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2015.01.09 00:06 cookiedavis Color Analysis

Learn, discover and discuss your individual color palette through color analysis.
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2008.08.30 23:48 Bringing color to the world of reddit

The Hub of Inspiring Brilliance!
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2020.02.23 15:00 little-eagle The home of meme coins

Meme coins, new tokens and cryptocurrency discussion to find the next 100x gem
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2023.06.01 21:00 DiscoverDurham Things to Do in Durham this Weekend (Jun 1-4)

Check out our full Durham events calendar.
If you'd like to add an event to our calendar, submit an event here. Please check with the event organizers to see if events change due to weather. Have a great weekend!

June Featured Events

53rd Annual Bimbé Cultural Arts Festival at Rock Quarry Park
1776 at DPAC
PLAYlist Concert Series: Raíces, Rutas, y Ritmos at Durham Central Park

Venue Weekend Schedules

Events at The Carolina Theatre
Events at The Pinhook
Events at Motorco Music hall
Events at The Fruit
Live Music at Blue Note Grill
Events at Moon Dog Meadery
Live Music at Sharp 9 Gallery
Events at Arcana
Events at Rubies on Five Points
Events at Durty Bull Brewing Company
Live Comedy at Mettlesome
Events at Boxyard RTP
Events at Glass Jug Beer Lab in RTP
Events at Glass Jug Beer Lab in Downtown Durham

Local Sports

Durham Bulls Home Stand at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park
Running of the Bulls 8K at Historic Durham Athletic Park

Thursday, Jun 1

Thirsty Thursdays at Dashi
Vinyl Night with DJ Deckades at Gizmo Brew Works
Boulders & Brews Meetup at Triangle Rock Club - Durham
Trivia Night w/Big Slow Tom at Clouds Brewing Brightleaf Square

Friday, Jun 2

Tasting at Ten at Counter Culture Coffee
Garden Printing: Cyanotypes and Hammered Flower Prints on Fabric at Duke Campus Farm

Saturday, Jun 3

Durham Farmers’ Market at Durham Central Park
South Durham Farmers' Market at Greenwood Commons Shopping Center
parkrun Durham at Southern Boundaries Park
Hayti Walking History Tour at Hayti Heritage Center
Nasher Community Celebration at the Nasher Museum of Art
MAKRS Pop-up at Durham Central Park
Crafternoons at Gizmo Brew Works
Beaver Queen Pageant — Once Upon a Wetland... at Duke Park

Sunday, Jun 4

Al Strong Presents Jazz Brunch at Alley Twenty Six
Art-n-Soul Market at Mystic Farm & Distillery
Public Tour at Duke Chapel
Trivia at Navigator Beverage Co.

Running Art Exhibits

upstART Gallery: A Jim Lee Project at Pop Box Gallery
Exhibit at 21c Museum Hotel
“Extra-Spectral” at the Durham Art Guild Truist Gallery
Donna Stubbs, Featured Artist at 5 Points Gallery
Chieko Murasugi & Renzo Ortega at Craven Allen Gallery
Spirit in the Land at the Nasher
Andy Warhol: You Look Good in Pictures at the Nasher
Art of Peru at the Nasher
submitted by DiscoverDurham to bullcity [link] [comments]

2023.06.01 20:54 rlnjkm Is LISK a Bisexual Sadist Sexual Serial Killer?

Is LISK a bisexual sadist serial killer; grooming, attacking and murdering both men and women and why do few people really want to consider this?
A reasonable case for this can be made with just allowing one’s perspective to see all of the overarching evidence and challenge law enforcement’s one dimensional, myopic and hastily put together narrative.
As stated many times before, SCPD believes “Asian Male” to be an outlier, a surprise to LISK, who being all heterosexual, beat this person to death in a fit of rage. On the surface, this is a plausible assessment; that is, if there weren't any other males found in proximity (location and time), to female victims, or found in some sort of female clothing. How does that align when SCPD also has a keen eye on Andre Jamal “Sugar Bear'' Issac, going so far as to incorporate a link to the Gilgo News website, and “owning” the case, despite their torso being found in Arverne, in a female bodysuit and skirt?
The link, or links?
As my research progressed, using my map, it became rather obvious to me that there was something more going on than the narrative suggests. The list of male victims I’ve compiled are not conclusive and there could very well be any number of reasons and tons of other POI’s, but if “Asian Male” and Sugar Bear and the Manorville Males are in LISK’s orbit, then so too are the men I will introduce below.
SCPD, subsequently and consistently has denied any link between the three murdered males found in Manorville, 2000, 2003 and 2012, despite being in relative proximity to Jessica Taylor and Valerie Mack (who were also found along Ocean Parkway in the Gilgo Beach area).
But, is this accurate?
Not by a long shot…..here is why…
What if LISK selected both women and men, to moderately groom and ultimately murder?
Before I get to that, I wanted to thoroughly look at Sexual Serial Killers in general. Many SK’s are compulsion killers- driven towards certain criteria and/or opportunities, but predominantly, sexually driven:
There are precedents of bisexual serial killers:
Serial killers have many overlapping traits, which seem like MO’s to the average person, but this is actually not the case. Each known serial killer is wholly unique and while there are some similarities, it is foolish to try to relegate any one of them into a box of characteristics and call it expertise, or “definitive”.
LISK clearly has a female “preference”. Petite, 5’-5’5”, 100 -110 lbs., hazel/green eyes. The “attributed” LISK Victims all share these characteristics. (Side note: less than 5% of the world’s population has hazel eyes, in the US, it’s closer to 18%). The narrative here is that it was easier to “control” smaller, lighter women, but not necessarily the case. Eye color preference is a derivative of paraphilia and may represent for LISK, a catalyst, rooted in his childhood or early developmental experiences or fantasies.
With the males we see a different trend, notably because males tend to be larger overall. But the methods of their deaths have some consistency.
For now, I will focus on just the time frame of 1990-2016. I will add background where relevant. To be fair, some of the criteria I used is lacking depth and is tenuous, however, for example, at that time, it was well known that a male wearing one earring is representing themselves as gay in many circles, whereas nowadays, it is not.
Also notable:
Here is a more detailed list that incorporates both attributed and possible victims:
Connectivity Avenues:
It appears that victims who worked the streets were dismembered, compared to escorts who advertised online, (assuming the same for FIJD, Peaches).
Sources and Links:
SEXUAL SERIAL MURDER AND DEVELOPMENTAL THEORY
RETURN OF FLEET WEEK
EYE COLOR PREFERENCE AND PARAPHILIA
HAZEL EYES
MALIGNANT SEX AND AGGRESSION: AN OVERVIEW OF SERIAL SEXUAL HOMICIDE
ISRAEL KEYES
REDDIT CROSSPOST
REVISITING 10 UNSOLVED LGBTQA+ MURDERS IN DC
MAP
submitted by rlnjkm to LISKiller [link] [comments]

2023.06.01 19:23 Strategy_Gamer The Phoenix Rises (16/?)

FIRST PREV NEXT
Memory transcription subject: Captain Sovlin, Federation Fleet Command
Date [standardized human time]: July 26, 2136
My morning alarm blared, forcing my groggy eyes open and I slammed my paw onto my holopad to shut it up. Beleaguered, I sat upright, stretched, then tore myself from bed to get ready for the upcoming day.
I had been given a hotel room in the Grand Capital Hotel just outside the governing hall, oftentimes reserved for diplomatic and administrative personnel as well as experts and guests who were invited to activities and votes. Its mixtures of green flora mixed with brown walls and large glass windows with intricate metallic designs perfectly encapsulated the value of art and botany in Aafa. Its interior designs were just as luxurious, with displays of natural free-flowing water dotting most floors. Given the near-monthly nature of large-scale events of Aafa - whether they be simple conventions or summits such as this - the hotel saw continuous use as many governments and private individuals would arrange for their own to stay the duration of the ongoing event. I had personally insisted that I didn’t need such arrangements, but both Piri and Nikonus wanted me to be well rested.
Unfortunately for them, I never had the liking of overly luxurious spaces. With years of naval service under my belt, I had become accustomed to living in utilitarian rooms and barracks; anything more opulent just seemed wrong. While I appreciated the beauty of it, I could hardly bear staying here - I was the leading officer of a fleet and there was a war to fight. These were not times to enjoy hedonistic pleasures. One quick breakfast later, and I tried to make my way towards the summit hall.
Tried to.
Massive crowds surrounded the governing hall, choking off almost every possible access point. In several areas, tents had been pitched on open ground and even a few entrepreneurial stalls had popped up, catering to the entrenched crowds. I had to make a deliberate point out of flattening my quills as I jostled my way through the throngs of people. Most were native Kolshians, but a sizable minority were other Federation species, keen on seeing the summit firsthand; I could only guess to the size of the online audience. I wouldn’t be surprised if the live viewership was in the hundreds of millions. Recordings of the summit would likely get tens of billions of views within hours.
That in of itself was hardly surprising. A supposedly exterminated and long-forgotten predator species suddenly rose from the dead? And then that same predator species destroyed three patrol vessels? News organizations had been quick to seize the sensational story, as they churned out headline after headline. Some suggested that the humans had already amassed a fleet of ten thousand ships ready to launch. Others focused on the gruesome aspects of humanity’s brutality and cruelty. I knew the former was wrong; if they had ten thousand ships ready, then they would have attacked by now. Given the primitive nature of the orbital installations detected by the patrol, it was obvious that they had only recently clawed their way back to a state that we had found them in before our first extermination attempt.
Such common sense, however, didn’t stop the all-consuming media from running obviously false headlines or opinion pieces such as: “Venlil Prime Would Have To Surrender to Humans If Attacked For Chance of Survival: Military Expert Analysis.” What dull idiot gave that opinion, anyway? I’d pluck every quill from him if I could for suggesting that Tarva would willingly surrender to predators.
I know her! She wouldn’t do that.
Not to mention, I’m doubting the credentials of this so-called “military expert.” The article was published by the rag known as Federation Today, a news outlet exposed by the well respected investigative reporter Cilany herself. Unfortunately, that non-credible source had once more found a market in fanning the fears of the populace.
The only people who read that stars-forsaken newspaper are old ladies hundreds of light years away from danger. Not to mention that FT hasn’t been relevant for a whole decade… until now.
I continued pushing my way through the immense crowds of people, even as I was internally lamenting the poor reaction of the media. While many were here simply to watch the summit, a significant portion of them were protesters. Some held signs demanding the new infestation of predators to be summarily exterminated. Others were demanding answers as to why the previous extermination failed. I could deliver answers and solutions once I was inside, though progress was slow as the streets grew ever more packed the closer I got to the hall.
Eventually, I finally managed to reach a private entrance that wasn’t blocked by the crowds. I showed my credentials to the extermination officers stationed outside of the door, who promptly waved me in. The insides of the chambers proved to be nearly as loud and bustling as the outside. While there was a greater degree of order, I could still overhear arguments for caution, declarations of support, and cries for immediate extermination. I knew I would have to appeal to a large and diverse audience with competing interests.
Unlike what the Federation often tries to outwardly portray, the member species are anything but unified. Rivalries abounded within the Federation, whether political, economic, military, or otherwise. For one, there was an ongoing trade war between the Fissan Compact and the Nevok Imperium, as the upcoming Fissans had attempted to undercut the Nevok’s business deals across the galactic scene. The bigger power-brokers, like my own Gojid Union, had routinely been at odds with the other powers like the Krakotl Alliance, especially in military affairs. Lastly, political leadership jostled around frequently, and committee chairs had a notoriously short turnover rate. The rare exception to that was the Kolshians - who typically headed several committees due to their expertise in multiple fields of study - and the Farsul, who tended to always chair the Historical and Cultural committees because of their expertise in those fields of study and education.
The only true unifying factor amongst the Federation was the war against cruel and unpredictable predators, whether it be Arxur or common pests. While I was long disillusioned with many of the higher points of “prey unity” pride, I had long known that this was a fundamental war of survival as we, prey races, had to form one large herd to overcome the existential threat that predators faced. And now, with a new species of spacefairing predators laying at the frontier of the Federation, we as a herd needed to deal with them quickly and competently.
And yet I’m concerned about both of those things. Competence and speed seem to be rare commodities within the Federation.
I sat down at my assigned seat in the massive auditorium next to member species from other parts of the area of space that the Gojids inhabited. The Venlil Republic, represented by Cheln, sat to my right.. On my left was Doctor Zarn, a part of the Gojid delegation in spite of his Takkan heritage, who gave me a tail flick in greeting. Further to my left was the Zurulian representative Chauson, who seemed to be conversing with the Tilfish ambassador. I began reviewing the documents I had taken with me to prepare for the report I was to give to the governing chamber and the hundreds of cameras recording for the billions of citizens watching from either outside or at home.
Nikonus tapped his microphone with one of his purple tentacles to indicate that he wanted to start speaking, and the noise and chatter immediately died down. In an unusual display of foresight, representatives who had been up and walking went back to their seats and sat down without a fuss. We need more miracles like those on the front, with soldiers following orders that need not to be given.
The Kolshian Chief rubbed his tentacles on his chin before beginning. “Esteemed members of the Federation,” he began. “We have called forth this summit to discuss solutions to the extremely concerning developments on the border of the Venlil Republic. There is a new group of intelligent space-faring predators at the Federation’s doorsteps, ready to expand beyond their home system. They are already known to those who delved deep into the history of predators: the Humans.”
Not a peep could be heard from the dignitaties in the room as Nikonus let the hall fester.
The Kolshian leader continued, satisfied with the weight of the situation settling on the audience. “It appears that these predators survived the onslaught of the extermination fleet almost two hundred years prior. A preliminary investigation into the ill-fated extermination attempt has revealed that it was both rushed and unprepared. Thus, the matter to discuss today is a second extermination attempt - one which avoids the shortcomings of the first. As such, the first to speak shall be the Venlil delegation, to testify about the situation within their space. Following them will be expert testimony before a broader discussion through the chamber. Questions are to be kept until after these experts have finished speaking.”
The Venlil diplomatic advisor stood to speak. He seemed rather uneasy, which could have been mistaken for stage fright without the knowledge that he’d been uneasy all week at the mere thought of predators living within Venlil space.
“Thank you, Chief Nikonus.” Cheln started to address the hall with a nervous gait. “Humans have been encountered a-alive within claimed Venlil territory. We sent a scout force of four on a mission to investigate what was thought to be a smuggling base between their system and Venlil Prime, but instead ended up encountering a single Human patrol ship. The Humans attacked first, and without communication. O-only one scoutcraft came back alive. Included within our data package are the testimonies of the t-two survivors.”
The battle was already galaxy-wide news. What wasn’t was the fact that the Humans only had one ship. Much of the chamber was taking glances at each other. The Krakotl ambassador seemed to be puffing out his feathers. The Suleans and Iftalis were whispering to one another. The unease within the auditorium was palpable.
“They are still undoubtedly the monsters they were before the extermination,” Cheln continued. “What civilized species attacks first and talks later? I don’t think you could ever find anything like that in our history books. E-especially not since we’ve been in space! Even if we didn’t know who this species was, we could very well guess that they’re predators. To prove that, I yield my time to Doctor Zarn, of the Gojid delegation.”
Nikonus affirmed the request as Cheln sat back down. Zarn took that as his queue to stand, moving to the front of the auditorium. While the Federation very much knew of the qualities of predators, it was always good to remind them as to why predators were dangerous enough to warrant extermination.
“Thank you, Ambassador Cheln,” my tough-skinned head doctor began. He brought up a slide presentation on the screen. “A doctor’s oath declares the intent to save all life. Animal or sapient. Young or old. Good or bad. However, for those unaware, I wrote my doctoral thesis on humans. I argued that some life is not worth saving, and used humanity as an example of a lesser known predator that is as capable, potentially even worse than the Arxur.“
“The humans were at constant war with each other and only accepted the absolute destruction of their rivals.” He flickered through some images we obtained. One showed nautical vessels being bombed by outdated propeller airplanes. The next was a clip from the point of view of a bomber levelling a large city. They had cities? “Their idea of warfare entailed the mass bombing of their rival’s cities and gathering each enemy offspring in butchering camps to roast them alive.” The next slide was a group of predators lined up next to a ditch filled with bodies with predator soldiers aiming at them, presumably ready to execute them. “They-”
“Enough!” Nikonus gurgled. Everyone looked ill. I noticed some visitors had lost the battle to keep their breakfast inside of their bodies. Even I, who had seen what the Arxur did to innocent civilians in-person could barely hold my stomach. “We don’t need these painfully grotesque images and videos. Please, skip them and move on. I believe you’ve made your point.”
Zarn seemed unamused and closed the presentation. “All of this is documented in detail within the Farsul archives. These humans, even as a doctor sworn to protect life, are not worth saving, even for study. They are a blight on the face of the universe and must be eradicated.”
With the situation established and the evil of humanity exposed, it was now time for me to provide my full testimony as an expert on the military threat that Predators pose. The opportunity to set the agenda was a first to me. Political fights in the Federation, as a military commander, always felt like a gruelling uphill climb; I felt gracious to be in the driver’s seat on any political issue for once.
As Zarn sat down, Nikonus called on me as the military expert. I rose to speak.
“Thank you, speaker. The solution to the human problem can only be found in a thorough extermination of their cradle. In the long run, they may prove to be crueler and more capable than the Arxur, but we still have time to prevent this eventuality. An infant predator is still merely an infant, after all. And I have more than just sayings to back my words.”
“Human capabilities are next to nonexistent. Firstly, they responded to an intrusion into their system incredibly late, engaging only when the scout patrol was nearly in orbital bombardment range. Secondly, they only sent a single vessel. This leads me to the conclusion that they lack a large fleet of ships and that, even if they did have something significant, few would have FTL capabilities. They do have some orbital defenses, however. Ground defenses are unknown, but given the incredibly primitive state of their orbital defenses, I do not think that it can be considered a threat.”
Now to address the Mazic in the room. Bringing out my holopad, I transferred the footage of the human patrol craft simply blinking out of reality. Several audible gasps could be heard from the crowd.
“The most worrying aspect of Human capabilities is their apparent novel FTL drive.” I started hammering into the one true threat that Humanity fielded. “Looking through the logs of the returning scout ship reveals that the ship never detected any subspace disturbances. In addition to this, the visual and extravisual sensors only detected the craft as soon as it materialized in front of their ships. Therefore, the only possible conclusion to draw is that these predators invented a form of FTL travel that is completely undetectable.”
“The largest risk is that these humans, using their undetectable FTL travel, come into contact with the Arxur. I do not believe these two bloodthirsty predators could ever cooperate, but the chance that they might, and that this FTL tech falls into Arxur claws is perhaps the most pressing concern we currently face. The Arxur, if they find out about humanity’s novel FTL, would likely raid Earth and take the tech for themselves. Either that, or humanity, given that they, as predators, are much more sophisticated than the Arxur, might willingly give the FTL over to the Arxur knowing their demise is near.”
“Thus, the need for careful planning and a decisive blow that leaves the humans little time to think while they’re being attacked is utterly necessary. A piecemeal force, either for scouting or extermination, will be obliterated by predatory tactics. And, both to carry the antimatter bombs and in the chance that the Arxur discover the humans too, we need overwhelming force to ensure the success of a complete extermination.”
I sat down in a steady manner. Instead of waiting on the next expert witness, behavioral scientist Chauson, to testify though, Jerulim, the Krakotl ambassador, suddenly lept up, tail feathers puffed up and out. The krakotl nearly bled everyone’s ears out, screeching, “we need an immediate attack! If these predators somehow came up with an FTL drive that we can’t detect, then the only way we can ensure that they die is that we exterminate them now!”
I got back up to retort but Cupo, the Mazic president who had shown up personally for this summit, did that for me. “Did you not listen to a word that Sovlin said or read a single bit about the prior attempt? Rushing this extermination is a ridiculous idea! Not to mention, if what Sovlin says is true, then they could attack us anywhere at anytime without us even knowing! We need to protect each of our worlds with fleets before they abuse that!”
The Krakotl leaped from his seat and began to dive onto the Mazic. “HOW ABOUT THIS ‘SURPRISE ATTACK’ YOU COWARD?!” he screeched as he dove feet-first into the side of Cupo.
It seemed like the situation in the chamber was quickly getting out of hand. As the unstoppable force of the brightly-colored ball of feathers collided with the immovable object that was a Mazic, I noticed that Cheln was on the verge of fainting again whilst Zarn was rushing off to presumably tend to wounded ambassadors. If Zarn was unamused earlier, it was now Chauson’s turn as he was to speak after I finished.
In the midst of the chaos, the lower chamber doors flung open and out came a Kolshian whom I recognized as one of Nikonus’ staff that I had seen yesterday. What in the world is he doing here? The entire chamber turned quiet, including Jerulim and Cupo who seemed to put on a temporary truce to see what was the commotion.
The blue Kolshian was heaving from exhaustion and he stumbled up to the central podium. “T-The- the predators… they’ve…” he heaved out. I noticed I was holding my breath at the news. He took a few more breaths. “They entered the home system of the Venlil Republic… attacked an outlying outpost… and revealed themselves to the acting commander before leaving!”
Everyone was stunned into silence, broken only by the sound of Cheln hitting the floor. Again? The guy has a fainting problem. The auditorium erupted into chaos. Jerulim began shouting that he was right. I heard Cupo trying to shout over him, and succeeding. Several species’ delegations were out of it or cramming themselves out of the exits. Nikonus tried to get everyone to calm down, but that didn’t work. The whole chamber was on the verge of a stampede.
I sat in my chair in shock. This was bad. Very bad news. The humans had the ability to enter and leave any of our systems at will, and they knew that. They were much more clever than I had given them credit for. Much more clever than Jerulim, even, who was now redoubling his demands for an immediate extermination attempt - one that would again end in disaster.
We had no idea what these predators were like, or what they were capable of. Or what they weren’t capable of. We couldn’t rush it. But they needed to be dealt with swiftly. This whole ordeal would test me more than any Arxur fleet ever did.
The benefit of success? Back to the status quo with the rampaging Arxur. The price of failure?
I didn’t want to dwell on that.
submitted by Strategy_Gamer to HFY [link] [comments]

2023.06.01 18:50 Necrolancer96 Summoning Kobolds At Midnight: A Tale of Suburbia & Sorcery. 84

