radio414

“Oooh, the witching hour,” Elsie said, eyes as wide as dinner plates. “Very exciting. All I got was they were nighttime attacks but that narrows it down considerably, especially ‘cause when I heard ‘nighttime,’ I thought, like, midnight or something. But no, the witching hour! You know what that is, right?” “Actually, I do know. Er, or at least I've heard of it anyway. It's sometime in the early morning-” “Right, right,” Elsie didn’t even miss a beat, like as soon as she heard an answer she didn’t need to hear any more. “Most humans are asleep for it. Maybe that’s why it’s the way it is in the first place. That part’s a little complicated, but it’s, yeah, like, the halfway point between midnight and sunrise. It’s the time each night Hecate and all her spawn come the closest to straddling the veil between her domain and ours which is, you know, very exciting stuff when you’re a witch. Especially with sabbaths, if those don’t start on the hour, well, you can bet they’ll last to the next one for sure. “I haven’t actually been up for one in a while ‘cause I’ve been trying to match the times I’m awake with everyone else in Jekyll’s tower, so that’ll be fun too.” Elsie stepped away from Lach and the wall he was cowering against and scratched her cheek. “Anyway, I learned that we’re not the first ones to try and solve this particular town’s little problem; there was a whole group of mercenaries here last month who all mysteriously vanished. They didn’t even go out into the woods or anything, they were just defending the town. And you said there was fog too? Very spooky. I wonder what it could be…” She took her time, mulling over the bits of lore she’d managed to remember growing up, even turning round and round as she continued to think, almost to the point of ignoring Lachlan entirely. But nothing came to mind. Nothing that fit the exact situation, anyway. Fahlyn? All she knew about those was that inscrutable picture Jekyll had shown everyone, and if she was going to make guesses, she wanted to have at least a little more backing them than that. The closest she got was, like, an evil cult or coven, but, in the latter case, she was having a hard time imagining Hecate’s own flesh behaving in such a manner, and both theories had a bunch of pokable holes in them besides. The one good thing thinking about covens did, however, was that it got Elsie thinking again regarding something Lachlan had said earlier that she’d kind of brushed over until just that moment. She whirled back around to face him, just in time to catch him scooching down the wall like he meant to put even more distance between them. “By the way,” she said, “the ‘witching hour’ thing, that’s just what it is. I don’t take offense at all, and I’m a little interested why you thought I might.” A realization hit Elsie like a thunderbolt. “Wait…” she said, and her face turned to one of bemusement. “Do I scare you, Lach?” As quick as a wink, she went right back up to him again, and, with that same wry smile, let out a single “Boo!”

Chris took his allotted share of blast powder and felt the weight of the bag in his hand. It wasn’t much, but surely one didn’t need loads of the stuff, right? He thought of all the ways he would have put it to use back in Ellwood Manor. A pinch here as a surprise BANG to scare the servants, maybe some under a stove to send food everywhere, what would have been easier? In fact, with a creative enough application, he could probably even - His thoughts were interrupted by a foreboding dread, the otherwise indescribable kind that he could only place on one thing. “Let’s get out of here,” Chris said. He faced the portal. “So, do we just…?” He mimed a couple steps to show his intent, but that sort of teasing only made the dread worse, so with a final gasp, Chris stepped forward into the swirling vortex. It was a sensation he certainly wasn’t used to, that was for sure. He was moving and yet not moving? This was why he could never be a wizard. He appreciated magic, sure, especially when it was saving his butt, but up close and personal like this? Chris nearly collapsed as soon as his feet touched solid ground again. In fact, he did, and the only reason his face didn’t reach the dirt for the umpteenth time that day was a medic who reached out and caught him. Estellise had already patched him up a few times, though, so really it was just his shoulder that needed to be looked at the most. They still were quicker than he would have liked, though, especially when they told him to chill his shoulder “unless he wanted the soreness to get worse” without giving him a way to do that. Once that was done with, though, he turned to the rest of his party members. “I’m going to the Drooling Dragon,” he said. “Figure we’ve earned that much. And hey, if what we learned is worth anything, maybe Hector’ll let me stay there another week or two when work dries up.” He gave a little smirk, turned, and went on his way.

can't remember if i submitted this before or not

Similarly, favorite kind of moth?

