#then it turns out that shes running round with a dangerous alien whos a magnet for trouble and deadly danger

[anteroom-of-death]

MAY WE PUH-LEAASEE TALK MORE ABOUT BOW TRAUMATIZING LIFE WAS FOR JACKIE TYLER AND HOW EVEN HER 'ENDING' WAS SORT OF AN IN-STORY SLAP TO THE FACE.

#personal #jackie tyler #camille coduri #just because pete in the other universe was rich and grieving Jackie his universe and their doggy rose doesnt mean she got a good ending #shes a working class widow on disability and she did her best with how she caj #and then her daughter runs away #then it turns out that shes running round with a dangerous alien whos a magnet for trouble and deadly danger #then more stuff #then cybermen versus daleks #the horrors persist #but so does jackie #not to even mention she got used by that dude in love and monsters #ugh #we love Jackie around these parts #doctor who #nu who #shes a single mum #help

[lokislastlove]

Come One, Come All (dark!Loki x reader)

Summary: A girls night out to the fair takes an insidious turn.

Warnings: Noncon/Rape, knife play, oral (m&f), smut, bondage, kidnapping.

This is a dark fic! 18+ ONLY! Explicit Adult content. Please READ THE WARNINGS! Do not continue if these matters upset you!

Authors Note: I wrote another one! No idea where this came from, but it was fun to write. Still working on improving my smut, huge thanks to @darkficsyouneveraskedfor for some tips and editing the shit out of it. 😘 also I know there is a creepy clown in the pic but I feel like I have to say there aren’t any clowns in the fic. I hate clowns.

Chapter 1:

It was the kind of summer night you dream about, warm enough to keep you comfortable in your shorts and peasant top, but with a light breeze that keeps you cool enough to fight the flush of alcohol in your veins. You look forward to these moments when you are able to go out with your girlfriends and let loose, forgetting about all life’s responsibilities, if just for a single night.

“Come on!” Ash calls over her shoulder, her hand tight around your wrist pulling you impatiently.

“Aww but that looks so good” you groan as you press your face longingly against the glass barrier of the hand dipped corn dog cart.

The sweet scent of the frying corn dough wafts tantalizingly through the air making your mouth water. You friends laugh at your theatrics, having just helped you scarf down a large sugary funnel cake and a platter of nachos, the evidence of which still stains the corner of your mouth. Really, it was their fault for getting you tipsy before taking you to the county fair, everything just smelled heavenly and if you could you would try one of everything.

“Just a slushee?!” You beg as Jen steps behind you and pushes you out of the food court, giggling the entire time.

“Come on, fight the drunchies! You promised you would try that new funhouse,” Jen whines, looping her arm through yours, Ash doing the same on the other side.

“Oh yeah,” you grumble.

“Oh stop it” Ash scolds playfully. “Everyone at work keeps talking about it - it’s like a mini escape room! And I’ve always wanted to do one, please.” She rants excitedly before giving you her best puppy dog eyes.

“Ugh that’s cheating. No one can resist those big brown eyes” you pout, but yield as easily as they knew you would.

“I know” Ash smirks, tossing back her long silky black hair over her slender shoulder.

“This is gonna be so much fun, I promise” Jen bumps your hip, giving you a wide encouraging smile.

You manage a strained grin as you let them lead you through the crowd. It’s not that you don’t like funhouses or the idea of doing an escape room, having always loved solving riddles and doing puzzles. It’s just you don’t like clowns, and every funhouse in your experience has at least one.

“Oh damn there’s a line!” Jen moans as you all stop in front of a large structure covered in flashing lights, the ominous ‘Tricksters Trap’ bathing your face in a violent red glow.

Garish contrasting colors somehow both attract your eye and make it hard to look at. Your pupils dilate with the lines of fluorescent bulbs burning into your retinas. The stereotypical circus music blares through the cheap speakers, reminding you of one of those old Jack in the box toys. And of course, without fail, was the obligatory clown statue hanging over the entrance, like some creepy sentinel there to guide you to your inevitable demise.

“Ugh fucking clowns” you grimace as you pass by the entrance, heading toward the end of the line.

“Yeah they definitely nailed the creep factor,” Jen agrees, her eyes shining with nervous excitement.

“I know isn’t it great?!” Ash squeals.

You stand there taking in the horrific detailing painted on the side of the metal structure. You are thankful when Ash explains there is a time limit, only ten minutes to complete the puzzle or else they kick you out and you have to try again. If you figure out the puzzle you get to leave through the mirror maze and you earn the coveted “I tricked the Trickster” sticker.

“Gotta get that sticker, or else that bitch Katie at work will never let me forget that she got one and I didn’t” Ash complains, causing you and Jen to share a look and snicker.

“Hey! Don’t laugh, this is serious! We gotta be smart and figure this out, failure is not an option” she urges dramatically before collapsing into drunken giggles with you and Jen.

“You ladies seem eager to prove yourselves,” slithers a low voice.

Startled you gasp and spin around quickly. The three of you look up at the tall lean figure standing behind you. He wears a perfectly tailored black ensemble, that matches the color of his slicked back hair. His eyes practically glow green against his alabaster complexion. His sharp cheekbones and angular jaw make your breath hitch, causing his thin lips to curve into a sinister smirk. He is stunning.

“Um, yeah. Well this place has the whole town buzzin’. Seems like everyone is talking about it” Jen is the first to speak.

“Ah I see. Wouldn’t want to miss your chance to take a stab at it” the mysterious man surmised, eyes focused on you.

“We got this shit. Right guys?” Ash assures him as she playfully smacks you and Jen.

“Well, I guess we’ll find out. Good luck,” he challenges with a raise of a brow.

You stare after him as he saunters away without another word. His hips and shoulders sway smoothly, his soft footsteps giving him a dangerous almost feline vibe, like he could rival even the most deadly of predators. As he turns to round the corner of the ride he takes one last look over his shoulder at you. Your eyes lock for only a fraction of a second but it’s enough to send a chill down your spine.

“That was weird, right?” You mutter, eyes still transfixed where he disappeared.

“Eh, just another creepy dude. If I had a nickel for every weirdo who tries to chat me up…” Jen jokes.

“You’d have like a whole 50 cents,” sasses Ash.

You are finally broken from your daze when Ash is pushed into you. You laugh and try to brush off the lingering effect of the handsome stranger, shifting your focus back to your friends. The line goes by quicker than expected, with only one group out of the three ahead of you making it out with stickers. The losing groups return to the line from a back door, bickering about where they went wrong.

Finally it is your turn. Ash claps her hands excitedly, dancing up the metal stairs to the costumed man at the entrance. His red and white stripped suit is expertly torn and painted with fake blood to make him look as intimidating as possible. With a tip of his top hat he welcomes the three of you and begins to explain the rules in his well practiced accent.

“Come one come all to the Tricksters Trap, if you’re feeling lost, just go find the map.” He sings with flair and a perfectly timed bow, directing you to the inauspicious black door.

Taking a deep breath you follow your squealing friends into the darkened hallway. Pausing to look back as the door creaks shut, cutting off the jovial sounds of laughter and chatter with a sudden slam. You flinch at the loud noise and turn back to the dim hallway. The short corridor is lined with wall to wall green velvet curtains barely visible with the green rope lights running along the ceiling.

“Guys?” You whisper when you don’t see them next to you, causing your heart rate to quicken

You call for them again, this time louder, your feet unwilling to move from the spot. It has only been thirty seconds and you are already about to call it quits. Get a grip. You take a hesitant step forward.

“You guys?!” You call shakily.

“Hey! Come on we found the map!” Jen pokes her head from around the corner at the end of the hall.

She disappears just as quickly, waving her arm for you to follow. You breathe a sigh of relief and rush after her. You enter a large room filled with all sorts of random objects. It’s as if it is designed to overload your senses. The green from the hall carried on into the room, more velvet green curtains hung on the walls that were not obstructed by shelves of books or other oddities. You saw everything from perfectly aligned glass jars filled with alien looking creatures, grandfather clocks, to treasure chests overflowing with grizzled toys.

Jen and Ash are hunched over a table with a map spread out smoothly. It was easy enough to see it was a map of the room and hallway, with what appeared to be three small rooms hidden along the wall behind the heavy green drapery. You go over and pull back a curtain and find a locked door, the other two also hiding a locked door.

“Ok so it looks like we gotta find a way to open these doors” you offer, your anxiety calming a bit as you focus on the mystery at hand.

“Hey look there is some sort of code over here by the lock on the door.” Ash hollers excitedly.

You each pick a door code and frantically search the room. It doesn’t take long for you to figure out you need to use the books on the large shelf along one wall. The first number tells you the book the second refers to a specific page. You find a slip of paper in the book with a riddle written in a blood red ink.

“I make two people out of one” You read aloud.

“You can hold me in one hand, but I’m used to fill the room” Ash reads hers, her face twisting in concentration.

You both look to Jen, “I have two hands, but I can’t clap.”

“Damn no wonder so many people failed, definitely wish I wasn’t drunk right now” Ash laughs.

“No no we can do this, it’s probably items in the room so let’s just focus. We’ll do one at a time.” You assert, pacing the room and trying to take in all the random objects.

“Two hands…” you mutter as you stop in front of a large grandfather clock. “Clocks have hands!” You yell excitedly and open the narrow door.

The heavy pendulums swing inside and you see a shining silver glint off the rounded golden end. You pull off the small silver key, stuck on by a tiny magnet, and jump in excitement.

“Holy crap! You’re a genius!” Jen exclaims running over to take the key and try it in the door.

The key slides in smoothly and the door opens with a gratifying click.

“Woo! Keep going, you are on a roll!” Ash claps as she cheers you on.

“Ok, ok” you giggle before taking a deep breath. “Two people out of one… maybe a camera? Or wait…” you realize as you stare at Ash currently checking her makeup in an antique mirror hung between two curtains.

“Ash! Try pulling on that mirror!” You yell pointing frantically at the mirror in front of her.

Her brows knit together briefly before understanding, grabbing the frame and tugging gently until it swings open, revealing a key hung on the wall.

“Yes!” You all shriek together.

Suddenly, the lights flicker and a loud maniacal cackle reverberates through the surround sound speaker, turning your elation into yelps of surprise.

“Two minutes left” a familiar polished voice echoes forebodingly throughout the room.

“Shit, that scared the crap out of me” Jen laughs clutching at her chest.

The warning gives you pause, managing to shift the spirit of the whole room. Ash giggles nervously as she watches the lights of the room transition from their previous dim yellow light to a menacing red hue. The mood lighting in addition to the increasing volume of the horror soundtrack playing over the speaker helps to put you back into your initial anxious state.

“Seriously? Is this fucking necessary?” You curse, shaking your head.

“Ok let’s get the last one guys! We can still do this!” Jen yells through the cacophony of sound effects.

“Yeah what can we fit in our hand but somehow also fills the room?” Ash reiterated the final riddle.

“These red lights make it so much harder to see” Jen complains bitterly as she rummages through the items inside a large chest.

“Lights… Jen that’s it! A lightbulb!” A smile breaks out on your face as you figure out the final clue.

“Look up there!” Ash points to a solitary darkened light bulb screwed into the ceiling.

“I got it.” Jen jumps onto the table and reaches up, unscrewing it quickly. “There is a key inside!” She shouts.

She unscrews the bottom of the fake lightbulb and received the key before handing it to Ash. Each of you run over to the corresponding doors and turn the key, squealing in delight when they all slide open.

“Is that it?” Jen asks looking into the cramped dark space behind the door.

It was little more than a closet. Barely enough room for each of you to stand in. You were at a loss. You could have sworn that would be the end.

“Guys there is a lever here on the back wall of mine, how about yours?” Ash’s muffled voice calls from inside her closet.

“Oh yeah mine too!” Jen replies.

“Do you think we have to pull them at the same time? ‘Cus mine did nothing when I tried it” Ash says poking her head out to look at you.

“Thirty seconds!” That haunting voice booms again as a tick clock sounds through the speakers, counting down your final moments.

“Ok let’s try it together!” You nod at both of them, before stepping into the tight dark space.

“THREE! TWO! ONE!” You shout, mirroring your friends calls, pulling down your lever with a snap.

There is a moment of silence as the lights of the room behind you suddenly go dark, the music and sound effects cutting off instantly.

“Did we get it?!” You yell.

You don’t get the chance to hear your friends response as the wood door slams behind you, locking you into the small space.

Tags: @darkficsyouneveraskedfor @caffiend-queen

#dark fic #dark Loki #dark loki x reader #tom hiddleston #come one come all

[starr-fall-knight-rise]

Humans are Space Orcs, “The Escape.”

Hope you guys enjoy, and have a great Monday everyone 

Great rumbling sirens still blared behind them as they cut through the darkness just at the base of the wall. The sirens were like nothing either of them had ever heard as they were deep and rumbling causing  the ground to shake like a mild earthquake. The sounds of the animals inside was just audible over the high wall, though the rumbling shouts of those deep, voiced creatures were drowned out by the sirens.

“Just a little further.” Krill whispered in Adam’s ear, and Adam continued to crouch low into the shadows, both of them had to hope that these creatures didn’t have as good of eyesight as humans or drev, for if they did Adam was going to stand out like candle in a dark room with just how pasty white he was.

Adam came to a stop a few feet later, his eyes scanning the open field before them, “‘There they are.”

“And now what?”

“Now we hijack and alien spaceship.”

“And what makes you think that you are going to be able to fly it?”

“I can fly anything.”

“And what if it requires a key?”

“Well then we will hotwire it?”

“Stop being annoyingly optimistic and listen to my concerns for just five seconds will you.”

The man waved a hand, “I know I know, but I didn’t exactly THINK about that part now did I.”

“You know sometimes I think you are intelligent, and then at other times you are a complete idiot. In the end, I am never entirely sure which one I agree with more.”

“Let's pick the one where I am smart until proven otherwise. If we get captured again, you can call me the biggest idiot ever, and I will agree with you.”

“IF we get captured again, then we are going to have bigger problems than you just being an idiot.” Adam held up a hand to quiet him, and then looking in either direction, he hurried forward across the open space, ducking down as soon as they reached the nearest ship.