Chapter LXXXIV
​
Somewhere, West Virginia, USA.
​
"Oaf! You couldn't have stated it in a less vulgar manner?!" The head butler snapped up at the Colonel.
​
"If you had just gotten to the point I wouldn't have!" The Colonel snapped back. The two goblinoids glared at one another as Morty choked on his drink.
​
"Wha *cough\* what was it you *wheeze\* wanted again?!" Morty tried to speak as he coughed up burning liquor from his lungs.
​
The Colonel turned away from the head butler with a snarl before looked at Morty.
"As I said. I desire to mate."
​
Morty caught a breath and spoke.
"Yeah I got that much! Look, I know it's a common trope to be a little curious and experiment when you go to college or uni. But I wasn't one of those types... Though Archie from Chem DID brush up against me once and I wasn't ENTIRELY against it-"
​
The Colonel looked red and aghast.
"N-n-n-no General! I didn't mean with you!"
​
The head butler snickered.
"Maybe if you had pointed that out before-"
​
"And maybe if you hadn't wasted so many words-"
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"SHUT UP!!!" Morty snapped.
​
The two goblinoids ceased speaking, though they continued to glare at one another. Morty sighed as he collected his thoughts. The sisters trying, and failing, to hold in their laughter didn't help.
"So... YOU desire to HAVE A mate?"
​
The Colonel nodded. Morty pointed to the head butler.
"And you want the same I presume?"
​
The head butler just shrugged his shoulders.
"Not me personally no, Master. However, many of the staff, as well as other intellectually minded goblins, have been feeling new needs and wants. I have no doubt that those same feelings are what have affected the Colonel here as well as the Red Caps."
​
"So you both have been getting the itch? If so then what does that mean for our future workforce?" Morty asked.
​
Both goblinoids shuffled uncomfortably. It was the Colonel that spoke first though.
"The training of new Red Caps has had... decreasing results as of late General."
​
"As has the serving staff, and those that have higher intellectual capacity. The number of us able to become as advanced as we are is decreasing with every spawn. Where the number of us that have grown certain organs has risen. I'm sure you can link the two."
​
"You'll no longer be able to just spawn and train others anymore. You're going to have to do it the old fashioned way." Morty stated. He assumed as much when he first saw the female goblin maid. But now this just confirms it. But something was still worrying him.
​
"What about the other goblins? Or the dragues?"
​
"They remain the same. They haven't the mental capacity nor proper conditioning to advance biologically as we. They are still the same goblins they were many weeks ago." The head butler stated, with the Colonel agreeing with an affirmative grunt.
​
That's one problem he didn't have to deal with, Morty thought. His Goblin Wave tactic could still work then. Though his already limited number of Red Caps just got more limited. Though they've been fortunate that their deaths were pretty rare, only a handful have died since they first "ascended".
​
Same could be said for the smart goblins/house goblins. He should really come up with a proper name for them one of these days. Fatalities were practically non-existent among them!
​
Though that probably also has to do with their new "tools" and mental conditioning rewiring their brain chemistry. Can't be so quick to death and violence when you can't just pop out of a mint green puddle.
"Then it's not a complete change of plans, we'll just have to be extra careful when it comes to your assignments. But first, what was this about wanting a mate?"
​
The Colonel's tannish colored skin turned a reddish hue as the topic returned to his personal request turned faux pas.
"Yes, uhm. As I mentioned-"
​
"Poorly." The head butler pointed out.
​
"AS I MENTIONED, I desire a mate and am currently courting a young woman in town, and I desire that should the time come. That I may be allowed to engage in..." The Colonel paused as his face turned redder.
​
"Coitus? Sexual Intercourse? Baby Making? Fucking?" Morty asked with a creeping smile, each word turning the Colonel redder and redder until his face was more red than tan.
​
"Y-y-y-yes General."
​
Morty stared at the Colonel for an uncomfortably long moment. After feeling he embarrassed him enough, Morty spoke.
"Sure have at it."
​
The Colonel looked both relieved and shocked.
"Truly, General?!"
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"Sure! Who am I to get in-between true love! Go have fun you crazy kids! And don't do anything I wouldn't!" Morty replied glibly.
​
The Colonel eagerly saluted Morty and fumbled a few more words of thanks before turning away and leaving Morty alone with the head butler, and the two sisters who still waited outside the room.
"So now what Jeeves?" Morty asked.
​
"Well Master. That was all that was both of note and pressing to inform you about." The goblin head butler, now dubbed Jeeves, stated.
​
"If that's all then, get back to work." Morty dismissed Jeeves with a wave of his hand as he turned to focus on paperwork.
​
Jeeves bowed and left. Leaving Morty alone to go over finances and logistics for when his mining, foresting, and masonry gets up and running. He was debating on if he should send the resources into town and get them worked on, thus giving the town a boost in greatly needed income. Or to keep it in-house.
​
Sure the former would be great for the town that he wished to control. BUT the latter was ALREADY in his control. Not only that but the current population of Somewhere weren't exactly loyal to him. The goblins on the other hand were.
​
The Noble Goblins, that could work, were actually pretty good tinkerers. He could get them to work the iron, lead and stone themselves. With the confirmation that they can now breed like normal creatures, he could start having them making babies with the locals! The Red Caps seem to already be doing that. But he could also send some pretty little maid goblins to start intermingling with the local population!
​
It would tie the locals closer to him by blood, sorta, and the future generations would be loyal to him! Then again this is all assuming that a goblin and a human can have kids. If not, then he could just outright repopulate the town with Noble Goblins and Red Caps. With their eagerness for violence lessened they would make a decent general population to rule over. Hell, he does it already.
​
Well, he had time. All he had to do was wait for nature, and biology, to take its course and he'll have confirmation in a few weeks, or months. Then he can go from there.
​
Though that thought process got him thinking about something else.
"Orga. Urga. Can you get pregnant from me?"
​
The two sisters looked at one another then back at Morty and shrugged their thick shoulders.
"We don't know. We never mated with a human before."
​
"What about other ogre tribes?"
​
"We haven't heard anything from anywhere else either."
​
"Well, if you can. How, or when, will you know?"
​
"We'll know." Was the infuriatingly simple answer.
​
"What do you mean you'll know?"
​
"We'll know if we are or if we aren't." Orga stated to which her sister nodded.
​
"That's not helpful."
​
"Like we said. We never mated with a human before. We don't know if or when any more than you do."
​
That actually made him nervous. He had kinda been shoving it to the back of his mind for some time now. But now the idea was front and center. There was a possibility that he'll be a father now. He was careful before with other women he brought home. Probably for the same reason that his father probably resented him for.
​
Morty got bits and pieces over the years. He assumed that the reason his father hated him was because when his mother, and soon himself, came along. His grandfather forced him to "man up" and become a family man. No more parties and boozy evenings, no more string of ladies of the night following him along to his bed to take his money, among other things.
​
That all, mostly, stopped when he married. His grandfather put the boot down. Either he would settle down and become a proper family man befitting the Duval name, or he wouldn't see a penny ever again.
​
So that's what his father did. He married and Morty came into the world soon after, and hated and resented him, his mother, and grandfather since. The anger and resentment bled into the staff. They held their tongues when in the presence of his grandfather, but when his mother passed and he got sick they made no secret how little they thought of both him and his mother. She was an opportunistic whore that snagged a higher class family scion, and he was the offspring that just barely avoided being born out of wedlock.
​
Now the idea that he was possibly in the same situation as his father was years ago came to his mind. Only this time, he didn't have HIS father around to browbeat him into being a decent dad.
​
Morty might be a lot of things, but there was one thing he would be hellbent on being. A better father than his own. He smiled at the thought of seeing his kids running and screaming through the halls. Then that smile faded. If they were even half as big as their mothers they were going to need some heavy-duty diapers!
-----
As night neared, the Colonel marched briskly towards the pawnshop. His uniform was freshly pressed and his boots were shined. They were always shined but he made sure they sparkled a little more for tonight.
​
He slowed as he neared the door to the shop. He took a moment to calm himself and make sure he looked presentable for the evening. Once done, he went to enter the shop. Only to find it locked up and closed. Being informed by one of the guards nearby, he ascended the stairs to Molly's apartment above her shop.
​
Once there, he knocked on the sturdy metal door. He heard a muffled call from inside answer. A moment later it opened to reveal the pawnbroker. She wasn't wearing the prom dress from the night before. Instead, she wore some comfortable jeans and a thick coat and hat to ward off the chill of the night.
"Sorry! I forgot the time!"
​
"I-i-i-it's quite alright! I would've waited longer if I had to." The Colonel said with a pinch of nerves in his voice.
​
Her face blushed a little.
"Well, aren't you a gentlemen! Would you have waited all night, even if it meant that you might've been stood up?"
​
He nodded.
"Even if it meant waiting here for days or even weeks, I would have done so without a second thought!"
​
"Aw! It's words like that that'll make a girl swoon! But that's for later when we're not near a set of stairs." She said and the Colonel led her down said stairs. Getting to the bottom and holding out a hand to help her off the last steps, as is proper.
​
Her smile reached her eyes at how far he was going to be a proper gentleman. A great improvement over her usual suiters. The two walked slowly along the lit streets. Just looking around at the town as it had changed over the few weeks. Some places were boarded up and vacated. Some looked more than a little run down because of the economic collapse the town was in.
​
The only decent part of town was closer to City Hall and the parts under Morty's control. Though Morty's part of town had more to do that they were well protected from the ferals that seemed to infest the town worse than rats or cockroaches!
​
Molly's heard that City Council put a freeze on bills for the time being. Can't be ruling a town that didn't exist anymore. So they decided and the Mayor, grudgingly, agreed to put a hold on bills until they could come up with a solution to the economic problems.
​
While they walked the Colonel was making an effort to distract her from the nearby signs of his men at work. He didn't think that her seeing a feral goblin getting its brains bashed in would be very romantic, nor proper for a woman like her to witness.
​
Though it was hard as even though he tried to talk a bit louder, the cries and sickening crunches still bled out into the night air. If she noticed, she didn't say anything.
​
The Colonel could only hope that it didn't put a damper on the mood. Though from her smile he didn't think it did. But he still led her to the less active parts. They would greet goblins on patrol, and they even spotted a couple of other Red Caps that had similar ideas and were either on walks of their own with their chosen dates or were dining with them in one of the local establishments.
​
Eventually their walk came to an end though. It was getting late and the Colonel didn't want to keep the young woman out too late. She turned around and faced him with a bright smile.
"I had a lovely evenin'! Thank you for the nightly stroll!"
​
"It was my pleasure to do so!"
​
"How about next time you come over and stay for dinner? My treat?" She asked a little nervously.
​
"I would enjoy that. Though it would be more proper for I to treat you."
​
"It may be more proper, but just wait until you try my tuna casserole!"
​
The Colonel chuckled and assented. She bit her lip a little before kissing the Colonel. It was a long, romantic kiss. One that he returned with eagerness and that ended with the two parting a little out of breath. Both more than a little red from the exchange. She smiled and went into her apartment while the Colonel marched back to the manor with a smile of his own on his face.
​
[First] [Prev] [Next]
submitted by Necrolancer96 to HFY [link] [comments]

2023.06.01 18:16 DrRoy Expiring from the Criterion Channel in June 2023: Erotic Thrillers and all sorts of other films!

My recommendations:
I'm interested in:
The List:
Collections
Method Acting
Anthony Mann Directs James Stewart
Starring Jennifer Jason Leigh
Erotic Thrillers
80s Horror
Fernando di Leo's Italian Crime Thrillers
Cinema Verite
Directed by David Lynch
Directed by Jerzy Skolimowski
Double Feature - Two Films by Johnnie To
Starring Joan Bennett
Art-House America: Maysles Documentary Center
Categories
Criterion Editions / Back By Popular Demand
Exclusive Streaming Premieres
Saturday Matinees
True Stories
Women Filmmakers
Short Films
submitted by DrRoy to criterionconversation [link] [comments]

2023.06.01 18:08 tylerdhenry For UFC fighter Gillian Robertson, Social Situations Are Harder Than Fighting

https://ogjre.com/clip/for-gillian-robertson-social-situations-are-harder-than-fighting
Transcript of video:
Everything is weird about this for me. It's just like, I don't, I'm just like, I guess a socially awkward kind of, don't really put myself out there. Well, I do with fighting, but it's like, I've never really put myself out there in life. So it's like to be in these kinds of positions, it's just, it's all a lot for me. Wow. Well, it's amazing that the way you handle fighting, you can handle this the same way you handle fighting. You just get comfortable with it. I think that, I don't know, for me, social situations are a lot harder than like fighting situations. Wow. That's crazy. Oh yeah. Has it always been like that? 100%. Since you were a child? Yeah. I feel like I've always been like the socially awkward kid in the back of the class, like the nerd. Well, I still am at the gym, but I volunteered with animals my whole life. I volunteered at the Humane Society, a horse rescue, wildlife rehab, but just animals were my thing. And then it was just kind of a left field. I started kickboxing when I was 16. Just for fun? Yeah, I really don't know where it came, like what the idea was, but- Where'd you start? What gym? At Dean's gym. Oh, okay. Wow. You got lucky. So exactly. I think pro fighters worked for my dad. So I wanted to start kickboxing and then my dad found out that this guy was a pro fighter for Dean. So he ended up finding his gym and that was the first gym I started at. Wow. Well, what a great place to start. And so then you start kickboxing and how long before you decide, well, what about this MMA stuff? How long was that? I think it was probably like four or five months before I started taking the MMA class there, but I wasn't like thinking about fighting. There was a kid who was on the wrestling team at my high school who started training at Dean's gym and he was like, oh, why don't you take the MMA class? And I thought, okay, I'll have a partner. Why don't I try it? And I just kept on doing it. And then I was training like every day for like three hours a night, you know? And they're like, all right, well, why don't we just get you a fight at this point? Wow. What was it about fighting in martial arts that you became so obsessed with? I really think it was a one. I don't know what it was at first because I didn't start jujitsu, especially in the gi until like a year after I started training. But when I started gi jujitsu, I fell in love with that 100 percent where it's just the technique of it and the little tiny details of jujitsu that matter so much. Like if you put your thumb on this side of the hand or on this side of the hand, it makes a huge difference. Like the little tiny techniques that can make the difference where now a 115-pound girl at the time could do whatever she wanted to a 200-pound guy. You know, it was manhandling these guys around the room. And I'm like, just because of these techniques that I learned. And I thought that was awesome. Yeah, that is an amazing thing. It's jujitsu is the one martial art that delivers as promised, where the smaller trained person can defeat the larger untrained person. There's a lot of other martial arts. I mean, you have a better chance, but when they're really big, you know, and some guy is swinging it. If you notice how to punch a little bit and you get clubbed with one of those giant hams, you get fucked up. But if you get into a struggle, like some sort of a scramble, and you knock into some chairs and all of a sudden you get ahold of this person, now he's fucked. That's what's crazy. It's like that a small person can physically control and submit a much stronger person regularly. It happens all the time. It happens with black belts. Even in striking, it's like a person cannot know anything, but if they're big enough, they throw their hand the right way. They can knock you out. Yeah. If you get hit with Francis Ngannou's pinky, you're in trouble. Exactly. You know, there's certain people that are so powerful. The idea that you're going to stand and trade with them is crazy. They're going to hit you once and you're dead. It just doesn't work that well. Jiu-jitsu is just not the variant of space. So there's not that element of guessing where it's like, I can control and I can feel what you're going to do by touching you. It makes it a lot easier. You're not guessing what that space is striking. You're also not guessing the variables. How fast is this person? How fast am I accustomed to people punching me? Is this person much faster? Do I have to anticipate that? Because if you ever see like street fight videos, the most horrific ones are some poor asshole who wants to start a fight with someone who's a trained fighter and the trained fighter fucks them up. But you could see like they have no idea how fast things can happen. I'm sure you've seen a Joe Schilling one. Yeah. Joe Schilling one is ridiculous. But there's no way that guy could have known that that can happen that quickly. There's no way. And people don't expect like for someone like me, a lot of times I get, I would never guess that you're a fighter. For someone like Joe Schilling is still even like, oh yeah, you wouldn't like just see him. Just like an axe murderer. But you just see him walking around. Like most people you don't expect that they're... Joe Schilling you don't expect it? I don't know. He looks like a psycho to me. Yeah. But say like Ryan Hall. Ryan Hall is a great example. You don't expect him to be a fighter, but it's like you never know what somebody is capable of when it comes to sports like this. Oh, for sure. And then you get to Mikey Musimache. Yeah, exactly. That's the best example. Yeah. Mikey is a stone cold killer. And he looks like a guy who comes over to fix your computer. Like he looks like the friendliest super nerd. Oh, this video is horrible. This is street fight in a parking garage. Have you seen this? No. These guys start fucking with this dude in a parking garage. The guy trying to get away. No, he fucked the other guy up before this. This is the shorter version. Okay, this is the shorter version. So this guy, he's trying. He's like, come on, you want some? And he moves forward. This guy leg kicks him. And then this is where it gets ugly. Punches them. Bam. He's out. Yeah, you don't want that. Like what? Like it's awesome to see that stuff works, right? For people like, hey, this is real. Someone tries to attack you. You have an upper hand. But also, what are you doing? Yeah. These fucking people. I've never been in a street fight in my life. Good for you. I don't intend to ever. It's just, I don't get it. Yeah, there's, I don't see a use for fighting outside the cage for me. A lot of people anger management issues. And then there's criminals too. And you know, bad folks. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, there's a lot of weird stuff in the world. But just for me, I think it's fascinating that you are more afraid of social interaction than you're afraid of cage fighting. That might be one of the greatest lines that anyone has ever said. I think that's going to get you a lot of fans. For real. For me, it's just like literally, I never really did any kind of interviews or media or anything like that until I got in the tough house. So that's going from absolutely zero to 100%. What was that like? You were like 22 at the time? Yeah, I was 22 and I was having interviews every day. Cameras on you 24-7. Literally, after every single interview, I had to go and change my shirt because I'd be dripping sweat like I just got out the sauna. Whoa. Just so nervous after every single interview. Do you think they brought you into the house knowing that you were nervous too? Like that you're a little socially awkward in that regard and maybe that would make good television? I guess I never thought of it in that way. Obviously, they brought you in because you're skillful. But they also cast that show as a reality show. It's a very cleverly done show. It's smart the way they do it. Even with what they're doing now with Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler, it's great but perfect shit talking. When Conor tells him you'll do as you're told, it's amazing. I hope that fight takes place. But it's such a show, right? So it's not just an athletic competition. It's also they want to make sure the people are fun. Oh yeah. Our season seemed pretty tame though, I feel like in general. We had a lot of ... There was me and Montana Delarosa were the two younger girls and then everybody else I feel like was older and more mature. Around at least 30s and they were like ... Nobody was trying to start drama. Nobody was trying to get in each other's faces or we didn't have any altercations. It was a pretty chill season. That's great. So no one ever encourages any bickering or anything like that? They don't ever tell you, hey, that bitch has been science and shit. Does anybody ever do that? No, nobody ever really does anything like that. But it's just the boredom gets to you if anything else. It's like ... I feel like ... No phones, right? No phones, no TV, no music, no books, no ... Nothing. No books. Nothing at all. Oh my God. Nothing? So it's like ... Can you have a notebook? You're allowed to get a notebook and then they gave us ... We asked for coloring books and they gave us sketch pads. Oh my God, I think I would go nuts. That sounds like one of those anti-tech retreats. Exactly. Where they try to weed people off their tech addictions. I was just talking to one of the boys who's actually on the Conor McGregor season over the weekend and he said the exact same thing as me. He was like, it was the best and worst experience of my life. Because it's like when you're in the gym, there's so many highs, it's so great. But then when you go back to the house, you're just sitting there for hours and you're bored and it sucks. What do you guys do to kill time? Can you play games? Do they have ... They used to have pool, right? Yeah, I think they had a pool table and a chess table and then they have the list where you can order anything. Oh, so you could order like Monopoly? Yeah, so we would order a bunch of bullshit just trying to entertain ourselves. God, did you have good conversations? Or was it weird because you're all competitors? It's weird, well, not because we're competitors because I'm weird. That's awesome. I felt like I ... Especially back then, I wasn't able to just like, I don't know, acclimate to that, going into a house with 16 different girls that I don't really know. Right. Yeah, a completely alien experience. You're feeling a little bit awkward and you're also 22. And then also, bam, now you're on TV. It's my first time really like leaving home, I would say, for a long period of time. So it was definitely a big experience, like a lot to take on. How long ago was that now? Six years? Six years. Would you say that now you're entering into your fighting prime? Do you think that's happening right now? Oh yeah, I think this is like just the beginning of my prime. I'm just getting into where I've really found the right combination for everything and I feel like I'm just getting better every fight. Are you ranked right now? Where are you at? My next fight is against the number 15 girl, Tabitha Rickey. Interesting. She's tough. That'll be fun. That'll be a good one. Like it's coming up quick, June 24th. Oh wow, that is quick.
submitted by tylerdhenry to socialanxiety [link] [comments]

2023.06.01 17:41 edenstaub Is my Disney Classic Ariel doll a fake?

