#volume followed by concentration followed by dust.
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Midnight Blue
Summary: A year after his mother’s death, Marc travels back to Chicago to face his father. He doesn’t expect it to be easy but he also doesn’t expect it to be so hard. He especially doesn’t expect to find refuge from the hard moments in a little known witch’s shop a few blocks over. And definitely not in one keeping watch over the family’s piano.
This chapter: You and Marc say goodbye.
Tales Untold; Part VIII (end) - Series Masterlist
Pairing: Marc Spector x Reader (minor Steven Grant x Reader and Jake Lockley x Reader)
Word Count: 4.8k
Warnings (this chapter): angst and fluff, mental health issues, mentions of past death, mentions of past child abuse
A/N: We are finally at the end! Everyone say goodbye to these two! Thank you for reading and thank you for giving this series as much love as you have. Comments and reblogs are so appreciated! If there are any additional warnings that need added, please let me know.
VIII.
Tales Untold, Chicago 6:56 PM
The radio is on in the back of Tales Untold.
The volume is low, but the sound still travels throughout the shop.
Late summer sun paints the hardwood floor with tiny spots of color. Deep mauves and cobalts mix with cherry red from the stained glass you and Steven had steadily replaced the clear glass with in the shop’s front door. It reminds Marc of the first day he came into Tales Untold, the air teeming with the flight of dust motes and golden light.
He can hear you singing along to the old country song on the radio as you putter around at the back desk, organizing the things the last customer had come in with.
The song is a crooning love song, sweet as candy. It’s the kind of song that wraps around his heart and squeezes, that pulls up nostalgic feelings like teeth from the lining of his stomach.
It sounds beautiful, especially when it mixes with your voice. The sound rolls around in your mouth, the adjustment of your normal cadence to fit the tune of the song.
Marc smiles as he listens, drags the paintbrush in his hand around the border of your mural, careful not to disturb the little design. You’ll do most of the detail work later, taking the paint in around the edges of the design.
You will, or Steven.
He and Jake had proved too heavy handed to be trusted with anything other than the broadest strokes.
Your voice drifts closer, your footsteps creaking along the old wooden floors. You aren’t a particularly good singer, but Marc would gladly listen to you butcher lyrics and notes for the rest of his life.
“Steven’s better at painting than you,” you tease when you reach him.
Marc doesn’t turn, rolling his eyes. “I can stop, y’know, and let you do it yourself, sweetheart.”
You lean against the bookshelf next to him, a smile on your face. The sun slants over your eyes, and you have to squint to look at him. Your whole face crinkles up with the effort. You’re wearing that stupid vintage Cubs shirt he gave you, the one with his good memories. You wear it all the time now, like you’re trying to prove a point to him.
“No, I like watching you, Spector.”
He doesn’t so much as breathe when you wrap your arm around his middle and slide smoothly between him and the wall. “You do?” He asks, just to hear you say you like watching him again.
“Mhm,” you tip your chin up. You’re so pressed so close to him, your nose brushes his, and you go a little cross eyed trying to glance down at his lips. “You look so stern when you’re concentrating on something.”
Marc frowns at you and you laugh. “Scratch that, you always look stern, honey.”
He follows the tilt of your head when you move, careful to watch every slow movement you make. “When you’re finished with the border, we’ll be done,” you whisper, bumping your nose against his. “Can you believe it took us a whole summer? To finish all our little projects?”
A spear of anxiety that doesn’t fit with the moment, that is not necessary, beats through him. “Yep,” he agrees lightly. “Now you can tell me to get lost.”
“You are just not funny,” you accuse as you tug free from his arms and pull him back from the wall so you can both look at it.
The wall is a deep blue. Midnight blue, Marc thinks your friend at the hardware store called it, patterned over it are tight constellations of stars. The stars are clustered towards one side of the wall, nearest the hanging crescent moon in the corner, while an orange and red sun sits directly opposite, long threads of burnt orange and yellow reaching out to them.
The border is nearly finished, decorated with phases of the moon in a pretty gold and white.
“It’s lovely, isn’t it? I think it fits the shop better.”
Marc nods. It does fit you better, that was for certain. The blue is calming, softens the interior shop, and is leagues better than the blank wall that had been beneath the wallpaper. The orange of the sun is an ode to your mother, for the orange wallpaper you ripped down.
He squeezes you tighter to his side, paintbrush still loosely held in his other hand. Steven is better at painting, he agrees with you on that, but Marc enjoys it. He especially likes it if you sit with him while he works.
And most times, you did. You sat side by side and worked on the mural slowly, the warmth of you pressing into his side when you leaned into each other.
Your flower boxes had long ago been painted, the flowers Marc salvaged when he broke down the old ones repotted in their new homes. He repointed the brickwork, finally fixed your rusted bell, and made you a new sign.
The neon was a good choice. It's definitely been helping draw new customers into the shop.
“Marc?”
He glances over at you and finds you frowning at him. Before you can say anything he turns to lie the paintbrush down so he can pull you fully into his arms.
“What?” He asks, fidgeting with the hem of your shirt.
The motion of it is soothing, and you never tell him to stop. It seems to calm you as much as him.
“Summer’s almost over,” you say carefully. “I’ve - I’ve tried to ask Steven about it but…don’t you have to be getting back to London? He doesn’t really seem like he wants to talk about it either” You slide one hand across his shoulder blades, the press of you soft against him. He closes his eyes when you drag your hand up the back of his neck and through his hair.
You muss his curls gently until they loosen around your fingers. A hum vibrates in your mouth and you don’t have to say it for him to know exactly what you’re thinking.
Pretty.
He can almost hear your thoughts.
Let your curls out more, Marc.
Marc nods. “Yeah,” he opens his eyes, “I’ve been thinking about that.”
You swallow and nod back, patiently waiting for him to explain. “I…we gotta go back. To London. At least for a little while. Loose ends to tie up, that kinda thing.”
“Alright,” you murmur. “Well, I guess I already knew that. I guess I’m just wondering what’ll happen with us.” You fidget, a strange nervousness pooling between you.
Marc stiffens, “What do you mean?”
“I mean,” you shift in his arms again like you’re worried about what his answer might be “Do you want to do long distance or are we going to call this a fun summer fling?”
“A fling?” He blinks at you, tightens his fingers into the fabric of your shirt, like you might disappear right before his eyes. “Do you want this to be a fling?”
He can’t really imagine it’s that, not after everything.
“No,” you smile, “I don’t want that. But the end is upon us, honey. Time marches on either way.”
Something about the way you say it makes him anxious, like you expect it to fall apart.
Marc swallows, “No. I don’t want it to be over. It doesn’t gotta be.”
For just a second, you look surprised. “Okay. We’ll figure it out,” you smile. “Like always.”
You start to pull away but Marc keeps you anchored against him, fingers locked tight into the fabric of your shirt now. His thumbs divot into your hips as he searches your eyes. “There’s nothin’ to figure out. I’m telling you, I want this. I want you. And you’re here.”
“Marc,” you say softly. “I always knew you’d have to leave again. I can’t expect you to pull up your whole life-,”
“Trust me, baby, we aren’t pulling anything up.” Marc cradles you close. “There’s…nothing there anymore.”
You press a worried hand to his face. “You really wanna be in Chicago again? Here of all places?”
For a moment, Marc considers lying to you. He considers telling you it’s all fine, that nothing hurts like that anymore.
He’s been honest with you so far, and things are fine, so he says, “I wanna be where you are. That’s it.” His voice is vulnerable to his own ears. “I don’t care where it is.”
You bite your lip, a troubled look still lodged in your eyes. “What about work-,”
He scoffs, “Baby, we’ve been here for months. There isn’t some job I gotta go back to.”
“You’ll have to explain that to me someday,” you say, cupping his jaw. “What it is you actually do.” Marc leans into your touch. He likes the way your fingers feel on his skin, how soft the pads of your fingers are.
He nods, though he’s not sure how he’ll explain any of that to you. “One day. Just…all you gotta know now is that it’s okay. There’s nothing in London anymore.”
“Does Steven really wanna live in Chicago?” You ask, incredulous. “What about Jake?”
Marc rolls his eyes. “Me and Steven already agree. And Jake thinks he’s a New Yorker, so-”
You snort and then laugh, burying your face against his neck. “Jake is a New Yorker. You should hear him talk about the-,”
“No, I don’t need to hear him talk about the fuckin’ Mets again,” Marc interrupts against your cheek when he turns his face against yours. Your breath fans warm over his skin, and the familiar scent of lavender envelopes him. “And we-,” he emphasizes, squeezing your waist. “-are Cubs fans.”
“Yes, we are,” you agree, pulling back to kiss his cheek and then the corner of his mouth. “I mean, I’ve got all this merch now, and I’ve been to two Cubs games. I can’t say that about the Mets-,”
“It’s only a matter of time before Jake gets you a Mets jersey,” Marc gripes. “And I need ya to promise me you’ll burn it when he does.”
“Asshole,” Jake mutters suddenly from the front window, not looking at you. “Always trying to make me the bad guy.”
You laugh and roll your eyes, “No. I won’t be doing that. Jake’s very sensitive. He would never forgive me for something like that.”
Jake grumbles something low under his breath, clearly embarrassed. “You’re right,” Marc says, just to irritate Jake. “He is sensitive. Very sensitive.”
You cock a brow at him, “He’s listening isn’t he?”
“Yeah.”
“You shouldn’t tease him,” you reprimand.
Jake’s spine straightens with your words, a smug smile pulling over his face. “Protective of me, huh? See, pendejo, I’m more important.”
Marc rolls his eyes again, “He teases me all the time.”
“You need to be teased,” you say softly. “You don’t smile nearly enough.”
Marc thinks you smile enough for the both of them, so he just kisses you.
Somehow you’ve stopped talking about it, about how he’s going to leave, if only for a little while.
He reaches up to cup your face between his palms, strokes his thumbs along the curve of your cheeks, and only pulls back long enough to say, “There’s nothin’ left in London and I wanna be here.”
It goes unspoken between you that he wants to be with you, that they all do.
The radio plays another love song.
Tales Untold, Chicago 4:35 PM
It’s mid September and you have a slight cold.
Your nose is stuffed, and Marc thinks you look cute, rolled up in the duvet and with only your eyes and nose poking out from between the mountains of fabric.
You had wanted him to go stay with his dad, so he didn’t get sick. Instead he’d gone to get you medicine, some little treats. Sprite and crackers to settle your stomach, and ingredients for soup.
He’s going to make you matzo ball soup, because you’d told him how much you loved it the first time he brought his dad’s leftovers to you. You’d said it was the perfect soup, perfect for winter and when you were sick.
You groan at him to go home as he sets out the ingredients.
Instead of doing what you ask or starting on the soup, he toes his shoes off by the door and crosses the room to tug the duvet back.
“Marc,” you croak weakly when he nudges you over and crawls into bed with you. “You’re gonna get sick too. I don’t want you to get sick.”
“Nah,” he whispers against the back of your neck, arms circling your waist, “I won’t. I promise.” Your body is hot with fever against his, even though you shiver like you’re cold.
The bed smells like lavender and clean cotton and sweat.
“I told you to go home so you don’t get sick too,” you grumble again into the duvet he tucks carefully back around your shoulders.
“Well, then I did exactly what you asked me to,” he mumbles, rubbing his hands slowly over your shivering body. You’re burning up, but until the fever breaks there’s nothing much he can do to help you. “I’m at home. This is home.” You don’t comment on that, and Marc grins when you huff in annoyance. “Wanted to tell you we got our plane ticket back to London.”
You’re quiet for a long time, and Marc wonders what exactly goes through your head. He can feel you tensing, swallowing back the tears that rise up the back of your throat in an effort to keep quiet and hide it from him.
Marc wishes you would let it out, that you would talk to him about it instead of being supportive without considering your own feelings. He wishes you could talk about it.
But you don’t.
He knows you’re trying to save him from any more guilt, but he also knows your fear, even if you don’t say it. You’re worried he’ll get back to London and remember all the reasons he has to stay away from Chicago, like he might realize you weren’t worth it.
It’s ridiculous, but he doesn’t know how to talk you away from that ledge. He’s not sure how to reassure you that he’ll come back. Even though Chicago is a place of heartache, it’s his hometown, it’s where you are and where so much love and happiness is.
Marc doesn’t say anything, just squeezes you tightly, palms fitted across your belly. “Oh,” you murmur eventually. “That’s good. You have a lot of things you need to sort out.”
“I will come back.” He nuzzles between your shoulder blades. “You know I will. Maybe you can come visit London while we’re there.”
“Really?” You perk up at that. “I’ve never been.”
“If you want,” he presses his cheek to the top of your spine. “You can help with the flat.”
You fold your hand over his, working your fingers between his. “Steven would be angry with me for dismantling his home,” you chuckle lightly.
“You know Steven thinks of here as home now too, right?”
You don’t answer again, your breathing slow and even, carefully controlled. “It is,” Marc says, when you don’t answer. “You can ask him yourself. He’ll tell you. Here is home for us.”
“It’s…but it’s going to be different,” you say lowly. “Of course, you have a place here with me,” you squeeze his hand tightly, reassuringly. “But you’ve been here for a reason. What if everything changes when it becomes permanent? I don’t want you to uproot yourself and then - this is just different, Marc. This is permanent. Maybe it won’t be fun anymore or maybe it…I mean there’s nowhere to go if-,”
Marc drops a kiss to your temple when he leans up above you on one elbow to glance at your face. “I don’t wanna go anywhere. Tell me you know that,” he pleads as you turn onto your back. “Tell me you know what you mean to us.”
