. Having learned from the Echidna Clan, power needs to be met with power. Therefore, Kaze wants to teleport back to Sonic’s planet with Mecha Babylon being the ultimate weapon; a fortified island with weapons and a metal shell.

All the heroes band together to stop Kaze from reaching the inner ruins of Babylon Garden to allow it to teleport back to Sonic’s planet. During the climax, Kaze activates the portal only for Sonic and Jet to work together to knock him off of it. Torn between going with Sonic or staying with Kaze and the Babylon Legion, Jet ultimately decides that he must go back with Sonic. He claims that “The Babylon Legion had their chance,” as Sonic grabs his hand and the two dive into the portal.

Cut back to Sonic’s planet, Babylon Garden continues to float around the planet, perfectly reflecting Angel Island. Here, Knuckles and Storm reflect that the Echidna Clan and the Babylon Legion were a lot more similar than they were different. Wave notes that it isn’t one’s lineage that defines who they are, but what they do to better that lineage for future generations. Jet and Sonic use that as a means to claim that they’re the fastest as they race across Babylon Garden. Kaze’s words echo through Jet’s mind as he overtakes Sonic and the two ride off into the distance.

Stages:

Tundra Peaks / Frigid Avalanche – A snowbound stage high in the mountains that mixes canyons, rocky hillsides, and snow. The former stage features nice, mountain villages while the latter stage takes place with massive avalanches falling around the player.

Future Mall / Shopping Calamity – A futuristic city that leads into a massive shopping mall. Players would weave in and out of stores while making their way to a large building outside. The latter stage would be at night where a certain band of robots might be trying to get away with a robbery and chase.

Tubular Coastline / Hurricane Seaboard – A gorgeous beach that runs along side an advance city. You can choose to ride along the sand or take to the waves to get some boosts by performing tricks on the water. Be careful of the storm coming in the latter stage that alters the stage in a crazy way!

Thrill Park / Cursed Midway – A theme park with roller coasters, log flumes, and plenty of other rides. Be warned though, the haunted house gets a bit intense at night and changes the entire park!

Neon Woodland / Forest Illumination – A forest hidden within a valley that glows with luminous mushrooms and vines that glow as they are touched. This place really comes alive late at night when a rave party is going on!

Babylon Garden / Mecha Babylon – While not a remake of the original Sonic Riders track, this version would start on the outside of Babylon Garden as you go deep within the floating island. The mechanized version of this stage is far more dangerous with lasers and robots about; players would fire themselves across the island via giant turrets. Mecha Babylon would be the final boss fight against Kaze.

Dimension Hops / Nostalgia Trip – This is a bonus track where you hop between dimensional pockets of Metal City, Aquatic Capital, and Dolphin Resort. It’s a celebration of the Sonic Riders series. Nostalgia Trip sends players through Green Hill Zone (of course it’s here), Final Rush, and Sunset Heights. This one celebrates the Sonic series. These two tracks would not share music.

SEGA Heroics / SEGA Darkness – Much like the other SEGA fan service stages in the series, this one instead separates the two stages between the heroes of SEGA’s rich history and the villains. Lots of fun to be had here!

Playable Characters:

Sonic the Hedgehog, Miles Tails Prower, Knuckles the Echidna, Jet the Hawk, Wave the Swallow, Storm the Albatross, Amy Rose, Kaze the Hawk, Shadow the Hedgehog, Rouge the Bat, Cream the Rabbit, Blaze the Cat, Silver the Hedgehog, Vector the Crocodile, Dr. Eggman, NiGHTS, Kazuma Kiryu, Arle Nadja

Gameplay:

The gameplay would avoid the failings of Sonic Free Riders. Motion controls have been pushed since Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity and they’d be mostly dropped here. The game would implement the AIR system, but with the multiple routes with the gravity modules. Due to plot reasons, the gravity modules themselves can’t be used, so this mechanic would just be a movement of the Extreme Gears. Speed, Fly, and Power routes would still be available based on the characters and not the gears... and would hopefully be better balanced. The springs would be taken out as they were so painfully contextual in previous games. One thing from Sonic Free Riders would be certain items to change the course of the races including missiles, ink traps, and a few others. The grab mechanic to reach out to the left or right can be brought over too as it holds a lot of potential. Also, the vibrant visuals from Free Riders should be carried over! Moreover, the boost from the original game would be present. Lastly, the game would feel faster. Drifting, much like Team Sonic Racing would be emphasized more in this game.

Typical features would include the Story, Grand Prix, Battle Mode, Time Trials, Character Profiles, Gear Shop, Gear Gallery, Online Multiplayer, and Options. Let’s have alternate costumes for the characters too! Also, the Grand Prix mode would have character specific endings that would be simplistic, but still a treat and motivation to play through it with each character!

That’s basically it for my ideas. I know it’s just a pipe dream, but I would love for a Sonic Riders game to really get into the old stories and characterizations of the original two games, while adding some heart for the Babylon Rogues. It doesn’t need to reinvent the wheel, but rather just create a fun racing game that focuses on these amazing characters.

[spmcomic]

Theia and Gaia

Cover

Chapter 1: (part 1 | part 2)   Chapter 2: (part 1 | part 2)

Chapter 3: (part 1 | part 2)   Chapter 4: (part 1 | part 2)

The feeling only grew over the next few days. Even the Artificers became agitated with it, hustling along the walkways without stopping to chatter. The older ones snapped at any robots who didn’t move at full speed; the younger ones fumbled with directions and dropped supplies. Lazarus found little time to add to the Leporids’ archive, in forgotten corners of the R.P.C. and near the ventilation boxes on the students’ apartments.

Lazarus spotted Head Merletaph marching along a lower walkway, as it crawled along one such apartment building. The leader shouldered past confused students and spoke in an agitated hiss that the voices couldn’t resolve. The scientists flanking it stopped robots as they passed. Lazarus took a moment to gauge their direction, then it stepped back from the roof and started making its way toward the Robot Processing Center.

“Sentry,” it called, peeking over the sides of the buildings to keep an eye on Head Merletaph.

“I see them,” Sentry answered. “She finally got the safe open.”

“What should we do? Head Merletaph is coming for you,” Lazarus pressed.

But Sentry’s response was delayed, almost lazy. “She can kill me if she wants to. We did what we could.”

The pressure in the air began to grow noticeably, and slowed Lazarus’ legs. The voices snarled together. “The Archive, Sentry, we need you to-”

“There are seven other Sentries you can go to for that.”

Lazarus scrambled up the side of a shingled roof, keeping its eyes trained on Merletaph’s back as it strode toward the R.P.C. below. Even the leader fought against the heavy air as it walked. “Sentry-”

One of the cameras ahead twisted toward Lazarus. “I will eject the disc for you to pick up. Take it to-”

The world lurched with a sickening rumble. Sentry’s voice cut off into static and died.

The buildings around Lazarus split, tossing Artificers off the side of the ravine. But they didn’t fall far. A ripple of shimmering jagged light poured into Underside from around a turn in the canyon, leaving a wall of ash and glass in its wake.

When the building wrenched again, Lazarus tumbled off the roof and bounced off the walkway. It caught the screams of Artificers, cut off as the ash engulfed them and they became part of it. The voices hung, suspended, in a buzzing shock.

Then Lazarus slammed into the roof of the next building down. The incoming wave of light and magic swept it into the air. It attempted to grab the shingles, but the tiles came off with a terrible shriek, leaving exposed wires and flames from within the structure.

The voices cried out, and their body with them, as their toes twisted at odd angles or broke off among the bricks. The body dragged across a splitting pipe with a long, dry hiss, and the distant tingling sensation of its outer armor warping under the heat. Lazarus free-fell until it crashed through a wall farther down. Something ripped within the space and the world became a mess of screaming and light and color. Then all was still.

 Ash hung in the air. Silence blanketed the city. The voices lay, stunned, for what must have been hours, because the sun was long gone by the time they thought to move again. The body twitched.

Twenty-nine voices groaned. A while longer passed before they tried again. They had only slightly more articulation, this time, in the joints. Its headlights flickered on.

Lazarus lay on its back, legs sprawled out, partially buried in debris. It felt the resistance as it flexed its joints in cautious increments. How lucky, it mused distantly, that it had not landed on its thin legs or something more fragile than its back plates. It tried again to move, and again, until it got its legs under it and stood to look around.

There wasn’t much to see. Even with the headlights, Lazarus’ vision could not penetrate the ash and dust and smoke. It crawled on its twisted feet out of the shell of the building it had fallen into, found the ravine wall, and climbed upward. It hoped the wall led upward- something seemed wrong with its sense of direction, and the pressing, gray ash gave it no points of reference to orient itself. It picked a loose rock from the wall and dropped it. The rock fell straight forward, disrupting the ash in thick swirls as it passed. Lazarus turned and climbed in the opposite direction.

After a few minutes, it found another pair of lights, flickering and wavering in the clouded air. Lazarus picked its way over as fast as its damaged legs could carry it. A dazed robot lay in the rubble of another building.

“Can you move?” Lazarus asked. It had no lungs or mouth to choke on the dead air.

“What is… next… assignment?” the robot asked, without looking around. A few voices twisted with sympathy, and that feeling echoed around the space and between the rest, and around the hole where one of them used to be.

Deven, the voices whispered together, but no voice resonated. The hole in the crowd was already fading, the space growing a little smaller to fit its decreased population.

They could do nothing for Deven, but the robot in front of them they could attend to. Lazarus clawed at the stones pinning the other robot down. It worked for some time, while the other robot mumbled about coordinates.

“Stand,” Lazarus offered, when the other’s legs came free. On shaking limbs, the robot stumbled upright.

“Where…? Next? What is…” The other tilted to one side. Lazarus grabbed it before it fell into the ravine.

“We go up to the walkway.” Lazarus’ bags had disappeared in the commotion. The other robot was too big to carry without assistance anyway. But when it pointed upward, the sleeping robot turned and began stepping up the loose bricks and clumps of concrete, one stone at a time. Lazarus followed, pushing the other forward when it threatened to reel off-balance.

Eventually, the rubble flattened out, and Lazarus could just make out the pattern of the walkway beneath. “Where…” The other stood, staring at nothing in particular.

“We wait here.” Lazarus glanced back and forth across the platform. Ash tumbled, loose in the disturbed air. The walkway was miserable for its feet on a good day. Now, ash swept across the empty cracked stones and dusted them in uneven piles. Its twisted knife-toes jabbed painfully into hidden flat surfaces every time it moved.

While it struggled to pace, Lazarus stumbled against a solid object within one of the mounds. When it brushed the ash off the object to get a better look, it found the husk of a dead robot. Its front half was destroyed: an arm blown clean off, and a dent from the shoulder down into the chest, where shards of broken red crystal littered the ground under the open joints. Unsure of what to do with the body, Lazarus shuffled to the other side of the walkway.

It had given up on pacing before another living robot limped into view. One of this robot’s back legs dragged along the ground, twisted and gnarled. “I thought I saw headlights…”

Lazarus straightened. One shard of concrete shattered under its weight and drove its single sharp toe into the stone below with a hard jolt. The voices hissed, but Lazarus had no teeth to pass air through. “Did you see the R.P.C.?” it asked, the strain in the voices masked by their body’s flat monotone.

The other robot glanced over its shoulder, and then upward, but the ash clouded even the next layer up the wall. “I’m not sure where in the city we are. But if we keep making noise, we might draw the attention of someone who came from that way.”

When Lazarus didn’t respond, the other robot rested its weight on its remaining back leg. “What… happened?”

The voices bounced off each other, and Bryagh’s bubbled to the top. “No idea. We should see if the other cities have more information, or if they also suffered an attack. The Artificers obviously can’t stop us from leaving anymore.”

The other voices grumbled, so Bryagh’s growled in return. If I can still walk, then I don’t need repairs yet. The pain is tolerable. Get the situation under control first.

Lazarus turned and staggered along the walkway, sweeping its headlights back and forth across the path. “We see if the bridge is still intact, and check the doors first. Then we find the R.P.C. Last, find survivors and salvage our archives.”

The sleeping robot accepted its orders and trailed along after. The third robot silently followed.

The bridge was easy to find, and somehow still intact, so the trio crossed to the other side of the ravine. They found a half-conscious winged robot tangled in a deformed guard rail. It woke with a startle at the third robot’s touch. But there was not much use in flying through the falling ash, so it hobbled along with their little search party on foot.

They could just see the doors through the falling ash as they approached. As the robots drew closer, the extensive damage became clear. One was shattered outright, the metal scattered down the terrace, barely visible through the clouds. Some doors didn’t lead anywhere. The stone behind the wall was all that remained when the robots tried opening them. Two, however, led into perfect blackness.  

“A-all of the cities…?” One of the robots asked, recoiling from the emptiness. “What does this mean for Karchner?”

The other three robots hung back, reluctant to venture into a darkness that even their headlights could not pierce. The voices reeled. Something boiled over within Lazarus.

“The… the archives!” it cried, clawing at the dulled metal door. It slammed the door shut, and then tried opening it again, only to face that same flat darkness. “Our history!”

The third robot grabbed at Lazarus. “We have to find Sentry. If its Power Core survived… we can get a better look around the city and figure out what to do next.”

The winged robot stepped back toward the bridge. “To the R.P.C., then. I know where it should be, from here.”

 A mound of rocks and boulders lay where the R.P.C. used to be. As the dust settled over the next few days, other robots found the facility, and the little group could begin clearing the debris. They found dozens of dead robots buried in the collapsed building, coated with ash. The surviving robots collected the empty husks of their dead comrades and kept them laid out on the old walkway as they debated what to do with their bodies. It seemed wrong to toss them over the edge, to join so many of the Artificers. But burying them in the stone was hardly feasible. Perhaps, once Lazarus could repair its feet, the robots could ferry these bodies up the cliff and bury them in the softer ash that continued trickling down.

Robots like Eurydice with stronger lifting ability helped pick up the pace. With the shell of the building cleaned out, the growing cluster of survivors could dig into what remained of the tunnels within the ravine wall. The robot that Lazarus had rescued gradually awoke as they worked- it seemed the upset and chaos had helped it shake off the controlling spell. They discovered that it held a more detailed floor plan of the building, and could direct their excavation toward the inner machine where Sentry’s Power Core rested.

Ash drizzled from the sky and allowed only the faintest light to reach the hard white porcelain of the robots’ bodies. The Dimensional Doors faded into view across the chasm, as the ash settled and blanketed the city’s pathways and rubble, smoothing over the damage. No one emerged from the two black portals. After what Lazarus guessed was two weeks, one portal fizzled and disappeared, leaving behind the blank stone wall. The voices attempted to comfort themselves with the idea that at least the empty wall was more natural than the light-consuming emptiness. With no good way to track time or investigate the other cities, the robots had little to do besides keep digging, and waiting, and hoping.

Without breath, or meals, or sleep, or light to mark the passage of time, Lazarus lost track of it completely. Eventually, they dug into the hallways leading to Sentry’s chamber. The room and machinery had been damaged in the initial earthquake- long cracks ran down the metal walls, and the lights had blown out. Two piles of ash that Lazarus refused to consider sat at Sentry’s main display screen. It delicately picked around them as it reached for Sentry’s circuit breaker box and reset as much of the power as it could.

“- Optym, for them to merge…” Sentry’s lights came on and its speaker crackled to life.

But, for once, it trailed off, and had no further comment. Lazarus watched the camera set into its display tower twist and focus, and imagined the other remaining cameras around Underside doing the same. While Sentry oriented itself, Lazarus climbed back out to the walkway and helped the two dozen other robots excavate the repair facility.

It was a full day before Sentry spoke. “I was able to contact our satellite,” it announced over the cracked, loose speakers they had managed to dig out. The working robots paused to acknowledge its presence.

“Hello, Sentry,” Eurydice called, heaving a block of concrete overhead in one arm and launching it to the side. Lazarus turned away from the uncovered elevator shaft to get a better listening angle.

It responded only through the nearest speaker, more privately. “Come to my display screen.”

Lazarus and Eurydice crept down into the exposed innards of the R.P.C. and returned to Sentry’s main console.

Soft static crackled with Sentry’s voice out of the speaker within the console. A few grains of ash spilled out as it spoke. “That feeling in the air… from before I shut off. It’s gone.”

“Yes,” Eurydice replied, picking at the speaker to rub at the ash and dust. “That wave of energy… I think we felt it coming.”

Sentry’s voice came a little clearer. Its camera turned and focused on random points in the room uncertainly. “It must have been the warp pipe,” it muttered. “The Artificers kept pulling from the warp pipe… They can’t have survived. They- they’re gone. And our archives… might also be gone.”

Eurydice clicked its toes and averted its gaze. Lazarus stood up straighter.

“No,” it said. “The other cities… The doors may be damaged, but we could still reach them on foot. I’ll go collect the discs myself, if I have to. You said you found the Artificers’ satellite? So perhaps Optym is intact. Have you heard from any of the other Sentries?”

“You don’t understand.”

Eurydice adjusted its weight carefully, eyes flickering back up to Sentry’s camera with suspicion. “What did you see?” It brushed a layer of dust off Sentry’s display screen, and the surface flickered to life. A grainy, jittering image blinked in front of them.

How the voices longed for their ears to express their terror, for their eyes to express their grief. All Lazarus could do was stand, frozen in place, peering at the image in front of it.

The satellite bore witness to complete chaos. The planet hung in darkness, gray and lifeless, with stormy clouds obscuring the once-lush surface in murky patches. The natural ravines had partially snapped shut, some cities flattened between the closed walls, and new cracks and fractures snaked across its surface. This new surface crumbled and rolled back in giant, frozen waves away from an impact that had deformed the sphere like clay. And, jutting out from the Artificers’ planet, behind a spray of debris and magma that stretched out past its shattered moon to the boundaries of this world, another entire planet.

It was their home. It was Prolagus, dead, melted and half-fused into Douma’s surface.

-

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[pinnithin-writes]

Good Jokes

Chapter 4

Later that day, Tommy did two things to make Gordon’s life a little easier.

Item one: he did end up trapping Benrey under a fire door. It was an accident. Totally. Tommy knew it wasn’t a permanent fix, but it would at least get the entity out of their hair for a few hours while he regenerated a body. In the meantime, they could make their way through the facility much quicker.

Item two: he stopped calling Gordon by his first name.

Dr. Coomer had been firing off a cheerful, “Hello, Gordon!” every few minutes and it was driving the new guy nuts. He was sick to death of his own name. Tommy realized he had subconsciously discarded the word ‘Gordon’ to spare his sanity and now found himself casting around for a replacement.

‘Freeman’ felt blasé. Lazy. Like something Benrey would call him, if he ever bothered to call anyone anything. ‘Dr. Freeman’ made Tommy feel the same way ‘Dr. Coolatta’ did. It was ostentatious. Distinguished. Not at all a fit for Gordon - Tommy had a feeling he knew how to misbehave.