Is my Disney Classic Ariel doll a fake?
I am sorry beforehand if this Barbie subreddit is not the best place to ask this question, but I really don't know where else to ask on Reddit.
I bought the doll from an online local shop. Quality wise, in my opinion she is wonderful regarding hair and clothes. Her box is of good quality and the exact same from what I see from reviews on Youtube, with the exception of the added info sticker on the back in Mandarin.
Her face is slightly different though. Her eyes are looking to the left instead of right, and I think her lips are slightly misprinted because the bottom looks thin, unlike what's suggested on the mold.
I checked the reviews on the online shop, and it seems that only mine has this issue with the lips. Everyone else got perfectly printed lips from the photos they provided with the review.
I posted her picture on IG and one of my followers confidently told me that she's fake. Is it true that this Classic Ariel might be fake? I think it's not possible, since the quality is too good to be fake, but I might be wrong.
submitted by edenstaub to Barbie [link] [comments]

2023.06.01 17:34 cruisingNW Foundations of Humanity 27 (New Horizons) - an NoP fanfic

Foundations of Humanity 27 (New Horizons) - an NoP fanfic
​
Thank you u/SpacePaladin15 for establishing the Nature of Predators Universe, and for allowing Fanfics to flourish!Thank you again, u/Braquen, u/Acceptable_Egg5560, u/BiasMushroom721, and last but not least u/Liberty-Prime76 for proofreading! Also, thank you u/Frostborne for your blessing on my Gojid City name! This is my side of the Nature of a Giant crossover)!
Also Star Tours is a Disney copyright which I use in good faith and humor under fair use please don’t hurt me capitalist mouse daddy.
First -- Previous -- Next
Memory transcription subject: Valek, Venlil tourist
Date [standardized human time]: Sept 11th, 2136. Middle of 3rd Claw
I watched Maeve find an open station and investigate the helmet while I asked, “Do Humans have Visor arcades?”
“Oh, absolutely! There’s an entire League for VR!” Maeve awkwardly slipped into the seat and found the controls; after a moment the seat started to adjust itself to size, the sudden movement causing Maeve to jump.
Alvi spoke up beside me, “Maeve has a book that talks about it. It talked about headsets and digital worlds like what we have, over a hundred years ago!”
“A hundred years ago?” I couldn’t help but be skeptical. “Are you really saying that our tech is a hundred years behind yours with VR?”
“Eh, not exactly,” Maeve tilted her head as she thought, “with things like visors, there was an upper limit to how to design them. Most of the innovations were on how realistic the visors could make the media. We got video down pretty quickly, and surround-sound was pretty much figured out by then. We experimented with scent and that did not go well. Really most of the progress has been in processing, and you guys still have us beat on that!”
She picked up the viewing device. There were three kinds of stations with different sized helmets for each. The first she investigated were Dossur to Zurulian sized, but it only took a moment to find a Sivkit to Gojid size. “Looks like these could fit me. Can you two wait long enough to see if this works with humans?”
I flicked my ears in amusement and posed myself overdramatically. “I’m sure that I, your poor starving mate, can continue starving while you enjoy yourself.” I giggled while Alvi slapped me with her tail. “Go on, have fun! I’m also curious to see if the program would work with your eyes.”
With a look around to ensure no one was watching, Maeve switched her veil for the helmet, after only a few moments of effort. The collar thickness was adjustable to help the foam complete a clean seal against the jaw. I touched my pre-paid band to the tap pad, and the machine shifted colors to show it was occupied. The helmet was designed for snouted species, and so hung somewhat past Maeve’s chin, allowing us to see light reflected off her skin.
A screen beside her lit up with the mask, and we could see what she saw while she played. Alvi and I walked her through the tutorial and calibrator, and Maeve chose Jewels of the Federation at my suggestion; a simple walking simulator showcasing highlights of Federation homeworlds.
The simulator starts us in the same arcade, in the same booth! A well-groomed Venlil stands beside her and reminds Maeve of her private tour. Maeve ‘walks’ while still seated and lifts her virtual self from the digital booth, following the guide to a launch pad that didn’t previously exist. Alvi and I stopped in shock for a moment when a noticeably younger Captain Sovlin walked down the gangway of our destination shuttle; though judging by Maeve’s lack of reaction, she seemed not to recognize him; Alvi met my eye and pointedly flicked her ears. The simulated Gojid pilot wags their ears genially as they throw their arms wide in welcome.
“Good waking, citizen of the Federation! Star Tours has invited me to escort you on an introduction to the astounding marvels of our great peoples! Every species has made wondrous contributions to the enlightenment of the Federation, but the strayu is in the oven, so we’ll only get the time to visit your own Venlil Prime, The Cradle, and Nishtal today. Follow me and we can begin!”
Maeve followed Sovlin into the cockpit of the stylized shuttle and took the copilot seat; Maeve’s head was on a swivel and she took in everything around her. “Wow, this is so cool! Your whole helmet is a screen! Our VR is only in front of our eyes, tricking our brains into seeing three dimensionally.” Her voice echoed around the helmet, muffling her words before they could reach us..
The shuttle lifted gently and Maeve’s chair tilted back with it. Coming up, we could see that this arcade was in the Capitol, and they did a flying pass to show its glass spires and bustling spaceport. Sovlin spoke up beside Maeve, “The Venlil Homeworld is in a strategic position within the Federation, and you make your people proud by fulfilling your duty to the Herd; in spite of your weakness and timidity!!”
The shuttle started to pitch to the open center of the city, and a large park came into view. “But, as I-” Sovlin’s voice caught in his throat, before he cleared it and spoke with firm authority, “As we all know: Duty sometimes comes with Sacrifice. And we honor and remember that… sacrifice with the beautiful Cattle Memorial!”
The vines of Morning Light catch the sun, and I feel my ears fall as I remember my own family’s sacrifices. Alvi caught my distress, and curled her tail around me as the simulation continued, “Here we remember the lives lost from the ruthless barbarity of the Greys. We hope that this Shining Beacon may guide their bodies and souls back to the Herd.” The shuttle kept flying straight toward the ground, but the shuttle surroundings started to disappear as Sovlin and Maeve joined the mourners and wellwishers. The breeze played gently with unopened letters and fresh bouquets. Sovlin spoke softly, in respect for visitors, “It is open all claws, and many leave their remembrances. Make sure to show your support, next time you’re in the Capitol.”
After several moments of contemplative silence, the shuttle pulled up into the upper atmosphere, and Maeve’s seat began to shudder. I spoke up a little louder so she could hear me through the helmet, “Set your head back. The next part might make you a little queasy.”
Maeve did as bidden just before Sovlin hit the warp jump, and the screen was awash with a rainbow of colors streaking to the outer border.
We fall out of Warp just above The Cradle, its capital continent in view surrounded by great oceans, while other landmasses curve around the planet and out of sight. The camera quickly descends through the atmosphere and we pull into the great city of Vala’s Embrace, with its shining spires and sprawling seaports. We fly down through the airspace busy with cargo freighters and I see Maeve involuntary flinch after a close miss. “The Gojid are a proud and fierce people, but also industrious! Our Cradle and Colonies are a major food source for the rest of the Federation, in addition to the significant extractions performed by our colonies and outposts.”
The camera flies into the center of the city where stands a grand Cathedral to the Protector, Her robed form guiding believers to the grand entryway. “But my People are renowned for our stalwart loyalty to our faith and to the Federation. Our great houses of worship are monuments of our devotion to protecting the Herd from the Predator Menace!”
After a pass around the building highlighting its traditional stonework and heraldry, the camera joins the throng of worshippers, coming in low like a child beside their parent, and we see the full glory of The Church.
Our view pans up from the crowd to a ceiling decorated with murals of inlaid wood and metals. Vibrant colors, textures, and shining light tell the story of Vala driving out the Predators and forming the first Herd. Stained glass windows cover the congregation in pools of color almost as varied as the congregants themselves. A silver Gojid passes from behind us, towering tall with the kind eyes of one who knows their faith, and is safe in its love. They lay a paw on Maeve’s shoulder and guide her to a bench only a few rows from the front, with a seat on the aisle. The Priest stands before their podium and begins a sermon of service to the Herd, and one’s role within it.
The priest’s voice fades into the background as we fly backward out of an open window like a bird; words of Predators at our doorstep fading on the wind. We rise to re-exit the atmosphere, Maeve’s chair buzzing as the hyperdrive spins up.
We warp into a field of defensive space stations, glittering proudly in the Nishtalian Sun. Below, we see a planet with a great many islands, webbed with weaving waterways and small seas. Maeve pressed herself further into the seat as we entered their thicker atmosphere, the seat vibrations causing the helmet to rattle against it.
“And here we have the vibrant marshes of Nishtal!” We broke through the clouds to see massive arbors climbing back into them. We approached the Nishtal Capital sprawled across dozens of kilometers of archipelago, held above the water by meta-material supports.
“Nishtal is well known for its punishing environments, which helped to mold the Krakotl into Pan-Galactic Heroes! From Captain Kalsim, to Merchant Captain Malins, to Chief Exterminator Estela. Each renowned for holding the line against the predator taint, through fire or rail! And this is where their mettle was tested!”
The shuttle flies around a flat paved area, surrounded by landing pads as warships lift and land. In the center was a platoon of Krakotl performing training exercises. The shuttle again falls away as we start walking behind a Commander, Sovlin walking beside him as he speaks over his shoulder, “The Krakotl have been an instrumental force in maintaining our peaceful way of life. If you think you have what it takes, be sure to register for the JEOTC so you can help make the galaxy a better place!”
Sovlin met the eye of the Krakotl commander beside him, “Thank you for your service, Sir.”
We split off from the commander, and our walking transitioned back to our shuttle before firing off back into the sky.Through the vibrating chair, Maeve stuttered out, “M-M-Man Y-You-u-u Guys-z-z-z’re R-R-Real-l-ly into this-s-s W-W-War, huh??”
Suddenly the chair threw Maeve forward, almost unseating her as she suddenly fell out of warp, “We have Grey contacts! Time to turn tail and get out of here! I’ll stay on the guns and when I say Go, you push that throttle as hard as you can! OK…!” A Metallic handle started to glow in front of her, and Maeve reached out with her controller to grab it. It took her a moment, but Sovlin never gave the signal… Until she grabbed on. “GO!” Maeve rocked her body forward and slammed the throttle to its limiter, the seat beneath her rumbling with renewed vigor.
After only a moment, a Kolshian Capital Ship dropped from subspace in front of us and fired a volley of Everything in the direction behind us. Our ship slowed and Sovlin cheered from the pilot’s chair, “HaHa! The Vanguard has arrived! Thank you for your help gentlemen!”
A portrait feed popped up on and above the control panel, showing General Kalsim’s distinct banding on his beak. “This is General Kalsim, Commander of the Federation Vessel Inatala’s Will. Star tours, have you suffered any damage?” The portrait squawked as the General’s feathers puffed with pride.
“Negative General, thank you for the save!”
“Understood, let’s get you home, Star Tours.”
“We would be very grateful, General! Protector guides you.”
The chair beneath Maeve vibrates and tilts back as the hyper-drive charges up again, the screen flashing to show the sprawling oceans of Aafa, glittering brilliantly in the shining sun, dotted by its giant floating cities and lush tropical islands. A flock of broad chirping seabirds adorned with vibrant colors gliding on the calm ocean breeze flanking the shuttle. The capital of Aafa grew on the viewscreen, the sprawling Governance Center of the Federation dominating the city, swooping lines and a singular towering dome marked the chambers of the Federation senate.
“Isn’t that a beautiful view? This is what we fight for, this is the Cradle of the Federation, the very heart of our enlightened civilization. This is what we protect.”
The camera pans low, the shuttle falling away, sweeping along the streets of the capital.
The dome grew ever larger in the background until the camera began to soar over busy diplomats entering the senate floor, the camera like a very lost Flowerbird. Chief Nikonus was delivering an impassioned speech to the gathered representatives, declaring the grand aims and lofty goals of the Federation to spread peace and safety to all Prey peoples. The camera panned around the room, showing representatives listening to the speech with focused ears and attentive eyes, pausing on the Venlil Representative, swaying their tail in pride and determination. As the camera finished its rotation it exited through the rooms wide glass panes, rising up and over the city as the shuttle reformed once again, breaching through the atmosphere and up into the stars.
Maeve’s seat rumbled as the hyperdrive spooled again, the screen clearing to show the Capital of Venlil Prime once more, soaring down to the arcade the adventure had started in. Captain Sovlin’s voice echoed from the speakers.
“Thank you for joining me today on Star Tours! Be sure to visit your nearest Federation recruitment center today and do your part!”
With fading fanfare, the seat returned to a neutral position and Maeve took off her helmet to meet our eyes. “That… was definitely a thing. It had a lot of… uh… ho boy.”
“Yeah, uh.” I shifted my weight awkwardly, “Watching that as an adult is… Stars, I remember wanting so badly to sign up. But my mom stopped me.”
“I’ll have to thank her when we get home.” Alvi sighed with exaggerated relief.
“You and me, both.” Maeve said through a relieved chuckle, “You guys want a turn? I’d like to do something more chill; cleanse the palate.”
Alvi and I politely declined, before I offered, “Actually I wanted to show you something. I don’t know how you guys have fun, but Shipper is really good.”
I guided Maeve to the catalog and pointed out the correct one. As the game started up and Maeve got the ship moving, she snorted and muttered to herself, “Of course you have Trucking Simulator In Space. Why am I even surprised.”
---
Maeve was making great progress, and had made two deliveries before the low fuel warning began trilling at her.
“Nah, see, you gotta watch your fuel too! The more you haul the more fuel you use, and you still gotta make it to your drop-off.”
“Wow, you guys do not mess around with these work simulators. We actually had a whole era of these a wh- Hey!”The screen locked up, telling us our 30 minutes were up.
“W-What does it say?”
“It says it's time to stop and get some food!”
“Ahh, man I was just getting the hang of it.”
“And I would like to get a hang of some Mel Root wedges. Come on!” Alvi chimed with a playful whine.Maeve rolled out of the station, and after a moment for her legs to remember what walking was, donned her veil and we continued to the food court. Pushing the doors open we saw a veritable swarm of Venlil of all ages, though many of the younger were already sitting while their parents fetched their meal. A child near the door caught sight of us and squeaked in surprise, alerting their parents to our presence.
Conversation died like a wave across the open expanse. Maeve stood stock still, and so did we, trying very very hard to avoid a panic and stampede.
I spoke in barely a whisper, “Maeve?”
She returned my quietness, “Yes, Valek?”
“I don’t want to do this to you, but I think it is best if we find a seat first… Then Alvi or I can get the food.” My tail began to sway in slow caution while my ears kept on a swivel.
“Yeah. Yeah, I think you’re right. Can you see any open tables?”Alvi flicked her tail at the balcony, “I see stairs there, and the balcony looks pretty clear.”
Maeve started to nod reflexively before catching herself, then back to keeping her head low and unfocused.
Alvi and I guided her gently around the outer perimeter of the court, slowly working our way to the stairwell while all eyes and ears were locked on us the whole journey. We stepped up the stairs and conversation slowly built up again, though not to the same exuberancy as before. We found our seat just outside the stairwell on the 2nd floor. We tried to avoid scaring what few families remained on the balcony, but despite our efforts, those few almost immediately grabbed their belongings and moved. It was almost comical how little they tried to hide it. Yet also surprising in that there hadn’t been any screams or stampeding. It left a strange feeling in the air. One that felt somehow both better and worse than if they had screamed.
This tension was not lost on Maeve, as she muttered to herself, “Plague bearer, or horrific monster. Decisions, decisions.”
I took her hand in my paw in a feeble attempt to offer what comfort I could. Alvi was the first to speak, “Well, Valek you got the Gravity room and Visor game, so I’ll handle food. Anything the two of you desperately want?”
We gave her our orders and she stepped down the stairs, leaving Maeve and I alone on the balcony.
I hoped to loosen the tangle of this horrid tension. “Sooo…. Biblical?”
As I had hoped, the sudden change snapped Maeve out of her stormcloud and laughter bubbled from her like the Sun! “UUh… That’s uh. Complicated. There’s a good thousand years of linguistic context that makes that word mean what it meant the way I used it. The Bible is a book of faith for a significant portion of people on earth. Not all, and not even a majority; hell, even that is fragmented because no one can agree on what it really means. This Bible teaches a great many things, some good some bad, but one of its teachings is how to… legitimize relationships. Get married, basically.”
Maeve leaned closer to me on the off chance the balcony was less empty than we believed, “And one of the more serious ways to officiate these pairings was with sex; or ‘mating’. As this faith quickly became one of the more influential faiths on our planet, most of humanity learned and still has complicated feelings about sex and intimacy. So, we talk around it. ‘Sleeping together’ ‘Do the nasty’ ‘The beast with two backs’ and more to the point: ‘To know someone biblically’.”
“So when you said…”“I was saying I had sex with one of you, yes.”
I focused my ears in feigned shock, while my tail swished with mischief, “I was that one, right?”
Maeve lightly shoved my shoulder while she straightened to her normal posture, but I stayed low. “Hey,” I whispered, nodding my head for Maeve to come closer, and she did so. I reached my paws up to her white veil, and brought it up and over her face, revealing her brightly blooming face which my lips eagerly met. Pulling away, I asked, “Perhaps once we get back to the hotel, we could… know each other biblically?”
She pulled my face back to hers, returning my affections with equal vigor, “Only if we can get Alvi out of the room. I want you all to myself.”
Alvi. Right. She’s… she’s here. Staying with us. And we would be… kicking her out. The one she admitted feeling for would be kicking her out to mate with someone else. But she understands! Right?
“Oh, looks like Alvi got us some food!”
My ears snapped behind me as Maeve looked over my shoulder.
---
Memory transcription subject: Alvi, Venlil tourist
Date [standardized human time]: Sept 11th, 2136. Middle of 3rd Claw
I stepped lightly up the stairs while balancing the trays within my arms. There were so many options! Cresting the top of the stairs, Valek stood to assist. While I covered the menu.“Ok we got all of our favorite fruit, I know how much you love starberries, Maeve.” Who smiled broadly under her now-open veil. “I was able to get us some Sunbreeze, but most of the food stands had long waits and I was hungry, so I just got a plate of fried veg and called it good. This one is the fried Deeproot, and powdered lakeseed dough balls, and some mel root wedges. The arcade’s mel root is a little heavy on the firefruit.”
“Thank you, Alvi!” Maeve picked up one of the larger wedges and broke it in half with me. We lifted our pieces in celebration and bit down at the same time. Immediately my mouth was alight with bright heat and my lips stung blissfully, but after only a moment the sweet and full flavor of the mel root complimented perfectly with the cleansing fire.
Maeve beside me scrunched her face and gasped, “Whoo!” She hooted, “That is spicy! Mm! That potato is really good though. What do you call this?”
I wagged my tail, happy to see that she appreciated the- wait. “Potato? That’s Mel Root. What’s a Potato?”
Maeve licked her fingers before taking another wedge, “It’s a root tuber; a staple food from earth. Mel root, or, well, cooked mel root, has a really similar consistency to potato! Makes sense since they’re both roots.” She took a bite of her wedge and immediately made that same face, “Ooo that was a mistake, I should have finished talking.” a few quick breaths through her mouth before she continued, “Your mel root is denser, closer to a carrot, but still really starchy. The fry really brings out a lot of sweetness; I’ll admit, it goes really well with the firefruit. Good choice Alvi!”
The praise set my tail to wagging as I bit into my food. So spicy! So good! I am so glad we came to this food court!
Speaking of, “I haven’t seen Tarlim or his human. I hope they haven’t changed their minds on meeting here.” I spoke through a masticated root.
“Wouldn’t blame them if they did,” Valek grumbled, tail curling between his legs, “I was just like everyone who’s been running from us…” He trailed off sinking into his chair.
“You could have handled it better, but so could he.” I sighed, remembering that chair. “From what I’ve heard of those places though, I can’t say I blame him.”
Maeve set down a piece of deeproot and looked at Valek. “What are those places? You guys got really scared when he said he got out of one.”
Valek was the first to speak, “They are places where we put people who are a danger to themselves or the Herd; people with Predator Disease.”
My fur flared at the mention of my almost-diagnosis. Maeve noticed and flattened the fur along my spine, “You’re not a predator Alvi. There is nothing wrong with you.”
She says while you continue stuffing your face like a hun--SHUT UP!! I AM NOT!! I AM LOVED!! I AM IN A HERD! THAT KNOWS AND STAYS! SHUT UP!
Maeve watched Valek while she continued to comfort me “And… how does one get predator disease?”
Valek continued his lesson, while I tried desperately to slow my spinning mind.
“Well… the federation tells us it can be spread by ‘predator taint’, or spending too much time around or with predators. I’m… I’m not sure I believe that. But we know it can be inherent. Sometimes symptoms begin as early as an infant. As well, it can appear randomly or be carried within family lines.”“And how does one get diagnosed?”
I thought about when my teacher first called the Exterminators. I remembered the Exterminators coming to my foster family. They talked them down, but it wasn’t long after that that they ‘couldn't take care of me’.
My voice left my mouth unbidden, “Well those born with it… they tend to get diagnosed early, but sometimes Predator Disease can come out later in life. If someone is reported for Predator Behavior, they have a chance to argue their case to the exterminator on duty. If the exterminator confirms the case, they are taken in to be diagnosed. And if it’s a yes, they are taken to a Correctional Facility to be taught how to be in a herd.”
Valek tapped his claws against the table as his tail shook with desperate hope. “See? There’s several checks on the way to a diagnosis. The system is designed to avoid false positives. If Tarlim was diagnosed, I am sure it was with good cause.”
Maeve shook her head, “I’m not so sure. By my count, there were only two people in that chain, three if you count the person reporting it, and at best only one of them was a medical professional, unless I’m misunderstanding the concept of exterminators. Setting that aside, I think I’m missing something. What is Predator Disease?”
“It’s when someone is a Predator in the body of a Prey. We can see them when they don’t work within a herd, or they don't understand our tail signals. These people are a danger to the herd, both passively and, if left unchecked, directly, so we try to teach them how to be Prey.” Valek looked desperately at Maeve after spouting the information, almost as if by rote. Like he was quoting an exterminator textbook.
“Wait, wait… so it’s a behavioral disease? They can’t grasp body language, or other people’s feelings?” Maeve was appearing more confused, more… afraid. Was predator disease so terrible among humans? Then why would she want me around?
Because she doesn’t know, stupid! But she's about to! They never stick around once they find out!
Valek was adamant. Maeve needed to know this, I know she did. “It’s not just that, they can’t even get themselves to be part of a herd! They always sit or move with nobody around them!” but once she did…
“Well then. What would that make me?”
My eyes froze in their sockets and my legs refused to flee.
The Night called us.
First -- Previous -- Next
submitted by cruisingNW to HFY [link] [comments]

2023.06.01 17:31 ForteSP33 [USA] [H] DS Games, 3DS Games, Switch, Pokemon, Ps1, Horror, jRPGs, Dragon Quest, Playstation Longboxes, XBOX 360 High End Sports, NES, SNES, CIB Mike Tyson Punch Out, CIB Ocarina of time, Graded Games, Factory sealed games, other titles, systems too! [W] Paypal, Zelle, Venmo, Cashapp

PLEASE NOTE ALL PRICING DOES NOT INCLUDE SHIPPING. I WILL CHARGE SHIPPING EXACTLY BASED ON ZIP / LOCATION. Typically shipping for a game will range between $3-5.
NES Games
SNES
GAMECUBE
Nintendo 64
Wii
Switch
Gameboy
GBC
GBA
DS
3DS
Sega Genesis
DREAMCAST (all disc only)
PS1
PS2
PS4
PSP (all CIB)
Xbox 360
submitted by ForteSP33 to GameSale [link] [comments]

2023.06.01 17:04 RollingTit In my raised beds, I spread some of these seeds and they all sprouted so well, it's a hummingbird flower mix. This plant is the most prevalent popping up. Out of those listed, does anyone know which it is?

