#rat fog editor

[rathologic]

Rat Fog Editor: update 1.1

Rat Fog Editor, the graphical tool for modding Pathologic's weather.bin script file, has been updated to v1.1. This release isn't big in terms of new functionality, but offers some quality of life fixes:

Opened files can be overwritten in-place

"weather.bin" is automatically targeted when opening a file

Templates for the 2005/2015 or 2004 Alpha formats can be loaded from the user interface

If you've ever wanted to change the fog color, render distance, or skybox display time periods of patho1, it's technically never been easier. Download Rat Fog Editor here!

[seerofmike]

overindulging in purples with rat fog editor in a (failed) attempt to make clara's view of the world more dreamy looking

bonus : abhorrently bright blue daytime

[theeeveetamer]

Scarlet Blaze Liveblog, Chapter 5

It got rid of my extra spaces when I hit post :( Why do we live? Just to suffer?

SPEAKING OF SUFFERING! Holy shit the new Tumblr beta editor REALLY fucking hates formatting. Wouldn’t let me make any of these sections into bullet points. I have been fighting with this thing for weeks now (it also really hates letting me remove large sections of text as well). Had to turn it off to get any semblance of formatting so I hope it looks alright when I hit post

Explore dialogue

Now we have an NPC saying that there SHOULDN’T be fog this time of year. Make up your mind, game.

Linhardt: Aw my lazy days are over :(

Shez: You know some of us never had lazy days

Linhardt: Yeah but weren’t you just doing that because you wanted to?

Uh, no it’s called Shez is a commoner and had to literally become a mercenary to SURVIVE. They mention that numerous times. In another support they talk about how they were happy to eat rats if it meant their belly got filled. jfc, Lin, the privilege just oozing from you…

There’s a random mage lady who asks you if anyone on the opposing side uses dark magic. Agarthan lady, perhaps?

Ferdie stands like someone wearing one of those babydoll skirts from Style Savvy and I love him

Interesting that they explicitly state that Hrym was wiped out for resisting Ionus’s power centralization here. IIRC that was a lot less explicit in 3H

We also have explicit trade with Dagda, Albinea, Brigid and others. So I guess that’s another point against “Rhea doesn’t let Fodlan have contact with outside nations”

Why does Randolph look like he has a tiny blanket on his shoulder lmao

Wait why was Constance hostile to living in the Empire again?

Oof. Between Dimitri and Edelgard, Dimitri definitely got the superior Hapi nickname

Random Tidbits

Lmao. Hubert being like “I don’t even have to try not to kill you” during training and Ferdie being like “uh. Thanks. I think.”

I really wish the game would tell me when a character maxes out support points even if the letter is locked. It’s really annoying building support and then just realizing it’s not going up anymore after you’ve wasted so many training points and whatnot

I’ve decided that I’ve stopped caring if units like the food I’m cooking. Y’all will eat it and y’all will like it. I’m done coddling your asses.

I don’t care if you’re bad at the tasks either. Caspar, Linhardt, I’m sure you’ll do fine at running this street stall.

HUBERT WANTS TO GO ON AN EXPEDITION!!! OH BOY!!!

Hol up lemme drop everything

I hope he takes me somewhere nice to kill me

Good thing I unlocked all these new excursion spots. Gonna drive me crazy tho since I’m pretty sure there’s different dialogue in each one

“The shorter a leash, the better”. Kinky

Let’s go on a nice waterfront murder date

“Once, two souls took a boat out on the water… Only one returned. A fine story, yes?” oh my god he’s actually going to kill me

I have a feeling he wanted me to propose a competition… No wonder Ferdie is his type

“Ask thoughts on their employer” that’s a new one, I don’t remember that question ever popping up before

Unfortunately I don’t get to stare at his face. I was really looking forward to more murder dialogue.

Support Conversations

Shez/Caspar C - Caspar has daddy issues lmao of course he does they all do.

Sorry, having daddy issues won’t save your appeal from that hairstyle

I was about to comment on Caspar being like “I’ve got to build my way up from the bottom” but then he actually addressed what I was going to say by acknowledging that he at least has his name to lean on. So good for you Caspar, I see you retain some semblance of self awareness in this game so far.

Shez/Linhardt C - Shez: Just so we’re clear, whatever Hubert said you were gonna do to me, I’m not into it.

Shez is not kinky confirmed :(

How is Linhardt NOT interested in Shez’s power. She literally fucking shapeshifts and he’s just like “eh, whatever it’s just a sword.”

Like. What. C’mon dude.

Shez/Monica C - Ok Monica I hate you

MANUELA/JERITZA B LET’S GO - GIRL STOP BEING SO THIRSTY

Oh my god do not make Jeritza smile

Manuela: Don’t you want to talk to people?

Jeritza: No.

Stop making Jeritza relatable to me

Lmao Manuela realizing she’s still single because everyone views her as a teacher

Come to me Manuela! I have a teacher kink! We can do both!

Caspar/Dorothea C - Caspar: I’m reading

Dorothea: You can read???

This support is weird. Caspar is like “I wanna study” and Dorothea is like “You need to study!!!! Here let me lecture you on how you need to study!!!!!!!!!!” Caspar: “WOW I NEED TO STUDY!!!!”

Like he was already doing it Dorothea, geez.

