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therecordchanger62279 · 10 months

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STILL CHASIN' THE TRANE

I borrowed Chasin' The Trane by J.C. Thomas from the Lima Public Library when it was published in 1975. I was 18 years old, and just beginning to discover jazz, and since I didn’t have a lot of disposable income, I started making frequent trips to the library to borrow records, and check out books on musicians I was interested in. There weren’t a lot of biographies of jazz musicians on the shelf then (though the Lima Public Library is one of the finest libraries in the state), and maybe that’s why this biography of Coltrane caught my eye. I had borrowed a pair of Coltrane records from the library prior to checking the book out to read, and had purchased his My Favorite Things LP on Atlantic at that point. I’d also heard just a bit of his work with Miles Davis, but I’d heard enough to become intrigued by his sound, and I imagined his bio might make good reading.

This particular biography is a very unconventional one. The author takes a somewhat unique approach in that he didn’t structure the biography as most biographies are structured. For one thing, there are no chapters, though the narrative runs 231 pages. It’s true that he gets the basic biographical information on the page in mostly chronological order, but he refrains from making his own commentary while stringing together stories from the saxophonist’s life taken from interviews he’d conducted with those who knew Coltrane. He inserts various quotes from a wide range of people throughout the book designed to enhance the story he’s just told or the one he’s about to tell. But he, the author, is absent from the narrative until the end of the book. The reader might well draw the conclusion that Thomas was commissioned by the publisher to write the book rather than the book being a project the author initiated. I have no idea which is true, but Thomas presents Coltrane’s story as an outsider, and as a dispassionate observer. As the book progresses, however, he seems to warm to his subject, and one is left with an intriguing sketch of John Coltrane’s short life that invites the reader to fill in the rest of the story by exploring Coltrane’s music.

Written just eight years after Coltrane died, Thomas did not have access to the voluminous number of recordings Coltrane left behind that had not yet been issued when the book was published. The final entry in the book’s discography, in fact, is one of the first two records I borrowed from the library, Interstellar Space on Impulse issued in 1974, a year before the book’s publication.

In the 48 years since I first read the book (and 10 years since I reread it), I’ve collected every important Coltrane recording from every period of his life. My regard for John Coltrane as a man and as a musician has grown exponentially with the discovery of each new recording through the years, and my experiences listening to his records are unlike my experiences with any other musicians I’ve ever encountered.

Musically, I come from a rock and pop background. There was no jazz in my house growing up save for the odd appearance of Louis Armstrong or Ella Fitzgerald on television variety shows. Jazz is a music I found as a teenager, and I taught myself its history by listening to old records, reading liner notes on the backs of those records, and reading books and magazine articles. Miles Davis was the first jazz musician to capture my imagination, but it was John Coltrane who made the bigger emotional impact in the long term.

Most of the music I listen to is of an external nature. My reaction to it is external. I sing with it, tap my foot, maybe play air guitar with it, and sometimes it’s just background music for something else I might be doing. That’s true whether I’m listening to The Beatles, or the Rolling Stones, or Bob Dylan or Frank Sinatra. I might give it my full attention, but my engagement with it is purely external. That’s not the case, however, when I listen to John Coltrane. With Coltrane, the experience is an internal one. Coltrane’s music is never background music. It demands my undivided attention when it’s playing. It completely engages my intellect while reaching me on a spiritual, and emotional level as well. There’s no other music quite like it.

For me, John Coltrane is the definition of the word “musician”. A true musician is a vessel through which music passes to reach an audience. The true musician can be nothing else but a musician; a devotee of the art form itself; one who surrenders to the muse because he has no other choice. As Thomas’s book demonstrates, Coltrane may well have been the ultimate musician. His dedication and commitment to his art was the primary force in his life. Everything else was secondary.

There have been numerous books about John Coltrane published in the years since Chasin’ The Trane was issued. I haven’t read any of them because Thomas’s book was the one that I used as a guidepost in my journey of the discovery of the music of John Coltrane. I didn’t want some writer to shape my opinion of Coltrane or his music. I wanted to make up my own mind because Coltrane’s music is so rich, and so varied, that it requires a great deal of study and commitment in order to fully appreciate what he brought to the world. Thomas’s book invited me to do that.

Any Coltrane fan you talk to will have a story to tell about his or her favorite Coltrane record, or about his or her first encounter with his music. But experiencing John Coltrane’s music is intensely personal to me, and my relationship to it is unique. Coltrane is almost universally loved and revered by those who’ve listened to him in a serious way. But each listener will experience his music differently. It’s impossible to put into words the impact his music has had on me. I’ve never been able to explain to anyone, for example, why I would rather listen to his more avant-garde later recordings on Impulse than any of his recordings for Prestige cut a decade or so earlier. To my ears, his Atlantic recordings are probably the most accessible for most people, but again and again I turn to records like Live In Seattle or Interstellar Space or The Olatunji Concert – The Last Live Recording. The music he made in the last two years of his life is among the most challenging and difficult for any listener to grasp. In the book, Ravi Shankar describes this music as troubling, and even questioned Coltrane about where it could have come from. It’s clear that John Coltrane was seeking something in his musical explorations, and the book suggests he did not find the answer he was seeking during his lifetime. I think that is reflected in the music he made those last two years, and I think that search for answers is the universal quality that attracts me to that music more than the rest. His journey was unfinished, and since the listener is along for the ride, it’s left to the listener to finish the journey alone. I’m still on that journey 48 years later. Like Coltrane, the questions I seek answers to may escape me in my lifetime. But the journey through this music is its own reward. And any journey of enlightenment we undertake must be taken alone. That’s the nature of the internal journey.

There is a church in San Francisco that regards John Coltrane as a saint – something Coltrane once told an interviewer he wanted to be one day. I don’t see him as a saint. I see him as a musician who sought answers to the larger questions through music. I think you’re as likely to find those answers there as anywhere. And I think Coltrane’s greatest contribution to the culture is telling us where to look.

_____

Here’s a short list of the Coltrane records I would choose as the building blocks of a collection of his finest work. But I think an appreciation and understanding of Coltrane’s legacy necessitates hearing virtually everything he recorded.

Standard Coltrane (Prestige)

Giant Steps (Atlantic)

My Favorite Things (Atlantic)

Africa/Brass (Impulse)

Impressions (Impulse)

Live at The Village Vanguard (Impulse)

Coltrane (Impulse)

The Paris Concert (Pablo)

Afro-Blue Impressions (Pablo)

A Love Supreme (Impulse)

Live In Seattle (Impulse)

Interstellar Space (Impulse)

The Olatunji Concert-The Last Live Recording (Impulse)

Thelonious Monk with John Coltrane (Jazzland)

Kind of Blue (with Miles Davis) (Columbia)

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slopeseeder83 · 1 year

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A Biased View of How to Help Your Child Learn to Read

When children observe that books are not just for bedtime, but for finding out and checking out the world, they’ll start on a journey toward uncovering their deeper passions. What's crucial listed here, then, is how a manual may help children discover their correct attributes and interact in learning in a method that promotes a feeling of neighborhood. Solution Can Be Seen Here will definitely give young individuals the chance to ended up being engaged and energetic in their areas. “We may assist kids attach reading to the learning of interesting simple facts, to stories that will definitely surprise them or produce them chuckle, to family members discussions, and to knowing adventures that start along with or include publications,” Tarshis mentions. When speaking about learning, there's merely no need to speak regarding the problem with proficiency and numeracy at palms levels between 10 and 20, which was the most usual common denominator during the course of youth. For younger viewers, try putting books coming from a variety of various styles at eye degree on the household bookshelves, so they possess effortless accessibility and can easily find at a glimpse the variation of targets it’s possible to read through concerning. Yet another strategy used for determining what individuals state or wish to know concerning a specific individual is to present them a photo of the person’s face, to make an informed guess at the resource of this details. Older readers whose focus is captivated through aesthetic media may be surprised to know the worlds they explore on-screen can easily additionally be found in manuals, whether it’s pc gaming handbooks or novels located on movies . The world they check out on the webpage will definitely be presented and expanded upon additionally through an performer's imagination. And while one could assume that the tool enables to be consistently grown upon to make brand new worlds, the honest truth is that the web is the living example of the Internet. These book extensions of multimedia offer an substitute means to take your kid to the webpage. The brand-new features feature brand new graphics, video discussions, and even audio presentations. The manual extensions permit the little one to communicate directly along with the graphics and deliver a new method to launch the little ones to the interactives media information. • A new video presentation that expands the capability of the child to play with the images of a living room or TV. More than 90 percent of little ones enjoy the publications they select themselves. With his developing public library in hunt of literary headlines and information, the author spent a lot of of his time appearing with his little ones's manuals. That featured helping make selections including the books of the popular writer Ernest Hemingway, Thomas Galt, Stephen Hawking, and a list of 10 or thus books he has read as children. He stated there's no technique he could possibly perhaps have located thousands. Start by inquiring your child regarding their existing enthusiasms , and lead them toward publications with these subjects. This has actually the capacity for more exploration and for youngsters finding books by appearing for applicable subjects with other adults on how these things all go with with each other. Once once more be prepared to give your child the alternative to look for info concerning similar subject matters on their interest amount. However, if something might be exciting to you, be certain that you do not transform the little one's interest to subject matters related to mingling. For example, if they aren’t creating a relationship with novels, but are fascinated in background or scientific research, possibly they wish to attempt nonfiction or biographies. They look like folks intrigued in politics but not science. (The tip responsible for this is fairly different coming from the suggestion that they are curious in medical myth or biographies). This kind of thinking seems to be to be in stark contrast to the overall basic attitude towards scientific research, which is not as positive or artistic as the other three groups of people. Some eyes may glaze over at the reference of “nonfiction,” but there are in fact many kid-friendly possibilities in this style — significantly from the completely dry and dusty endorsement tomes some little ones (and adults) might correspond the classification along with. Listed below are some instances: It's not fairly as straightforward as it sounds, because I'm speaking regarding genuine life scenarios, all of which are provided by writers prepared and able to engage moms and dads and child-re-publishers in their research.

Collection like Who Would Gain , I Made it through , and Fly Guy Presents placed the zaniness and fun of fiction in to fact-based voice-over. Right now in its 25th wedding anniversary, The Art of Writing is listed below once again. This opportunity it is no simple brief tale, but of many various other traits. I am writing concerning an outdated, terrible world (the "dropped world") and how we can easily conquered it along with the kind of tales that are written, drawn and done in our very own design.

#how can i encourage my child to read

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xdepository · 2 years

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Composing and also Offering a Kid's Graphic Novel - Author - The 2 A Lot Of Typical Concerns

The latest, most vibrant classification to arise in the unstable world of publication publishing is the Children's Comic. That's a difference that might be shed on some people who might still believe that graphic novels, which are basically comics printed in book kind, are all for kids. The good news is most people are extra informed these days and recognize that comics are, as a matter of fact, composed for equally as numerous target markets and kinds of visitors as standard publications.

The confusion arises because "Best online bookstores usa" has been made use of to define practically every sort of publication featuring comics, aside from manga (Japanes comics). Unlike various other areas of the book shop, such as "Secret," "Science Fiction," or "Romance," "Graphic Novels" is not the name of a category, yet a category. Like "Audio Books," which can also include a wide variety of genres, "Graphic Novels" are not just one sort of book. In other words, up until lately every kind of graphic novel has just been stacked together in one section regardless of web content.

The good news is that the Kid's Graphic Novel is the very first category to damage devoid of the generic Comic area. A smart go on lots of degrees, particularly due to the fact that book shops need to be conscious customers needs-particularly parents who do not wish to accidentally buy inappropriate material for their children.

So as a new section is taken of the always-crowded book shop racks, astute publishers recognize the requirement for material to fill this new demand. Which's when ambitious authors begin sniffing around to see if they can get in on this brand-new craze. However what do they really require to recognize if they hope to actually sell a Kid's Graphic Novel to an author? Allow's take a look at, and also answer, some of the most typically asked questions …

1) Do I require to be a musician?