In my raised beds, I spread some of these seeds and they all sprouted so well, it's a hummingbird flower mix. This plant is the most prevalent popping up. Out of those listed, does anyone know which it is? submitted by RollingTit to PlantIdentification [link] [comments]

2023.06.01 16:14 jet2travel Argentine Tapestry: Weaving Nature and Culture into Unforgettable Experiences

Prepare to be mesmerized by the diverse landscapes and vibrant culture of Argentina. Whether you're exploring the colorful streets of La Boca or hiking in the majestic Lake District, there's no shortage of adventures here. Join us as we uncover the top things to do in Argentina and embark on a journey of discovery.
submitted by jet2travel to u/jet2travel [link] [comments]

2023.06.01 15:55 bostonglobe Why some street lights on I-93 — and around Boston — are bright purple

Why some street lights on I-93 — and around Boston — are bright purple
​
Defective LED street lights along a stretch of I-93 along the Boston/Somerville border cast an eerie purple hue over the busy interstate on May 23. CARLIN STIEHL FOR THE BOSTON GLOBE
From Globe.com:
The phenomenon, which some have dubbed “The Great Purpling,” is caused by defective LEDs, and comes as cities switch to the energy-efficient light source in more public spaces.
But as municipalities make the environmentally-friendly changes, they’re discovering the flaw in some of the light-emitting diodes that makes their hue alter dramatically — and leaves drivers scratching their heads.
Officials from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation are aware of the issue and have identified “7 or 8″ lights in that area that appear purple, a spokesperson said. All were installed around 2019.
MassDOT has ordered replacement parts that will resolve the issue. In the meantime, the agency’s engineers don’t believe the discolored lights present a safety hazard.
According to MassDOT, the defective lights came from an Atlanta-based company called Acuity Brands, whose street lights have been linked to “purpling” incidents in other cities across the country.
The issue, the company said, is the result of a defective phosphor coating in the street light fixtures, which was designed to make the bluish color of the LEDs appear white. Over time, the coating wore off, causing the lights to shine purple instead.
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2023.06.01 15:41 gdore15 Trip report : Three months in Japan including one in Kyushu.

In this report, I'll mostly list the city I visited during my trip and give my general impression or talk about what I did.
I spend a total of three months in Japan, the first 11 days around Tokyo, two weeks to move between Osaka and Hiroshima one month across Kyushu and finally back in Tokyo for a month, with some overnight trips in the Kanto area.
You can check my itinerary for Kyushu, it will give more detail on location I planned to visit in each city (I mostly followed it) and also gives a bit more info about me. I also wrote about traveling as a Hololive fan and posted on the dedicated sub, but here I posted about anime shopping a bit more in general.
If you want to get my extra tips that you would not usually read here or in other guides, I posted my tips on JapanTravelTips.
Walked from 9k to 31k steps by day, an average of 15k to 20k depending on the month I look at. Total cost including flight was about 8000CAD, I mostly stayed in hostels or similar accommodation, did not use JR Pass and mostly eat food in restaurant while moving around, but back in Tokyo I did much more convenience store/grocery store shopping for food. It did include a lot of craft beer and a bit of souvenir shopping.
Feel free to ask question, especially if I mention a place that you would like to visit, I can give more info. Or if you want to see picture of anything I mentioned, let me know I can try to share.
Kansai/Chugoku
Kyushu
Kanto
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2023.06.01 14:55 wisdom_and_frivolity Street Fighter Glossary, the words/phrases you need to know to join in community discussions!

Street Fighter Glossary

Shoutouts and sources: THE FIGHTING GAME GLOSSARY, The New Challenger team  

Boxer

A common name for the Street Fighter character Balrog. We aren't just describing his profession for fun, though; his Japanese name is M. Bison, so we need a clear way to describe which character we're referring to. See also Dictator and Claw.

Claw

A common name for the Street Fighter character Vega. Because the Japanese call this character Balrog, we often use this more general name when discussing him so there's less confusion. It's a problem that exists due to a triple name swap between three characters in the Japanese and English versions of SF, the other two being Dictator and Boxer.

Counter

Often used as shorthand for counter hit, especially if you are reading an on-screen message during a fight.
It's also a move that looks to catch an incoming attack, deflect it away, and automatically launch a counter-attack. You'll sometimes hear it called a "catch counter". You might just get one hit that sends the opponent flying, but some counters will let you get a full combo if it works. Lots of games have counters, from Street Fighter to Killer Instinct to Tekken to virtually every sword character in Super Smash Bros. It's kind of like parrying, except you don't return to neutral or get to choose your next attack.
Counter can also be used in the general English sense, as a technique that specifically wins against another technique. For example, you can counter pick your character matchup. Or you might say "that move is a hard counter to my strategy" if it stops everything you're trying to do.

Critical Art

The Street Fighter V-specific term for a super.

Crush Counter

A unique counter hit state specific to Street Fighter V that leads to highly damaging combos. If you counter hit your opponent with certain heavy attacks (each character will have their own list of Crush Counter moves), they will violently spin around as a glass-shattering sound effect plays, and they'll get put in a ton of hit stun. Many characters will be able to dash forward and still continue the combo with something beefy.
You can think of them kind of like a "super" counter hit, but tied to specific moves. SFV also tags dragon punches as counter-hittable during their recovery, which means you can wind up with your crush counter move and earn a huge punish when you block one.

Delayed Wakeup

The ability to slightly extend how long you stay on the ground after you've been knocked down. This is different from soft knockdown vs. hard knockdown, where you either rise immediately or stay on the ground for a set amount of time. In games with delayed wakeup, you can choose to make your hard knockdown ever so slightly longer, in the hopes that your opponent won't be able to easily meaty you or otherwise run their planned set play. Games like Ultra Street Fighter IV and Mortal Kombat 11 implement delayed wakeup.

Demon Flip

One of Akuma's trademark special moves; he jumps up into the air while performing a front flip, and then can choose several different unique attacks on the way down, including a divekick, a low attack, and a throw.

Dictator

A common name for the Street Fighter character M. Bison. We have to call him this because, in Japan, they call him Vega, so this helps us be clear about which character we're talking about. We have this same problem with Boxer and Claw.

Drive Impact

The character will garner armor that can absorb an incoming hit. Players can perform this technique by pressing R1+R2 (or just L1 if you're using simplified controls) and it costs one bar of your Drive Gauge. Source

Drive Parry

Players can simply hold down medium kick and medium punch to activate Drive Parry, which continually depletes the Drive Gauge until the buttons are released. If an incoming attack is successfully parried, the character will repel the foe's attack and some of their Drive Gauge will be replenished. Players can aim to perform a "Perfect" parry by activating this at the precise moment an incoming attack lands, which will net them some kind of additional bonus. Source

Drive Rush

Characters cancel out of animations early with a forward dash, presumably enabling them to perform otherwise impossible combos. This can also be performed from a Drive Parry, in which case its cost is reduced from three Drive Gauge bars to only one. This is done simply by double tapping forward while the animation for either a cancelable normal attack or Drive Parry is going on. Source

Drive Reversal

Similar to Alpha Counters/V-Reversals seen in Street Fighter Alpha and Street Fighter 5, respectively. Pressing forward and R1+R2 while blocking an attack will activate Drive Reversal, which causes your character to perform a counter attack that does little damage but that can give you some breathing room to get off of the defensive. Using this maneuver costs two bars from your gauge. Source

Overdrive

Which is essentially the Street Fighter 6 way of describing an EX move. Every character has a few special attacks unique to them, and players can give said specials additional enhancements (such as more damage, invincibility, further reach, faster speed) by performing the "Overdrive" version. This is performed by pressing two of the same button instead of just one when doing a special attack. For instance, if Ryu throws his trademark Hadoken special (quarter circle forward + a punch) he might enhance it by pressing two punches. Overdrive costs two bars from your Drive Gauge. Source

EX Move

A more powerful version of a special move, enhanced by spending some super meter. These moves have better properties than the base version of the special move, which may include more invincibility, more damage, or faster startup. The character often glows a different color, like yellow, while performing an EX move, just to make it extra clear what's happening.

Flash Kick

An invincible charge move made famous from Guile in Street Fighter. Hold down, or down-back, for about a second and then hit up plus a kick button to fly into the air foot first. It's a very common reversal and anti-air, but because it's a charge move, it needs more planning to use than a dragon punch.

Frame Trap

Two attacks back-to-back that leave a very small gap between them. The gap will be shorter than the defender's fastest attack, which means if they try to attack with a normal, they will get counter hit. Finding effective frame traps requires some basic understanding of frame data (or finding a good Youtube tutorial that has done the work for you!); you'll usually be looking for an attack that is plus on block, which lets you attack before your opponent afterwards, then swinging with a fast attack that "traps" your opponent who foolishly thought they could swing themselves.
 
Frame traps aren't foolproof, though. You can usually just continue to block and be fine until your opponent gets pushed out of range. Or, if you're feeling risky, you can try to get through the opponent's attack with an invincible reversal, which doesn't care about your opponent's pesky frame advantage.

Gap

How long your character has returned to neutral in between blocking (or getting hit by) two attacks. Like all discussions of time in fighting games, it's measured in frames. While you're in neutral, you can take any action, but be careful! If you are only in neutral for a few brief frames, there are some actions you won't want to take, especially if your opponent is looking to do a frame trap.
If your character blocks two attacks and there is no gap at all, we'll call that a true block string or say the offense is tight (it's also quite related to the Tekken concept of jailing). Sometimes players will just ask "is there a gap in that string?" just so they know whether they even have the option to do anything except block. Maybe if there's a gap they'll sometimes try a reversal to escape.

Gimmick

Also known as: Oki-Doke A plan of attack that requires either the element of surprise or a lack of knowledge from your opponent to work. The term is often meant in a negative way towards a strategy that wouldn't possibly work against well-prepared opponents, or something that can only work in the short term until your opponent understands the trick.
 
The term can also refer to a player who uses one linear but mostly effective strategy to beat lower skilled opponents, but who loses convincingly, with no backup strategy, when playing against better players who can defend properly. It may sound like gimmicks are kinda bad, but there's no better feeling in fighting games than to hit someone with a good one.

Gouki

The Japanese name for Akuma. Like with Vega, M. Bison and Balrog, there are some naming differences between some characters in the Japanese and English versions.

Hadouken

The specific name for Ryu and Ken's fireballs in the Street Fighter series, but it can be used to talk about any generic, forward-traveling projectile that is not a charge move.

Hit Confirm

Performing an attack, seeing that your attack successfully hit, and then reacting to this information by continuing the combo. That is to say, you "confirm" that your first attack hit before you launch further attacks, and if the attack was blocked instead, you stop and don't follow through with anything else. This is important because, usually, you will be canceling into a move that would be unsafe if it was blocked, so you only want to do it if it won't get you killed.
In some games this can be a pretty advanced skill, since you might not have a ton of time to recognize if your attack hit or not. In really fast cases, good players may even employ special tricks, like looking at the opponent's health bar or using special audio cues, to help them react as fast as they can.

Knockdown

Being knocked off your feet and landing on your back. Certain attacks commonly cause knockdowns, like sweeps, throws, many special moves, and in some games, simply getting hit out of the air. There are generally two types of knockdowns, hard knockdowns and soft knockdowns, which describe how long you have to lie on the ground before you can get up and fight again, and what options you may have (if any) while standing up.

Mixup

A situation where the offensive player has several ways to attack that each require a different defensive action to stop (such as blocking in different directions and avoiding throws).

Okizeme

Also known as: Oki The moment during a fighting game when your opponent is knocked down and you get to attack them as they stand back up. The defender's options are limited, so the offensive player gets to attack with all sorts of mixups or apply any mind game they choose. Some options include attacking with a basic meaty, doing a cross-up, or trying to bait their opponent's desperate dragon punch by simply doing nothing and blocking.
 
Okizeme (pronounced oh-kee-zeh-meh and often shortened to "oki") means "wake up offense" in Japanese, so the term mostly focuses on the offensive choices. If you hear someone ask "what's the oki going to be?", they are wondering what method of attack (or non-attack) the offensive player will choose to assert their advantage. It's closely related to the term wakeup, although that tends to focus more on the defensive choices (you might hear "I can't believe they did a wakeup DP!").
 
If someone asks "do I get oki after this move?", they're asking whether that move leaves them close enough, and with enough time, to threaten multiple different offensive options. Moves that "don't give you oki" will leave you far away and mostly end your offensive pressure.

Plink

An input trick where you press two different buttons on two consecutive frames. If you use an arcade stick, the best way to do this is to "drum" two different fingers across the two buttons extremely quickly. It will kind of feel a bit like a piano input. It's often notated with a ~, so pressing MP and then LP right after would be MP~LP.

Poke

An attack that's thrown out to occupy the space in front of you and remind your opponent not to try and come closer. Usually, this is a far-reaching and safe normal move with little risk. Pokes are often used to harass your opponent into doing something stupid, not unlike prodding a bear with a stick. If you use a poke to hit your opponent's poke, that's called a "counter poke".

Raging Demon

An iconic super for Akuma (and related "Evil" characters) in many Street Fighter titles. Akuma travels forward and grabs you, the screen goes dark, and after some rapid-fire hits in the darkness, you appear knocked out on the ground. Akuma then poses with his back to the camera.

Reversal

Reversal - An action taken on the first frame after your character recovers, such as after getting knocked down or exiting block stun. Sometimes conflated with "invincible reversal", an attack with invincible properties during startup.
%%%Shimmy Tricking someone into thinking you're going to throw them by walking close, and then, at the last second, walking backwards out of range so they whiff a throw tech attempt like a dummy. You can then pummel them with a huge punish.

Shoryuken

The specific name for Ryu and Ken's dragon punches in the Street Fighter series, but it's used to talk about any generic uppercut-looking move in pretty much any fighting game. Very often shortened to just "shoryu".

Shoto

An archetype in the Street Fighter series for a character that has a fireball, a shoryuken, and a tatsu. Their main gameplan is to play solid footsies with fireballs and pokes, and then uppercut you when you jump at them. Ryu, Ken, and Akuma are the quintessential shotos that appear in virtually every Street Fighter title.

Sonic Boom

A specific type of projectile that travels horizontally and is traditionally input using a charge command. Notably, they have considerably faster recovery than a fireball, but needing to have charge to throw one really limits the situations in which you can use them. Sonic Boom is the specific name of Guile's famous projectile, but it will often refer to any projectile with very little recovery.

Spam

Using one attack over and over again. Calling something "spam" or someone a "spammer" is the hallmark cry of the scrub, who is unwilling to find a strategy to beat any attack that hits them, no matter how telegraphed it is. Fighting game veterans will still use this term, but mostly in jest, or to give praise to a legitimate strategy. If you think someone is bad for using one move repeatedly to beat you, I'd recommend looking inwards and re-evaluating your strategy and game knowledge before lashing out. You might save a bit of embarrassment and you'll probably improve at the game at the same time.

Spinning Piledriver

A classic Zangief command throw in the Street Fighter series, executed with a 360 motion. Zangief grabs you, jumps high in the air while spinning, and then slams you into the ground. Commonly abbreviated to SPD. It also is a catch-all term for any grappler's command throw executed with a 360, across virtually any game.

Stagger

Stagger can also be used in its more common English meaning to describe attacks that are slightly delayed or off-beat from each other. Basically, you leave gaps between your attacks in tricky and unpredictable ways so your opponent thinks they're free to attack, then you smoke them with a devastating counter hit. You might hear something like "he staggered that heavy punch" or "nice stagger pressure" to indicate this.

Tatsu

The name of a shoto special move where the character travels forward with their foot extended, usually spinning like a top while doing so. It is sometimes called "Hurricane Kick" in English, but many in the community call it "tatsu", a shortened version of the Japanese name. Tatsus are often briefly projectile invincible which can help you win fireball wars, and they're often good combo enders too.

Tech

Most commonly is shorthand for a throw tech. It can also refer to the act of quick rising after being knocked down, as in "you should tech when you hit the ground". In Smash Bros. in particular, teching when you hit the ground lets you stand up in place or roll either left or right, which is super important for trying to escape offense.
 
It can also refer to recovering in the air after you've been hit by an air combo. Or, if all these definitions aren't enough, it's also used to talk about cool new strategies developed for a character, like "did you see that new Ryu tech posted to Twitter?" Confused at why so many fighting game terms have ambiguous meanings? You're not alone.

TO

Stands for Tournament Organizer. It's the main person in charge of running your favorite event, which could mean things like booking the venue, deciding which games to run, seeking out sponsors, and everything in between. Most TOs have a team of people working with them to make the event run smoothly, but they are kind of the front-facing entity of the tournament.

V-Reversal

A defensive mechanic in Street Fighter V that lets you attack while blocking. You consume one stock of your "V-Gauge" (which is also shared for use with your V-Trigger), and your character will do an attack which is invincible to all hits but can be thrown. Usually, your character will knock the opponent out of the way, dealing some gray life while you get some breathing space.

V-Shift

A Street Fighter V mechanic that lets you defensively dodge an attack and follow up with a counter-attack. For the cost of 1 V-Gauge bar (a meter also shared with doing V-Reversals and V-Triggers), pressing MK + HP in neutral will perform a V-Shift. You will emit a blue aura and do an invincible backdash, slowing down time if your opponent happened to attack at the same time.

V-Shift Break

An automatic follow-up attack you can perform after you successfully dodge an attack with V-Shift. By pressing MK+HP (again) during the slow-motion dodge animation, your character will lunge forward with a basic punch or kick that keeps your full invincibility from the V-Shift, causes a knockdown and deals some gray life. It's a way for you to get some breathing space if you don't have a good invincible attack to follow up with, like a dragon punch or a super, or you are worried about being out of range of those attacks. It's a slow attack, but fortunately it will be safe if it's blocked.

V-Skill

A character-specific Street Fighter V technique, activated by pressing medium punch and medium kick together. You can basically think of it like an alternate special move that builds your V-Gauge (used for V-Reversals and V-Trigger) if it connects with your opponent.

V-Trigger

A central comeback mechanic in Street Fighter V. Your "V-Gauge" fills up as you take damage or successfully use your V-Skill, and when it's full, you can activate your V-Trigger, which usually powers up your character in a unique way for a good length of time (or, for some fighters, it is just simply a strong one-time use move with no powerup).

Wakeup

The act of rising from the ground after you've been knocked down. Since you are usually invincible when you are on the ground, there's a specific period of time when you become hittable again; this moment in time and the decisions around it from both players comprise the "wakeup game".
submitted by wisdom_and_frivolity to StreetFighter [link] [comments]