Your lips quirk in a small smile, but it doesn’t quite meet your eyes. Your fingers are gentle when you push them into his side. “Of course.”
“You know here is home now.”
“I know here is home now,” you repeat. “For you.”
He leans down to kiss you, even though you laugh and try to push him away. “Where’s home for you?” He asks, mouth brushing yours.
Your hand fits against his chest. “Here.”
A cemetery, Chicago 3:16 PM
The light wavers yellow and warm through branches laden with burnt orange and scarlet leaves, the colors rapidly browning. Marc walks alone between graves, careful not to step anywhere he shouldn’t.
His mind is quiet and though you had offered to come with him, he’d adamantly refused.
You’ve done enough for him over the last few months, and this was something he wants to do by himself. This is something he has to do alone.
He can’t remember the last time he visited his brother’s grave. It’s been years, maybe decades.
He’s never seen his mother’s, not once, though he knows they’re buried quite close together. There’s a plot for his father, and one for Marc too.
Marc, in all his brushes with death, never thought of what would become of his body. Probably because he was so far away from home he’d never considered being buried in the family plot.
The air smells like fall, like fallen leaves and decay. But the day is nice, the sky a clean robin’s egg blue, and the scent of sunshine and the dregs of summer lingers in the air too.
It’s still warm, but the air has lost its heat. Summer has faded so quickly, Marc feels like he’s lost time. He blinked and the days were gone.
But he remembers all of it. Every second with you, in your shop, with his father, in that house that still haunted his dreams. He remembers every second with you, every moment in your apartment and in the shop. He remembers every brushstroke made, every valiantly repointed line in the brick wall, every single drive to the hardware store, every laugh, every dinner cooked together, and every piano note played.
For once, time escaping him doesn’t feel like a bad thing.
He stops in the shade of a tree, leaves spinning down gently in the sun.
It’s an incredibly beautiful day.
Marc is still glad you didn’t come with him, but he does wish he’d gotten to spend today outside with you. You love the sun, and Marc likes to look at you in the sun.
He doesn’t look at his mother’s grave, not yet. He looks only at his little brother, who he’ll never feel like he didn’t fail in some way.
Marc apologizes for not visiting, for taking so long to visit since the last time. Feeling just a little bit stupid, he tells Randall about you. But the cemetery is empty and so he tries not to feel too bad about it. He likes talking about you, in any case. You’re easy to talk about, easy to like.
He says the Kaddish and then crouches to lie two stones at the base of the headstone, one for himself and one from you.
He stays there for a long time, hand braced on the edge of the smooth rock, head bowed. “Sorry,” he says gently, because there’s no one there to hear him, and no one there to tell him not to. “I’m sorry, and I always will be.”
Saying it wasn’t his fault would never make the guilt quite go away.
When he stands, he has to take a moment to swipe the tears away from his face, before he can face his mother.
Even in death she intimidates him.
Like he could still be punished for doing nothing wrong, even now.
A cold chill sweeps down his spine when he finally turns to her grave.
He swallows hard, and thinks of you, how last Saturday you’d gone to the synagogue with his father when Marc hadn’t felt able to. You had come home smiling, with treats picked up from a Jewish bakery you’d gotten and hidden away from him the day before.
Marc thinks of all your small kindnesses, all of the thoughtfulness you applied to everything you did. The way you embraced him and Steven and Jake, and made an effort with his father even though you had no real reason to. You’d had no reason to go with his father, especially without Marc, but still you did.
You listened to all Steven’s long winded stories about Egyptology, and you indulged Jake in his flirting and silent need for acceptance.
There weren’t a lot of people, at least not that Marc could think of, that would do that.
You love him, he thinks he knows that, even if you don’t say it.
He doesn’t say anything for a long time, just stares down at her headstone and wonders where to start, if he has enough courage to.
A breeze sinks through the cemetery, ruffles the curls at the base of his neck. It reminds him of the way your fingers always tangle there.
“I forgive you,” he says, voice nearly inaudible, almost giving out. He should be stronger than this, louder than this, but it would have to do. “Maybe you don’t deserve it, but I do. I deserve to forgive you and move on. I hope…that you found peace.”
Marc’s hands are in fists, blunt nails cutting into the flesh of his palms.
He closes his eyes and says the Kaddish again before bending to leave a single stone.
Marc turns and walks back through the cemetery.
He doesn’t look back once.
His heart stutters in his chest all the way back to Tales Untold, panic building in the back of his throat. Like his mother would, even now, be able to know he spoke out of turn, would be able to hurt him again.
But you’re waiting for him, lodged firmly on the front step even with the chill seeping into the afternoon air. You tug him into you when you yank the door of your borrowed truck, not even waiting for him to climb out, and the feeling dissipates.
The knot along Marc’s spine loosens, the panic that homes inside his chest eases.
He clutches you tight to his chest and lets out a long breath.
“You did it, hermano.”
“Well done, Marc.”
You pull back and tilt your head. “I’m okay,” he says. “It was fine.”
“I’m proud of you.”
Chicago O’Hare International Airport 2:35 PM
It’s early October, and the first really chilly day has settled over the city.
The skies are slate gray and the clouds hang low in the sky. It’s only slightly oppressive, like the whole cloudbank might come crashing down at any moment.
The terminal is busy, and Marc takes a moment to find a little pocket of peace away from the rush people, the loud noise that is any airport.
“Are you sure you have everything?”
You’re looking at him with big, anxious eyes. “If I don’t,” he says gently. “I’ll be back in a couple months anyways.”
Marc knows you’re trying not to let him see just how upset you are. You haven’t cried in front of him, but he’s heard you try to hide the sniffles from behind the bathroom door more than once. “Yeah,” you rasp. “Of course. I know that. If you left anything I’ll keep it for you until you can come back and-”
“Baby,” he interrupts softly, tucking his passport and boarding pass into his back pocket before tugging you into him. “I’m coming back.”
“Y’don’t know that for sure,” you say suddenly, your breath hitching. “Everything you are now is in London-,”
He shakes his head, pulls back and cradles your jaw between his palms. You’ve given him so much comfort over the past few months, now is the time for him to offer it back to you. “It’s here now, everything I am. It’s with you. I’m coming back. I’m coming home.”
“I just,” you swallow and blink slowly at him. “I just don’t wanna be without you. I don’t want to be alone.”
Marc is sure that the feeling that cracks through his chest is his heart breaking.
“Hey, no-,”
“I just don’t wanna lose you,” you say softly. “I’ve come to rely on you a lot now too. I mean, who else is going to help me unclog the kitchen sink and unpot those stupid flowers for the millionth time? Who’s gonna build me stuff? And what about Steven and Jake? Who am I gonna make stained glass with and who’s going to teach me how to finally drive a manual car-,”
He feels a slight smile tug at the corner of his mouth. “And I wanna…I like having you around. I like all three of you and I like hanging out with your dad. And I like that you live with me and you show me parts of Chicago I never thought to go to and-,”
“Hey,” he interrupts more firmly this time. “We will do all those things. Us.”
“You-,”
“Me,” he emphasizes. “I’ll do all that stuff. Because I’ll be back. We will. Steven and Jake will drag our asses back, if not.” He means to make you grin back at him, but your eyes just go glassy again. “Hey,” he pulls you in. “C’mon, baby. We’ll call you every day. You aren’t losing anything. I promise.”
“Really?” You tug on his shirt. “For real, you promise?”
“I swear.”
“Promise, Marc,” you say into his shoulder when he tucks you into him. The heat of you seeps into him, along with all the things he’ll miss about you. He’s the one leaving, but that doesn’t make it easy on him. Maybe you’d realize everything he wasn’t the second he stepped away. But he has to try, he wants to make things work with you and that starts with going back to London to sort his shit out. “Promises are important.”
“I promise,” he says. “I promise, sweetheart.”
You give him a watery smile at the intense strain in his voice. “I believe you. I just don’t want to have to let you go.”
“Not letting anything go. You’re not letting anything go and neither am I. I’m not going anywhere.” You try to glance away, but he doesn’t let you, just like you never let him give up or look away. “I’ll be back by the new year. No longer than that. Hopefully sooner.”
You swallow thickly and nod. “Honey, you’re gonna miss your flight if you don’t go. Security might be-,”
“Fuck security. There are always other flights. I need to know that you know this is happening. I am coming back.”
“I know, Marc-,”
“You don’t though,” he says, adamant about it and not sure how to explain. “You don’t know what I’ve been through with you. You don’t know how much you’ve…how much you mean to me. I never woulda made it through this summer without you.”
There’s a long pause between you. Your eyes are wide as they search his. Marc doesn’t glance away, determined for you to see before he leaves.
You cover his hands with your own where it lays against your cheek. “Marc,” you lean in to kiss him. “I got you. I love you too.”
He doesn’t manage a response, just tightens his arms around you. “Yeah.”
“You need to go,” you whisper. “C’mon, let’s go.”
Marc tugs you with him, and you follow with a smile until the security area comes into view. “Bye, baby,” he murmurs in your ear, kissing you one last time.
You nod, and smile. “Bye, honey. I’ll see you soon.”
“Right,” he confirms. “Soon. And we’ll call everyday.”
“Of course you will, you promised,” you remind him. “Promised me, Spector.”
You release him gently, and back away a few steps. “I did. We will,” he says, just to keep standing there for a couple more seconds.
You wave and then make a gentle shooing motion. “Get going.”
Marc turns and goes before he can change his mind, before he can anchor himself to you and ignore every responsibility he’s ever had.
He gets in line and valiantly tries not to look back at you, but he can’t quite manage it. When he finally chances a glance back, he expects you to have disappeared like a mirage, like everything that happened and everything he gained had been one long dream. But when he turns you’re still there, watching him.
Marc can tell you’re crying a little, but you smile and wave each time he glances back.
Finally, you disappear from view and the story of you rounds itself out in Marc’s heart.
He will come back, and you will still be there waiting.
He will come home, because that’s who you are.
Once again, thank you so much for reading and for coming on this journey with me. You don't know how much it means that this particular story has gotten so much love from all of you. I wish I were better at explaining, just know that I love and adore all of you. Thank you, from the very bottom of my heart.
I'm going to miss this little world a lot.
#marc spector x reader#marc spector x you#steven grant x reader#steven grant x you#jake lockley x reader#jake lockley x you#moon knight fanfic#moon knight fanfiction
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How did the family react to Dolores' attempt to stop Mirabel?
Dolores wants to laugh, staring at the doorknob with nothing but contempt.
It’s almost funny. Abuela only needed to raise her voice at Mirabel to send the building crumbling. She just struck the girl hard, both her hand (and Mirabel’s cheek) burning angrily and painfully red - as red as her skirt and bow - and not even a spec of dust comes loose from Casita.
God, it makes her crazy. She can barely concentrate with everyone still talking. She snarls, going to hurl the stupid doorknob into the crowd because maybe that will shut them up, but as she looks up her wrist is caught by Isabela, who has made her way forward in the time. Her older cousin’s dark eyes are trying to search for something in her face, some explanation of why this is happening.
“Dolores?” Isabela questions.
“Are you okay, sis?” Camilo echoes, just behind Isabela. “What’s wrong?”
“Mija?” Her mother breathes, coming up the stairs on the left as oppose to the front like the other two. She reaches a hand out, an unspoken offer of an embrace or a chance to leave and talk somewhere more private.
If not for her hearing, Dolores probably wouldn’t have heard them at all because everyone else is still talking. Completely oblivious and ignorant. The rest of the family are now addressing the town, assuring them that this is all nothing but the townspeople aren’t lulled into any silence. They are still making noise.
“Lola?” Isabela tries again, gently. “Talk to me, us. We’ll help you.”
Her mother nods in agreement, “She’s right. A problem shared is a problem halved. But we can’t help you if you don’t tell us what’s wrong.”
She doesn’t say anything, trying to settle her breathing. Her hands go to cover her ears of their own accord; it’s all just instinct and muscle memory now. Her mother and brother share a sympathetic look with each other, while Isabela drops her hand from Dolores’ wrist sadly.
“Maybe we should go in?” Camilo suggests. “Give her some space alone in her room or something?”
“That’s a good idea, Milo. It’s been a long couple of months, I’m sure we could all do with some time and space away from everyone in our own rooms,” her mother mutters, to nobody in particular. “Why don’t you get the door?”
Camilo doesn’t need to be told twice, slipping between her and their mother to push the embellished door open. As there is no doorknob attached yet, he props it open with a stone for the time being. Dolores finds herself inside the courtyard, moving without thinking about it. Camilo and Isabela leading the way to the main staircase, while her mother guides her in.
The rest of the crowd follows behind them and it makes Dolores’ stomach twist in irritation, stopping her dead in her tracks. Now their voices and the sound of the animals that have regathered around Antonio are echoing as they fill in around her, more confined in a sheltered space and bouncing off the new walls.
Isabela turns back, reaching out for her. Camilo has stopped on the stairs too, tracking back his steps to help. Her mother approaches from behind, a hand on her back to keep her moving forward. But she refuses to go.
This is always the solution. Just bundle her up in her soundproof room. With no access to fresh air or any of the joys outside that they get to experience, all of that they take for granted. She is not some bird to be caged. It would have been foolish of her to think things might be different, back when the miracle coming back was only a nightmarish if.