No, but it doesn't harmed if you are, and your proposal must consist of either the entire completed Children's Graphic Novel or a considerable sample. If you're not a musician, after that you will certainly need to find one. Comic books are obviously an aesthetic tool, so even if you're not an artist, it is essential to think visually. If you wish to keep a kid's focus throughout your Children's Graphic Novel, it is necessary to maintain the graphics as compelling and as interesting as your manuscript. If either the story or the artwork shows up boring, why would any child want to review your graphic novel? For the best assistance check out Will Eisner's Comic books and also Sequential Art, Will Eisner's Graphic Narration and also Visual Story, as well as ScottMcCloud's Recognizing Comics: The Invisible Art.

Go here To get about much more details:- Best biographies books online

2) How do I locate a Children's Comic artist?

There are several methods. One is by participating in comicbook conventions, especially those in huge cities that include profile evaluations. Numerous professional or prospective comicbook artists participate in these conventions hoping to locate work from attending comicbook editors. Just introduce yourself to these musicians, clarify that you're wanting to discover an artist to collaborate with to recommend a Children's Graphic Novel. Do not feel obligated to collaborate with the very first artist who wants to deal with you. It might be best to recommend that you're trying to find the best musician for your task, which you'll require to assess the job of numerous artists to locate the one that's right. Another method to locate a musician is by evaluating the examples uploaded on deviantart.com.

3) Do I need an agreement with the artist?

To be secure, it's possibly best to have a written agreement between on your own and also your artist prior to you really begin working together. For the best lawful advise it's always best to speak with an attorney. But if that's not functional, you ought to get a contract in composing between on your own as well as your musician that spells out as much as possible, as particularly as possible. You wish to be as reasonable, so the goal of the contract is to your mutual assumptions and objectives, as well as to make allowances for either celebration to be able to walk away if points don't exercise. Whatever, you must be clear that the copyright to your tale is your own alone. The copyright to the art work can belong to the artist.

#Cheap books usa

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elliewan · 3 years

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Boom Boom - Behind the Scenes

Hi everyone! As hinted in Chapter 14th notes, here is a (long?) tumblr post for some behind-the-scenes trivia about Boom Boom! I’m sorry it took me some time, but I’ll probably develop my HC for Thermite and Ace in another post :]

So. Here’s a small table of contents for this post. And of course, massive spoilers incoming! haha

Origin of the Title

Chapter and Rhythm building

Thermite’s friendships

Interviews with Harry

IQ/Kali’s background relationship

HC Timeline

In a nutshell

1. Origin of the title

The initial placeholder title was “Norwegian Dynamite”, then “From Texas with Norway”, then… “Boom Boom”. I’m still not happy with the title, but I think it’s good enough. And funfact, it’s kind of a mistake, but not so much. In French, my native language, heartbeat’s onomatopoeia is “Boum Boum”, while I read that in American English (the English I tended to use for my fanfic), it’s supposed to be “Thump Thump” or something like that. But I also read than in most of Norwegian dialects, “Boom Boom” could be understood as a heartbeat too. So anyway, Boom Boom refers both to the beating of their heart and to the explosions of their hard-breaching gadgets. It’s also dual, meaning that each of them is a “Boom” haha And it’s also a cute Mika song about two people being totally in love despite what their families think, and making love everywhere haha (cause in French “Faire crac crac boum boum” [“doing crac crac boom boom”] means “having sex” haha)

2. Chapter and Rhythm building

Unlike most of my fanfics, Boom Boom wasn’t written “as it goes”, I didn’t “discover” the fic while writing it. In fact, I hadn’t contemplated writing a multi-chapter for them until some comments on my Siegetober Ace/Thermite one-shots where people showed interest in the ship and a potential multi-chapter or longer story for them.

So after the Siegetober rush, while I had several wips ongoing, I started working on it. The first blank page was basically: Ace/Thermite – how do they get together for real and a series of bullet points for potential scenes. Then, I opened a PowerPoint file and started filling the following diagram:

Though this is now a bit obsolete, this was the first foundation. Thanks to this diagram, and the several bullet points for potential scenes I had brainstormed, I started building the story in a (ugly) board. Once again, several things are obsolete and I never really updated it – it was more of a working document for the “pre-writing” of the fic, to see if the story really made sense:

And one thing that really didn’t help was Ubisoft releasing the cutscene about Aruni out of nowhere haha. At the beginning, I panicked a bit because I thought it changed several things in my Thermite HC, but it happened to eventually fit quite well and even help adding more drama haha

And once I was ok enough with the board, despite it having several plot holes, I tried to measure the intensity of “love” and “dramatics” to see what kind of rhythm the fic was going to follow and check if I found it entertaining enough:

3. Thermite’s friendships

In the initial draft, Castle had a MAJOR part as Thermite’s best friend. He would help him sort his feelings, see the evolution of his relationship with Ace, and even go to Texas with him to help him face his family. But when re-reading for the umpteenth time Thermite’s file, I realized there was not a single mention of Castle, contrary to Hibana, Twitch and Thatcher. Not to mention Harry’s board where it’s written Thermite has a “sibling” relationship with Ash.

And that’s when everything ticked: Thermite is surrounded by great women. Sisterhood is part of who he is, how he was raised, how he lives. And this is why those women should have a stronger place in the story. So Hibana, Twitch, Aruni and Ash became real sisters to him. Hibana and Aruni being more like the big sisters – they’re reliable, sturdy and coolheaded, they provide him with advice and comfort; Aruni especially is quite similar in temper to his biological sister in my HC. Twitch is more like his same-age sister (though she’s younger), they see eye-to-eye but there’s no authority nor “big sister” feels between them; she’s the confident. As for Ash, she’s more like that distant sibling that has evolved a lot in life to the point where they don’t talk as mush as they used to… but who could move mountains just to get to him if she hears he’s in trouble. This is what I tried to convey :’)

4. Interviews with Harry

Honestly, interviews with Harry were my ultimate cheat code to give more information regarding Ace and Thermite’s psychological statuses, and various hints regarding their mental health. Though I sometimes prefer to bring this sort of nakedness and vulnerability throughout conversations with close friends, it wasn’t very possible here because: 1. Ace had no close friends with whom he could be this vulnerable, and he’s still new at Rainbow. (and he’s not even aware of his coping mechanisms and insecurities) 2. I kind of wanted Thermite to be incredibly good at clouding his issues, changing subjects and rejecting any kind of help, meaning that only Harry could get him to openly talk (or so he thought haha) about his mental health.

As for Harry’s behavior, I tried to render him as this kind of smooth, yet not evasive, therapist. One that wouldn’t be in the judgement, and who could wait whole minutes for the person to take their time to open up, and slowly but gently poking at the aching spots, and providing various resources to help them :)

Also, since in most of his psychological reports he seems to be very aware of friendships at the base, and to push some operators to meet some others, I tried to convey this vibe too. Just like when he says that he finds similarities with Ace, Dokkaebi and Sledge. Or when he offers Thermite to ask Lion and Meghan about their tattoos etc.

Also, here’s a bit of HC on how each of them deals with Harry haha

5. IQ/Kali’s background relationship

I have to admit I may have accidentally mirrored a lot Ace/Thermite’s relationship with IQ/Kali’s. Thing is that I wanted Kali to change too! I wanted her to be this impartial and authoritative bossy businesswoman that would slowly change into someone, though still sharp and arrogant, more human. I wanted Jaimini to show up a bit more. I have given veeery small hints to offer some glimpses at her true self, at what’s behind that mask. For instance, there is that moment in the fic where Ace and Kali argue, and he tells her:

“Jai, you and I both know very well that you didn't take this contract just for the money.”

Which makes Kali pale a lot, because he’s hitting a good nerve. In fact, I kind of headcanon Kali having softened enough around him, throughout their collaboration, to have confided a tiny bit about why she created Nighthaven, and all the frustrations she had grown up with. And thing is, Kali created Nighthaven because she wanted to be a hero too, just like him. She wanted to be at the heart of the battle, to protect people, to save lives, and she dreamed of a soldier life, of self-sacrifice and heroism. She just slid the wrong way, and her childhood dream turned into a private corporation of which she became a ruthless tycoon. Just like Ace, I think things went out of control at some point for her, and she just lose connection to reality and morals.

And the thing with IQ happened quite naturally. At the beginning, once I was okay with the three main squads (especially Alpha and Bravo), the relationship just happened on itself. While Montagne and Twitch were just those lovely and patient sweethearts, IQ was the one that had the hardest time with the Nighthaven folks, whether it were Ace or Kali. Both because she didn’t trust them and their secrecy, and because she has very little patience for people with difficult tempers in general haha

So, Kali being that bossy and defiant puzzle, refusing to let her see Nighthaven’s gadgets’ blueprints, things were just meant to sparkle between them. And Kali just couldn’t resist teasing IQ and reminding her she was untouchable. And through the teasing, the premises of a relationship were born. But unlike Ace/Thermite, I don’t think it followed a Colleagues to Friends to Lovers progression, but more an Enemies straight to Lovers progression haha

So anyway. I wanted to give a little boost to Kali, so that she opens up a bit more with Rainbow, and to bring a truce between Rainbow and Nighthaven’s disputes. And love just happened, once again, to be the perfect last push <3

Another thing that could have helped her would perhaps have been some true challenging from an authority she does respect, but I found it difficult to stage and Kali wasn’t the focus of the fic anyway – perhaps another time ;)

6. HC Timeline

And here is the ugly timeline I worked with haha It’s still probable that there are some inconsistencies, but I tried to avoid them as much as possible and I’m sorry if you find some! I’m horribly bad with figures, years and stuff haha

I used most of the canonical dates, except for Jordan’s mother and sister deceases, which weren’t accurately dated in his biography and which I reinterpreted a bit to fit my story.

Also, isn’t it absolutely lovely that their birthday is only 1 day apart? u_u #ProudPisces!

7. In a nutshell

So, those were my major documents that helped me build the foundations of the fic. What happened next was some drafting and pure writing, following the publishing tempo. I think the gist of what I wanted to convey through the story is still there, even if I reworked some chapters entirely. The journey (and the destination <3) is still the same.

+ I want to once again give a proper shout out to all the wonderful readers of the fanfic, whether they’re anonymous or not! I had never received so much feedback, and so many sweet words on any work before, even back in my time on fanfic.net. I feel so grateful for that, and though I already answered to everyone who commented, and wrote many notes, I still can’t find the way to properly translate just how much it means to me. So once again THANK YOU :’D

And thank you for reading this post too, if you did haha <3

#long post #ace/thermite #iq/kali #writing fanfiction #r6s fanfiction #my hcs #my work

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comicgeekscomicgeek · 4 years

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Their Hero Academia - Chapter 67: Island Insanity Intensifies

Presenting the next installment of my on-going, nextgen, MHA fic! Earlier chapters can be found here

“Ah!” Tensei Iida exclaimed, gesturing wildly at the display before them. “A most ingenious device.”

Toshi gave it a second look. He’d glanced at it briefly, but had been busy listening to Sora and Dave discuss the punch-enhancing gauntlets they’d seen at the previous booth and hadn’t been paying a lot of attention. So far, he didn’t use any Support equipment himself, though he had a few ideas for some new bits for his costume he’d thought of after the Final Exam. But if one of the twins thought something was well designed, it was probably worth paying attention to. His girlfriend and her brother were two of the smartest people he knew, somehow managing to be in the Hero Course and still having time to take Support course classes as well.

Speaking of girlfriends, the device had now caught Sora’s attention as well. She was, in fact, practically drooling over it. “Oh, yes,” she agreed. “This is quite spectacular!”

Toshi considered himself relatively smart. He was probably wasn’t in the top fourth of the class, but close enough. But when it came to advanced stuff like this, he didn’t have a clue. It just looked like a silvery helmet with a dark visor to him, connected by wires to some kind of power source. Before he could ask any questions though, Sero piped in.

“So, what’s it do?” Sero asked. “Because I don’t know if that’s going to work with my aesthetic.” Considering Sero had once said he’d purposefully bought a bowling shirt because the colors gave him a headache, Toshi wasn’t exactly sure what his aesthetic was and how anything could clash with it.

“Oh, it would be very useful,” Tensei explained. “It combines several different scanners from across the electromagnetic spectrum into one device. This should enable its wearer to view everything from the infra-red all the way to the ultraviolet end of the spectrum. Very useful for locating Villains, even if they have stealth Quirks!”