Shez/Manuela C - Lmao we stan a messy queen

Y’know Manuela we can smash. I’ll never leave you

Shez/Hubert B - Uh wow weirdly abrupt start. Am I supposed to take this as happening directly after the last one??? They’re standing in the same place and Shez starts like Hubert just said something

Like. Really weird way to do this

“Sever ties” so that’s what the kids are calling it these days

Shez: You have emotions

Hubert: *confused Hubert noises*

Lmao he just had to insult my intelligence there at the end. Never change, Hubert

I know this is a lot of supports but since I’m playing on NG+ I have like 8 activity and 8 training points so it’s stupid easy to get supports. I didn’t even talk about all of them. I imagine future posts will have less as I start hitting time gated supports

Side Battle/Story Content

I’ve been putting this off by playing free mode battles with the renown unlockable characters lol.

Omg Maximum ambulation. Ferdie runs so fast. He’s got the zoomies!!!

Oh no Hubert wants to kill talk to me

Hubert: It’s cute how u thought I would let you live, tho

HI DADDY RODRIGUE

Man first Seteth now Rodrigue? This route really hates DILFs I guess

I mean I’m not surprised. Look at Count Bergliez

RIP Gustave is here too. Guess they’re making him fight in this route

Main Battle/Story Content

Everyone: *whispering*

Ferdie: WHY ARE WE WHISPERING!!!!!!!???? :D

Ferdie you lovable himbo

Ok do we really need three rounds of “why is everyone so quiet” so everyone can get their dialogue about being quiet in?

I wonder if this conversation changes with permadeath. It’s kind of written like it

Maybe I should do an “everyone dies” run in the future just to see how the story changes lol

INGRID!!!!!! MY DARLING!!!!!

Lmao I don’t even like Ingrid that much but I already miss my Lions :(

Oh I guess Jeralt is in the Kingdom now

I mean they’re trying to do the whole “oooooh mystery who could it beeeeeeeee” thing but I know Ling Tong when I hear him

Oh looks like Ashe is a traitor. Can’t say I’m surprised

Honestly fuck Lonato. If you have a problem with sexy dragon lady you have a problem with me

I haven’t talked about this but honestly the colors are fucking me. It’s a good thing Warriors games don’t have friendly fire because I keep running right past all the soldiers in blue to try and kill all the soldiers in red, because like. Fire Emblem do be like that normally

I keep finding big purple circles on the ground. What is that. What does it do. Who is doing that

I actually feel like a bad person for recruiting Ashe here. I mean Lonato is literally willing to kill the poor kid

Edelgard: Family should not fight family

Also Edelgard: Unless it’s Dimitri fuck that guy lmao

Also Also Edelgard: Also Rhea, since she probably banged my great great great great grandaddy a thousand years ago (and maybe is my great great great great grandmommy). Fuck her too

“I could not bear to lose another son” Ok then maybe don’t try killing him, Lonato???? What the fuck?

If saving you weren’t a requirement you would be so dead right now, Lonato

Byleth was kind of a pushover on NG+ lmao

… I’m sorry does Monica have jiggle physics

Ok her boobs don’t have jiggle physics, but her bow does. Which makes it look like she has boob jiggle physics. Why.

JFC Bergliez is so ugly

JUDITH MY BELOVED

She was surprisingly absent from AG I’m glad I get to see more of her

I’m sorry, Bergliez got all the way to Deirdriu????? When???????? When did we do that?????

Damn we killing daddy Gloucester, aren’t we? This is dead Fire Emblem dad dialogue

Oh even this guy gets a first name. Not the moms tho. Fuck the moms I guess :/

I’m surprised Fleche got a name and wasn’t just “Randolph’s sister” for the entirety of 3H

Kinda awkward to hear Petra complimenting the dude that murdered her dad

“The head of House Ordelia is one of the Five Great Lords” am I misremembering? I thought Lysithea’s family gave up their seat at the roundtable to Marriane’s uncle because they knew their house was in decline thanks to Lysithea’s condition

I went looking through her supports to see if I was right and apparently Lysithea/Hilda support confirms homeopathy of all things exists in 3H. No wonder these people still die of the plague.

Ok I couldn’t find anything and I don’t care enough to keep looking, but I got my eye on you, continuity guy

“Consider why we chose not to dismantle House Aegir” goddamn Hubert is just going straight for Ferdie’s throat

Ferdie: Haha I’m in danger

Also RIP Ferdie basically blatantly admitting that he’s only still around because he’s willing to “toe the line” regardless of how he feels about anything. Why am I supposed to be rooting for the Empire again?

I don’t get why people are like “We went to school with these people for 30 seconds maybe they’ll listen to reason” like? Why would they, exactly?

Like it was stupid in 3H but at least they had a whole year in 3H. In this game they were all literally at the academy for like a month

Recruiting Ashe also feels weirdly OOC for him after he spent the entirety of AG’s prologue and parts of part 1 talking about how Lonato would want him to do what he thinks is right and how he believes Lonato has gone off the rails, and while it hurts him, he believes it’s right to stop Lonato. Here he’s just like “Ok fine I don’t want to kill him I guess I’ll join you. Fuck my dreams of being a knight.”

I guess they had to make someone from the BL recruitable and everyone else makes even less sense than Ashe. I mean can you imagine if they let you recruit Ingrid here? Lmao

Anyways wrapping up

Spoilers for recruitables in this route here here.

Can I just say, the spread of recruitable characters, from a gameplay perspective, is kind of weird?

On SB, of the characters you get automatically, half of them are mages (5 of your starting 11 are mages).