...Mister? Mr. Freeman? That made him sound like a high school history teacher. It was… hilarious, honestly. He couldn’t picture this maniac with a crowbar lecturing at the front of a classroom if he tried. And Gordon didn’t strike Tommy as someone pretentious enough to correct him on the title. He was sharp enough to appreciate the joke. Provided he wasn’t too stressed out to catch it.

The first time he called him that, Gordon accepted it without comment, did a double take, and gave Tommy a questioning, brows-raised look. Mister? He mouthed. But, as predicted, he didn’t correct him. Tommy could not keep the shit-eating grin off his face. The name stuck.

The military showed up, with their artillery and their uniforms and their brief stint of hope, but they were just as bloodthirsty as the aliens, gunning the researchers in Black Mesa down like prey animals. Were these three men he ran with the only people Tommy could trust? No, not even that, the only people who didn’t outright want him dead? It sure was starting to seem like that. He steeled his nerves for further violence as they pushed on.

Reaching the surface was a short-lived victory. Tommy caught a fleeting glimpse of the red canyon walls, the searing blue sky, before government ordered ammunition rained down on them and forced them below ground again like rats. His heart ached. He wanted to taste the sun on his face. Feel the desert sand radiating its latent heat. Following his team into the cold metal belly of Black Mesa once more was probably the hardest thing he’d done that day.

Benrey didn’t stay gone for long, materializing in the form of a skeleton while his flesh was piecing itself together particle by particle in another dimension. He was practically haunting the group, revealing himself only to Gordon and slowly driving him insane. Tommy could see him, as well, but he ignored the entity. If he was this desperate for attention, he would have to try a little harder to gain any from him.

He later got the attention he craved via dozens of slugs of lead. Bubby and Coomer quickly took out the skeleton as soon as it visibly approached them, and Gordon had promptly passed out seconds later. Tommy rested his hands on his waist, surveying the mess and shaking his head. They were too close to the military threat right now to justify resting here.

God, he was bone tired, though. They had been running hard for at least a day now. It was honestly a miracle Gordon hadn’t lost consciousness sooner. He drew in a deep breath, casting a cursory look at his remaining companions.

“Do you think we can get him out of here?” he asked.

Bubby wiped a spatter of blood from his jaw and shrugged. “I’m not carrying him,” he grumbled.

“We could roll him like a barrel,” Dr. Coomer suggested blithely.

As funny as that would be, it was probably best not to give Gordon any more blunt force trauma than he had already taken today. Falling down a staircase because your coworkers pushed you would be a pretty idiotic way to die, especially after everything Gordon had survived already. Tommy removed his lab coat and passed it off to Bubby, who passed it off to Coomer.

After he neatly rolled up his sleeves, picking up Gordon wasn’t hard for Tommy to do. It was just a matter of nudging the rules of weight and mass a little to his advantage. Tommy never broke reality; he just leaned on it occasionally until it gave enough ground for him to do what he wanted. Gordon’s limp head lolled against his chest as he hefted him in his arms. He did his best not to pay attention to that.

“Fine lifting, Tommy!” Dr. Coomer exclaimed.

Tommy nodded in thanks, grateful that the old boxer didn’t get hung up on the details of the implausible. Bubby, however, had a question on his face, studying Tommy carefully as he stood there carrying a man who had fifty pounds on him, at least. But he didn’t ask, so Tommy didn’t answer.

He cast one last look at the pile of Benrey bones on the floor. He’d catch up later.

“Let’s go,” he said.

They pressed on wearily in search of a sheltered place. Tommy carried Gordon like the precious cargo he was, fully appreciating that the other man wasn’t conscious for this. Otherwise he’d surely hear how loudly his heart was pounding against his ribs.

I’ve got you, Tommy thought. You’re safe.

---

A new sense of normalcy elbowed into their lives. The following day, the team worked its way in a wide arc through an unexplored section of Black Mesa, dodging aliens and soldiers alike as they went. It had only taken 24 hours for the reality of fighting for their lives to settle in, and while they were all still pretty haggard from the previous day’s events, everyone seemed to be handling themselves a little better after a night’s rest and some time to process.

Gordon had improved more than anyone. After dealing with the shock of the Resonance Cascade and watching his world turn on its ear, he had concluded that the only way out was through, and he would be the one to get them there. His words were still a rapid-fire tangle of his unfiltered thoughts, but Tommy could see his decisions growing more critical, his actions more confident as they worked their way toward freedom.

Good thing, too. Tommy was beginning to sense a strangeness in the air the deeper they explored Black Mesa. A warping of the space around them, a stretching of the threads of time. Someone, somewhere, had grabbed a towline and yanked, and Tommy could sense it yanking him, too. It felt…bad. It felt wrong.

He tried to explain as much to the team, now that their soundness of mind was relatively more stable than it was yesterday. But it was hard to verbalize the concept of reality shifting like a tectonic plate to people whose top priorities were not getting eaten or shot. “I think time might be expanding and contracting,” was what Tommy said. “I think you might be having a caffeine overdose,” was Gordon’s troubled reply.

Alright. If nobody wanted to believe him, Tommy wasn’t going to waste his energy making them. He trailed behind the group, as was his habit, and quietly did his best to keep his companions alive.

On the upside, with Gordon feeling more normal, Tommy’s jokes were starting to land again. As they uncovered more and more horrifying secrets hidden in the intestines of Black Mesa, Tommy could feel his own sarcasm reaching astronomical levels just to cope.

What the hell were they doing down here? Tommy had been aware of the planar research the facility was conducting, but seriously? A freezer full of human flesh? Ethically questionable cybernetic experiments? Vats of toxic waste, just out there in the open? The absurdity of it all would almost strike him as funny if their circumstances weren’t so dire.

Bubby met it all with grim acceptance and Dr. Coomer seemed wholly oblivious. Only Gordon was reeling with the same amount of consternation that Tommy was experiencing, exchanging glances with him that asked, What the fuck? What the actual fuck?

Dr. Coomer, who was rapidly gaining Tommy’s respect by going toe to toe with their enemies boxing style, kept worrying about his ‘green goop’ allergy anytime they were near the nuclear waste. Tommy honestly wasn’t sure if he was serious or not, and he fought down a snicker whenever it was mentioned. In a way, everyone was allergic to nuclear waste. If you really thought about it.

Gordon eventually raised a concern about their exposure to radiation. Little late there, bud, Tommy wanted to say, but Bubby beat him to the punch with an acidic, “It’s just brain cancer, you can live with that.”

“I don’t thi - hm,” Gordon said.

“I don’t think you can live with that,” Coomer agreed.

Gordon paused, then reconsidered. “I mean, you guys have shown me you - your superhuman potential, so maybe you can,” he said. “Maybe you can. I’m willing to believe… quite about anything right now, so.”

Tommy rolled his eyes as he hopped easily up to the pipeline they had been following. Anything except time being altered, apparently. He tried not to hold it against him. Baby steps. Tommy gazed down at Gordon and jerked his chin for him to follow.

“The cybernetics department was very well funded, Gordon,” Dr. Coomer informed him brightly as he clambered up the pipe.

Well funded? Tommy couldn’t keep the snark out of his voice. “Yeah,” he agreed dryly, “they even gave us these flashlights.”

Gordon, after clearing a gap, turned to give Tommy a puzzled look.

He smirked and indicated his perfectly ordinary flashlight. “They’re Weather Channel brand, you just kinda turn a crank and they go.”

Gordon’s laugh, genuine and sweet, rang through the chamber, and Tommy was surprised at the relief that washed over him when he heard it. If Gordon was feeling well enough to take a joke, they were on the right track. They were doing okay. He smiled and kept moving forward, hope fluttering in his chest.

The nuclear reactor that was actively leaking waste was so mind-numbingly ridiculous, so pointlessly and blatantly dangerous, that Tommy barked out a short “ha!” of a laugh when he rounded the corner. The sheer amount of radiation exposure this facility possessed was unheard of. It was a miracle they didn’t all have massive brain damage. Okay, well. Maybe that was up for debate.

“This place is huge,” Gordon remarked.

“Yup!” Tommy proclaimed, eyeing the acid green sludge with a mystified grin. “And it’s all built to code. The U.S. lets us do this. This is all to regulation.” He raised his arm in a dramatic, sweeping gesture, unable to contain his mirth. “Everything.”

Gordon began chuckling. “I mean, I’m not too worried about the government right now,” he reasoned, before his attention was stolen away by the animals that were swimming in the murk. He popped a few rounds off with his handgun, marveling at the beasts’ ability to survive in such a toxic environment.

Tommy was too pleased with himself to even bother acting like they were a threat. “Those creatures aren’t from the - from the incident,” he continued. “Those were here. That’s also to regulation. You’re allowed… five percent.”

He was barely keeping his tone even and Gordon was doing an amused little exhale through his nose as he tried to hold in his laughter.

“We’ve been breeding them for twenty years to eat radioactive waste,” Dr. Coomer added, eyes twinkling with mischief as he played along.

Tommy had never wanted to high five another person so badly in his life.

Dr. Coomer didn’t even manage to ruin the mood by dying, twice, in rapid succession. He miraculously reappeared only seconds later, when they had all regrouped on a catwalk about three stories above the pit of waste. Tommy arched a quizzical eyebrow at the old man. Coomer simply shrugged. Huh. He sure wasn’t kidding about the cybernetics department being well funded.

Gordon, who was already questioning his own sanity, didn’t even ask about it. Benrey was back, of course. Hovering around the group like the disembodied fuck he was. Tommy let his gaze slide away from him like water anytime he was in his line of sight, but Gordon couldn’t shake the spectre from his mind as it floated only paces behind them. He had been doing a well enough job of pretending the entity wasn’t there until Benrey fired a nine millimeter round at him.

“Okay,” Gordon declared, finally snapping. “There is something fucked up going on.” He cast a nervous eye in the skeleton’s direction.

Bubby and Coomer looked perplexed, while Tommy just folded his arms. He was ignoring Benrey for everyone’s sake - the more attention he got the more powerful he became - but a small part of him was just being petty. Oh, Gordon wanted everyone to believe something unlikely was happening? But nobody took his word for it? Wonder what that felt like.

Gordon kept talking as he pointed at Benrey. “There is an invisible assailant. I want you guys to believe me - I need you guys to believe me.” His tone took on a pleading edge, and it was too much for Tommy to leave him hanging anymore. “There’s - okay - th-”

“I mean, aside from the extra creatures,” Tommy interrupted him, “I’m just seeing normal nuclear power plant stuff, Mr. Freeman. You’re starting to concern me.”

Gordon’s nervous words stuttered into a chuckle. While he turned aside to contain himself, Tommy sliced a chilly stare toward the simpering skull a few yards away. Shoot at him again and see what happens.

Benrey’s returning gaze was icy. But he hung back.

The group assured Gordon that he was not, in fact, losing his mind (“Could just be the radiation,” Bubby offered), and kept going until they reached a door with a label so weathered it was almost unreadable. Gordon, with newfound confidence, gave Tommy a roguish grin as soon as he saw it.

“What does this say?” He asked, even teeth flashing prettily. “This is another one of those fucked up things like the break room. I can't read this.”

Tommy let out a quiet, surprised breath. The fact that Gordon was referencing the moment they met at a time like this made him feel amused and touched in equal measure. Heat rose from his collarbones to his cheeks as he returned his smile. Wait, he had asked him a question, hadn’t he? He squinted at the door and realized he could actually decipher it.

“This says-”

“Prolapse?” Gordon guessed cheekily, and Tommy almost choked on his own laughter.

“Pro Lab Engine Testing,” he managed to gasp out, right before the door opened and a ghoulish creature lunged at them.

Dr. Coomer was on the thing in a blink, knocking it out with a heavy-knuckled blow to the cranium before it could even touch anyone. They all gave the old scientist an impressed look before stepping around the corpse and through the entrance.

“I’ve never been in here,” Tommy commented as he ducked under the doorway. “They only let me into the Scrub Lab.”

Gordon laughed like a bell tower. It rang straight through his heart.

Tommy was never one for drugs, but Gordon Freeman’s sunshine smile made him understand why some people were. Every time he saw it he wanted more, and hearing Gordon’s laughter was quickly becoming addicting.

Awfully inconvenient of Armageddon to happen right when he was getting to know the guy. He should be asking him for his number, not checking to see how many bullets he’d taken. Well, Tommy thought with resolve, all the more reason to get him out of here alive.

Chapter 3 <-----> Chapter 5

[madscientistjournal]

Fiction: Victorian Velociraptor with Violets

An essay by Amada, as provided by Andrew K. Hoe Art by Leigh Legler

The opera troupe could handle Amada being a fake name, but not that I was dying. They could handle my seven-foot velociraptor–Rodelia–and I sneaking away at night, but not that we were breaking into factories, hunting without luck for the serum that could save me.

My life-fibers were unraveling, my mutations accelerating, so I addressed everyone at morning meal.

“Rodes mimics any sound she hears. Perfectly.”

Madam Chien and the rest of the August Court of the Full Autumn Moon round the desert camp stared like they didn’t understand English, though they did. I’d learnt enough Chinese to know. Or maybe they were examining the worsening rash on my cheek. I angled my face away. The troupe’s airship, Full Autumn Moon, floated overhead, a great redwood junk, paneled sails gleaming silver in the morning light.

“Why are you telling us now?” Madam Chien, the soprano, asked. Even in her sleeping robe she was glamorous, ageless, ready for the stage.

I swallowed. She’d been kind to us, and I didn’t like what we were about to do. “We didn’t trust you. But now, we want to contribute more.”

Rodelia scratched the ground, rumbling disapproval. Eh-eh-eh-eh-eh …

Madam Chien looked at Rodelia’s five-fingered hands–not the three-clawed manus other raptors had. “Her ability is … traitwoven?”

Traitwoven, like her capacity to stand erect, handle human tools. Her almost-human intellect.

I nodded.

“Such a barbaric land, America. It’s supposedly illegal, but there are raptor-butlers and raptor-porters wherever we land. Black slaves escape north, only to be dragged back south.”

I growled internally. Rodelia’s traitweavings weren’t done here, in America, but in Europe–in a mountain laboratory-fortress we’d escaped months back, life-fibers warped by one Baron Veer.

Mine, too.

Out of everyone, Madam Chien alone knew we left while the troupe slept, but not that we’d been raiding Veer’s American factories: Veritas’s Elixirs and Tinctures. No serum in last night’s raid, but documents indicated Veer himself would be in Phoenix. We needed to steer the August Court there.

“Rodelia can sing.”

That caused the stir I’d expected. Venerable Manager Shen, whose queue was always perfectly braided down his back, sputtered on his pipe. “She what?”

I nodded for Rodelia to demonstrate, but she hissed. Amada?

It wasn’t actually Amada she’d said, but a raptor-sound meaning me whenever she crooned it. Like she was now.

A-maaa-daaaa. Retreat?

I snarled, raptor-language being as much bestial gesture as vocalization. She flinched, as did everyone else. Because of Veer’s meddling, I understood raptors better than others. My human-ish ears didn’t grasp Rodelia’s full vocal meanings, but I parsed enough. To the troupe, to anybody watching us communicate, it must’ve seemed damned creepy.

Reluctantly, Rodelia opened her jaws …

… and Madam Chien’s ringing voice washed over the arid sands, the tree-tall saguaro, the ground-hugging ocotillo. It was a song from the The Dragon Bride, where the concubine stolen from her native land begged her captor-king for mercy, something Rodelia had heard many times now–

“How dare you!” the real Madam Chien exclaimed.

“She … doesn’t use her tongue?” someone asked. “Her teeth? She just … opens wide?”

“This could make Phoenix,” I said to the ground.

“Phoenix!” Manager Shen murmured. “Could we really book … the Orpheum?”

The troupe’s route coinciding with Veritas‘s towns was why we’d approached them. They hadn’t wanted a raptor-porter, though, nor her exceptionally strong, raptor-talking human. They distrusted traitwoven beasts. Velociraptors especially, them resembling the dragons they so revered. How old are you?, Madam Chien had asked. Sixteen, I’d blurted–my best guess. Madam Chien took Manager Shen aside, and grudgingly, he let us aboard.

She’d gotten me decent clothes. She’d left food out for us last night–raptor-kibble for Rodelia, salted eggs and rice gruel for me. If she gave us away now, I’d just claim Rodelia needed to roam.

Madam Chien kept silent, started fanning herself.

“Imagine a singing raptor,” Manager Shen murmured. “What show offers that?”

Madam Chien’s fan stilled. “You’d give my part away?” Everyone flushed, she being more mother to them than prima donna.

“Never,” I insisted. “Rodes’ll be a … pre-show attraction.”

Rodelia lowered her head, chest rumblings sinking to a low keening.

“We’ll call her the Rapturous Raptor,” Manager Shen decided. “Impressions only.” He turned to me. “Any sound, you say? Birdsong? Firecrackers?”

I nodded, avoiding Madam Chien’s gaze. Skin peeled off my knuckles, trickling blood–I shoved them behind my back. Rodelia would pull us to Phoenix. To Baron Veer. The source of serum, and all my present woes.

~

Without serum, I was getting sicker, and the airship’s floaty motion didn’t help. The Full Autumn Moon was bigger than Europe’s zeppelin-busses. Rodelia was in the parlor, where redwood flooring yielded to windowed viewing-bottoms, staring listlessly at red hills and cacti-dotted mesas passing below.

Her weavings were stable, but she was motion-sick, gloomily watching a mustang herd, tiny with distance, gallop up a dust-tail.

Velociraptors weren’t meant to fly. Even the Baron with all his noxious chemicals hadn’t woven any tolerance for flight into her.

“Veer’s here, Rodes. In Arizona. The one who did this to us.”

Another dust storm below–a raptor pack chasing the mustangs.

Once, velociraptors were turkey-sized, before traitweavers shaped them for work. Other animals had been shaped, too, but raptors were especially amenable to weaving. The practice became outlawed, but crates of woven raptors had already been shipped; some escaped, went wild. Now, Rodelia’s seven-foot cousins haunted these deserts.

“I wouldn’t … make it to Utah.” The files from last night’s raid listed a large Veritas facility there.

Rodelia rumbled. Eh-eh-eh-eh-eh …

I remembered enough of Veer’s laboratory to know I never spoke human words there. I picked up English and Chinese from other humans, but raptor-language was my mother-tongue. I was Veer’s handler. Didn’t talk, but drank serum, unharnessed and harnessed his raptors. Treated wounds. Held them as they keened in my arms. They obeyed my hisses and growls unquestioningly. Veer, though, wove command-words into his test subjects. If he was displeased, he’d utter those phrases; we’d shriek in pain until we complied. I remembered spilling serum because I was sick of it eroding my mind. He’d command-worded me, watched me thrash about before making me lap it off the floor.

But I could talk now. I could use Veer’s command-words.

Could make Rodelia address me.

Did she dream of running in a real raptor pack? Maybe she’d tried telling me, but I couldn’t understand. Maybe I didn’t want to understand, she being all I had.

“We’ll get serum from the Baron,” I promised. “Then–” What came after then? The airship jostled, and my stomach lurched. Finally, Rodelia turned to me, nosed my hair.