“And how do we know if any of these are warp drive capable?” Krill demanded.

Adam peered out from under one of the struts, “We are looking for the ship we rode here on. If they take exotic animals from other planets, then I am willing to bet that it would have to have a warp drive. Ah ha, there it is.”

Krill glanced over his shoulder and in the direction that the Commander was pointing, and sure enough, there the ship was in all of its alien glory.

The two of them looked around for a few seconds looking for anyone who might spot their movement, but there was no one, and they managed to make it forward without being noticed. Adam and Krill stopped right below the strange, floating, silver ball.

“Now what.”

“Now a door.” Krill, float up there to about head height for those things and see if you can’t find anything.”

Krill did as told, but as of yet he was having no real luck.

“Shit.” Adam muttered tilting his head back to make one more suggestion, and that was when he heard the shouting.

Together, he and Krill turned to look back over their shoulders, and found a group of keepers running after them across the open tarmac.

They had been spotted.

“Shit!”

***

The team of keepers ran across the open tarmac and towards the escaped aliens. Three of them had tranquilizer guns up an ready, shooting down towards the two figures. They missed the duos by mere inches as it dove to the left, rolling out of their line of fire. They couldn’t believe what they were seeing, the boss hadn’t been wrong when he suggested these things might be sentient.

Either way, they were too dangerous to be left on the loose.

The Does grabbed the Planita and began springing across the open space. It was fast, and it would be almost impossible to catch up with it.

It dodged, and ducked and weaved this way and that past their flying darts, and over the tarmac.

Just before them, a crew from the nearest peacekeeper station had arrived, and had just lowered themselves  onto the Tarmac. The door popped open, and the peacekeepers began to file out onto the open ground only to stop when their shouting began. They looked about in confusion and befuddlement at the scene before them.

The keepers were forced to pull their fire so as not to hit the peacekeepers.  THey waited for the duos to cut in a different direction, but instead of turning course, it charged straight towards the peacekeepers. They stood in shock and confusion, and were just beginning to lift their weapons when the Duos ran straight into a running jump. It leaped almost three feet off the ground before lashing out with its metal leg. The power of the kick sent it up and forward, while the peacekeeper was shoved into the ground.

The Duos sailed through the air for a moment hands outstretched, the Planita clutching onto its back.

And then it came skidding downwards cutting right through the open doorway of the peacekeeper shuttle.

The keepers raised their weapons for one last volley of fire as the Duos slammed its hand into the closing button. 

Three of the peacekeepers went down and the doors slammed shut.

***

Adam raced towards the front seat of the small shuttle leaving krill to float behind him as the strange aliens slammed their fists against the door hatch.

“Hurry up, Commander.”

“I’m Hurrying! I;m Hurrying!” He shouted back pausing at the front of the little shuttle and looking around in confusion at the controls.

“Uh.”

“Just press something!” Krill was screaming from the back.

“OK OK!” He reached a hand forward towards a small pillar of light on his left hand side. When his hand came in contact with the pillar of light, he heard the engines roar to life. With his other hand, he passed his fingers over the second beam of light. 

Below him, he felt it as the machine lifted off they round.

The pounding at the door subsided and then started up again. Out the front windscreen, he could see That they were surrounded..

“Hurry up!”

“Do you want to drive! Because I will let you drive!”

“Just GO!” HE wasn’t entirely sure how Going was going to work but in frustration, he raised his hands against the beam of light, and almost smashed into the floor as they shot upwards. Krill squealed somewhere behind him, and suddenly they were airborne.

*** The ship shot into the sky and the Keepers were powerless to stop it. It hovered about forty feet above them for a long moment before wobbling and then shooting off in another direction. Shouting and yelling followed after as they raced to the other vehicles, leaping into their ships to begin pursuit, as the little shuttle streaked out over the city and upwards towards atmosphere.

The shuttle was slow in comparison to their cruisers, and they caught up with relative ease intending to grab the smaller shuttle with a magnetic hook.

Their first attempt was met with complete failure, as the shuttle spun and then dived violently in a manuver so well executed two of the pursuing shuttles slammed right into each other training debris down on the city below.

Their orders had originally been to keep the creature alive, but threw as no point to that now with the destruction it was causing, and they opened fire.

THe shuttle rolled hard right and then plunged downward cutting to the side, and under.

One of their cruisers rolled to chase, but that was when the creature found the energy guns.

One of their ships was blasted right out of the sky as the creature, flying like only a mad man would, cut under them and then straight up through their formation. IN the chaos, only one of their cruisers managed to make it out and follow the other ship as it rocketed upwards.

IT fired once, thought it had missed, but then the other ship slowed to a stop, slowing to an almost complete pause in the air before it tilted back and began plummeting dowards.

IT cut past the last remaining shuttle flipping end over end as it fell towards the city below.

There would be some damage, but the creature could cause no more harm.

The shuttle was approaching the ground now, only a few hundred feet away, and then the engines fired again. THey watched in shock and disbelief as the shuttle evened out and blasted low over the buildings, vanishing over the horizon in a matter of seconds.

** Krill groaned in agony as his insides ached from the toll of the G-forces they had just pulled. He was pretty sure something inside has probably ruptured, but stil Adam had managed to loose their tail, and had now cut upwards and emerged into a low orbit over the planet. 

“I want to put some distance between us.” He called ack over his shoulder, shooting out towards the blackness of space.

KRill turned to look over his shoulder as the planet grew smaller and smaller behind them.

Up ahead Adam wobbled slightly on his feet.

“Commander, are you alright.”

The man pulled his hands from the beams of light and turned on the spot, a sort of sheepish grin on his face.

“Make sure that no one is following us, will you.”

“What are you talking bout>”

With that sheepish smile still plastered on his face, the man turned to the side and lifted his arm to reveal the tiny tranquilizer dart sticking form his side, “Just make sure they don’t find us, you know how to fly the ship.” And then he staggered again, keeling over to one side and landing flat on his back on the metal floor with an echoing thud.

***

Hijan Rolled her spear between her fingers crouching low against an outcropping of rock. Behind her, her son, the Sentinel, and the others from her tribe remained silent as the troop of burg passed. THey were heading inwards towards the queen’s palace. 

Hijan didn’t take a moment to stop and wonder at the strange alien creations.

This was war, and she had no time to be wasting on shock or awe, despite this being the first time she had ever left her planet, or the fertile belt.

WIth one raised hand, she motioned her fighters forward, cutting across the open stone with them as the burg filtered out the other side of the cavern

“Hijan, come in, do you read me.” She pulled up at the sound, ordering the others to hide as the patchy and somewhat static signal came through her earpiece. IT was a strange experience, she had never used technology during battle, as her father had been a staunch traditionalist. Even now, hiding from the enemy instead of taking them straight on, was an unusual experience for her.

She reached up and pressed one finger against the tiny delicate button.

She didn’t understand how such a small device could connect her with someone form so far away, but she trusted that it would work.

“I am here.”

The young Drev sounded relieved, her voice crackling over the line with a sigh, “Good, change of plans.”

“What did you have in mind?”

Hijan crouched low in the darkness listening her joints aching as she listened to the younger drev speak.

“We need to get that egg.” She finished 

And hijab nodded her head before remembering Chalan couldn’t see her, “It will be done.” She turned to the others, raising a hand and motioning them to follow after her as she cut back the way they had come, and then into a side passage that took them downwards. The others were not entirely sure what she was dong, but they didn’t question her as they moved through the dark, damp tunnels.

They ran into a burg patrol just outside the room they were looking for, but barely a sound was made as her Drev warriors reacted first, taking out the Burg with all prejudice.

She didn’t feel bad about it, of course.

This was all for their own good, if what Chalan had said was true.

Together they stepped through the nearest door and into the large room.

Her son cursed behind her, and she couldn’t help but make a face at the large slime covered pit where they were now standing.

Large sticky mounds of mucus and slime covered the ground, sheets of the stuff spreading from floor to ceiling in great gelatinous sheets. In certain cases, little white maggoty creatures wiggled around in the slime mewling and churning.

“That’s disgusting.” Someone whispered from the back

She had to agree, but the mission didn’t allow her to focus on anything else.

She turned her head eyes falling on the other side of the room where a large nest of pearly white eggs sat quivering within the slime.

She told the others to hang back as she cut across the room and towards the little alcove that she was told would be there.

They were right, and with an expression of disgust, Hijan reached her hand into the little pile of slime grimacing as it squelched and oozed up over hr wrists and onto her forearm carapace, but then her hands closed around it, and, in triumph she pulled her hands back and raise the ball to examine looking straight through its partially opaque surface, and towards the little wriggling creature on the inside.

The future queen of the burg.

Now all there was left to do was to meet Chalan and the others up at the throne room to finish this fight.

***

Chalan paused at the opening to the cave, glancing back down at the line of burg males as they trudged up through the darkness holding their hands up against the light filtering down from above.

“Maverick, take the Jetpack and go with them, make sure that our units know they are friendly, When you have done that, tell the others what is going on and bring a support team in if you can.”

Maverick didn’t look particularly pleased and benign the one who was going to have to take care of the burg, but she nodded and agreed without verbal complaint.

The Burg King Zaran held to the back of the group.

It had been impossible to convince him to go along with the others.

He was determined to see it through.

Sunny sighed, looking at him, she could already tell he was going to be of no real help. He was very  thin in comparison to the females of his species, with spidly bug-like legs, and a body she could have snapped in half over her knee like a twig.

The legs on which he stood were no bigger than the width of your average human’s thumb, and the way he walked made it clear he was lighter than one might expect for his size, but this was his kingdom, and hopefully his presence would add legitimacy to the reign of the new queen.

Chalan turned in a tight circle as Maverick engaged her jetpack leading a column of the colorful burg as they flew into the morning sky above.

Hijan was close to the objective, so it was important to go now before there was a gap in time where things could go wrong.

They didn’t wait to make sure that Maverick made it out safe. She could handle herself, and together they turned back to the darkness of the burg cave.

*** The universe spun in a slow spiral about the leviathan’s head. He wore the night sky as a crown, and what a magnificent crown the night sky was for the king of the most ancient being in the universe.

He rolled in great billowing sweeps leaving streaks of light behind him through the darkness. Around his through he could feel the comforting compression of the queen of stars as she curled around his body.

He could feel it in the night, in the silence.

He could feel it’s presence, and knew what he must do.

He turned in a tight and winding circle up and then over opening his mouth and grasping onto the end of his own tail.

There was a sharp pull and then a thunderous burst of light.

And he was gone. 

[teamhawkeye]

🍓 ok listen hear me out i know you said not your cyberpunk ocs, but WHAT IF (also all of your other ocs 🙌)

asdfghjkl; - you’re really gonna make me pull something outta thin air for them, huh? FINEEEEEEE

Anna: Before the Collapse, she was closest to Staci Pratt in all of Hope County. He was less instrumental in showing her the ropes - like Hudson was - and more into showing her how to have a good time while the county descended into a bigger mess. She came to enjoy her time on patrol or behind a desk with him, since he did his best to keep the atmosphere lively; he was also the only one to be able to convince her to head to the Spread Eagle for drinks after work instead of heading home to her rented place to be alone and even while some of his antics and flirting exasperated her, she really liked him and enjoyed his company. She’s greatly affected and angered by his transformation under Jacob and is fiercely protective of him, prepared to do anything to get him back.

Reese: Her father drew away from his children following his wife’s death and it only got worse for him when the Collapse happened. He eventually withered away, unable to be inspired to continue on despite his children’s best efforts. Even while he was still alive, Reese looked to her brothers for male role models, as they were the ones to care and teach her more than anyone: specifically, her elder brother Danny, who had always been fiercely protective of her and always pushed her to the heights he knew she could reach.

When she reaches Hope County, Reese is drawn in by Joseph Seed’s magnetism and finds herself accepting him as a father figure, despite warnings from the former Resistance members she’s allied with. He initially provides a steady reassurance that she felt denied by her biological father and she’s taken by the  

Kate: One of the very few possessions she has and prizes above all else is the photo or her and her father, James, taken on her 10th birthday. When Amata pleads for her to return to Vault 101 and help her with the coup she is staging, all Kate returns for in her former home is that picture and leaves everything else behind when she is banished once more. The other things she cherishes are the holotapes of James’ diaries working on Project Purity both before and after she was born and being able to hear his voice again...she replays his voice so often that the tapes start to run and she has to make her replays more sparing to preserve them.

Jem: Has a very strong connection with Joshua Graham upon first meeting. She’s in awe and a little wary of him, having heard the stories of the Malpais Legate and the Burned Man but comes to admire him. Joshua in turn sees the help she provides, but also the brutality and cruelty that lurks inside her from her former self - and that comes out to rears its ugly head from time to time - and sees a great deal of his younger self in her and hopes to steer her away from the path he walked. Eventually, she proves herself able to overcome the darkness that lurks inside when she takes mercy on Salt-Upon-Wounds and convinces Joshua to spare him. They part ways when he takes the Dead Horses back to Dead Horse Point and she returns to New Vegas to prepare for the upcoming battle at the Dam, but they both have a feeling of “in another life, maybe...-”. He gives her his pistol, A Light Shining In Darkness, and it becomes her sidepiece from that moment onward

Deckard: Deacon is her best friend: they have similar senses of humor and he can make her laugh like no one else can. Deacon always sees the goodness inside her and how she tries to help people and admires her maintaining nobility even in the strange, cruel new world she finds herself in. While he disapproves of her allegiances with both the BoS and the Railroad, seeing the danger there in trying to straddle both lines, he comes to understand her perspective when she can’t support the worst of the Brotherhood’s bigotry but also can’t support the Railroad turning a blind eye towards the suffering of those who aren’t synths. He joins her with the Minutemen to take down the Institute and elects to remain in Sanctuary from time to time to look after her, following her depression after she kills her son, Shaun.

Eventually, his feelings become more than just friendship but he’s willing to hide his love for the sake of her happiness with Danse after they become a couple. However, she approaches Deacon when she and Danse consider the possibility of having a child, and he becomes father to her daughter, Ripley. Deckard comes to acknowledge she loves Deacon as well and he rounds out the strange little family they now form together.