2023.06.01 14:35 songofavaria The Story of Emmaline -- Chapter 6: COMBAT

Intro
We're working on a new MUD called Song of Avaria, using Evennia as a base code. Hopefully, the game will be opening for a public alpha six months from now: January 2024. This is the sixth in a series of showcases to display the features of our game. In order to properly exhibit the purpose of Song of Avaria, which doesn't quite fit into the existing molds, we're going to demonstrate gameplay by focusing on the story of a character: Emmaline.
Chapter 1: CHARACTER GENERATION
Chapter 2: ARRIVAL
Chapter 3: STORY
Chapter 4: THE POETS' GUILD
Chapter 5: LIVELIHOOD
Cool News! A professional web developer who focuses on accessibility took a very thorough look over our site and game, and gave us a great deal of feedback that was incredibly helpful in making the game more accessible to vision-impaired players. Color themes are configurable now; the default one shown here is called "high-contrast". If anyone prefers the old "muted" one, they can switch to it in the settings. We've also added more text-based indicators of things like general wellness and roundtime in the game prompt, or asterisks as delineators for different sections of text, and more quick individual checks on metrics such as encumbrance, armor value, stats, skills, et cetera. Turning Evennia's native screenreader option on (during account creation, or through settings) will now ensure that a visually-impaired person gets a more tailored and comfortable experience. We're looking forward to learning more about accessibility from players in the future, and always hoping to improve the experience for any player.
Chapter 6: COMBAT
In our last chapter, Emmaline was inducted into the Poets' Guild, which allowed her to take up a job as a Poet at Harmony Hall. Because of that, she's able to easily make her rent and even bought an oud to improve her stringed instrument skills. Here, she's sitting in the garden of the Poets' Guild and playing her oud. Instruments can be played with a variety of commands, from POUND to STRUM, and each type of instrument will tend to make their own set of noises if played well (or other noises if played badly).
Some instruments (large bells, for example) can make quite loud sounds that will resonate over a number of rooms, much like a shout does. This oud is comparatively quiet. And while an instrument may have its mechanical play command, this is mostly intended for flavor and explorative play rather than as a real roleplay tool -- because it's always much more fun to emote the full expression of your character's music! Of course, one should strive to stay within realistic parameters in terms of describing their playing in relation to their mechanical skill level.
At the bench in the garden, Emmaline plays her oud using the STRUM, PLAY, and TWANG commands. She then simply emotes playing a more complicated melody.
As we play the oud, we can see that Emmaline is relatively skilled at stringed instruments, as the sounds she is making are nice rather than jarring or discordant.
Djafira, the other newly inducted Poet whom we got to know over the last two posts, arrives and comes over to sit on the bench next to where Emmaline is playing. Because Emmaline does not trust the other woman, Djafira incurs roundtime by coming closer to the bench, which is Emmaline's own current vicinity. Roundtime is the convention we use to refer to the fact that some actions take time to complete, and thus you cannot execute another similarly time-consuming action until finished with the first. Djafira might be able to move close to Emmaline, but she cannot perform another action until her roundtime ends. This gives us the chance to move away quickly if we felt that Emmaline did not want to allow Djafira near her. But for now, we'll stay cautiously nearby and see what Djafira wants.
Djafira comes along. Her tells are shown in a brighter red, and she certainly seems to be acting off. She gifts Emmaline a pair of nice sandals by way of apology...
When someone gives you something, unless you trust them to a high degree, you will always have the chance to either ACCEPT or REFUSE the gift. Items can also be TOSSed, and if not caught in this instance (or dodged), they will just bonk off you and fall on the ground.
Since Djafira is trying to apologize for her past enmity, Emmaline accepts the gift. She is still a little suspicious though, because she can see Djafira's tells, and the other woman doesn't truly seem very apologetic. Djafira also asks Emmaline for a favor: she's feeling a bit under the weather, and needs Emmaline to go to a tavern called the Breaking Wave and recite a poem there. She passes over a piece of paper on which the poem is written.
Emmaline agrees to do this favor, puts on her new fancy shoes, and takes the paper.
As a side note: Many of the interactions you see from this point on are with automated NPCs that are operating off the logic in their own behavioral code. We have gone to some lengths to make these behaviors seem relatively organic, but only to the extent that this allows a player to suspend their disbelief in regards to the fact that NPCs are different from PCs. Our NPCs do not possess any real artificial intelligence -- not even to the degree of ChatGPT. They have certain behaviors, tendencies, phrases they might respond to, routines and home turf and activities they may habitually undertake, but they are still just traditional game NPCs. We are still at work adding in more behavior types for NPCs and refining their actions to be more sensible and characteristic.
Back in the story: By the time Emmaline is able to get around to the favor Djafira asked of her, it's late in the evening after sunset. Djafira provided some loose directions to the White City (which would be: "through the pillar-flanked gate north of the Plaza of the People"), but Emmaline soon finds that this particular neighborhood is a confusing maze of a place. Even the overheard ASCII map is intentionally not much help in some of the individual neighborhoods of Omrazir. It is purposefully not too easy to stumble off the main roads in the city, to keep new players from accidentally stepping into an area that may be dangerous.
The overhead map does not show the exit into the White City, but once you go past, you can see the map of the White City neighborhood. (Note: I took this snip on an admin account, because I added this retroactively after the main events of the chapter! That is why you see room numbers. Please ignore.)
Finding a fallen stele, Emmaline stands on top of it for a better view of the area. She tries to get her bearings, but it's still difficult to tell exactly where she is. This part of the city legitimately seems decrepit and broken down...
Maybe it's not such a good idea to wear expensive clothes here? Just as Emmaline is having that thought, a random event occurs. Random events are coded events that happen in rooms when PCs are present. Most of the time, it would be something simple and harmless like an atmospheric room echo, but sometimes -- if the situation is right, and the PC seems otherwise unoccupied -- the random event will be more serious.
Emmaline goes to stand on the stele and look around thoughtfully. A \"somewhat lofty tough\" appears, looking furtively at her and subtly touching his knife...
This time, it's very serious. Emmaline is in the White City, a desperately poor and virtually lawless district of Omrazir. Part of the difficulty in navigation here is attributable to the fact that this area is not meant for the inexperienced and unfamiliar. A small gang of thugs is approaching Emmaline, attracted by her expensive fripperies and apparent vulnerability. Combat is initiated -- they are clearly attempting to mug her. This mugging is an automated random event generated by the interplay of conditions.
Somewhat confused, Emmaline takes her time awkwardly shufflng and then backs away as the thugs begin to close in. She does not depart quickly enough, and a physical altercation begins.
Distance from others in a fight can affect a variety of things, such as the accuracy and damage of certain attacks, or whether some aggressive abilities can be used at all. There are five ranges of distances from another PC. The first is immediate vicinity, which would be in direct contact with them. Then comes general vicinity, which would mean at the same "place" in the room as them. Next there's location, which would mean being in the same room as them, but not necessarily at the same place. Lastly, there is near line-of-sight (one room away) and distant line-of-sight (two rooms away).
Because these ranges can be quite important strategically, there are many ways to change the distance between yourself and an opponent. You can RETREAT or CHARGE in a direction, you can PUSH people or PULL them, you can TACKLE them, GRAPPLE, or DRAG them. You can move your own self from one place to another, or simply DISTANCE an opponent by moving away.
In the beginning, Emmaline attempts to avoid an altercation by quickly edging away from the incoming locals. However, it doesn't quite help -- they've set determined eyes on her nicer things, and she doesn't belong in this neighborhood.
When combat starts, there is a "Writing Break" that allows the PCs involved to type an emote and/or consider what their character would do in that situation. While immersive method acting is of course our favorite style of roleplay, the out-of-character panic that can often accompany in-character physical conflict can sometimes impact roleplay in a negative fashion. In order to avoid that, combat in Avaria is peppered with "Writing Breaks" every time that anything notable happens: such as the initiation of a fight, a strong blow being dealt, first blood, an attempt to flee, any involved combatant falling to the ground, and so on. Note also how the prompt has changed to display more information.
Holding her oud, Emmaline has the sudden idea to attempt to dissuade the muggers through music. Last chapter we explained the concept of "Grounding", where most people who are still "grounded" in accepted reality know about and accept some types of magic, and might be wary of witches and sorcery, but dismiss a great many other kinds of magic as a fabrication or just something totally unlikely to happen to them. Emmaline hasn't completely lost her grounding yet, as we can see when we check the MAGIC command -- so the idea to play music would still be a rather goofy one in her mind.
Using the REMEMBER command, we roleplay Emmaline having the idea to sing a calming tune. Sometimes in time-sensitive situations a player will not have the time to express the character's inner dialogue, but that is why we have writing breaks in combat, so that such expressions feel calmer and more doable. Checking the MAGIC command shows that Emmaline still doesn't quite believe in her own magical potential.
Regardless, this is what she tries to do -- she's desperate enough to try anything. Using her sonomancy ability to project a calming tone, Emmaline begins to sing and play her oud.
Emmaline starts to focus on using a calming tone. She still hasn't said anything with this tone, and she rationalizes it in her mind (using the THINK command) as just thinking maybe the thugs would prefer to hear music than mug someone.
In addition to using a calming tone for her song, Emmaline also makes sure to adopt a defensive stance. It's possible to change a character's stance in and out of a fight, and each stance has its own strengths. Using a defensive stance enables someone to do a better job of dodging and blocking.
We also check our TENDENCY here: most games, especially DIKU-based RPIs, have fights that progress in a more automatic fashion. If you prefer that style of gameplay, you can set your character's tendency to be one of a few choices: fight, flight, or freeze. The "measured" tendency seen here is the default: if you have not input a specific command and it is your turn to move, you will just wait. If you had selected, for example, "fight" as a tendency, you would automatically perform a fighting move based off coded tactics similar to the NPCs.
Taking a defensive stance with the STANCE command causes the next three attacks to miss. Unfortunately, Emmaline's song doesn't seem to be as effective as her stance is.
The muggers don't seem to be affected much by Emmaline's song. This is because her very low sonomancy skill, her voice stat, and her will dice roll didn't outweigh their (likely entirely grounded) magic resistance. Dice rolls happen behind the scenes relatively often, and while there is a configuration setting that can be toggled to show combat dice rolls, it is turned off for the sake of immersion in Emmaline's case. These rolls incorporate stats (such as Voice, Resonance, Will, etc) and skills (such as Vocals, Sonomancy, Gnosis, etc). Other factors moderate the dice rolls, like stances, a character's general state of health, range, positions, and so on. At least, thanks to Emmaline's stance, she is able to avoid a lot of damage from the muggers' reckless attacks.
It might be a good idea to flee, but it can be difficult to get away when your opponent is right next to you -- if they're aggressive, then they will have a very good chance of blocking your escape route. Looking at the COMBAT display will give you a good overall view of your general combat metrics, including who else is in your vicinity. These different metrics can all affect the outcome of a fight in various ways.
Checking COMBAT shows us Emmaline's combat situation: she is mostly doing alright, for now. Two people are attacking her, she is upright, near the exit to go back to the square. She does have a nick on her right hip, but it's not bad enough to really affect her state.
The prompt can also be configured to display many of these metrics. Shown here is the default combat prompt. When the fight was initiated, our regular prompt shifted to the combat version that shows stars and dashes as a small action bar. For visually impaired players this is not very helpful, so if someone has turned on the screenreader, the default prompt will give a health percentage readout and only show important alerts.
Anyway, Emmaline really wants to escape! So, she tries to push one of her opponents away. Actions performed during combat take roundtime. If you want to plan your next move, you can queue up a second move if you're already in combat.
Emmaline has a chance to make another move -- if your combat roundtime completes and you don't have another move queued up, you'll see this message. She tries to shove away one of the toughs, and he rushes straight back at her in a tackle.
SHOVE is one of the many commands useful for strategically changing positions in a fight. Emmaline manages to push the mugger away from her place in the room. She's standing as far from the stele as possible, hoping to go back out to the square -- but the mugger uses TACKLE to close the distance again very quickly! Bad timing.
Now, three muggers came out of the alleys surrounding Emmaline. So far, the third has just been watching, but now he breaks into the fight as well. A new person joining the fight will trigger a writing break, to allow players time to emote. Sometimes these writing breaks may feel like they last too long, while other times they may be too short for you to write the kind of emote you want.
We use WAIT to extend the writing break so that we can finish writing our emote, and then CONTINUE when we're done. Emmaline tries to sing some more, and again it's not effective, and then her calming attunement fades. She isn't strong enough this tme to shove away one of the goons. A stab connects with a solid whack against her kaftan.
You can input WAIT to extend the writing break (once per break per person), or CONTINUE to end the break and go on with the fight (if everyone has opted to continue). We wanted to write an emote during this break, considering that Emmaline has a nick on her hip from the knife of one of the muggers, and we didn't have enough time to act this out. Since all these opponents are NPCs, they will automatically follow the cues of the PCs in the fight and either try to wait or continue depending on the PC's input.
Although we have plenty of time to write what we'd like, it doesn't appear that the fight is going very well for Emmaline. She's not strong enough to shove away a goon, her calming tone has faded without any success, and one of the toughs tried to stab her right in the heart! Thankfully, her well-made kaftan helped to turn the blow into something less catastrophic. Raiment items can get in the way of attacks to covered body parts, and divert some of the damage to themselves. Different equipment types can divert more damage or stand up to damage better, depending on their material.
Maybe there's something else we can do...
Checking COMBAT MOVES provides a readout of the moves that Emmaline can execute at this time. Roundtimes for combat moves are relatively long compared to some games, so that players can use human strategical thinking to plan their next move and understand the flow of combat easily.
We can look to see what moves might be available to us in a fight, depending on the weapon we're wielding and the abilities we have, by checking COMBAT MOVES. It doesn't seem like Emmaline can do much right now beyond punching or kicking. But what if she wants to whack people with her oud? She can do that much at least. Any wielded object can be used to WHACK someone... but the reason that "whack" doesn't show up in her list of available combat moves is because she isn't actually wielding the oud, she is currently only holding it. Shifting her grip will take a moment - costing her a turn in combat, and causing a short delay before her next move (though we can still freely input the command, and have it executed when our combat roundtime completes).
Emmaline wields her oud. This allows her to whack with it (using the WHACK command), and also use it to parry (automatically, using a dice roll behind the scenes based on her stance and parry skill level).
When using an attack in a fight, such as PUNCH, KICK, or WHACK (or other attacks using weapons or abilities, like the SLASH and STAB used by the muggers) you can specify a particular body part of your opponent to aim for. You can also substitute the generic attack emote with a custom-written emote of your own.
Here, Emmaline tries to WHACK the TOUGH IN THE HEAD, while substituting a more flavorful emote for the generic one. She lands a decent blow! Unfortunately, she's surrounded. One minstrel using a musical instrument as a weapon can't honestly defend against three seasoned street bandits.
Having suffered a couple of unlucky hits, Emmaline drops to her knees. Even her kaftan has been ruined by the damage it has taken. Trauma is the metric that governs how injured a character has become. It can cause a character to collapse, like Emmaline has here. The "traumatized" alert will show up in the prompt after Emmaline is struck that hard, signifying that she's in very bad physical shape.
Emmaline is tiring against three opponents, and ends up falling with a heavily bleeding wound.
Sadly, Emmaline is not a strong enough fighter, and certainly not advanced enough in bardic magic, to put a stop to this altercation. She tries to get back up in order to flee, but immediately gets knocked down again. Being on the ground, she then tries to crawl away. But crawling takes a bit of time, and time is something she doesn't have enough of. The next strike not only knocks her out, but... she's dying.
Emmaline tries to get up and is knocked down again. She tries to crawl away but the next stab of a knife knocks her out... and, in the eyes of onlookers, kills her. It's not all that common for a blow to both knock someone out and kill them at the same time, but it's possible.
Bleeding as she is and in a hostile and unfamiliar environment, the most likely scenario is that Emmaline is going to die. A player with a character in this condition can still get a (dimmer) sense of what is happening in the room, and is free to write emotes or dreams... but an unconscious character still takes some time to be able to wake up. Some don't wake up at all.
The muggers take Emmaline's fancy clothes and any valuable possessions, leaving her penniless in her raggedy shift. We just got that oud! How disappointing. It's natural to feel a little bit of emotional crossover in immersive roleplaying situations like this, but it's also important for players to be capable of retaining perspective. We want to be clear about where we fall on the consent spectrum so that potential players can understand whether they might enjoy the game or they might not. Some loss is inevitable when there are in-character consequences for conflict and decisions. The game is mostly non-consent in terms of these kinds of consequences, but this also means there can be a lot of engaging story outcomes as a result. We don't want these to truly function as punishments to the player rather than to the character, though they might sometimes feel like setbacks. But it's helpful to keep in mind that every setback can be an opportunity for an inspiring narrative.
A dim sense of the world beyond her lack of consciousness shows the muggers backing off after taking Emmaline's valuables. If anyone spoke, we wouldn't be able to see what they were saying. But, we're able to send emotes in this state.
No matter the conflict, character death -- which is generally, though not always, the ending to a character's story -- must usually be consented to in order to happen. When a character "dies", if there is any chance at all that they might miraculously survive, the player will get the choice to either CLING to life or DIE, by entering those commands.
In this scenario, it might be realistic for Emmaline to die. But that would be an unsatisfying end to her story, and that's not what we want. The choice is in our hands, and we CLING to life.
The muggers have all departed. It's a hot night. Emmaline clings to life, using the CLING command.
Choosing to die moves characters on to the next world (to become a ghost, and go to the Otherland). Clinging to life allows the dying to continue living, but they will likely be handicapped in one way or another. It may be possible to eventually cure a handicap through stories involving magic or the supernatural, or the long-term efforts of an outstandingly skilled healer. But these consequences are generally impactful and lasting enough that should a character engage in risky behavior, repeatedly having near-death experiences and clinging to life, their story will involve the realistic outcome of their becoming a person who has somehow survived but is broken in many ways. Ultimately, this helps address the potential issue of long-term players becoming nearly invincible in the setting -- while simultaneously providing an opportunity for players who prefer to roleplay character stories comparable in length to a real lifetime, where a player may never see their characters actually die.
For those who do wish to roleplay through the meaningful death of a character, there are still a few different paths they can follow. The character can continue existing as a ghost, or as a distant memory in the Otherland, or they can pass on into the inaccessible final mystery of the afterlife. Reaching these stages of the afterlife can be accomplished by using the MOVE ON command, progressively bringing a spirit through each of these phases of existence until at the very end the character is deleted from the game database. Should one never wish their character to complete the process of moving on, however, they can continue to exist indefinitely in Avaria's Purgatory: the various realms of the Otherland, which can potentially be accessed, with great effort and skill, through the dreams of the living.
The purgatory states can soften the blow of losing a beloved character, and even provide some additional plot twists for both that character and their surviving friends and enemies. The end of a character's story may be a real tearjerker, but hopefully in a good way, not as a traumatic and wrenching blow to the gut. We don't want to brutalize the emotions of any player -- the intention is that playing a game should be an enjoyable experience, with closure in the ending and a feeling of contentment for a story well-played.
But what this ultimately means for Emmaline is that she cannot escape her altercation with the White City thugs scot-free. She is still in a very perilous situation. As we mentioned above, sometimes the injuries that have the ability to cause death can also create severe permanent handicaps in those who choose to live, which might manifest as stat debuffs, loss of limbs, persistent illnesses, and other such tangible physical consequences. Despite clinging to life, Emmaline is unable to return to consciousness immediately. She may very well simply bleed out again.
If we quit the game, she won't die while we're disconnected... but it's still a cliffhanger! Stay tuned for Chapter 7, where we'll showcase healing and further intrigue.
submitted by songofavaria to MUD [link] [comments]

2023.06.01 14:21 heisgero Exclusive Coffee with CUDOS #147

Exclusive Coffee with CUDOS #147
Hello #Cudonians, I have a special announcement for you all! There will be an Exclusive Coffee with CUDOS happening on Cudos twitter today 1st June, 2023 Scheduled to hold by 4:00pm BST
🔗 https://twitter.com/i/spaces/1yNGaNQrqWnJj
Guest appearance from the artist behind the Genesis Collection Of CudosMarkets called Delux3 AKA RickBakas(on twitter)

Artist Biography

Delux3 is a contemporary American digital artist with roots in the street art movement. He is a self-taught artist who worked as a designer at NIKE for 8 years. Delux3 art style can best be described as ‘refined street art’ thoughtfully composed with unexpected color combinations that have deep tonal layers. Check out the most recent works of the digital art pieces.

Just for laugh

​
https://preview.redd.it/hl3q0zttee3b1.jpg?width=1219&format=pjpg&auto=webp&v=enabled&s=409fedfe5ffa512fcea21737158eccdc35e89e7d
Please set your Reminder ⏰ Let make this Coffee with CUDOS session interactive!!!
THANK YOU ✨
Learn more:
Website, Twitter, Telegram, YouTube, Discord, Medium, Podcast
submitted by heisgero to Cudonians [link] [comments]

2023.06.01 13:58 qzeqzeq Ahead of the game

Ahead of the game submitted by qzeqzeq to Kappachino [link] [comments]

2023.06.01 08:50 The_Fool_Arcana0000 "DESCEND TO DARKNESS!!!" -Jeanne D'Arc Bayonetta 4 Prologue: "Hell on Earth" Plot Outline Part III Finale (2/2)