“I do have concerns about the power source, though,” Sora added, further scrutinizing the device. “It would have to be properly armored and those wires could be easily grabbed. And, of course, if pierced, the detonation could be rather significant…”

“Definite significant,” Sero said.

“You would not require cremation,” Sora told him, matter-of-factly.

“Still,” Tensei went on, “I do see possibilities. I wonder though, if it would be better to house such power sources externally? Somewhere where they would not endanger the user?”

“A drone, perhaps?” Sora questioned. “That way its power source could be properly armored, and then you would only need a wireless transmission to a visual source, such as a visor or other display…”

“Yes!” Tensei agreed. “Though the power supply needed to see the entirety of the spectrum would…”

Toshi lost track of the conversation at that point, not having the head for the engineering or scientific principles behind it. If it ever got to gravity or some basic physics, then he was on pretty good ground. Otherwise…

“Got us a couple of smart ones, didn’t we?” Sero said, after a moment, giving Toshi a conspiratorial look. He grinned. “I have no idea what they’re saying.”

“Then why do you look so happy about it?” Dave asked. Once again, his patience for Sero’s actions was wearing thin, Toshi could tell. “Don’t tell me you’re celebrating your ignorance.”

“Nah,” Sero said. “I just like seeing Tensei get all happy about something. He’s cute when he’s pontificating.”

Toshi had to admit, Sero had a point. He thought the same thing about Sora. Her eyes just lit up when she got passionate about something she was working on, even if he couldn’t follow it.

Mercifully, it didn’t take too long for the twins to wind down though, and by the sounds of it, they’d come up with yet another project for when they were able to access to a lab again. He was sure he’d hear more about it later. He was probably going to have to remind them to eat and sleep in the near future.

“You two might want to consider a limited A.I.,” Dave said. “Otherwise, it’s of limited utility. If you have to keep manual control, then you’re going to be distracted focusing on that. With an A.I., you can give it a target to follow or a patrol route.”

“Dave’s got a point,” Toshi agreed. Not surprising. Dave was both a star of the Support Department and had grown up with a Hero dad and older siblings. It gave him a unique insight into the way in which the two met up.

“He does indeed,” Sora agreed.

Tensei nodded. “More difficult then. And not our specialty. Would you care to collaborate, Togata?”

Dave shrugged. “So long as Power Loader signs off on it. Last time I checked, you two were on his shit list.”

“Very unfairly!” Tensei declared, arms flailing.

Sora joined in the protest, her own arms flailing as well. How they managed not to hit each other, Toshi didn’t know. “Just because we occasionally cause small explosions is no reason to restrict our lab access! You would think he would understand that explosions are merely learning opportunities!”

This got a laugh from Sero and Dave, who looked at each other in surprise. Both shrugged and then the group peeled off to look at the next exhibit.

“Oh, speaking of opportunities,” Sero told Dave, “Kimmie made me promise I’d ask if you were seeing anybody. Because if not, she’s actually got some people lined up.”

Dave just shook his head. “I swear, you’re all as bad as Dad….”

***

“I can’t believe you know Godzillo,” Isamu told Togata, carefully carrying the signed statue in a small bag. He’d mentioned wanting to get the retired Hero and actor’s autograph and Togata had insisted on introducing him. Kana was going to flip out when she saw this.

“Dad and Uncle Izuku teamed up with him back when I was just a kid,” Togata explained. “They got along real well, I guess. Of course, Dad gets along with everybody…” He laughed. “But yeah, I figured I could convince him to do a gratis autograph if I asked.”

Isamu just shook his head. “I appreciate it though! Kana’s going to love this!”

“Kana?” Togata asked, inclining his head slightly.

“My, ah, girlfriend,” Isamu said. It still felt weird to be able to say that. The notion that any girl might like him, let alone one who could probably kick his ass six ways to Sunday, was still a surprising one to him. Though he also wasn’t entirely sure if her parents knew. He’d mentioned Kana to his, to his mom’s particular delight. On the other hand, she hadn’t formally introduced him yet to her mother, despite her mom being a teacher at U.A.. So he wasn’t sure what was going on there. He wasn’t going to put too much thought into it. Considering she’d been the one to ask him out, he was relatively sure she wasn’t embarrassed by him or anything like that. “Kana Tetsutetsu.”

“Battle-Fist and Real Steel’s daughter?” Togata asked. He nodded slightly. “Saw her at the Sports Festival. Uncle Izuku likes to have everybody working under him watch, get our opinions, see the upcoming Heroes. She’s pretty talented.”

“She is,” Isamu agreed. He wasn’t sure how well he’d have stacked up to her martial arts skills or ability to guard against attacks.

They passed a few stalls selling various Hero merchandise, including one with a man with floppy once-dark now-grey hair and glasses glasses, who seemed to be selling copies of some kind of book. Isamu looked up at the banner on top of the stall. Taneo Tokuda – Author of When the Symbol of Hope Was Young –Soon to be a Major Motion Picture!

Isamu recognized the name and the title; there was a copy of it in his house. It had been in publication for years, though originally it had been titled When the New Symbol of Peace Was Young. It had retitled after a few years, when Deku had adopted the different and more fitting title. It was still one of the top selling books, annually.

The man—Tokuda, he now recognized from the author picture—shot up at the sight of them. “Tamaki Togata,” the man said, beaming. “As I live and breathe! It’s been too long!”

“Not since the last time you interviewed Uncle Izuku for your script, Mister Tokuda,” Togata said. “I still can’t believe they’re finally turning your book into a movie.”

Tokuda laughed. “You, me, and my bank account. And I’ve told you, call me Taneo. All my friends do.” He gave Isamu an appraising look. “Ah! I know you! From the Sports Festival. Haimawari, right?”

“Yes, sir,” Isamu said.

Tokuda seemed to give him an appraising look. “Oh yeah,” he said. “I can see why Deku took you on.” He pointed towards Togata. “Both of you. You’ve got the same kind of spark. Takes me back to the first time I met him, really.” He peered at them over the top of his glasses.

Not that he didn’t appreciate the comparison (He was, however, not going to think about it too hard, because down that path lay panic), but Isamu wasn’t entirely sure he was comfortable with the scrutiny the man was giving him.

A smile did work its way onto Togata’s face, though. “You can turn that investigator mode off, Taneo. He’s here on vacation, same as me.”

Tokuda’s face fell just a little, but he pushed his glasses back up and smiled amiably. “So no chance of an interview about everything going on back home?”

“Top secret,” Togata told him.

Tokuda laughed. “Ah, well, can’t blame a guy for trying. Still, expecting big things from both of you, so promise me an interview whenever you go Pro? I know we’re going to see big things from you, Togata. Just call it a hunch. ”

“Ah, sure?” Isamu said, uncertainly. Deku taking an interest in him was one thing, but a reporter/writer as well? One who’d done an official biography of Deku? What exactly was his life?

“You’re going to be waiting a while,” Togata said. He didn’t actually answer the question, Isamu noted. “He’s just a first year student and I want a few more years working with the best under my belt.”

Tokuda shrugged, smiling easily. “I’ve got time. But let me know if you want to come on set sometime. They start filming in a couple months and I’m sure I can get some passes.”

That might be fun, Isamu thought, though he figured Tokuda was probably talking more to Togata than him.

“We’ll see,” Togata said. “Nice to see you, Taneo.”

As they were walking away, Isamu turned to Togata. “Everything all right there? Guy seemed a little, ah, intense?”

Togata just smiled and shook his head. “Tokuda’s a good guy. Probably nobody out there who’s a bigger fan of Uncle Izuku than him, actually. …Well, maybe not bigger than the Shinso kid. He just really believes in what Uncle Izuku means as a symbol. But he can’t quite stop looking forward or turn off that reporter’s instinct, so he’s always looking for the next story, whether it’s there or not. His instincts are usually on the money though.”

“Great,” Isamu sighed. “One more person expecting big stuff out of me.”

“I told you,” Togata said. “Don’t worry about that. Focus on your training and being the best you can be. You’ve got time.”

***

Melissa had already studied the hologram in front of them numerous times. Hell, she’s studied the real thing. She’d been up to her elbows in it, even. Working together with Mei and the best forensic analysts at both Deku’s agency and that the HPSC could spare, they’d taken all of the robot-Nomu apart one piece at a time and studied every inch of every one of them.

That their secrets continued to elude them was nothing short of infuriating. The combination of enhanced technology and bio-augmentation suggested an expertise in multiple fields of science. Who had that level of knowledge and expertise?

Jinsei rubbed his chin with his hand. “The same design, every time. These were definitely mass produced. Nothing identifying to any of the parts either.”

Melissa nodded. “There’d been some technology thefts in the weeks prior to the attack, but none of the Heroes were able to find any leads, even with the Voice and Glamour hitting the streets and shaking down just about every source.” She tapped a few keys and called the list up. “Not nearly enough to account for all of this… unless you only needed a handful to take apart as a model.”

He nodded his agreement. “Very sophisticated robotics. You can see certain systems here and there that are extrapolations of current theories and designs though. I can see some of the technology from U.A.’s robots, there’s Shield tech, and I even see a few of Hatsume’s designs. And…”

Nothing they didn’t already know. Whoever had built them was well versed in current technology, no matter how proprietary. But the facial journey Jinsei was undergoing was something else entirely.

Jinsei frowned, his face flush with anger in a way that made his scars stand out even more. “Those bastards.” He slammed his hands on the console, causing the hologram to briefly flicker. “Those bastards! How!?”

“What? Melissa asked. She’d jumped at his outburst and paused to readjust her glasses. “What is it?” She’s seen Jinsei get angry before, especially after… But the pure rage she was seeing here was stunning.

He tapped keys, bringing up a hologram next to the one of the Nomu. With more tapping, he isolated what they’d identified as the Nomu’s power source. Melissa let out a soft gasp. The two were identical.

“That’s the power source for the robots I’ve been designing,” Jinsei said. “The ones I consulted you about. The ones that were going to…”

He trailed off. Melissa had listened to his arguments about the failures of Heroes often enough to know where he’d been going with it. That they took too much on and that too much was expected of them. That they were worked to exhaustion and made mistakes. His idea to replace or supplement them with robots who didn’t get tired or have bad judgement was well meaning, even if she knew it wasn’t possible. The level of A.I. just wasn’t there yet, among other things.

“That was Ami’s design,” he growled, head down, body shaking with rage. “Back when we were just designing the robots to support the Heroes. Before…”

His head snapped up. “Those bastards stole her design!”

Melissa blinked her eyes slowly, then set her face in grim determination. Jinsei needed goals and directions now, if he was ever going to come out of this state and not spiral into self-destructiveness. “Who else would have had access to the plans? Do you think there was a data breach?”

Jinsei started pacing, quick frantic steps back and forth. “My lab assistants. The board. A few others I’ve had to consult with. You.”

She jerked in surprise. “You can’t possibly think…!”

He shook his head rapidly. “No, not you, never you. I trust you, Melissa. I’m just… my life’s work… turned into part of those monsters. I wanted to help. And something I designed nearly killed so many…”

Melissa placed a sympathetic hand on his shoulder. “Hey,” she said quietly. “It’s another clue. We’re going to get this figured out.”

***

They were working their way through the crowd to meet back up with Midoriya and the others when Togata suddenly stopped. “Everything okay?” Isamu asked.

“I don’t know,” Togata said. He looked around, scanning the crowd. In an instant, his body language had changed, moving from relaxed and at ease to alert and ready for action. Isamu had heard that the really good Heroes had a certain kind of instinct, the kind that came from years of dealing with trouble. Supposedly, they could tell when trouble was coming practically before it even started.

Tamaki Togata was only a Sidekick. But he was the Sidekick to the greatest Hero on the planet and had worked with many more. It wasn’t surprising that his instincts would already be finely honed.

Isamu straightened up, looking around as well. If Togata thought there was something worth getting ready for, there probably was. Even if he couldn’t see it. All he could see were people milling about, going from stand to stall to booth. People were snapping pictures, signing autographs, showing off their Quirks. It seemed about as non-threatening as was possible to get, his early feelings of being overwhelmed notwithstanding.