Cyberpunk 2077 OCs: since you convinced me to maybe have two characters instead of picking between two names, they’re gonna be Brody and Hudson Stark. Brody is female, Hudson is male: a younger sister and an older brother. As is tradition for most of my characters, their names are inspired by other fictional characters i admire or like. The last name “Stark” comes from my boy Tony Stark. “Brody” comes from Chief Martin Brody of “Jaws” and Hudson comes from Pvt. Hudson of “Aliens”. I haven’t had a female protag with red hair before so Brody is going to have red hair

...and that’s legit all i’ve got so far, lmao. they’ll take shape the closer we get to release and more info is put out, and then they’ll go through major overhaul once i actually play the game through once or twice

thank you for asking!!! <3 <3 <3

#Deputy Anna Bishop #Captain Reese Jaeger #Lone Wanderer Kate Antilles #Courier Jem #Sole Survivor Deckard Grant #outranks

[eddycurrents]

For the week of 19 November 2018

Quick Bits:

Aquaman #42 is a tie-in to the “Drowned Earth” event, following on his skewering at the hands of Poseidon in Justice League #11. Navigating his way through a dead realm is kind of a weird way for Dan Abnett to close out his run on the series, but it’s still a satisfying issue. Great art from Lan Medina, Vicente Cifuentes, and Gabe Eltaeb.

| Published by DC Comics

Batman #59 continues the “Tyrant Wing” arc with Batman acting a little unhinged on Penguin’s tip that Bane is running Arkham from the shadows, continuing his criminal empire to kill throughout Gotham. It’s interesting to see Batman alienate his allies again in his pursuit for vengeance.

| Published by DC Comics

Bettie Page #1 begins a new volume setting up an alien adventure in Britain, building upon the previous series but not requiring it as reading, from David Avallone, Julius Ohta, Ellie Wright, and Taylor Esposito. Bettie Page, paranormal investigator, is still a weird but entertaining remit and this opening issue does a good job of continuing in that vein as Bettie travels to England to investigate the Queen having been abducted by aliens. Ohta’s art also just keeps getting better and better.

| Published by Dynamite

Black Badge #4 employs a unique approach to flashbacks, with a solid spot colour in otherwise black and white image from Tyler and Hilary Jenkins. It’s a neat technique that really makes the scenes stand out.

| Published by BOOM! Studios

Bloodborne #7 continues to question the realities and relationship of religion and science, even as the city’s fate becomes bleaker and the disease threatens more and more citizens. While I think I preferred the existential terror of the first arc more, this is still highly enjoyable.

| Published by Titan

Cold Spots #4 delivers a little bit of explanation as to what Grace has been brought to the island to do. I say a little bit, since there’s still a lot left unanswered in this penultimate issue. Gorgeous artwork from Mark Torres. You can almost feel the coldness coming off the pages.

| Published by Image

Cover #3 is some amazing storytelling. Somehow Brian Michael Bendis, David Mack, Zu Orzu, and Carlos M. Mangual are layering more and more into the narrative with each subsequent issue in such a brilliant way that you barely notice how many disparate pieces are being presented. It’s like an intricate tapestry being woven before us. This issue even has a special sequence illustrated by Bill Sienkiewicz of a fantasy story I desperately want to read the rest of.

| Published by DC Comics / Jinxworld

Crimson Lotus #1 begins a new series from John Arcudi, Mindy Lee, Michelle Madsen, and Clem Robins giving an origin story to Yumiko Daimio, one of Lobster Johnson’s enemies and grandmother to the BPRD’s favourite jaguar. It’s good, and an appearance early on from Rasputin just further shows some of the intricacies of the Hellboy universe.

| Published by Dark Horse

Devil Within #2 keeps the creepy factor up as Samantha and Michelle try to get help for Michelle’s possible possession. Excellent moody atmosphere provided by the art from Maan House and Dee Cunniffe.

| Published by Black Mask

Doctor Strange #8 begins “The Price” but it’s really just a continuation of the “Two Doctors” arc, building off the corruption of Strange’s former student. Mark Waid gives us some very interesting developments here regarding who is targeting him, along with Kamma finding out something Stephen wishes she wouldn’t, and the revelation of the location of one of the other gems from Cyttorak that were revealed to exist in X-Men Black.

| Published by Marvel

Evolution #12 ends the second arc with some lies, half-truths, and compelling confessions. The theme of change and mutation that has been evident since the first issue really comes to the fore this issue as some huge changes occur for the cast.

| Published by Image / Skybound

Exorsisters #2 gives more background to how the sisters came about through a deal with infernal powers by their mother. The art from Gisèle Lagacé and Pete Pantazis really is a huge draw.

| Published by Image

High Heaven #3 spends some time with Heather as she deals, kind of, with the loss of both David and Ben. Very weird things continue to go on in heaven with the usual great art from Greg Scott and Andy Troy. The Hashtag: Danger back-up remains funny with the lengths that the team goes to in order to save one of their own, only to have her kill herself again. And the prose pieces nicely round out the entire package.

| Published by Ahoy

Hot Lunch Special #4 delivers the penultimate chapter to not just one of the best crime stories I’ve read in years, but also just one of the best stories I’ve read in years period. Eliot Rahal, Jorge Fornés, and Taylor Esposito have really got something special here, with intriguing characters, an ever twisting plot, and some incredible visual. The layouts for this issue, breaking down the pacing, are just wonderful.

| Published by AfterShock

Immortal Hulk #9 is another staggeringly good issue, with a change for the Absorbing Man as he’s tapped to go up against the Hulk. While I am a little sad he didn’t stay legitimate following his redemption arc in Black Bolt, his development here from Al Ewing is pretty intriguing. Also love the art as the regular team of Joe Bennett, Ruy José, and Paul Mounts trade off pages with guest artist Martin Simmonds. The former illustrating the Hulk and the latter Creel before alternating in the battle between the two.

| Published by Marvel

Infinity 8 #7 begins the third loop “The Gospel According to Emma” from Lewis Trondheim, Fabien Vehlmann, and Olivier Balez. This reboot of the timeline starts off incredibly wrong as the Marshal approached to assist this time turns on the crew and effectively strands them in this timeline. There’s some interesting bits of grave robbers stealing treasure and overtones of the Marshal’s religion.

| Published by Lion Forge / Magnetic Collection

Infinity Wars: Ghost Panther #1 begins the final of these two-issue “Infinity Warps” mash-ups. Like the rest, it is incredibly well done. Jed MacKay, Jefte Palo, Jim Campbell, and Joe Sabino craft a tale merging Ghost Rider and Black Panther, seamlessly blending the two into something magical. The art from Palo and Campbell may well be the best of any of these minis and the art on all of them has been very impressive. Love the design for Zarathos.

| Published by Marvel

Judge Dredd: Toxic #2 has the violence and toxicity spillover as the explosion at one of the waste facilities causes increased fear and tension amongst the scrubbers hired to keep Mega-City One functioning. Paul Jenkins is crafting a tale full of the problems that come with xenophobia and the art from Marco Castiello, Vincenzo Acunzo, and Jason Millet just makes it visceral.

| Published by IDW

Justice League #12 has some really nice art from Frazer Irving for this penultimate chapter of the “Drowned Earth” event. Also, a very interesting revelation from Poseidon when it comes to the invading sea gods.

| Published by DC Comics

Justice League Dark #5 kicks off a new arc dealing with the ramifications of the first one, “The Witching Hour” crossover, and previous unrevealed tales of what happened with Detective Chimp after inheriting the Oblivion Bar. James Tynion IV gives some nice nods to the original Shadowpact series aided by beautiful art from Daniel Sampere, Juan Albarran, and Adriano Lucas.

| Published by DC Comics

The Last Space Race #2 introduces us to another member of the team, giving us a bit of his backstory, and largely making us want to drop him into a deep dark hole and forget that he’s there. Peter Calloway does a wonderful job of making Roger Freeman thoroughly unlikable, it’s kind of astonishing.

| Published by AfterShock

Lightstep #1 is a very different kind of sci-fi tale, mixing almost the feel of the decadence of Rome under Nero or Caligula and the high concept science fiction of a society that measures the class of its citizens by genetic similarity to their progenitor, and thereby assigns how “fast” they live. As I say, different from Miloš Slavković, Mirko Topalski, and Andrej Bunjac. Slavković’s art reminds me a bit Pasqual Ferry mixed with John Watkiss. The story itself somewhat reminds me of Watkiss’ work on John Jakes’ Mulkon Empire. On top of that, it’s part of a broader video game/media franchise from Eipix Entertainment, of which this looks like only the first volley (a novel and video game are forthcoming).

| Published by Dark Horse

The Lollipop Kids #2 continues to be a fantastic and fabulous comic from Adam & Aidan Glass, Diego Yapur, DC Alonso, and Sal Cipriano. The art alone from Yapur and Alonso would be worth the price of admission, but the characters, setting, and overall plot just elevate this beyond a typical kids fantasy type deal.

| Published by AfterShock

Low Road West #3 gets significantly stranger and much more surreal as reality seems to be growing thinner. We’re still not any closer to really understanding what’s truly going on, but it doesn’t really matter. Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Flaviano, Miquel Muerto, and Jim Campbell are telling one hell of a compelling story.

| Published by BOOM! Studios

Mae #10 has Mae deal with some stuff in our world before stocking up and returning back to Cimrterén to resume her search for her father. Gorgeous artwork as always from Gene Ha and Wes Hartman.

| Published by Lion Forge / Roar

Marvel Knights #2 sees Matthew Rosenberg and Nico Henrichon join Donny Cates for this chapter, giving a bit of back story on how Banner roped in Castle into searching out the various heroes and leads to a confrontation with Elektra. Still no closer to understanding what happened here, but it does get weirder with a hallucinatory Karen Page. Henrichon’s art is just perfect for telling this story.

| Published by Marvel

Middlewest #1 is a magical debut of this new series from Skottie Young, Jorge Corona, Jean-Francois Beaulieu, and Nate Piekos. It’s a fantasy grounded in the reality of growing up hard in Middle America, with Abel dealing with an abusive father, while just trying to be a kid. But there’s a talking fox and devastating sentient storms. Rather inventive stuff all around. I’m also getting the impression that Jorge Corona should really be a household name. Between No. 1 with a Bullet, Old Man Jack, and now this, he’s been killing it recently.

| Published by Image

Night Moves #1 is a pretty great debut from VJ Boyd, Jordan Boyd, Clay McCormack, Mike Spicer, and Shawn DePasquale. It’s a gritty crime drama with occult overtones, but most of the weirdness is just simmering under the surface so far as the protagonists work to find out what kind of mess they’re in. McCormack and Spicer’s art really capture the feel of the seediness of the story well.

| Published by IDW

Optimus Prime #25 brings it all to a close, with a flashback through Optimus’ life and little vignettes of the various Transformers from John Barber, Kei Zama, Josh Burcham, and Tom B. Long. I’m really going to miss this world. 

| Published by IDW

Pearl #4 is probably the most stereotypical Bendis issue to date, but the dialogue doesn’t tip over into the ridiculous territory. Most of this issue is a conversation between Pearl and tattoo boy, but at least it’s interesting conversation and not random pop culture references repeated as questions.

| Published by DC Comics / Jinxworld

Pestilence: A Story of Satan #5 gives a bittersweet end to this story, filled with loss and sacrifice. It’s kind of fitting considering how bleak both this and the first series have been. Wonderful art from Oleg Okunev, Guy Major, Michael Garland, and Marko Lesko.

| Published by AfterShock

The Punisher #4 may well be one of the bloodiest, most violent mainline 616 Marvel Universe Punisher issues yet as Jigsaw and an assortment of Hydra goons attempt to kidnap Frank from prison. Matthew Rosenberg and Szymon Kudranski are continuing to keep this book moving at a breakneck pace, like an action movie that barely takes any moments to breathe.

| Published by Marvel

Quantum & Woody! #12 brings this volume to a close, with an interesting character study of the brothers at the hands of GATE and X-O Manowar.

| Published by Valiant

Rumble #9 brings “Things Remote” to an end with an epic battle between the Esu and Rathraq’s friends, leading to an interesting realization for Rathraq and what he wants out of life. Stunningly beautiful art from David Rubín and Dave Stewart.

| Published by Image

Shadowman #9 continues the “Rag and Bone” arc as Alyssa and Jack confront Sandria Darque. Gorgeous artwork from Renato Guedes, Eric Battle, and Ulises Arreola. 

| Published by Valiant

Shuri #2 continues the search for Black Panther, while back on Earth the women of Wakanda form a council to figure out how to maintain and administer the nation while he’s missing. Definitely some interesting concepts and character points from Nnedi Okorafor. Phenomenal artwork and layouts from Leonardo Romero and Jordie Bellaire.

| Published by Marvel

Spider-Force #2 is probably one of the bleakest, mean-spirited stories I’ve read in a while. This isn’t a bad thing, but the story’s a bit of a downer as the nature of an irradiated world without hope seems to permeate everything, including characters like Jessica Drew who are normally at least a bit more level-headed. Priest is writing a very dark story, with some complicated characters like Peter’s granddaughter who grew up in the Old Man Logan universe and a Peter Parker who looks like he was abused by Uncle Ben.

| Published by Marvel

Spider-Geddon #4 kind of spoils the need to read Spider-Force #3 out in three weeks, which just kind of adds to the downer feel of that series. This issue turns darker itself with a bevy of betrayals. Christos Gage has kind of stacked the deck against the spiders, I wonder how they’re going to get out of it in the finale.

| Published by Marvel

Stellar #6 concludes the series and it is incredibly messed up. The conflict between Zenith and Stellar is bizarre and perverse, but I don’t really want to go into it more because spoilers would ruin its impact. Joe Keatinge, Bret Blevins, and Rus Wooton have done an amazing job with this series. Highly recommended.

| Published by Image / Skybound

Sukeban Turbo #1 is another series originally published by Glénat Editions in France, translated into English for North American markets. It’s a mix of teenage rebellion, crime, and following a boy band from Sylvain Runberg, Victor Santos, and Shawn Lee. The art from Santos is worth it on its own, very impressive layouts and storytelling.