Not including the wolves or other characters, you get Ashe, Ignatz, Lorenz, Raphael, Lysithea, Marianne, Mercedes, and Leonie (under special circumstances) in addition to the SB characters. But like. That means on SB you get two axes (Caspar, Edelgard), two swordies (Shez, Petra), three mounted lances (Ferdie, Jeritza, Lorenz), one brawler (Raphael), four archers (Bernie, Ashe, Ignatz, Leonie), and eight magic units (Hubert, Dorothea, Linhardt, Monica, Manuela, Lysithea, Marianne, Mercedes). If you include the wolves you get ten. Ten magic users. What do I need ten of these guys for? What is this game’s obsession with mages (the Lions also had way too many, though it wasn’t this egregious and at least Annette can be a serviceable axe unit once she gets Crusher)?

Made even worse because there’s only two magic master classes, and only one magic master class per gender which means you’re going to be ending up with two dark bishops and eight gremories. You can’t equip tomes as a dark knight or holy knight either, you have to use the lance, which is not optimal for many of these mage units. No idea why they decided to take out Valkyrie and Dark Flier if they were going to create so many damn mages. Basically every other weapon type (aside from archers and brawlers) gets at least two different options for master classes, and there aren’t nearly as many archers and brawlers as there are mages.

I guess I’ll use Constance and Hapi more on GD, since at least they only come with Marianne and Lysithea to start

[nanaminsonyfans]

Between Worlds; Chapter Five

Previous, Next, Masterlist

A/N: Thank you to my editors for helping out with this chapter! @imagine-yourself-happy​ @gra-hamcrackers​ Enjoy this chapter!

!!TW!!Swearing

“I failed.”

You lowered your head as you walked back to the village. The tears in your eyes made everything blurry, but you could still see Appa and Katara; both looking depressed and lonely. “I-I’m sorry Katara. I lost him.” You were still crying but the lack of response made you look up. “Ka-Katara?” You looked at her confused, stepping closer. “Hello?” You waved your hand in front of her face; nothing. 

There was a small grunt from Appa. “It’s okay Appa. Y/N is probably gonna come back with Sokka any minute now.” She tried to seem optimistic, but her tone was depressing. The old man from the village walked up to Katara. “It’s getting late. Come rest.” He spoke softly and helped her up. Your eyes widened and looked at your hands. You hadn’t noticed it before, but you were see-through and light blue. You gasped and fell to the ground in shock. Just then you heard a roar from above you. You looked up. 

It’s a fucking dragon.

You screamed and curled up in a ball, but nothing happened. You opened one eye and saw the dragon looking at you curiously. You gulped and uncurled. “Hel-Hello…” You sat up and squinted at the creature. It looked so familiar…Roku! That was Avatar Roku’s dragon! You were in the spirit world. “You’re Roku’s partner, right? Can you take me to Roku?” You asked softly, the dragon lifted up its head, as if it wanted you to climb on. “I’ll take that as a yes.” You mumbled and got on the dragon.

It lifted off at a fast speed. It took you by surprise. “Woah!” You screamed and held on tightly. “You’re way faster than Appa!” You said worriedly. You were used to the slow-moving bison. Not the fast gliding serpent. You closed your eyes, holding on tightly. Why were you scared of heights all of a sudden?! After a few minutes, you opened your eyes, you were straight towards a building. A fucking building.

You screamed and tried to stop the dragon, it was no use. “Stop!” You begged and closed your eyes and braced yourself. But nothing happened. You opened your eyes and saw that you were in a room, with a golden statue of a man. “Roku.” You mumbled, getting off of the dragon. “I need to talk to him, I need to find out why I’m here.” You said and turned to the dragon. “Can’t you bring him here?” You asked, the dragon looked up at a small opening in the ceiling, and followed it to a spot on the statue. “The Winter Solstice!” You gasped and grinned. “The spirit world becomes stronger right? I can speak to him then.” You said to the dragon, but it was gone. “Wait! How do I get back!” You called but the world seemed to fade around you.

You were back where you started. The scar on the Earth, left by the Fire Nation. You looked at your hands, you weren’t blue anymore, you were back to normal, besides your blue tattoos. “I have to find Sokka.” You whispered to yourself and got on your glider, going back to the village. “Y/N! Where were you?!” Katara yelled with worry laced in every word, but she looked terrified seeing that you did not return with her brother. “Wh-Where’s Sokka?” She asked, her lip quivering. “I-I lost him…” You mumbled shamefully and looked away. You couldn’t handle seeing her big, sad blue eyes. 

“But, don’t worry! I know how to get him back. He’ll be back before sunrise. I promise.” You said confidently which seemed to ease her a bit. “Okay, I trust you.” Katara claimed and hugged you tightly. At this point, through all you guys have been through, you were just as much as family to her as Sokka. You smiled softly and hugged back.

Night came, and as if on cue, Hei Bai was back. You looked at him as he approached you, you smiled at him happily. “Hey there-” He roared at you, causing your hair to blow back. “I know who you are. You’re the forest spirit, right? I know you must be angry. I am, too. After what the Fire Nation did to your forest…” You tried to sympathize but he roared again. You sighed. “But, my friend Katara showed me this.” You held up an acorn. “The forest will grow back with time. It will be okay. Trust me.” You spoke softly and held it out for him to take. He sniffed your hand and acorn before taking it. You put your hand on its forehead as he changed back into a Panda. He turned around and walked out of the village. 

A white fog rolled in, and shadows started to walk out of the fog. You gasped when you saw the ponytailed boy. “Sokka!” Both you and Katara yelled and sprinted towards him. You were faster and tackled him in a hug. “I’m so sorry I lost you. I-I should’ve been faster.” Your eyes started to water. Sokka noticed as the tears rolled down your cheeks, his big brother mode activated. “Hey, Y/N…don’t cry. You brought me back. You did great.” Sokka spoke softly and hugged you back. Your cheeks flushed pink in embarrassment and you pulled away. Katara had caught up and hugged her brother now, you watched, smiling softly.