They had done so well to remove the pressure. Isabela is free from her expectations and Luisa is never made to carry so much alone, but she is just left to suffer as she always had done?
Her fingernails dig into the surface of her skin, threatening to break the layers as the volume around her rises. More people seem to be noticing her by now - with the sun setting, shadows like her must be more bold.
“SHUT UP!” She screams.
And, though it hurts, it does have the desired effect. Immediately everyone is shaken to their core at her outburst, mouths either hanging agape or shutting on command.
The children, like Antonio, in the room begin to wail, curling into their parents. More scared than anything else. Their parents or caretakers doing their best to shush them without making noise, as her eyes flick to each in turn, glaring until they get the message.
The only noise is me.
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Oh, finally got the chance to ask for stories. If you allow me, I want a one-shot story about how the Gray Raven members helped Commander, who was blown away by a strong wind on a mission with them and blown away like Mary Poppins with her umbrella, with elements of comedy in it? Thank you very much.
Author's note:
Ngl, this is a bit of a challenge, and it did took me a while. Writing comedy is something new to me. Plus, my humor is *Chefs kiss*/sarcas.
Haha.. Ha.. Ha... Please say I am funny ;w;
BTW, the incident with the automatic umbrella was a true story of mine. It legit happened like that, I am not making this up.
Edit: Spotted some mistakes, fixed it
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Cursed Relic...
Grey Ravens and Commandant/reader (ft. Kamui)
Summary:
You found an piece of relic in the ruins. An automatic umbrella of the Golden Age. Yet, Lucia and Kamui insisted it is cursed.
Tags: Comedy (*finger guns*), mild action, Lee and Kamui the comedic duo, Panini-style
"Commandant!" Lucia yelled from five feet below. You watched as she fanatically ran around trying to find a way to get to you.
Liv was just as frantic, scanning for all possible means. Meanwhile, Lee was almost at the verge to kill Kamui.
Currently dangling, dangerously five feet above ground level, carefully, you readjusted your grip on the piece of metal. You felt your new battle suit accommodated to your grip.
You reckon you should just find your way out of this mess; before Lee has a chance to commit murder.
Your hands began to move along the pipeline with each grip as your body slowly, but surely, following along it's direction. You looked up to makes sure your hands are doing fine, and noticed your right hand was still gripping onto the relic...
*****
"Wait a minute..." you said.
Among the sand, you managed to spot something buried beneath. Out of curiousity you decided to pick it up, inspecting its shape and mechanics. You shook it to remove decades of sand and dust that was accumulated.
"Commandant?" Lee walked over to you. He saw you standing there in fascination, and he got a little curious.
His voice alerted Lucia as well. She, too, followed behind Lee, wanting to know what had caught your attention.
"Guys look," you said and held up relic, "I never thought I would see something like this!"
"What is it, Commandant?" Lucia asked.
"It's an umbrella," Lee answered, "Golden age relic, an automated model too..."
You nodded your head and added, "I wonder how does this work?"
"Let me take a look, Commandant," Lee said and conducted a scan on the item.
Meanwhile, Liv was scanning the surroundings nearby. Usually ruins are places where the corrupted like to gather the most, hence, it was usual practice for her to scan the area whenever the team are traversing through ruins.
Kamui was joining in with the mission, and was on standby behind the group. He asked, "Liv, anything nearby?"
The support construct shook her head, "No enemies detected. Punishing Virus Concentration is low. It is safe to continue." she reported.
Kamui nodded before noticing a lively conversation was happening between you and your other two constructs.
Without much thought, Bastion made his way towards you.
"Ah! Kamui, your post!" Liv exclaimed.
"It's fine, Liv. I'll be back in a sec!" Kamui promised.
Approaching the group, he peer over Lee's shoulder. "Oh wow! What's that?!" Kamui asked.
Lee jumped from the volume of Kamui's voice, "What the-!!"
Lee spun around, face flush with embrassment and anger. Placing your arm in between the constructs, you stopped Lee from grabbing Kamui. Paleflame could only bite his tougne, swallowing his annoyance all for your sake.
"It's an automatic umbrella," you answered Kamui's question.
You lifted up the item to give the construct a better look at it, "I bet Asmoiv would like to study this." you joked.
"... Commandant..."Lucia suddenly spoke, her voice sounded a little worried," are you sure you want to take the relic with you? "
"What is it, Lucia?" you asked. You were confused by what Lucia had said.
"It's just..." her cheeks went a little red. Embrassed by what she was about to say, "I heard that relics are usually cursed. Should you take it with you, Commandant, I am worried that something might happen to you."
Everyone went quiet after Lucia spoke. You didn't know what to think of it until Kamui spoke, "Hey, Lucia... Are you sure? I know we watched a lot of Golden Age movies but..."
"Cursed relics are simply myths," Lee butted in, "there are no scientific prove that curses exist other than being a human cultural belief. In other words, this is all superstition. So, don't worry about it too much."
Flushed with colour, Lucia lowered her head a little out of embrassment. "It's okay, Lucia. I know you meant well," you reassured, "Thank you."
"... I guess we have stayed here long enough, shall we move on, Commandant?" Lee asked.
Giving him a nod, you then turned to Liv and requested, "Liv, how did the scan go? Any way out?"
"There are in total five exits in this ruin, this includes the entrance. The nearest exit is in the west wing of the building." Liv reported.
"Get into formation," you ordered, "Kamui, back to position."
Bastion gave a little pout but nodded regardless and went back to his position at the back. Under your command, you and your group continued going through the ruin. Looking for the exit, before all of you over stayed your welcome.
Arriving at the location, Lee commented when he saw the exit, "Liv, when you say exit, do you mean this?" he pointed at the huge hole on the wall. Liv turned a little red from embrassment and nodded.
"Commandant, it's raining," Lucia said, "There should be a waterproof function in your new uniform."
You nodded and activated the control system. The wrist band on your suit glowed projecting a control panel in front of you. There was a newly installed functions list in your system. You took your time to scroll through the list, searching for the word 'Wateeproof' but not before catching your eyes on another word, 'Parachute'.
Once you found what you wanted, you press the button waiting for the system to respond. However, after a few seconds pass, the system was not responding. Pressing the button again, you helded a troubled look.
“Commandant?” Lee asked. He approached the control panel and tried to press the button as well.
“I think the suit’s lagging,” you said, "It was working fine before."
“Did you break the the mother board by chance? Or the communicator?” Lee asked, “let me run a scan.”
You thought about it, but you never recall every breaking the technology inside your suit. You never took a big fall, nor did you hear anything break.
"Nevermind," You said. There's no time to lose. Taking the umbrella, you lift it up and showed it to your constructs, "I can always use this." you spoke proudly.
"... Are you sure? That thing looks kinda rusty." Kamui commented.
Lucia had a look of worried on her face.
"Just watch how this works," exicted, you pushed the button to open up the canopy. However, the runner slide with a small pop, the whole top flew off the tip leaving you holding onto the handle and the shaft. The canopy landed on the ground with a wet thud. The rain fell harder, hitting home the fact you are definitely going to get wet.
"... Is that how it suppose to work?" Kamui asked.
"Shut up,"Lee scoffed.
"Hey Lucia," Kamui turned to Grey Raven's captain, "you know, this is kinda like a sign."
Lucia pulled back, "What do you mean?" She asked in a serious tone.
"maybe...the relic is actually cursed?" Kamui suggested, "Commandant already has encounter two problems. Maybe there would be a third one!"
Immediately, Lucia's heighted her senses. In fear she looked at you, who was still making a joke about the umbrella. Liv and Lee were trying to help you put the umbrella back together.
"C-Commandant..." Lucia said, she reached out trying to stop you, however, as optimistic as you could be you said, "Well, I guess we just to find the nearest shelter and run. Liv, anything?"
Running a scan, Liv nodded and report, "There's infrastructure up a head."
"Good, let's move out, team!" you ordered. You pulled your cape over your head and ran out of the ruins.
Standing there, Lucia could only watch as the rest of her team followed you. All running towards the shelter under the beating rain. Lost at what she should do, Lotus could only bite her tougne and followed from behind.
*****
"Whew! We made it!" you spoke as you tried to catch your breath.
Standing by the entrance of the infrastructure, it seems to be a warehouse of some sorts. You were soaked from head to toe.
"Commandant, are you alright?" Lucia asked in worry.
Looking at your contruct, you gave her a slight confused look. 'What has got her so on edge? ' you thought.
"What is it, Lucia?" you asked.
"..." struggling say it out loud, Kamui butted in, "What Lucia is trying to say is... Do you feel anything off? Like a broken ribs or something?"
"Commandant, are you hurt?" Liv asked in surprise.
"Oh no, no, I am fine," you laughed," But I am getting a bit cold, let's head inside." you pointed at the warehouse.
Quickly, everyone went in. Lee and Kamui closed the entrance door, just in case the corrupted were to walk in.
"From the look of this place...there should be an office here somewhere," You mumbled, desperate to find something to dry you off. You began shivering from the cold. Walking along the warehouse, you looked around to see there were also machineries laying around. Then it clicked to you that this isn't a warehouse, but a workshop.
"I wonder what things did the people make in this place?" you asked.
"Something with paint. " Lee answered. He pointed at the large empty pot with paint residue all dried up at the bottom.
"Guys look!" Kamui exclaim and ran ahead.
"Kamui, wait!" Liv cried.
"Let him be, Liv." Lee sighed.
Everyone followed Kamui. He had ran towards a control panel up front, and next to it was an industrial fan.
"Guys, I got an idea!" Kamui said, "We can dry Commandant with this!"
Lee apparoch Kamui as he played with the controls. "I wouldn't touch anything here if I were you." Lee warned.
"Don't worry, bro. I got this!" Kamui gave Lee and thumbs up, Paleflame flashed a look of skepticism.
Meanwhile, you continued to inspect the umbrella. Back at the ruins, Lee fixed it for you so it should work fine.
Holding the umbrella out, you pressed the button to release the top again. This time, instead of the top flying out from the shaft, it stayed and the ribs opened up.
FOOM, it let out a sound and a sudden burst of force startling you a little. You've never experience something like this before.
'Do people back in the Golden Age always experience this everytime it rains?' you thought to yourself.
Maybe the history museum back in Babylonia would be happy to collect this. Excited, you turned around eager to show your constructs the umbrella actually works.
At the same time, Kamui was troubleshooting the machine. Suddenly, the fan blades began to move. It started a little slow, but soon picked up it's momentum.
You, with an open umbrella at hand, approached Lucia and Liv. "Hey, look the umbrella works!" you said happily. However you began to feel resistance from behind. As the wind blew stronger and stronger, the umbrella suddenly picked up the wind.
The next thing you knew, your feet flew off from the ground. The fan blew as you held on to the umbrella, taking you a few feet above.
"Commandant!" Lucia cried.
"Oi!" Lee snapped at Kamui.
Quickly you grabbed on to a nearby pipe to prevent yourself from hitting the wall. Grabbing onto the piece of metal tightly, you looked down and saw the Grey Ravens panicking.
Lucia and Liv were running around, while Lee was on the verge to kill Kamui.
The umbrella was still in your hands.
"I knew it! It's cursed!" Lucia exclaimed.
"What do you mean, Lucia?" Liv asked.
"The unbrella..." Lucia replied, "It's a cursed relic."
Liv was taken back.
"As long as it's by Commandant's side, Commandant will always be in danger." Lucia continued.
"Wait, Lucia how can you be sure. These are just myths." Lee said.
"but..." Lucia replied, "Didn't a number of misfortunes happened after Commandant kept the umbrella?"
The team went silent.
"... Then what should we do?" Liv asked.
Everyone looked at Lucia, waiting for her response. Thinking hard, she figured it would be wise to tackle the thing she was cautious the whole time.
The umbrella.
"We need to destroy that relic. As long as its there, Commandant is not entirely save." she said.
"I agree," Lee said, "and we need to act fast. I doubt the pipe could hold on."
On cue, the pipe began to break from your weight. You held on tightly as the piece of metal dropped down. Metal scratching against metal sounded like thunder roaring through the workshop. This alerted the team. The situtation was dire and they need to act.
"Let's split up," Lee suggested, "Liv and Kamui, stay here and watch out for Commandant. Lucia and I will head to the office to see if there's anything to help Commandant!"
Not a second to waste, Lee and Lucia dashed towards the office. While Kamui and Liv kept watch. "Don't worry Commandant!" Kamui yelled, "If you fall I can catch you!"
"Erm... Kamui, I don't think it's possible for Commandant." Liv said.
Suddenly, the piece of metal dropped lower. You felt your heart dropped, thinking you were seriously done for. As you dangled from above, you look up and saw how the metal pipe was held desperatly by the nuts and bolts. It had bend it's shape from your weight and you don't think it could hold on much longer.
"Commandant!" A small voice echoed at a distance.
"Commandant!" Liv yelled in her soft voice.
"Liv?" you answered back.
"Commandant, there should be a magnetic mode on your combat suit!" she yelled.
Quickly and carefully, you activated your wrist band; projecting the control panel once more. Going to system control, you scroll through the different modes your suit has.
However you didn't pick the mode Liv suggested, you opted for a better choice.
Carefully, you moved your hands to make your way towards a large metal tub, connected with the pipe. Making it through your fingers griped on the thin protruding seal edge, while stepping on the edge near your feet. You slowly made your way around the structure. Getting close to another set of pipes. Inching your way closer towards Liv and Kamui.