| Published by IDW

Summit #10 kicks off the third arc for the series and like most of the Catalyst Prime series recently it undergoes a bit of a change in status quo. Val finds out that she hasn’t been hallucinating, but hearing the voice of another of her team that was essentially vaporized during the event, before having her life turned upside down as the government starts hunting her. Amy Chu continues writing the series, while she’s joined by Marika Cresta fully for the art here.

| Published by Lion Forge / Catalyst Prime

Tony Stark: Iron Man #6 begins “Stark Realities” and the launch of Tony’s eScape virtual reality game. Dan Slott, with a script assist from Jeremy Whitley, does a great job of making it feel chaotic at launch, with some ordinary and extraordinary problems occurring. The pissed off griefer is hilarious.

| Published by Marvel

Web of Venom: Carnage Born #1 is an interesting reinterpretation of Carnage’s origin to fit within the new mythology being crafted in the current Venom series, also building off the recent two-part arc there with the Maker, from Donny Cates, Danilo S. Beyruth, Cris Peter, and Clayton Cowles. This is more very entertaining outgrowth of the Marvel Universe from Cates and gives us a quite possibly deadlier Carnage.

| Published by Marvel

West Coast Avengers #4 concludes the first arc in fairly straightforward fashion as the team deals with BRODOK and the women transformed into giant monsters. Some nice little character moments from Kelly Thompson and great art from Stefano Caselli and Tríona Farrell.

| Published by Marvel

The Whispering Dark #2 continues its existential and moral crisis as the squad commits war crimes as they struggle to survive. There’s something off about how everything is happening, in how Christofer Emgård is writing the narration, but I’m not sure if it’s just the in-story reason of the go-pills. It feels like the squad is already in Hell and being judged.  

| Published by Dark Horse

Other Highlights: American Carnage #1, Archie #700, Black AF: Widows & Orphans #4, Black Hammer: Age of Doom #7, Burnouts #3, Days of Hate #10, Dejah Thoris #10, Dick Tracy: Dead or Alive #2, East of West #40, Encounter #8, GI Joe: A Real American Hero - Silent Option #2, Go-Bots #1, Jughead: The Hunger #10, The Long Con #5, Love & Rockets #6, Lucifer #2, Lumberjanes #56, Mars Attacks #2, The New World #5, Olivia Twist #3, Project Superpowers #4, Rick & Morty Presents Pickle Rick #1, Smooth Criminals #1, Star Wars #57, Star Wars: Solo #2, TMNT: Urban Legends #7, Underwinter: Queen of Spirits, Xena: Warrior Princess #10

Recommended Collections: 24 Panels, Accell - Volume 3: Turf Battles, Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows - Volume 4: Are You Okay, Annie?, Crude - Volume 1, Dark Souls Omnibus, Delta 13, Dungeons & Dragons: Evil at Baldur’s Gate, Flavor, Immortal Hulk - Volume 1: Or is he Both?, Justice League - Volume 1: The Totality, Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man - Volume 4: Coming Home, Resident Alien - Volume 5: An Alien in New York, Spidey: School’s Out, Stray Bullets: Sunshine & Roses - Volume 3, Unnatural - Volume 1: Awakening, Venom - Volume 1: Rex, The X-Files: Case Files - Volume 1

d. emerson eddy wonders if there’s going to be any light in our real darkest hour.

#This Week in Comics

[cat-bird-griffin]

Haathlion Part 1: Ascension of The Ghosts (snippet)

Prelude:

It has long been forgotten if it was from curiosity, or necessity, we spread into the reaches of space. Some speculate it was because of overpopulation, others think we could not restrain ourselves from possibilities. We explored hundreds of stars seeking for a new harth, a different home. Over span of many years we found them. Soon interstellar ships were sent; however, space is vast and things can be easily forgotten.

After nearly half a century of travel, a group of brave colonists arrived at the Red Dwarf Star Tarkaroo and finally three new worlds capable of supporting life was finally in reach. But it was not to be. Whether if was a micrometeorite, a rain of deadly particles, a failing part was overlooked, or space consumed somebody’s mind, it all went wrong. Their vessel failed and began an uncontrollable descent. Some survived most did not.

After the survivors gathered on an alien world the knowing of whom they were and where they came from was quickly lost to the vastness of space.

Chapter 1: Evening

“Hey, Hey Isa, wake up”. Isa’s vision begins to focus and she suddenly sees the dark round face of her baby brother staring down at her. “Makia, whaa, what time is it, why aren’t you in bed?”

“Come see come see!”

“Shh, you’re going to wake the house!” His excitement fades for a bit. “It’s okay, now what did you want to show me”.

With the excitement that only a young child could possess, Makia then leads Isa out of her bedroom, down the hallway, down a set of stairs, and finally onto the ground floor of their home. “Makia slow down, I can’t see!”.

“But, I see, just follow me”.

“I can hardly even see you, let me light a candle”

He replies “but I, okay”. After fumbling around to find a candle and match Isa ignites a candle and illuminates their kitchen. The Criella’s home is larger than most, as their family has had more success than most. The candle lightens near a group of three cooking stoves. The Stove’s cooking fire drawers still emitting the smell of their evening meal. Above the stoves there a set of primitive cast iron pots and pans forged by Adelard, the local blacksmith.

“Okay I can see now, what do you want to show me”.

Makia turns and points to the living room doorway and then skidaddles into the room. Begrudgingly Isa soon follows.

Practically jumping on one of the family’s chairs Makia exclaimes “look, look, look!” pointing through one of their french windows.

Isa responds with “give me a moment, I think there is still some coals smoldering in the fireplace.” Isa then retrieves a brand and start rolling the coals around “ha haa! I got it!”. A dim light and slight heat begins to creep into the room.

“Isa come quick it start!” Peering out the now open window Isa sees, illuminated from the light of Anima, down a slope leading to the perimeter, as well as, a small amount of water breaking through a cluster of mud. The water runs down the slope and over a small metallic object.

Suddenly, from of the object and a voice emmits “I can just about make out Tarkaroo from the observation deck. Ahh can’t wait to finally of this hunk of metal and on real bonafide soil”.

Then a spray of sparks fly out of the object and the voice goes silent. “What is that? It keep waking me up.”

Isa replies with “you found a ghost. It is a grave of one of the old ones.”

Makia smiles “what is a old one?”

“I think the verse was, when the three planets were still young, the old ones descended from Takaroo bringing with them the cradle of us.”

Makia lowers gaze and askes “could you stay here with me?”

Isa smiles and says “just this once, I think yes.”

----------------

Isa awakens to the sound of running footsteps and sunlight streaming through her home’s windows. As the footsteps pass her house a courier cries “important N1 announcement at noon. Location at town center!”

Chapter 2: Announcement

N1 announcement, all those who can immediately become available are required to come. You aren't even technically out of the Schola yet; but, you are not technically a student so you are not there, Hektor thinks grudgingly as he walks a half revolution across town to reach the town center. To make it worse there is a storm brewing.

He then turns and looks at the sky and sees the dark clouds of a developing thunderstorm. Peeking out from the clouds he can just barely make out the fiery dark skyed world of Impes. Facing back to the direction of the town center, Hektor looks back up to the sky and takes comfort in the sight of the closest of the worlds, the blue with specks of green, Anima. A ways behind Anima, the cold white world Bruma impedes itself in front of the stars.

Gasping for breath, Hektor finally reaches the edge of the gathering crowd at the town center. As to be expected, the majority of attendees were elderly with a few exceptions. Just after Hektor, Isa enters the town center. Recognizing Hektor, Isa approaches him and asks “

Hektor, do you know what this is about?”

Hektor exclaimes “ahhhhh!” and spins around; the cry causes several heads to turn. “Oh, it's you, um no, I don’t know.” Hektor continues with “hey you have a sunburn, I didn't realized you could get a sunburn.”

Isa replies with “cut it out. Whatever this is, it is serious.”

“Wait Isa, aren’t you supposed to be at the Schola?”

“Well, yes, but I did not manage to get to the Schola today.” Turi, one of the older owners of the flower shops, glares at the group and points to the center podium. Isa and Hektor turn their heads right as Rudjek, the town captain, begins to speak.

“I thank you for all coming at such a short notice. It has come to our attention that fruges crop from the southeast district has absorbed Blood of The Ghosts into its root system” Groans emit from the crowd. “In response of this, for the safety of us and the fellow settlements, any remnant of Fruges in the southeast district from the current harvest must be destroyed.”

Gila, one of the southeast districts farmers, states “how do you know if its Blood of The Ghosts?”

Rudjek answers with “a group of traders found our Fruges in a shriveled form with a dark reddish liquid dripping out of them. They brought a sample to our fair doctor Amelot who identified the danger. Now, is there any other questions?” No one responds.

“Ryota is not going to like this news” says Hektor, as Isa and him walk towards Adelard’s smithery.

Isa responds “that is why we are going to tell him before anyone else does.” They turn a corner and see Ryota walking toward them with a wrapped left hand.

After seeing them Ryota runs to them an says “Hi! Before you judge me, while attempting to shape a tungsten ingot I hit my left hand with a hammer. Wait, shouldn’t both of you be at the Schola?”

“I’m not “technically” a student anymore. I was unable to make it to the Schola.”

Ryota replies “right, okay. Why does the two of you look so solemn?”

Isa answers with “I am sorry Ryota, all of the Fruges from the southeast district is set to  be terminated.”

Ryota cheerful expression pluments and he says “how in Impes are we then supposed to pay for ourselves!” “Hey, me and Isa have to find career paths soon anyways.” “We can go look around for places that can offer pay” suggests Hektor. Isa chimes in “ya we can look around.” “At evening we return here?” Both Hektor a Ryota agree.   

Chapter 3: The Loderr Farm

After running through the town that has always been called Sitecrash, Ryota arrives at the edge his family’s Fruges Farm. Already the effect of The Blood of The Ghosts was clearly visible. Spreading from the perimeter a bloody stain flowed into the farm. The Fruges plants at the farm edge had a putrid red color halfway up their stems and the rest of the plant was shriveled. At this very moment rain started to pour across Sitecrash.

Returning to the street, the day is near to closing. “Bruma’s breath it is cold” says Isa as she and Hektor meet.

“Your telling me; I don’t even have a woolen cloak.”

“Fine, do want mine?”

“Um, no,no no.”

Ryota turns a corner and vocalizes “i’ve arrived.”

Isa quickly replies “about time!”

“yeah, yeah…” Hektor enters the exchange “ so, we have gathered a list, here it is; some of the ink was washed away by the rain.” Ryota continues “thank you both so much, I wouldn’t know..”  Hektor breaks in “hey we’ve been in this together for a long time.” Ryota glances to the ground “I need to head back to my family’s farm; I’m late already.”

After walking the radius of Sitecrash Ryota eventually reaches his family’s home. After entering, he immediately sees his grandparents sitting stone-quiet at their dinner table. Soon after noticing him, Ryota’s grandmother, Rei Loderr, states “Ryota, your soaked to the bone, before doing anything else take off your cloak and boots and place them by the fire.”

As Ryota work on completing this “so, today Isa, Hektor, and I collected a list of openings for pay.”

Mamoru Loderr, Ryota’s grandfather, returns “you can through that into the fire, we are not going to use it.”

“What, what do you mean?”

“The Loderrs have been farmers for as long as anyone can remember. We are not going to change for the whims of Rudjek!”

Virtually shouting Ryota “The crops are poisoned! The Blood of The Ghosts has poured into them! Have you even looked!”

His grandfather shots back “you don’t know what you’re talking about!”

What either of them did not know was that through natural erosion a small buried fuel cell from all those years ago had begun to leak. The leaking fuel, which is now called The Blood of The Ghosts, had burrowed through the earth of Haathlion until reaching the Southeast district of Sitecrash. Just as Ryota turned back to the fire, enough fuel had surfaced, in the same manner as two magnets of opposite charges, to attract lightning. Several things happened in rapid succession. First, Ryota saw the distant flash of lightning. Then, a massive seemingly all encompassing flash of light. Finally, the silhouettes of what looked like skeletons, two sitting one standing appeared. Somebody shouts “Get out, everyone GET out!”

“In the essence of Tarkaroo what was that!”

“The wrath of Impes descended against us.”

“Why! What had we done!” Rei and Mamoru Loderr discussed. Ryota scoffs then begins running to the crop fields.

His grandmother shouts “Stop!” “Ryota loderr stop!” Ryota did not stop and then froze at the site of the aftermath. The field was all but gone, a massive blackened trench spanned across the field through the perimeter wall and off outside of Sitecrash. A orange tinted powder coated everything around the trench, as well as, covered the back of the Loderr home. At this time Ryota noticed a small tingling irritation covering his skin.

#science fiction #writing #story

[messicamorena]

Hermione's Romanian vacation

Hermione loved Bucharest, she decided. She loved the architecture and the black swans in the beautiful public parks. She loved the markets and the people and the air. Though Charlie dwelled in the more isolated regions—lest the dragons become truly unwelcome guests—she imagined that if his town was as lovely as the capital that she would also have stayed in the hidden treasure.

She took another sip of her coffee as she took to people watching. Her favorite neighbor was also at the café picking up food to go. He never stayed long and always wore a cap and a heavy layer of jacket. His handsome face always held a moue of discontent but she never felt it to be mean. She wondered what he was doing in Romania in an unassuming neighborhood. He spoke Romanian well and seemed to blend seamlessly into the environment but occasionally he slipped—the hint of an accent, an outright curse in English, and just the manner of his demeanor all indicated that he was foreign like her.

He glanced at her direction and she let their eyes meet. She smiled warmly at him and saluted her coffee as a hello. His gaze was stony but he nodded at her briefly. He always caught her when she stared. She was embarrassed initially, introducing herself in a mix of Romanian and English. He merely nodded and offered no name. As she continued to watch him over the weeks of her trip she noticed other distinct details—alert, shifting eyes and a disconnection from the environment. This man was a man on the run.