He forced himself to listen, to look around for signs of trouble. Isamu didn’t have super-human senses. He wasn’t an even an expert at listening like Shoji. But his Quirk did demand that he be observant and react quickly. If he wasn’t, he’d have ended up a smear on a wall the second something came up that he couldn’t maneuver around when he was sliding.

There.

It was distant, but he could hear the sound of screams now. They were growing louder and getting closer by the moment. The crowd was parting now, trying to run away from whatever it was.

Togata was already taking off, heading towards the source of it, a blur of motion. He should have stayed where he was. Even with the super-relaxed Quirk-use laws on I-Island, he was still just a Hero student. No license, barely a term into his studies. Absolutely no one would have blamed him if he’d just stayed where he was.

Instead, his body moved on his own. He pitched forward and fired a burst of power from his Quirk, his autographed statue left behind without a thought, sliding through the crowd and around the fleeing Expo guests. Just ahead, he could still see Togata, faintly glowing with power as he darted through the crowd.

It didn’t take long to see what was going on. Already, a number of booths and stalls had been completely trashed. It didn’t look like anybody was injured, but that wasn’t likely to last long. At the center of the destruction were several people—he assumed they were civilians because they weren’t in costume—all swathed in a bright orange glow. One seemed to have some kind of fire Quirk, one was a giant rhino man, and the other was woman lobbing blobs of sticky goo.

There was no coordination in their attacks, just seemingly random destruction.

“Get away! Get away!” the fire-wielder, said, letting loose a stream of crimson flames. They didn’t look all that hot; he couldn’t even feel the heat from this close. “You can’t have my liver! I’m using it!”

“Scorpions!” the rhino man shouted, charged and smashing everything in his path. “Covered in scorpions! Get ‘em off me! Get ‘em off me!”

The woman was spraying goo everywhere, her eyes wide in panic. “Clowns!” she screamed. “Not clowns! Anything but clowns!”

Togata seemed to sense his arrival. “Haimawari?” he said, not turning to look. “Stay back. This looks dangerous.”

Another Hero arrived on the scene, but not one that Isamu recognized. He was wearing a black costume, with boots, gloves, trucks, and a cape all the dark grey of approaching storm clouds. A square-ish lightning bolt symbol adorned his chest. “<Don’t worry,>” the Hero said, in what he realized was English, “<Thunderhead will stop them!”>

The Hero—Thunderhead—brought his hands out to the side and then slammed them together, hard. It created a powerful boom that sounded like a clap of thunder, sending a wave of sound out from his hands. It struck the rhino man dead on but did little more than knock him back for a second.

The rhino man eyed him, his tiny, dark eyes widening in fear. “More scorpions!” he shouted, his voice laced with fear. “Gotta stop them before they can sting me!” The rhino man struck out, hitting Thunderhead hard enough to send him flying.

When Thunderhead got up, he was glowing. The exact same orange glow as the others. There was a madness in his eyes, one that was clearly driving his actions now. “They’re all against me! They think I’m an idiot! Well I’ll show them!”

Thunderhead brought his hands together, unleashing another wave of force. But Togata moved, his own body aglow in green light and he placed himself right in the line of fire. The wave of force rocked against him, but he was not moved. Not for nothing was his Hero name the Shield.

“Whatever it is that’s driving them crazy,” Togata said, “it’s contagious!”

Togata drew back a punch. “Dammit,” he hissed, “no time to be subtle about it!” He threw the punch forward, glowing brighter as he amped up his density. The force of the blow itself was enough to push the air forward, a powerful gust that knocked Thunderhead down for a moment, still aglow with orange light.

Which still left the other three. If they touched anyone else… Isamu quickly began to realize that following might not have been the best idea.

“Do not worry,” a voice shouted, “I am here to render assistance!” Isamu looked to the source and found that it was Ingenium: Tenya Iida, the twins’ father. He was clad in his armor and running at full speed.

“Roller skate clowns?!” the goo-throwing woman shrieked. She tossed blobs of her goo, but Ingenium dodged every one. But then he got close…

“Ingenium!” Togata shouted. “Look out! Don’t let them touch you!”

But it was too late. The woman’s fingers brushed against Ingenium’s armor, even as he dodged out of the way of her attack.

That was all it took. Ingenium skidded to a stop, turning on a dime. And by the time he had finished, he too, was glowing orange. Isamu couldn’t see the man’s expression behind his helmet, but he got the feeling that it wasn’t one he would have wanted to ever see.

Ingenium readied himself to run again. “Back for more, eh, Stain? You’ll not find me a careless child now!”

There was a roar like a jet engine as Ingenium fired his Recipro-Burst.

***

Rei lowered her binoculars and grinned. “Looks like the guy we sprung is doing his job.” Unlike the other “voluntary detainees” under I-Island, Setsushi had been stored in a tube, constantly sedated. His Quirk took the form of a communicable madness, making whoever was infected with it hallucinate heavily, bringing their worst fears or other delusions to life. And once someone was infected, they could pass it on to others. All it took was a touch, didn’t even have to be skin to skin contact. Ursa had had to design very special gloves for the two of them to wear to be able to get him up to the surface and let him loose in the expo. Didn’t even need any real prompting. Just had to let him stagger around and bump into a few people.

Perched on one of the island’s towers, in the blind spot between cameras, they had a very excellent view of the chaos below.

Miss Compress lowered her own binoculars. “Barely twenty minutes since we dropped him off, and he’s already infected more than a dozen people, including a few Heroes. Everyone else is running or panicking. Quite the catastrophe we’ve engineered, dahling.”

Rei did, ultimately, feel just a little guilty about that. She did have family down there, after all. Not close family, but her little rocket-powered cousins-in-law were still part of the crowd. At least it wasn’t her actual cousins or anybody like that. Sometimes, you did have to break a few eggs.

“How long did the boss say this was supposed to last?” she asked Compress.

Her companion pulled a pocket watch from her coat pocket and examined it. “Infection in any given person is supposed to last no more than thirty minutes and no less than five, depending upon individual resistance factors. But reinfection is possible, so depending upon how many people it spreads through once it starts hitting the crowds… Possibly forever. Or at least until they all beat themselves senseless or worse.”

Compress replaced the watch in her pocket. “Quite the show. You don’t think our dear leader is going too far, do you?”

Rei shrugged. Compress was, she knew, more in it for the thrill of it all, the chance to pull one over on Hero society. That it aligned with their leader’s overall goals of showing the cracks in Hero society and destroying it worked out well, but she didn’t have quite the same lust for battle that some of the other members did.

As far as Rei was concerned, it could all go burn. Any society that let monsters like her grandfather live, even humiliated and in exile, didn’t deserve to stick around.

“Still,” Compress went on, “one more straw for the proverbial camel’s back, I suppose. And I can’t say I’m disappointed to see Ingenium down there.” Ingenium, Rei recalled, had ultimately been responsible for the capture of her mentor, Mister Compress. He’d been the last of the original League of Villains to be captured, staying free for years after the others had been captured or killed. Small wonder she bore him some enmity.

Rei’s communicator beeped and she checked it. “We’d better get going. Overdrive just sent the exit confirmation. She’s meeting us at the docks in twenty.” Her tongue slid over her lips. There was bound to be plenty of blood by the end of the day. “Shame we gotta run so fast. It was just getting’ interesting. You got still got the sample?”

Compress patted one of her coat pockets and nodded. “Of course, dahling. And don’t worry. I’m sure our benefactor will have plenty of video we can watch later.”

***

Ka-Pow!

The blue-white energy bolt hit Ingenium squarely in the middle of his forehead. There wasn’t a lot of power behind it, but when combined with the Turbo Hero’s speed, it was like running head first into a throw fastball. Isamu looked at his hand as though he was seeing it for the first time. Had he really done that? Had he actually just assaulted a Pro-Hero, the Number Six ranked Hero at that?

He wondered if you could get expelled for that kind of thing.

Togata turned his head to look at him. “Good job!” he said, flashing him a brief thumbs up. But worry immediately replaced the cheer on his face. “This isn’t good. Whatever this is, it’s spreading fast and spreading by touch by the looks of it.”

Isamu’s thoughts quickly went to Midoriya and the others, and then to the countless others on the island. Even with more Pro-Heroes than you could shake a stick at, it wouldn’t take much for this to spread and spread quickly. He didn’t even know if it would wear off. Ingenium was down, but still glowing.

The other infected were leaving them alone for the moment, but still causing plenty of trouble, lost in their own personal madness. But it was only a matter of time before someone was seriously hurt.

“Probably shouldn’t do this,” Togata said, “but I know Uncle Izuku has faith in you. So I’m deputizing you until this is all over. So you can use your Quirk to fight. Just don’t get killed, okay?”

Isamu nodded, even as his heart was thudding in his chest. “Okay,” he said. “What… what do we do?”

Togata shook his head. “Try to keep people from killing each other, try to find the cause of this, work with as many Pros who’ve managed to avoid catching this as we can. See if anyone’s made a call for help. Whatever else happens, we can’t let this get off the island.” Worry strained his voice. Isamu knew his family was somewhere on the island now too. Togata’s younger brother, David, would probably be with Midoriya and the others, so he was about as safe as could be. But he had no idea where Doctor Shield or Togata’s older sister, Nejire, were. Nejire Togata was, at least, a third year U.A. student and one of the Big Three. Her phasing Quirk would probably keep her safe.

People counting on them. The whole island in danger. His friends missing. Some kind of insanity that was spread by touch. And he’d just shot Ingenium in the head. It was all too much. Isamu could fell himself start to shake and he bent at the waist, hands on his knees to keep himself from falling over. This was supposed to have just been a vacation. Not… whatever this had become. He was barely sixteen. How the hell was he supposed to cope with all of this?

He became aware of a hand on his shoulder. Togata. “Look,” he said, “I know this is overwhelming. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t scared too. But right now, we’ve got to get moving. Every second counts.”

Isamu straightened up. He pulled his goggles down over his eyes and his bandana up to cover his nose and mouth. All round now, he could hear the sounds of screams, of Heroes calling out attacks and telling people to head for shelter, and the sounds of all kinds of Quirks going off. It definitely wasn’t the time to be worrying. It was a time for action. “Can I have a panic attack later?”

“We all can.”

***

The sound of screams split the air. The kind of raw, panicked screams you heard when there was serious trouble afoot. Takuma’s eyes darted around and he could see that Midoriya, Sora, and Tensei were all doing the same. They might only have been first-year students, but all of them were the children of Pro-Heroes. Long before they entered U.A., their parents had been teaching them how to look out for themselves.

His parents were lower-ranked than some of his friends, but both still well within the top one hundred. He knew for a fact that there had been more than a few kidnapping attempts on the children of higher ranked Heroes, the twins and Midoriya among them. The adults didn’t talk about those much, but from what little he’d been able to gather, it hadn’t gone particularly well for any of the would-be kidnappers. Kaminari had once joked about it, suggesting that anyone who had kidnapped Kirishima-Bakugo would have brought her back almost immediately. But even now, on the road to becoming Heroes themselves, vigilance was a must.

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see David Togata moving to the back of their group. Probably smart. Togata didn’t have Hero training or even a combat-oriented Quirk. It sounded like the screams were coming from outside though…

“Maybe… maybe it’s nothing,” Takuma ventured carefully. He didn’t really believe it, but…

“I don’t think so,” Midoriya said. The crowd around them in the Expo building had frozen, waiting for the next shoe to drop. A few people he recognized as Pro-Heroes were making their way towards the front of the show floor.

“But who would dare dream of causing trouble here, with so many Heroes present?” Tensei asked.

“It has been dared before, little brother,” Sora said. “You’ve heard Father tell the story often enough.”

CRASH!

With a terrible sound, a chunk of wall came tumbling down, sending people fleeing and crushing several booths and pieces of Support equipment on display. And through the hole stepped a purple-haired man in a military-stylized uniform with a peaked cap. An orange glow surrounded him, as well as the blobs of flesh floating in the air around him.

“That’s Sisicross!” Midoriya exclaimed. “But why’s he glowing?”

Sisicross looked across the show floor and sneered. “Trying to surround me, eh, Villains?! You’ll not find this son of Shiketsu so easily beaten! Come at me! I’ll take you all on!” With his hands held behind his back, he clicked his heels and send the fleshy blobs flying into the crowd. Each time they stuck someone, that person went down, transforming with a painful sound into a fleshy-blob. Takuma gulped and fought the urge to be sick. And worse still, the blobs themselves were glowing the same orange. He saw one man try to pick up the blob that had been his companion and the glow spread to him.