Meanwhile, Lucia and Lee had found the office. They rummage through the desks, cabinets and lockers trying to find anything they could use for help.
"There's nothing here," Lucia said,"How about you, Lee?"
Lee shook his head and said, "I couldn't find anything but these towels." he opened one of the lockers and showed Lucia a bunch of towels made with a textured fabric.
Standing by the locker, Lee gave it a good thought and spoke, "Actually, maybe this could work."
"How?" Lucia asked.
"Back in the day, humans use a fabric net to catch people when they jump down from high places. We can make a net with these." Lee took one of the towels and pulled at it showing Lucia how flexible and durable the material is.
"They are a little too small..." Lucia commented,"Are you sure this can catch Commandant?"
Lee held a stoic look before grabbing his gun. He tinkered with his guns for a bit. Not long, the weapon began to shift its parts.
"What?" Lucia spoke. She was surprised at what she saw.
"Don't go telling anyone about this, especially Kamui," Lee said, "I knew this will come in handy someday. I have installed different types of mechanics into these guns. They should help sew these towels together."
He handed Lucia one while Lee took the other. He demonstrate to Lucia how to sew and both constructs hurriedly work on the makeshift catch net.
As soon as they were finished, they gave the stitches a little test before rushing back to where Kamui and Liv were.
"We're back!" Lucia exclaimed.
"Lucia! Lee!" Liv said.
"Where's Commandant?" Lucia asked.
"Guy!" they heard your voice. They all followed the sound of your voice and saw you walking along the pipelines, arms out to maintain balance. You were getting closer to where your constructs were standing.
"Good timing," Lee said. He gave Lucia a corner of the makeshift catch net, and handed the other corners to Liv and Kamui.
"We've made a catch net, everyone needs to be careful not to pull the fabric too tight," Lee warned.
As you got closer, the rusty pipes began to give out. You almost slipped and ran as the pipes bend and broke off from it's screws. Your footsteps rang as your shoes hit the metal, you can see your constructs with the net. Running towards the end of the pipeline, you jumped just in time.
On that moment your hand releases the umbrella, throwing it away to the side.
Lucia saw it as an opportunity, she ran towards the umbrella, unsheathing her sword. The relic was cut into several pieces in mid air before dropping to the ground.
As you fell, you went to pull a string on your left shoulder, a small parachute launched.
Kamui's jaws dropped, Lee was stoic but his eyes showed surprised, while Liv had a sigh of relief.
With the parachute, you gently landed next to your constructs and did a forward roll, before standing up.
"Commandant! You did it!" Kamui exclaimed.
"So you have a parachute all along?" Lee asked. He was a little annoyed, if only he knew. He wouldn't have showed Lucia his gadgets
"I am surprised myself, I didn't even know the suit has packed a small parachute. I got to see all the functions and controls the suit has to offer." You explained.
"... Fair enough..." Lee said, although he still felt a little bitter.
"As long as the relic is gone, everything should be alright," Lucia said.
"Ah, the umbrella!" you exclaimed, you just remembered.
Lucia jumped when she heard you exclaimed.
"Commandant, do you still want to bring that cursed relic home?" Kamui asked, scratching his head in confusion, "Didn't you have enough of bad luck already?"
"It's more like, you activated the machine which landed us here in the first place..." Lee mumbled.
"Nah, I think I have enough of it today." you said, "I am a little sad, but I don't miss it."
A small smile was draw on Lucia's lips, there was a moment of relief in her expression.
Everyone had a sigh of relief as the danger had past.
"But, I really need to find a place to dry off. I am getting cold." you spoke. Immediately, your contructs began to panic once more.
------
(C) Punishing-eden
#pgr#punishing gray raven#punishing eden#punishing: gray raven#pgr lee#pgr x reader#pgr kamui#pgr lucia#pgr liv#Comedy do I know her?
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Dust Volume Nine, Number Seven
Chuck Johnson
Is it hot where you are? Has it been raining a lot? Is there smoke in the air? It's been the weirdest, most disturbing summer, and you might think it would make music irrelevant. But no, this is Dusted, and we continue to listen and judge and write about records even at the end of times. So here's another Dust. Enjoy. We hope there will be one next month, too, but let's see what happens, eh?
Contributors include Jennifer Kelly, Bryon Hayes, Jonathan Shaw, Chris Liberato, Ian Mathers, Patrick Masterson, Jonathan Shaw, Andrew Forell and Tim Clarke.
Omar Ahmad — Inheritance (AKP)
Inheritance by Omar Ahmad
Omar Ahmad’s music follows dance pulses through thickets of memory. A glitchy beat sinks into slippery textures of synthesizer, piano, strings and field recordings; the music moves but in a haze of memory, as the sounds of women, children and running water flashes and subsides. Omar Ahmad is a Palestinian-American electronic artist and DJ currently based in Brooklyn and in this first full-length, he explores identity (ethnic and otherwise) through a scrim of memory. These glowing ambient compositions don’t hammer the point home—rather they gently suggest and evoke a dual western/Arabic identity. The baby in “Gesso” says “Daddy” in English but is answered in another language. The cut “usra” whose name translates as “home” or “family” incorporates a ululating non-western vocal alongside the pristine electronic modernity of synths. “Sham Oasis” has, perhaps, the most concentrated array of Middle Eastern sounds, a jangle of not-guitars, the thud of hand drums, a shaker, but it also twitches and glitters with space-age electronic sounds. The songs have lovely, idealized, luminous textures that don’t belong, exactly, to any single culture, yet they are warm and beautiful enough to make it feel like home anyway.
Jennifer Kelly
Animal Piss It’s Everywhere — S-T (Half a Million)
Animal Piss, It's Everywhere by Animal Piss, It's Everywhere
This loose and goofy country ramble obsesses over Jesus and intoxicants, sometimes but not always in the same songs. Indeed these bleary sing-alongs seem best suited for Sunday morning with the sun streaming in on the tail end of a one- or two-day bender. They’re exhausted but full of good feeling, played on muscle memory and love of the game. “Jesus Got Under My Skin,” for instance, ramps up the roadhouse boogie in a stunned and stoned narrative about finding one’s savior—and then trying to ditch him. “Naked” slouches and twangs in a righteous chorus of “Naked…ass…man…blues.” There’s considerable talent on hand, however casually it is deployed, from a confederation of Western Mass freak folk regulars. A guitar-heavy line-up features Anthony Pasquarosa, Clark Griffin (Weeping Bong Band, Pigeons), Shannon Ketch (Bunwinkies) and Andy Goulet on pedal steel (Winter Pills, Lonesome Brothers etc.). Rob Smith from Rhyton and Mouth Painter plays drums and Jim Bliss (of various Matt Valentine projects) sits in on bass. “I’ve found sucksess, sucking at success,” croons the singer, making a point; this band of miscreants achieve their aims without coming within a hundred miles of commercial palatability.
Jennifer Kelly
Aunty Rayzor — “Nina” (Nyege Nyege Tapes)
youtube
Perhaps the hardest song I heard over the last month opens with an almost demented pogoing and a video staring straight at the sun with an airplane’s corpse and a silhouette on the wing fixing her hair before she struts into your life and all over your ears. If you don’t already know Bisola Olungbenga aka Aunty Rayzor, Nyege Nyege Tapes has done a fine job ensuring you’ll want to hear everything the Nigerian has to say after one listen through of “Nina,” the lead single from September’s Viral Wreckage. Veering between red hair and blonde amid rusty MiG-21s, Rayzor takes the hard-nosed rhythm from Berlin-based beatmaker Debmaster — just listen to the way that kick rumbles on the low end — and matches it step for step to powerful effect. You don’t need Nyege Nyege’s effusive description of the forthcoming full-length to gather we have another formidable female rapper waiting in — or is it on? — the wings to embarrass the boys and prolong women’s global chokehold on the genre that little bit longer. Only a fool or an incel could complain.
Patrick Masterson
Aware — Requiem for a Dying Animal (Glacial Movements)
Requiem For A Dying Animal by AWARE
Alexander Glück, who records as Aware, specializes in producing a haunting tributary of ambient sound that aims to cause unease. His music is ghostly, chilling, and morose. It evokes loneliness yet, like most good stories, contains a faint trickle of hope. His compositions encompass vast swathes of tone peppered with microscopic flecks. These resemble large chunks of metamorphic rock that Glück has fused into rich, veiny patterns. These polychromatic constructions tell stories of isolationism and hardship interspersed with hopefulness and joy. They reflect our species’ interconnectedness with a natural world that simultaneously seeks to nurture and destroy us, as we in turn seek to exploit its bounties. With his music, Glück seeks to find an equilibrium, a stalemate between us and our environment. He will likely never solve this riddle, but Requiem for a Dying Animal is a fruitful step on the journey toward his goal.
Bryon Hayes
Blight House — Blight the Way (Syrup Moose Records)
Blight the Way by Blight House
Blight House makes the kind of death metal-infused grindcore that aims for utter absurdity: absurdly heavy riffing; absurdly fast drum-machine blips, blats and thumps; absurdist, so-stupid-they’re clever semiotics. It’s hard not to laugh (or at least ruefully chuckle) at the puns in the band’s name and in the title of this new record. Song titles are even dumber and sometimes even more funny: “Dismembers Only,” “Bible Belt Baby Buffet,” “Walpurgis Date-Night.” And so on. But as is generally the case with records like this, it’s hard to know where the joke ends and the band begins. If it’s all done for laughs, then why is the music executed with such apparent seriousness (n.b., for a less overworked version of a grindy gag act, see this)? And if we’re supposed to hear at least some of Blight House’s stuff with a dash of gravid sincerity, then please, band, send instructions on how to pull off that bit of cognitive jiu-jitsu. Or on second thought, maybe don’t. It’s probably better for everyone involved if we just accept the low-brow yucks to be found in songs like “Acephalophilia III: Hopelessly Headless for You” for what they are, and take the tune at its word. If you think about this sort of edge-lord-adjacent, meme-driven cultural production too hard, you may end up in the writers’ room for Ron DeSantis’s next campaign commercial. Headless and heedless, thoughtless and feckless—blight the way into our collective, idiotic future, dudes.
Jonathan Shaw
Buffalo Nichols — The Fatalist (Fat Possum)
The Fatalist by Buffalo Nichols
Buffalo Nichols’ Carl Nichols has a fine gravelly voice, an unfussy skill with the pick and the slide and the swagger that turns songs of suffering into songs of defiance. In other words, he’s a bluesman of the first order and unusual, these days, in that he’s not 100 years old or a suburban white guy. Yes, Buffalo Nichols is on a mission to reclaim the blues for the folks who invented it—black people—and this very fine album makes a pretty good case for the rightness of his cause. How so? Well, to begin with The Fatalist is mostly acoustic, relying on the speed and accuracy of Nichols fingers rather than a floor sized pedal board; there are no endless wah wah’d solos, no feedback freakery. His vocal delivery matches up, too, quiet but intense, an on-pitch growl that pulls you in and holds you there. There’s a simplicity in the playing and arrangements that underlines the power of these song. Listen, for instance, to the eerie magic of slide, the elemental punch of kick drum on the Blind Willie Nelson cover, “You’re Gonna Need Somebody on Your Bond.” Or the winding melancholy on “The Long Journey Home,” which frolics funereally in banjo and fiddle tones. He brings in the Philadelphia singer and songcatcher Samantha Rise on “This Moment” for a duet, her voice warm and resonant, his hoarse with emotion, a violin twining around the both of them in a dizzy mesh of sounds. A subtle album, but a good one.
Jennifer Kelly
Cyberplasm — First Emanation (Iron Lung)
First Emanation (LUNGS-262) by CYBERPLASM
Electro-punk dissonance melds and mixes it up with anarcho-freak industrial noise on this new EP from Olympia-based Cyberplasm. The band doesn’t seek to exorcize the ghost in the machine so much as conjure it, feed it with nerve impulses harvested from your frontal lobes and then unleash it on our various political and informational systems. Chaos ensues. Maybe it’s liberatory, maybe it just wants to raze all signs of institutional power. Too damn bad if your sense of security or self-worth gets in the way — and in any case, the music is perversely enjoyable. Check out the d-beat scree of “Spit from Fluid” or the foreboding, crust-infused “Second Mind.” The EP’s ten minutes flash by in a series of burned-out synapses and frying amplifiers. Cyberplasm makes underground music that captures the grit and weirdness of lawless subterranean spaces, virtual and material. It’s exciting stuff. It feels dangerous. Punk’s not dead.
Jonathan Shaw
Decoherence — Order (Sentient Ruin Laboratories)
Order by DECOHERENCE
If you have been following Decoherence’s coruscating, cosmic circuit through the 21st century, you won’t find much to be surprised by on Order, the band’s new LP. It’s 40+ minutes of pounding, pyrotechnic industrial metal, thoroughly blackened and shot through with enough harsh noise to burn off your eyebrows. The pace is a little slower, vocalist Derek Jacobsen (who appears on Decoherence releases as Tahazu, an anglicized version of the ancient Sumerian word for battle) sounds like another layer of gristle is occluding his vocal cords, and the compositions of musicians Stroda and Prior are marginally less engaged by melody than many of those on the band’s previous LP, Unitary (2020). If you’re into this sort of thing, none of those small changes is a bad thing. But while Unitary represented a profound development when contrasted with the band’s first several releases, Order feels like a consolidation — a band summing its aesthetics and refining its songwriting sensibility. Which suggests an interesting question: How much order do we want in metal music? This reviewer likes it when Decoherence embraces the chaos denoted by its band name. Check out “An Unconfined System” on this new record. Play it very, very loud. Order? Not so much.