←Previous Post -- Next Post→ Duel 19 -- A Song for a Kingdom Now Lost Or: “Nice Guys” -- Big Scare Quotes There -- Finish Last Our continuing exploration of Revolutionary Girl Utena’s music leads us from the OP to the duel themes that feature in most episodes of the show. The most notable, of course, is the “Absolute Destiny Apocalypse” sequence (“Zettai Unmei Mokushiroku”) that plays as Utena ascends to the dueling grounds. It is so iconic that the more recent musicals that otherwise have wholly original songs include a version, to the point that it might as well be the second theme song of the whole show, or the third including the credits song, “Truth”. The compositions of the show were split between two people, J.A. Seazer and Shinkichi Mitsumune, with Shinkichi composing most of the music, including the first eight duel themes, while Seazer composed the aforementioned “Absolute Destiny Apocalypse” and the remaining duel themes after that. Some of the symbolism of specific songs has already been covered in previous posts. “The Sunlit Garden,” for example, introduces many of the nostalgic elements of the show, while “Absolute Destiny Apocalypse” invokes the surreality of the sword fights, transporting its participants to almost another world entirely. The themes themselves, meanwhile, vary in how obviously they attach themselves to the participants. There is one, for example, entitled, “I Am An Imaginary Living Body” which, as we’ll find out, is significantly more on the nose compared to, say, “Inside the Body of a Paleozoic Era”. At the same time, of course, saying something like, “Obviously there is meaning there, you just don’t get it” is counterproductive and more than a little exclusionary. You could easily go through the entire show and get just as much enjoyment pretending the lyrics are all as nonsense as the “mokushi kushimo shikumo” segment of “Absolute Destiny Apocalypse”. But, if you do want to start looking into this more, I would recommend establishing the group of words each song draws from. “Paleozoic Era” is all about rocks, for example, made in relation to Saionji’s stubbornness, while “mokushi kushimo shikumo” all play with the syllabic structure of the word for “apocalypse,” though there are translations that place it as “revolution noitulover” which is an interesting decision in itself. Like most of these episodes, a couple stories are going on at once here. The first is Tatsuya Kazami being convinced and internalizing that Wakaba is his one true love. Her “prince,” as it were. The second is Wakaba realizing that she needs to be honest with herself and with her prince about her feelings. The conflict, then, is that neither of these plots are talking about the same prince. In that way, it’s glib antics as everyone dances around the issue, something emphasized by C-ko talking about two different kinds of stores. There’s also a significant focus on Utena this episode. The episode barely starts and Utena is already saying, “Wakaba, you are the most normal girl I know,” (while Tatsuya claims to barely remember her before later saying he wanted to get close to Utena (the “special”) to get to Wakaba) -- emphasizing Wakaba’s “normalness” is a lead-in for a subplot that will be expanded on next episode. Utena not realizing the, uh, the plot by not-too-subtly shipping Tatsuya and Wakaba is another such factor. Yes, this is a subtle two-parter of an episode, and you can already imagine who the next duelist is, I’m sure. But if you can’t guess, well, it’s certainly not Tatsuya. The first thing he does after being rejected is imagine Wakaba in an unhealthy relationship that only he can rescue her from. The fact that he is proven right, that Wakaba is infatuated with Saionji, does not suddenly make him sympathetic. The only sympathetic quality he does have is his unwillingness to escalate the situation beyond where he is now and don a black rose. That’s certainly one of the less gross interpretations of Souji Mikage saying “You are truly a good person.” Maybe there’s a little tragedy involved here in Tatsuya not realizing Wakaba’s feelings in elementary and being too late to capitalize on them, but also, like, learning to accept when they’re just not that into you is a pretty good life lesson. A bit of a spoiler, but Tatsuya cameos talking with Wakaba in a way that presumes that he does not, in fact, learn this lesson. -r Next time: Wakaba learns what it’s like to be special. ←Previous Post -- Link to Episode -- Next Post→

don't panic

Chris’ next charge proved not to be as successful as the first; the rat was thrashing about now and even with his Estellise-given speed there wasn’t much in the way of entry. In fact, he spent more time leaping back avoiding fang, claw, and tail to mount much of an offense, all the while gravely aware that the reason he was even able to dodge at all was temporary. Sergei had more luck, though, striking the rat straight on. Still, when Sergei said, “We gotta finish it!” Chris didn’t need to be told twice. He grit his teeth. Lana went in for another hit as well, which Chris took as a sign to move in as well. First, though, he took out his daggers again, holding them both in his right hand while keeping his sword in his left. If he was going to hit the rat again, he was going to hit it with everything, he decided, and, with that, he tossed the daggers into the air and charged forwards once again. Estellise’s speed boost was enough that he was able to overtake the daggers, especially with the high arc he had given them, and as quick as a wink, he was right next to the rat, driving his sword into the gap Lana’s axe had helpfully made. There was just enough time to catch his daggers again and drive them into the squealing rat’s eyes. They had done it! If the daggers weren’t covering them up they surely would have been able to see the light fading from the rat’s eyes as it let out a final rattling wail and collapsed. The ghostly silence afterward only served to accentuate the accomplishment. Chris was the first to move after, letting out a loud, exhaling “Ow…” while rubbing his injured shoulder. “Okay,” he said. “Someone said they were buying drinks right? We just need to take the portal out of here?” As if on cue, it lit up, and a purple vortex appeared inside. Chris also noticed there was a treasure chest that hadn’t been there before, and while his immediate instinct was to claim it as his own, it was an instinct he managed to quash, instead pointing out the chest to everyone else with an “I guess that’s for us too?”