The man let out a scream, dropped his friend, and unleashed his Quirk, firing sharp Quills from his body. Most of these missed, but a few stuck people, spreading the orange glow even further. They started freaking out too, talking about perceived threats and other nonsense.

It was, in a word, madness.

A swarm of fleshy missiles headed straight towards them. “Move!” Midoriya shouted.

They hadn’t planned on it, but not for nothing were they Hero-trainees and friends. The twins rocketed into the air, Sora grabbing onto Midoriya’s hand while Tensei grabbed Togata. Takuma fired off a strip of his Acid Tape and gave a hard yank, reeling himself upward towards the ceiling. The flesh missiles hit where they had been seconds earlier, splattering against the floor with a sick, wet sound.

“Too close,” Takuma muttered. They touched down at the far end of the room. The chaos was only getting worse, with people succumbing to the orange glow or panicking trying to get out.

“Let’s not do that again,” Togata said. He looked vaguely ill from the sudden acceleration, to say nothing of the danger they’d been in.

“What do we do, Toshi?” Sora asked.

Midoriya looked pale. “I… don’t know.”

#my hero academia #their hero academia #my writing #fan fiction #fan fic #toshi midoriya #isamu haimawari #takuma sero

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christinaengela · 4 years

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Hello friends and fans!

Welcome to my 45th newsletter – September 2020!

On A Personal Note

August was a blurry month – it really doesn’t feel like September, it feels more like March the 342nd! Know what I mean? Anyway, between work and everything else I have going on the side, the last six months or so have literally disappeared! For most people, this year has been a complete loss, for me I’ve at least published 7 new titles. Not to brag, but this brings my tally up to 30 books!

On the home front, my workshop is where I indulge my creative side in wood and metal work. Some years ago however, I got sick and tired of sharing my workspace with the rest of the garage! When it rained, it meant I couldn’t run my vintage bug outside, and the small space available meant I wouldn’t be able to work in there that day! About two years ago, I built a greenhouse against the side of the house across the alleyway between the house wall and the boundary wall, bordering on the back garden, which in the end my love convinced me to use as a workshop space instead! For the past two years, this has been where I worked on various projects, regardless of the weather. The only problem with that was again, space. While I had more permanently accessible space to keep my tools and to work, quite a lot of my tools were actually kept in shelving under the work benches. I needed more space – or to be more specific, a broader room to work in.

So, finally, last week I finally gave up on the bar area. It was where we entertained friends and it consisted of an actual bar room with an adjoining dining area with casual benches and a table for when we had barbeques etc. It’s been a considerable amount of time since we’ve entertained anyone who drinks, and neither of us actually drinks much more than a brandy now and then – scarcely enough to warrant wasting the useful premium real-estate on a bar! It would be far better to just dedicate a cupboard inside the house to housing the drinks, glasses and accoutrements – and all my collectibles, antique cameras and telephones etc. on the walls could be redistributed around the rest of the house.

That said, Wendy could have her greenhouse back – and so last week I relocated my workshop to the larger space where I have more room to work on projects and store and organize my tools and materials! For the first time, I feel I actually have the right space to indulge my creativity! The adjoining stoop will still be reserved for chats, game nights and barbeques – should they ever arise again.

Aside from that little personal ramble ,I also have some very good writing-related news to share with you this time – another two of my books have come out as audiobooks, and I’ve also published a new novelette called “Lifetime”! Moon Books also released an anthology I was the Editor for, so it’s really been a productive year for me so far!

Art

I also indulge in painting from time to time – and no, I don’t mean walls! The following paintings are in my portfolio:

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“Human Nature” 2017 A4 acrylic canvas

“Balancier” 2020 A2 acrylic canvas

“Rescuer” 2020 A2 acrylic canvas

“The Awakening” 2020 A2 acrylic canvas

“The Earth Wept” 2020 40x40cm acrylic on canvas

You can read more about my art projects on the Art page.

What do you think of them? Feel free to let me know!

Music

Yes – I also make music from time to time!

A selection of music tracks I made using eJay and other similar apps between 1999 – 2008 are available on my YouTube channel.

You can read more on the Music page on my website!

Activism

For those of you interested in my activism-related posts and activities, you can follow them at “Sour Grapes: The Fruit Of Ignorance“.

Current Writing Projects

On a suggestion of Brandon Mullins from Moon Books, I agreed to a combined edition of “Duck Blind” and “The Next Room”, to replace the two novellas published in February this year. The new book is novel length at over 46000 words, and I also wrote a short foreword and an introductory portion to precede the first part of the story.

As I mentioned several times previously, I have still a lot of work to do! I have a number of part-way completed stories awaiting my loving attention! Unfortunately, life and work have a nasty habit of getting in the way!

Also, thanks to Lulu.com’s spite in throwing their entire publishing platform into a mincer and expecting users to just shut up and like it, I have left the platform entirely – but aside from the immense amount of work that precipitated on my side with having to relocate all my books from there to other platforms, it also means I’ll have to rebuild one of my books entirely from the ground up! “The Pitfalls of South African Self-Publishing” is now out of print thanks to Lulu. Why? Because the second half of the book details the ease of self-publishing using Lulu’s old platform – the one they entirely scrapped and replaced with a vague, useless monstrosity – and gives a step-by-step example with screenshots, and is practically a love-letter to Lulu! I will now have to redraft that entire portion of the book, thanks to them!

In the past week or so I’ve been working on an editing project for Moon Books, and you can read more about that in the next section.

Editing

I completed editing an anthology for Moon Books in mid-August entitled “Moon Books Horror Anthology V”. This book contains 7 short stories filled with pure dread – and it was released on 20 August. It’s already available in eBook and paperback.

Currently I’m close to finishing the edit of a sci-fi tale for Moon Books. “Avenging Aranis” is by UK writer Steve McElhenny, and it’s the first part of a trilogy!

Marketing – The Dreaded “M” Word!

Portfolio 2020!

I thought it would be nice if I could produce a neat, organized catalog of all my books that interested parties could download and browse – a free, distributable and shareable catalog, and so I created “Portfolio 2020!” – a listing of all my currently available titles!

Portfolio is more than that though, because it also contains a biography as well as synopses for most of my titles – and I have a plan to update it regularly, perhaps on an annual basis! Portfolio 2020 is available as a free download from my website.

Videos

In August, Nigel Peever made this amazing audiobook trailer video for the newly released “Demonspawn” – have a look, isn’t it beautiful?

https://christinaengela.files.wordpress.com/2020/08/demonspawn-video-by-nigel-peever.mp4

Sales

Let’s start with the good news! Audiobook sales over July were truly amazing – with a massive (by my previous standards) 42 copies of “Blachart” sold from Audible during that month! This frenetic surge in sales didn’t last very long, just to the end of July, with just 3 sales of that book in August. I realize a slowdown is inevitable as a new title stops being new. In fact, August proved to be rather dull in comparison, with just 3 sales of “Blachart“, and 3 sales of a new audiobook title, “When Darkness Calls“. This of course led me to formulate a new personal theory regarding sales, popularity and choice of narrator when publishing an audiobook – one I will probably explore later in the second edition of “The Pitfalls of South African Self-publishing”, which I am working on as time allows.

But I digress! Ebooks sales on Ebooks2go have picked up a bit over August since I transferred my titles there at the start of the month, culminating in three whole sales (sarcasm definitely intended). To give you an idea how writers get ripped off by some distribution channels, just check out the screenshot below:

The three top-most entries show three eBook sales via Hoopla – and each of those titles sold for $2.99. What do I get out of it? 14 US cents out of $2.99 per sale! It’s positively downright bloody criminal! For comparison, the one beneath that – a sale via B&N at least gave me $1.64 out of $2.99 – but only one of those from July. No wonder so many writers give up!

Over-all though, I’ve got the idea that sales have been dwindling globally and not just for me, so I’m by no means feeling picked on. I realize that with economies teetering on the brink of disaster – and so many of my contacts on Facebook posting the sad news that they will be homeless and sleeping in their cars or on the streets within days – how very, very lucky I am. I may not be raking it in as an author – but at least I have a secure job, for which I’m very thankful indeed!

Publishing

These are the books I’ve released so far this year!

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Between January and September 2020 I released eight new titles! Of these, two – “Duck Blind” and “The Next Room” have been replaced by one combined title, “Mirror, Mirror” which includes both of them. Of course, this reduces my count back to 30 again – but when you already have 30 or so books to your name, what’s one here or there?

New Releases:

“Lifetime”

On August 07 Moon Books Publishing released a novella of mine called “Lifetime“, bringing my title-count up to 30! Here’s a look at the back cover blurb for the book:

“An entrepreneurial couple, happily married, run their deep-space prospecting company together. They are unexpectedly separated when the ship one of them is aboard is lost during a prospecting voyage. The other spares no effort in an attempt to find her, and immediately sets out on another ship to find her. Meanwhile on a remote planet, surrounded by wreckage and the bodies of her crewmates, she has survived and treated her injuries, and fights to stay alive while she awaits rescue…”

Buy now: eBook Paperback Audiobook (coming soon)

“Lifetime” is available in ebook and paperback and will be coming out in audiobook format soon, narrated by Miciah Dodge.

“Mirror, Mirror”

This was shortly thereafter followed by another new title “Mirror, Mirror”, on August 11, which repackages “Duck Blind” and “The Next Room” into one single novel-length book. “Duck Blind” and “The Next Room” are also now out of print – being henceforth exclusively available in “Mirror, Mirror”.

Buy now: eBook Paperback Audiobook (coming soon)

Here’s a look at the description:

“Things aren’t always as they seem. Neither was Charlie Branson – or Andy Niksn.

Outwardly, Charlie appeared to be the successful, respected, somewhat over-paid Captain of a commercial space liner.

In truth, it was 2025 – space liners did not yet exist, and the space liner Freedom was really just a very expensive set – a fancy simulator for wealthy clients the company took on simulated cruises into deep space to forget the real world for a while, to get away from it all – and they loved them for it!

In an atmosphere where people were locked away from reality for weeks at a time, and cos-playing and roleplaying redefined ‘normal’, telling fact and fantasy apart became more complicated than expected. For those who preferred the pleasant escape from the harsh realities of life outside, like Charlie, wishing it could all just be real became something almost like a prayer.

Andy Niksn, by contrast, was the very successful respected and somewhat over-paid Captain of an actual commercial space liner in the year 2773. Trouble was, Andy felt trapped! He was in a relationship – a dead-end partnership that had no future and promised both even less happiness. On top of that, his friend Jim had died recently, leaving Andy in the darkest place he’d ever been – and he didn’t mean space!

Andy wished he could just wake up to a different reality where everything could make sense again! For Andy, this too became something almost like a prayer!

As it turned out, someone heard them.

The answer wasn’t quite what they expected.”

Audiobooks

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“All That Remains” JEA (2019)

“See Them Aliens” MBP (2019)

“Blachart” MBP (2020)

“When Darkness Calls” (2020)

“Demonspawn” MBP (2020)

On August 7th I received the completed audiobook of book 2 in the Galaxii series, “Demonspawn“, narrated (and dramatized) by Nigel Peever! The audiobook was finally released on August 31, and it was worth every minute I waited for it!

Nigel has also committed to narrating book 3 in Galaxii, after the five or so other books he has waiting in the queue, so he should only get round to that one somewhere around January ’21. In the meantime, that gives me time to work on Galaxii book 4! 😉

On August 20, “When Darkness Calls“, narrated by Miciah Dodge, was released via Audible! You can read more about it here.

Coming Soon

In the meantime, here’s a look at the covers for hot new audiobooks currently in the pipeline:

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“Malice!” (2020) COMING SOON!

“Lifetime” (2020) COMING SOON!

Stay tuned for updates!

Reviews

You can see all my previous reviews here.

Currently Available Titles

I now have 30 unique titles available in 4 series (not including books I’ve been the editor for, and my 16 free promotional items)! My books are available in three different formats: EBooks, Paperbacks and Audiobooks. Click the links or images below to view titles available in these formats.