Jonathan Shaw
Drekka—The Water of Life (Orb Tapes)
The Water of Life by Drekka
Michael Anderson, the artist who records as Drekka, made these four long-form meditations for a live performance in Indianapolis in 2015, loosely basing his mix of primitive and electronic sounds on the sci fi classic Dune. All four cuts evolve slowly out of hiss and static (the first one is even called “Stasis and Static”), a buzz like live power wires in the foreground, the faint ghosts of bells, altered choral voices rising up occasionally to mysterious ends. You could, of course, construct an imaginary Dune world out of these sounds, its vast deserts and obliterating sandstorms, its mystic addiction to spice, but it would take some active listening and imagining on your part. The title track assists, somewhat, submerging drips of liquid in the rumble of wind flapping through sails, and the nearly human chants that rise as if from a distance out of the noise. There’s a lot of activity here, a scramble to rattle bits against each other, the click and ching of various percussive elements. And through it comes the hum of dawning revelation, just hovering notes rising, but seeming to reach some inscrutable insight out of the noisy scrum.
Jennifer Kelly
The Finks — Birthdays at Solo Pasta (Milk!)
Birthdays at Solo Pasta by The Finks
Courtney Barnett’s recent announcement that her label Milk! Records will be closing down at the end of the year means that The Finks’ Birthdays at Solo Pasta will be one of the label’s final releases. This feels fitting for a label that has quietly released some understated gems over the years from artists such as Tiny Ruins and Mess Esque. The Finks, led by Oliver Mestitz, create the kind of intimate, loosely woven songs that thrive on the obvious ease between the players, as if you’re listening in to a front-room jam session in which everyone is warmed up and starting to develop their instrumental parts into a lively, organic whole. Mestitz leads the way with his quiet, congested voice, as if he’s perpetually getting over a head-cold, often accompanied by the complementary vocals of Sarah Farquharson. The rhythm section, piano and guitar are wonderfully restrained, the woodwinds muted and sinuous, with everything unfolding patiently. At their best, such as on “Marco Polo” and the instrumental “Ego Slump,” The Finks tap into something truly gorgeous and radiant.
Tim Clarke
Frode Gjerstad / Kalle Moberg / Paal Nilssen-Love — Time Sound Shape (PNL)
Time Sound Shape by Gjerstad / Moberg / Nilssen-Love
If you’ve been tracking Scandinavian free music for the past few decades, you might think you know what record sounds like when you hear that Frode Gjerstad and Paal Nilssen-Love are on it. After all, they’ve been playing together since the latter was a teen and the former was trying to lure promising players into the out-jazz life, and they’ve made a fair number of steaming recordings in that time. But they haven’t made anything quite like Time Sound Shape. Recorded at the Gamle Aker Kirke, Oslo’s oldest edifice, in 2021, it may be completely improvised, but it takes its cues from circumstance, space and opportunity, and those cues point the music in a very different direction. The old stone church’s resonance amplifies Nilssen-Love’s all-gongs set up into a massive sonic presence, and accordionist Kalle Moberg conspires with the percussionist to create a solemnly orchestral breadth of sound. Gjerstad, alternating between alto sax, alto flute and Bb clarinet, sharpens the action with short, anguished cries. This is the biggest sound that three guys can make without the assistance of electricity.
Bill Meyer
Gerrit Hatcher — Solo Five (Kettle Hole)
Solo Five by Gerrit Hatcher
Gerrit Hatcher’s learned well. Instead of waiting for fortune, the Chicago-based tenor saxophonist makes things happen. He plays in town quite often, tours econo and self-releases music on his own label, Kettle Hole Records. The title of this album (a real, glass-mastered CD, unlike the blue-faced disappointments so often sold under that name on Bandcamp these days) attests to his devotion to solo performance. It takes practice as well as physical prowess to command the quivering presence and driving force of his tone, which might remind some of Dave Rempis. Each of the album’s seven tracks makes an assertive statement, but not always a big, loud one; windy textures can be as compelling as rippling notes.
Bill Meyer
James Howard — Peek-a-Boo (Faith and Industry)
Peek-a-Boo by James Howard
James Howard’s debut is all stardust and stopped time. For some reason, I’m reminded of that scene in Buffalo ‘66 where Ben Gazzara, in surreal Sinatra-in-a-tee-shirt mode, croons his father-in-law-y feelings to an entranced, doe-eyed Christina Ricci. Except that Howard’s voice is closer to the dreamy, chill side of Roger Waters (see “St. Tropez'' and “Wots… The Deal”). And his songs are about things like meeting up with your drug dealer on the scenic outskirts of town and raising your children to fear nuclear annihilation. The high point of Peek-a-Boo might be “The Reckoning,” where Howard’s fingers tiptoe up the fretboard like a kid on Christmas Eve on his way to peek at his presents, and cymbals splash like someone on tranquilizers falling into a pool. But really the whole record is a gem and feels like one big, wonderful, floaty, pill-powered dream.
Chris Liberato
Chuck Johnson — Music from Burden of Proof (All Saints)
Music From Burden Of Proof by Chuck Johnson
Chuck Johnson has long been a master of eerie pedal steel atmospherics, building shadowy cloudscapes out of shifting, resonating guitar tone. Here he turns his grasp of sonic mystery to cinematic ends, composing music both guitar-based and not for the HBO series Burden of Proof. If you’re familiar with Johnson’s solo work, the opening “Burden of Proof” will catch you up short with its Bach organ cantata ominous-ness, its densely arranged chamber strings. It sounds not at all like the silvery dream narratives of Balsams or The Cinder Grove; it gathers up in stirring crescendos of emotional turmoil. “The Night of the Disappearance” fits more neatly with what you might have heard before from Johnson. It floats lingering traces of bending guitar sound over a slow lattice of electric keyboard. But setting aside expectations of what Chuck Johnson should or shouldn’t sound like, there is quite a lot to appreciate here: the glittering rhythms and bare-bones bass plunk of “Interrogation,” the swelling synth tones of “Ruth Ann,” the bright cerebral keyboard cadences of “The Note.” Not having seen the show, I can’t tell you how the music works (or doesn’t) to support mood or plot points, but here on the record, it’s subtle and varied, and occasionally, as on “More Surreal” has the slow moving contemplative grace that distinguishes Johnson’s best work. He’s making art and likely getting well paid. Good for him.
Jennifer Kelly
Héctor Lavoe — La Voz (Craft Latino)
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After arriving in New York as a teenager, Puerto Rican singer Héctor Lavoe became a key figure in the popularization of salsa during the 1960s and 1970s. As part of the Fania label roster that included Willie Cólon, Rubén Blades and Celia Cruz, Lavoe released nine albums beginning with his 1975 debut, the aptly named La Voz. Produced and arranged by Cólon, the album foregoes much of the instrumental pyrotechnics of his contemporaries’ records to focus on Lavoe’s voice and improvisational talents. Opener “El Todopoderosa” (The Almighty) features frenetic percussion, piano vamps and blasts of brass which, good as they are, have no chance distracting from Lavoe’s caramel smooth tone and timbre. The clarity of his voice carries the emotional weight of “Un Amor de la Calle” even as the horns weep behind him. On the joyful, faster numbers his call and response with backing vocalists Cólon, Blades and Willie Garcia drive the songs forward but there’s plenty in the background to grab the ears. Witness the off-kilter piano and trumpet solo in “Rompe Saragüey” or the percussion and horn breakdown in “Mi Gente.” Whether you’re a salsa fan or not, this is an opportunity to hear one of the great vocalists in his prime with a killer band and irresistible songs. What’s not to love.
Andrew Forell
Natalie Rose LeBrecht — Holy Prana Open Game (American Dreams)
Holy Prana Open Game by Natalie Rose LeBrecht
It would not be accurate to describe Natalie Rose LeBrecht’s new record as a mix between La Monte Young/Marian Zazeela’s (who she’s studied with and assisted) cosmic minimalism and the Dirty Three’s more spacey, searching efforts (that trio’s Mick Turner and Jim White both play on Holy Prana Open Game), but even in its inadequacy the comparison points towards the kind of rarified air the record is floating amidst. It’s kind of wild to remember that “Amok” here is a radically transformed (one might even say, ahem, improved) cover of the Atoms For Peace song, it’s so of a piece with the other five pieces that make up the album. Whether it’s the more open excursions of “Open” and “Prana” or the gentle lilt of the opening “Home,” this suite soars into inner space immediately and rests there contentedly.
Ian Mathers
Gabe ‘Nandez — “Louis XIV” (POW Recordings)
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Anyone paying attention to Jeff Weiss’ POW Recordings has been able to surmise how enthusiastic the label head has been about the hushed husk of New Yorker Gabe ‘Nandez, and Gabe’s returned the favor in kind with polyglot explorations of the inter- and intrapersonal alike, most recently on April’s Pangea, plus a feature alongside fellow East Coast tome spitter Billy Woods on last year’s Aethiopes. The one-off “Louis XIV” finds Gabe talking kingly killings and heartbreak over a sublimely paired beat from Tel Aviv producer Argov (he of “Venus in Mercury” that preceded this) and kitted in a Burberry coat amid London’s Abney Park cemetery. A low-slung, high-intensity performance, “Louis XIV” is self-evident, a perfect portrait of what makes ‘Nandez so lethal (and appealing) as a rapper. Anyone with an affinity for bars ought to appreciate it.
Patrick Masterson
Jim O’Rourke — Hands That Bind OST (Drag City)
Hands That Bind (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) by Jim O'Rourke
Any word of a new Jim O’Rourke release is justifiably greeted with excitement, especially when that release is via Drag City. However, Hands That Bind isn’t a continuation of the glorious singer-songwriter fare O’Rourke has perfected on albums such as Eureka, Insignificance and Simple Songs, but rather the soundtrack to a new film by director Kyle Armstrong. The instrumental atmosphere is aligned with many of O’Rourke’s Steamroom explorations, which he’s made available in a steady stream via Bandcamp: slow, sparse, mostly abstract synthesizer soundscapes. The difference here, given O’Rourke is responding to a visual medium, is deeper grounding in the creation of an immediate evocative mood. Shimmering synth textures evoke the chittering of crickets and wide-open expanses of countryside, punctuated by percussion and the reassuring thrum of upright bass. Then, suddenly, a detuned piano or dulcimer will cut through the mix, raising an eyebrow of concern, as if uncertainty is looming on the horizon. The drama of this simple juxtaposition creates an addictive tension that sustains this elegant suite’s runtime.
Tim Clarke
Rat Heart — “Flashing Lights Freestyle” (Shotta Tapes)
Rat Heart - Flashing Lights Freestyle by Shotta Tapes
One of Kanye’s most indelible beats is herewith given a kind of Jai Paul-like treatment via Mancunian Tom Boogizm, who runs the Shotta Tapes label that’s known best for the free-for-all experiments of his increasingly visible Rat Heart alias. We’re a far cry from Northern Luv Songs 4 Wen Ur Life's a Mess, obviously, which threw all manner of spaced-out, instrumental guitar hypnotics at the wall only to see it all stick in a manner most Dusted faithful would find familiar — but this isn’t a total left turn for Tom given we’ve also seen stuff like the Actress-esque 'A Blues' come out in the last year. If you don’t know where to start with him, this serves as a good point of entry for his more beat-driven material, the vocals submerged just that little bit too much beneath the fluorescent, once-ubiquitous backing beat of the Graduation staple. Nobody’s asking for a return to 2007 (that I know of, anyway), but it’s enough for a moment to remember the music once outshone the hubris of its creator. Some of us might call that moment simpler.
Patrick Masterson
La Sécurité — Stay Safe! (Mothland)
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Montreal quintet La Sécurité combine insouciant new wave and funk driven post punk on their debut album Stay Safe! It’s a lane that’s been driven before by bands like Romeo Void and Au Pairs, but they bring an infectious energy to bear. Singing in French and English, lead vocalist Éliane Viens-Synnott moves from the ironic detachment of Debora Lyall to indignant recrimination, shaping her voice to inhabit each song. Atop Kenneth Smith’s propulsive drums and Félix Bélisle’s elastic bass lines, guitarists Melissa Di Menna and Laurence Anne Charest-Gagné add chunky chords and sibilant solos. Although you can spend time picking the influences, the songs are uniformly good. The dispassionate sprechgesang of “Le Kick” with its motorik drums and Au Pairs guitar licks, the mocking tone of the Devo like “Waiting For Kenny,” the groove of “Serpent” which sounds like an amalgam of “Snakes Crawl” and “Too Many Creeps.” The rhythms are tight, the guitars slash and chime in equal measure, the quintet all contribute synths, percussion and backing vocals to their stories of toxic men, relationship ups and downs and daily grind of existence.
Andrew Forell
Jumping Back Slash, Būjin — “Order of Change” (Future Bounce Ltd.)
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Would you believe this started as a piano-based folk ballad? Maybe not if you only heard the first half of the first single from a promised forthcoming album due in November. But what originated as a song with a “folklike Kate Bush flavor to it” morphed into a Janus-faced split of a dancefloor-filling first half that runs Brit-turned-South African Jumping Back Slash’s bass-heavy club deconstruction right through Cape Town native Būjin’s delicate but firm vocal before turning into a lush, orchestral outro much closer in spirit to the original idea. The balance works both ways for Būjin, who tightropes across the transition clear to the other side. What else this LP has in store remains to be seen, but it’s a promising first dispatch for those who err on the side of futuristic pop sounds.