The middle-aged man, who you now knew as the mayor, walked up. “Is there any way we can repay you?” “You can give us some supplies and money.” Sokka said casually, while shrugging his shoulders. “Sokka!” Katara and you said in unison. “What? We need it…” He grumbled, “We would be honored to help the Avatar and her friends on this journey.” The mayor said. 

You waved goodbye to the village people as Sokka loaded the last thing onto Appa. “Appa, yip-yip!” You yelled, Appa grunted taking off. “I’m proud of you, Y/N. You figured out everything by yourself.” Katara complimented. You blushed lightly and shook your head. “I had help…and there’s something else. I found a way to contact Avatar Roku. I kinda need his help right now. So, that’s where we are going?”

“That’s so cool, Y/N! You can talk to spirits!” Katara gushed. “Cool...but creepy.” Sokka added. You rolled your eyes, guiding Appa in the direction you wanted to go. “I have to contact him on the Winter Solstice.” You stated, earning a groan from Sokka. “But the Winter Solstice is tomorrow!” Katara exclaimed worriedly.

You sighed and nodded. “I think that’ll be the least of our troubles…” You mumbled. “What? Why?” Sokka questioned, raising an eyebrow. 

“Roku’s shrine is on a Fire Nation Island.”

A/N; I hope you enjoyed!! 💕☺️

Taglist; @imagine-yourself-happy​ @toobsessedsstuff​ @bluecrystals01​ @cheyenne-dunn-universe​ @foolishgang​ @alrightberries​ @givemetundies​ @anxietyriddledcollegekid​ @gra-hamcrackers​ @marionette-ghoulette​ @miracle-rat​ @bangtanboyswriting123​ @wattpadwaterandfire​ @hopelessly-hopeful-hope​ @alexander-the-great32105​ @mavix​ @mcartist​ @furblrwurblr​ @celamoon​ @ghost-of-the-oldwest @whatanicepanohthatsjustme​ @itscomplicateddw​ @panini-the-bird-killer @yoongnysus @willa-the-bean​ @so-fuckin-tiredd​ @utterlyconfused-tm​ @ctrl-alt-jeon​ @gabsnac @angxlicwanda​ @snackgod​ @agardenofideas​

[sea-side-scribbles]

Fanfiction: Sympathy For A Downer

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22737214/chapters/62486839#workskin

Chapter 26:

The moment Nick came back to his senses he noticed he was still standing in front of the mirror, in the bathroom, staring at his own startled face. Next thing he noticed was his head, that was pounding, and his pulse too. Overwhelmed by memories he must’ve been frozen for a while. Everything that had been long forgotten suddenly came back to him. Everything he hadn’t been able to recall for years but still had feelings about. Now these feelings grew stronger. 

The third thing he noticed was that it was time to go back to bed before his lover found out that he was gone. Therefore he walked quietly along the corridor and opened the door to his room as quietly as possible. In utter darkness he searched for the bed.

Before he reached it, he heard his lover’s voice whisper his name and froze.

Then Morrie turned on the light and he noticed he looked ridiculous, crouching on the floor like that.

„What are you doing down there? Are you trying to spook me?“, Morrie asked him with a grin. Obviously he found it funny too.

Nick got up and sat down on the mattress without giving an explanation.

„Turn the light off,“ he begged.

Morrie furrowed his brows but he did it.

The second it went dark Nick reached out for Morrie and pulled him into a tight hug. Soon, he felt the other man’s arms wrap around him and his hands patting his back. Quietly, Nick rubbed his cheek on Morrie’s.

„Are you ok?“, his lover asked quietly.

„My Morrie…“, Nick sighed and began to send kisses all over the other man’s face, or rather every spot he could find in the dark. Morrie moaned.

„Norbert, I can’t even see you…“, he chuckled, but he did his best to return the favors.

They needed a few attempts to find each other’s lips. When they got them, Nick kissed Morrie breathless and climbed on his lap.

„Mercy, please…“, his lover started to beg. „I’m still tired…“

„My Morrie, my love,“ Nick whispered. 

In his head he saw them both standing on that soft green hill where they had confessed their love to each other.

Forever. 

He couldn’t remember what had happened to that. 

What had happened to their love.

Nick’s chest hurt. He had tears in his eyes and fought down sobs that tried to shake him.

„I’m so sorry.…You deserved better…so much better…“

He kept kissing and hugging Morrie and the other man searched for Nick’s face with his hands.

When he felt that Nick’s cheeks were wet with tears, he did everything to calm him down, stroking his back and running his fingers through his hair.

„Sssh, Norbert…It’s okay…we’ll make this work….I love you.“

Nick let everything happen while he cried and sobbed into Morrie’s shirt. The other man kissed his hairline and whispered gentle words to him.

What Nick didn’t see was that Morrie’s eyes were wet as well. 

It felt so good to hear the apologies, to hear that everything was getting better, that Norbert needed him and wouldn’t abandon him again.

In time, Nick’s breath calmed down and his eyes dried.

Morrie convinced him to lay down again and Nick rested his head on Morrie’s chest.

„Do you remember our past?“, he suddenly asked.

„How we met? And our first kiss?“

Morrie rustled with the blanket, pondering. Everything he recalled were blurry images, accompanied by a feeling that made his heart tense up. Usually, whenever these images tried to haunt him he popped a Joy.

But now it was different. 