Disclaimer: I do not own Bayonetta in any shape or form. It belongs to Sega and Platinum and is published by Nintendo. Moving on, if you believe Bayonetta 1-3 are considered adult, insane, and over-the-top, then prepare yourself because this outline will go full throttle and hold nothing back. The plot outlines that I have planned for "Bayonetta 4" will be insane and push boundaries that I don't think any Bayonetta game has done thus far in absurdity and graphic violence. So please, prepare yourself for the insanity that is about to unfold before reading.
Bayonetta 4 Compendium
Prologue Part III Finale (2/2):
Heaven's Feel: The Outbreak of War Begins
The screen pans out to reveal multiple Sin Demons in the distance headed towards the aircraft, some even materializing on the very roof that the duo stood on.
"Are those-?!" Jeanne questioned, mouth agape.
"Sin Demons" Viola interrupts.
"They're all Sin Demons. I don't how or why, but if they get in our way, we cut them down!"
"Alright then, I suppose that this moment calls for special back up," Jeanne declared, turning her hips to summon a Umbran headset.
It was time to talk with the pilot.
"Enzo, I think you've earned a reward for having followed all of my orders-! I'll be granting you full access to all the missiles on this lovely slayer of mine!"
She then raised her left hand all the way up, sassily snapping her fingers.
VOOSH!
The screen shows multiple missile launchers loaded with AGM-114 Hellfire's springing out from the sides of the aircraft as well as the undercarriage opening, revealing a huge, M134 Machine Gun.
Enzo's voice could be heard panicking from the headset.
"What the FUCK?! I don't know how-!"
"There's a small pamphlet underneath your seat with all the necessary instructions. Read that and you'll be learning in no time!" Jeanne elegantly retorted.
Enzo grumbled to himself, scrambling to find the pamphlet. It was either that or death via plane crash.
Heaven's Feel: The Outbreak of War Ends
Heaven's Feel: Come on, Make your Move Begins
The screen cuts to Jeanne and Viola, readying themselves for battle!
The Sin Demons on the roof have fully materialized, taking their first few steps before shrieking at the duo.
The Book of Infernal Demons then appears on screen, revealing new entries: "Devourer of Will: Sin Apathy", "Wailer of Lament: Sin Despair", "Feaster of Petrification: Sin Fury", and "Husk of Boundless Animosity: Sin Spite".
Sin Apathy: It has a male, pitch-black body with draconic features, red eyes, and a black miasma surrounding it. It is able to stretch out it arms and use its venom-covered claws to dig into its enemies, inflicting a special poison capable of draining its victims will to live and organ failure.
Sin Despair: It has a tall, abnormally thin, female figure, with pale skin, dirty white hair, red eyes, and long red claws. It is constantly wailing and crying tears of blood from its torn-off face and becomes unhinged when approached. It is a vicious killing machine that uses ultra-sonic screams, and endlessly swipes at its enemies with its claws.
Sin Fury: It is a wyvern now, capable of releasing poisoned, black thorns that makes its enemy sluggish. Moreover, they're able to traverse through its environment at faster speeds because of their large wings. Lastly, its eye has been enhanced, being able to release magical shots that can permanently petrify opponents.
Sin Spite: It has a tall, bulky, male figure, with small, red wings, a long red tail, and red, scaley-skin. Additionally, it carries a golden trident capable of releasing waves of energy. It has black eyes and is able to gape its mouth at terrifying degrees, revealing the multitude of sharp teeth that it uses to chomp it enemies.
The book then closes before heading straight for the camera, cutting back to Jeanne and Viola.
Their backs are side-to-side as they pass through blood-red, demon-infested skies!
"We've got work to do!!" Jeanne screamed, summoning All 4 One!
"I couldn't have said it better myself!!"Viola yells, taking out Mab Dachi from its scabbard on her back.
Heaven's Feel: Come on, Make your Move Ends
Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness Metal
The screen then shows the duo separate to fight their own enemies.
Jeanne is lunged upon by four Sin Despairs in the air. They intend to gouge her eyes out and dismember her limb-by-limb!
"You bitches think you've got a chance?! Then so be it!!" she yelled, shooting multiple charge shots at them!
Almost all of them were disoriented, but one had dodged all the bullets, going ahead of the rest to kill Jeanne. However, it was met with an unexpected Heel Stomp from Jeanne that smacked it from above and onto the ground!
"You ugly bitch!" Jeanne yelled, running to the Sin Demon before using Combo 15!
During this, Jeanne was continuously pistol whipping the Sin Despair, releasing a Wicked Weave that knocked the demon up into the air before following it up with a devastating Wicked Weave that kicked it off the roof!
Despite this, Jeanne was not out of the clear as other Sin Despairs had regained their balance, now closing the gap with her as they prepared an ultra-sonic scream!
"HAAAA!!!"
"Shut the FUCK UP!" Jeanne retorted, jumping into the air before using Concussion Step to slam their asses to the side!
After that, she used Blink Charge to reach one of four Sin Fury's flying in the air, gracefully Air Kicking it down. However, when she landed on the floor, two of them descended upon her, shooting out balls of purple energy from their eyes!
"Hah! You worthless vermin!" Jeanne taunted, dodging at the last second before transforming into a kettle of red moths.
Ding!
Witch Time was now active as the colors of environment became a transparent purple and Jeanne sped up.
First, she used Full Moon Shoot to launch the Sin Fury that she knocked down into the air before using Tetsuzanko to push it towards the two Sin Fury's headed towards her. Then, she used Blink Charge again to reach that same demon, using Astounding Touch to kill the three with multiple punches!
Afterwards, she quickly used Heel Stomp on the remaining Sin Fury to get it onto the floor before using Gut Wrench Heel to finish it off!
FWOOSH!
Witch Time had ended as the colors of environment returned to normal and Jeanne landed on the floor.
The screen then showed five Sin Spites releasing spouts of red water from their mouths towards Jeanne!
However, she remained calm and poised, leaping into the air to avoid the oncoming explosions before yelling aloud with a powerful pose!
"ZILDAR VPAAH!"
Suddenly, a demonic bird had pierced clouds in the sky before descending onto the roof of the aircraft, opening its massive wings. It released a gust of wind that sent multiple Sin Spites flying backwards!
"So much for 'Sin Demon', how pathetic!" Jeanne laughed, gently touching Malphas as he vanished into particles.
The screen then cut to the front of the aircraft to show missiles being launched at Sin Demons in the sky, resulting in a never-ending number of explosions. Meanwhile, the M134 Machine Gun, was gunning down multiple Sin Demons that approached the aircraft!
Enzo is then shown in the pilot's seat growling as he pressed multiple buttons.
"TASTE THIS MOTHERFUCKERS!!"
BOOSH!
BOOSH!
BRRRRRT!!!
As for Viola, she was dealing with her own set of enemies.
Three Sin Spite's had released turquoise, diagonal slashes of energy towards her from their tridents in the air!
"Not on my watch!" she yelled, jumping into the air to avoid the attack.
She then used Shredder to reach the Sin Spite in the middle, quickly using After Burner Kick to stun it. Afterwards, she jumped on its body, going directly above it to use Star in the Black.
"These fuckers have nothing on me!" she excitedly yelled, releasing a barrage of darts that exploded on impact!
BOOM!
The Sin Spite's went down hard as the explosion damaged their wings!
Viola then aimed Mab Dachi downward, readily preparing her next attack!
"Time to die, baby!" she shouted, using Hungry Hi-Hat as she landed onto the roof of the aircraft, puncturing it with her katana!
Cheshire's ginormous head was seen coming out from a demonic portal and straight into the air! He had a devilish grin on his face, mouth drooling at the sight of the delicious feast that Viola had prepared for him!
The screen then cuts to three Sin Spites comedically trying to avoid his mouth. However, all attempts failed as his mouth grew wider in size. Afterall, Sin Demons were "beyond a delicacy" in Inferno, Cheshire thought. He didn't know when he would be able to devour one again. So, he wouldn't let a single drop of blood go to waste as the Sin Spites landed into his hypnotic mouth.
CRUNCH!!
CRUNCH!!
GULP!
Cheshire is seen wiping blood off his lips with joy before disappearing into particles.
Afterwards, Viola heads towards Mab Dachi, pulling it out from the roof before feeling a sudden stinging sensation on her back.
In response, she quickly does a back walkover, turning her head mid-air to see a Sin Despair.
"Jeez, these guys are aggressive!" she thought.
She then proceeded to sweep kick the Sin Despair, seeing it fall flat on its face before using Tom Tom Balloon to launch it in air!
Then she used Combo 11, following it up with a perfectly timed Bass Boost that thrusted the Sin Demon onto a group of Sin Apathy's as they stretched their hands towards Viola.
"I don't think so, assholes!"
CRASH!
All the Sin Demons were knocked down onto the floor. However, Viola wasn't done, Cheshire still had to have his fun.
"CHESHIRE!" she shouted, throwing Mab Dachi onto the floor.
A huge portal then formed from where the Katana landed. Cheshire emerging from it soon after!
He looked onward at the sight with jubilation before making a tall jump in the air. All he needed was one good pounce to end these Sin Demons!
So, he readied a new attack, Blue Tenka (点火). He would engulf himself with blue flames, turning into a ticking time bomb that would detonate the second he slammed onto something. Now, it would render him temporarily unavailable as he would die. However, his knack for theatrics made him want to take out his enemies with a bang.
”Knock'em them dead, Cheshire!” Viola screamed.
The screen then showed the Sin Despair and group of Sin Apathy looking at Cheshire’s ignited body with horror as he drew closer to them.
All Cheshire could do was look at their faces was a cheeky grin.
“It's over for these chumps!” he thought.
BOOM!!
A multitude of Sin Apathy’s flew off of the aircraft while others suffered a most horrible execution.
“Woo-hoo!” Viola cheered, giving Cheshire a thumbs up before running towards Mab Dachi to regroup with Jeanne.
Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness Ends
Heaven's Feel: He goes, She goes Begins
The screen begins to pan out from the aircraft, revealing that the trio was within proximity to the red creature. However, the atmosphere was becoming more unnervingly tense, the closer they got.
Furthermore, Jeanne and Viola were surprised when they saw various Sin Demons emerging from the red creature. It was almost as if the creature itself was a conductor of sorts, serving as an alternative to the Human World than those of the Gates.
Eerily enough, however, there was another situation at hand as hordes of Sin Demons had ceased to pursue them and were retreating.
The screen shows all the Sin Demons heads towards to the creature before getting into a strange formation and flying in place. They were now facing the trio with stoic expressions and readied battle stances.
"This behavior is... unnatural, especially for that of a demon. Why are they acting as its guards?" Jeanne questioned.
"Do they not want us to reach that thing all the way in the back that badly?" Viola replied.
Despite this, the duo became more preoccupied the entities head, realizing how it was solely focused on them. The Golem mask had no eyes, but the red Core at the center was shifting to indicate that it was looking at the aircraft.
Viola couldn't help but feel shivers down her spine at the unsettling sight.
"Jesus Christ... What the hell is all this?" Viola yelped, gasping at the sight.
As for Jeanne, she didn't know what to make of the situation. She was too busy analyzing the entity as best she could and was stunned by what she was saw at the very top. It was a golem, one that had shaped itself into that of a mask.
"What is this thing? I've never seen anything like it. Let alone the fact that it uses a Golem. However, that shouldn't be possible. Not without-! "
GARGLE!
GARGLE!
Heaven's Feel: He goes, She goes Ends
Heavens Feel: What Else, We Can Do? Begins
The screen shows to the shocked expressions of the duo as the entity began charging up an attack. Its body began to repeat the motion of an ocean wave. Then, a huge, demonic portal appeared from above the creature!
As a result, the two began feeling a strange sensation in their stomach's before starting to gag and fall on the floor. They felt their vision begin to blur, a loud ringing sound in their ears, and magic being sapped from their bodies.
"What is...happening?!" Viola sputtered, trying to cover her ears with her hands.
"Ugghh! This damned...monster!" Jeanne coughed out, hearing disconnected spurts of a distorted, female voice chanting in Enochian.
"DO O IA █ █ █ █ █ █... EGELIRCAS ECIFIRCAS... FAFEN NIIS!!!"
The screen then cut to the entity becoming a vibrant red before thin, slime tentacles emerged from its body, lengthening in size as they soar to multiple Sin Demons, touching their backs and merging with them!
The screen then cut to a Sin Insidious glowing a shiny red before growing even larger in size as red, metallic armor encased it.
The distorted female voice could be heard giggling before fading away, along with the demonic portal.
The screen then shows the terrifying face of a Sacrilege Insidious before cutting to the Book of Infernal Demons opening. It turned all the way to the end, revealing that page entries have been ripped off. The book closes thereafter as it cuts to the duo.
Suddenly, a loud screeching could be heard from all the Sacrilege Demons as they beamed towards the aircraft, making their way to it!
Meanwhile, Enzo remained unaffected by the strange sickness inflicted upon Jeanne and Viola, becoming distraught at the sight. He was screaming at the top of his lungs by what he was witnessing!
So, he began to check up on Jeanne and Viola, hearing them groaning in agony.
"Are you guys, ok?!! Jeanne?! Viola?! Answer me dammit, please!!" he shouted.
"We have to get OUT OF HERE!!"
The two were beginning to stand up as the pain in their stomachs subsided now that the voice was gone.
"Ugh! That was awful..." Viola said, picking herself up before looking at the entity.
"AAAAHHHH!!!" she shrieked, voice cracking as she stared at the Sacrilege Demons headed towards them!
"We have to get out of here*-*!"
Heavens Feel: What Else, We Can Do? Ends
The All-American Rejects: Real World Begins
"No! This is where we make our final stand Viola! The lives that have been lost can't be for naught!! This ends now!!" Jeanne interrupts, declaring her intentions before striking a pose, uniform coming undone!
"BRANSG ZUMVI!!!"
A portal appeared on the roof as a torrent of her hair went into it. Then, another portal formed in front of the aircraft as a huge, vicious turtle began pulling itself out of the portal.
The screen then cuts to the Book of Infernal Demons. It opens up to reveal one of Jeanne's new allies, "Deceiver of the Seas: Aspidochelone". It is a humongous, ungodly looking, dark-green turtle with a spiked shell, razor-sharp teeth, and black eyes.
"Go as fast as you can Enzo! It's time to go FULL THROTTLE!!!" she shrieked into her microphone.
Suddenly, the aircraft began accelerating to absurd speeds as a demonic portal beneath the demon disappeared and was replaced with an Umbran portal. This, in conjunction with the speed at which the aircraft went, kept the demon in place.
However, Jeanne wasn’t done yet. At the snap of her fingers, the Umbran portal began rapidly spinning, turning the demon into a makeshift drill. One that would ram down all the Sacrilege Demons that stood in their way!
She then began instructing Enzo to avoid a place crash.
"Follow my orders Enzo! If I say 'up' you go up, if I say 'left' you go left. Got that?!"
"YES!!" he obediently responded.
"Good!" Jeanne replied, turning to face a surprised Viola.
"As for you Viola, you're going to need to hold on tight!" she said, making a dramatic pose before staring at the red creature in the distance.
"If these mothafuckas won't give us an opening, then I'll make my own!!"
The screen then pans out in a manner similar to Space Harrier, showing the aircraft flying towards the red entity as Aspidochelone mowed down various Sacrilege Demons.
Meanwhile, Jeanne was making dramatic quotes as she ordered Enzo to move all throughout the sky, bobbing and weaving as she delivered Wicked Weaves with Madama Styx in a QTE to knockback Sacrilege Demons that approached the aircraft from its sides. As for Viola and Enzo, they were hanging on for dear life, wondering how Bayonetta and Jeanne did this for years on end.
Eventually, they reach the boss at the end, Sacrilege Insidious. He was more deadly than before, but Jeanne was not one to back down from a fight no matter how strong an enemy was.
It began to shoot ginormous, red lasers from the ends of its six wings towards the aircraft, all of which were dodged at the last second thanks to Jeanne's masterful instructions, leading to Witch Time.
Jeanne then closed the gap between the aircraft and the abhorrent demon to pierce its large, third eye.
This cycle would repeat itself until six eyeballs, each belonging to one wing, would start attacking the aircraft. In this case, when one eye approached, Enzo would use the aircraft's missiles and minigun to briefly stun the eye.
Afterwards, Jeanne would use multiple Wicked Weaves to punch the eye before ripping it from its socket and crushing it a gush of blood.
Later, when the last eyeball was removed, Jeanne figured that it would be a good time to end the monstrosity for good!
"Viola! What I'm about to do is very dangerous, I need you to protect me at all costs!" she shouted at a nauseous Viola.
"Yes Jeanne!" Viola replied, hands on her knees as she tried to keep her body standing.
Thankfully, she recovered in time, taking out Mab Dachi and preparing herself for enemies.
"Hopefully this will end all the shit that's been going on" she thought.
The screen then cuts to Jeanne as she prepares herself for the Demon Sin Ritual, Aspidochelone vanishing soon after.
"DO O IA JEANNE. CNILA D COMSELHA ODO ANANAEL. TURBS C BABLON ZONAC CIAOFI BALZARG. FAFEN NIIS!!" she screams, ripping her heart out as her costume comes undone.
She then begins to dance in a sensual manner, breaking it down and doing a split.
The All-American Rejects: Real World Ends
Bayonetta 3: Queen Magick Begins
Suddenly, a giant portal appears from behind the aircraft!
Queen Styx was then seen flying out of it with her butterfly wings in a horizontal manner, making her way towards the Sacrilege Insidious!
It was in that moment that a QTE appeared. Queen Styx began brutally pummeling the Sacrilege Insidious with her fists, gouging it large, third eye with both of her hands!
Then, she would begin tearing the Sacrilege Demon apart, ripping it in half!
PSSHH!!
The Sacrilege Insidious cried out its last breath by dying. However, Queen Styx was far from done from done!
She would use this opportunity to strike the red creature with the remains of the demon she killed!
Queen Styx slammed the slabs of meat against the red entity!
BAM!
BOOSH!!
The screen shows the creature remain standing, but its body was viciously trembling now. The core was now eyeing Queen Styx with hatred as she began taunting it with a stylish dance, ending off with a dramatic pose.
So, it began sending even more Sacrilege Demons towards her as she got up from the floor and began charging a purple Kamehameha. The Sacrilege Demons began picking away at Queen Styx's skin, but she didn't care. Jeanne gave her an order and she will follow it through to the end.
"KA...ME...HA...ME...HAAA!!!!" Queen Styx screamed, unleashing a humongous ray of energy close to point-blank range!
All that could be seen now was a gigantic, purple explosion eviscerating the red creature in its entirety, leaving behind an immense black mark on the ground as clouds of smoke and fire billowed in the air.
Or, at least, that was what Jeanne had hoped for...
Bayonetta 3: Queen Magick Ends
Heavens Feel: I Beg You (Instrumental) Begins
The red creature remained untouched…
The attack had failed to leave even a single dent on it!
Jeanne was left aghast at the site!
"How could it have failed?" she quietly stated, shock overwhelming her.
She started going pale, almost falling to the floor before Viola caught her in her time.
"It failed. I failed..." Jeanne repeated to herself over and over again.
"Jeanne! You have to snap out of it! Please!!" Viola cried out, voice going unheard.
In the Platinum Witch's mind, all she could think about was how one of her strongest attacks had failed. How Cereza, her best friend, her Umbran sister, would have overcome the fear that entered her body the moment she heard about Sacrilege Demons. How Cereza would have taken out the monstrosity with a blaze of glory. Not making a single mistake in the process. Cereza would not have failed the way she did!
"Cer...e...za..." Jeanne stuttered in a dream-like state.
All Viola could do was hold her as she stared at the escalating situation between Queen Styx and the red creature.
It had gone awry the moment Jeanne stopped dancing. Troops of Sacrilege Demons had begun attacking a vulnerable Queen Styx and feasting on her flesh!
She tried to wave them away with her arms but was overwhelmed. Moreover, two Sacrilege Insidious had emerged from the red entity, ready for revenge after Queen Styx slaughtered one of its brethren.
They released red lasers from the ends of their wings, striking her in the face!
"AAAHHH!!" she cried out, pools of blood pouring from her eyes as the lasers permanently blinded her.
However, it was this scream that snapped Jeanne out of her state. She began raising herself off the floor with Viola's help before looking on with terror, realizing that she had to do something now or risk Queen Styx dying!
"You bastards!! You'll PAY for this!!!" she shouted, gripping her heart even tighter and dancing with vigor.
Queen Styx was rejuvenated with strength and began to blindly claw away at her enemies with her nails with excessive force. She even attempted to use Royal Escort to keep some of the enemies at bay.
However, she was quickly stung by one of the tails of a Sacrilege Insidious, interrupting her attack.
This did not go unnoticed by the red entity as it decided to take advantage of the situation.
First, it released a red force field from its body, spreading throughout the vicinity before fading away.
Viola had noticed this, seeing the Sacrilege Demon become enraged.
"Great! As if shit wasn't bad enough already!" she complained.
Afterwards, the creature began using the slime beneath Queen Styx to shoot out immense slime tentacles to immobilize her.
One had immediately come out from behind, wrapping itself around her neck and pulling back with tremendous force!
She groaned in agony, startled by the sudden attack. However, the red creature wasn't done yet.
Queen Styx was struck again by other tentacles from all angles!
Two had latched themselves around her wrists while another four enveloped her waist, pulling her down and onto her knees.
"AAAHHH!!" she moaned, Sacrilege Demons eating away alive!
Jeanne was infuriated at the sight, gritting her teeth with such force that she could feel some break!
She would do everything possible to free Queen Styx and proceeded to screech the loudest she ever had!
"DESCEND TO DARKNESS!!!"
Her dancing became more rigorous and provocative than ever before as panic seeped into her body, painfully invigorating her muscles to free Queen Styx!
The screen then cut to Queen Styx resisting the restraints, managing to crush the tentacles on her wrists with her hands.
She was beginning to set herself free now. Things were finally turning up for her.
Heavens Feel: I Beg You (Instrumental) Ends
Ferry Corsten: Fire (Mike on Fire Ver.) Begins at 0:55
Meanwhile, Viola was left to deal with various Sacrilege Demons were able to land on the aircraft.
She was exhausted beyond belief but knew that she had to fight. It was that or have her soul mercilessly consumed. So, readied Mab Dachi and goes to strike a Sacrilege Fury.
However, the katana bounced off the demon as if it were invulnerable, leaving no mark on it.
"Holy shit! What are these guys made of?! " She exclaims, switching to her pistols before shooting the Sacrilege Fury.
DING!
TANG!
CLACK!
All of the bullets had ricocheted off the armor of the Sacrilege Fury.
Viola stared at the uninjured Sacrilege Demon with hopelessness, looking around as more began to surround her and Jeanne. However, she remembered would happen if she faltered now.
"Who will protect Jeanne if I'm down for the count?! Everything is riding on me now! I have to act quick or risk everything falling apart!" she thought.
So, Viola deciding that it was now time to use her fairy form, taking Mab Dachi out.
"Daddy, please give me strength!" she pleaded, stabbing herself in the stomach!
The screen then pans out to reveal a blinding light engulf Viola before revealing new fairy design. Her fur body was a mauve purple while her long hair was a seashell pink color. Furthermore, the stained-glass on her body were shades of the colors red, pink, and yellow. Lastly, the stained glass from her face was now gone and refitted as a gorgeous diadem on her forehead.
"It's time to get down to business!" she shouted, teleporting through various Sacrilege Demons to get to the middle of the roof before using Combo 2 to stun lock all of them at once!
Then, she teleported again to reach a Sin Fury in the air, using Combo 1 to stagger it before jumping off of its body to show off a new move, Crystal Drive.
The screen shows Viola create a large crystal in her hands with magic before throwing it down into the ground, impaling a Sacrilege Demon onto the floor. This is a process that she would repeat multiple times, sporadically teleporting from place to place and striking at different angles. However, it would all be aimed at the spot that she first struck.
Lastly, we see her teleport to the position that she first threw a crystal (briefly winking at the camera) before creating another crystal, one larger than the rest, and throwing it down to deal the finishing blow!
BOOM!
CRASH!!
The sounds of glass breaking could be heard as the impact from the last crystal caused a white explosion that sent multiple Sacrilege Demons off the roof!
”How’d you like that?!" Viola taunted, satisfied with herself.
Despite this, some Sacrilege Spites and Apathy’s had remained on the roof, but it wasn’t something that Viola couldn’t handle.
So, she teleported to one of the Sin Spites before having to dodge in the nick of time.
“Perfect!” She thought, preparing to make use of Witch Time.
Except, there was no Witch Time...
“What the-!” she shouted, faltering in attack before a Sacrilege Spite slammed her with its large tail.
Ferry Corsten: Fire (Mike on Fire Ver.) Ends
H. O. T. D: 07 Pursuit Begins
The attack was so strong that it deactivated Viola’s transformation and sent her flying towards Jeanne, knocking her down and onto the side the aircraft!
They were now hanging onto the aircraft’s railings as Sacrilege Demons began inching closer to them, resulting in the aircraft tilting to the side.
Enzo could even be heard yelling through the Jeanne’s microphone.
”What the hell is going on?! Why is this fucking thing TILTING?!” he raged, questions going unanswered.
Jeanne and Viola were now dangling on the plane's railing, arguing with each other.
"VIOLA!" Jeanne angrily yelled, grabbing onto the railing with her left hand and wrapping her right arm over it. She still had her heart in her hand and didn’t want to risk dropping it.
"What the fuck did you do?!"
"I don't know, ok!!" Viola yelled.
"I tried to use Witch Time, but it didn't work! It's like someone deactivated it or some shit!"
Jeanne could only roll her eyes in disappointment before seeing Queen Styx failing again. She had been so close to removing the bounds off her body. Now, that would never come to be.
However, the duo had more immediate matters to attend as Sacrilege Demons were almost upon them. They figured that they had to jump and fly to safety.
Although, it wasn’t until Jeanne tried summoning her butterfly wings that she was unable to.
“What the-?! I can’t… I can’t summon my wings!” Jeanne shouted with grave concern.
Viola tried to do the same with her fairy wings, but also couldn’t summon them.
The two had realized that they were in an even bigger predicament than before. Certain abilities of theirs were being disabled and they didn’t know how!
Jeanne and Viola tired selves could only look down at the red slime, seeing that it had almost engulfed the entire city beyond a fifty-mile radius. There was no time to think as Sacrilege Demons were ready to kill the two. They had to jump now!
So, they looked at each other with nodding heads and let go, bracing for impact as they went straight down!
BOOM!!
The screen pans out to reveal that Angel Slayer V4 had been blown to bits in a blaze of fire!
“ENZO!!!” the two screamed, worrying for his safety!
Just then, they see a mysterious figure briskly emerging from the explosion, flying towards them at the speed of sound.
H. O. T. D: 07 Pursuit Ends
H. O. T. D: 22 Saeko Shows Up Begins
"Rodin!" Viola gleefully yelled, noticing that Enzo was holding onto his legs.
The two take a sigh of relief before Rodin catches each of them under his arms.
“Thank you! You have no idea how much we needed this!“ Viola says.
”It’s my pleasure Viola,” he graciously replied.
However, Jeanne remained suspicious of his actions.
”Rodin, while I do appreciate the rescue, you’ve never been one to get involved. What changed?“ she questioned.
“Look, I don’t normally do this shit, just think of it a one-time exception. I’m doing it because I saw what you guys are up against. It isn’t pretty,” he answers.
”Can we please find somewhere to land?! Unlike you guys, I don’t magical powers to save my ass!” Enzo complained.
“Will you please shut your loud ass mouth up?! Don’t think I forgot about-!” Rodin responds before being cutoff.
”Ok, ok, I get it! Jeez, why is everyone ganging up on me today!” Enzo yelled, quieting down afterwards.
H. O. T. D: 22 Saeko Shows Up Ends
Heaven's Feel: Fears and Hopes Begins
The screen fades to black before transitioning to a toppled building on its side, panning out to reveal the ongoing chaos in the background with the Sacrilege Demons.
The were temporarily safe now thanks to Rodin. Enzo was even kissing the ground after being in the sky for so long.
“Viola, I think you’re gonna need these,” Rodin says, summoning a purple box onto his hands.
“It’s been a while since these babies were put to work, so I guess now is as good a time as ever,” he says, offering her the box.
Viola could only stare with visible concern as tears formed in her eyes.
”Rodin, I… I don’t think I can accept these. They’re…!” she stutters.
”Viola, if Cereza gave you Cheshire, then I see no reason as to why she wouldn’t let you use her guns. If you want to complete you’re training as an Umbra Witch, accepting these guns is a necessary step,” Jeanne tells her.
”Besides, those cheap props on you won’t last another second!” she joked.
Suddenly, a comedic scene ensues where all the Viola’s props on her hands and feet fall apart into pieces.
”Tsk…shitty cheap toys…” Viola sheepishly mutters under her breath.
”I… I guess you have a point Jeanne…” she reluctantly says, turning to Rodin.
She was quiet now, thinking about the consequences of her actions. Was she ready to become an Umbra Witch? The question dawned on for some time, but she realized that it was now or never. She had to stop the red entity for good.
”Thank you Rodin. I‘ll make good us of them,” she says with a small smile on her face.
She then opens the lid and begins taking each gun out one by one, equipping them on her hands and feet. It wasn’t anything dramatic, just business as usual.
”I only wish mummy was here to see it,” she thought.
Heaven's Feel: Fears and Hopes Ends
H. O. T. D: 02 Impulse Begins
BOOSH!
The camera panned out to show Queen Styx suffering. She had fallen onto the ground again and was restrained again with double the tentacles, ensuring that there would be no escape this time.
Jeanne could only watch in horror as Queen Styx was being eaten alive by Sacrilege Demons.
Multiple thoughts ran through her head about what she could do. She could dance, place her heart back into its cavity, or-!
”My, my, how sad is it to see princess Jeanne fail again,“ a voice mocked.
Jeanne looked at the red creature with a furious expression.
The screen then cut to the face of the red creature as a distorted, female voice was emitted through the Golem and heard all throughout Manhattan.
“Poor princess Jeanne, she couldn’t save her own kind, let alone her pet. These actions are, dare I say, more worthless than even Viola. Granted, a bottom feeder such as her has no hope for a future. Nonetheless, is it so wrong to expect more from the fabled ‘Last Witch’?” the female voice giggled, sarcastically ridiculing Jeanne and Viola.
”What is this bitch’s deal?! Does she have some vendetta against us?!” Viola shouted, turning towards Jeannes.
“I could say the same! How the hell does she know about my past?! Let alone my-?!” Jeanne replied, abruptly cutoff.
”That, princess, is my secret. One for you to never find out. You’ll be long dead before that. I promise,” the female voice declared with absolute certainty, stunning the two with the threat.
“Anyhow, it's time for your pet to be put out of its misery. Sin Demons were so last fall, wouldn’t you agree?”
Suddenly, a large tentacle began emerging from the creature's body, morphing into that of a sharp blade.
“DON’T YOU DARE!!” Jeanne yelled.
However, she was ignored as the blade plunged into Queen Styx's heart, putting an end to her as she fell onto the ground, absorbed by the slime.
Jeanne exploded with a blaze of acrimony, placing her heart back in its chest!
"YOU BITCH!!" she blared, beyond furious!
Viola was stunned by the barbarity of the action, wanting revenge!
H. O. T. D: 02 Impulse Ends
Bayonetta 3: Al Fine Begins at 0:53
She and Jeanne turned to Rodin, seeing him nod his head. They were going kill this abomination now!
So, he grabbed the two and began spinning at nauseating speeds, building a strong momentum before throwing them right at the red Golem!
A QTE then appeared as Viola and Jeanne launched a constant barrage of Wicked Weaves at the red core! They were punching so hard that they broke the QTE gauge, ending their stream of attacks with a Heel Stomp from above that smashed the Golem's core into bits!
Viola and Jeanne could then hear the woman's distorted voice cursing at them through the bits of the remaining core.
“If you think this is the last of me, think again! I’ll be back!” She curses, voice fading away soon after.
Bayonetta 3: Al Fine Ends
The screen then shows the red entity disintegrate, panning out in the sky to reveal that the slime that spread across Manhattan was evaporating.
The screen then cuts to Jeanne and Viola using their wings to lower themselves from the sky, landing onto the street. They had no doubt in their minds that the female voice was one behind everything.
Yet, with that in mind, all they could do now was look at what remained of the city. There were damaged roads, toppled buildings, and countless people missing.
They could only look at each other with concern, realizing that while the battle was won, more was to come. The sky was still blood-red and something else had remained.
The camera zooms in onto the duos faces before moving to the gaping hole where the convention center once stood. It then went all the way down, dramatically revealing a Gate to Inferno.
Things were not over, not in the slightest.
Prologue Part III Finale (2/2) Ends
​
New Infernal Demon Entry Unlocked:
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2023.06.01 08:26 FormalSmoke Official Images: Nike Dunk Low Supersonic