Patrick Masterson
Whose Rules — Hasler (777 Rules)
Hasler by Whose Rules
If you’ve got any sort of weakness for airy, breathless, pristine indie pop, may I suggest Whose Rules, the solo endeavor from a busy Norwegian producer named Marius Elfstedt. This first album, Hasler, touches ever so lightly on sonic territories staked out by Elliott Smith: a wistful tenor warble wrapped around softly inevitable tunes. You might even catch a whiff of the Sea and Cake’s breezy artfulness. Yet while the songs aren’t weighted down, they’re not exactly scrubbed bare either. Elfstedt’s producer background shows through in shifting, transparencies of overlaid sound: guitars, synths, percussion frame delicate melodies but don’t overwhelm them. The music wafts by in a flavored cloud, but there’s a good deal of nourishment in its ethereal mix. I like “Stone” with its scrabbly guitars, its rainy/sunny moods, its sudden swells of synth that could easily be horn lines. There’s a bigger, brassier song in here somewhere, but for now it’s hiding shyly, reticently in a private corner of Elfstedt’s imagination.
Jennifer Kelly
#dusted magazine#dust#jennifer kelly#omar ahmad#animal piss it's everywhere#aware#bryon hayes#aunty razor#patrick masterson#blight house#jonathan shaw#buffalo nichols#cyberplasm#decoherence#drekka#the finks#tim clarke#Frode Gjerstad#bill meyer#gerrit hatcher#james howard#chris liberato#chuck johnson#hector lavoe#andrew forell#Natalie Rose LeBrecht#ian mathers#Gabe ‘Nandez#jim o'rourke#rat house
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So what's captain stars full name?
Could you explain how the tugs can turn to a human form in your au?
Heyo! Thanks for the ask [and the opportunity to talk about TUGS!]
My HC for Star's name is Johnathan Star, and for kicks my HC for Zero is Ruben Rosiello Zero
I very specifically wanted them both to have typical names for the era from different backgrounds
Star is a first generation American, and has a very 'American' name because his parents tried to fully assimilate him but still from a European background
Zero has a very Hodge-podged name from being adopted: Ruben is from his parents [from him being there only son/child], Rosiello was his 'system' name, and Zero was his parents family name being butchered in when they immigrated [originally Sutro]
As for my human au, the main thing i follow with all of my human au's now a days is based in the concept that machinery that runs on steam is considered 'living' machinery by folks who work on/with it. With that i take a sort of sci-fi approach to the sentience of vehicles, where the faces of machines are concentrated manifestations of steam, with the vehicle itself being more so a 'vessel' for life energy captured from steam/electrical/diesel power
The human forms are basically using the physical machines ability to concentrate the energy and moving it into a different compact form. The machine itself is a lightening rod and the human form is a battery.
In reality they *arn't* human, if you cut one of the human forms it'll seep out a mixture of watery goo, oil, coal dust, tar, particulate, and all forms of gelled muck, they can also take any form they'd like but the human form is pretty advantageous to functioning with humans.
The human forms can be maintained as long as the form is given things to add to it's mass. This could be drinking water, eating food, fuel, garbage, having other vehicle forms 'donate' material, ect
The forms also somewhat abide to how the actual vehicle is, ie, Hercules is tall and built up because his vessel is large and can concentrate more, vs Zug being short because his vessel can concentrate less, there volume is consistent but the form they take isn't, this is why Zaffre isn't able to maintain a smaller size in her intro fic
I could go on for hours about these things, and how there biology works [these things can reproduce, not well but ya know] but I can save that for another day
#the fire burns#burnings#this is tugs#z stacks#star tugs#tugs hercules#tugs zug#zaffre#captain star#captain zero#oc#headcannon#au#human au#humanization#gajinka
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In the biggest transformation in the history of the CW since Mark Pedowitz took the reins 11 years ago and turned the fledgling female-focused CW into a gender-balanced network with a thriving superhero franchise, the net is fundamentally changing the way it operates and makes decisions.
Having functioned as an extension of its parent companies’ studios, Warner Bros. TV and CBS TV Studios, the CW’s role had been to help launch series which the two studios can exploit in streaming and international. A number of renewals over the years were dictated by the shows’ value to the studios, not the network, which explained why the low-rated Dynasty ran for five seasons on the CW. The show, which was canceled today, was the subject of a rich deal between CBS Studios and Netflix and making money for the studio regardless of its performance on the CW.
After the CW’s sale, while Warner Bros. and Paramount are expected to retain minority stakes and continue to supply programming for it, their interests will no longer be above those of the network.
The 2019 end of WBTV and CBS Studios’ Netflix output deal for the CW programming also played a role in some of the cancellations as newer series go to HBO Max/Paramount+ and do not bring in external streaming revenue, putting more pressure on them to deliver for the studios. (The end of the Netflix pact has been beneficial for the CW, which can now monetize its shows with a full-season stack for all of but The Flash, Riverdale and All American.)
Financial considerations by studios led to the cancellation of several series, which Pedowitz probably would’ve kept on the air longer, including Legends of Tomorrow, which deserved a proper sendoff after seven seasons, Legacies, which has a devoted fan following, and In the Dark, which has been among the CW’s highest quality series. I hear the CW was willing to renew those shows but the studios behind them were not for business reasons as they try keep their slates profitable.
While the CW’s original scripted series volume is going down significantly, the network has beefed up its slate of acquired scripted programming, including Family Law, Professionals and Leonardo, on tap for next season, as well as alternative fare.
In light of the cancellations, we may no longer see marquee CW original scripted series such as Riverdale and Nancy Drew on Fridays or Sundays as was the case this season; they may be concentrated on Monday-Thursday (or possibly Sunday-Thursday). More acquired and alternative programming will likely find its way to the lower-trafficked nights and the summer where the CW had been consistently airing a few original scripted shows over the last couple of years.
There are a lot of rumors and speculation what the CW would look like under its new owners, with speculation about a potential push for more wholesome programming that appeals to middle America and questions about its future commitment to LGBT representation.
While time will tell what the CW would evolve into, for now, under Pedowitz, the network remains committed to diverse and inclusive storytelling that could push boundaries.
Heading into the CW’s new era, Pedowitz next Thursday will take the stage for the only traditional broadcast presentation this upfront as we bid farewell to the unicorn that the CW was, a broadcast net with two equal owners and a unique business model that survived way longer than anyone would’ve predicted.
https://deadline.com/2022/05/the-cw-cancellations-upfront-2022-transitional-year-ownership-change-1235022928/
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That RWBY analysis a few days back where you mentioned how 'off' Our Heroines seem to perform when split up or worked into another team reminds me: I've seen some takes claiming the smart thing to do in 'No Brakes' would've involved triple-teaming Neo then Saw Guy then Torchwick. I'm...unsure, mainly 'cause (a) the illusion gremlin might've been *way* more slippery if she felt swamped and (b) it's not like they had all day to stop the damn train (though that didn't work out anyhow).
In hindsight yeah, ganging up seems like a potentially smarter call, because we the audience know how strong Neo is, but we have to consider things based on what the characters knew at the time. I haven't actually watched Volume 2 in a while, so my memory is probably shaky, but as I recall, the tactical situation was as follows:
The train is speeding towards Vale and full of bombs, which are freeing Grimm that are following the train.
The protagonists do not know how many enemies are on the train or how powerful they are, or how fast the train is moving or how close it is to Vale.
They do know that time is of the essence: they must stop the train as soon as possible, to prevent it from luring Grimm directly into the city. That is their win condition, not victory in any given fight.
They have two choices here: split the party or stick together. There are pros and cons to each.
Staying together allows them to concentrate their firepower and attempt to overwhelm singular opponents (in this case, Neo and then Banesaw and then Torchwick) with minimum risk and maximum speed. The downside is that the opposing side's win condition isn't outright beating them in a fight, it's making sure the train arrives in Vale. If the protagonists run into someone capable of stalling them, they lose outright, and Neo may well be capable of stalling them, given her showing against Yang and the fact that all three of WBY are more limited by fighting in a train car full of volatile Dust than Neo is. Hell, Neo doesn't even have to delay all three of them. If she can hold off two, Banesaw handles the other and Torchwick crashes the train into Vale uninterrupted. Ganging up on Neo (and any subsequent bosses) is an all-or-nothing strategy - either our heroines win and progress, or they don't win and sacrifice all chance of stopping the train.
Splitting the party, on the other hand, puts the individual members at risk in exchange for a potentially greater chance of stopping the train. Now, our protagonists can win by stalling, because all they have to do is get one person to the cab of the locomotive to have a chance of stopping it. Up to two of them can split off to deal with bosses or mobs without sacrificing a shot at the objective. Blake is the ideal choice to take that shot because Yang is the best fighter (and thus most likely to actually survive a duel against an unknown opponent without factoring matchup-specific factors like Semblances or equipment) and Weiss isn't as slippery as Blake is, but she has a lot of crowd control options and can effectively tie up an opponent or group of opponents long enough for Blake to slip past them.
Of course, we see the risks inherent in this strategy in canon. Yang and Weiss lose and could very well have died if Raven hadn't intervened and Banesaw hadn't thrown Weiss into the compartment where Blake was standing, demonstrating that splitting the party relies on individual superiority, or at least parity, to work. Did they make the right call here? Who knows? They were working with a lot of unknowns, and I don't think there's a definitive answer. Their choices didn't work out too well in canon, but I can't say with any kind of certainty that the alternative would have been better.
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Dust Collector Explosion Protection: Safeguarding Your Facility
Dust collectors are the unsung heroes of industrial environments, quietly but effectively removing harmful particles from the air and keeping workplaces safe. However, they also harbor a hidden danger: the potential for dust collector explosions. Just imagine - a device designed to enhance safety inadvertently becoming a catalyst for disaster. But fear not, for dust collector explosion protection is not just a pipe dream; it's a vital aspect of ensuring the continued functionality and safety of your facility.
Unveiling the Threat
Understanding Dust Collector Explosions
Before we delve into protection strategies, let's shine a light on the menace lurking within dust collectors. A dust collector explosion occurs when accumulated dust within the system ignites, triggering a rapid combustion process. This can lead to devastating consequences, including equipment damage, facility downtime, and, worst of all, potential harm to personnel.
The Quiet Danger
Dust collector explosions are often underestimated, lurking in the shadows of seemingly innocuous machinery. Yet, the statistics speak volumes: according to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), between 2008 and 2017, there were an average of 1,170 dust explosions reported annually in the United States alone. These incidents highlight the pressing need for robust dust collector explosion protection measures.
Fortifying Your Defenses
Conducting a Comprehensive Risk Assessment
As with any battle, the first step in mitigating the risk of dust collector explosions is identifying potential vulnerabilities. Conduct a thorough risk assessment of your dust collection system, evaluating factors such as dust type, concentration levels, and ignition sources. This assessment will serve as the foundation for developing tailored protection strategies.
Implementing Proactive Measures
Prevention is always preferable to cure, and the same holds true for dust collector explosion protection. Consider implementing the following proactive measures:
Regular Maintenance: Schedule routine inspections and maintenance to ensure your dust collector operates at peak efficiency and minimize the risk of dust accumulation.
Explosion Venting: Install explosion vent panels on your dust collector to provide a safe outlet for pressure buildup in the event of an explosion, mitigating the potential for catastrophic damage.
Spark Detection and Suppression: Incorporate spark detection and suppression systems into your dust collection system to identify and extinguish ignition sources before they can trigger an explosion.
Investing in Advanced Protection Systems
In addition to preventive measures, investing in advanced explosion protection systems can provide an additional layer of defense against dust collector explosions. These systems may include:
Flameless Venting: Utilizing flameless venting technology to safely vent explosion gases without the risk of flame propagation, minimizing the potential for secondary explosions.
Pressure Relief Devices: Installing pressure relief devices, such as rupture discs or relief valves, to relieve excess pressure and prevent catastrophic equipment failure.
Empowering Your Team: Training and Awareness
Educating Operators
Your dust collector explosion protection efforts are only as effective as the people responsible for operating and maintaining the system. Provide comprehensive training to operators on the hazards of dust collector explosions, proper maintenance procedures, and emergency response protocols. Empower them to be vigilant and proactive in identifying and addressing potential risks.
Fostering a Culture of Safety
Safety isn't just a set of protocols; it's a way of life. Foster a culture of safety within your organization, where every team member understands their role in dust collector explosion protection and feels empowered to speak up about safety concerns. Encourage open communication, regular safety meetings, and continuous improvement initiatives to keep safety top of mind for everyone.
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Conclusion: A Call to Action
In the complex tapestry of industrial safety, dust collector explosion protection stands as a critical thread, weaving together preventive measures, advanced technologies, and a culture of vigilance. By understanding the nature of the threat, fortifying your defenses, and empowering your team, you can minimize the risk of dust collector explosions and ensure the continued safety and functionality of your facility. Remember, in the battle against this silent menace, preparedness is paramount. Are you ready to fortify your defenses and safeguard your facility against the threat of dust collector explosions?