It was getting better, right?, he thought while his fingers curled into the blanket. 

Now the pain should vanish.

„Vaguely,“ he answered and tried to describe the first image he saw. „I see us sitting at the piano… I’m trying to explain something to you…but you don’t get it.“

Nick started to giggle at that. It turned into a fit that was almost as strong as the crying fit from before. And it made Morrie laugh too.

When they calmed down Nick said: „Yep, that’s exactly what happened, Morrie-Moo. Anything else?“

„Did we go to the Garden District together?“, he asked, because every time he set foot into a garden he felt the pain too.

„It was a park near school,“ Nick explained. „The Garden District didn’t exist back then. I played you a song, remember?“

Morrie struggled with his foggy mind, but whatever he tried he couldn’t get through it.

„No, I wish I could…“

Now he was sorry that he had deleted their time together.

Nick however took Morrie’s hand and said: „I think it went like this…“ 

He started to hum a melody. 

His lover’s hand tensed.

When the melody broke through the fog Morrie felt a sudden panic, as if there was something really dangerous behind that cloud. Then he listened to the song and slowly, everything came back together again. He saw Norbert with his old guitar, sitting under a tree and singing a song just for him. It was such a wonderful picture. Then he saw himself running away.

Oh, you damn coward, he thought but smiled.

When the song ended, it was Morrie who cried, because Nick had just recreated one of the most beautiful moments of his youth.

„My god…thank you…thank you so much…“, he sobbed.

Nick kissed his forehead, whispering: „I can tell you more.“

Morrie begged for more.

It was a long night.

The next day Arthur had a new plan. 

He had found a way to get close to Nick without raising suspicion. After all, he didn’t want to wait for him in the tunnel every time. Because of that he was going to the “O“ Courant editorial office to get his old job back. It felt a bit weird to come back just like that, as if the incident in the Parade District had never happened. But he counted on one thing: Wellies were forgetful.

Protected by Sunshine and excited to see Nick’s reaction later, he strutted into the building. The workers there barely noticed him, focusing on their papers and typewriters. Arthur smiled at the sight, remembering that he had liked the job. 

Eagerly typing, drinking coffee and chit-chatting with the colleagues, going out to research things… Not that he had been unhappy in the Department of Archives, as a decent citizen he had never been, but in hindsight he preferred being a reporter over everything else. 

He found his old desk that was now used by someone new and assumed it wouldn’t be easy to get his job back. But he had an ace up his sleeve. 

Entering the office of the editor-in-chief, he thought it was a good sign that Mrs. Oliphant didn’t chase him away at first sight.

„Arthur. Arthur Hastings,“ she shouted in surprise. „So you came back from holiday I see.“ 

„I just had a lovely time, nothing to worry about“, Arthur said nervously. „I was hoping you could use a reporter.“

„I’m afraid I’ve got a dozen of them, all useless, the lot of them. I’ve got six pieces on my desk, all about the new flavor of Joy. Can you believe it, it’s Coconut.“

She crossed her arms and shook her head, looking very exhausted.

Time to play the ace.

„I thought you might want some real news.“

She furrowed her brows.

„And what are real news to you?“

„You’ve heard about the great band reunion, Nick Lightbearer and The Make Believes, right?“

She let out a moan.

„You have no idea! We had the concert on the front page, downer fight and all, but now we’re starving because he doesn’t let anyone near him. He doesn’t even leave the house anymore. God knows how he’s living like that. I’d do anything for a glimpse at the new album. Don’t tell me you found out something?“

She stared at him in anticipation and Arthur was glad he could help her out.

„Well, I can safely say I’m one of Nick’s closest friends.“

„Really?“ Mrs. Oliphant tilted her head. „You’re not making this up, do you? No offense but you don’t really look like his type.“

Arthur was speechless with a gaping mouth for a moment, but he caught himself.

„It’s true. Sadly the Constable who’s guarding his house seals him off from the outside world. I’d have a better chance with a press pass.“

She considered that. Then she waved him off.

„Well, there goes nothing,“ she said. „But Arthur, just in case you have other plans with your pass…we never met, you understand?“

„Of course“.

Arthur happily accepted the pass.

Finally he was somebody again! No downer, no tunnel rat, but a real reporter.

Him and a star together at a table - who would question that?

Arthur strutted outside and was motivated enough to try it out right now. He was excited to meet Nick in his house again anyway, but this time not as an intruder.

He had to take another sunshine pill, before he could approach the Constable that was guarding the rockstar’s front door.

He remembered that the bobby was picky about who he let in, so he couldn’t just pull out his pass and ask for anything. But Arthur had more aces. He pulled out a bottle of Scotch, all bobbies loved a friendly gesture.

„Just to show you I appreciate your work,“ he said and held out the bottle.

„That’s nice of you,“ the bobby said and took a hit.

Arthur considered it was save now to have a little chat. 

„I bet you’re quite busy these days, after the concert and all.“

The Constable gave him a real smile.

„Yes, but it’s wonderful! Just like the old days! I’ve been worried about him, you see, he didn’t come out for weeks, and now everything is peachy again.“

„Good to hear jolly news like these, am I right? Especially in such hurly-burly times…“

„What do you mean by that, sir?“

„Well, we need good new’s, don’t we? The upcoming festival, the new flavor of Joy, the Make Believes, that’s something people should hear more about. Instead of stupid rumors.“

„There’s wisdom in your words,“ the bobby agreed and took another sip from the bottle.

„You think Mr. Lightbearer would agree too?“, Arthur tried.