Communication

Below are links to a few of my most recent posts and articles since my last newsletter:

New Release: Demonspawn Audiobook

New Release: When Darkness Calls Audiobook

New Release: Horror Anthology V

Sinotec SJ86C LED Projector Review

New Release: Lifetime by Christina Engela

New Release: Mirror, Mirror by Christina Engela

“Demonspawn” Audiobook Now In For Review!

New Release: Lifetime by Christina Engela

Some Great Resources For Writers

Another Round At The Crow Bar #44 August 2020

If you want to see more articles, just click on the category links below:

Elements of Horror

FAQ Answered

Fun Facts

LGBT Heroes

The Tech Side

Secret Weapons of the Resistance

Writing Advice

Guest Writers

Newsletters

Interactions

Fan Mail, Reader Reviews & Honorable Mentions

I found the following awesome items to show you this month!

Great Book July 20, 2020 review on Audible for “Blachart” (audiobook):

Excellent story! “This is a very well written Sci-Fi tale that is told by an awesome narrator. I can’t wait to hear book 2!” – D. Sturgeon, Aug 13, 2020 on Audible for “Blachart” (audiobook).

Epic!!! “Another great tale told by narrator Nigel Peever. I look forward to the continuing Adventures of Blachart and Michael.” – Justin Bradley, Aug 16, 2020 on Audible for “Blachart” (audiobook).

Great Narrator “The story is pretty creepy, it takes place in South Africa. I’ve never heard haunting stories from this area. It’s a fun little story if you’re doing a drive on a dark night. The narration sounded excellent, and the protagonist in the story wasn’t taking no crap from the evil dead!” – Jeff Spencer, Aug 21, 2020 on Audible for “When Darkness Calls” (audiobook).

I display my Fan Mail, Reviews & Compliments with pride, gratitude and humility. You’re always welcome to have a look.

Hate Mail & Horrible Mentions

I’m rather proud of my hate mail, and you can review my collection here – but be forewarned, don’t do it while eating or drinking, or you might choke while laughing!

Interviews

All my interviews are linked to from this page. If you would like to do an interview with me about my work, please do get in touch!

In Closing

Well, that’s all for this time, folks! 🙂

Thanks again for all your support, friendship and interaction!

Feel free to email or message me via Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn if you have any comments or questions!

Until next time, keep reading!

Cheers! 🙂

Catch me on social media!

If you would like to know more about Christina Engela and her writing, please feel free to browse her website.

If you’d like to send Christina Engela a question about her life as a writer or transactivist, please send an email to [email protected] or use the Contact form.

Show your appreciation for Christina’s work!

Another Round At The Crow Bar #45 September 2020 Hello friends and fans! Welcome to my 45th newsletter - September 2020!

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entwinedmoon · 4 years

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John Torrington: Redshirt

(Previous posts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)

“I'm expendable. I'm the guy in the episode who dies to prove the situation is serious.”

–Guy Fleegman, Galaxy Quest

After the exhumations of Torrington, Hartnell, and Braine, and the subsequent publication of Frozen in Time, there was a fresh wave of literature inspired by the photographs and findings from Beechey Island. Novels, short stories, and poems either attempted to recreate what had happened to the expedition according to the latest findings or incorporated this new information in some other way. Some feature Torrington, while some just use certain aspects of the findings, such as the remarkable level of preservation or the lead poisoning theory.

I have read only a handful of the many literary works about the Franklin Expedition that have been published since the exhumations on Beechey Island, so I can’t speak for every novel, poem, or other form of literary composition that has come out since then. For the purposes of this post I decided to focus only on works that feature Torrington himself, and even then, I haven’t had a chance to read every work that does. There may be some that have a completely different take on the story and depict Torrington in a way not seen in the works that I will be discussing, but those will have to wait for another day. For this post I can only focus on the fraction of Franklin-related literature that I have been able to read so far, and if I leave out something that people think is a must-read, I apologize. But feel free to let me know what it is, because I love reading new interpretations of the expedition’s story.

(Unless you’re here to tell me about the Marvel comics character Pestilence, a supervillain who is actually Francis Crozier, preserved in ice for over a hundred years. He’s still alive but he’s gone mad and has magic for some reason. And he can possess other people. Pestilence was first introduced in 1986, and yes, him being frozen in ice was obviously inspired by the exhumation of Torrington. Now, let’s never speak of this again.)

I’m going to start with the various novels that have attempted to tell the story of the Franklin Expedition. FYI, there will be some spoilers, but mostly the spoilers will be about Torrington and other crewmembers dying, which shouldn’t really be a spoiler at this point.

Before I get into the specific books, though, I’ve noticed that there are certain themes in many of these stories, particularly involving Torrington. As his illness and death is a known point during the timeline of the expedition, he inevitably gets a mention in many of these works, but since he died so early in the expedition, he rarely has a major role in the overall story. Not only that, Torrington’s characterization is typically absent altogether. He’s generally depicted as a variant of the Victorian waif—pale and thin and doomed to die—and rarely does he get any dialogue or development. He’s first blood, a harbinger of things to come, but almost never a character on his own. He’s simply there to die, like a redshirt in Star Trek.

I have often flipped through books to see where Torrington comes in, wondering if he’ll be given something to do before he passes, and more often than not I have been disappointed. His death is always included because we know he died, and if it were left out it could be seen as callous at worst or inaccurate at best, yet his inclusion sometimes feels more like the author simply checking something off a checklist. Enters Lancaster Sound, check; winters at Beechey Island, check; Torrington dies, check. Sometimes there might be a funeral, where the main characters speak of Torrington as if he’s been there the entire time and wasn’t just first mentioned only two paragraphs ago, perhaps with Franklin orating the first of many eulogies (“We have lost one of our own today, a fine sailor named John [looks at smudged writing on his hand] Turlington…”).

But one thing that Torrington usually gets is a brief mention of his burial clothes. Since we know what he looks like in death, there’s often a description of him in his coffin, perhaps a mention of his youth, small stature, and wasted appearance. His illness usually gets a mention too—and sometimes he gets berated postmortem for going to sea while sick.

Of course, since Torrington dies only seven months into the expedition, it’s not surprising that he doesn’t have much to do in most stories, but I do wish he could at least have a little more of a role before taking his final bow. It would make his death more meaningful if he was a known character and not just a name in a long list of people who are about to die.

For a deeper dive into how Torrington is typically depicted in novels about the Franklin Expedition, I’m going to start with the most mainstream of the books I’ve read—and also the most inaccurate. That would be The Terror by Dan Simmons, a story that posits what if, rather than starvation, scurvy, illness, and lead poisoning killing off the crew, there was also an evil magical bear bent on their destruction. The book was recently adapted into a television series on AMC, and I watched the show first. I loved the show—it was very well done, despite the evil bear—so I read the book. The book…well, it had some good parts to it, but also some incredibly ridiculous parts and some incredibly offensives ones too. I won’t get into a full review of the book, though—I’m just here for Torrington.

Torrington doesn’t get mentioned until his death in The Terror. In fact, the sentence introducing him is “John Torrington, stoker on HMS Terror, died early this morning.” His slow decline from consumption is described, while also saying that he had obviously been in the advanced stages of the disease when he signed up for the expedition. There’s an aside about how ironic it is that Torrington’s doctor had told him going to sea would be good for his health, something that isn’t based on a known fact about Torrington, but getting away from Manchester and into fresh air may have been part of Torrington’s intent when signing up. Judging by the state of his lungs, he probably had difficulty breathing in the thick smoke of industrial Manchester, so it’s not so far-fetched to think he may have wanted a change of scenery to improve his health.

The dressing of his body for burial, descriptions of the clothes and bindings we know so well from the exhumation pictures, and a brief recap of his funeral get described in just a few pages. The image of him in his striped shirt sticks out in the memory of Dr. Goodsir (who is writing this down in his diary), an image that anyone who is familiar with the Franklin Expedition would know very well. But that’s about it for Torrington in this book. His name does pop up a few more times, though, because Captain Crozier has a habit of going over the names of the dead to himself, assessing how many men he has lost at different points throughout the book. Torrington as part of a list of the dead is mostly how we see him in The Terror.

In the TV adaptation, Torrington doesn’t appear at all, because the show picks up after the ships have left Beechey. The men who died at Beechey are mentioned a few times, usually as a group—referred to as “the men on Beechey” or some variation of that—with only John Hartnell being mentioned by name. Torrington, however, does get a visual sort of reference when one of the ship’s boys, David Young, dies in the first episode. During his burial, his coffin accidentally comes open, and his burial clothes look very reminiscent of the famous photos of Torrington.

Alfie Kingsnorth, the actor who plays David Young, looks a lot like Torrington, making this image extra eerie. In fact, I started watching the show because I saw a screencap of the burial and thought it was Torrington. When I realized that Torrington wasn’t in the show, I was disappointed, but I ended up loving the show anyway.

The next book I want to discuss is a novel that tried to do what The Terror did but without the monster. Robert Edric’s book The Broken Lands tells the story of the Franklin Expedition from the point of view of Commander James Fitzjames of the Erebus, third-in-command of the expedition. Fitzjames seems to be a popular point-of-view character since another book I’ll be discussing in this post is also from his perspective. Fitzjames is an interesting historical person, particularly if you’ve read Battersby’s biography of him, although that was published long after The Broken Lands came out. Being from Fitzjames’s point of view, however, means that the story focuses mostly on what happens on Erebus, which means Torrington, leading stoker on Terror, wouldn’t have had much of a role no matter what.

At least in this book Torrington does get mentioned before his death, but only just. When the ships are wintering on Beechey, it’s mentioned that two men become ill, Torrington and John Hartnell. Since Hartnell died only a few days after Torrington, they would have been ill around the same time. However, rather than showing signs of tuberculosis followed by pneumonia as the killing blow, Torrington and Hartnell suffer symptoms that get mistaken for scurvy but then are assumed to be some form of food poisoning. Torrington dies while Terror’s doctor, John Peddie, sits with him, but there’s not much to the scene. He and Hartnell get buried on the same day after a snowstorm delays their burials. Hartnell gets more attention here because of his autopsy, and there’s no mention of striped shirts and bound limbs.

But that’s not the last we hear of them. In the next chapter, it’s discovered that some crewmembers had been pilfering from the canned food supply. William Braine gets flogged for his part in the scheme, and he starts showing symptoms similar to Torrington and Hartnell. Braine then confesses that Torrington and Hartnell had also been involved in stealing canned foods, and the doctors jump to the conclusion that the canning procedure must be responsible for the illness and deaths of these three men. So instead of going with the known causes of death of tuberculosis and pneumonia, in this version of the story the Beechey Boys die of lead poisoning and only lead poisoning. That bothers me not only because it completely ignores the actual cause of death, but because it makes Torrington, Hartnell, and Braine criminals, stealing food from the ship’s stores. I guess this was Edric’s attempt at explaining why these three men had such high levels of lead so early on in the expedition, but this explanation doesn’t work for me because it ignores a lot of other things in a struggle to make certain puzzle pieces fit. I admit, I got a little overprotective when I saw Torrington being accused of something like this and started ranting about it to my sister—despite the fact that I have no idea what sort of person he was actually like, and he’s been dead for over hundred seventy years, so he doesn’t really need me to protect him from purely fictional accusations. But still…

The other novel from Fitzjames’s perspective is North with Franklin by John Wilson. This is set up as a lost journal written by Fitzjames, using some of the known letters and journals written by the real life Fitzjames as a jumping off point. In these fictional journal entries, there’s a mention of a man in sickbay with signs of consumption in August, and there’s an aside wondering why he didn’t inform anyone about his illness prior to setting sail. However, since this is the sickbay on Erebus, this must be a reference to Hartnell, not Torrington. But it’s a hint at what’s to come for both of them. An update on the consumptive man in November confirms that it’s Hartnell, his condition getting worse, and then it’s mentioned that the leading stoker on Terror is suffering the same. Again, Fitzjames wonders why Hartnell and Torrington didn’t mention their condition before setting sail, calling their weakened lungs a “death warrant” in the Arctic. There’s another update in late December about their worsening condition, until they both succumb. Out of the three books discussed so far, this is the most that Torrington has been mentioned pre-death, but he says not a single word.