Some years ago she had finished rounding up all the former Death Eaters and Voldemort followers. Ron and Harry had joined the Auror corps with a sense of vigor but Hermione had done so out of duty. She wanted to wait until they were all captured before she brought her parents back. More importantly, she wanted to make sure Ron and Harry developed the critical thinking and sharp minds that would be necessary for their choice of career. She had let them depend on her during the Horcrux search, but she needed to know they would be prepared for when she inevitably left. Seven years since the end of the war and she had finally retired—Ron and Harry were competent enough that she could trust them to at least ensure the other would be fine.

Meanwhile Hermione took the time to travel. She had already been to France to visit Bill and Fleur and had just moved east to Romania to visit Charlie. Eventually, she planned to end in Australia to retrieve her parents. The trip was meant as a way to rekindle her investment in searching for a new career but all it did was serve to rekindle her Auror curiosity—especially for her wayward soldier.

Oh she could tell. His walk, his mannerisms, his taut posture—he was a man prepared to attack and prepared to be attacked. She didn’t stalk him knowingly—he really was her neighbor after all—but she met his acquaintance every day. Serendipity, she believed. She doubted he believed it. Despite his stony gaze and soft nod of acknowledgement she felt the measuring in his eyes, wondering if she was friend or foe. She was glad she hadn’t spooked him.

Hermione returned to her home and popped on the tele. She scoffed at the Sokovia accords signing taking place. She agreed in some part—accountability was important—but she despised the tracking, the biometric data, the rating. What would they do with that data, she wondered. Scarlet Witch—who was not actually a witch, as Hermione knew—had her DNA altered. Captain America had had his own biometrics experimented on. How many other in the world were there that they considered enhanced? What would they do to the witches and wizards they caught? As a member of the Order of the Phoenix it would be hypocritical to truly support the accords—she knew how failing the government could be. The television captured screams and Hermione looked up before the live broadcasting cut out. A bombing, Hermione realized. She sighed before turning the device off. No matter how things change they always seem to stay the same. What luck she had to live through one war only to experience the aliens and enhanced humans that seemed to occur immediately after. Voldemort seemed a lot less frightening when she compared him to the tales of New York.

Hermione spent the rest of the day wandering the city as she was wont to do. The news immediately covered the attack and placed the blame on the Winter Soldier. Hermione wondered who named him. It was a catchy name, she admitted, but if he was such a covert assassin—why would he have a name? Did someone survive and decide the moniker? Had the higher ups decided they want to inspire fear and prompted the title themselves? Did the Winter Soldier go around announcing his name like some of the terrible parodies of super heroes she had seen? Comparatively, it was probably a better name than the boy-who-lived or you-know-who or the brightest-witch-of-her-age. Hermione felt she could do without the hyphens.

The next morning was the market day and Hermione always loved to go early. She grabbed her reusable bags, dressed casually and set out for the day. She wasn’t surprised when the newspapers echoed the tragedy of the accords but she stopped to pick up the paper when she caught a familiar face. The Winter Soldier looked remarkably like her neighbor. She began translating the paper as best she could. The Winter Soldier was spotted in Vienna at a time when Hermione was sure she had seen her neighbor. The still of the video image captured the time of the Winter Soldier’s supposed presence in Vienna at the time Hermione had seen him at the café. Hermione rubbed her fingers against her temple feeling a rushing of emotions within her. Curiosity, indignation, righteousness. Oh her Gryffindor fury was rising like a tide and she wondered for the gazillinth time if Harry was the trouble magnet or was she.

She glanced up and noticed her neighbor, the Winter Soldier (supposedly), talking with Sebastian the plum man. Hermione sighed pitifully as her neighbor, the Winter Soldier (supposedly), bargained for plums. This was not who assassinated a King. Hermione tilted her head. Well, maybe he was someone who assassinated kings and politicians but he was certainly not one who was attempting to do it these days. She recognized his hollow stare as someone seeking some sort of peace or redemption or conclusion. He turned and spotted one of the newspapers baring his identity. At the tightness of his face and the increased pallor of his skin she knew that it was wrong and Hermione Granger did not like when things were wrong. With a grimace at the feeling of conviction in her stomach she took off to follow the man.

She walked with the newspaper up, holding her wand between the fold. Suddenly her ears were alert, her heart beat deceptively calm, her senses magnified. The spell she had cast had benefited her over the years in many ways. She had created it as another means to protect Ron and Harry when she finally left the dangerous career. She laughed at herself mentally—she would’ve been safer with them than what she was doing now. She cast again to take attention off her. She cast a third time to feel herself disillusion as she stepped between the shadows of the scenery.

Her neighbor ran up the stairs two at a time. Hermione stealthily followed noticing the police emerging from the shadows when their subject returned home. Hermione cursed to herself, sticking close enough that she wondered if her neighbor could feel her puffs of air each time she exhaled. He opened the door and closed it so quickly that Hermione could not enter. She heard the police force climbing the stairs and quickly spelled the locked door open, closing it quickly and silently behind her. Her neighbor was conversing with a man in the room—Captain America she recognized faintly.

“I wasn’t in Vienna. I don’t do that anymore.” Her neighbor said. Another voice from the Captain’s headpiece rang out.

“They’re entering the building.”

“Well the people who think you did are coming here now and they’re not planning on taking you alive.” The Captain responded. Her neighbor placed his plums down and slowly began to remove his glove. At the metal sheen, Hermione knew he was indeed the Winter Soldier.

“That’s smart. Good strategy.” The Winter Soldier said. Something about his expression made her heart clench.

“They’re on the roof. I’m compromised.” The headpiece said. The Winter Soldier must have understood as he began preparing for confrontation.

“This doesn’t have to end in a fight, Buck.” Captain America said with contained desperation.

“It always ends in a fight.” The Winter Soldier said and Hermione’s heart broke at his despondent tone and resignation.

“Five seconds.” The headpiece called and Hermione felt her heartrate increase. She was going to have to work on the fly.

“You pulled me from the river. Why?” Captain America asked and Hermione decided there was something much deeper going on that she had missed.

“I don’t know.” The Winter Soldier responded, but Hermione noticed the agony in his eyes.

“Three seconds.” The voice warned and her heartbeat increased.

“Yes you do.” Captain America ascertained and Hermione knew exactly what she was going to do.

“Breach! Breach! Breach!” The piercing sound of glass beckoned the first flashbang that was quickly swatted away. Her neighbor kicked another one to Captain America who went to use his shield to contain it. Hermione however had already yanked the Winter Soldier by his outstretched foot enough that she could grab Captain America. She apparated quickly in the uncomfortable position, barely avoiding the flashbang as she appeared within her own apartment.

She groaned as she landed on her stomach. Instantly, the Winter Soldier and Captain America were alert and prepared to face off. Hermione took her wand and hit both of them with a body-bind; they fell to the floor on their backs. Hermione waved her wand to take off her disillusionment and floated the two so they were vertical and could stare into her eyes.

“Good Morning.” She greeted cheerfully, wincing when she could somehow still make out the animosity in their eyes. “Yes, well introductions are in order. My neighbor and I have already met—though I don’t know his name—but my name is Hermione.” She introduced herself awkwardly. “You looked to be in some sort of pickle…so I brought you to my apartment where, frankly, no one will be able to find you.” She gestured around to the magical expanded complex apartment—courtesy of her brief studying into magical construction in France. “I mean you no harm and would appreciate it greatly if you neither ran nor attempted to fight on these premises.” She favored them with a look she always found effective on Ron and Harry. She waved her wand to start a pot of tea and turned to look at her window. The crowd was littered with police and their forces, she laughed lightly. “Oh dear, they seem a trifle bit confused that you two have suddenly disappeared.” She said over her shoulder towards the frozen men. When the kettle whistled she brought everything to her small kitchen table. She set the table and floated the men over.

“Now, let’s all sit and have a discussion over a nice cuppa, hmm?” She said as she sat. She released the men who immediately dropped into fighting stance. She pushed the tea cups towards them. “Tea, gentleman.” The two glanced at each other in shock before sitting awkwardly with her at the table. “Buck—was that your name?—I spotted you buying plums, you’re welcome to mine.” Hermione said as she pushed her fruit basket forward. Briefly she wondered if she had a thing for rescuing men with deer-related back stories.

“Ma’am, what happened?” Captain America asked first and Hermione picked up her tea to sip it. Neither of her guests were touching theirs.

“I apparated—er—teleported you two here because it seemed you were having a bit of a crisis.” Hermione answered with a smile. The two men shared a look.

“And you know Bucky?” Captain America asked. Hermione frowned briefly.

“Bucky not Buck? Hmm…not much better of a name, I suppose, but who am I to judge?” Hermione muttered to herself. “I’ve been living across the street for a few weeks and Bucky and I have been running into each other. He’s been rather put off at my attempts to be friendly but I suppose it makes sense.” She admitted with a frown.

“You know that he’s a wanted man?” Captain America asked and Bucky tensed beside him. Hermione frowned.

“I read about the Accords. Unless Bucky is a wizard, I find it highly unlikely that he is the culprit—I’ve seen him far too regularly for him to have accomplished something like this.” Hermione admitted. “Are you a wizard, Bucky?” She asked her neighbor who had remained silent through since he arrived.

“You were stalking me?” He asked roughly, eyes downcast.

“Purely coincidental, I assure you.” Hermione placated with raised hands. “I didn’t even know you were the Winter Soldier until the wanted ads.” Bucky tensed at the name and Hermione leveled him with a measured glance. “So are you a wizard, Bucky? Or do you just have a great deal of unfortunate luck?” She asked. Bucky still did not answer and instead crossed his arms over his chest definitely.

“Bucky has been framed.” Captain America said with authority. Hermione turned her gaze to him.

“What is Captain America doing trying to save the Winter Soldier, anyway?” Hermione asked.

“The real question is why did you take us here and what is your plan?” Captain America accused. Hermione shrugged.

“I’ll be honest, I probably had as much planning for this interaction as you did—and judging from what I saw at his apartment it was not much planning at all.” She reprimanded. “My plan was to go and grab Bucky here and take him somewhere safe. But then you two were having a heart-to-heart and the flashbangs came and I took us all here.” She explained.

“Why?” Bucky asked his tone still rough like he was constantly prepared to be defensive.

“You’re innocent, unless you are a wizard—which I doubt. I like to people watch and you were a fascinating person who I saw every day.” Hermione sipped her tea again as Bucky and Captain America contemplated her words.

“Why do you keep asking if he’s a wizard?” Captain America asked. Hermione contemplated. She figured in for a knut in for a galleon.

“I’m a witch.” Hermione announced. “Which must be kept to us, of course, but it’s the reason I could teleport you here from Bucky’s room. If he was a wizard he could do the same, but I highly doubt that he is.”

“He’s not a wizard.” Captain America answered. Hermione glanced at him in surprise.

“How would you know that, Captain America?” She asked genuinely intrigued by his confidence.

“We’re friends—I’d have known.” Captain America responded. Bucky bristled again and Hermione yelped when tea splashed from her cup to platter below.

“Friends?” Hermione asked as she glanced at Bucky. He seemed to be glaring death to her wall. “I suppose it’s a good thing I grabbed you then, Captain America.” Captain America sighed.

“Just call me Steve, please.” He said as he removed his cowl. Hermione felt herself flush. Captain America was an extremely fit gentleman.

“So…” Hermione began awkwardly. “What now?” Steve sighed and placed his hands in his head. She turned to Bucky.

“Bucky? Mind joining the conversation? We’re all seemingly vested in a positive outcome but you?” Hermione commented. Bucky stood up abruptly causing Steve to do the same.

“Bucky!” He exclaimed but Bucky was staring at Hermione.

“Why? Why are you doing this! You don’t know anything about me!” Bucky said angrily. Hermione sipped her tea languidly; she was used to boys with tempers.

“I don’t need to know you to know that something is wrong.” She commented idly. “When something is wrong, I want it to be right.” Bucky still seemed frustrated.

“I’ve killed people—innocent people!” He admitted fiercely. “I was an assassin! I could kill you in 50 different ways!”

“Bucky…” Steve said softly.

“I could kill you in more ways, I assure you.” Hermione announced. “But that’s neither here nor there.” Hermione said with a wave of her hand. “I recognize someone who did something they didn’t want to do. I can’t believe you didn’t have extenuating circumstances.”

“Bucky, you weren’t in control of your actions.” Steve rationalized. Bucky seemed to deflate.

“But I still did it.” Bucky said sadly. Hermione’s heart broke. Bucky seemed to be a tragedy and damn if Hermione didn’t gravitate towards the type.

“Would you trust me more if I knew what you did?” Hermione asked. Bucky looked at her strangely. “If I saw what you had done and still determined you were worthy of help?” Bucky closed in on himself, his posture shrinking as he sat back in his chair.

“Just let me run��you and Steve are just going to get in trouble.” Bucky sighed as he closed his eyes.

“I’m always in trouble.” Hermione announced glancing at Steve. “I imagine he is too.” Hermione said and Steve nodded. Hermione sighed. “Fine, no one wants to drink my tea or eat my plums, let’s move to the study.” Hermione stood and ushered her two guests to follow.

“I can’t reach my friend, Sam.” Steve announced as he tapped his earpiece. Hermione winced.

“Technology and magic don’t get along well—especially not apparition. Do you want me to grab him or something?” Hermione asked uneasy.

“He’s flying.” Steve responded. Hermione sighed.

“Can you email or call him or something? Or will that be traced? Does anyway know you’re aiding and abetting a wanted criminal?” Hermione asked. Steve shrugged.

“I don’t think anyone saw us aide him—they might assume that I was trying to apprehend.” Steve said. Hermione turned to continue down her hall.

“I suppose we’ll have to sort that later.” Hermione announced. She opened the door to the study.

“Don’t I get any say in this?” Bucky asked petulantly. Hermione laughed.

“No.” She said was another laugh. “Steve and I are too committed to watch you fail, I suppose.”

#Crossover #bucky barnes #steve rogers #hermione granger #harry potter #avengers #Hermione/steve/bucky #fanfiction

[thatworthlesswriter]

Beginnings

    Emerissa Kearney isn’t someone you’d look twice at, at least not before her change. She’s a pale and black speck hugging the walls in a sea of tan and pastels. While her peers grew out their hair long and styled it nearly identical, she kept her’s short, and let her natural brown-red curls lay as they wanted. Her eyes are a stunning bright blue, and in her opinion is the only good physical thing about herself. She’s short, around 5’ 3” and can barely reach the high shelves in her home, but it makes her agile and light on her feet. While she’s no where close to skinny, you can definitely tell that half of the meals she eats is pizza. 