Check out Amazon Gold Box Daily Deals
Check out the Top Deals on Sneakers for Sale on Amazon!
Official Images: Nike Dunk Low Supersonic
Nike’s upcoming “Supersonic” Collection grows by one today with the addition of this Nike Dunk Low. Covered in a light color palette of White, Igloo, Black, and Neutral Grey, this Nike Dunk Low utilizes a variety of materials on the upper that include smooth and tumbled leather, mesh, and nubuck. Sail, White, and Neutral Grey join forces on the upper along with Black on the ankles and inner liner and different shades of blue on the tongue and heel branding as well as the icy translucent outsoles. Standout details include the Supersonic logo stamped onto the lateral ankle and graphic insoles displaying a stereo speaker and downtown street. Look for the Nike Dunk Low “Supersonic” to release later this year for $110.
For a complete guide including official photos, release dates, pricing and where to buy, visit: Nike Dunk Low Supersonic.
In release news, will you be going after the Air Jordan 1 High OG Washed Black on June 10th?
images: Nike
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2023.06.01 04:35 bellchenst Present-Day Wonder in Dual-Era Worldview in Our Upcoming Adventure Game, Spatial Terminal: Riftwalkers

Present-Day Wonder in Dual-Era Worldview in Our Upcoming Adventure Game, Spatial Terminal: Riftwalkers
Welcome, brave adventurers, to the world of Spatial Terminal: Riftwalkers! This extraordinary universe we’ve been crafting spans not just the vast spectrum of technology, biology, and society but also transcends the boundaries of time. Our world is set in a dual era, with the present-day cities of Tachimi and San Minato coexisting with an ancient civilization lost to history. It’s a place where past and future collide in new and profound ways, shaping a world that’s both eerily familiar and wildly different from our own. Let us take you on a journey through the dazzling present-day cities of Tachimi and San Minato, setting the stage for the incredible adventure that awaits you in the ancient realms beyond.
Concept of Tachimi City

Tachimi City: The Surreal Mastery of Technologies and Illusions

In the twilight of human development, the sprawling metropolis of Tachimi City emerges, etched on the island’s western coastline. Artificial Superintelligence lays the very foundation of this city, building layer upon layer of chaotic yet deliberate architecture beyond the realms of human understanding. In this city, neon lights reign supreme, casting puzzling shadows on the denizens below, who flock to the vibrant underground pop culture scene that has made Tachimi notorious.
Basking in the glow of night, holographic projections dance with AI bots to paint a portrait of surreal beauty as humans stand by and watch designs more ambitious than any mind could have conceived unfold. Rich, swirling colors pulsate from countless billboards and art installations spread across the city, the hallmark of Tachimi City’s thriving creative scene.
Yet, beneath the kaleidoscope of over-stimulation lies an undercurrent of darkness. The neon-lit alleys extend into a labyrinth of shadows and illicit activity, where exhausted souls vie for a taste of the glitz and glamour Tachimi promises. Amidst soaring futuristic malls and high-tech offices lie crumbling social welfare apartments, homes to those who eke out a living on the fringes of a society shaped by AI-driven ingenuity.
Concept of Tachimi City

San Minato City: A Harmonious Symphony of Life and Art

On the opposite end of the spectrum lies San Minato City, nestled on the eastern coast. Here, the air is free from the hum of AI. Instead, the city is alive with the whisper of nature and the touch of biological advancement. Silicon and quantum computers are rare sights, with their presence restricted only to the city’s banking system and a decentralized blockchain used for democratic voting.
The infrastructure here seems to grow rather than be built, thanks to revolutionary cell-growing technologies. Streets and buildings come alive, growing organically from the ground, as if San Minato City were a living, breathing entity. The scientists have even broken the inter-species communication barrier with Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) technology, leading to a vibrant, chaotic society where intelligent animals like monkeys and parrots participate in societal functions. From racial to gender and now species equality, this city is a hub of progressive movements.
Art flows freely in the veins of San Minato City. Each corner houses a gallery, with music, paintings, photography (non-digital), and motion pictures becoming the soul’s language. And yes, transportation here is a thrill on its own. Why ride a bus when you can hop onto a Turkey Taxi? Not only do these feathered rides beat cars, but they also outpace helicopters!
Concept of San Minato City

The Island of Conflict: The Endless Clash of Ideology

Dividing these two cities lies a desolate wasteland, all that remains of the once-great capital of an ancient civilization. The hazardous desert echoes with the whispers of ghostly conflicts, while scars of ceaseless battles dot the landscape, testament to the unwavering ideological divide between Tachimi and San Minato that never seems to reconcile.
Concept of Central Island Desert
Yet, it is in this estranged present that our protagonist’s quest begins, only to take an unexpected turn in the heart of Tachimi City’s public subway system. Captured in a gravity-defying anomaly, the very fabric of time and space unravels, casting our hero into the cryptic depths of a forgotten past, lost to all knowledge.
Welcome to Spatial Terminal: Riftwalkers. Our universe is vast and diverse, and every stone overturned reveals deeper layers of mystery and intrigue. As the present-day cities of Tachimi and San Minato give way to an ancient past, the boundaries between the known and the unknown dissolve, ushering you into a journey of epic proportions.
Concept of Tachimi Metro Station
Join us in this thrilling adventure, where time’s rift awaits those who dare to traverse its unseen path. Ready yourself, intrepid explorer, for the world of Spatial Terminal: Riftwalkers is about to begin.
Prepare to cross through time and space as you unveil the unseen world that lies before you.

Please Wishlist Us

As our collective journey unfolds, we invite you to join us and be a part of the burgeoning Spatial Terminal community. Show your support by wishlisting Spatial Terminal Engine on Steam or diving into our early access: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2261570
Stay tuned for the highly anticipated arrival of Riftwalkers in Spatial Terminal Marketplace, with a sneak peek of the game to be revealed in late June. Keep an eye out for our upcoming real-time devlogs and updates, as we continue to breathe life into the worlds we build, powered by your passion and our unwavering commitment to innovation.
https://preview.redd.it/mksreyp9jb3b1.png?width=2004&format=png&auto=webp&s=a610fe80304f6a76733d06a193f615ed263c7d1b
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2023.06.01 04:14 Betty-Adams Flying Sparks Volume 1 - A Novel of a boy, a dragon, and an alien. Avaliable for preorder on Indiegogo Now.

Flying Sparks Volume 1 - A Novel of a boy, a dragon, and an alien. Avaliable for preorder on Indiegogo Now.

Flying Sparks

Pre Order Now

​
https://i.redd.it/vvxa5zxkfb3b1.gif

Chapter 2

“Hazardous? I’ll show that manipulative, misanthropic, anti-establishment cretin just what hazardous means if he thinks I’m going to fold on this!”
The sound of vigorous guitar riffs made a fitting accompaniment to the angry tirade despite originating on opposite sides of the communal area. Ama was glaring at a laptop that sat on a stained oak desk shoved against the large table near the kitchen. She tapped a fingernail on the wood as she read through the alert.
“And what violation of basic human dignity has her royal prudishness’s undies in a bunch?” Em demanded with an affected sneer without looking up from his guitar scales.
“Oh you’ll agree with this one tree-hugger,” Drake muttered from where he sat oiling his work boots.
“Yeah,” Donny piped up, “Finney is trying to kill a perfectly healthy fir.”
“What!” Em demanded, carefully placing his battered old acoustic guitar down in its case and darting over to look at the computer screen. “You mean apark tree?”
Despite her simmering frustration Ama allowed a small smile to flicker across her face as she continued to type.
“Get out of your pajamas and I’ll tell you,” Drake ordered pointing towards the bathroom door with a stained rag. “School starts in forty-five minutes and you still have breakfast and chores. That goes for you too Pip-squirt.”
“I hope you washed your hands before you touched our food,” Em said with a frown.
“Boot grease makes a great source of fatty acids.” Drake retorted. “Now go!”
The two smaller boys muttered in annoyance but stumbled off to follow orders.
“So what is up?” the youth asked as he bent his head back over the smooth leather of his boots.
“Mrs. Finney wants that tree down that’s blocking her perfect view of Crescent Lake.” Ama replied in a dry tone.
“One that’s clearly on park property?” Drake asked.
“Indeedy-do.” Ama replied giving the paper in front of her a glare.
“So how’s she justifying it?” Drake asked.
“As a safety hazard to her house.” Ama replied.
“And?”
The biologist groaned and rubbed her face.
“As far as I can tell the trunk is perfectly healthy. There is an old trash can lid grown into the trunk and a little discolored sap is leaking out there.”
“Frass?”
“Watch your language!” Donny interjected as he darted up to the table.
“Frass is not a bad word,” Drake stated. “Have you let the chickens out?”
“Yes, what does frass mean?” Donny asked as he started piling stir-fry onto his plate.
“Look it up.” Drake ordered him. “Emerald! Breakfast ends in ten minutes! Get your tukus down here!”
“It’s bad health to rush meals,” Em snapped out as he came down a narrow stairway with deliberate slowness.
“It’s even worse for your health to skip meals altogether,” Drake growled threateningly.
“Shut it and give me some eggs.” Em snapped back.
“Emerald Waters Undersun,” Drake hissed out through gritted teeth. “You are going to get your own eggs.”
The boy threw himself into a chair and glared at Drake with challenge in every line of his body.
“Emerald,” Ama said in a calm tone. “I think you should apologize to your cousin now.”
“Sorry I disturbed you Ama,” he offered without breaking eye contact with Drake.
“Not me, him,” Ama said.
“Sorry you had to hear that Donny.” Em said.
Ama heaved a sigh and closed her computer.
“Emerald,” Ama said.
“Do you want to eat or go hungry?” Drake demanded.
Ama glanced at him with a familiar uneasy look in her eyes and Drake fought down a wince.
“Now, Em.” she said in a patient tone.
“I’ll go hungry,” Em snapped, jumping up and stalking over to the couch.
Donny kept his eyes fixed on his plate. Ama heaved a sigh before turning back to her computer. Em wriggled on the couch for several minutes before skulking back to the table. Drake moved to intercept him but Ama stopped him with a look and he let Em serve himself. Drake cast irritated glances at the wall clock as the time crept more and more into school time.
Ama closed her computer and stood, then sighed, sat and opened it again.
“I need to pick out their report topics,” Ama muttered.
“I could do it,” Drake offered.
“You do quite enough,” Ama replied briskly, as she scanned the news. “Here you go. For Donny, malfunctions at the Lewis- McChord Air Force Base air show.” A frown creased her face. “Wow, this is pretty serious. It looks like the F-16 demonstration team nearly got killed.”
Drake whistled and leaned over her shoulder.
“Multiple system failures,” he read out loud. “I am pretty sure that isn’t supposed to happen.”
“Nope,” Ama agreed. “Here is a topic on big game management for Em.”
“Reports due by next week?” Drake asked as the old printer on the desk began to squeal and grumble as it powered up.
“Same as usual,” Ama confirmed.
Drake put the printouts on top of the homework pile and moved to wash up the breakfast dishes.
“I need to get to work early today so you two be good for Drake,” she called out placing a quick kiss on top of the smaller boys’ heads and giving Drake’s shoulder a friendly squeeze.
“Good luck with Mrs. Finney, and stay safe.” Drake called out as she went into her room.
The table was cleaned off and wiped down and the clink of forks gave way to the steady scratch of pencils on paper. They broke for a recess after religion and then lunch after history and math, and by the time the Grandfather clock in the corner struck two the younger boys twitching with energy. Drake made certain the internet was disconnected at the router, and chased Donny and Em out into the garden.
“And don’t come in until dark,” he ordered tossing two snack bags out after them.
Donny as usual snatched his food and disappeared into the small orachard. Low grumbles about troglodytes and the Amish wandered out into the high corn following Em and Drake shook his head in exasperation wondering, not for the first time how the dark haired princeling came from the same gene pool as his little brother. The kitchen being mostly ordered Drake was turning to put the last random dirty sock in the hamper when a gnarled hand clutching a cane head appeared in the corner of his eye, causing his heart to make a valiant attempt to bolt out of his throat.
“Abuelita!” he gasped forcing his hands down from the guard position. “Where did you come from?”
Smoldering black eyes ran searchingly over the tall youth. An impossibly long mane of streaked silver and black hair was barely contained in a thick braid. A sharply pointed nose perched over a small wrinkled mouth. A vibrant red horse-hair serape hung over her shoulders concealing everything except her brown and gnarled hands which currently clutched the old tree branch she used as a cane. Drake had been more than a little comforted by the fact that both Em and Donny had admitted to having the thought ‘witch’ every time time they saw her as well.
“From the hand of God by the bodies of my sainted mother and father,” she replied after a long, uncomfortable silence.
She always spoke in a low husky voice that suggested years of smoking, though Drake had never smelled even stale smoke on her.
“Right,” Drake blinked and grinned at the response; the one she always gave. “So you are here for their Spanish lesson? I have their grammar books ready and-”
The narrow end of the tree branch rapped against the concrete of the floor causing Drake to jump. Abuelita glared at him, locking his gaze and holding him in place with it for a moment.
“I am here for their lessons,” she finally stated, “and you are there for my payment.”
Drake thought longingly of the repair and maintenance manuals in the cab of the truck and the new tool he was itching to try, but he forced a grin on his face.
“Yes ma’am,” he said. “What can I get you today?”
Abuelita pulled out a bag of woven grass from under her serape causing the indistinct patterns on the cloth to shift and change.
“Take this,” she ordered him, “and collect me the cobalt blue berries that grow on a single stalk close to the ground. They must come from the mountain to the south east of here by the crystal brook.”
Drake nodded, and took the little bag, he didn’t quite manage to infused his gestures with enthusiasm he supposed. The old woman, probably wouldn’t have noted it anyway. She turned and moved towards the garden door without waiting for any other reply. However she called out over her shoulder as he turned to find his own way out of the rambling structure.
“Don’t dawdle little one. A storm brews in the distance.”
He tried not to roll his eyes at that, the weather forecast was clear and eighties for the next week according to the morning fire report Ama had printed. The youth only nodded and slipped around the corner. He circled the barn and pulled a set of loose tan pants and tunic out of the cubby. The soft worn leather almost perfectly matched the forest floor for color as did the moccasins he pulled on after them. His morning running clothes were modern stuff that wicked the sweat away from him and let him speed through the forest. These were his free day clothes. The ones that let him disappear into the forest and wander. Abuelita, for all of her demands, would tend Em and Donny until he returned no matter how late that was, and with the Park’s yearly budget talks still under way it was highly unlikely Ama would be home until long after the sun had set. Despite still hearing the call of the half restored truck he felt something lossening in him already. The soft cotton and smooth leather rested easily against his skin and Drake slipped into the forest.
Freedom; for the moment at least, blissful freedom. Pushing aside the guilt that accompanied the thought as well as any lingering worries about his charges the youth let his legs carry him through the trees. He shunned the man made paths, following the faint animal trails. This close to the barn they were as clear to him as if they were named city streets. Being animal trails, they invariably led him to water. Today he stopped at a trickling stream, took off his moccasins, and rolled up his pants legs. The youth turned and followed the thin flow of icy water upstream, letting it steal the heat from his body through his feet.
Some distance upstream, the stream widened and pooled under a boulder. There Drake paused and pulled an old black compass out of his pocket. Behind him he knew every trail and tree. Ahead was a broad swath of National Wilderness he would have to cross, or possibly Bureau of Land Management or even state managed forests where he more rarely wandered. It was hard to tell where the boundaries were from the ground. The clearing he wanted for the berries was solidly in BLM land and he still had quite a ways to go to get there. The stand of timber that stood between him and his goal was dense with young tree and branches that frequently formed impenetrable hedges he had to track around and he checked his compass regularly as he climbed in elevation. Even so the youth found he had wandered too far off his route and had to correct when he spotted the boundary fence. However he was in no hurry and he reached the clearing long before the sun told him it was time to turn around.
Sometime in the past some unknown force had carved a shallow trench across the side of one of the small mountains that that dotted the wilderness. It had puzzled Drake at first. The scour was at the wrong angle to be an old rock slide, and terminated in a near perfectly circular clearing at the lower end. Centuries old Douglas Firs abruptly gave way to a second ring only a few decades old. Those were in turn beginning to produce cones and a smattering of knee high saplings. The rest of the space was completely given over to wildflowers. No matter what season Drake visited it he found a riot of life.
There had been an early spring and many herbs that normally would have waited a month or more were already in full bloom in the mountain meadow. A white wave of foamflower washed in from the deep forest surrounding the clearing, sending up knee high stalks covered in the delicate white blooms. Late trillium hid close to the roots of the great firs, many having shed their white corollas and begun to put forth their bulbous seed heads. Fuzzy white baneberry blossoms nodded gently in the breeze. A riot of yellow and purple spread across the ground as vetch and buttercups and a host of clovers competed for space in the open sun. Great stalks of lupine as high as his head thrust up their purple and blue proudly from thick clusters of palm shaped leaves. Pink shooting stars and violet harebells crouched under the protection of the larger plants. Indian paintbrush lit the scene with flames of red and orange. Where a spring seeped into the meadow elephant’s head flared neon pink and corydalis bushes put forth blushing blooms. Pale green wild orchids stood along the wet spot and the swarms of bees danced from them to the glacier lilies.
Sometimes, as he bent over a tiny blossom and traced the intricate network of veins in the petals, drank in the scent, and felt the smooth surface of the leaves an otherworldly feeling would come over him. It was as if there was another world just out of range of his senses. If he could only really look, the thin illusion that was blocking him would slip away and reveal the real world underneath it.
“Look Awiegwa,” his father would whisper, pointing at a deer mouse perched on a fallen log. “What does it see?”
Awiegwa would screw up his face and squint. Trying to find the answer to the question.
Awiegwa had often wondered how so many flowers had come to be in the relatively small area. He had identified dozens of species and there were more he had yet to determine. The clearing was always the first place to bloom and the last to go dormant. Many of the flowers seemed to utterly defy their usual blooming patterns. However, as time passed he had simply come to accept it. It was one of the small good things that brought back the memories of his father. If it didn’t quite follow the rules Ama had taught him, well an impossible clearing in the mountains wasn’t a place for rules.
The particular bloom that Abuelita had requested had taken full advantage of the early sun and had already put forth a few cobalt blue berries; easily spotted at the edge of the clearing in the delicate sea of white flowers.
However before he left the shade of the forest for the meadow the youth paused and closed his eyes. Bole wasn’t always here, but he was often enough that Awiegwa always checked for him. Carefully he reconstructed the clearing in his mind; marking every tree and boulder on the edge. Three years he had been coming here and each time it was easier to recreate the clearing. Breathing evenly he opened his eyes, letting the mental image merge with the actual. There was a brief moment of confusion as details like the play of light through branches and the trembling of small clusters of flowers fixed themselves but there was only one truly jarring note. Awiegwa didn’t let his eyes focus on the disparity; he never did anymore, but a warm smile spread across his features as he slipped silently into the meadow.
He was here. As the youth moved in a low crouch, gathering the first fruits of the Queen’s Cup, he let his peripheral vision linger on a particular snag. There was nothing obviously interesting about it, other than the fact that it had not been there the last time Awiegwa was here. He had named the wanderer Bole, because it most often appeared as a thick tree trunk; sometimes living, sometimes dead. Occasionally it would be a boulder or simply a mound in the dirt. Often it wasn’t in the clearing at all. If the youth moved forward and tried to closely examine it he could never find anything to suggest it was something other than a tree or rock.
He had thought about taking a sample occasionally, had taken his knife out to do just that more than once, but something always held him back. Bole was a part of this place. Dissecting him would be too much like attempting to dissect his sense of his father’s presence here. The youth had never told anyone about this place, not even Ama with who could get most things out of him easily enough. Down at the house, in town, when he was Drake; solid, reliable, first up in the morning, two grades ahead in school with a penchant for science Drake, a productive member of modern society with a promising future and his mother smiling at him. Here he could be Awiegwa. Here he could believe in the ancient medicines his father had dug out of dusty old tomes and brought to life from the forest litter. Every time Awiegwa left the clearing and headed back towards home reality would reassert itself. Bole would resolve back into a figment of his imagination, created from pride in a somewhat better than average memory and what the social workers had called an “intriguing imagination”. When he reached the house and become solidly Drake again flickers of embarrassment would begin eating at him for letting his senses trick him like that, but as long as the blooms nodded around him in this garden Bole could exist even on a Thursday.
The little woven grass bag filled up with the berries fairly quickly and Awiegwa soon stretched out of his crouch and let his gaze wander contentedly over the clearing. As it always did, the warm space was working its special magic. Worries about Em getting out of his schoolwork, of not paying enough attention to the quiet Donny, of letting Ama see his petty resentments: it had all melted away from his muscles, thoughts of college costs and abandoning his duties dissolved into an acute sense of the now. The leaves rustled softly in a barely-there breeze, the heavy scent of some unidentified blossom filled his lungs, a dozen shades of green framed the rainbow of flowers, and over and above it all the creaking of the firs as the wind played over them. It was at times like these that he felth he could almost see into heaven; that something wonderful that existed just beyond his senses, and all he had to do was reach out and claim it.
The youth took a deep breath and let himself fall backwards onto a handy rise in the forest floor. His path had taken him to the foot of the snag and he shifted slightly to align himself with the gnarled roots. One hand gripped a time smoothed root.
“Ama trusted me enough to go out of state,” he murmured. “That’s the first time she’s done that. Usually she has Abulita stay with us to fend off the Harsh, but she said it’s long past legal now.”
It was his imagination of course that made him think the root vibrated in his hand in response. Many a long hour he had spent in this clearing with the wanderer. He had poured out his frustrations and anguishes over life’s injustices, had shared his secrets as he grew, and had shouted his triumphs. Sometimes he felt closer to Bole than to any of his human friends. However, something that sounded like his mother’s voice warned him that there was something odd about this and that awareness was the main reason he had kept this place secret from Ama. Their mother hadn’t exactly liked stuff like that. She had never objected to his father’s digging up the old stories of her people. Making cross generational connections between elders, who more often than not lived isolated lives, and the next generation, was an admirable goal in of itself in her eyes; objectively a social good. Storytelling was only the natural course for these relationships to take, but subtle looks had warned even a very young Drake that it was best to cautious what he shared with his mother. At least of those things that couldn’t be placed on a microscope slide. So this was Awigewa’s place, and while his father’s spirit wanders the flowers with he had never felt his mother here.
He let his focus drift up, and up. Dark blue Lupine nodded over his head framing the faint crisscross of jet contrails that threw a light haze over an otherwise cloudless sky. His clothed grew deliciously hot from the spring sun. The ground too had eagerly accepted the energy and now it conducted the heat into the muscles of his back. Bole’s wood beneath him was warmer even than the surrounding ground and an idle thought traced across Awiegwa’s awareness; something about it being odd for the light colored wood and relatively dry wood to retain more heat than the darker soil surrounding it. His mind was filled with the impression of a goal. He had been meaning to do, something. Something fun, yes, exploring, he’d meant to see if whatever had dug that den by the second boulder was cubing this year. He would just get up and do that in a minute. His back was so warm and comfortable.
​
“Flying Sparks”
Another foray into the lives of Drake McCarty, Ama Love, and the rest of their siblings as they discover that something alien is out in the forest around their home.
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/flying-sparks-a-novel-of-dragon-bear-and-boy/coming_soon
#FlyingSparks #ScienceFiction #Scifi #Story #novel #book #DrakeMcCarty #AmaLove #Donny #Em #Bard #Bole #Aliens #Spaceships #Crystals #fireflies #NPS #NationalPark #Doctor #Sever #family #storm #writing #reading #drama #literature #author #BettyAdams #DyingEmbers #Dragons #ThingsThatGoBoomp #Indiegogo #CrowdFunding
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2023.06.01 04:13 Betty-Adams Flying Sparks Volume 1 - A Novel of a boy, a dragon, and an alien. Avaliable for preorder on Indiegogo Now.