Torrington’s death, taking place on New Year’s Day, brings down the happy celebrations of the crew. Again, it’s mentioned that Torrington should never have undertaken the journey with his illness, as if it hasn’t been driven home enough that he and Hartnell had probably been showing symptoms when they first boarded and should have reported it. Torrington’s burial clothes get an overview, with his short, emaciated appearance being compared to that of a child. He gets a funeral, with Franklin presiding.

The repeated mentions of how Torrington and Hartnell should have declared their illnesses before sailing on the expedition almost comes off as blaming them for their early demise. Realistically, of course, they probably had noticed some early symptoms before leaving England. But how bad were those symptoms? Were they enough to make them think they had a disease that would prove fatal? Did they realize that they wouldn’t be coming back, or did they shrug it off as just another cough? Torrington had bad lungs anyway, so maybe he didn’t notice when his black-lung-coughing changed into tuberculosis-coughing.

John Wilson wrote another book about the Franklin Expedition, this one for young adults, called Graves of Ice. This book is from the point of view of one of the ship’s boys, George Chambers. Chambers was assigned to the Erebus, so the main action happens on that ship once again, which means Torrington barely appears. Again. William Braine, however, befriends Chambers and gets far more dialogue and development than Torrington or Hartnell in any of the previous books—or this one—combined. Braine actually gets to defend his actions by saying his lungs had always been weak, and he thought the cold might do them good, explaining why he didn’t bother declaring any illness before setting sail. In real life, Torrington probably felt the same way, but he doesn’t get to stand up for himself here. In a prime example of dramatic irony, Braine calls Torrington an idiot for signing up while sick.

Torrington and his illness get mentioned the same day he dies, just shortly before Dr. Peddie informs Franklin of Torrington’s passing. His death gets called a bad omen among the crew. His burial gets a brief mention, but there’s no lingering on the image of his body in its coffin, or any mention of it even. He has no lines once again, nor does George Chambers ever meet him. At least one crewman admits that there are many men on board with lungs as bad as Torrington, as if to soften the accusation that Torrington should have known better, but it doesn’t soften it by much.

In all four of these books Torrington has had zero lines of dialogue. He gets sick, he dies. That’s it. There’s another book, a self-published one that came out this year, that I had hoped may do better by him. That would be Toward No Earthly Pole by Jonathan Schaeffer, which is from the point of view of James Thompson, the engineer on Terror. Being the engineer, Thompson would have interacted with Torrington a great deal, so I’d hoped I would get to see Torrington fleshed out more as a real character, but sadly that was not to be. Torrington does get mentioned more before his death than in other books, but it’s mostly in superficial interactions where anyone could have stood in instead, such as Torrington pointing out a polar bear.

Near the beginning of the story, Thompson gives a rundown of each stoker, giving Torrington a less-than-stellar description as a weakling, saying that, “He comes across as an old man resigned to his lot in life.” But Thompson does remark that Torrington is handsome, which isn’t really that important, but it is mentioned multiple times in the text. I guess the point was to emphasize that Torrington was cut down in the prime of his young, handsome life, but it comes off as a little awkward.

Torrington apparently has no friends in this interpretation of the story, and only Thompson seems to visit him when he gets sick. The day before he dies, Torrington, in a delirium, says some incomprehensible sentences, ending on an ominous “…do not belong here,” a phrase that Thompson initially interprets as meaning that Torrington realized he didn’t belong there, but that over the course of the expedition Thompson comes to think means the entire expedition didn’t belong there. Torrington gets the usual drawn-out illness coverage, unsurprising death, and a mention of his burial. He also becomes an omen that gets mentioned again as the situation grows worse. Even though Thompson would have been one of the crewmembers to interact with Torrington the most, Torrington still doesn’t get much development as a character.

However, there is one retelling of the Franklin Expedition that gives Torrington quite a bit of development. That would be Kristina Gehrmann’s graphic novel Im Eisland (or Icebound in the English version). I previously discussed Im Eisland in my last post about Torrington in art, but now I’d like to focus on the writing rather than the artwork. Torrington is actually introduced as if he’s going to be a major protagonist of the story, and for a time he does play a large role. We get a glimpse of a sweet little romance between him and his fiancée (we don’t know if Torrington was engaged to anyone, but there’s no evidence that he wasn’t either), and he develops a warm friendship with Thomas Evans, one of the ship’s boys, whom he teaches to read. Torrington comes alive as a real person here, and while yes, he does inevitably become too ill to work and dies, as he did in real life, he’s much more than just the first victim of a tragedy. If you’re looking for some good Torrington fiction, Im Eisland is an excellent choice.

But not all Torrington-related literature is a retelling of the expedition. There is a famous story by Margaret Atwood, “The Age of Lead,” which appears in her short story collection Wilderness Tips. I should say upfront that this story is not about Torrington himself. Atwood described her use of him as that of an extended metaphor, as his death is juxtaposed with that of another character’s in the story. But the story still delves into the pathos around Torrington’s death. In mourning for her friend, Jane, the protagonist, mourns for Torrington in a way too. As Jane remembers sitting with her dying friend, she ponders about who may have sat with Torrington in his final days. His half-open eyes are described as “the light brown of milky tea,” and they look back at Jane as she watches a program about him on television. It’s a touching story that asks some emotional questions about Torrington’s death—did he have anyone to comfort him as he passed, so far from home? Did anyone on the ship mourn him, love him? The story might not be about Torrington in the end, but he makes for a powerful centerpiece, and this story treats his humanity as far more present than many of the novels discussed above.

The last piece of literature I’d like to discuss is “Envying Owen Beattie” by Sheenagh Pugh. In a poem that gives Seamus Heaney a run for his money, Pugh lovingly describes the exhumation of Torrington’s mummified body. She compares Torrington to Snow White by describing his being cocooned in ice as “asleep in his glass case.” The reason she envies Owen Beattie is because of an anecdote Beattie had once told that Pugh recounts here, of how when Beattie lifted Torrington out of his coffin, Torrington’s head lolled onto Beattie’s shoulder, and they stared eye-to-eye at each other, Beattie holding his frail, limp body. This leads Pugh to conclude her fairy tale metaphor by saying “how could you not try to wake him with a kiss?” I have to admit that if I had been in Beattie’s place, I probably would have dropped the body, but Pugh romanticizes the moment instead.

While many of the novels that I’ve described above treat Torrington as just another milestone to get through in the story, Pugh brings far more emotion and love to his depiction in so few words. Torrington looks so very much alive, like a princess under a sleeping spell, so why can’t a kiss break that spell and bring him into the present? A sweet sentiment tinged with the sadness that we know he can’t be awakened by a kiss, because it’s no spell that’s put him asleep. He’s too far beyond fairy tale dreams to come back. The tragedy of Torrington’s death gets swallowed by the larger tragedy of the Franklin Expedition’s demise in the full-length novels, but in shorter pieces such as Pugh’s poem and Atwood’s short story, Torrington’s death is given greater thought and respect. Torrington, after all, was no redshirt on Star Trek but a human being. He wasn’t just a name, a check on a checklist, but a man who suffered and died at too young an age. But the tragedy of the individual is easily lost among the tragedy of the group.

Next: My final post, a personal reflection as I ponder just what fascinates us about him after all these years.

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Torrington Series Masterlist

#john torrington #franklin expedition

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sisterofiris · 6 years

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The Layperson’s Guide to Online Research

The Internet is full of badly researched and sometimes straight-up wrong information. Who would’ve guessed? From reinterpretations of ancient sources being taken at face value by history enthusiasts (like that infamous pre-patriarchal Persephone post) to well-intentioned but ahistorical writing spreading misinformation among modern polytheists (like the myth of Hestia abdicating in favour of Dionysos), it’s often hard to know what is trustworthy information and what is not. Unfortunately, this makes things difficult when you, a non-academic, want to research a topic.

My biggest recommendation will always be to turn to a local university library (often there are even lectures and conferences you can attend without being a student) or to subscribe to a digital library like JStor. On the other hand, I completely understand that for various reasons, not everyone can access these resources. This is why I’m here to help.

In this post, I will outline the steps you should take to check whether an online source is trustworthy and up-to-date. I will mainly focus on researching ancient history, but bear in mind that you can use the same (or similar) steps to research many different topics.

The vetting process below may seem like a lot to take in, but it all boils down to five questions:

where does this come from?

who is the author?

what are their sources?

when did they write this?

who else wrote about this?

Step One: Where does this come from?

The first thing you need to do is check the website where the information comes from. Trustworthy signs to look for are a .edu or .org web address, a university logo, or the description of the website as a professional resource. Very, very often, websites with flashy or sparkly designs are made by amateurs and are not trustworthy. Any web page that doesn’t tell you who wrote it or why is not trustworthy.

When you’re looking at books and articles uploaded online (such as Google Books), make sure they were published professionally by a publishing house or peer-reviewed journal. Mainstream news articles range from accurate (BBC) to completely unreliable (Daily Mail), but since even the best of them can be sensationalistic, I recommend digging further.

Another very important thing to look out for is ideology. Is the website devoted to a certain issue, like proving the Ancient Greeks were black, the Sumerians were contacted by aliens, or the Hittites worshipped a pre-patriarchal Mother Goddess? Congratulations, this information is biased. Some of it may be correct, but you should check steps two to five very carefully before believing it.

Generally, you should look for websites that are focused on your topic, not websites that use your topic to prove a point.

Here are two examples to illustrate the difference:

Not trustworthy: this page about Persephone as an archetype. The website focuses on the Enneagram, not on Greek mythology, and the web design is amateurish. Even though the page mentions mythology, its purpose is to establish Persephone’s personality type, not to discuss her role as a deity in Ancient Greece.

Trustworthy: this page about Ancient Egyptian women and religion. The website looks far more professional, and by clicking on the logo in the top left, you will get to the organisation’s page, The Stoa Consortium. On the right, there is an “About” section which explains that the website was set up by a Professor of Classics and is funded by various universities, as well as by the US Department of Education.

However, determining whether or not a website is any good is not always so easy. Theoi.com, for example, is an independent resource with no academic support, but it’s very well put together and reliable. Meanwhile, Academia.edu is a platform for scholars, but less reputable people can easily slip through and post their “translations” of haiku in Linear A. Experts can have informal blogs, and non-experts can write professional-looking news articles. It’s hard to know which ones of them to trust.

This is where Step Two comes in handy.

Step Two: Who is the author?

A trustworthy source will always identify its author. Some pages (like my own blog’s “About” section) will only tell you the person’s credentials, often for privacy reasons. This is a good start, but you should try to find out more - particularly whether this person actually is what they claim to be. (In my case, it’s fairly easy to tell, since I’ve posted pictures from university projects (x, x) and my identity can be deduced from various links and tidbits I’ve shared - but please be skeptical about what I say as well! Just because I’m an ancient civilisations student doesn’t mean I’m always right!)

Once you know who the author is, you need to check whether they are not only educated, but educated in the subject. This means a university degree (preferably a masters, and even more preferably a PhD) or other proof of expertise in the subject (like an experienced weaver sharing their perspective on ancient tapestries). Whatever the person’s qualifications, they need to be serious (i.e. not “one time in college I took a class on Greek mythology”) and directly related to the subject.

Here are some examples:

Not trustworthy: that pre-patriarchal Persephone post. Its author is a layperson who fell into the same trap I’m trying to prevent: they read a few web pages and decided they were the truth. Luckily, they seem to have somewhat learnt from their mistake.

Usually trustworthy, but not in this case: Gerda Lerner writing about the Hittites. While Gerda Lerner was very learned in women’s studies, she was not a Hittitologist - nor particularly familiar with ancient civilisations in general - and she did not have the nuanced understanding necessary to discuss women in the context of Hittite society.

Trustworthy and non-academic: Janet Stephens’ hairstyle reconstructions. Janet Stephens is not an archeologist, but she is a very experienced hairdresser. This makes her qualified to reconstruct and reproduce ancient hairstyles. (Note that this does NOT make her qualified to discuss, say, the religious implications of hair-binding in Ancient Greece. It makes her qualified to do what she does: style hair.)