    Her closet is made up of of flannel shirts, blue jeans, and hoodies, without a single dress to be seen anywhere. She never wears any makeup, because why would she need to? Who is she trying to impress? Certainly not her peers. While she’s ashamed of it, she has nervous habits: picking at the skin on her fingers. It’s not uncommon for her to be bleeding from the pads of her fingers while at work. The circles under her eyes are dark, and ladled with bags that seem to be on the constant verge of pulling her eyelids down. She could go from sluggish and slow to attentive and awake if you mentioned something she liked, then would either make small talk with you about it or be too afraid to out of fear of annoying you. 

 Afterwards, well, she was almost the same, more or less. 

                                                            *** 

    Emerissa didn’t know where she was, just that it was in a forest, and that it felt safe. It was the dead of night during a summer thunderstorm, and the rain fell in torrents, soaking her to the bone and made her thin layer of clothes stick to her like a magnet. Thunder roared above, directly followed by a streak of lightning that struck a tree a mile away from where she was. She felt like that was aimed at her, in a way. She’d be running for, well, she hadn’t been keeping track, and she couldn’t remember much about before, except only the vague feeling the sun had been up in a cloudless sky when she started running. Yet she had kept running, even when she knew she was far enough away from any danger, and she didn’t know why. She kept pushing on; sometimes half falling on trees for support, sometimes completely falling to her knees, but it was only for a second she sat there shaking before she pushed herself off from the ground and kept going. Finally, she came to a clearing, where she found an abandoned cabin right in the center. 

     Relief flooding over her, she rushed up the steps and through the worn wooden door. She was greeted by a wall of dust that made her cough, and it took a minute for her eyes to adjust to the newfound darkness. She was in a big room that seemed to function as both a living and dining room. To her right was and overturned dining table and chairs, and to her left was a few more chairs arranged around a fireplace built into the wall. Beside that fireplace, was a hallway leading deeper into the cabin. 

     Walking down the hall, she found a small bathroom with a clawfoot tub and old fashioned sink. Above the sink was a mirror equally as old as the rest of the furnishings in the room. It was covered in dust and grime to where she couldn’t see herself, not that she really wanted to anyway. She looked down and turned the knob to the sink, not really expecting anything to come out. Surprisingly, water came out of the tap, which made Emerissa jump in shock. Relieved once again, she bent over and cupped her hands under the running water and took a long drink. It tasted like rusted pipes and felt like it was seventy degrees, but it was clean. When she was finished drinking, she noticed little red droplets in the sink. She put her hand to the source and found her left shoulder drenched in blood instead of rain. Using water from the sink, she attempted to clean off the mirror, at least enough to see her torso. When she grime and filth washed away, Emerissa could see why she was having trouble staying on her feet: nearly her entire left side was coated in blood. Her clothes seemed to be dyed with it, and it was slowly creeping it’s way towards her jeans. She looked deeper in the mirror and felt around her shoulder carefully. While she wanted to scream from the pain, she identified three deep slashes in her shoulder, beginning just behind it on her back, and coming forward to grace the muscles over her collar bones. Looking closely, it seems as if a bit of white was showing beneath all the blood… 

    She shook in revolt and horror, and began to tenderly peel her clothes from herself. Looking again in the mirror, the blood had made her pale skin deep red, and stained her bra forever. Turning back to the clawfoot tub, she turned the dial, and water came pouring out. Leaving the tub to fill, she made her way back to the hall to see if she could find a rag. Coming back to the living room, she found a pile of rags strewn about the chairs in front of the fireplace. They only had dust from the years of lying motionless, and other than that they were still pretty clean. Emerissa picked one up with her good arm and brought it back to the bathroom. After rinsing the rag clean in the sink, she struggled free from what clothes she still had on and climbed into the tub. Somehow the water heater was still kicking in this old shack, as the water was hot and felt alien to her skin. She didn’t dare sit in a pool of her own watery blood, so she remained standing while she rinsed the blood from her open shoulder and tried to get the stains out from her pale skin. Every rinse of the water on her gashes felt like it was making the wound deeper. She knew eventually the bleeding would slow to where she could bandage herself, but for now it was just rinse and repeat, literally. 

    Emerissa wasn’t sure how long she stood in the knee high water, but eventually it was a deep watery crimson that had turned cold, and she knew she had to get out and find a first aid kit. She gingerly climbed out, and giving a sigh, got back in her old stained clothes, save her shirt. They had dried out a little bit, but not enough to prevent her from shivering, even in the dead of summer. She walked back out into the hall and looked around, noticing a lot for the first time. There was another door right across the hall from the bathroom. Without thinking, she walked right across and swung the door open wide, figuring she doesn’t have much to lose at this point. It was a bedroom, but not much of one. There was a double bed near the center, with it’s head against the wall, surprisingly on a wooden bed frame. There was a small chest-of-drawers against the opposite wall from the door, and besides that, another door. It was cracked open enough to see that it was another bathroom, a master bathroom, Emerissa guessed. Again she walked across the room into the newly found bathroom and started scavenging the old cabinets and drawers for any sign of first aid. With luck, and a bit more blood from her shoulder, she found one, hidden near the back of the cabinet under the sink. She grabbed it with her good hand and brought it out to the floor, opening it up and spilling its contents onto the dusty floor. Inside was bandages, band-aids, a small first aid manual, and other miscellaneous supplies. 

After a minute of hunt and peck, she found what she was looking for: hydrogen peroxide, a needle for stitches, and surgical thread. 

“This is going to be a bitch.” Emerissa said to herself, and was once again surprised, but this time how foreign it felt to talk. She wasn’t sure how long it was since she used her voice for something besides screaming, but nonetheless, it felt peculiar. 

    Rinsing her shoulder one more time in the sink, she set to work patching herself up. Counting to three, she poured the hydrogen peroxide on her gashes, and screamed. Immediately the liquid began the froth bloody, foamy bubbles as it clean it. Emerissa let out a few tears and didn’t move, giving it time to do it’s job. Finally, not standing it any longer, she rinsed out the froth from her gaping wounds. The upside: it had made the bleeding subside even further, and it confirmed her suspicions: Three long, deep gashes that would leave three nasty scars. 

“Round two, let’s go.” She said through gritted teeth as she thread the surgical needle. 

    This time, she let the screams and tears flow freely as the blood from before. Sewing up one of them almost made her pass out, so three and she was on the verge of collapse. She wasn’t worried about how deep they were now, she just wanted to close them up so she could pass out. Finally, with the sewing done, she dabbed a peroxide soaked rage on the stitches and wrapped them up in gauze. The pale white bandages blended in with her pale skin and didn’t stand out much, the only off setting thing was that her skin was stained a faint red. After cleaning up her surgical mess, she went back out to dusty bedroom and turned to the chest of drawers. Inside she found an old musty t-shirt, and gladly put it on. Again she peeled off her wet pants, and carefully climbed into the equally musty bed. The mattress and single blanket scratched at her, begging for her attention, but she fell asleep before she could let out a sigh. 

                                                             ***

#creative writing #fantasy #writing #original story #story

[4colorrebellion]

Indie Corner - June 30 2017

Welcome to a new Indie Corner! It's time to take a look at a handful of Wii U games for a quick round of indie reviews. Are you ready?

First up is Laser Blaster from Petite Games, an arcade-style game that older gamers like myself will recognize as a take on the classic Missile Command from way back in the day. Players are tasked with destroying incoming lasers before they reach the bottom of the screen where energy cells are located. Luckily, there’s more depth to the game than just destroying the lasers.

The game is played with on the Wii U GamePad’s touchscreen by pressing where you want your shots to be sent. You don’t attack the lasers directly, since you have to aim a bit ahead of their trajectory so that once your shot lands the explosion can still manage to destroy it.

As you try to survive, you can upgrade your base to withstand the onslaught for as long as possible so that you can get a high score. Upgrades include increasing the speed of your weapons, the total number of shots you can launch on the screen, the duration of the explosion or the explosion radius. Each one can be upgraded up to a total of five times if you can survive that long.

Once all four energy cells at the bottom of the screen have been destroyed, it is game over, and you must go back to the first round. Energy cells do not regenerate between rounds, so if you’re left with only one or two energy cells, then all lasers for the following round will focus on attacking there. The game is available for $1.99, and it’s definitely a fun game to play.

Next up is Rorrim from Ezequiel Rage and Nitrolic Games. A long time ago a Princess found a magic mirror, and after glancing at it, she found herself in a wonderful and colorful world to explore. But, suddenly, the mirror began to glow – it was then that the Princess was sucked into the mirror. When she opened her eyes, she realized she was trapped in a dungeon. A voice then told her she was trapped inside the mirror. If she wanted to escape, she had to navigate the dungeon in the real world and the mirrored world.

The game features two modes: Mode A and Mode B, each with its own set of puzzles. For Mode A, you must unlock the gates in your path as you avoid the many deadly hazards and guardians in your path. For Mode B, you are tasked with getting both Princess to the exit. While both modes technically play the same, there is one very important difference between the two.

In Mode A, both Princesses (the version on your TV and the version on your Wii U GamePad) move at the same time in the same direction you press the left analog stick. In Mode B, the movement of one Princess is mirrored by the other… literally. That means that if one Princess moves left, the other one will move to the right. Up is down and down is up. This completely changes how you approach each of the game’s puzzles since you need to account not only by the switch in controls, but also to the placement of enemies and hazards.

I liked the basics of Rorrim, and I’d like to see the developer return to them in a new game soon. There’s definitely room for improvement and a lot of potential for the game to evolve into something greater. Right now, it’s a fun puzzle game that will certainly challenge you.

And now let’s talk about 360 Breakout from nuGAME. As the name states, this is a take on the beloved Breakout, but with a twist. The paddle that is used to hit the ball moves in a circular fashion around the center of the stage, so you must time your movement to hit the ball just right to send it flying towards the blocks on the screen. Once the ball hits a block, it will destroy it, and it might also unlock a power-up to, for example, make the paddle bigger or to increase the speed of the ball.

The game offers a single player mode, two player co-op and two players Vs., and they all play under the same rules mentioned above. The goal is to destroy the blocks as fast as possible to get the best high score.  For single player mode, you must complete up to 20 levels with the three lives you are given at the start. If time runs out, you lose one life. For two player co-op, both players will cooperate as they try to complete as many levels as possible. Two player vs. is similar to co-op except that each player is aiming to get the highest score possible on its own.

360 Breakout was fun at first, but the way the paddle moves around the center of the screens makes it too unreliable. There is no clear way of hitting the ball just right to destroy that final block or two on the screen, unlike in the original Breakout. Also unlike the original game, in here the only danger is the timer since the ball cannot be lost during your gameplay session. Not having the urgency to catch the ball before it is gone completely changes the way players approach the game, and it ended up making me not like this one.

And now, let's review Gear Gauntlet from Drop Dead Interactive and Crystalline Green is a 2D arcade style game where your reflexes and patience will be put to the test. You must navigate a gear around each of the game’s levels as you collect Bronze, Silver, Gold and Rare gears to boost your score and your rating at the end of a level – all while avoiding hazards in the way and while making sure the left side of the screen does not catch up to you as it will destroy your gear if it does.

Just moving from point A to point B before the screen catches up with you would not be very challenging, so the game decides to throw an extra element into the mix. As you move around a level, you will run into colored doors that must be removed by making your gear the corresponding color. The A button makes your gear red, the B button makes it green, the Y button makes it blue, and the X button makes it yellow.

On top of this, you’ll also run into special spaces that will boost your speed, warp your gear, reverse things, rotate the level or have another special effect on things, so be careful you don’t pass the wrong tile at the wrong time! 

If you’re looking for a demanding and fast-paced arcade/puzzle game, then Gear Gauntlet on the Nintendo Wii U certainly fits the bill.

And now let’s talk about Retro Road Rumble from Coyote Interactive. As you can probably tell from its name, this is a racing game. Up to two players can enjoy the game on a single Wii U GamePad – each one uses one of the analog sticks for movement. Shaking the screen will create a disaster that must be avoided before it is too late.

The game includes two modes: Timed and Scored. During Timed mode, a specific amount of time is selected, and the player with the most points when time runs out is the winner. As for Scored mode, a target score is selected, and the first player to get to that score will be declared the winner. If you’re playing on your own, then the only option to play will be Timed mode.

When you start playing, you’ll realize that the goal is to make it to the green Score Zone as fast as possible. After doing this, the zone will move to a new location on the map, so players must repeat the process once again. Each car can be damaged if it runs into an object – if you’re going fast enough your car will be destroyed, so be careful! There are eight areas to choose from, and you can also select between it being daytime or nighttime before you begin each match. The areas are: Regularsville, Floret Village, Los Prados, Horror Lake, Figwood Studios, Cragsbury, Marius Mesa and Hayden’s Ferry.

This one has a retro look to it, hence the game’s name, and you’ll be looking at some pixelated and blocky action both on the TV and on the Wii U GamePad’s screen. I played both the single player mode and the two-player mode with my daughter, and we both agreed it that the game felt off. The controls are too floaty, and we both ended up crashing into objects too often. The hit detection is bad as well since our cars ended up exploding even when we properly turned into a street and didn’t hit an object. This is one game you should avoid.

The final game for today is Surfin’ Sam: Attack of the Aqualites from Slyon Studios. In this game, you take control of the titular Sam who must defend Earth from the invading alien race. The game includes 33 levels where you’ll run, jump and surf as you avoid obstacles and defeat the nasty Aqualites. The game mixes 2D levels and backgrounds with 3D rendered characters that look as it taken from a 90s “radical” platformer.

As you play each level, you must also be on the lookout for coins and gems. Gems are needed for unlocking some of the game’s levels. Collecting the number of coins required for a level will reward you with a gem, so be sure to get as many as you can! You will also be able to find keys that unlock doors and treasure chests, as well as clocks that will increase your time. Coins can be used to purchase items such as Shields, Lasers, Magnets and Bullet Time to make a level easier for Sam.