„Sure. Why do you ask?“

„I’m wondering if Mr. Lightbearer would give me an interview about the new album. It would match the other good news so nicely. And isn’t it everyone’s duty to make people happy?“

„It is. I must still warn you, Mr. Lightbearer has been quite anti-social in the past days“, the bobby said and opened the door for Arthur.

„Good luck, sir.“

„Thank you very much, Constable.“

A very happy Arthur entered the house and called for Nick.

He could hear the sound of music coming from the upper floors. That must be the band. So he came too soon?

While he was standing around and couldn’t decide what to do another man entered the room, decoyed by his calls.

„I’m afraid Mr. Lightbearer is busy right now. I’m Virgil Dainty, his manager. Who are you?“

Arthur looked at the other man who was a slight bit taller than him and most of all unexpected.

He had to tell himself that he was still a good citizen, not at all a downer.

„I’m Arthur Hastings, reporter from the Hamlyn “O“ Courant,“ he answered and it felt good to say.

„All I’m asking for is one interview, to get in touch with the fans again. To make them feel close to their idol gain. They’ve been starving for months now.“

The other man’s expression softened.

„I’ll talk to him. Come back in the afternoon. He’ll see you then.“

„Thank you, Mr. Dainty,“ Arthur said and started to walk backwards out of the room. He was afraid his wide grin would raise suspicion. „See you!“, he added before he quickly left the house.

Outside he climbed into the first hatch he found and then broke out in cheers.

He finally did it! He could meet Nick as a person!

Virgil talked to Nick when the band made a pause.

„A reporter asked for an interview today and actually, it wouldn’t hurt to be in the news again. Do you think you’re capable?“

„Today?“ Nick was surprised.

„He’ll be back in the afternoon, in case he doesn’t forget.“

Nick liked interviews, but most of the time he wasn’t able to give any.

„I can do that, Virgil,“ he told his worried manager.

The other man eyed him.

„Perhaps it’s better if I come along.“

Nick smirked.

„Don’t you trust him or don’t you trust me?“

„Both,“ Virgil admitted.

„Virgie, I’m clean! If I don’t like that guy I’ll ditch him, it’s easy,“ Nick waved him off and stretched himself out on the chair he was slouching on.

Virgil laid a hand on his star’s shoulder and immediately he had his full attention again.

„Don’t tell any sad stories from your past, okay? That’s nobody’s business. Only the happy times.“

„I know, Virgie! It’s not my first interview after all,“ Nick assured him and looked him in the eyes.

Virgil sighed. 

„Alright, there goes nothing.“

When that mysterious reporter finally rang the bell Nick opened the door himself.

Arthur could see how his lover’s face froze. He however grinned and held out his press pass.

„Mr. Lightbearer, are you ready for an interview?“

Nick stared at the pass, then at Arthur. 

„Arthur, you’re a reporter?“

„Yep, “O“ Courant, freshly hired,“ the other man answered proudly.

„But aren’t you…“, Nick lowered his voice, „aren’t you a downer?“

„I still have friends at the office“, Arthur said and chuckled. „Now what? Will you let me in, or will you stare at me all day?“

„Uh..I…“, Nick stuttered and glanced inside. „You know, it still looks like a pigsty in there and…my band is still there too. Why don’t we go somewhere else, like, the Garden or something?“

He made a step outside and closed the door.

Arthur gave him a pleading look.

„I hoped you would show me a place you like. The Garden is my favorite place. But what’s yours?“

Nick thought about it.

„Have you ever been in the Avalon Hotel?“, he proposed.

„The most expensive hotel in town? Hell, no, I could never afford that.“

Arthur beamed at him.

„Do you still have your suite there?“

Nick returned the smile.

„You bet I have! Come, Artie, let’s stir up some snobs!“, he said and gently slapped Arthur’s back.

Arthur was inches from hugging Nick, but he had to wait.

Thanks to Nick’s new success it was even more important to hide in the underground. Nick also preferred not to be seen with Arthur in public or even be photographed with him.

They sneaked through Nick’s yard and opened the same hatch they had used when they first met. Arthur noticed that Nick wasn’t afraid of climbing anymore and felt proud of his lover. Perhaps he could learn more, and they would be able to move around in town without hindrance.

Down in the tunnel, Nick waited for Arthur at the ladder and just when his feet touched the ground he pulled the other man into a kiss. Arthur was happy that Nick obviously couldn’t keep his hands off him, as soon as they were alone. He felt the same. He returned the kiss, then he took Nick’s hand as they strolled along.

„What would we do without the underground?“, Nick remarked and chuckled.

„We would have to put on silly costumes,“ Arthur supposed. „Fake hair and fake beards and such.“

Nick felt a tickle in his stomach at that, but he didn’t let it show. Instead he said: „I can’t imagine you in a costume.“

Arthur gave a nervous laughter.

„If you knew what I had to do to survive.“

„A minidress?“, Nick guessed.

„No, but a rubber suit.“ 

„Meow,“ Nick said and formed claws with his fingers. „Very sexy. Perhaps we should turn back. The Reform Club is on the other side of the town.“

„You know the way, don’t you?“, Arthur purred in his ear and made Nick’s hair stand on end.

„I know a lot of ways,“ he purred back.

Arthur shook his hand as if he burned himself.

„Now I’m curious what you’ll do with me.“

Nick laid a hand on Arthur’s chest.

„And I’m curious if you’ll like it.“

He brushed the other man’s chin with his lips and soon they were entangled into another deep kiss. Their hands were roaming each other’s bodies. Nick digged under Arthur’s jacked, testing how far he could go. He wouldn’t mind doing it right now, on the spot. But then Arthur grabbed his hand.