#dust explosion protection#dust collector explosion protection#protection against dust explosions#dust explosion prevention and protection#Youtube
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Elevating Workspaces: The Art and Science of Office Cleaning in Melbourne
In the heart of Melbourne's bustling business district, amidst the dynamic pulse of commerce and innovation, lies the silent yet profound practice of office cleaning. From towering skyscrapers to cozy coworking spaces, the cleanliness of office environments plays a pivotal role in shaping organizational culture, employee well-being, and client perceptions. In this exploration, we delve into the intricate world of office cleaning Melbourne, uncovering its significance, challenges, and transformative potential in creating spaces that inspire productivity and elevate the human experience.
The Significance of Office Cleaning:
Cleanliness is not merely a superficial attribute of office spaces; it is a reflection of organizational values and a catalyst for operational excellence. In Melbourne, where businesses compete fiercely across industries, the state of office cleanliness speaks volumes about a company's commitment to professionalism, hygiene, and employee welfare. A meticulously cleaned workspace fosters a sense of pride and ownership among employees, signaling that their well-being and comfort are valued by the organization.
Beyond aesthetics, the importance of office cleaning extends to tangible benefits such as:
Enhanced Productivity: A clutter-free and sanitized environment promotes focus and concentration, allowing employees to channel their energy towards productive endeavors. Studies have shown that employees are more likely to perform optimally in clean and organized workspaces, leading to increased efficiency and output.
Improved Health and Morale: A clean office environment reduces the risk of illness and absenteeism by minimizing exposure to germs, allergens, and pollutants. Employees feel valued and respected when their workplace prioritizes cleanliness and hygiene, leading to higher morale and job satisfaction.
Positive Brand Image: In Melbourne's competitive business landscape, first impressions matter. A clean and well-maintained office sends a powerful message to clients, partners, and visitors, reinforcing the company's professionalism, attention to detail, and commitment to excellence.
Challenges in Office Cleaning:
Despite its significance, office cleaning presents several challenges that are unique to the dynamic urban landscape of Melbourne:
High Foot Traffic: Melbourne's central business district is characterized by bustling streets and crowded sidewalks, translating to high foot traffic within office buildings. This constant influx of people increases the accumulation of dirt, dust, and debris, necessitating frequent cleaning interventions to maintain cleanliness standards.
Diverse Work Environments: From corporate headquarters to creative studios, Melbourne hosts a diverse array of work environments, each with its own set of cleaning requirements and challenges. Cleaning protocols that work well in traditional office settings may not be suitable for open-plan workspaces or collaborative hubs, requiring customized solutions tailored to the unique needs of each environment.
Sustainability Concerns: As a city known for its commitment to environmental sustainability, Melbourne businesses face pressure to adopt eco-friendly cleaning practices and products. Balancing the need for effective cleaning solutions with environmental responsibility requires careful consideration and investment in green cleaning technologies and methodologies.
Strategies for Effective Office Cleaning:
To overcome the challenges associated with office cleaning Melbourne and achieve optimal results, businesses can implement the following strategies:
Partner with Professional Cleaning Services: Outsourcing cleaning responsibilities to reputable cleaning companies in Melbourne allows businesses to benefit from expertise, experience, and specialized equipment. Professional cleaners can devise customized cleaning plans tailored to the specific needs of each workplace, ensuring thorough cleaning and sanitization without disrupting daily operations.
Adopt Technology-Driven Solutions: The advent of technology has revolutionized the field of office cleaning, offering innovative solutions that enhance efficiency, precision, and sustainability. From robotic vacuum cleaners to UV disinfection systems, businesses can leverage cutting-edge technologies to automate cleaning tasks, minimize human error, and achieve higher standards of cleanliness.
Prioritize Employee Training and Engagement: Empowering employees to take ownership of their workspace and participate in cleaning initiatives fosters a culture of cleanliness and accountability. Providing training on proper cleaning techniques, waste management practices, and hygiene protocols equips employees with the knowledge and skills to maintain a clean and healthy work environment.
Embrace Sustainable Practices: In alignment with Melbourne's ethos of sustainability, businesses can adopt eco-friendly cleaning practices and products that minimize environmental impact without compromising cleaning efficacy. From using biodegradable cleaning agents to implementing water-saving techniques, sustainability can be integrated into every aspect of office cleaning operations.
The Future of Office Cleaning in Melbourne:
As Melbourne continues to evolve as a global hub for commerce, culture, and innovation, the future of office cleaning holds immense promise for transformation and innovation. Emerging trends such as smart cleaning systems, data-driven cleaning analytics, and autonomous cleaning technologies are poised to revolutionize the way businesses approach cleanliness and hygiene in the workplace.
Moreover, the ongoing pandemic has underscored the critical importance of maintaining clean and hygienic office environments to protect employee health and well-being. Enhanced cleaning protocols, increased frequency of cleaning interventions, and the adoption of advanced disinfection techniques have become imperative in mitigating the spread of infectious diseases and ensuring workplace safety.
In the vibrant tapestry of Melbourne's urban landscape, office cleaning emerges as a silent yet indispensable force that shapes the fabric of organizational culture, employee experience, and client perceptions. By recognizing the significance of office cleanliness and implementing effective strategies and solutions, businesses can create environments that inspire creativity, foster collaboration, and promote well-being.
From traditional cleaning methods to cutting-edge technologies, the art and science of office cleaning in Melbourne are evolving to meet the dynamic demands of modern workplaces. As businesses embrace sustainability, innovation, and employee engagement, they pave the way for a future where clean and healthy work environments are not just a necessity but a testament to the values of excellence, integrity, and care.
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IP6X Dust Test Chamber: Evaluating Dustproof Performance
Dustproof test chamber is also known as IPX6 dustproof test chamber. With the rapid development of modern technology, electronic products are being widely used in our daily lives. However, due to the delicate circuits and components inside electronic products, they have low tolerance for dust and particles. Therefore, we need to conduct dustproof tests on them during production and use to ensure their normal operation and lifespan.
What is a dustproof test chamber:
A dustproof test chamber, is used to evaluate the ability of test samples (devices) to resist the penetration of dust particles, the ability to resist abrasion or blockage by sand and gravel, and the ability to store and operate under the effects of dry sand or dust-laden atmosphere. It works by blowing a certain concentration of sand or dust over the surface of the test sample at a certain flow rate, driven by a fan.
Working principle of dustproof test chamber:
A centrifugal fan is the main energy source for dust movement. The high-speed rotation of the fan blades sucks in the dust, which enters the dust pipe due to the centrifugal force of the fan blades. The entering wind speed in the pipe is generally more than 7.5m/s (if the wind speed is too low, the dust will settle in the pipe and the test tube will not work).
The dust pipe is sprayed into the test chamber from the top at a speed greater than 2m/s, passing through the sample. Since the lower part of the working chamber is funnel-shaped, the settled dust slides down onto the 72X50um filter above. Through the vibration of the vibration motor, the dust smaller than the diameter of the filter mesh is sucked in again by the centrifugal fan, thus repeating the cycle.
The symbols and abbreviations used in the national standard are as follows:
– IP: Ingress Protection, used to indicate the protection ability of electronic products against solid and liquid ingress.
– 6X: indicates the IP6X level, which represents the protection ability of electronic products against dust ingress.
The dustproof test chamber should meet the following requirements:
1.The chamber should have good sealing performance to prevent dust infiltration.
2.The chamber should have adjustable wind speed and air volume control devices to simulate different dust environments.
3.The test chamber should be equipped with appropriate sensors and monitoring instruments to measure and record parameters such as temperature, humidity, and dust concentration during the test.
The dustproof test should be conducted under the following conditions:
1.Temperature: Room temperature (20±5℃)
2.Humidity: Relative humidity should not exceed 80% (no condensation)
3.Dust particles: Simulated using standard particulate matter, the specific level is determined according to the electronic product being tested.
Test procedure:
1. Place the test electronic product in the test chamber and seal the chamber door.
2. Adjust the wind speed and air volume to meet the requirements.
3. Maintain the test time, determined according to the nature and requirements of the electronic product.
4. After the test, open the test chamber door and inspect the electronic product.
Evaluation of test results:
According to the requirements of the IP6X level, the results of the dustproof test can be divided into the following situations:
1.Pass: After the test, no dust ingress is detected within the specified time.
2.Fail: After the test, dust ingress is detected within the specified time.
3.Partial pass: After the test, dust ingress is only detected in certain areas or specific locations within the specified time.
Result report:
Based on the test results, a result report should be prepared. The report should include the following information:
1.Test date, description of test equipment and test conditions.
2.Model, specifications, and requirements of the tested electronic product.
3.Parameters and results monitored during the test.
When conducting dustproof tests, the following points should be noted:
1.The sealing performance of the test chamber should be regularly checked and maintained to ensure accuracy and stability.
2.The interior of the test chamber should be kept clean to avoid interference from impurities and foreign substances.
3.Test conditions should be selected and adjusted according to the actual environmental conditions to ensure the authenticity and reliability of the test.
The dustproof test chamber, conducted in accordance with the IP6X test method, is an important tool to ensure electronic products are protected from dust ingress in real-world environments. By rigorously adhering to the standards for dustproof tests, the dustproof performance of electronic products can be evaluated and validated, providing reference for improvements during production and use. The establishment and implementation of this national standard will help improve the quality and reliability of electronic products and protect the rights of consumers. Additionally, it will promote the development and innovation of the electronic product industry. Therefore, relevant companies and organizations should pay attention to and comply with this national standard to ensure that electronic products can operate normally in different dust environments and have a long service life.
SC-015 Dust-proof Test Chamber (Sand Dust Chamber) is applied to physical and other related performance tests for electronic and electrical products, lamps, electrical cabinets, electrical components, automobiles, motorcycles and their parts and other products under simulated dust climate conditions. Verify whether the performance of the product meets the requirements through verification after the measurement, so as to facilitate the design, improvement, verification and factory inspection of the product. Fully meets IEC60529:1989 +A1:1999 +A2: 2013 ,IEC60598-1, GB2423.37-89 (Test L: dust test methods), GB4208, GB/T 4942.2-93(protective casing grade of low-voltage apparatus), GB7000.1 9.2.1, 9.2.2 and Figure 6, DIN40050 and IP5K0. The dust test chamber is applicable to the IP5X and IP6X dustproof test.
Dustproof Testing Machine SC-015
Lisun Instruments Limited was found by LISUN GROUP in 2003. LISUN quality system has been strictly certified by ISO9001:2015. As a CIE Membership, LISUN products are designed based on CIE, IEC and other international or national standards. All products passed CE certificate and authenticated by the third party lab.
Our main products are Goniophotometer, Integrating Sphere, Spectroradiometer, Surge Generator, ESD Simulator Guns, EMI Receiver, EMC Test Equipment, Electrical Safety Tester, Environmental Chamber, Temperature Chamber, Climate Chamber, Thermal Chamber, Salt Spray Test, Dust Test Chamber, Waterproof Test, RoHS Test (EDXRF), Glow Wire Test and Needle Flame Test.
Please feel free to contact us if you need any support.
Tech Dep: [email protected], Cell/WhatsApp:+8615317907381
Sales Dep: [email protected], Cell/WhatsApp:+8618117273997
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The Importance of House Washing
Just like your car, a dirty home requires cleaning. Having your house regularly cleaned will help prevent mildew and mold from building up.
Organizing can make your cleaning job much easier and faster. Start by creating a dedicated station for your cleaning supplies. This will save you time and money.
Cleaning the Exterior
The outside of a House Washing can collect dirt, mildew and mold. These can damage the cladding and cause it to degrade over time. Washing the exterior of your home regularly helps prevent this and keep it looking fresh.
A good rule of thumb is to wash the exterior of your home at least once a year. This will remove any dirt build-up and help halt any organic growth. Washing your house is especially important if you plan on painting it as a fresh coat of paint will not adhere well to a dirty surface.
Before attempting to pressure wash your house, you must ensure that you have the right equipment and knowledge to do so safely. Pressure washing can cause a lot of damage if not done properly, including damage to windows, doors and landscaping. It is also recommended that you test your water pressure on an inconspicuous area of cladding before applying it to the entire surface.
Cleaning the Gutters
Gutters are important for directing rainwater away from the roof, House Washing Services and foundation. But when they become clogged with leaves, debris and mud, water can overflow and cause problems. That’s why it’s important to clean them regularly.
A good gutter cleaning solution is white vinegar or cream of tartar mixed with water. Scrub the solution onto the gutters and rinse. This is an effective way to break up grime and stains.
Alternatively, a pressure washer can remove stubborn stains from a home’s gutters. A high-powered nozzle and proper safety precautions are key to avoid damage to the roof shingles, siding or landscaping. If you prefer not to teeter on a ladder, there are gutter-cleaning attachments for pressure washers that allow you to keep both feet on the ground. If you choose this method, be sure to protect your eyes and wear sturdy work gloves. Also, have a bucket nearby to deposit debris. You should also consider adding gutter guards to prevent re-clogging.
Cleaning the Roof
The roof is another area where a house wash is very important. If the buildup of mold, lichen, and/or moss is not cleaned on a regular basis it can cause damage to the shingles. This can lead to leaks in the home and/or ceilings. It can also create a shelter for rodents to nest in and cause further problems. In addition, a dirty roof can be an eyesore and reduce the value of your home.
Soft washing is the process of cleaning a roof using low pressure, a biodegradable chemical and a high volume of water to remove stains, dirt, moss, and algae. This is done to protect the shingles from damage caused by a pressure washer.