Trustworthy and academic: Paul Schubert’s blog (in French) about Ancient Greece in the modern world. His “About” page has a link to his university page, which contains his biography and credentials. He writes about his expert subject, and stays well within its boundaries.

Step Three: What are their sources?

Next, you need to determine where they get their information from. For ancient history, the number one, most important source is ancient texts. Anything that cites ancient texts with their reference (Homer, Iliad, XΧII 389-390) is automatically more trustworthy than anything that doesn’t. If you want to research in-depth, I would recommend looking up these references to get an idea of what they say (Theoi.com and Perseus both have free text databases).

References to modern texts (especially books and articles) are good, but the author shouldn’t only cite these. This turns research into a game of broken telephone - so-and-so told me that so-and-so said that Plato wrote... What’s more, you need to make sure these sources are also trustworthy. Just because a page provide links doesn’t mean they’re relevant or well-researched - if so, then rickrolling would be the peak of academia.

Lastly, I shouldn’t need to say this, but information without sources is not information. That’s like me telling you I’m secretly the princess of Liechtenstein. It might be true, but you can’t know for sure without proof.

Again, some examples:

Not trustworthy: this quote by Plato and this one supposedly from a cuneiform tablet. Neither has a clear reference, nor context: the first is just attributed to Plato’s Symposium, and the second’s author varies from Naram-Sin to a Chaldean king to Cicero. (What’s more, both have strongly ahistorical content. Plato would never have written about “Greek mythology”, and the Mesopotamians had no concept of a “book”.)

Could be trustworthy, but you should check: Medievalpoc’s sources on Ancient Egyptian transatlantic voyages. Yes, a variety of links are provided, but are they any good? A few clicks will show that they lead to the Daily Mail, a paper written by two ideologically-motivated Mormons, and a bunch of articles about ancient people building boats (which nobody doubts, but which doesn’t prove they could sail across the Atlantic).

Trustworthy: Hittite Prayers to the Sun-God by Daniel Schwemer. This is a fully cited article with ancient sources.

Step Four: When did they write this?

The next important step is to find out when this information was written. This is because research is constantly evolving, and older interpretations may no longer be considered valid. This obviously includes views with underlying racism, sexism and homophobia, but it also applies to less obvious things, like the fact that the Sumerian word zag is now read za₃.

Unfortunately, for copyright reasons, most information available online for free is a bit outdated. You should still aim for more recent publications if you can, and definitely avoid anything that’s fifty years old or more. The only exception is for translations of ancient texts, which stay pretty much the same apart from a few spots where their translators’ biases come through - and the exception to the exception is texts in Mesopotamian languages, in which case you should really, really try to find a translation that’s younger than fifty years.

Academic podcasts, blogs and newsletters come in very handy here, because they offer insights on modern research while often being written in accessible language.

Yet more examples:

Not trustworthy: Martin Nilsson’s The Mycenaean Origin of Greek Mythology (1932). Though Martin Nilsson was a great scholar, modern research has evolved since this book was published (in 1932 in Germany - a context you can definitely sense while reading). What’s more, it was written before Mycenaean Greek was even deciphered.

Trustworthy: Eric Cline’s 1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed (2015). Not only is the writing easily accessible to non-experts, this book is up-to-date and written by someone at the forefront of research in Late Bronze Age societies.

Step Five: Who else wrote about this?

This last step is basically fact-checking. Your author may have the best of credentials, they may have written their article on the most respectable of websites, but their theory could still be rejected by the majority of their peers. Look up the book or article’s title followed by “review”, which will hopefully generate other experts’ opinions on the matter - or just keep browsing different websites.

This step is not the most important and can often be skipped - you don’t need to fact-check every word you read. But if you want to research something in-depth, if a claim seems iffy, or if any of the above steps gave mixed results, you should always look for outside input. And no, you won’t always get definite answers on whether something is true. Such is our knowledge about history. But it will give you a more rounded understanding of the topic, and that’s always valuable.

A final note

If you’re not sure whether something is trustworthy, please don’t hesitate to ask! Historians and history students are your friends, and we want you to have accurate information. There’s a lot of us on Tumblr and elsewhere who are happy to help out with that. We can’t be there for everyone 24/7, but we’ll gladly point you in the direction you need!

#research #history #ancient history #ancient greece #mesopotamia #studies #infodump #debunk

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crummy37-blog · 6 years

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taxslip0 · 2 years

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Mike Abdul Exposes That Twelve O'clock At Night Team Is Not Dead, States They Are With each other

At first when I started having bad press, I was not satisfied. I found that I was making those who wanted to make me depressing, pleased. It doesn't make sense to offer joy, gladness as well as fulfilment to my enemies'. Music began with my papa playing a great deal of records in your house. I simply can not stand up to adoration for the singers whose records daddy played. The yearning to sing like them was innate, it seemed like fate. You would certainly observe that regarding three, 5 or 7 years before now, there were just a couple of artistes that were getting played on radio and also television, which is no over 10 for the industry. That is why you now have a great deal extra imaginative people with more youthful generations currently showing up. That began occurring 2 years back and also last year. Mike Abdul has, over the years, kept his standing as a scripture artiste of prominence. In December 2019 though, he revved points up with his appearance in the scripture film, 'Entering Maggie's Shoes'. SIMS, which was composed and generated by Opeyemi Akintunde with Veronica Folorunso as Executive Producer is one of a kind scripture movie that touches on delicate motifs revolving around confidence. The purpose of the journey was to usher individuals into the New Year in praise and appreciation to God. United Kingdom is the nation I have checked out the most as well as London is my ideal city. Vacationing in London resembles being a tourist without seeming like an unfamiliar person. One can, without help, gain access to the roadway and rail network. The comfort as well as strategy to work was various. The audience as well as their function people was not what we were made use of to. Before that journey, authorizing autographs was something I just saw on television or simply heard that individuals do. Though I didn't come back to Nigeria with a great deal of money, I returned with a lot of intellectual wealth. My way of thinking altered as well as my confidence took a radical change.

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At the last three editions of The Experience concert, we executed as a group. Yesterday, we performed in Abuja as a group too. We were good friends before coming together as a group. Also if Midnight Team does not exist once more, we would certainly still be pals because that is our structure" he told Strike. Reacting to the cases, Mike Abdul one of the singers in the team kept in mind that they are still strong together. "The fact that a private requirements to locate his/her own expression doesn't indicate a group is dead. The participants of Midnight Crew are still together. The significant downside is port of entrance meetings. One is considered as a suspect for being a Nigerian. Often, one does not want to return to being so disadvantaged. The emphasize of the journey was the efficiency we went with. It was excellent to see a mixed culture of nations and also at least 5000 people respond to our ministration. Nevertheless, they had been influenced by a new behavioural as well as way of living 'environment' that made them extra culturally sensitive to society and people. Spaghetti Records Top Employer, Mike Abdul recruits seasoned producer Puffy TEE & Spirit raising Gospel act, Bidemi OLAOBA on ... On Popular Biography, He is one of the successful Gospel Singer. He has actually placed on the checklist of those famous individuals born upon February 12. He is among the Richest Gospel Singer that was birthed in Nigeria. Few days after scripture vocalist, Tope Alabi obtained reactions for dancing the 'zanku' design at her late dad's wake, fellow singer, Mike Abdul that asserted to be with her throughout the dancing, has actually responded. Mike Abdul is a Nigerian Gospel songs minister, songs manufacturer, as well as songwriter. He previously dealt with Spaghetti Records and also work as an executive police officer for Midnight Team Songs Limited. He is a popular artist in the Nigerian Scripture songs market. Dexterous praise preacher and also Gospel artiste, Josh Blayze launches an improvised variation of his single-- "No person Like You ". His love for Music started properly on the 8th of November 2001 when they started midnight crew. Nigerian gospel vocalist, Mike Abdul has released his extremely anticipated cd entitled "Iro Halleluyah," on his birthday celebration. Nigerian gospel songs musicians named Mike Abdul has supplied another track entitled "Fuji Christmas". Download and install or stream totally free gospel music on the system. Fast secure download mp3 data of your favourite scripture artists.

Mike Abdul Feet Tope Alabi

Christ Apostolic Church Light Castle, Lagos will certainly be commemorating her 11th wedding anniversary themed "Prophetic Praise" on Saturday, October second, 2021. OLU-FAMOUS, NAIJAPALS, NIGERIAN-FILMS and also all blog writers and also media places that have actually climbed to do mE evil shall be pestered with evil for the rest of their days. It's truly sad the way marriages are evacuating these days. Their marital relationship apparently struck the rocks concerning 3 months ago but they have been maintaining secured lips concerning it in the media, just that Vivien often take to the Social network to vent her frustration over what is taking place. The groove tire me so i thOught to stop paying attention by myself and share my pleasure with you. Gospel songs will certainly always be set apart because when individuals most likely to church on Sundays, from Monday that they resume job, they may not get back to church points until the adhering to Sunday. This is without forgetting that on Friday, some would go to clubs, as well as they actually don't need you coming into their faces all the time with something they do on Sundays. That is the way people are; so, that will definitely influence gospel artists since that indicates their songs is somehow created in individuals's minds for Sunday. So they have Monday to Saturday to pay attention to nonreligious music and also appreciate it. I don't have issues with secular music, because, naturally, as people, as much as we need to know concerning God, we also would like to know concerning love and also the scripture artiste is not mosting likely to sing concerning those things. Mike Abdul has actually become one of the well known Scripture musicians in Nigeria as well as past. He has worked with lots of Nigerian Scripture as well as Nonreligious artists as well as additionally producers such as Wole Oni, Mr. Daz, Shey Guy, Rotimi Akinfenwa, Helen Paul, Tim Godfrey, Dekun Fuji, MoniQue, Tope Alabi, as well as many others. And he holds the record for the most highlighted Nigerian Scripture artist. Ko Da Mi Da by Mike Abdul, A'dam and also Monique sets you in the pleasure setting, aiding you send out appreciation ahead as spots to advise you of God's unwavering faithfulness. Steve Crown-- Yesu Na Mp3 Download And Install Steve Crown-- Yesu Na Mp3 Download, Verses and also Video Scripture songs priest Steve Crown releases yet anoth ... When the group in fact started years earlier, they were about ten yet after the launch of their first cd 70% made a decision to give up leaving just 4 of them. Fuji Christmas by Mike Abdul mp3 download audio has actually been the trending track since it was released. Eyan Jesu is a freshly released tune and musical video by the prominent ... Gospel singer, Nike Okebu celebrates her birthday celebration with 'Ten Thousand Tongues' including Mike Abdul. The response to MORIRE involved me as a gift and gave me the confidence to make my story take place. I think it's the marketing of the songs, attempting to get a fair share of the marketplace, in a manner of speaking. It is what people hear that they wish to buy, particularly where television and also radio stations would certainly not play you as commonly as various other kinds of music artistes. It is still an art, and also you intend to showcase your art in spite of your message. So that is tough, mixing the need to showcase your art with sending a message and also not really feeling poor that you are not obtaining as much airplay. But we just need to concern terms with what the truth is.

The other day, we executed in Abuja as a group too.Nigerian Gospel Songs preacher Mike Abdul is out with another scripture loaded solitary labelled "Ready to commend". Make sure to check out the track listed below as well as additionally the main video too.People shouldn't be driving automobiles or putting on

designer clothing such as Gucci because they are 'worldly 'and were made by guys." Some individuals even said if she was eating periodontal irresponsibly. I have actually long noticed gospel songs has been successfully phased out of the nigerian music scene. Remain tuned to Praiseworld Radio to listen to this track as well as other special gospel tunes all the time everyday. Christian/Gospel music minister Odeerih, a worship priest and a lover of God, is at it once again with this powerful Appreciation tune labelled ... Praise In The City is a yearly end-of-year household gospel occasion, featuring future and preferred scripture priests on the exact same stage ... Embed: Love & Light Ep As I grew older, I signed up with choirs as well as singing teams to locate expression. The initial point i had was love for songs which became interest to practice . Establishing goals helped provide direction and also objective to make sure that my job does not go away as a simple hubby. I spent the eve with my parents and also it looked like they had actually brought to life me around once again. We shared valued memories as well as i began the day with Thanks Offering to the Developer OF FATES. The coordinator better stated, 'We are bringing a choice for young people.

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