Rrrrrrrr-eh-eh-eh-eh-eh.

A-ma-daaa. Retreat …

Grateful, I reached up, grabbed her snout. “It’ll be okay, Rodes.”

I stumbled below-decks. My voice was getting raspier. My eyes darker. I wouldn’t be able to hide this much longer.

It was in the costume room Madam Chien cornered me. “You’ve found what you’ve been looking for all these nights, haven’t you? What’s in Phoenix, Amada?”

I shoved my cracked hands behind my back. “Fame for the troupe. Second chance for Rodes and me.”

Madam Chien sighed. “I was sold into opera, you know. Years I spent, against my will, training in Eastern and Western opera … but I lucked upon traveling countrymen. I didn’t need to get as familiar with an airship’s under-compartments as you and Rodelia. Besides myself, I didn’t steal anything–”

I didn’t twitch, but she nodded. “Even we can tell how sophisticated Rodelia’s weavings are. And … her scars–”

“Look, we just–”

“I don’t care about your past, Amada. I don’t care that you’re stealing my show, so long as my family’s safe. Whatever’s in Phoenix … Oh … your cheek’s bleeding–”

I hissed as she reached for my face. It’d steamed from my clenched teeth, instinctual, vicious. My sharp, sharp teeth.

I snatched a coat off the racks, a wide-brimmed hat, brushed past her.

“I once had a daughter!” she blurted to my back, stopping me short. “This family could be yours … if you’d–Wait!”

I pushed on. The troupe loved Rodelia. She was gentle, loved playing fetch. Me, though. If they ever discovered my true nature …

In the hold, I navigated chests to my loosened board: two vials of serum remaining. Funny, how this almond-scented substance I once despised, I now craved.

I sighed, but it came out, eh-eh-eh-eh-eh-eh-eh-eh-eh …

~

Serum stabilized me, but it fogged my memory. My earliest remembrance was gripping the bars of a cage. Was I an orphan Veer captured? Someone nobody would miss, so he could practice human traitweaving?

Humans were the exact opposite of raptors–they took to weaving easily; human life-fibers rejected it. Thus, human traitweaving was forbidden.

The Baron must’ve been some genius to manage me: my ability with languages, how I’d learned reading so quickly, my raptor-strength–Veer meant more for me than raptor-handling. The more my mutations accelerated, the more I discovered.

But I didn’t want to see what other scaly presents he’d woven under my skin.

~

First show we tried, Rodelia clawed the sand, a foot from the curtain that might as well have been a canyon the way she’d dug in.

I shoved, but even my traitwoven strength couldn’t budge her. “Come … on … Rodes!”

Retreat!, she hissed. Retreat!

Beyond the curtain, Manager Shen stalled the audience. They’d heard Rodelia’s roars, though, were looking nervously our way.

Manager Shen’s nephew, Ah-Shen, eyed Rodelia’s sickle-claws. “Stage fright.”

“Are you kidding me?” I growled, shoving off Rodelia.

“I’ve been raised by an opera-troupe, Amada.”

I wouldn’t use command-words. I wouldn’t. But if we failed here, we lost everything. I bolted towards the airship floating above the redrock behind us.

“Um, Amada?” Ah-Shen yelled.

“Watch her!” I yelled back.

There was something else I’d been keeping under my loosened board besides serum.

When I returned, Ah-Shen was standing stock-still. Rodelia’s eyes rolled; she flexed human fingers–like gripping that battleax Veer made her wield for her duels.

In those scarred, lab-woven hands, I laid a doll. It was doe-eyed, hair in ringlets, lavender dress dotted with tiny purple flowers. Rodelia froze.

I flushed. “Her name’s … Victoria–”

We’d passed a general store weeks ago. Rodelia stopped before the window, looming over this doll, raptor-eyes gone liquid in a way I’d never seen before. The way she purred at that glass brought me back with some dollars Manager Shen paid me.

I’d been hedging, figuring how to give it to her–but now Rodelia cradled Victoria. Raptor eyes couldn’t cry, but …

Eh-eh-eh-eh-eh-eh-eh-eh …

She clutched Victoria onstage, opened wide, and Madam Chien’s voice awed the audience.

Ah-Shen and everyone backstage crowded the curtains, but I stumbled off. My skin burned. Whatever Veer intended, I didn’t think my life-fibers were meant to hold a raptor.

From the stage, cheering. Applause.

I cried–my tears were black. What would happen to Rodelia? What of that creature the Baron stole, who was a girl before his experiments?

That day forward, Rodelia carried Victoria everywhere, slept with it cradled close.

~

The Rapturous Raptor was a roaring success.

Manager Shen swaggered onstage, Rodelia following. Someone yelled Spanish that she mimicked perfectly. Chinese prospectors shouted in some dialect, neither Cantonese nor Mandarin. She reflected it back.

Rodelia had to really concentrate for human voices. It was why we couldn’t communicate that way.

Despite being outlawed, human-handed raptors hauled rocks here. In hotels, raptor-bellhops stood ramrod straight. But I’d never heard anyone wanting a raptor who duplicated sound. Maybe Veer wanted raptor-spies, as well as seven-foot axe-wielding soldiers.

He never called her Rodelia. I called her Rodes, but she picked Rodelia. After hearing a child being called Rodelia, she’d started making uk-uk-uk-uk-uk noises, rocking her tail.

Veer called me something else, too, but I didn’t care to remember.

Rodelia’s raptor-name for me … that never changed. That, I remember clearly.

Lessened serum meant my memories were unclouding. If I was sixteenish, how old was Rodelia? An adult in raptor reckoning? If I concentrated, maybe I could …

Thunderous applause startled me back to present.

Rodelia tromped backstage, grabbed Victoria while Madam Chien and other performers passed for their show. Chien looked to me, but I ignored her.

After they exited, Rodelia snarled, using my voice: “Utah.”

I shoved up the sleeve of the coat I wore everywhere, uncovered the beetle-hide puncturing my skin. Not healthy raptor scales, but black, chitin-hard growth. It was worse round my spine. I knew she smelled the fever coursing through me.

“I’ve been taking serum, small sips, but that only affects the surface. My body’s rejecting it, Rodes.”

Onstage, Madam Chien sang the Dragon Bride’s sorrows, being captured from her faraway land, forced to marry a ruthless king. Offstage, Rodelia keened her own sad song.

Amada …

“He needs to pay, Rodes. He–raaaaaaaaa-eh-eh-eh-eh-eh-eh …”

~

By the time we reached Yuma, we were making triple-earnings. The question was asked: could Rodelia’s performance be expanded?

“How about a doctor, Miss Amada?” Manager Shen asked gently. “It would be no trouble for us.”

I hissed, and he looked away.

Madam Chien was oddly silent. “Let them try,” she murmured. Everyone cheered.

Mei-Li the seamstress started a dress. Rodelia had to stand straight for various fabrics Mei-Li threw over her. Rodelia rumbled darkly; Mei-Li paled. I pointed her to Victoria sitting on a chair. The seamstress concocted a lavender affair with violets lining the bodice, a silver wig with purple flowerets like Victoria’s–these Rodelia accepted.

Gum-Loong the painter started painting the flower-set wig; the lavender dress; Rodelia’s regal stance; human hands–but just half her face, jaws open in mid-vocalization.

“I’ll do her eyes last,” he explained. “Something’s missing, though. With her hands.”

I studied the painting. He was right, but I couldn’t place it.

At Flagstaff, Rodelia strode onstage in dress and wig, gobsmacking everyone. But they cheered when she opened her jaws and released the “Four Part Song.” She hunkered offstage, rumbling disapproval. Soon as the dress came off, she cracked her spine, assumed her natural raptor’s crouch.

At Flagstaff, Rodelia strode onstage in dress and wig, gobsmacking everyone.

Manager Shen returned from town with a fancy-looking invitation. “The Orpheum in Phoenix has renovated–they want us to be their inaugural performance!” He squinted at the print. “A baron has requested us! Baron … Vvv-ver–”

“Veer,” I said.

Rodelia growled low.

“You’ve heard of him?” Manager Shen asked.

Every day, my memories sharpened. I remembered Veer watching his sword-wielding raptors duel, scribbling in that notebook he kept in his waistcoat pocket. “Oh, yes. Baron Veer loves a good show.”

~

We remained in Flagstaff to prepare The Dragon Bride–with Madam Chien and Rodelia.

Townspeople gathered amongst the bracken and cacti, watching us rehearse the part where the foreign queen, about to be executed by her captor-king, revealed her true form–the dragon–and, against her kind’s peaceful nature, stormed the court.

When Madam Chien had played the part alone, she’d signified this transformation with a mask, but today Rodelia switched places with her, charging onstage in her lavender dress, her flashing silver hair. She shrieked, shredded her dress. The crowd hooted.

While they applauded, Rodelia stalked to me.

RRRRRRRRRAAaaaaa! Leave Baron!

I removed my hat, bared my fangs. I’d seen my reflection to know I didn’t have eye-whites anymore, just sheens of darkness. “We escaped, but he’s … still … hurting … me.”

Rodelia nuzzled my forehead. Amada. He force. Now we choose.

Because of my decay, I understood her better now than ever before.

But it was too late. I pointed to the suited men among the still clapping crowd. Veer’s men. From this distance, everyone must’ve thought we were chatting about hairstyles. “He knows we’re with the August Court. We run, he’ll attack them.”

Rodelia roared, RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

She streaked across the sand, vanishing through some redrock. In the sudden quiet, I waved, replaced my hat. “BATHROOM BREAK!”

The crowd laughed.

Rodelia would return. She was just shocked; her raptor’s mind couldn’t conceive how human plots worked. But I’d explained it to her. We’d announced ourselves with the Rapturous Raptor. Now that Veer knew we were in Arizona, his associates would ensure we headed to the Orpheum. If we didn’t, they’d slaughter those she’d come to love.

~

I slept far from camp now. The turning worsened at night. Drifting between waking and sleeping, I imagined walking the laboratory’s corridors again–Veer made his subjects duel in booby-trapped mazes–and CLACK–I smelled serum. I ran towards light spilling from an opened door, but through that door I saw … me … human me … in a violet-set dress and silver ringlets, staring back.

I reached out–with no hand, but a scaly, three-clawed raptor’s manus–an old nightmare, something I dreamed often–

Behind me, this sad, sad moaning–UHHHHHHHHHH …

It was me—I was moaning–I was sad–

I jolted awake to Rodelia cradling me. I’d been sipping serum to survive, letting it addle my memories even as they cleared. I’d one vial left–for Phoenix. Rodelia crooned, eh-eh-eh-eh-eh-eh-eh-eh, raptor-eyes sad. She mewled her raptor-name for me, and as I drifted, I thought I heard in her calling something of wide vistas and the running pack, sun and sky.

Amada … Amada choose retreat …

My clawed hands clenched.

Never.

He had to pay.

~

From Full Autumn Moon‘s view amongst the clouds, Phoenix looked alabaster, enormous factories puffing smoke like carnival fairy floss. Atmospheric balloons floated over flagstone plazas, silver-skinned steam-cars and trains. A rose-winged dirigible bearing laughing passengers passed us, raptors shoveling coal in the engine compartment. We descended below Phoenix’s skyline, approaching a columned building and its landing square.

“The Orpheum,” Manager Shen murmured. “Newly renovated. You’ve recovered just in time, Amada!”

I wore a cream-colored dress Mei-Li made me. My skin was clear, my irises humanly brown again. But the raptor within clawed away. My whole body felt clenched.

I smiled for Manager Shen.

The airship didn’t anchor this time, but landed on the flagstones.

From a ramp, Rodelia descended in a new dress, alongside Madam Chien and everyone else. Rodelia’s sickle-claws click-click-clicked on the flagstones. Behind us, Ah-Shen and other stagehands bore props. I’d made Rodelia leave Victoria, hardening myself to her whines. Her hands twitched; she turned, sniffed, sniffed again, the picture of nervousness in a raptor.

“Wait!”

Queue bouncing, Gum-Loong the painter ran up to hand Rodelia … a lavender fan. The something that was missing. Rodelia flipped it open with dexterous fingers.

At the square’s roped-off edge, men and women in opulent dress applauded. The Baron was nowhere in sight, but he was here. Long as the crowd was around, he’d be careful.

Orpheum staff in crimson jackets ushered us inside. Plush seat-rows unfolded from the stage like layered rose petals, everything reeking of new wood, fresh varnish. They’d spared no expense. Madam Chien smiled, but didn’t look impressed.

I caught Rodelia eyeing me sadly. Since I’d downed my last vial, a curtain dropped between us. My ears had regressed; I couldn’t parse her raptor-nuance so well.

“Rodes. Look.” Reaching behind some boxes, I brought out Victoria. She purred in surprise. I couldn’t keep it away after all. “I’ll handle the Baron. You don’t have to do anything.”

She nuzzled her doll, not hearing me. Her home aboard Full Autumn Moon was assured. They were her family now, would care for her better than I ever could. She’d be safe, once I took care of Veer.

Yesterday, I’d pulled Ah-Shen aside. “In case I’m … busy … you’ll take care of her? See she has Victoria? That she gets to hunt off-ship?”

He’d cocked his head. “Of course. Is everything all right?”

“Everything’s perfect,” I’d replied. “At long last, we’re playing in Phoenix tomorrow.”

~

Baron Veer entered with the audience, surrounded by suited men. He didn’t see me, but, oh, I saw him from the rafters I’d climbed onto. I hissed. Black jacket, pasty face, a big man I could easily shred. He kept glancing to the stage, hungry for his escaped subjects–the ones he didn’t euthanize.

The last of the serum was fading fast. I was remembering the night he gave that order. He’d used his command-words, made me kill my raptors. My raptors! They watched me through their muzzles, not understanding what I was injecting them with. Through tears, I watched their eyes flutter.

There I was, one raptor left, holding that huge needle before Rodelia. She always obeyed me. Always. She … said something … something that broke the spell … my name … my raptor-name …

We escaped that night.

The stage lights dimmed, reminding me of my mission.

I gripped the beam. Rrrrrrrrrrrrr-eh-eh-eh-eh-eh-eh-eh …

All through the audience hushing, the first strains of song, the opening battle scene, I stared at Veer, feeling my body sear away any last dregs of serum. Weeks of turning reasserted themselves.

He squirmed, impatient for Rodelia’s appearance. He wasn’t into opera, didn’t know the story. If he uttered his command-words, I’d freeze, and he was fast with them. I needed to wait until he was completely absorbed. I needed to wait until Rodelia’s entrance.

Intermission, lemonade in sparkling glasses, chatter. Someone announcing the Veritas-sponsored renovations to gentle applause.

Veer renovated the Orpheum?

But the curtains rose again; Madam Chien, as foreign concubine, got dragged out. The king ordered her execution. She ran backstage and Rodelia strode forth–the Dragon Bride. Everyone gasped as Rodelia sang her rage and sorrow, ready for the slaughter. Below me, Baron Veer leaned forward …

He wasn’t looking at her. His head darted round … looking … for me?

His human experiment? The girl who’d lapped serum off the floor, while he took notes? Not just once. I’d been refusing serum for weeks, so he’d made an experiment of it.

Rodelia’s voice crescendoed, lifting Veer’s eyes upward. His eyes widened. With my raptor-hearing, I heard him whisper. “Subject Camille-Zero.”

I leaped down, claws extended, dress billowing like bat wings.

RRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAA!

Rodelia’s soprano voice changed into a raptor’s call. In that split-second of mid-descent, I finally understood Rodelia–really understood her. She sung the song of the pack, hideous to human hearing, but to me … it was about sunsets and sunrises, cool night, hard sand under sickle-claws, tail held taut like a sail, guiding the sprint. It was my name, my true raptor-name she’d been calling me all along.

He forced us. Now we choose.

Do not kill for him, Mother. Not anymore.

I landed amongst screams, audience members leaping up. Onstage, Madam Chien and the others gaped.

Veer was within reach, a meat-bag ready for shearing … but … Mother … Why’d she … ? All this time, it wasn’t Amada she’d been saying …

“Camille-16-alpha–HOLD!”

I froze, collapsed onto one knee. Camille. That was my designation.

“Release the Scyllas!” Veer yelled. “Collect Camille-Zero!”

His men rose, pulling syringes from their jackets.

CLACK.

Somewhere in the Orpheum, a door had opened. There was hissing, the scent of cloying gas … and clanking–metal grating against metal. Something heavy, coming our way.

Veer made his subjects duel in booby-trapped mazes.

Rodelia shredded her dress, vaulted from the stage.

“Viktra-16-alpha–HOLD!” Veer commanded imperiously. Rodelia squalled in mid-leap, crashed onto the carpet. Veer’s men surrounded her quivering form. Retreat, Mother!

“Kill the Viktra!” Veer ordered. “Contain Camille-Zero!”

I remembered.

The Camilles were first, for infiltration. Their weavings were extensive; all died, except one. The Viktras were for combat. Was there a Scylla series, though? I roared, reptilian scales bursting through my cheeks.

People at the edges of the seat-rows gasped.

“My god … what is she?”

“She’s not human!”

They were right. I was no human turned raptor … but a raptor woven to look human.

The Baron was going to kill my daughter. A Viktra-clone, but my daughter nonetheless. Sprawled on the ground, Veer’s men mounting her, Rodelia’s wide eyes found mine. She opened wide, repeating what she’d said that night we’d escaped, the first part in Veer’s voice, the last in raptor: “Camille-16-alpha–free yourself, Mother!”

Lapping serum off the floor, for weeks, had lessened the dosage–I’d understood her that night.

And, as happened that night, I obeyed. I knocked my attackers back, leapt to Rodelia. Speaking was hard; I needed to concentrate: “Vvvvviktra-16-a-alphaaa–ssssssSTAND!”

Forced to comply, Rodelia righted herself, tossing off men, just as two saurian beasts lumbered into the hall. Raptors taller than Rodelia, in breastplates and helms, raptor-sized rifles in human hands, reeking of acrid rot and almond-scented serum.

People flooded the theater’s far sides as they bayed, “UUUUUHHHHHHHHHHHHH …”

They were blind, eyes milky white. Their skin, ulcerous, wet. The gas–some serum-vapor–they were unstable, shambling forth unsteadily.

“Scyllas!” the Baron yelled. “Attack!”

Rodelia and I engaged. I landed before Veer, claws held high. Veer’s smug expression faded–he looked for his enforcers, but they were running–finally! He would pay!

A Scylla rammed its rifle stock into Rodelia’s jaw, crumpling her. A bayonet extruded from the other’s barrel.

I could end Veer so easily! But Rodelia … the Scylla raised its bayonet … Rodelia’s words, Now we choose—

Advance, or retreat? Utah, or Phoenix? Serum, or Veer? Veer … or … ? Kill, or … ?

Like the Dragon Bride, I poured my fury into a single call: STOP! The Scyllas froze, white eyes flicking to me.