When a soft wash is performed, the crew will often cover or water any plants near the building to prevent them from being contaminated or damaged by bleach or other chemicals used in the cleaning solution. The crew will also take care to ensure that no debris is left behind in gutters or plant beds.
Cleaning the Interior
Even if you regularly sweep, mop and dust your home, there's still gunk that can build up. The right cleaning solutions, scrubbing by hand, and a good pressure wash can help you achieve a clean as a whistle house once again.
The first consideration when washing a house is the surface material; Hardie siding, brick, vinyl or Stucco will dictate the algaecide detergent strength and mix ratio used. Generally, smooth surfaces use a weaker solution while porous materials such as brick and stone will typically utilize a hotter, higher concentration of up to 3% sodium hypochlorite with longer dwell times.
If you're planning to hire a professional, make sure they follow all the CDC's guidelines for pressure washer safety and use the proper equipment to avoid injury and damage to your home. It's also a good idea to clear the surrounding area of toys and bikes to avoid kids and pets tripping on them during the pressure wash.
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Why Choose a CO2 Laser Cutting Machine
Industries and industrial applications need laser cutting machines for precise and efficient cutting. Manufacturing industries require metals and other entities to be cut precisely and cleanly. For this, many industries rely on CO2 laser cutters.
Let us see the basic features and various advantages of CO2 laser cutting machines that are integral to many industrial applications and factors:
Speed and Efficiency:
CO2 laser machines are high-speed. The conventional techniques cannot compete with the high-quality working of these machines. Moreover, high-quality work is done at impressive speeds, thus improving productivity and reducing production time. Many industries need high-volume production, such as electronics, aerospace, and automotive applications.
Precise and Versatile Cutting:
CO2 lasers slice smoothly through the material and make accurate cuts with precise and clean edges. In this manner, the manufacturers manage to design complex shapes and intricate designs on various kinds of wood, fabrics, glass, metals, plastics, and other versatile materials for different industrial applications.
The efficient CO2 lasers can process several workpieces for industrial production lines in record time.
Non-Contact Cuts:
The material for cutting and the CO2 laser beam do not come in contact with each other. In this non-contact process, there is no need for direct mechanical force, reducing the chances of material deformation or damage. Thus it is beneficial for sensitive or delicate entities.
Minimal Heat Affected area:
CO2 lasers produce an intense, firm beam of light with a mixture of gases, resulting in a small heat-affected zone around the laser cut. In this case, the thermal distortion and damage are minimized, and the surrounding material shows a precise, clear cut. This quality is paramount when laser cutting is done on a material that warps or is heat-sensitive.
Automation:
Integrate the CO2 laser cutting machines with advanced and technologically sound computer numerical control systems or the CNC. This process results in an automated, precise, and efficient cutting process. CAD/CAM software may enhance automation quality for complex or intricate design patterns. This will further assist in the following:
precise and automated cutting
Programming complex cutting patterns
Ensure accuracy and repeatability.
Cost-friendly operations:
While CO2 laser cutting machines may need a reasonable initial investment, they are cost-effective in the long run. There is no need for additional dyes or tools in the setup used for cutting designs, hence reducing costs and expenses. Moreover, the fast speed at which the machines also help in cutting down costs significantly.
Environment friendly:
CO2 lasers generate a beam of light focused on the material, and there is a minimum amount of dust, waste material, and debris, dust left after the process. There is hardly any requirement for harmful chemicals in the process, and the waste generated is significantly less, labeling the process as environmentally friendly.
This powerful tool using the carbon dioxide laser and concentrated light beam helps engrave and cut precisely with high speed and versatility, making them a good choice for the textile, automotive, aerospace, manufacturing, and signage industries.
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2023 MAY 30 Tuesday
TUE DO 1'23 #1 ~ Life Breathing Styles
If it isn't obvious, this is inspired from the Breathing Styles of the Kimetsu no Yaiba manga/anime series, but applied to real life actions and scenarios (without the actual fighting, or nichirin swords, as I don't have any nor the skills to wield one without cutting myself)
In terms of Life Management System specifics, this will be integrated as a Life Action (S.O.P.) as "BRAVO" Standard Actions with the latest (Alpha, Beta, and Delta) versions as follows:
DELTA Versions (implementation & improvement)
WIND Breathing ~ Regular (I) / Total Concentration (II) Breathing
[0-I] Silent Air of Anemoi
Regular breathing in and out (through nose & without sound)
[0-II] Storm Eye of Venti
Regular deep breathing in and out (through mouth & with sound)
[1-I] Gentle Breeze of Zephyrus
Deep breath in (through nose)
Hold breath and be still for a bit
Slow and steady breath out (through nose)
[1-II] Stalwart Gust of Favonius
Deep breath in (through mouth)
Hold breath and be still for a bit
Slow and steady breath out (through mouth)
[2-I] Soaring Updraft of Eurus
Slow deep breath in (through nose, with expanding chest)
- visualization: soaring up through an updraft (i.e. Genshin Impact)
Hold breath for a short bit (thinking of what to do)
- visualization: suspended at the top of the updraft
Slow and steady breath out (through nose)
- visualization: gliding down from the updraft (i.e. wind gliding)
[2-II] Surging Storm of Vulturnus
Slow and deep breath in (through mouth, with expanding chest)
Hold breath for a short bit (extra focus on what to do)
Slow and steady breath out (through mouth)
[3-I] Piercing Gale of Boreas
Slow and deep breath in (through nose, closing eyes)
Hold breath (and emptying mind)
Slow and 'whistle-like' blowing (through mouth, opening eyes)
[3-II] Indomitable Tempest of Aquilo
Slow and deep breath in (through mouth, closing eyes)
Hold breath (and focusing on a single thought)
Slow and 'blast' blowing (through mouth, opening eyes)
[4-I] Swift Whirlwind of Notus
Quick breath in (through mouth with lungs)
Sharp (silent to low volume) breath out (through mouth)
[4-II] Turbulent Tornado of Auster
Quick breath in (through mouth with core)
Sharp (& LOUD to SHOUTING) breath out (through mouth)
WATER Breathing ~ Motions of Life, where:
Sync - Multiversal Mental Motions
Strat - Omniversal Temporal Motions
[Sync 0] Still Water
Zero-State
- visualization: Giyu Tomioka's 'Dead Calm'
[Sync 1] Undulating Horizon
no thoughts, just looking (at the sea afar)
- visualization: far horizon in a calm sea
[Sync 2] Shifting Tides
contemplating on overall circumstances
- visualization: incoming & outgoing waves in seashore
[Sync 2a] Lifting High Tide
contemplating on good/positive things in life
[Sync 2b] Bowing Low Tide
contemplating on bad/unfortunate things in life
[Sync 3] Perpetual Waves
contemplating on current circumstances
[Sync 4] Enduring Waterfall
concentration/focus on staying strong mentally
[Strat 0] Crawling Bayou
no timeframe for actions
[Strat 1] Trickling Creek
taking time to do proper actions
[Strat 2] Flowing Stream
wasting no time to do proper actions
[Strat 3] Running River
double time to do proper actions
[Strat 4] Raging Rapids
double time & may skip proper actions
[Strat 5] Flash Flood
rushing due to individual urgent/emergency situations
[Strat 6] Channeling Strait
mass rushing due to multiple urgent/emergency situations
[Strat 7] Rogue Swell
mass rushing due to singular/incidental global event
[Strat 8] Towering Tsunami
mass rushing due to multiple/ongoing global event
[Strat 9] Final Cycle
rushing to / halting at the end
STONE Breathing ~ Controlled Actions / Weights Exercises
Still Rock
Zero-State & awareness of body
Rolling Stone
body control when doing regular activities
Hollow Dust
body control to minimize noise/disturbance
Precious Gem
body control to ensure only gentle pressure is applied
Firm Boulder
body control when holding or bracing onto things
BETA Versions (testing & development)
FIRE Breathing ~ Cardio Exercises
MIST Breathing ~ Kind Works with others
ALPHA Versions (conceptualization & programming)
THUNDER Breathing ~ Quick Movements?
SUN Breathing ~ Leadership? Respect/Fame?
MOON Breathing ~ Friendship? Affection/Adoration?
LIGHT Breathing ~ Good Works with others? (i.e. Virtues?)
SHADOW Breathing ~ Bad Works with others? (i.e. Vices?)
P.S. I'm not a Hashira, still in training, just so you know.
~ A0K
#A0K#A3kii Life Stream#TUE DO#How#To Do#Tuesdays#Life#Breathing Styles#wind#water#stone#fire#mist#thunder#sun#moon#light#shadow
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MALTED MILK FOOD MANUFACTURING
Malted milk food is the type of food milk solids, cereal grain and malt extract. The convenience, nutritional richness and digestibility of MahalaxmiMaltExtract’s malted milk food make it one of the most favourable foods for the general public.
Malted milk food is usually confused with Malt powder. But they are totally different products.
Malt powder on one hand is made from grain, usually barley. On the other hand, malted milk powder is the malted powder only but has milk solids added to it.
Procedure of Malted Milk food:
Malted milk food is prepared by combining milk with mash which is made from barley malt and wheat flour. The following steps are undergone in the preparation of malted milk food:
1- Mash liquor preparation: In the first step, the dust is removed from the malted barley which is then crushed using an inline roller. The mix is moved to mash tanks and water is added to it at a certain temperature to produce slurry which is then continuously heated and stirred. During this whole process, the diastase present in malted barley hydrolysis the starch and convert it into maltose,dextrin and malto-dextrins. The resulting mash is then transferred through a centrifugal separator to remove the insoluble husk and to obtain clear liquor, known as ‘wort’.
2- Preparation of Mix through Wort: In the second step , the resultant wort is mixed with predetermined quantities of standardised milk, malt extract, sugar, salts, minerals and vitamins in a mix preparation tank. Each of these ingredients have a specific importance in the final product such as Milk fat helps in enhancing flavour and energy level. Milk solids help in increasing the nutritional value of the product by providing proteins, vitamins and minerals. MahalaxmiMaltExtract’s Malt extract provides a desired level of colour, sweet essence and typical caramelised flavour to the finished product. The role of Salts is to optimise product pH to improve digestibility and enhance flavour.
3- Evaporation and drying: In the next step, the prepared mix is concentrated in the vacuum evaporator to remove around one half to two-thirds of water and is then transferred to a steam jacketed evaporator provided with stirring gear. To remove water and prevent excessive caramelisation, a high vacuum is maintained in the evaporator.
The resulting mash is now dried and cooled in an air-conditioned room to avoid the pick up of moisture and is then milled into fine powder. Mix salts, dry vitamins and minerals are added to the milled product which is then packed in bottles.
4- Spray Drying of Malted Milk: The last but not the least step is the spray drying in which the tray drying method is used under the vacuum that is essentially a batch operation.This step reduces the cost of product owing to high volume of automated operation.
MahalaxmiMalt Extract is the best Malted milk foods Third party manufacturer that provides the best Malted Milk Food Manufacturing and Malt Extract contract manufacturing services.
For more information about: Malted Milk Food Manufacturing Please visit at https://www.mahalaxmimaltextract.com/
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Automatic Flour Filling Machine For Bags, Jars, Bottles Containers
Choose GST, choose a professional, and tailor-made a fully automatic filling machine for you! Flour is the food we depend on in our lives, but it also needs to be filled. The biggest problem in flour filling is how to prevent dust and accuracy.
Dust is suspended in the air to form a dust cloud within the concentration range, which is prone to safety accidents under the action of an ignition source. Therefore, in addition to dust prevention and ventilation during filling, a filling equipment is needed.
The following introduces our flour filling machine and how to solve these two problems.
Features:
1. The cover is made of stainless steel, and the hopper is suspended, which can be cleaned without tools.
2. The spiral filling precision controlled by the servo motor is higher, the filling speed control is faster and more stable, and the service life is longer.
3. PLC touch screen control, the screen can display real-time monitoring of mechanical operation status, and the weighing system can be adjusted at any time.
4. This design adopts weight feedback specific gravity tracking formula, which overcomes the shortcoming of packaging weight changes due to changes in material specific gravity.
5. The auger can be easily adjusted to meet different filling volumes and powder sizes.
6. Equip a suitable dust collector according to the plan.
This automatic powder filling machine has no bag sealing function, if you use this kind of machine, please work with the sealing machine, it will be more helpful.
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you get into a groove when you’re fighting; the punches fly, the kicks hit, the stakes … stake. adrenaline rushes through your veins and you feel good. you feel in control again. anger and frustration dissipate which each dusting and the exhaustion that follows is nothing comparable to that small feeling of elation. you’re the one with the power. they’re scared of you, and a part of you savors that. a part of you needs that.
this nightly dance of yours is so entrancing that you barely notice the shock of platinum hair appearing besides you, and yet the groan that exits your mouth speaks volumes enough. spike. totally lame. and totally helping you fight – again [ uh hello? slayer here?? as in the one who does the slaying?? ] but you can’t afford to lose the concentration you have now, so you expend the new rage his appearance has revealed on the last [ well, second to last ] big ugly; turning a flip into a kick and a punch into a hole in the chest. a pause, the night filled only with the sounds of your heaving breaths.
@chainsmoke: “ pardon my french: fuck those fuckers.”
there it is. “ spike … ” you start, dripping with disgust. except words can’t convey the sheer magnitude of annoyance, so you settle instead for cracking him square on the jaw. “ what the hell did i say about following me? ”
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