You move with the left analog stick (no D-Pad support for this one!) and jump with the A button. You can also double jump if you press the A button a second time. You defeat enemies by bouncing on their heads, but must avoid others who will actually damage you if you jump on top of them. And if you find a body of water in a level, Sam will totally ride his board to the other side. At the end of a level, you’ll be graded with a three-star rating if you got all coins, get a high score and managed to complete the level fast enough. The game will let you know what your goals are for coins, score and time limit are before you start so that you can aim for them.

The game is a simple platformer, and you’ll end up playing for around 3-4 hours at most before you’ve completed all levels. The one thing I do want to complain about is that when Sam is hit the window of invincibility is pretty much non-existent, so you’ll be hit again and again (and killed) in a blink if you’re not careful. The game also offers Off-TV gameplay, but for some reason, the display on the Wii U gameplay is a bit more zoomed in when compared to the TV screen. Not a deal-breaker but something for you to consider.

#indie corner #wii u games #review

[thesinglesjukebox]

CARDI B - PRESS

[6.00]

"Cardi don't need more press", apparently, but surely a little coverage from her favourite independent singles blog can't hurt...

Katherine St Asaph: I'm sure I'll change my mind after hearing her next splashy pop feature, but absolutely relentless Cardi might be my favorite Cardi. [8]

Andy Hutchins: Pugilism is one of Cardi's fortes, and keyboard savants Slade Da Monsta and Key Wane outfit her with some stunning ring-walk music on "Press," with plinking alien transmission synths and a squashed organ that befit their flyweight champ. And when the snares start rattling, this sounds like a wonderful inversion of the Lex Luger trap sound that stomped so a thousand imitators could walk, run, slouch, and so forth. But Cardi's not really going anywhere, exactly, just shadowboxing the same targets and talking the same shit as ever, and the gunshot sounds that punctuate the hook are distressingly generic for a song that strives to be more. A better prelude than entrée. [5]

Alfred Soto: On realizing that Cardi wasn't covering Paul McCartney's burbling High Reagan wonder, I settled for a manifesto no different in its sanctimony than comparable efforts released from Elvis Costello and Madonna to New Kids on the Block and The Smiths, even if it's more exuberant in its vituperative spirit. Like "Money," "Press" entertains the troops with the artist's tried-and-true while she prepares for the next phase -- if she's got one. This time 'round I savor the pronunciation of "ding DOOOOONG" and a vocal attack that's like a pistol, ahem, pressed into your gut. [7]

Jacob Sujin Kuppermann: This is so ugly and unmusical that it turns those seeming disadvantages into strengths -- the fact that you're listening at all translates into an argument for Cardi's magnetism. "Press" is not likely to have the same earwormy quality of Cardi's prior hits -- I don't think sorority girls will be rapping along to it a year and a half on from its release -- but it's certainly a memorable work of pop mythmaking. [6]

Taylor Alatorre: The indomitable largeness of the production prompts Cardi to up the ante in order to be heard, with the result being that this sounds more like a losing struggle for dominance than a haughty proclamation of one. It's as if she's in a shouting match with the beat itself, and it makes this record sound oddly insular despite its outward-facing subject matter. The parts where the beat drops out are placed seemingly haphazardly throughout, without the satisfying build-up that's needed in order to make the release enjoyable. The only thing here that remotely qualifies as "subtle" is when she briefly imitates Offset's flow, which should maybe serve as a warning sign of diminishing returns ahead. [3]

Iris Xie: Cardi B, I'm convinced that you could murder me anytime, and I'll die gladly and willingly. However, if I was the subject of "Press," I should know that whatever I did definitely deserved receiving her ire, and whoever Cardi B is pissed about should fucking run for their life. The opening bars sound like slowed-down mutations of The Nightmare on Elm Street, It, and The Twilight Zone theme songs, followed quickly by crouching beats and hostile snare drums as merciful warnings. Cardi B only gives you a few brief seconds before, whoops, you've been sent to another dimension. It is a joy to witness this, because in "Bodak Yellow," her easygoing, sexy, infectious demeanor thinly veils her coiled, simmering preparedness to smash faces to the ground. There is no such buffer in "Press." Other people talk a big game, but Cardi B has a playful-but-forceful presence that is deeply in tune with her desire to never suffer disrespect and to know exactly where to hit them with all of her abandon. Her attempts aren't always successful; the chorus surprisingly needs a slightly deeper mockery and a bit more variance in its cadence to match the ugly venom of the verses, which diminishes a song whose short runtime means every line is a valuable currency. Fortunately, this misstep is quickly smoothed over with the final burst of "pop up, guess who, bitch?" that blends her presence with the twofold horrors of jump scares and gunshots. Still, she hasn't always been this daring; her 2016 track "I Gotta Hurt You" shows hesitation, where the tiny bit of malice gets hidden by goofy EDM trappings. Here though, Cardi B's wit chameleons to reflect that danger, with the lyric "ding dong! must be the whip that I ordered" displaying her keenness to Amazon Prime whoever disrespects her. (Also unintentionally, this line may be prime as a new meme, utterly destined for queers on Twitter ready to spring "she has a big strap" and "please step on me" references.) Her last repeat of "press, press, press" at the end is more successful in expressing a sly mockery that dissolves into a careless apathy. As for me, I've been craving songs that exhibit a willingness to play, exert power, and dive into dangerous, malicious moods, like f(x)'s "Red Light", because since I've been looking for better examples of art willing to fully tap into its dark side, I've noticed how often potentially great songs tiptoe that edge but never make the leap. Case in point, "Press," even with its faults, is what I wished TSwift did with "Look What You Made Me Do." There, our maligned heroine needed to stop hiding behind the goofy melodies, lyrics, and passivity in order to assert her glorious potential as a full-blown Dark!Taylor. Both stars have such incisive intelligence and are terrifying in their precise perception, but Cardi B is willing to do what Taylor didn't and takes her punchback at the press all the way to the edge -- making better art for it. Her readiness to be that candid, combined with her skill, makes Cardi B a standout. She reminds us that, often, there's literally nothing to lose beside ourselves in expressing our honest feelings, and that it's worth the risk, as long as you do the work (and edit afterward.) So, to those hesitant, what the hell are you worried about? [7]

[Read, comment and vote on The Singles Jukebox]

#Cardi B #rap #hip hop #music #music review #writing

[timeagainreviews]

Rage Against the Machines Piloted by Squidgy Mutants

If you're coming to classic Doctor Who for the first time as a fan of the new series, it can be a bit of an adjustment. It's very much like watching a play, in that the sets aren't so much realistic, as they are implications. The acting is theatric, and everyone speaks in the Queen's English. Back in 2011 when I originally began my foray into classic Doctor Who, I found the differences shocking. But "The Daleks," was a serial that somewhat mystified me.

It's not impossible to put yourself into the mindset of a 1963 audience watching this for the first time. Because if you were to update this story with flashy editing and special effects, it would still be rather unique. Doctor Who is so unlike any other science fiction, despite how many tropes it borrows from the genre. There is still, to this day, not much similar. Only ten years previous, had one of the first adult-oriented science fictions been introduced to British television with "The Quartermass Experiment." But Doctor Who stove toward something broader- a family oriented science fiction.

The inception of Doctor Who was surprisingly "rag-tag," in many ways. The show's creator, Sydney Newman, had a vision, but it was by no means clear. It was more of an intuition on his behalf. He set producer Verity Lambert to the task of seeing this vision come to fruition. Ironically, one of the most iconic moments of the show came from ignoring one of Newman's early guidelines- "No bug-eyed monsters!"

If you recall from the end of the Cave of Skulls, the TARDIS had landed in an irradiated jungle of sorts. The trees were alien and stark white. Our crew, unaware of the dangerous atmosphere set out to explore the surface of this strange planet on which they've found themselves. Ian and Barbara are still upset about having not returned home, but they seem to be adjusting to this new reality as best they can.

After a closer inspection, Ian discovers that the forest is actually petrified. The branches of the trees don't blow in the breeze because some sort of process has turned them all into a kind of brittle stone. None of them can hide their amazement at this strange forest. Susan finds a fragile flower at the base of a tree, preserved perfectly in stone. She asks Ian to help pick it so she can bring it back to the TARDIS, but a scream heard from Barbara causes Ian to hastily drop the flower into Susan's hands, pulverising it.

The cause of Barbara's discontent was the discovery of a rather silly looking reptile the size of an alligator, covered in metal plating. Due to its rigid structure, it only appears to be alive. In truth, it's long dead. The Doctor speculates that the creature was held together by internal magnetic forces that it used to attract prey, which may have also been metal. It is obvious that they aren't on Earth. The Doctor decides to get a better vantage point to map the stars, in an attempt to figure out where they are.

At the top of a large hill, the Doctor discovers a city off in the distance, unperturbed by whatever process had petrified the forest. Naturally, his curious mind wants to explore this strange city, but his companions convince him to return to the TARDIS for the night so they might get some rest. Ian refuses to let the Doctor go alone, as he is the only one who can pilot the ship. Upon returning, Susan is distracted by another flower which separates her from the group. While standing behind she hears a strange sound and a mysterious human hand grasps her shoulder momentarily, causing her to sprint back to the TARDIS in fear.

The Doctor is still naive at this point in his life. He still thinks he knows everything. Therefore, the idea that Susan was grabbed sounds impossible to him. The Doctor we know nowadays would never assume what was impossible. She's seen too much to disbelieve things outrightly. But early on, the Doctor is so sure it couldn't happen. No one could live on the surface of this planet. Right?

Back on the TARDIS, Barbara is feeling a bit ill with a headache. We as the viewer know this has something to do with the radiation on the planet's surface, but our friends have no idea. Susan gives Barbara a tincture to cure what ails her. The two of them have a nice moment, where Barbara takes on a bit of a motherly/teacher role with Susan, comforting her. Ian and the Doctor argue over the logistics of surviving on this planet. Can they leave? How will they live? What will they eat? Which brings me to one of my favourite little moments in the Hartnell era- the food machine!

I know it's a funny thing to love, but it's such a product of its time. The Doctor and Susan make Ian and Barbara some bacon and eggs from the food machine. Only it comes out as a sort of tofu looking substance wrapped in foil. The Doctor explains how flavours are a sort of spectrum, much like colour. They can be mixed to make new ones. Funnily enough, you never see it in the show again after Hartnell's era. It's one of those things from Doctor Who that I wish they would bring back, if only for a silly nod.

Ok, back to it. The idea of going back to the TARDIS for the night is a bit of a joke. They spend all of five minutes before going right back outside. There's no indication of a passage of time longer than a moment. The Doctor pulls some mercurial trickster shit to get his way. By slight of hand, he sabotages the TARDIS' fluid link, claiming the mercury is empty, and they need to find more. (See what I did there?) It's a dirty trick, but it gets them out of the TARDIS to seek out more mercury in the mysterious city.

Now they're all back outside, precisely as the Doctor desired. They find a little silver box they mistake for a bomb, which leads to a lot of Ian hopping around like a dolt. It turns out to be a bit of medicine that they bring into the TARDIS. They then set off into the city. By the time they arrive, they're all exhausted. The radiation is taking a toll on their bodies. Ian makes the "brilliant," suggestion that they all split up. He goes his way, the Doctor and Susan go theirs, and Barbara goes hers.

I tried to imagine what it was like to watch that first episode end, but no matter how you cut it, it looks like Barbara is getting attacked by a toilet plunger. I imagine that perplexed many people in the following week waiting for the next episode. The rest of the crew have already met back up and go looking for Barbara. While looking they find a room full of scientific instruments that make me giggle a bit. One of the things I've always found humorous about Daleks was the idea that they could manage to build complex machinery with those sucker arms. One of the machines is a Geiger counter, which alerts them to the fact that they're stewing in radiation. The Doctor now knows why the forest was petrified. He surmises it was a neutron bomb, as the city still stands. 

The Doctor admits there is nothing wrong with the fluid link, which upsets Ian. He snatches the fluid link from the Doctor and demands they find Barbara.  Upon exiting the equipment room, they are surrounded by robotic creatures shaped like pepper pots. Unless you've been sleeping under a rock, you'll know right away these are Daleks. Their classic look hasn't changed much throughout the years. The ring modulator on their monotone voices is just as evil and grating as ever. They take our friends captive and lead them toward a containment block.

In what may be one of the dumbest moves in Doctor Who history, under zero cover from fire Ian makes a run for it. He's immediately shot by a Dalek, leaving his legs temporarily paralysed. The Doctor and Susan must carry him to their cell where they find Barbara has also been captured. One of the cooler things I noticed this time around was that the Daleks have a small round screen in their control room that has the time vortex from the opening credits. My headcanon is that this is them, pre-time travel, experimenting with this newfound phenomena. I'd love to know if anyone has ever done a story about this.

The Daleks decide for the time to keep their captives alive. They want to know more about these strangers from the outside. The Daleks interrogate the Doctor and discover the drugs our friends found outside the TARDIS are anti-radiation drugs. They allow one of the crew to go fetch the drugs, thinking they could duplicate it and use it for themselves. The person they send is Susan, who is basically useless, so she spends a lot of time running through the forest like a moron.

While in the forest, Susan meets a man named Alydon from a race of people know as the Thals, one of two dominant races of this planet, Skaro. The Thals were once a proud race of warriors who were at war with the Daleks, hence the neutronic bombs. The radiation mutated both races, but the Thals had come back around to a more human appearance, while the Daleks remained horribly mutated in their metal encasings. Alydon tells Susan that it was he who tried to get her attention in the forest and that it was also him who left the drugs as a gift. He belongs to a small group of Thals that have been searching for a new source of food. Their hope is to establish some sort of treaty with the Daleks. He gives Susan his cloak and sends her on her way with a warning about the Daleks.