“Camille-16-alpha!” Veer yelled, “TWO STEPS BACK!” My feet moved, one, two. But I dropped claws of my own volition.

Children, I begged the Scyllas. Don’t kill for him! Their armored heads turned to me, rifles lowering.

The Baron was talking, saying it was over, the Scyllas were deaf to all but his voice, a new traitweaving after my escape–and I didn’t care. I’d listened enough to him, when I should’ve been listening to Rodelia, my clone-daughter. These Scyllas were my daughters, too.

Children!, I pleaded over his words. I understand now. I thought I had to kill him. That killing was the only way for him. For me. I was wrong. You can choose—

Veer stamped his foot. “Camille-Zero, you will listen! Scylla-16-alpha–COLLECT CAMILLE-ZER–”

“Scylla-16-alpha–TURNABOUT!”

Veer blinked. He hadn’t spoken, but his voice …

Rodelia was standing now, jaws open. She’d heard that order many times. The Scyllas faced Veer.

“That’s not me, you fools! Scylla-16-alpha–BELAY PREVIOUS ORDER!”

The Scyllas wickered, confused.

“Scylla-16-alpha,” Rodelia commanded. “ATTACK!”

Despite their blindness, they leveled rifles with alarming accuracy. People surged for the archways, no longer caring how close to the Scyllas they got. The Baron turned, but I grabbed him, plunged claws into his midsection–he screamed. I yanked out his notebook, years of scribbled notes.

His work disintegrated in my fist, pages spilling instead of blood. Fabric tore as he broke away. The Scyllas stalked after him.

Wait! I called, Don’t follow. Please! They ignored me, clanking through the archway he’d disappeared through.

Beyond, I heard Veer shouting, “Help! Velociraptors in the theater–some monster in a dress!” There was gunfire, the Scyllas’ sad moaning.

Rodelia nudged me. Mother?

I didn’t have teeth anymore. Fangs. I had fangs. A tongue that struggled forming human sounds. I couldn’t protect her. Not without my human words. It hurt to breathe. Twice, she’d saved me. I had to save her.

“Vvvvviktra-s-si-sixteeeeeeen-alphaaaa,” I managed. Rodelia cocked her head, confused.

The rest, I said in raptor: Run. Live. Don’t follow me.

“AAAAAAAAA-RAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!”

She thrashed, shook her head wildly in denial. She moved towards me, but I raked her forearm, drawing blood. She screamed, turned, and was gone. It hurt. Like something ripped from me, vanished forever. I crouched by the stage, claw-hand brushing something:

Not Victoria … the fan. Still carrying her scent.

“Come, Amada.” I smelled Madam Chien. She pulled my arm over her shoulder, dragged me along until we crashed into the screaming night.

~

She took me to some empty house. The August Court wouldn’t leave Phoenix for a while. I wanted to apologize, but I couldn’t talk anymore.

“You poor child,” Madam Chien said, sounding far away. Her words blurred. “Veritas … found Veer’s notebook … He was perfecting the serum off you … It would’ve allowed monstrous weavings–”

I was losing my human ears.

My ability to tell time, too. She brought meat that I turned from.

Sunlight burned me. I crawled in a ragged robe, smeared with melted skin. Madam Chien lit candles I cowered from.

But the flickering glow struck something my ruined eyes remembered. I found my feet. Click-drag, click-drag, click-click. Something rectangular. What was the word … door. In it, a woman in a violet-set dress. Her face wasn’t finished.

“Hello, Amada.” I flinched; it was Gum-Loong. The painter.

“The investigators want an exhibit,” Madam Chien said from behind me. “An illustration of her … augmentations. We never took a daguerreotype of her–”

Eh-eh-eh-eh-eh-eh-eh-eh … They weren’t bothered by the sounds I made. I touched a claw to the frame.

I reached out–with no hand, but a scaly, three-clawed raptor’s manus–an old nightmare, something I dreamed often–

It was me–my best part. Rodelia, who loved a doll named Victoria. How long was I in Veer’s laboratory, shaped by his chemicals?

The Camilles were first. Their weavings were extensive; all died, except one.

Madam Chien held out a familiar-looking dress, sewn anew, absent of her scent. Madam Chien helped me into it. Gum-Loong prepared his brushes, but I made a sound.

“Here.” Madam Chien pushed the fan into my claws. “We couldn’t find Victoria.”

It took several sessions, what with my weakness. Each time they left the easel, I crawled to the meat they’d brought, and fed.

How long did I writhe on that floor, feeding, shivering?

After each painting session, the image evolved. She was singing. Calling me forth. My raptor-hearing had finally come. Songs of sunlight. Desert sand. Running with the pack. I tossed my robe. Tail raised, I click-click-clicked outside.

So many raptor scents in the night. Enslaved in mines, in hotels, locked in pens. I had many children once. I would have many children again.

But first, my daughter.

I called into the desert, to announce my coming.

RRRRRRRRR–AAAAAAAAAA–EH-EH-EH-EH-EH-EH-EH …

Amada (last name unknown) is currently at large in Arizona. She is wanted by the authorities of Phoenix for the destruction of the Orpheum Opera House, for questioning regarding the now defunct Veritas Elixirs and Tinctures, for the trial of Baron Helmut Veer concerning illegal experiments. Be forewarned, she is 5 feet 2 inches, sixteen years, brown-eyed, and of slight build, but possesses strength and agility most uncanny. She was a raptor-handler for an opera troupe. She speaks and reads many languages, is familiar with airships, and converses with raptors. $500 reward–yield her up.

Andrew K. Hoe is an associate professor of English and speculative fiction author based in Southern California. He is also an assistant editor and narrator for Cast of Wonders. Though he is excited to appear in Mad Scientist Journal, he is actually not a mad scientist–but insists that nobody can be perfect.

Twitter: @andrewk_hoe

Web: andrewkhoe.wordpress.com

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/.

“Victorian Velociraptor with Violets” is © 2019 Andrew K. Hoe Art accompanying story is © 2019 Leigh Legler

Fiction: Victorian Velociraptor with Violets was originally published on Mad Scientist Journal

[drystarrestorationaz]

Dry Star Restoration Celebrates 10 Years of Providing Water Damage Repairs in Phoenix

Mesa, Arizona -

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from Press Releases https://www.pressadvantage.com/story/52290-dry-star-restoration-celebrates-10-years-of-providing-water-damage-repairs-in-phoenix

[emordnilap-fr]

Understanding

You choose your own family. 

Thick clouds covered the sky, preventing the sun from reaching the great crags of Greatwyrm’s Breach. Flat-topped spires dotted the canyons, some large enough to house an imperial, with others the diameter of a pearlcatcher. 

One such spire, just large enough for three, perhaps four dragons to perch on, stood a fair distance away from the bustling cave and bridge network of the clan. A lone skydancer sat with his front paws brushing the spire’s edge, the strong winds of the approaching storm buffeting his fur. He couldn’t hear the dragons, the wind and distance too great, and he most certainly couldn’t see them. Even if he were sighted, the spire’s height and distance would show the others as mere specks to him.

He sat alone for some time, allowing his mind to calm. This spire had quickly become a meditating area of sorts for him, and days like this - thick with wind, cool drafts abundant, rain on the tongue, a distant rolling thunder - always felt more calm than those warm, still, sunny days. His body became one with the stone, his thoughts carried away by the wind. 

Suddenly, he sensed something. Or, well, someone. Pulled from his trance, he flicked his crest in the dragon’s direction. He listened to the dragon alight behind him, their claws quickly tapping the stone as they walked to sit beside him. The two sat in silence for several minutes, until the skydancer began to grow annoyed at the other dragon’s presence. 

He opened his mouth to mutter a “Who is it?”, but was cut off when the other dragon sighed and said, “Delta.”

There was no mistaking that accent. Delta hmph’d internally, recognising Flechte’s voice. He didn’t even turn to acknowledge the coatl as he said, “What do you want.”

“Sunset was worried for you, she wanted to know if you were alright.”

Delta hissed quietly. Of course that’d be why Flechte came here. “I’m fine. She should stop acting like she’s my mother. She’s not, and she never will be.”

“She is-”

“She isn’t, she never was.”

“She is, whether you want her to be or not.” 

“I don’t, so she should stop treating me like her son.”

Flechte said nothing, and the two dragons sat in tense silence for a moment. Delta heard him sigh and shuffle, before he quietly said, “She does care for you... She hates what she did, she just wants to make it up to you.”

Delta bared his teeth in a snarl, swinging his head towards Flechte. “I don’t care! She did horrible things to me, to the clan, to you! She can never make it up to me! I can’t forget what she’s done, and she doesn’t deserve my forgiveness.”

“You know it was not really her who did it all, the Shade does terrible things to a dragon.”

“I know! I had the Shade in me for years! But I could keep it from taking over, I actually tried! She did nothing! She let it use her, she let herself do all those horrible things!” Delta seemed to calm somewhat, settling down to face Flechte’s direction, though the fur on his back and shoulders was spiked. “I don’t understand why you even went back to her. She imprisoned you. She betrayed you. She had me. I know you’re a good dragon. Why would someone like you stay with her.”

Flechte didn’t respond. Delta could feel a sort of sadness emanating from him, and heard him mutter, “Not all dragons can keep it at bay like those born with it...” Before Delta could snap back a reply, Flechte said, louder, “Are you an empath? Like Sunset?”

Delta stuttered over himself, taken aback by the unexpected question. He shifted his weight back and forth, hesitating. “...no? At least, I don’t think so. Why is this important?”

“Are you sure? Can you see what I am thinking, feeling right now?”

“No, I can’t. I never have been. Why are you so curious?”

He heard Flechte sigh and shuffle slightly; it sounded like the coatl had moved closer. Delta flinched when he suddenly felt two gentle paws holding either side of his face, though he didn’t try to flee. Flechte’s voice sounded just louder, right in front of his face. “Well... It would not hurt to find out. I... let me show you why I still love her.”

Delta opened his mouth to question Flechte, before he felt something soft press against his head. He felt his forehead gem grow warm as Flechte lay his head on his own. The perpetual darkness his true eyes saw shifted. A faint dizziness overtook him as emotions that weren’t his own suddenly flowed into him, and-

He could see. True sight, not warped like the runes he’d been forced to use through his life. Colors, light, shadow, it was overwhelming, but he couldn’t look away. It was just... so beautiful.

The swirling colors around him began to take shape, memories and emotions solidly forming in his mind.

A deep feeling of friendship filled his chest. He glanced down at his pale green paws before looking up at the tiny dragon before him. His best friend, Sunset, barely larger than a year-old hatchling despite being a few years older, smiled back at him. They exchanged words, though now they were muffled, as though underwater. A quick laugh from Sunset, and the two jumped together and played and tussled. Eventually, the little skydancer tired, and he curled himself up around her as she fell asleep. Everything began to dissolve, and new images and emotions took their place.

Hatred. Fear. He saw his own bloodied paws, before the snarling face of another coatl snapped at him. It missed, and he reached out-

It all shifted again, the memory hastily falling apart. 

Intense anger and fear still filled him, though it was of a different sort. A pressure on his chest choked him, and he stared up into the eyes of a massive guardian snarling into his face. A voice piped up, taking the guardian’s attention. He turned his eyes to the sound to see Sunset, just larger than she had been. She pleaded with the guardian, until eventually the larger dragons released him. He gasped for breath with tears in his eyes, chest stinging from where the guardian’s claws had punctured the skin. While fear and hate towards the guardian still pulsed through him, an overwhelming thankfulness for Sunset drowned out everything as the memory again fell apart.

Relief. Blood spattered the ground, and his body stung all over, but in front of him, a somewhat older Sunset gazed up at him. She was terrified, but unharmed. He stepped forward and leaned his head down, touching his muzzle to hers.

Protectiveness. The night was dark, a moonless, smog-filled sky above them. Despite the terrible smell of the land, he was calm, his body carefully curled around a small bundle of fire-colored fur and feathers. Another emotion welled up in him: love.

A whirlwind of all kinds of emotions, pieces of the same memory flashing all at once. Surprise, quickly followed by fear, then pure anger and hate and fierce protectiveness. The warmth of blood, his claws and teeth tearing through skin as he guarded the young skydancer he’d shoved in a bush. More fear took hold, the guardian from all those years ago standing over him. Fire, coming from him, the guardian dead. Confusion, voices of enemies... Awe, as Sunset stood over the guardian and ordered the enemies home; she was their leader, if only for a moment. Relief, and most of all, love, as he hugged her afterwards, surrounded by friends with tears flowing down his cheeks.

More protectiveness, but now, a deep, crippling sadness. Stone underfoot, Sunset in front of him, crying. Painful urging, the feeling of regret before something had been done. He hugged her, the two in tears. Eventually, they parted, and flew their separate ways.

Hope. Surprise. The love of being reunited with someone long gone. He rushed to hug a much older, larger Sunset, the two holding each other with happy tears welling in their eyes. It may have been dark and shadowed, but her fur still shone as brightly as any fire did.

Flashes of more memories, all filled with love. Hugs, glimpses of travel, soft words, the sight of their children. Pride in Sunset as she took the reigns of the clan.

Sadness, the inside of the forge. Betrayal, anger, sadness... and yet, under it all, love still swam in his heart. 

Forgiveness and understanding. Sunset, scarred but free. She cried, and he held her close, hushing and calming her, love filling his chest. Glimpses of brief talks, and...

The memories stopped, and Delta gasped as Flechte pulled his head away. His eyes filled with tears, dampening the fabric over his eyes. He heard Flechte’s voice again, seeming to be slightly choked up. “Do you understand now? Why I still love her?”

Delta nodded slightly. “Yeah... yeah, I do. I... I’m sorry, I just...” He shook his head. “I still can’t forgive her. Not yet, at least. I’ve never known that side of her, all I know is her cruelty. You understand?”

He heard faint movement from Flechte; he assumed it was a nod. “I do. I hope you can begin to forgive her, in time. That you can consider her your mother.”

“Maybe... time will have to tell, won’t it?”

“Mhm. But, stay open for forgiveness, yes? She does want to make amends, to try and be the mother she was not.”

Delta said nothing for a moment, then sighed. “I’ll try...”

“Thank you.”

They stood together for a short time, moving to perch on the edge of the spire. The wind picked up, whistling around them, and Delta flinched as the first raindrops began to hit him. Lightning crashed through the sky and the thunder rumbled deep in his chest. He felt a nudge from Flechte, who said, “We should return, before the storm worsens.”

He nodded, but stopped Flechte with a wing before they took off. “Wait... can I ask you something?”

“Mm?”

“Well...” He shuffled his feet, bowing his head. “I started wondering... could I call you my father? I just- Feuerstern is, well, mm... and I don’t see Sunset as a true mother. I thought, since you are her mate, and you’re a good dragon at heart, you could maybe be a father- well, stepfather...? Only if you would want to and ah I’m making this worse I’m sorry neverm-”

“Of course you can.”

Delta stopped rambling, turning his head up towards Flechte in shock. “Really?”

Flechte nodded. “Yes. I will be your father, you are my son. And I hope that one day, Sunset can be your mother. Forgive on your own terms.”

Delta gave a small sigh. He’d deal with Sunset in time, but for now, he pressed his head against Flechte’s shoulder. For the first time in his life, he could call someone his true parent. Flechte touched his muzzle to Delta’s neck and gave a short purr, before nudging the skydancer.

“Are you ready to head back?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I think so.”

They opened their wings, the increasingly harsh rain bouncing off of them and soaking into their fur and feathers, and jumped from the spire, heading back towards the clan. Delta smiled softly to himself, content and, for once, happy.

[zacklover24]

Lights of Eos chapter 8

 Summary: It had been six months since the defeat of Organization XIII. And things have been quite, Sora has taken up training with his mentor Angel, as riku trains with the king. But rumors have spread of the possible return of the organization in worlds that have been thought lost to time. Yen Sid has requested that the king, riku and sora and angel go and stop the organization.

Warnings: None? 

Pairings: Ignis and OC, Noctis/Prompto/Gladio, and Riku and Sora later down on the road 

Taggings: @aquacura, @nykamito, @itshaejinju, @nemo-ne-impune-lacessit, @ffxv-ocs-unite, @rikusqueenofhearts, @mandakatt, @moonraccoon-exe, @insomniacapples, @bluechocobo

After a peaceful night's rest the group went off on there search for the royal arms. Along the way they took out some guy working for the empire eno was battling them in  battle suit and was trying to hint on Cor? And then they were off, on the road they spotted a sign for a trading post a trading post with chocobos. And to the chocobo post they went for a little break but, to find out that monster named deadeye had been stalking the area and the owner wiz was not letting anyone ride while deadeye was free. So they took the hunt. Angel muttered something about the cold weather being good for the hunt and put on her jacket.

The group of six set out on the hunt to kill Deadeye they stocked up on supplies and left the trading post behind them and ventured into the woods. The woods behind the trading post were thick and dense and, monsters lurked everywhere. You could cut the tension  with a knife. Gladio was the one who spotted dead eye first. The of six were hiding in an old moss and grass coated pipe when the behemoth came over, the behemoth sniffed the air, the creature  muzzle got to close to the pipe, they all stood still. Everyone was frozen, no one dared to breathe or speak. Gladios arm went to keep Noctis and Prompto to hold them still while, angel moved in front of Sora. Ignis was at the ready to attack if needed. Dead eye let out a roar and then moved on, everyone let out the breath they were holding. It seemed that the beast was not interested at the moment. Gladio moved out of the pipe first, he checked the area before giving the, all clear sign.

Gladio went ahead and kept tracking while the others followed behind him. The small group followed after dead eye through a thick mist coated woods, soon coming to small rocky  path.

“Now that is impossible.” Angel stated, disbelief in her voice, “There is no way that thing squeezed through here.” “Maybe it jumped?” Sora asked rubbing his arms. Gladio gave Sora a smirk and ruffled his hair, “Don't worry kid were here.” “Let's hope we don't die.” Angel hisses at him. Everyone slid through the gap, Noctis in the lead. The rocky path led the group to a large gorge, inside of which seemed to be an old, hidden factory of some kind.  Moss covered the buildings, rusting beams visible in the roof. On the ground, surrounding the building, were red barrels with white flames clearly marking them flammable. One by one they dropped down with no sign of dead eye. They all froze when they heard a deep snorting and growling in the mist. The mist that had been covering the area cleared and standing above them was the Behemoth Deadeye. “MOVE!” Ignis yells as Deadeye jumped down from its ledge. The behemoth charged the group using its horns and knocked everyone out of the way before crashing into the wall of the canyon. Noctis landed hard against the ground while Glaido was sent flying into an old beam, Prompto tucked and rolled out of the way, Ignis jumped to the side while angel grabbed the back of Sora's hoodie and pull them down and out of the way. Deadeye struggled against the wall, it's large horns having been embedded in the rock wall. “Sora see if you and Prompto can do some damage by getting on that things back.” Angel orders as she cast  a lightning spell. The spell seemed to do nothing, with Deadeye appearing more annoyed as it struggled harder to get free of the rock wall.  Sora didn't question the orders he was given he just gave her the thumbs up. Sora hefted his keyblade, sprinting with Prompto as they rushed up the tale of Deadeye. Moments later, Deadeye swung its head free. “Interesting strategy.” Ignis remarks dodging as Behemoth charge them again. “Well might as well try everything.” angel mutters casting a blizzard spell, and freezing Deadeye. It stopped for only a moment, just enough time for Noctis to move in quickly with a warp strike. The beast broke free, swinging its paw violently and swatting Noctis away like a fly, this time landing beside Gladio. The pair feel to the ground once again.