They moved apart and Nick opened his eyes. Arthur’s brown eyes examined him.

„Not here,“ he whispered, making Nick’s legs turn to jelly. He retreated a little.

Then he felt how Arthur cupped his chin.

„You’re a bad boy, Nickie,“ he purred, before he lifted up his chin and kissed the tip of his nose.

After that he put out his hand.

„Let’s go.“

Still entranced, Nick accepted Arthur’s hand. His pulse was running much faster now, while he led a very happy Arthur through the tunnel.

[whirlybirbs]

Need me that noir!peter and lounge singer in my life man

a/n: wanna catch up on this story? here’s the ao3!

The Daily Bugle’s newsroom is bustling -- you’re silent & still among it all. 

It’s a sea of desks and papers and clatter-clatter-click-clatter-CHING!’s of Hermes Featherweights on the 6th floor. Out the windows, you can see the growing skyline and you find yourself hesitantly dragging your eyes down to the business card clutched in gloved hands. 

PETER PARKER, PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR.DAILY BUGLE, ROOM 6B.

“Can I help ya, miss?”

You jump a bit, startled at the appearance of a short man before you. His sleeves are rolled up and he’s got a pencil thin mustache and a fat tie -- his smile is slick like oil.

“Oh,” you laugh a bit, “I’m here to see Mr. Parker.”

“Ahh, here t’ rat on yer boss?” he chimes, knuckles rapping on a nearby desk as he begins to weave, “Follow me, Pete’s office is back this way.”

You feel like you’re a piece of meat on sale down at the butcher. The looks you’re getting are anything less than kind -- eyes dart from their typesetters to you and back down; the air in the room seems to stiffen a bit when, from three doors down inside the office that says J. Jonah Jamison, you can hear an escalated yelling. 

“Ay! Pete! Pretty dame’s here for ya.” 

The small man before you raps on the fogged glass, right under the gold decal of Peter B. Parker, Editor / Journalist. He tugs the door open a smidgen, gesturing for you to go ahead.

Peter, inside, has his feet up on his desk -- he’s furiously writing something down, long legs tipping his desk chair back at an angle that has you wondering how in the hell he’s balancing. The coiled chord of the rotary phone is being fiddled with by long fingers. You can hear soft chatter on the other line.

Hazel eyes connect with yours.

There’s a moment where his heart does a flip -- you look stunning. Smart and sharp and dangerous with red lips pressed into a fine line. Peter drums his knuckles against the top of his desk. 

“May,” he says slowly, “May, I gotta go, alright? I’ll be home tonight an’ I’ll pick this stuff up on the way -- no, no, I don’t need the ration card -- May...”

He draws out a sigh and you take a moment to admire the softening of his tone. You close his office door quietly, moving across the room to settle into the plush leather chair across his desk. Your eyes wander the drab office. No photos, no decor. Just papers and filing cabinets and slatted shades that cast the sun across the tilted floorboards in a weird way.

“Alright,” he chirps, “Yea, love you too. Buh-bye.”

Your brow quirks. 

The phone drops back on the receiver with a soft tring and Peter exhales through his nose. 

He looks soft again -- not so cutting. Maybe it’s the lack of black, or the way his hair looks lighter in the daylight. The glasses on his nose are slipping and he pushes them back with practiced ease. You admire the curve of his wrists when he does. He looks like a sure-fire journalist. All starched collar and suspenders. 

“Sorry about Frank,” Peter says, “He’s a pain in the behind.”

“Nice enough,” you hum, “Brought me right over.”

Peter drops his legs, easing back into some sort of practiced professionalism. You have to fight a smile. 

“Nice office.”

“Gets the job done.”

“You write?”

“Sometimes.”

“That your broad on the phone there?”

Peter blinks. That knocked him for a loop. “No. My aunt."

“So no broad,” you press, dropping your purse to the side of your chair, “Just a nice office writing for a big paper and a business card that tells me nothing.”

You drop the card to his desk. Peter stands then, hands jammed into the pockets of inky black slacks. He moves circle you for a second; he then settles on the front of his desk. He leans. You feel small under his gaze.

“I’m an investigative journalist for the Bugle. I do private eye work on the side. And I know a lot about your brother.”

You stiffen.

Peter sees it.

You move to stand nearly immediately, gathering your purse with a look so sour it could knock a man on his ass flat. Under your silk gloves, your knuckles burn as you grip your bag so tight. 

“I’ll see myself out --”

“I wanted to ask you a few questions --”

“Is that what you brought me down here for?” you snark, “To grill me? For some story?”

It’s biting. Peter watches as you swivel. You’re armed with a finger that you jab into his chest hard. 

“He’s a liar and a cheat and he got me where I am now,” you seethe, “He ruined my life, caged me up. Put that in your damned paper. Shouldn’t a’ hiked myself down here for nothin’ but a cold shoulder.”

“He was set-up.”

“He was a drunk.”

“Marco’s boys needed someone to take the fall,” Peter says, voice cementing itself with someone more dangerous, “Jimmy gets jail time, you get a contract, and here we are. You make them money, you can’t leave, it’s give and take and take.”

“Don’t lecture me --”

“Cut it straight with me, canary,” Peter’s hands are on your shoulders now, eyes narrowed, “You want out.”

You don’t say a word. You storm outta that office, hellfire on your heels and Peter Parker watching you the whole way. You slam the door to office closed and the window rattles. 

The newsroom bustles on.