a few words for the firing squad (radiation) “What an accusation! Should I deny it?” Simon said. “No, surely not. You have demonstrated knowledge enough already of who I am and what I am doing without even meeting me face to face, you would find out the truth eventually, I am sure. Or perhaps you already have, and this is just to test me.” He raised his arms in defeat. “You have found me out. An… unfortunate side-effect of knowing and worshipping the void is that one’s soul can start to prefer it over life. Even that, it starts to prefer it to death as well. As you say, you have seen what has happened. I do hesitate to call it a plague, of course. Perhaps it is because that word villainizes me more than I think you already have. If it is a plague, it is one of the mind. Of knowledge. “But, then again, it does not really matter what it is called, does it?” Simon paused and tried to sit up from his supine position, though he only eventually managed to raise himself to a slight angle, bracing against his cot with his elbows. “I suppose the next question is ‘did I know when I started, that I would inflict such a fate on some of my followers?’ I did not, of course. No mortal can know what the future holds. Of course, Myria does occasionally try to help, doesn’t she?” He coughed. “I could intuit, though, that something would happen. It’s a bit of a shock to some, getting it through one’s skull that the apocalypse rages on in the present as much as it does in the past. “Or maybe that was not your next question?” Simon said, “Tell me what it was, dear watchdog, while we still have the world after all.” Blood of the Fang Caleb couldn’t help but be near Taros’ temple, even after he’d found out that there was as likely to be no ceremony that day as there had been the day before it, or even after attracting a much larger crowd than he had been expecting. He knew he should have slinked off and gone back to work, but what work could he do now? He was deflated, that’s what it was. He also couldn’t help but imagine the sword -- his sword -- being used in some way. Sure, maybe the thief had only desired an ornament, something that, despite the indiscretion, still treated the weapon with some degree of respect. But a piece of perfection, or close enough to it, being used to draw blood surely would desecrate it in some way. The blood would wash off and the sword could be resharpened, yes, but surely there was something essential to the sword that would disappear in its first use. Maybe he could ask a watchdog about it. There was one that was on the island, right? The ceremony had initially been delayed for just that purpose, to have them present. No, this probably wasn’t healthy. He needed to get a hammer in his hands and work it out that way, meditating to the sound of metal on metal. Not even the act of creation -- again, Caleb still couldn’t imagine himself making anything right now -- just to do something. He pushed off the wall he was leaning against and went to leave when a specific face caught his eye. It wasn’t Taros’ watchdog, but it was a watchdog, one who practically barged into the main annex with a grim look on his face. It took a few seconds for Caleb to recognize him further, but he did eventually identify him as Hinder’s, God of Wealth. … and of Thievery. And it was the second title that gave Caleb a sparkle of hope in the form of an idea. He approached cautiously -- the dog’s mood implied he didn’t want to be surprised -- and tapped him on the shoulder. After that, well, it didn’t seem like an introduction was right, so he got straight to the point. “Hey, Hinder,” he said, “you think you could steal a sword back for me?” The Room Where It Happens “‘Everything’ is a lot of things,” Levanna said. It was clear by the expression on her face that she was trying very hard to not react to anything Olive had said, though she did persist nevertheless. “But you are right in that you could help us.” “Banishment is not as feasible as one might think,” Elliot said. “What ship would take him? And imprisonment -” “In any case,” Levanna said, cutting him off. “I cannot promise everything, obviously, But we can share more, yes. For example, and perhaps most importantly…” She gestured to Thomas, who gave a stiff nod -- the same he’d initially acknowledged the watchdogs with -- and said, “At some level, we are seeing the results of our actions pay off. His numbers are dwindling and Simon has not been able to replenish them quite so quickly. We believe this is why he invades temples other than Medeis’, as some sort of recruitment tactic.” “He tends to invade temples where he knows attendance will be up,” Katherine said. “Lar, as you mentioned, and Taros because of the ceremony, and a few others at various moments of vulnerability. And yet, as you’ve noticed if you’ve seen him, he doesn’t tend to attract more of a crowd than the one he brings with him. And yourself, of course. He can attract a lot of attention, but we haven’t seen it translate over to tangible results.” “The best way to help would probably be assisting in containment, I imagine,” said Levanna. “Perhaps even your presence would be enough to encourage visitors to temples Simon has left lacking? You mentioned Lar, and though Aiden and I might not see eye-to-eye all the time, his is not a plight we’ve left unnoticed. How could we?” She chuckled at her own little joke, though nobody else on the council did likewise. “I know that is not everything, but how is that for a start, at least?” OOC

A well-known Professor (some say it was Professor Oak) once gave a public lecture on astronomy. He described how the earth orbits around the sun and how the sun, in turn, orbits around the centre of a vast collection of stars called our galaxy. At the end of the lecture, a little old lady at the back of the room got up and said: "What you have told us is rubbish. The world is really a flat plate supported on the back of a giant Torterra." The scientist gave a superior smile before replying, "What is the Torterra standing on?" "You're very clever, young man, very clever," said the old lady. "But it's Torterras all the way down!"