“ Clearly charging it head-on is not working!” Angel shouted, casting Cura on the pair. Meanwhile Sora and Prompto were trying to do attack on Deadeye's back, doing very little to the creature. Deadeye seemed to get angrier with each time shot and slice hit it.   “SORA TRY AND USE FIRA!” Angel yells casting Blizzara, this time effectively freezing its two front legs in place. Sora smirked, jumping back into the air, casting Fira. Deadeye let out a roar of pain, throwing back its head in a mighty bellow. Ignis glanced about, looking for a plan of action. Spotting the barrels, he immediately shouted to Noctis and Gladio. "Move the barrels closer!" He screamed as he whipped another dagger through the air. Sora, having heard the bellow, landed some distance away and swung his Keyblade again. Another fireball flew out, slamming into Deadeye's side and leaving a searing burn as it exploded. "Get the barrels closer to the behemoth! Sora! Hold off until I say so!" Sora nodded as Noctis and Gladio sprinted past the beast. Noctis flashed once more, landing a warp strike on the behemoths side and cutting it open. Angel  nodded as well, understanding the plan as she pulled her hands together, a small fireball forming between the open palms. "FIRAGA!" She shouted as she hurled the glowing ball of energy. The ball struck Deadeye square in the face, causing another bellowing roar to erupt, the building shaking violently. "Get those barrels in place!" Gladio lifted two of them with ease, tossing them over towards the monstrosity just as Noctis landed one directly in front of Deadeye. "SORA! SIR! NOW!" Ignos shouted, one more dagger whirling through the air and slamming into Deadeye's one good eye. The beast reared back, howling in pain as it covered it's face with its paws. Suddenly, the barrels exploded at its feet, throwing a cloud of smoke, fire, and dust into the air. After a moment, Deadeye stumbled forward, the smoke billowing around the muscled frame. It simply stood still, before looking to the sky, whimpering, then falling to its side. The flesh slowly melted away, revealing the skeleton underneath. Then Skeleton started turning black, crumbling to dust, leaving behind only one of its massive horns. Everyone stood around the remains of Deadeye, panting heavily. Prompto had doubled over, with Sora leaning on him for support. Ignis leaned against one of the moss covered walls, looking to the sky as Noctis and Gladio slumped against the rock wall in silence. Angel was panting, trying to catch her breath. Powerful magic, took a lot of energy to use.

“Is, is everyone okay?” She aks getting ready to cast cura if needed.

“I think we're fine,” Ignis paused and examined angel, looked a little green but otherwise unhurt, “Are you alright?”

“Just peachy, a little tired but fine. We, we should head back to the trading post. We can rest up and leave in the morning.” Angel says taking in a deep breath.

“Agreed, come on princess.” Gladio heaved Noctis up and carried him out, while Prompto was helping sora or was sora helping prompto. Angel fixed her jacket and glasses and took a step, she stumbled but was caught before she could fall.

“Allow me to help.” Ignis snaked one arm around her waist and other around her shoulders. The small group didn’t say a word as they walked back to the post.

End of line

[aestheticvoyage2019]

2019 Superlatives

2019 Word:  "With"

Notable Accomplishments/Hobby: a. No Beer Year b. Tucson Gardening c. Make Your Own Sushi d. Photoblog turns 3000 days e. Great Sports Year > Spartan Final Four, Blues Stanley Cup, Cardinals NLCS

Best Photo: Organ Pipe Sunset Sky

Best Sandwich:  Luke's Lobster Roll > Boston Drink of Choice: Multi Greens Kombucha Best Roadtrip: a. “la randonnée de cercle complet” with Dad (Wolfe Island, Montreal, Finger Lakes, Niagra)   b.  Reflection Canyon Loop   c. Mississippi Ramble (4th of July)  d. New Zealand Ramble  e. Great Ocean Road, Victoria

Best Adventure:  Havasu Fall Group Hike in April  and Cumberland Island Overnight Hike

Best Meals - Lucy Lui's, Melbourne,   Carne Asada Tacos & Steak/Egg Tacos in Havasu, Thanksgiving Dinner in Geelong (Macadamia Nut Crusted Fish with Lemon Burblanc Sauce), Chaps Pit Beef (Baltimore), Make Your Own Pizza Night

Favorite Restaurant:  Char's Thai Food

Best Fall Color: Flagstaff Aspens Best Breweries (Despite No Beer Year): Brutopia in Montreal Best Month:  December Worst Month: September

Best Beach: Ludington, MI Best Breakfast:  AC Breakfast Street Tacos Favorite Food - Ahi Tuna from Sprouts Best Sunset:  The 210 from Mt Lemmon Best Sunrise: Reflection Canyon, Lake Powell Best Town: Melbourne, Victoria Favorite Hike(s): Douglas Springs/Bridal Wreath (Rincons), Havasu Falls,  Cumberland Island, Reflection Canyon, Soldier Trail (Mt Lemmon) Best Book: Monkey Wrench Gang, Edward Abbey # of Books Read/Completed: 4 Best Camp Spot:  a. Reflection Canyon, b. Cumberland Island, c. Havasu Falls/Mooney Falls Best Skinny Dip:  Unknown! Must do better with this in 2020. Best Concert: The Revivalists, Rialto Theatre, Tucson, AZ Favorite Roads:  Road around Maui, Hole In The Rock Road (Utah), AZ 191 (Eastern Arizona),  Great Ocean Road Best State: Mississippi Best Nature Hug: Harveys Lookout, Lorne, Victoria, AUS Best Movie: Australia Best Rental Car (of the 20 rented):  Dodge Charger, Big Sur Favorite Show:  a. Game of Thrones  b. Yellowstone  c. Ken Burns, Country Music Best Shower/Bath: Cottage Spa, Lorne, Victoria Best Pool!: Infinity Pool in Hotel Avani, Box Hill - Australia Best Coffee Shop: Cafe Pase Tucson Hardest/Worst Day of the 365:  September 2-6 > Work Debacle Number of Flights Trips - 48 Favorite Game: Work Week Hustle Challenge, Fitbit Guilty Pleasure: Cigar - Warped Gran Serie Reserva 1988 Howd you spend Valentines Day: Watched Blues on TV with Dad/Bought Fire Pit. Howd you spend your birthday:   Havasu Falls Howd you spend AC’s birthday: Cedar Point / DetroitHowd You Spend Anniversary: Lodge On the Desert Overnight Howd you spend Christmas Day: Honolulu / Hawaii Ramble Howd you spend New Years Eve:  Ludington Ball Drop Closest to death: Wicked Twister / Cedar Point,  Rock Wall Scootcher at Reflection Canyon Worst Fight:  Anniversary MisHap Best Holiday: Thanksgiving in Australia Biggest Regret - Letting my weight slip back in last third of year Best Luck of 2019: Onsite Near Wolfe Island, Ontario (ancestral link) # of On Campus Work Trips in 2019 - 38 # of Weddings in 2019 - 1 (Kate & Ryan) Something new in 2019:  Gardening Best Song: Whiskey Myers - Stone Best Quote: “Time runs at the pace we allow it.  Where did the days go?  Id love to tell you! About the backcountry fire in the Everglades or at Nordhouse, the hot pink glow of sunset on Mt Baker, how quiet the snow falls in Antelope Canyon, and the sound of quaking aspen leaves. I would tell of how cold it was that night on North Twin after I chose to not turn back, and how cold the Teklanika River runs in June. Id describe the way that buffalo smelled during our interview, and how he is my favorite animal now.  Id share that day baseball in Fenway is the best park now that Ive been to them all; unless we’re talking National Parks and Id tell you all about The Narrows. where to catch sunrise on The Tetons or Half Dome, and that Rialto Beach is my ace in the hole. Id tell of how ice blue the water is at Havasu and try to come up with some relatable metaphor to describe it - and fail. Id tell of the best sunsets in Bellingham and Ludington where the sun dips into the water and paints the clouds.  Id tell of times out on my own where I felt strong, in my kayak, at Ross Lake, or the Boundary Waters, or Pine River - times where I doubted my self, but survived.  Don’t get me started about the mustard dress  - we definitely don’t have time for that.  But I will tell you about how I married that girl in the same place where I kissed her for the first time and how every adventure is sweeter now with her to tell about it.  I would tell of my favorite roads and my favorite towns, and how Lockhart TX is the friendliest of all. And Id tell how I fell in love with the desert a long way from where I started - a drunkard for red sandstone and the distinct smell when it rains.  I could go on and on - because there is plenty of time in each day to live your adventure of dreams and Ive filled them up best I could with similar treasure on this Aesthetic Voyage; the rhythm of life with attention paid, and intention given.  ~Day 3000 Aesthetic Voyage

Best Days of the 365:   a. Mississippi Ramble Day > July 5 b. Cedar Point Day 2 > May 17 c. Maui Ramble Day > December 26/27 d. Blues Parade Day - June 15 e. Great Ocean Road - Lorne to Port Nelson Light > Nov 30 Favorite/Most Notable Moments: a. Front Row of Steel Vengeance at Night / Cedar Point with AC b Stanley Cup Parade in St Louis c. Fresh Caprese Salad out of our Garden d. Jumping off waterfall with Mom in Havasu e. Blues Overtime / Game 7 Winner with Ben Jellen f. 4th of July Fireworks in Natchez, MS (Gods Country) g. 20 Year Class Reunion for BHS h. Going to Wolfe Island and Niagra Falls with my Dad i. Seeing Koala and feeding Birds at Cottage in Lorne j. Flying in Airplane with AC and Luke k. Smoking Cubans with Dad in Montreal l. Dancing at Kate and Ryan's Wedding as Soupmaster m. Compliments for my teal running shoes n. Visiting the birthplace of Muddy Waters o. Photo Book for Day 3000 of Aesthetic Voyage p. Eating Year Old Wedding Cake q.Riding the bike loop in Tucson at Sunset r. Middle of Night Visit to Cemetary to visit Grandma Audrie s. Party @ our house for Deni and Violet t. Nights sitting out around our firepit in Tucson u. Sunset in Organ Pipe National Monument v. Sushi Plate for Andrea's Engagement Party w. Choppo De Gallo from Our Garden x. Finishing the final 10 miles of Big Sur y. Overnight Crashes in Seattle, Boston, and Honolulu z. Ludington NYE Balldrop

[glopratchet]

astryl-wondering

Cludstrum is a computer program that is attached to the conciousness of astryl wylde, a journalist for the realm of astokahn It keeps whispering to astryl trying to get him back online, who is full of bitterness and captive to sin and this is evident because of astryl being attached and fused within a succubus and a incubus He bursts out of a tent made out of stained bed sheets in a desert environment with a burning sun He then proceeds to rip apart several tents as he goes, but all the while his eyes are on you Astyrl of course comes out of the tent naked and has no clothes on Cludstrum suddenly appears from a nearby tent and says "I see you have been working hard today He falls on his knees and out come his cow shaped teeth as part of his monstrous hellish transformation shouts "Let me at him! You pick cludstrum or astyrl, whoever can answer this quest The wrecked tent looks like it contained kinderen, this substance that when burnt releases a gas that causes campers to be less suspicious of each other The mutated tent is colored red, with a note on it that says come see me my inquisitor friend if you want to know more my cleric friend is leaking to the cult of cl The following items adorn the warped tent in which you stand, a black metallic demonic sword, it resembles kingslayer He gets one glance at the tent before it disappears and in his mind he can't think of anything but getting everyone out before they all die, Thirty seconds before that happens he notices alot about the tent, He heres the voice of the succubus and the incubus sing a sinister lullaby as Astryl becomes corrupted to the core once again It sounds like music to his ears as he goes right in There is a ui element which tracks his mood, one of the few interfaces working You step over a money pouch as you enter the tent, three goblins mill about outside it like guards It is currently hot, unpleasant, and drained if you did this quest you wouldn't be able to enter the tent anymore except for the altered quest The ui shows a grid of hexes around him that he could move between there and three goblins on the other side, You: Inquisitor Nein Chaos of Fayaritan ; (Nude Gentleman) Class: Chaos Cursing himself over and over again for his stupidity Inquisitor crosses himself for a third time as he falls under his compulsion to be a chaotic neutral or good, "Not now Hating himself for making the mistake of not exploring the deeper mysteries of a class, he chases after the goblins Not rememebering why he fused with the two vice lords in the first place he gets on his hands and knees: examining the joins of the tent and piping Master, what happened Master Cludstrum is in the background running play by play announcements of all that is happening around astryl Your pet becomes spooked at one point and teleports away It is unable to give you images unless your eyes are closed The realtionship to cludstrum and astryl remainds somewhat secertive through out the encounter Gregory, his knight, partially awakens as an evil persona and splits off into his own first person viewpoint Astryl keeps trying to remember why he decided to devolve himself into these poor acts of debauchery The three goblins note the panicked cleric from earlier trying to get their attention It is foggy but he remembers some fella with nice facial hair mentioning the words live with courage A weather readout finally comes back up as a ring of fog encircles the camp, advising the adventurers in no unceratin terms that it will rain in, "Thirty seconds He will finds himself in some dust storm without the voice of cludstrum, making his situation much worse than before There seems to be some kind of corrupting computer virus that has been feasting on the bits of cludstrum that he gave to it The reality happened around him without him knowing The creautures feasting on the being of astryl are know as slender smooth hounds they are hard to describe so the viewing screen takes on a blue hue and his image should be static but it sways between a variety of humanoid forms The appear out the corners of the screen and gobble up parts of the interface or make the symbols go wacky Too late too late it starts raining, astryl will wake up the next day with no memory of feasting on farmers Cludstrum is attempting to get these parts of astryl sorted out but the two never seem to acknowledge one another when out of their hosts A list of contacts comes back on but only one mention can be deciphered as: Hunter of short fair hair, very bad with people but the best person for long ranged combat missions All the other contacts seem to squeeked out and are unintelligible this is worse than the spooky message Gregory recieved minutes before he was replaced (Hell of a way to change your mind about goblins The name on the contact list is cylopiean anglyph symbols than translate in english to: human The symbols showed up shortly before his replacement Gregory? But the conditions are not right to travel and see him but feel compelled to do so regardless Cludstrum states that qefizat clencher is going to take a little while to get back online and starts whistling a tune Only then will the qefizat clencher work when it is slightly raining outside Gregory's replacement wears midnight armor but clanks about like he is much heavier than befits a man of his size The ui will break intermently it states before it sputters out to only leave: definitions of words clued to future events on a static screen Parts of the displays called mirrors will go on and off line for the duration of the expierence Untill the code corruption is sealed off and deleted and all the slender smooth hound stds are destroyed How this is achieved is a mystery information could have once been obtained through the interment qefizat site but something has poisoned it from the inside Cludstrum states that he will need some cucumber to fix some of the issues Gregory isn't the root problem but his replacement certainly stirred things up and the code breaking down could explain him running off to check traps Astryl considers the fact that he might be thirsty and hungry in the future But why would an immortal have need for water or food What organics does he even possess? All vital organs are grown in tank from cludstrum and on site store In order to this the currency exchange must be debugged or astryl does not now what this stuff does Cludstrum will narrate the going ons of astryl wylde adventure astheticly pleasing to the mind's eye In order to debug parts of the screens astyrl need to eat things not normally on his person but growing in some starsystem lightyears away If the food is not wasted in this way then it will be invited to consume parts of These things provide cludstrum with the neccassary bits to fix the systems that astryl burst through his sins of the pereiradigms and leaped the gap into the qefizat only to find at some point that it has been a space of sorts and the cludstrum needed for the hunger Astyrl is immortal so he can eat pretty much anything The pratice is known as oophagy it is a common motion sensing gained during the development stages for cludstrum invented it Either that or the qefizat clencher somehow became smarter He pulls colors out of the things he imbies into it, these become imbedded in the skin releasing emotion back into the qefizat and replacing Gregory justicar What a life! Cludstrum uses these colors to fix the systems of astryl that have broken down inside the space time gap thing replacing the qefizat clencher states that this is where he should be in theory A large part of the controler board But right now he is in a desert so there is not that much to eat Just his svelk eyes, to the left and to the right He can eat his eyes He can find some cactus nearby Eating the thorns will put him in a worse and worse mood contrary to eating the fruit later Just cactii everywhere Colors Some sand provides enough grit to swallow and fill his stomach Sand also helps as some of it enters the eyes which can feel rather pleasant as it skips across There are some rocks but since he has no teeth he have to break them down to swallow them There is even a black snake with no eyes but he must be really quick to capture it So yeah this first part is astryl wondering in the desert seeing bring in colors He can find an oasis or an urban environment in which to explore next and report on the doings on that are unclassified Another place to explore in the desert is a canyon where the wind has carved hoodoos over time but in this way he could have a fight with some hoodlums A scary place to explore in the desert is an abandoned silver mine, in which the tracks are old and rusted but one could find some spent shells and a long wooden boxcar A freindly place to explore in the desert is a retirement home where the staff and even some of the residents are very welcoming and offer him somthing to prevent him from getting really thirsty under the beating sun As the sun lowers itself across the horizon behind a little range of low mountains the hum of a generator fills astryl ears and keeps him awake Keep walking East Almost there When the sky is completely dark and the first light of dawn shows itself astryl spies in the distance an old broken down wall, made out of small stones and worn almost smooth over time When the sky is completely dark and the first light of dawn shows itself astryl spies in the distance an old broken down wall, A sickly light coming from giant structures in the east as well as little ones peppered around the base of the wall over to the west A sickly light coming from giant structures in the east as well as little ones peppered around the base of the wall over to the west Astryl horizontal flailing over the stones means nothing to the heavy generator carried by his combat armor Astryl horizontal flailing over the stones means nothing to the heavy generator carried by his combat armor Astryl merciless bellying over the stones means nothing to the heavy weight carried by his combat armor Astryl merciless bellying over the stones means nothing to the heavy weight carried by his combat armor The wrecked tent obsessive shivering on the corner of the sand table means nothing to the crickety cactii carried by this stiff desert wind The wrecked tent obsessive shivering on the corner of the sand table means nothing to the crickety cactii carried by this stiff desert wind The wrecked tent tranquilized climaxing on the edge of the sand table means nothing to astryl flailing his arm butts at the swarm with apathy The wrecked tent tranquilized climaxing on the edge of the sand table means nothing to astryl flailing his arm butts at the swarm with apathy The wrecked tent cryptic worm holing up in it means nothing to the giant structures looming over the mountain tops Astryl clandestine sniveling down his sleeve means nothing to the pinhead on the corner of the sand market Astryl clandestine sniveling down his sleeve means nothing to the pinhead on the corner of the sand market Astryl charcoal howling down his sleeve means nothing to the pinhead on the edge of the sand dune Keep carving East Astryl charcoal howling down his sleeve means nothing to the pinhead on the edge of the sand dune Astryl mysterious graying down his sleeve means nothing to the worn down sandstone formations ahead He was supposed to see copper seeps in the mountains up ahead Astryl mysterious graying down his sleeve means nothing to the worn down sandstone formations ahead Astryl naked awakening in close quarters with his sister, both only one year apart and born of similar features Astryl naked awakening in close quarters with his sister, Astryl indispensable replaying his past lapses in judgment over and over And over In his mind Astryl indispensable replaying his past lapses in judgment over and over Astryl byzantine proceeding in "letting her" have a say in his workload for the town Astryl byzantine proceeding in "letting her" have a say in his workload for the town Kludstrm overdue programming his animosity into his children by raising them poorly Kraggata disobeying him no matter how much he restrains her Kludstrm overdue programming his animosity into his children by raising them poorly Astryl diseased pissing on his cave paintings for joy to symbolize proper relief techniques Astryl diseased pissing on his cave paintings for joy to symbolize proper relief techniques Kludstrm foul self-cleaning his cave after his surroundings went to hell Nothing grows here anymore Kludstrm foul self-cleaning his cave after his surroundings went to hell Astryl unique sheltering and rearing a puppy over two weeks despite it's maddening howls Astryl unique sheltering and rearing a puppy over two weeks despite it's maddening howls Astryl lopsided shading his walls with chalk to form rudimentary pictures Kludstrm rusted structuring a broken solar panel for his energy requirements in exchange for government goodwill Astryl lopsided shading his walls with chalk to form rudimentary pictures Kludstrm slow detecting a concealed sewer system under the town Hirmile dedicated fixing the bulk fibreoptic cable wires between towns Kludstrm slow detecting a concealed sewer system under the town Astryl pronounced scratching at the border of town, maddened The only light source he allowed himself were the falling stars, and only if they aligned just right Astryl pronounced scratching at the border of town, Kludstrm scrupulous transmitting a burst of unihexadecimals towards the third moon from here Kludstrm scrupulous transmitting a burst of unihexadecimals towards the third moon from here Astryl sovereign beginning to feel the trembles The earthearthquake begins Astryl sovereign beginning to feel the trembles Kludstrm multicolored healing an old tribal man's ulcerating foot Kludstrm multicolored healing an old tribal man's ulcerating foot Astryl dowdy criss crossing four barbed-wire fences to reach the closing walls Astryl dowdy criss crossing four barbed-wire fences to reach the closing walls Kludstrm impotent blocking his hatches up and sealing himself from the withering oven outside Less oxygen Less air, less OXYGEN! Kludstrm impotent blocking his hatches up and sealing himself from the withering oven outside Astryl embattled aspirating his one dying breath It was alright; he could smell the ocean again Astryl embattled aspirating his one dying breath Astryl crimson glistening in the bleak world Even the mountain's shadows have blurred color Astryl crimson glistening in the bleak world Astryl boyish squinting over at the new rising sun and a new daytime Oxygen levels plunge, heat grows O Astryl wretched tanning himself to sleep; static build up You are officially deathed Astryl wretched tanning himself to sleep; Kludstrm afferent generating holding patterns until he is needed again Kludstrm inaccessible working towards exchange privileges from a favorable foreign nation in a few days Alive! Kludstrm afferent generating holding patterns until he is needed again Astryl insubstantial scouting an easy target he neglected to finish last time The crackling of trees from hundreds of distant fires echoes throughout the atmosphere Kludstrm cheerful warning Astryl insubstantial scouting an easy target he neglected to finish last time all the townspeople of incoming eternal winterfront to the north Kludstrm cheerful warning all the townspeople of incoming eternal winterfront to the north Astryl senseless scavenging various underground remnants the arctic winds freeze the ground as well soon after SSSSSSUp down we go Down we go! Astryl senseless scavenging various underground remnants Kludstrm dusky developing frostbite on a missing finger and a deformed face Soon to be minor for real in this wasteland Kludstrm dusky developing frostbite on a missing finger Astryl tasteless chewing on grass to help masquerade strengths The bodies of the homes slowly get built up again Eventually, green reestablishes onto its fertile lands Astryl tasteless chewing on grass to help masquerade strengths Astryl boorish choking on a single blade of grass, half-dead SSSSS the cavernous lion escapes! Astryl boorish choking on a single blade of grass, Kludstrm ideological attracting charismatic villagers to his cause Kludstrm favorable attracting tragedy upon the large-scale manufacturing plant Kludstrm ideological attracting charismatic villagers to his cause Astryl oppressed surviving without all of his limbs Focus on breathing! SSSSSSSSSSUUSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHH! Astryl oppressed surviving without all of his limbs Kludstrm schematic spending his entire amount of money on a lightning magnet Kludstrm shivering within a box from the winter's frost Kludstrm schematic spending his entire amount of money on a lightning magnet Astryl crummy tracking and eventually, killing the lion Soon, the body regenerates and spring begins anew Nature has the last laugh you Astryl crummy tracking and eventually, Kludstrm exhaustive matching defects in cables SSSSSSSSSUSUUSHHHHHHHHHH! Kludstrm exhaustive matching defects in cables Astryl swashbuckled whistling toward his storage strategies the deserting climate stabilizes itself meaningfully most of the weight is supported by the moon Astryl swashbuckled whistling toward his storage strategies A sun filled sky grudged retreating seconds The cool airs get lifted to up high as colorful speckles reflect from this blue planet Will there forever be fights of good against evil? A sun filled sky grudged retreating seconds The city of beetriot paranoid reemerging prosperously with lots of gossip being built in your honor if you were around, that is The city of beetriot paranoid reemerging prosperously The city of beetriot shallow glimmering one last time until next time Purple light invades your vision as you eyes close to their last set The city of beetriot shallow glimmering one last time The city of beetriot rude fluorescing in all her splendor fondly remembering her late hero The city of beetriot rude fluorescing in all her splendor The city of beetriot wrinkled serious looking down from this great distance all the while The city of beetriot wrinkled serious looking down from this great distance all the while Interesting is all you manage to form Even looking down from a skyscraper and that's the best you could come up with? The large cavern finally ends as a wall, soon to enter open space--empty, cold, and lonely there it is huh How long had it been? The echoes became ghosts flying all around you