Alydon heads back to his encampment to discuss the possibility of a treaty. At this point, it's worth noting that the Thals are basically interchangeable. The men are all tall, handsome, with blonde hair. The women all dress like Vegas showgirls and also possess blonde hair. They're all the embodiment of the Aryan ideal, which is ironic considering their biggest enemy is the embodiment of Nazi ideals. The main Thals worth noting are- Alydon: notable for being second in command, Temmosus: notable for being the leader and having "I'll be dead by the end of this story," stamped all over his forehead, and Dyoni: notable for being a woman with actual dialogue. All of the other ones are basically fodder for the story.

Susan returns with the drugs and passes them around, which for the 60's, is a lot less exciting than it sounds. The Daleks listen in and discover the Thals' plan to broker peace, so they play along, all the while devising their own plan. Using Susan's signature on a letter, they plan to trick the Thals into an ambush.

Recurring Doctor Who villains always come back, bigger, better, meaner. The Daleks of modern Doctor Who murder without warning, can fly, are made of reinforced Dalekanium, and can even fry people who touch them. The first time we see them, it's a different story. The Doctor theorises that they must be powered by static electricity from the metal floors and pathways. Or as Ian says "Like dodgems!" at the fair. It makes the Twelfth Doctor's "Anyone for dodgems?" line from "The Witch's Familiar," all the funnier. Mixing what little water they've been given with mud from Susan's shoe, they create a sort of mudball which they use on the guard Dalek's eyestalk and push it onto Alydon's cloak, insulating it from the statically charged floor. The Dalek powers down, and they open up the casing, replacing the squidgy inhabitant with Ian.

What comes next is a lot of cat and mouse. Our friends escape the Daleks, while they try and stop them. Ian tries to warn the Thals that the food exchange is really an ambush. But Temmosus tries to reason with the Daleks, leading to his very predictable death. The Thals and the TARDIS crew escape with as much food as possible and retreat to the encampment. There, Dyoni tells the tale of Skaro's history. Ian, learning of the Thals' previous status as a warrior race, rallies the new leader Alydon to once again take up arms against the Daleks. The Doctor would rather leave altogether but learns that leaving would be impossible, as the Daleks confiscated the TARDIS' fluid link when they took him captive. It's funny that they used to have to write reasons to keep the Doctor around. "When people need help, I never refuse," is not yet the Doctor's personal axiom.

I mentioned in the "Cave of Skulls," review that elements of the story were Arthurian in nature. The next part of our story also has a bit of a medieval vibe to it as well. Our heroes must infiltrate the Dalek city. However, it's well guarded by Daleks and/or cameras at every entrance. From the back is a natural barrier created by a bog known as "The Lake of Mutations," full of deadly beasts, mutated by centuries of radiation. But it has one thing going for it- it's unguarded. This is mostly because to traverse the swamp would be suicide. Ian and Barbara, along with a group of Thals go the back way. The Doctor and Susan act as a distraction going the front way. We lose a few interchangeable Thals along the way but escape mostly unscathed.

The Doctor and Susan sneak into the city by scrambling the Dalek's cameras and work on a plan that will depower every Dalek in the city by destroying the static electricity generator. But doing so alerts the Daleks to their presence and they're captured. The Daleks, having learned that they need the radiation to survive, plan to build a new neutron bomb to kill the Thals, leaving them the supreme rulers of Skaro. However, the bomb would take too long to build with their little toilet plungers, so they decide instead to explode their nuclear reactors. How this wouldn't also power down their static charge is beyond me.

What comes next is possibly the most aptly named episode of Doctor Who ever- "The Ordeal." It is exactly that. Ian and Barbara are now in the cave beyond the lake with their Thal companions. They spend the bulk of this episode trying to cross a fucking ravine, and it's brutally uninteresting. Another interchangeable Thal dies, cutting himself free to save Ian from falling as well. Ho-hum. They make their way through an opening in the cave into a rather large facility, or as it appears onscreen- a stock photo of a big industrial plant. It's all rather comical.

While in Dalek custody, the Doctor pleads with the Daleks to reconsider killing all other life on the planet, but they start the countdown anyway. Since this episode, it's been established that the Daleks count in "rels," rather than seconds. Rels are a bit slower than seconds, and while they didn't call them rels in this story, I pulled out a timer to see just how much slower the countdown was from actual seconds. I counted just below three seconds per number. The fact that they had one single Dalek doing the countdown from 200 back, was possibly the most Dalek thing ever. So stupidly inefficient.

While the countdown is going, Alydon has brought a separate party through the front of the city and met up with Ian and Barbara's party. They join forces to take out the Dalek's machinery, stopping the radiation. They also take out their power source, powering down all of the Daleks in the city. While doing this, we lose more interchangeable Thals as they dance with the Daleks, fighting them off with stone tree branches and rocks from the cave. It's very Ewok of them.

Fluid link in hand, the Doctor, his friends, and the newly radicalised Thals head back to the TARDIS. In possibly one of the more shocking moments of the episode, Ganatus, a random Thal, exchanges a romantic kiss with Barbara as they part. It's not the kiss that is shocking, so much as the fact that they had any kind of romantic feelings at all. Nothing in the story up to this point had supported this. It's all rather forced, but whatever. Get you some, B!

Back on the TARDIS, our crew sets off into motion. However, the TARDIS console sparks and flashes, and our four heroes fall to the floor!

Final thoughts: Terry Nation's "The Daleks," is an iconic story. If you've never seen it, it's a must see. Not only does it establish the Doctor's oldest foes, but it's also the story that created "Dalekmania." Children went nuts for these stupid pepper pots, and it really pushed the popularity of the show forward. However, after having seen it once, I must say, I struggled to get through it a second time. The pacing is awful. It's overlong, and there is little to no plot. Though some of the musical cues they played over the Dalek city are particularly effective. It's no secret that I found the Thals one dimensional. I found the cavemen of the previous story more relatable. This is not to say they are without merits though. The idea that the Daleks used to share a planet makes them tragic is some respects. There were some interesting, if not dated, arguments about pacifism as well. The very idea of Skaro, with it's Lake of Mutations, and petrified forests is wonderfully creative. It's easy to see why this was the story that captured the imagination of so many, and never let go.

Hey guys! Sorry this was late. Been a little busy with life. Might push the Twin Peaks review back a day or two. But we’ll see what happens tomorrow. Regardless, I might do the next Doctor Who review sooner than later. “The Edge of Destruction,” is such a short story, it shouldn’t take long to write.

#Doctor Who #first doctor #william hartnell #william russell #jacqueline hill #carole ann ford #susan foreman #barbara wright #ian chesterton #ian and barbara #tardis #bbc #terry nation #daleks #the daleks #doctor who and the daleks

[thatworthlesswriter]

Untitled

Emerissa Kearney wasn’t someone you’d look twice at, at least not before her change. She was a pale and black speck hugging the walls in a sea of tan, pastels, and neons. While her peers grew out their hair long and styled it nearly identically, she kept her’s short, and let her natural brown-red curls lay as they wanted. Her eyes are a stunning bright blue, and in her opinion is the only good physical thing about herself. She’s short, around 5’ 3” and can barely reach the high shelves in her home, but it makes her agile and light on her feet. While she’s no where close to skinny, you can definitely tell that half of the meals she eats is pizza.

Her closet is made up of of flannel shirts, blue jeans, and hoodies, without a single dress to be seen anywhere. She never wears any makeup, because why would she need to? Who is she trying to impress? Certainly not her peers. While she’s ashamed of it, she has nervous habits: picking at the skin on her fingers. It’s not uncommon for her to be bleeding from the pads of her fingers while at work. The circles under her eyes are dark, and ladled with bags that seem to be on the constant verge of pulling her eyelids down. She could go from sluggish and slow to attentive and awake if you mentioned something she liked, then would either make small talk with you about it or be too afraid to out of fear of annoying you.

Afterwards, well, she was almost the same, more or less.

***

Emerissa didn’t know where she was, just that it was in a forest, and that it felt safe. It was the dead of night during a summer thunderstorm, and the rain fell in torrents, soaking her to the bone and made her thin layer of clothes stick to her like a magnet. Thunder roared above, directly followed by a streak of lightning that struck a tree a mile away from where she was. She felt like that was aimed at her, in a way.

She’d be running for, well, she hadn’t been keeping track, and she couldn’t remember much about before, except only the vague feeling the sun had been up in a cloudless sky when she started running. Yet she had kept running, even when she knew she was far enough away from any danger, and she didn’t know why. She kept pushing on; sometimes half falling on trees for support, sometimes completely falling to her knees, but it was only for a second she sat there shaking before she pushed herself off from the ground and kept going.

Finally, she came to a clearing, where she found an abandoned cabin right in the center. Relief flooding over her, she rushed up the steps and through the worn wooden door. She was greeted by a wall of dust that made her cough, and it took a minute for her eyes to adjust to the newfound darkness. She was in a big room that seemed to function as both a living and dining room. To her right was and overturned dining table and chairs, and to her left was a few more chairs arranged around a fireplace built into the wall. Beside that fireplace, was a hallway leading deeper into the cabin.

Walking down the hall, she found a small bathroom with a clawfoot tub and old fashioned sink. Above the sink was a mirror equally as old as the rest of the furnishings in the room. It was covered in dust and grime to where she couldn’t see herself, not that she really wanted to anyway. She looked down and turned the knob to the sink, not really expecting anything to come out. Surprisingly, water came out of the tap, which made Emerissa jump in shock. Relieved once again, she bent over and cupped her hands under the running water and took a long drink. It tasted like rusted pipes and felt like it was seventy degrees, but it was clean.

When she was finished drinking, she noticed little red droplets in the sink. She put her hand to the source and found her left shoulder drenched in blood instead of rain. Using water from the sink, she attempted to clean off the mirror, at least enough to see her torso. When she grime and filth washed away, Emerissa could see why she was having trouble staying on her feet: nearly her entire left side was coated in blood. Her clothes seemed to be dyed with it, and it was slowly creeping it’s way towards her jeans. She looked deeper in the mirror and felt around her shoulder carefully. While she wanted to scream from the pain, she identified three deep slashes in her shoulder, beginning just behind it on her back, and coming forward to grace the muscles over her collar bones. Looking closely, it seems as if a bit of white was showing beneath all the blood…

She shook in revolt and horror, and began to tenderly peel her clothes from herself. Looking again in the mirror, the blood had made her pale skin deep red, and stained her bra forever. Turning back to the clawfoot tub, she turned the dial, and water came pouring out. Leaving the tub to fill, she made her way back to the hall to see if she could find a rag. Coming back to the living room, she found a pile of rags strewn about the chairs in front of the fireplace. They only had dust from the years of lying motionless, and other than that they were still pretty clean. Emerissa picked one up with her good arm and brought it back to the bathroom.

After rinsing the rag clean in the sink, she struggled free from what clothes she still had on and climbed into the tub. Somehow the water heater was still kicking in this old shack, as the water was hot and felt alien to her skin. She didn’t dare sit in a pool of her own watery blood, so she remained standing while she rinsed the blood from her open shoulder and tried to get the stains out from her pale skin. Every rinse of the water on her gashes felt like it was making the wound deeper. She knew eventually the bleeding would slow to where she could bandage herself, but for now it was just rinse and repeat, literally.

Emerissa wasn’t sure how long she stood in the knee high water, but eventually it was a deep watery crimson that had turned cold, and she knew she had to get out and find a first aid kit. She gingerly climbed out, and giving a sigh, got back in her old stained clothes, save her shirt. They had dried out a little bit, but not enough to prevent her from shivering, even in the dead of summer. She walked back out into the hall and looked around, noticing a lot for the first time. There was another door right across the hall from the bathroom. Without thinking, she walked right across and swung the door open wide, figuring she doesn’t have much to lose at this point. It was a bedroom, but not much of one. There was a double bed near the center, with it’s head against the wall, surprisingly on a wooden bed frame. There was a small chest-of-drawers against the opposite wall from the door, and besides that, another door. It was cracked open enough to see that it was another bathroom, a master bathroom, Emerissa guessed.

Again she walked across the room into the newly found bathroom and started scavenging the old cabinets and drawers for any sign of first aid. With luck, and a bit more blood from her shoulder, she found one, hidden near the back of the cabinet under the sink. She grabbed it with her good hand and brought it out to the floor, opening it up and spilling its contents onto the dusty floor. Inside was bandages, band-aids, a small first aid manual, and other miscellaneous supplies. After a minute of hunt and peck, she found what she was looking for: hydrogen peroxide, a needle for stitches, and surgical thread.

“This is going to be a bitch.” Emerissa said to herself, and was once again surprised, but this time how foreign it felt to talk. She wasn’t sure how long it was since she used her voice for something besides screaming, but nonetheless, it felt peculiar.

Rinsing her shoulder one more time in the sink, she set to work patching herself up. Counting to three, she poured the hydrogen peroxide on her gashes, and screamed. Immediately the liquid began the froth bloody, foamy bubbles as it clean it. Emerissa let out a few tears and didn’t move, giving it time to do it’s job. Finally, not standing it any longer, she rinsed out the froth from her gaping wounds. The upside: it had made the bleeding subside even further, and it confirmed her suspicions: Three long, deep gashes that would leave three nasty scars.

“Round two, let’s go.” She said through gritted teeth as she thread the surgical needle.

This time, she let the screams and tears flow freely as the blood from before. Sewing up one of them almost made her pass out, so three and she was on the verge of collapse. She wasn’t worried about how deep they were now, she just wanted to close them up so she could pass out.

Finally, with the sewing done, she dabbed a peroxide soaked rage on the stitches and wrapped them up in gauze. The pale white bandages blended in with her pale skin and didn’t stand out much, the only off setting thing was that her skin was stained a faint red. After cleaning up her surgical mess, she went back out to dusty bedroom and turned to the chest of drawers. Inside she found an old musty t-shirt, and gladly put it on. Again she peeled off her wet pants, and carefully climbed into the equally musty bed. The mattress and single blanket scratched at her, begging for her attention, but she fell asleep before she could let out a sigh.

***

She woke up with a start, and much sooner than she would have liked. The culprit was her shoulder: the muscles felt like they were being torn back open. She shot up from the musty bed, letting the blanket fall to the floor. Clawing at the bandages that wrapped around her, she got to her feet and raced into the adjoining bathroom. Moving just made the pain that much worse, and again Emerissa let the tears paint her pale face.