Flying Sparks

Pre Order Now

​
https://i.redd.it/vub83em8fb3b1.gif

Chapter 2

“Hazardous? I’ll show that manipulative, misanthropic, anti-establishment cretin just what hazardous means if he thinks I’m going to fold on this!”
The sound of vigorous guitar riffs made a fitting accompaniment to the angry tirade despite originating on opposite sides of the communal area. Ama was glaring at a laptop that sat on a stained oak desk shoved against the large table near the kitchen. She tapped a fingernail on the wood as she read through the alert.
“And what violation of basic human dignity has her royal prudishness’s undies in a bunch?” Em demanded with an affected sneer without looking up from his guitar scales.
“Oh you’ll agree with this one tree-hugger,” Drake muttered from where he sat oiling his work boots.
“Yeah,” Donny piped up, “Finney is trying to kill a perfectly healthy fir.”
“What!” Em demanded, carefully placing his battered old acoustic guitar down in its case and darting over to look at the computer screen. “You mean apark tree?”
Despite her simmering frustration Ama allowed a small smile to flicker across her face as she continued to type.
“Get out of your pajamas and I’ll tell you,” Drake ordered pointing towards the bathroom door with a stained rag. “School starts in forty-five minutes and you still have breakfast and chores. That goes for you too Pip-squirt.”
“I hope you washed your hands before you touched our food,” Em said with a frown.
“Boot grease makes a great source of fatty acids.” Drake retorted. “Now go!”
The two smaller boys muttered in annoyance but stumbled off to follow orders.
“So what is up?” the youth asked as he bent his head back over the smooth leather of his boots.
“Mrs. Finney wants that tree down that’s blocking her perfect view of Crescent Lake.” Ama replied in a dry tone.
“One that’s clearly on park property?” Drake asked.
“Indeedy-do.” Ama replied giving the paper in front of her a glare.
“So how’s she justifying it?” Drake asked.
“As a safety hazard to her house.” Ama replied.
“And?”
The biologist groaned and rubbed her face.
“As far as I can tell the trunk is perfectly healthy. There is an old trash can lid grown into the trunk and a little discolored sap is leaking out there.”
“Frass?”
“Watch your language!” Donny interjected as he darted up to the table.
“Frass is not a bad word,” Drake stated. “Have you let the chickens out?”
“Yes, what does frass mean?” Donny asked as he started piling stir-fry onto his plate.
“Look it up.” Drake ordered him. “Emerald! Breakfast ends in ten minutes! Get your tukus down here!”
“It’s bad health to rush meals,” Em snapped out as he came down a narrow stairway with deliberate slowness.
“It’s even worse for your health to skip meals altogether,” Drake growled threateningly.
“Shut it and give me some eggs.” Em snapped back.
“Emerald Waters Undersun,” Drake hissed out through gritted teeth. “You are going to get your own eggs.”
The boy threw himself into a chair and glared at Drake with challenge in every line of his body.
“Emerald,” Ama said in a calm tone. “I think you should apologize to your cousin now.”
“Sorry I disturbed you Ama,” he offered without breaking eye contact with Drake.
“Not me, him,” Ama said.
“Sorry you had to hear that Donny.” Em said.
Ama heaved a sigh and closed her computer.
“Emerald,” Ama said.
“Do you want to eat or go hungry?” Drake demanded.
Ama glanced at him with a familiar uneasy look in her eyes and Drake fought down a wince.
“Now, Em.” she said in a patient tone.
“I’ll go hungry,” Em snapped, jumping up and stalking over to the couch.
Donny kept his eyes fixed on his plate. Ama heaved a sigh before turning back to her computer. Em wriggled on the couch for several minutes before skulking back to the table. Drake moved to intercept him but Ama stopped him with a look and he let Em serve himself. Drake cast irritated glances at the wall clock as the time crept more and more into school time.
Ama closed her computer and stood, then sighed, sat and opened it again.
“I need to pick out their report topics,” Ama muttered.
“I could do it,” Drake offered.
“You do quite enough,” Ama replied briskly, as she scanned the news. “Here you go. For Donny, malfunctions at the Lewis- McChord Air Force Base air show.” A frown creased her face. “Wow, this is pretty serious. It looks like the F-16 demonstration team nearly got killed.”
Drake whistled and leaned over her shoulder.
“Multiple system failures,” he read out loud. “I am pretty sure that isn’t supposed to happen.”
“Nope,” Ama agreed. “Here is a topic on big game management for Em.”
“Reports due by next week?” Drake asked as the old printer on the desk began to squeal and grumble as it powered up.
“Same as usual,” Ama confirmed.
Drake put the printouts on top of the homework pile and moved to wash up the breakfast dishes.
“I need to get to work early today so you two be good for Drake,” she called out placing a quick kiss on top of the smaller boys’ heads and giving Drake’s shoulder a friendly squeeze.
“Good luck with Mrs. Finney, and stay safe.” Drake called out as she went into her room.
The table was cleaned off and wiped down and the clink of forks gave way to the steady scratch of pencils on paper. They broke for a recess after religion and then lunch after history and math, and by the time the Grandfather clock in the corner struck two the younger boys twitching with energy. Drake made certain the internet was disconnected at the router, and chased Donny and Em out into the garden.
“And don’t come in until dark,” he ordered tossing two snack bags out after them.
Donny as usual snatched his food and disappeared into the small orachard. Low grumbles about troglodytes and the Amish wandered out into the high corn following Em and Drake shook his head in exasperation wondering, not for the first time how the dark haired princeling came from the same gene pool as his little brother. The kitchen being mostly ordered Drake was turning to put the last random dirty sock in the hamper when a gnarled hand clutching a cane head appeared in the corner of his eye, causing his heart to make a valiant attempt to bolt out of his throat.
“Abuelita!” he gasped forcing his hands down from the guard position. “Where did you come from?”
Smoldering black eyes ran searchingly over the tall youth. An impossibly long mane of streaked silver and black hair was barely contained in a thick braid. A sharply pointed nose perched over a small wrinkled mouth. A vibrant red horse-hair serape hung over her shoulders concealing everything except her brown and gnarled hands which currently clutched the old tree branch she used as a cane. Drake had been more than a little comforted by the fact that both Em and Donny had admitted to having the thought ‘witch’ every time time they saw her as well.
“From the hand of God by the bodies of my sainted mother and father,” she replied after a long, uncomfortable silence.
She always spoke in a low husky voice that suggested years of smoking, though Drake had never smelled even stale smoke on her.
“Right,” Drake blinked and grinned at the response; the one she always gave. “So you are here for their Spanish lesson? I have their grammar books ready and-”
The narrow end of the tree branch rapped against the concrete of the floor causing Drake to jump. Abuelita glared at him, locking his gaze and holding him in place with it for a moment.
“I am here for their lessons,” she finally stated, “and you are there for my payment.”
Drake thought longingly of the repair and maintenance manuals in the cab of the truck and the new tool he was itching to try, but he forced a grin on his face.
“Yes ma’am,” he said. “What can I get you today?”
Abuelita pulled out a bag of woven grass from under her serape causing the indistinct patterns on the cloth to shift and change.
“Take this,” she ordered him, “and collect me the cobalt blue berries that grow on a single stalk close to the ground. They must come from the mountain to the south east of here by the crystal brook.”
Drake nodded, and took the little bag, he didn’t quite manage to infused his gestures with enthusiasm he supposed. The old woman, probably wouldn’t have noted it anyway. She turned and moved towards the garden door without waiting for any other reply. However she called out over her shoulder as he turned to find his own way out of the rambling structure.
“Don’t dawdle little one. A storm brews in the distance.”
He tried not to roll his eyes at that, the weather forecast was clear and eighties for the next week according to the morning fire report Ama had printed. The youth only nodded and slipped around the corner. He circled the barn and pulled a set of loose tan pants and tunic out of the cubby. The soft worn leather almost perfectly matched the forest floor for color as did the moccasins he pulled on after them. His morning running clothes were modern stuff that wicked the sweat away from him and let him speed through the forest. These were his free day clothes. The ones that let him disappear into the forest and wander. Abuelita, for all of her demands, would tend Em and Donny until he returned no matter how late that was, and with the Park’s yearly budget talks still under way it was highly unlikely Ama would be home until long after the sun had set. Despite still hearing the call of the half restored truck he felt something lossening in him already. The soft cotton and smooth leather rested easily against his skin and Drake slipped into the forest.
Freedom; for the moment at least, blissful freedom. Pushing aside the guilt that accompanied the thought as well as any lingering worries about his charges the youth let his legs carry him through the trees. He shunned the man made paths, following the faint animal trails. This close to the barn they were as clear to him as if they were named city streets. Being animal trails, they invariably led him to water. Today he stopped at a trickling stream, took off his moccasins, and rolled up his pants legs. The youth turned and followed the thin flow of icy water upstream, letting it steal the heat from his body through his feet.
Some distance upstream, the stream widened and pooled under a boulder. There Drake paused and pulled an old black compass out of his pocket. Behind him he knew every trail and tree. Ahead was a broad swath of National Wilderness he would have to cross, or possibly Bureau of Land Management or even state managed forests where he more rarely wandered. It was hard to tell where the boundaries were from the ground. The clearing he wanted for the berries was solidly in BLM land and he still had quite a ways to go to get there. The stand of timber that stood between him and his goal was dense with young tree and branches that frequently formed impenetrable hedges he had to track around and he checked his compass regularly as he climbed in elevation. Even so the youth found he had wandered too far off his route and had to correct when he spotted the boundary fence. However he was in no hurry and he reached the clearing long before the sun told him it was time to turn around.
Sometime in the past some unknown force had carved a shallow trench across the side of one of the small mountains that that dotted the wilderness. It had puzzled Drake at first. The scour was at the wrong angle to be an old rock slide, and terminated in a near perfectly circular clearing at the lower end. Centuries old Douglas Firs abruptly gave way to a second ring only a few decades old. Those were in turn beginning to produce cones and a smattering of knee high saplings. The rest of the space was completely given over to wildflowers. No matter what season Drake visited it he found a riot of life.
There had been an early spring and many herbs that normally would have waited a month or more were already in full bloom in the mountain meadow. A white wave of foamflower washed in from the deep forest surrounding the clearing, sending up knee high stalks covered in the delicate white blooms. Late trillium hid close to the roots of the great firs, many having shed their white corollas and begun to put forth their bulbous seed heads. Fuzzy white baneberry blossoms nodded gently in the breeze. A riot of yellow and purple spread across the ground as vetch and buttercups and a host of clovers competed for space in the open sun. Great stalks of lupine as high as his head thrust up their purple and blue proudly from thick clusters of palm shaped leaves. Pink shooting stars and violet harebells crouched under the protection of the larger plants. Indian paintbrush lit the scene with flames of red and orange. Where a spring seeped into the meadow elephant’s head flared neon pink and corydalis bushes put forth blushing blooms. Pale green wild orchids stood along the wet spot and the swarms of bees danced from them to the glacier lilies.
Sometimes, as he bent over a tiny blossom and traced the intricate network of veins in the petals, drank in the scent, and felt the smooth surface of the leaves an otherworldly feeling would come over him. It was as if there was another world just out of range of his senses. If he could only really look, the thin illusion that was blocking him would slip away and reveal the real world underneath it.
“Look Awiegwa,” his father would whisper, pointing at a deer mouse perched on a fallen log. “What does it see?”
Awiegwa would screw up his face and squint. Trying to find the answer to the question.
Awiegwa had often wondered how so many flowers had come to be in the relatively small area. He had identified dozens of species and there were more he had yet to determine. The clearing was always the first place to bloom and the last to go dormant. Many of the flowers seemed to utterly defy their usual blooming patterns. However, as time passed he had simply come to accept it. It was one of the small good things that brought back the memories of his father. If it didn’t quite follow the rules Ama had taught him, well an impossible clearing in the mountains wasn’t a place for rules.
The particular bloom that Abuelita had requested had taken full advantage of the early sun and had already put forth a few cobalt blue berries; easily spotted at the edge of the clearing in the delicate sea of white flowers.
However before he left the shade of the forest for the meadow the youth paused and closed his eyes. Bole wasn’t always here, but he was often enough that Awiegwa always checked for him. Carefully he reconstructed the clearing in his mind; marking every tree and boulder on the edge. Three years he had been coming here and each time it was easier to recreate the clearing. Breathing evenly he opened his eyes, letting the mental image merge with the actual. There was a brief moment of confusion as details like the play of light through branches and the trembling of small clusters of flowers fixed themselves but there was only one truly jarring note. Awiegwa didn’t let his eyes focus on the disparity; he never did anymore, but a warm smile spread across his features as he slipped silently into the meadow.
He was here. As the youth moved in a low crouch, gathering the first fruits of the Queen’s Cup, he let his peripheral vision linger on a particular snag. There was nothing obviously interesting about it, other than the fact that it had not been there the last time Awiegwa was here. He had named the wanderer Bole, because it most often appeared as a thick tree trunk; sometimes living, sometimes dead. Occasionally it would be a boulder or simply a mound in the dirt. Often it wasn’t in the clearing at all. If the youth moved forward and tried to closely examine it he could never find anything to suggest it was something other than a tree or rock.
He had thought about taking a sample occasionally, had taken his knife out to do just that more than once, but something always held him back. Bole was a part of this place. Dissecting him would be too much like attempting to dissect his sense of his father’s presence here. The youth had never told anyone about this place, not even Ama with who could get most things out of him easily enough. Down at the house, in town, when he was Drake; solid, reliable, first up in the morning, two grades ahead in school with a penchant for science Drake, a productive member of modern society with a promising future and his mother smiling at him. Here he could be Awiegwa. Here he could believe in the ancient medicines his father had dug out of dusty old tomes and brought to life from the forest litter. Every time Awiegwa left the clearing and headed back towards home reality would reassert itself. Bole would resolve back into a figment of his imagination, created from pride in a somewhat better than average memory and what the social workers had called an “intriguing imagination”. When he reached the house and become solidly Drake again flickers of embarrassment would begin eating at him for letting his senses trick him like that, but as long as the blooms nodded around him in this garden Bole could exist even on a Thursday.
The little woven grass bag filled up with the berries fairly quickly and Awiegwa soon stretched out of his crouch and let his gaze wander contentedly over the clearing. As it always did, the warm space was working its special magic. Worries about Em getting out of his schoolwork, of not paying enough attention to the quiet Donny, of letting Ama see his petty resentments: it had all melted away from his muscles, thoughts of college costs and abandoning his duties dissolved into an acute sense of the now. The leaves rustled softly in a barely-there breeze, the heavy scent of some unidentified blossom filled his lungs, a dozen shades of green framed the rainbow of flowers, and over and above it all the creaking of the firs as the wind played over them. It was at times like these that he felth he could almost see into heaven; that something wonderful that existed just beyond his senses, and all he had to do was reach out and claim it.
The youth took a deep breath and let himself fall backwards onto a handy rise in the forest floor. His path had taken him to the foot of the snag and he shifted slightly to align himself with the gnarled roots. One hand gripped a time smoothed root.
“Ama trusted me enough to go out of state,” he murmured. “That’s the first time she’s done that. Usually she has Abulita stay with us to fend off the Harsh, but she said it’s long past legal now.”
It was his imagination of course that made him think the root vibrated in his hand in response. Many a long hour he had spent in this clearing with the wanderer. He had poured out his frustrations and anguishes over life’s injustices, had shared his secrets as he grew, and had shouted his triumphs. Sometimes he felt closer to Bole than to any of his human friends. However, something that sounded like his mother’s voice warned him that there was something odd about this and that awareness was the main reason he had kept this place secret from Ama. Their mother hadn’t exactly liked stuff like that. She had never objected to his father’s digging up the old stories of her people. Making cross generational connections between elders, who more often than not lived isolated lives, and the next generation, was an admirable goal in of itself in her eyes; objectively a social good. Storytelling was only the natural course for these relationships to take, but subtle looks had warned even a very young Drake that it was best to cautious what he shared with his mother. At least of those things that couldn’t be placed on a microscope slide. So this was Awigewa’s place, and while his father’s spirit wanders the flowers with he had never felt his mother here.
He let his focus drift up, and up. Dark blue Lupine nodded over his head framing the faint crisscross of jet contrails that threw a light haze over an otherwise cloudless sky. His clothed grew deliciously hot from the spring sun. The ground too had eagerly accepted the energy and now it conducted the heat into the muscles of his back. Bole’s wood beneath him was warmer even than the surrounding ground and an idle thought traced across Awiegwa’s awareness; something about it being odd for the light colored wood and relatively dry wood to retain more heat than the darker soil surrounding it. His mind was filled with the impression of a goal. He had been meaning to do, something. Something fun, yes, exploring, he’d meant to see if whatever had dug that den by the second boulder was cubing this year. He would just get up and do that in a minute. His back was so warm and comfortable.
​
https://i.redd.it/9sde27n9fb3b1.gif
“Flying Sparks”
Another foray into the lives of Drake McCarty, Ama Love, and the rest of their siblings as they discover that something alien is out in the forest around their home.
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/flying-sparks-a-novel-of-dragon-bear-and-boy/coming_soon
#FlyingSparks #ScienceFiction #Scifi #Story #novel #book #DrakeMcCarty #AmaLove #Donny #Em #Bard #Bole #Aliens #Spaceships #Crystals #fireflies #NPS #NationalPark #Doctor #Sever #family #storm #writing #reading #drama #literature #author #BettyAdams #DyingEmbers #Dragons #ThingsThatGoBoomp #Indiegogo #CrowdFunding
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