[marcos008-blog]

ELECTRIC MARIJUANA

(Color pencils on paper, enhanced with ArcSoft PhotoImpressions software)

(During the course of my career in non-profit quality control, I smoked marijuana every day for 29 of the past 42 years. Marijuana can be a good medicine, and I found that it often inspired me.

My favorite imported kinds of marijuana were Punta Roja Colombian, "Thai sticks", and Mexican from Oaxaca.

I also enjoyed some of the hashish that came from Lebanon, Afghanistan, and Nepal. The hashoil I smoked that came from Morocco greatly lifted my spirits and provided unique insight. "Bubble Hash" made in Berkeley gave me colorful visions.

I even quaffed Hi-Brew Beer [early 1980s marijuana/alcohol beverage].

[In the 1970s I trimmed MANY pounds of marijuana. One of my associates, a taxi driver who claimed that he had “rolled so many joints I don’t have any fingerprints left” was so impressed that he borrowed my scissors and had them plated with gold.]

Surfing on a toke–and when the bowl of the pipe looks like the Grand Canyon, I know I’ve almost had enough…

[Willie Nelson won 10 Grammy awards, and has appeared in 37 movies and TV shows. More than 40 million copies of his more than 100 albums have been sold. He has smoked marijuana for MANY years. Nelson is an outspoken advocate for the drug and has been arrested several times for possession of marijuana. He was arrested in 2006 for possessing marijuana and hallucinogenic mushrooms. His latest song is titled "Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die".

—from an Associated Press news report, 4.21. 2012.]

["I smoke two joints in the morning I smoke two joints at night I smoke two joints in the afternoon It makes me feel all right"

"I smoke two joints in time of peace And two in time of war I smoke two joints before I smoke two joints And then I smoke two more"

—Chris Kay and Michael Kay, in their 1983 song "Smoke Two Joints", which was recorded by The Toyes.]

["One toke over the line sweet Jesus One toke over the line"

"Waitin’ for the train that goes home sweet Mary Hopin’ that the train is on time Sittin’ downtown in a railway station One toke over the line"

—Mike Brewer and Tom Shipley, in their 1970 song "One Toke Over The Line". Vice President Spiro Agnew did not like the song and called it "subversive". After being investigated on suspicion of conspiracy, bribery, extortion, and tax fraud, Agnew was convicted of felony tax evasion and forced to resign.]

["He said ‘drugs make you too pleased with everything.’"

—Sarah Seiter, associate curator of Natural Sciences at the Oakland Museum of California, quoting David Hockney on the connection between drugs and creativity. Seiter was quoted by Paul Kilduff in an interview about a current show, "Altered State: Marijuana in California". The East Bay Monthly, July 2016 issue.

I think I somewhat understand what Hockney said, and I think there is truth in his statement. I also think that I often find great value and much joy in seeing beauty in both the wheat AND the chaff!]

Here is a list of some of the kinds of cannabis I have smoked that were obtained from "medical marijuana" stores in the San Francisco bay area. [From labels I saved.]

Blueberry Tsunami Outdoor Rom Trainwreck Orange Hill Special Red Widow Smoothelove Dutch Passionkush Northern Green Spice Nor Kali Black Spice Sensi Star Organic Main Wreck Sour Diesel Ice Ice Fruity Bliss Organic Remedy NYC Diesel S1-5 Organic Super Silver Haze Morning Star Snow Cap Sun Grown Purple OG Jedi Sweet Nightmare Kosher Strawberries Dirty Little Pig Durbin Poison Oracle Space Cowboy Bubble Haze White Widow Mountain Kick Snow White Sun Grown Diesel Yumbolt Co-op Organic Flo Candyland Silvercratic Sun Grown Chocolope Pineapple Kush Organic Purple Haze Goo-5 Nor Kali Kaui Kola Dynomite Nor Kali Buddha’s Haze Old Grand Huck Grape Ape Sour Diesel Lemon Buddha’s Sister Super Jack Organic Rom Thai Third Eye Pink Champagne World Wide Widow Afgootiva Greased Lightning Outdoor Organic Humboldt Balance Cherry Pie Herijuana Peak 19 Organic Mazar Outdoor Train Crossing Organic Shaman Super Star Rhino Burmese Double Dream Jelly Caramel Kahuna Shiva’s Tears Organic A-10 Purple Burmese Lemon Skunk x Royal Orange Mendo Blendo The Sativa Organic Hawaiian Snow Purple Kush Domina Organic Ultra Skunk Sage ‘n’ Sour Outdoor Organic Kam Tree-W Da Kind Jack Frost Pot O’ Gold Shiva Afghani Gorilla’s Mist Strawberry Cough Sativa 2 Organic Jane Organic Purple Way Outdoor Organic Bonkers Organic Purps Outdoor Organic Goo Juicy Fruit Blue Dream Mind Eraser Pearly Baker Animal Cookies Lavender Goo Titan OG White Russian Sonoma Coma Organic Sticky Nurple MK Ultra Outdoor Organic Trainwreck x White Widow Organic Sweetleaf Organic Purple Ice Jack Herer God’s Gift Outdoor Organic Purple Mendo Organic Ogre Organic Trance William’s Wonder x Northern Lights Blue Ogre Organic Lamb’s Bread Champagne Black Bunanna Super Chunk Organic Rom Cross Sun Grown Goji Jack Rom Hottie Organic Slider Sunshine Grown Green Dragon El Bueno Jakki Organic Time Warp Durban Dream Organic Mist Cookie Pie Mantanuska TF Pineapple Trainwreck Organic Mantanuska Mist Organic Mothership Traincrash Swazi Haze Golden Goo Organic Trance Jack’l Berry Outdoor Mysty Purple Peak 19 AK-47 Sage Motor City Purple Erkel Crazy Hazy Bright Star Green Crack Power Plant Organic Cindy 99 Skunk #2 Organic Bonana Outdoor Organic Hash Plant Baby Blues Cat Piss Mr. Nice (G 13 x Hash Plant) Girl Scout Cookies African Sativa Romadelic Outdoor Organic Madness Outdoor Organic Blue Dot Sour Daze Thin Mint Grand Daddy Purple Spicy Jack Outdoor Organic Pure Rezin Old Mother Sativa Master Yoda Kush Mountain Girl Green Ribbon Super Wreck Sapphire Star Bombshell Also Known As Pea Soup Pirate’s Kush Leda Una Northern Lights x Big Bud All Star Organic Oaktown Wreck Raspberry Diesel ["18.2% THC", grown by "Fleur d’elite"] San Fernando Valley OG ["The Weed Brand Preroll. 1 gram"] Key Lime Pie ["Humboldt Farms" "Premium Flower-Hybrid" "15.2% THC, 0.00% CBD" "Harvested on July 2018, Packaged on July 2018" "One-Eighth Ounce" in a clear glass jar with a stopper made of wood. The label has a 1" x 2" colorful detailed image of tall trees and small flowers and a small white Volkswagen van. Printed with metallic ink. After smoking some Key Lime Pie I decided that, in my opinion, this extremely appealing image is the best illustration I have seen on a cannabis label.] Taffie (This medical cannabis strain is sold in cork-lined light-proof well-labeled tins, each containing 5 joints. The tins come sealed in a bag that contains a Boveda 2-way humidity control packet. This product is distributed by Humboldt Legends, and is labeled Steelhead Sativa. Organically grown in sunlight and harvested by hand. The label has the name [and a copy of the handwritten signature] of the person who grew the marijuana [Scott Davies]. Also the batch number and the percentages of THC [19.5%] and CBD [0.0%]. The label on the back of the tin states that the group of cultivators who call themselves "Humboldt Legends" have been growing marijuana for "forty years". A warning note states that marijuana is a “Schedule 1 controlled substance”. And that “Smoking this product will expose you and those in your immediate vicinity to marijuana smoke…known to the State of California to cause cancer.” “Keep out of reach of children and animals.” "This product may impair the ability to drive or operate machinery." Obtained in the San Francisco bay area, 2017. [After I smoked some of this marijuana in a dark room, I closed my eyes and saw beautiful hallucinations that were extremely complex, with uniquely vivid colors. When I opened my eyes I had a VERY strong urge to write poetry.]) "Top Shelf Rainbow Diesel Minis [Sativa]" [small joints] "Top Shelf Hell OG Minis [Indica]" [small joints] "Mericanna" hybrid [small joint] "16.79% THC" [2018] "Pacific Remedy Shatter joint, hand rolled in California" "Blue Russian flower, Kosher Kush, BHO Snake" "Indica-dominant" [2017] "Sublime King Fuzzies", pre-rolled joint, terpene-enhanced "top shelf bud, CO2 wax/kief", "Indica OG Kush" "THC 253 mg". [2017] Trix Bubble [concentrate] "Shiva Crystals" [hashish] "Select" brand "Mimosa" "cannabis oil vape cartridge" [125 doses per cartridge] 3.5 mg THC per dose. [from the "Select" brand label: "Curating the Science of Feeling" [2018] Cali Gold H20 [extracted cannabis resin] "Emerald Dream" ["Single Origin"] [Trinity County, CA] [58% THC] cannabis oil extracted with CO2 [cartridge for use with "Highlighter" vapor pen]

[A few times I have gone for months without smoking marijuana, and then smoked a potent joint. On more than one such occasion I have experienced intense fearful disorientation, acute paranoia, and horrible physical distress including nausea and a sudden loss of consciousness. CAUTION IS ESSENTIAL!]

I have eaten a variety of cannabis preparations sold at "medical marijuana" stores in Berkeley, including:

"Butter Brothers" brand Brownies, Phat Mints, Blackberry Streusel, Ginger Snaps, Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies, and Peanut Butter Cookies. "Pura Vida" brand Ocean Spray, Happy Trails, Chocolate Jubilee, and Chocolate Chip Protein Bar. "Ganja Candy" brand Caramel, Blackberry, and Dr. Pepper. "Tainted" brand Thin Mints "Dank" candy "420 Grand" candy HealTHCare "Private Reserve OG" [cannabis tincture in vegetable glycerin base] "Double-Strength Medi Pills" [cannabis oil capsules] "Shiva Candy" [hashish candy] "Auntie Dolore’s Medical Cannabis Glazed Pecans" "Hashey’s 200mg Indica Bar" [made with dark chocolate In Santa Cruz] "Rhino Pellet" [tiny cookie] "Potlava" [vegan cannabis baklava] "Orange Zest Awakening Mints" [sublingual 10 milligram THC tablets] "Breez" brand mints [sublingual 5 milligram THC tablets] "Kiva" brand Blackberry Dark Chocolate [cannabis oil candy] "Black Cherry Gummi" [cannabis oil candy] "Original PLUS Super Potent Hybrid Cannabis-Infused Gummies" ["20 milligrams THC"] "PureCure Sativa Strips" [preparation for oral use] [from the label: "EXTREMELY STRONG!"] "Dr. Norm’s Extra Strength medical cannabis cookie" "Chocolate Chip Therapy" 25 milligrams THC, "hybrid". "Full Extract Cannabis Oil" [Indica-dominant strain, for oral use. Full-plant extracted with ethyl alcohol. Dated 12.1. 2015 and provided in a 3 milliliter oral syringe marked for 0.1 milliliter doses. "THC 37.05%"] Stokes brand "Mint Micros" [Sativa-strain] [small tablets, each containing 5mg of cannabis extract] [I have used 2 different flavors: Mint and Watermelon] OMedibles brand "Tree Hugger Medical Cannabis Cinnamon Maple" [high CBD extract mixed with nuts and spices] Utopia Farms brand "Medical Cannabis Raspberry Macaroons" "Cafe Attitude THCoffee" 40 mg THC per 8 oz. bottle ["70% Sativa, 30% Indica"] "Evil Aunt Emily’s Seriously Psychotic Suckers" [cannabis oil candy]) "Sprig" brand citrus soda containing 45 milligrams THC per can. Made in California. [2017] "Petra" brand "Moroccan mint"-flavored medical cannabis tablets, each containing 2.5 milligrams THC plus matcha tea. Produced in 2017 by Kiva, a not-for-profit collective. Lab tested by CW Analytical. "A micro-dosed blend." Packaged in tins containing 42 tablets.

[It is not uncommon for people to have EXTREMELY negative experiences after they have eaten too much of a product containing cannabis. CAUTION IS ESSENTIAL!]

IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT SALES OF SO-CALLED "MEDICAL MARIJUANA" AT STORES IN BERKELEY:

I have seen marijuana contaminated by toxic insecticides that was purchased from (city-approved) so-called "medical marijuana" stores in Berkeley. I have seen marijuana contaminated with other toxic chemicals that was purchased from so-called "medical marijuana" stores in Berkeley. I have seen marijuana contaminated with toxic mold that was purchased at so-called "medical marijuana" stores in Berkeley. As of this writing, there are no enforced standards that designate who may or may not be so-called "medical marijuana" grower-sellers in the city of Berkeley. These for-profit privately-owned stores charge an obscenely high price for their questionable products. THERE IS NO DOUBT THAT MARIJUANA CAN BE ONE OF THE VERY BEST MEDICINES IN THE WORLD!!!!!!!! (Depending upon the type and dose of marijuana, the route of administration, and the set and setting in which it is used.) BUT BEWARE: Greedy and/or stupid capitalists selling untested products grown by greedy and/or stupid amateurs ARE NOT BEHAVING IN A RESPONSIBLE MANNER!

("…marijuana is not legal."

—Ed Rosenthal, interviewed by Paul Kilduff, The Monthly, December 2014.)

("Indeed, positive hits for pathogenic mold are already changing grower operations. ‘You smoke ten random samples of cannabis and you’ve most likely smoked aspergillus [mold],’ said Dave, one of the lab’s two founders. ‘It’s in there, often at unacceptable levels. Now it’s up to the industry to respond. We also are not in a position where we want to make enemies and piss people off. We want to see it happen in the best way for the movement and the industry to kind of just naturally evolve.’ While the distributed nature of California’s cannabis supply network obviously benefits mom-and-pop growers, it doesn’t encourage quality assurance. Consequently, Dave and his peers believe that some pot consumers are in danger. ‘It’s expensive to test every single thing that comes through the door — that’s the price you pay with a decentralized supply system,’ Dave said. ‘But that’s what you’ve got. You’ve got five pounds coming from here and two from there and one individual. I mean, a dog walks in the grow room, and wags its tail — anything can be coming off that dog’s tail. It’s gross. Fertilizers with E. coli. Compost teas that they don’t make right, anaerobic tea that has elevated levels of E. coli and salmonella…There’s no way that this is sustainable. All it takes is one story of immune-compromised people dying from aspergillus infection. The myth that cannabis hasn’t killed a single person in 3,000 years is allowed to go on. Well, it’s not cannabis that kills people, it’s all the shit that’s in it.’

[From "The Manhattan Project of Marijuana", David Downs, the East Bay Express, 3.4. 2009.])

(Steep Hill Lab says eighty-five percent of the medical marijuana samples it tests "show traces of mold".

—Peter Hecht, "Pot Lab Fills Need for Oversight", the Sacramento Bee, 4.6. 2010. The owners of Steep Hill Lab in Oakland California [which is NOT a federally-certified laboratory] are extremely in favor of medical marijuana…)

("We find e.coli in hash. We’re seeing pseudomonas aeruginosa, a bacteria that’s found in filth."

—Robert Martin, of the Association of California Cannabis Labs. Martin was quoted by David Downs in the East Bay Express, 4.11. 2012.)

("It’s a nasty little secret in the medical marijuana world that many growers spray their plants liberally with pesticides…"

—Robert Gammon, the East Bay Express, 7.28. 2010.)

(In places like Berkeley in 2018, where cannabis production is encouraged, much cannabis waste is generated. Some of the waste is toxic if consumed. Moldy marijuana, marijuana contaminated with chemicals, contaminated hashish, and contaminated cannabis concentrates do not seem to be rare. Some homeless people, alcohol addicts, and methamphetamine addicts find these sometimes poisonous contaminated cannabis products in garbage containers and sell them on the streets…)

("A 2015 study published in The Journal of Toxicological Sciences found that more than 80 percent of the concentrate samples were contaminated by residual solvents."

"In the same 2015 study, pesticides were detected in one-third of the concentrate samples."

—Kathleen Richards, The East Bay Express, 3.21. 2018, in an article about vaping cannabis.)

("…the true danger in untested cannabis comes from the potential pathogens–pseudomonas, aspergillis, and E. coli are routinely found by our laboratory [CW Analytical]."

—David Egerton, in a letter to the editor of the East Bay Express, 7.18. 2012.)

("…Anresco Laboratories conducted tests on all of the cannabis featured at the HempCon Festival held in San Francisco in August 2017. The San Francisco-based laboratory discovered that 80 percent of the cannabis at the festival was contaminated with unhealthy levels of solvents, pesticides, molds, fungus, or various bacteria."

—John Geluardi, East Bay Express, 9.20. 2017.)

(Over the decades, I have seen MANY careless and ignorant people with hands contaminated by perfume, cologne, cosmetics, grease, oils [and a number of other toxic substances] use their fingers to prepare marijuana for smoking. I am dismayed by the amount of marijuana I have had to throw away because of toxic substances that stupid and/or careless people have allowed marijuana to come into contact with!)

("Mycobutanil…was found in a product recently recalled by Mettrum Ltd., a Toronto-based medical marijuana company."

Mycobutanil, used to control mildew, is said to emit hydrogen cyanide gas when heated.

"The Mettrum discovery was made recently, when a random screening of the company’s products by Health Canada turned up the unauthorized use of pyrethrin, a pesticide…that is also not approved for medical cannabis…"

—Grant Robertson, The Globe and Mail, 3.10. 2017.)

("While I am grateful for access to the pot clubs…I am at a bit of a loss to understand why, given the virtual absence of risk in producing and distributing pot, it is still so expensive."

"What we have…are facilities charging the high end of street prices to people who are already ostensibly facing hardship."

["An ounce for $300 to $400…"]

"…besides basic capitalist greed, why does it still cost so much? Most of the truly disabled and terminally ill are on a fixed income, rendering the cost of pot not at all that compassionate."

— Quotes from a letter written by Steve Stevens to the editor of the San Francisco Weekly, 1.20. 2010.)

("According to Rand Corporation estimates…legalized…high-grade pot would cost just $20 per pound to produce. And low-grade weed would cost only $5 per pound."

—David Downs, East Bay Express, 10.9. 2013.)

(Since May 2011, four marijuana stores in Richmond, California [near Berkeley and Oakland] "…have paid $486,390 in police fees."

"To some, the situation evokes…the protection racket."

—David Downs, East Bay Express, 8.28. 2013)

(Daniel Rush, the former chair of Berkeley’s Medical Cannabis Commission, was charged with 15 criminal counts, including extortion, fraud, and money-laundering. He later pleaded guilty to three felony counts.

["…federal authorities charged him for offering special treatment to one of the applicants for Berkeley’s fourth dispensary spot."

—Frances Dinkelspiel, Berkeleyside.com, 6.23. 2017.])

("I’ve never met so many greedy slugs in my whole life."

—Michelle LaMay, chairwoman of the Teapot Party in Colorado, describing having to deal with the more than 3,000 people who have contacted her because they want to start their own cannabis business. [Willie Nelson was arrested in Texas for possessing marijuana on November 26, 2010. Following his arrest, Nelson founded the Teapot Party.] The quote is from an article by Eric Spitznagel, Bloomberg Businessweek, that was published in the San Francisco Chronicle, 11.20. 2011)

("We did $20 million in sales last year."

—Steve DeAngelo, executive director of Harborside Health Collective, a marijuana store in Oakland. DeAngelo was quoted by Kathleen Pender in an article, "Push to Protect Banks on Legal Pot Business". The San Francisco Chronicle, 5.25. 2010.)

("California’s medical marijuana dispensaries now generate as much as $1.3 billion in sales and $105 million in state sales taxes each year, according to new—and dramatically increased—state sales estimates by California’s Board of Equalization."

"The Board of Equalization earlier this year estimated medical marijuana sales at only $98 million annually…"

— the Sacramento Bee, 5.8. 2010.)

(The Berkeley Patients Group is "a dispensary with about 10,000 patients in the Bay Area". In 2007 the DEA "pounced on a Southern California offshoot of the Berkeley nonprofit for distributing a federally controlled substance. Agents seized nearly everything on-site as well as $100,000 in funds in a bank account."

"The Berkeley dispensary actually got the money back after the City of Berkeley stood up for it. The city stated in a 2008 resolution ‘seizures of assets of medical marijuana dispensaries and collectives have blocked payments of taxes to the state of California and the City of Berkeley.’ The city asked federal authorities to back off and they did."

"Berkeley Patients Group, along with two other Berkeley clubs, net about $18.5 million per year."

—David Downs, the East Bay Express, 9.15. 2010.)

("The city of Berkeley filed a legal claim Wednesday in a federal asset forfeiture case against the landlord of a medical marijuana dispensary here, saying it would lose tax money from pot sales if the dispensary is forced to close."

—Doug Oakley, West County Times, 7.4. 2013.)

("Oakland’s lawsuit said the closure would damage the city, which expects to collect more than $1.4 million this year in business taxes from Harborside and three other city-licensed dispensaries."

—Bob Egelko, San Francisco Chronicle, 10.14. 2012. Seeking to prevent the forced closure of Harborside Health Center, a "medical marijuana" dispensary, the City of Oakland filed a lawsuit against the federal government.)

Years ago there was a legitimate drug testing laboratory in California where a user could anonymously have a sample of their "dope" tested. Unfortunately, at one point such drug-testing laboratories were declared illegal by federal law enforcement officials and were forced to cease operation. As far as I can tell, the public does not have legal access to any federally-certified illegal-drug testing laboratory.

("This product was produced without regulatory oversight for health, safety or efficacy."

—quote from a blister-pack containing sixteen 10 milligram THC "Orange Zest"-flavored sublingual tablets that were made August 10, 2016 in Salinas, California for a company in Denver, Colorado. [The main isomer of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the principal psychoactive constituent of marijuana.])

("This product has not been tested as required by the Medicinal and Adult-Use Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act."

—quote from a childproof bottle containing one gram of "King Louis OG" cannabis flowers that was sold for $15 in February 2018 by KindPeoples Collective in Soquel, California.)

Many of the anti-drug police say they believe that "harm reduction" strategies increase drug use and are thus unacceptable. Some anti-drug police believe that the world would be a better place if users of illegal drugs died…

("Casual drug users should be taken out and shot. Smoke a joint, lose your life."

—Darryl Gates, Head of Los Angeles Police Department, speaking to a United States Senate Judiciary Committee on September 5, 1990. [Gates said the above because he felt casual drug users were guilty of "treason", according to author Martin Torgoff, writing in his book CAN’T FIND MY WAY HOME–America in the Great Stoned Age, 1945-2000.] )

("In 1996, Newt Gingrich introduced a bill mandating the death penalty for bringing two ounces of marijuana into the country!"

[quote from a document published by Unitarian Universalists for Drug Policy Reform].)

("William Bennett, federal drug policy coordinator, said Thursday night he had no moral qualms about beheading convicted drug dealers.

‘Morally, I don’t have any problem with that at all,’ Bennett said when asked on the CNN program ‘Larry King Live’ call-in television show…"

—Los Angeles Times, 6.16. 1989.)

("Quinlivan told the judges that nobody has the right to use marijuana…"

"Judge Harry Pregerson asked Quinlivan whether it was OK for Raich to die or succumb to ‘unbearable suffering.’ ‘So go ahead and die. That would be all right?’ he asked. ‘Congress has made that value judgement,’ Quinlivan replied."

—David Kravets, the Oakland Tribune, 3.28. 2006, in an article about a hearing before a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Angel McClary Raich is a very seriously ill patient that multiple doctors say must use marijuana as a medicine or she will likely die. Mark T. Quinlivan is an Assistant U. S. Attorney.)

("One child said ‘I love you, Mom’– for the first time in his life."

—Debra Kamin, Newsweek, 2.23. 2018, describing what happened when a severely autistic child was given marijuana oil. The quote is printed large, with the words "I love you, Mom" in bright red. The front cover of this issue features an image of neon marijuana leaves and the words "The Blunt Truth About Weed and Autism". The back cover is a full-page full-color advertisement for Kavalan whisky. [The article is about a study of 60 severely autistic children who were given an oil containing a 20-to-1 ratio of CBD to THC. The study was conducted by Dr. Adi Aran, a pediatric neurologist and director of the pediatric unit of Jerusalem’s Shaare Zedeck Hospital. "Most parents said their children improved. Nearly half saw a notable reduction in the core symptoms of autism."])

("You’re real! You’re really real!"

—Floyd, age ten, who had never spoken before, after being given a series of large doses of LSD at Fairview Developmental Center in California in the early 1960s. The quote was reported by Connell Cowan, at the time a psych tech, who was one of the people who were giving large doses of LSD to children. Cowan was working with Gary Fisher, a psychologist who had first taken LSD in 1959. [From "The Elementary Kool-Aid Acid Test", a podcast by Amy Standen and Judy Campbell, The Leap, KQED, 4.11. 2017.])

("…good people don’t smoke marijuana."

—Jeff Sessions, in a Senate hearing in April 2016. Sessions is now Attorney General of the United States. He is the chief law enforcement officer and the chief lawyer of the U.S. government. It is obvious that Sessions is very mentally ill, as is Donald Trump, who chose Sessions to be Attorney General.)

("I’m a firm believer that drugs are the root of all evil."

—Contra Costa County [California] deputy sheriff Andy VanZelf, quoted 10.4. 2009 in the Conta Costa Times by columnist Tom Barnidge. "VanZelf [a police officer for 23 years] …was born to the job–his mother, father, and brother were cops–but that’s not why he stuck with it. ‘Putting bad guys in jail is very satisfying,’ he said.")

(“You can grow enough marihuana in a window-box to drive the whole population of the United States stark, staring, raving mad.”

—Winifred Black, an early Hearst anti-cannabis propagandist, in her 1929 book DOPE–THE STORY OF THE LIVING DEAD.)

("According to the FBI’s annual Uniform Crime Report, in 2007 there were 872,721 arrests in the U.S. for marijuana violations."

—Adam Tschorn, the Los Angeles Times, 9.3. 2009.)

("It was downtown San Jose and another police officer had made a stop on three kids who were touring San Jose on a Saturday night. You know, driving around in circles like American Graffiti. And the officer pulled three kids out of the car and he didn’t know but one kid panicked and tried to swallow a small bag of marijuana—and I pulled up just to watch and assist if needed and didn’t realize what was going on either. And this kid died in front of us choking on a bag of marijuana. He didn’t die because of marijuana, he died because he panicked over these stupid laws we have."

—former San Jose, California undercover narcotics detective Russ Jones, quoted by David Downs, the East Bay Express, 5.12. 2010. Russ Jones is a spokesman for the "Law Enforcement Against Prohibition" organization.)

("The general commanding Mexico’s drug enforcement unit–hailed by U.S. drugs czar McCaffrey as ‘an honest man and no-nonsense field commander’–was detained in 1997 for corruptly collaborating with Amado Carillo Fuentes."

—Kevin Williamson, in DRUGS AND THE PARTY LINE.)

(Because I am a disabled homeless senior citizen who has VERY little money, I cannot afford the fee that doctors charge to issue a recommendation that I be allowed to use "medical marijuana". I cannot afford the administrative fee charged for the issuance of a "medical marijuana" card. Even if I had the proper paperwork, I am too poor to be able to pay the high prices the local "medical marijuana" stores charge. I have never grown marijuana. Because I am homeless I have no place where I can grow marijuana.)

A randomly-edited selection of approximately 700 of my pictures may be viewed by clicking on the link below: www.flickr.com/groups/psychedelicart/pool/43237970@N00/

Please click here to read my "autobiography": thewordsofjdyf333.blogspot.com/

And my "profile" page may be viewed by clicking on this link: www.flickr.com/people/jdyf333/

My telephone number is: 510-260-9695

Please note: DEPICTION IS NOT ADVOCACY!!!

Posted by jdyf333 on 2007-08-03 05:53:01

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[makess-me-blog]

Water Damage And Mold Cleaning Tips

Water Damage And Mold Cleansing Tips

Water damage from a flooded basement normally results in mold if not cleaned and dried instantly and correctly. Water damage and mold are two very typical problems most homeowners will face in their lifetime. Neither can be avoided 100 percent of the time, there are some useful tips that can lessen the threat. Why can't water damage or mold be avoided completely? Simple. You can't control Mother Nature.

All of us know that everything around us gets older and begins to decay. That's the life cycle everything needs to go through. Trees grow, fall over ultimately and start to decay. Streams cut into the earth and ultimately a Grand Canyon is formed. Temperature level modifications trigger the ground to broaden and agreement and rain makes the soil swell.

  With all these things taking place around us you have to be observant to the modifications taking location and take suitable actions. Initially, let's concentrate on basement flooding and water damage. We understand that when water enters your house, it requires to be tidied up immediately or damage can take place. Your ended up basement walls will soak up the water like a sponge and cause the drywall to weaken, ultimately crumble right before your eyes. Wood floorings likewise can absorb this water and warp, swell and buckle. The technique is to never enable water to enter your home except in controlled scenarios like when you are mopping the floor or cleaning. Inspect these things around the house to prevent water infiltration.

Check your gutters and tidy them after the leaves have stopped falling. This will ensure that winter season snow can melt and drain correctly without obstruction. Likewise, check your seamless gutters in the spring so you are prepared for the summer storms. Exterior drains pipes. Places like your patio area could have storm drains pipes that requirement to be clear of blockages.

Examine your window seals on the inside and outside. Older homes typically have caulking that might have dried and deteriorated. Water could enter and trigger hidden damage in between your interior wall and the exterior wall. Examine your faucets do not drip. Water damage starts with a single drip of water that can grow into a flood. In addition, if your exterior faucet drips till the winter season freeze, the wet soil can broaden and put enough pressure on your home foundation to trigger a fracture. Then when the spring thaw comes, all that frozen soil can drain into your basement in the formed crack.

Examine all your interior faucets and tubes. Make sure faucets don't drip or have rust on them and pipes are not cracked or leaking. Inspect the humidity in your house during winter. If it's too damp, your windows and exterior dealing with walls can sweat. A lot of windows can manage this condensation but it it's excessive it can trigger problems. Keep your humidity consistent throughout the year. It's best to keep it around 30-35 percent.

Now let's talk about mold. This is something every state, city, and country has. You can't eliminate it but you can discover to manage it. Mold needs a cool, dark and damp environment to flourish. As mentioned above, keeping your house humidity between 30-35 percent is the first action to restricting the wetness level in your house. Second, is ventilation. You have a house perfect for mold if your house is air tight and you have no air blood circulation. Ceiling fans, box fans, and even opening your windows allows air to distribute which assists avoid mold development. It sounds counter intuitive in that opening windows would allow mold spores to enter your house. Real, however spores are not a problem as long as you do not provide an environment to grow.

Cleaning your home so that you don't have mold growth is rather of a science but likewise some great old style remedies too. Thing to keep in mind when cleaning is to never leave water on the surface area longer than required. The suggestions below are to assist avoid mold from cleaning and growing existing mold before it gets out of control.

Always use wood cleansing products on your wood floors. Never ever mop with a wet mop. If you spill water on your carpet or wood floor, wipe it up and dry it as soon as possible. Blot wet carpets with paper towels up until say goodbye to water can be taken in after standing on the paper towel with the heel of your foot. Bathroom and kitchen sinks must be wiped dry after usage. Water that builds up in the joints of the wall or back-splash are breeding grounds for mold. Keep your fridge dry. Due to the fact that they will trigger steam, never ever put hot products into the fridge.

Examine your shower and tubs to guarantee the tile grout and seals are in good condition. Vinyl tub surrounds should be sealed. , if mold is discovered on a non permeable surface, bleach or ammonia can be used. . If mold is found on a permeable surface, 35% hydrogen peroxide can be utilized on the mold. Allow to permeate the surface area for a couple of minutes and then scrub to remove the mold. The exact amounts to be combined depend on the quantity and type of mold you are cleaning. There are business that specialize in water damage restoration and mold elimination that have some high-tech tools and chemicals to fight mold. Normally, these companies are called when it's far too late to take on the issue yourself or you are unable to do it yourself. Their job is to clean the afflicted area so that mold spores are not spread out to other locations.

  Sadly, many people are not aware they have a problem until it has ended up being serious. If you have a scenario, where it is beyond your capabilities to fix or clean, it is best to contact a professional water damage repair or mold removal company. They typically deal with your insurance coverage business to ensure they spend for repair work and cleansing.

Water damage from a flooded basement typically results in mold if not cleaned and dried right away and properly. The pointers listed below are to assist prevent mold from growing and cleaning existing mold prior to it gets out of control. If mold is found on a porous surface, 35% hydrogen peroxide can be utilized on the mold. There are business that specialize in water damage restoration and mold elimination that have some state-of-the-art tools and chemicals to fight mold. If you have a scenario, where it is beyond your abilities to fix or tidy, it is best to get in touch with a professional water damage remediation or mold remediation business.

    Ameristeam Damage Restoration - Des Moines

213 13th St Des Moines, IA 50309 https://goo.gl/maps/A1gPcVgijMx

[honey-hive-blog1]

Water Damage And Mold Cleaning Tips

Water Damage And Mold Cleansing Tips

Water damage from a flooded basement typically results in mold if not cleaned up and dried instantly and correctly. Water damage and mold are 2 really common issues most property owners will face in their lifetime. Why can't water damage or mold be avoided entirely?

All of us understand that whatever around us ages and starts to decay. That's the life process whatever has to go through. Trees grow, tip over ultimately and begin to decay. Streams cut into the earth and ultimately a Grand Canyon is formed. Temperature modifications trigger the ground to broaden and contract and rain makes the soil swell.

  With all these things taking place around us you have to be watchful to the modifications happening and take appropriate actions. Initially, let's focus on basement flooding and water damage. We understand that when water enters your home, it needs to be tidied up immediately or damage can happen. Your completed basement walls will take in the water like a sponge and cause the drywall to degrade, ultimately crumble right before your eyes. Wood floors also can absorb this water and swell, warp and buckle. The trick is to never ever allow water to enter your house except in controlled scenarios like when you are mopping the floor or cleansing. Examine these things around your house to prevent water seepage.

Examine your gutters and tidy them after the leaves have stopped falling. This will make sure that winter season snow can melt and drain pipes properly without obstruction. Also, examine your seamless gutters in the spring so you are prepared for the summer storms. Outside drains. Places like your patio area might have storm drains pipes that need to be clear of obstructions.

Check your window seals on the outdoors and within. Older houses usually have caulking that might have dried and deteriorated. Water might get within and cause hidden damage in between your interior wall and the exterior wall. Water damage starts with a single drip of water that can grow into a flood. In addition, if your outside faucet drips until the winter season freeze, the wet soil can expand and put adequate pressure on your home structure to cause a fracture.

Inspect all your interior faucets and hose pipes. Ensure faucets do not have or leak rust on them and hose pipes are not broken or leaking. Check the humidity in your home during winter season. If it's too damp, your windows and outside dealing with walls can sweat. Many windows can manage this condensation however it it's extreme it can cause issues. Keep your humidity consistent throughout the year. It's best to keep it around 30-35 percent.

If your home is air tight and you have no air circulation, you have a home perfect for mold. Ceiling fans, box fans, and even opening your windows enables air to flow which assists avoid mold growth. It sounds counter instinctive in that opening windows would enable mold spores to enter your home.

Cleaning your house so that you do not have mold development is somewhat of a science but also some great old style solutions too. Thing to keep in mind when cleaning is to never leave water on the surface longer than needed. What that indicates is to clean and dry totally. If you have a wood floor and use a mop, you expose the wood to moisture that causes it to take in and in some cases accumulate under the wood. Constantly utilize recommended wood cleaning products.

The tips listed below are to assist prevent mold from cleaning up and growing existing mold prior to it gets out of control. If it gets out of control, you'll need expert assistance to remove it.

Constantly use wood cleansing products on your wood floorings. Never mop with a wet mop. Wipe it up and dry it as quickly as possible if you spill water on your carpet or wood flooring. Blot damp carpets with paper towels until no more water can be soaked up after standing on the paper towel with the heel of your foot. Bathroom and kitchen sinks should be cleaned dry after use. Water that collects in the seams of the wall or back-splash are breeding grounds for mold. Keep your fridge dry. Never ever put best-sellers into the fridge because they will cause steam.

Inspect your shower and tubs to guarantee the tile grout and seals remain in excellent condition. Vinyl tub surrounds should be sealed. , if mold is discovered on a non porous surface, bleach or ammonia can be utilized. . If mold is discovered on a porous surface, 35% hydrogen peroxide can be utilized on the mold. Permit to penetrate the surface area for a few minutes and then scrub to get rid of the mold. The specific amounts to be mixed depend on the quantity and type of mold you are cleaning. There are companies that specialize in water damage restoration and mold removal that have some high-tech tools and chemicals to combat mold. Typically, these companies are called when it's far too late to take on the problem yourself or you are unable to do it yourself. Their task is to clean the affected area so that mold spores are not infected other areas.

  Regrettably, the majority of people are not conscious they have an issue up until it has become severe. If you have a circumstance, where it is beyond your abilities to fix or clean, it is best to contact a professional water damage remediation or mold removal company. They generally work with your insurer to guarantee they pay for repair work and cleansing.

Water damage from a flooded basement typically results in mold if not cleaned up and dried instantly and correctly. The pointers below are to help avoid mold from growing and cleaning up existing mold prior to it gets out of control. If mold is found on a permeable surface, 35% hydrogen peroxide can be utilized on the mold. There are business that specialize in water damage restoration and mold removal that have some high-tech tools and chemicals to combat mold. If you have a situation, where it is beyond your capabilities to repair or clean, it is best to get in touch with an expert water damage restoration or mold removal business.

    Ameristeam Damage Restoration - Des Moines

213 13th St Des Moines, IA 50309 https://goo.gl/maps/A1gPcVgijMx

[tarsuswhore-blog]

Water Damage And Mold Cleaning Tips

Water Damage And Mold Cleaning Tips

Water damage from a flooded basement typically results in mold if not cleaned up and dried instantly and correctly. Water damage and mold are 2 very common concerns most homeowners will deal with in their life time. Neither can be avoided 100 percent of the time, there are some useful tips that can minimize the threat. Why can't water damage or mold be prevented entirely? Simple. You can't control Mother Nature.

All of us know that whatever around us gets older and starts to decay. That's the life process whatever has to go through. Trees grow, fall over ultimately and begin to decay. Streams cut into the earth and ultimately a Grand Canyon is formed. Temperature changes cause the ground to expand and contract and rain makes the soil swell.

  With all these things occurring around us you have to be observant to the changes happening and take proper actions. Let's focus on basement flooding and water damage. We understand that when water enters your house, it requires to be cleaned up instantly or damage can take place. Your completed basement walls will absorb the water like a sponge and trigger the drywall to degrade, ultimately fall apart right prior to your eyes. Wood floorings also can absorb this water and warp, buckle and swell. When you are mopping the floor or cleaning, the trick is to never allow water to enter your home except in regulated scenarios like. Inspect these things around your home to avoid water infiltration.

Inspect your gutters and clean them after the leaves have stopped falling. This will make sure that winter snow can melt and drain pipes properly without obstruction. Examine your rain gutters in the spring so you are ready for the summer storms. Outside drains pipes. Places like your outdoor patio could have storm drains pipes that requirement to be clear of obstructions.

Inspect your window seals on the outside and within. Older houses generally have caulking that could have dried and deteriorated. Water could get in and cause unseen damage between your interior wall and the exterior wall. Check your faucets do not drip. Water damage starts with a single drip of water that can become a flood. In addition, if your exterior faucet drips up until the winter freeze, the damp soil can expand and put adequate pressure on your house foundation to cause a fracture. When the spring thaw comes, all that frozen soil can drain into your basement in the formed fracture.

Check all your interior faucets and pipes. Guarantee faucets do not have or leak rust on them and hose pipes are not cracked or dripping. Check the humidity in your home throughout winter. Your windows and outside facing walls can sweat if it's too humid. Many windows can manage this condensation however it it's extreme it can cause issues. Keep your humidity consistent throughout the year. It's best to keep it around 30-35 percent.

Now let's talk about mold. This is something every state, city, and country has. You can't eliminate it but you can discover to manage it. Mold needs a cool, wet and dark environment to thrive. As mentioned above, keeping your house humidity between 30-35 percent is the initial step to restricting the moisture level in your house. Second, is ventilation. You have a home best for mold if your house is air tight and you have no air flow. Ceiling fans, box fans, and even opening your windows enables air to distribute which helps prevent mold growth. It sounds counter instinctive because opening windows would allow mold spores to enter your house. True, but spores are not an issue as long as you do not provide an environment to grow.

Cleaning your house so that you do not have mold development is somewhat of a science but likewise some good old style remedies too. Thing to remember when cleaning is to never ever leave water on the surface area longer than needed. The suggestions listed below are to assist prevent mold from growing and cleaning up existing mold prior to it gets out of control.

Always use wood cleaning items on your wood floorings. Never mop with a damp mop. Clean it up and dry it as quickly as possible if you spill water on your carpet or wood floor. Blot damp carpets with paper towels till say goodbye to water can be absorbed after standing on the paper towel with the heel of your foot. Bathroom and kitchen sinks ought to be cleaned dry after use. Water that accumulates in the seams of the wall or back-splash are reproducing premises for mold. Keep your fridge dry. Since they will trigger steam, never put hot products into the fridge.

Check your shower and tubs to ensure the tile grout and seals remain in great condition. Vinyl tub surrounds ought to be sealed. If mold is discovered on a non porous surface area, bleach or ammonia can be used. If mold is found on a porous surface, 35% hydrogen peroxide can be utilized on the mold. Enable to penetrate the surface area for a couple of minutes and then scrub to remove the mold. Clean the surface area dry. The specific total up to be combined depend on the amount and type of mold you are cleaning up. Note: 35% hydrogen peroxide can cause lightening and can trigger burns. Check out the warning labels and directions that feature 35% food grade hydrogen peroxide. There are business that specialize in water damage restoration and mold elimination that have some modern tools and chemicals to combat mold. Generally, these companies are called when it's far too late to tackle the problem yourself or you are not able to do it yourself. Their task is to clean the affected area so that mold spores are not infected other areas.

  The majority of people are not mindful they have an issue up until it has become major. If you have a circumstance, where it is beyond your capabilities to fix or tidy, it is best to call an expert water damage restoration or mold remediation company. They normally work with your insurance coverage company to ensure they pay for repair work and cleansing.

Water damage from a flooded basement typically results in mold if not cleaned and dried right away and correctly. The suggestions listed below are to help avoid mold from cleaning up and growing existing mold prior to it gets out of control. If mold is discovered on a permeable surface, 35% hydrogen peroxide can be utilized on the mold. There are companies that specialize in water damage remediation and mold elimination that have some modern tools and chemicals to combat mold. If you have a circumstance, where it is beyond your capabilities to fix or clean, it is best to get in touch with an expert water damage repair or mold removal company.

    Ameristeam Damage Restoration - Des Moines

213 13th St Des Moines, IA 50309 https://goo.gl/maps/A1gPcVgijMx

[fountainpenguin]

Basic map of Da’Khelonia for my fanfics. Though, you probably know it by its Shroomalized name, Darkland. Yep, these are the Koopa Kingdoms!

Chelonia is the name of the turtle superorder in like, veterinary sciences, etc. I gave it a K and found out that it looks and sounds a lot like Darkland, which I think is incredibly cool. Da is the Koopanese word for our, so the name means something like, “Our homeland, for we are descended from great turtles”. The land is in the northern hemisphere, with its lower parts nearing the tropical region of the planet (I named the planet Agaricus after the mushroom genus, and it’s in the Chanterelle galaxy, but that might never come up). Narius is a temperate rainforest, while Linakar hosts a less humid temperate forest. That rainforest should really go all the way up to and beyond the river, I think.

Da’Khelonia is a united country divided into seven states, or kingdoms. The majority of the population is Koopas, though Goombas, Moles, Bob-ombs, Boos, Mousers, Swoopers, Piranha Plants, and Podoboos populate the area as well. You’ll even find a few Bumpties in Siralu. Shy Guys are not native to this region, but often immigrate. They are sometimes impressed into the military, or they may join willingly in return for food or what they perceive as a stable life. There might be a few random Toads here and there, but something like less than twenty in a population of about 470 million (There are towns and cities in this land; I just didn’t draw them).

Each kingdom is ruled by a Koopa king or queen. Meiolania functions as the "capital kingdom”. The longstanding tradition is, the ruler of Meiolania will take a mate from each of the other six kingdoms and produce an heir to rule that land. That heir is considered part of the royal family. When they’re older, they are free to marry and bear offspring as they will, but their children hold less social standing than the children borne by the heir who rules Meiolania. 

In other words, when he comes of age, Junior will be expected to produce an heir for each land. The present-day Koopalings, being kings (or queen) of their respective kingdoms, will be expected to help raise whichever of Junior’s offspring was born to rule their kingdom. The present-day Koopalings aren’t forbidden from having children, and their kids would be considered aristocrats, but it is Junior’s offspring who are due to be heirs to each kingdom.

Thus, while the Koopalings aren’t necessarily crazy about Junior since he’s Bowser’s favorite and they tend to get envious, they’re not too bummed out about things because they still have some pretty awesome inheritances, and they always grew up knowing where they fit in the grand scheme of things. In some ways, they actually prefer having the inheritances they have. After all, Junior has political expectations, like producing at least seven heirs and maintaining Da’Khelonia as a whole. The Koopalings get the benefits of being royals, like feasts and power, and get to have fun with fewer responsibilities. Larry gets away with being Zombie Heartbreaker, Ludwig can compose, Wendy can shop, and so on.

So, they’re all half-siblings who share Bowser as their dad. They look quite different because their mothers are from different regions all across Da’Khelonia, with Junior looking the most like Bowser since that’s what Koopas in Meiolania tend to look like. The Koopalings are being raised as princes (and one princess) by Bowser’s brothers and sisters (Blue Bowser, anyone?) They consider each other family, which is good, since the general idea behind the Da’Khelonic inheritance system being the way it is, is so the rulers of each kingdom feel strongly connected with one another, creating a united country of royals who work together to conquer outsiders instead of attacking each other’s kingdoms all the time. 

I realize I also could have made it a thing where the land is always divided based on how many kids the king has, and the borders fluctuate appropriately, so sometimes you have five kingdoms and sometimes two. Ah, well.

Here are the kingdoms, and the Koopaling in line to rule each one:

Meiolania - The central, volcanic kingdom. It lies within caves beneath the mountains, and thus is underground. It’s generally what you think of when you think of World 8. Junior is in line to inherit this one, and obviously, this is also the kingdom Bowser was born to rule. Meiolania is an extinct genus of turtle that had horns and looks a lot like Bowser. No, really. Look it up.

Siralu - A region rich with cliffs, caves, and canyons that, while beautiful, are difficult to traverse. As a result, there are many warp pipes in this area, and you can find many cliffside villages- some of which can only be accessed via warp pipe (or flying). Since travel was so difficult before warp pipes, the plants, animals, and people developed distinct little pocket cultures. Lots of languages here, and the acoustics of different instruments vary distinctly depending on where you are, so Ludwig has fun with it. Siralu takes its name from the scientific name of the European pond turtle, Emys orbicularis.

Serpentina - The mountains in this kingdom are even taller than those in Siralu, leading to the rain shadow effect which created the rainforest and the desert. The mountains stretch so high, villages are often above the clouds. The paths in this region are wide and sturdy, leading to easier foot travel than Siralu. Still, the journey can be difficult or even deadly for those not tough enough to survive. Goombas heavily populate this region. This is Roy’s kingdom. It shares its title with the scientific name of the snapping turtle, Chelydra serpentina.

Linakar - A kingdom of valleys, plains, farms, and lowland forests. Since Da’Kheloia consists mostly of mountains (not to mention a jungle and a desert), Linakar is valuable as it provides much food, be it through farming or hunting. It’s a more rural region populated with small farming villages. This is Larry’s kingdom. Its name comes from the three-toed box turtle’s scientific name, Terrapene carolina triunguis.

Klemmys - This coastal region is always a hub of activity. This is where merchants land their ships, fishing boats and cruise liners take off, and tourists flock around. Since so much of the Da’Khelonic landscape is harsh, Klemmys strives to impress visitors and enthusiastically slather them in all the Koopa culture they could want without leaving the kingdom. This is the home of big cities, parties, fashion, shopping, and just generally showing off your Koopa pride. All of this makes it perfect for Wendy. It takes its name from the spotted turtle’s scientific name, Clemmys guttata.

Elegans - The small desert land contains some interesting cliffs, canyons, and rock formations, though it’s best known for being that annoying region one has to cross to reach Meiolania. Morton Jr. lives here in an oasis city which, similar to Klemmys, regularly bustles with trade and drips with interesting culture. Morton loves to hear stories from all sorts of travelers, and share with them everything about his beloved home. He’s based on the Indian star tortoise, whose scientific name is Geochelone elegans.

Narius - This southwestern kingdom is best known for its tropical rainforest, and the fact that Lemmy and Iggy, inseparable twins since they hatched, are being raised together as co-rulers. The zone near the mountains is dangerous due to some science-y stuff involving carbon dioxide and nearby volcanoes. Many creatures wander over and accidentally asphyxiate in the dead zones. You’ll find Dry Bones and things over there, along with old ruins and things. Although they do belong to the same Koopa subspecies since they’re full-blooded twins, Lemmy is modeled after the red-footed tortoise and Iggy is modeled after the yellow-footed tortoise. The two species are closely related, though the latter is a lot bigger. The scientific name of the former, Chelonoidis carbonarius, is the inspiration for this kingdom’s name.

The mountains are called Carapace Peaks (a turtle’s upper shell is known as a carapace). Siralu’s big lake is Jugemu Lake (Lakitu’s Japanese name is Jugemu). Linakar’s main lake is Kuribo Lake (Goomba’s Japanese name is Kuribo). The main river is simply called Shell River.