[asianmanatea]

I got tagged by the wonderful @angry-pipsqueak thank you!!! =(/)ω(\)=

Nickname: Geez….I have a lot. I go by Rina most of the time but my friend group give each other really weird and random nicknames. Grandma is one of the more popular then it’s rat, smol asian woman, smol asian boy, narcissistic lesbian, and a lot of other weird ones.

Favorite artists: @crimson-chains , @beanmaster-pika, and @fourdragonbrothers (I don’t look at much art on this hellsite)

Song stuck in my head: The entire FMAB openings and endings and History Maker (Tilly Tilly Bom occasionally pops up)

Do I get asks: Yeah occasionally if I reblog an ask meme

Other blogs: (just gonna name ones that only I own) @worlds-within-words is my writing blog (I’m begging for attention) , @another-asianmanatea and @a-limp-lettuce (both of which are practically dead)

Following: I purged recently so only 77

Lucky number: 13 :P

What I’m wearing: it’s 11:03 PM so an A&M shirt plus some penguin pj bottoms

Dream job: Writer, editor, serial killer, murder investigator, or someone that works with animals

Favorite food: hhhhhhh prime rib

Dream trip: I’ve been to Europe a whole bunch so as a change of pace probably Japan

Play any instruments: I’m the lonely oboe in the band

Languages: English , what I remember from German class as a kid, and a fair amount of Vietnamese even though I can only understand it but not speak

Favorite song: The Party , Blue Lips, One More Time With Feeling by Regina Spektor, or Lets Kill Tonight by Panic!AtTheDisco

Random fact: I’m fake af (or I have some sorta personality disorder idk) I change my entire personality every time I move and on rare occasions it switches day to day

Aesthetic things: Forest green stuff, silver, moss, fog, forests, and monochromatic or muted stuff

Tagging: you guys don’t have to do it but @aligrump @zenoobsessed @rest-in-bees @beanmaster-pika @carrotcouple @maddyisenough @mylizardiscurrentlyonfire @rollzerox @savan27

[thecomicsnexus]

UNCANNY X-MEN #107-108 OCTOBER-DECEMBER 1977 BY CHRIS CLAREMONT, DAVE COCKRUM, DAN GREEN, JOHN BYRNE AND TERRY AUSTIN

SYNOPSIS (FROM MARVEL WIKIA)

After being transported through a star-gate by Phoenix, the X-Men find themselves on an ancient planet that is home to the M'Kraan Crystal, surrounded by several members of the Shi’ar Legion of Super-Heroes Imperial Guard serving the evil Emperor D’Ken. When Cyclops announces that they are there for Lilandra, an enormous battle commences between the two sides. Despite the number of Imperial Guardsmen, the two teams are evenly matched.

When Lilandra is saved from The Soul Drinker unleashed on her by D’Ken, she reveals that he plans to use the M’Kraan Crystal to gain power absolute and that is why she escaped to Earth, having learned of Professor Xavier when he used his mental powers to thwart an alien invasion by the Z'Nox. The tide of the battle is turned by the arrival of the Starjammers, a group of interstellar pirates who aid the X-Men against the Guardsmen. Jean mind-probes their leader Corsair, and is shocked to learn what she finds there, finding it impossible to consider.

Suddenly the M’Kraan Crystal powers up and reality for a fraction of a second ceases to exist. On Earth Peter Corbeau warns the Fantastic Four that should the cosmic blinks continue, the universe will die.

With Emperor D'Ken threatening to destroy the universe by trying to utilize the power of the M'Kraan Crystal, the X-Men and the Starjammers compare notes and come to the conclusion when the specific stars come into alignment the crystal will become available to D'Ken. While on Earth, Peter Corbeau connects with President Carter, the Avengers, and the Fantastic Four and tells them some grim news: some strange force is threatening to destroy the universe. Most affected by this is the Wasp, who feels helpless when faced with a crisis even Earth's mightiest heroes cannot stop.

Back on the M'Kraan world, the X-Men approach the crystal and are confronted by its defender, a small being named Jahf. Jahf warns them that he will defend the crystal to his death, and if he is destroyed a being twice as powerful would appear to defend the crystal next. Wolverine mocks the small android and finds himself knocked high into the atmosphere, only saved by the quick thinking of the Starjammer's robot Waldo who teleports Wolverine aboard the ship. Soon Jahf is upon the X-Men and the Starjammers, easily thrashing them with his superior strength. When brute force doesn't work, the X-Men pool their abilities to fight the creature. Storm clouds Jahf in a pea-soup fog allowing Banshee to get close enough to unleash the full fury of his sonic scream. While he manages to destroy Jahf, he strains his vocal chords so raw he can barely talk.

The two teams don't get a moments reprieve, however, they are attacked by the second guardian of the crystal, a giant robot named Modt. During the fight, Raza finds Emperor D'Ken and tosses the despot into the M'Kraan Crystal, causing D'Ken and both groups to be transported within. There they find themselves in a large abandoned city. In the middle a sphere of pure light that Phoenix finds herself drawn to. Upon touching it, everyone present is struck by a bolt of energy that awakens in their mind their greatest fears. Jean manages to shake off the effects on herself, and when Cyclops goes berserk as a result of his illusions she knocks him out. Seeing the sphere being to crack, she channels the full power of her Phoenix powers to it and learns that it is a keeping the birth of a neutron universe at bay, and should the barrier break the universe as they know it would be destroyed to make way for this new universe.

Phoenix attempts to use her powers to repair the damage, however it is not enough as she needs additional life forces to help repair the damage. With only Storm and Corsair free from the sphere's influence, she convinces both to give a portion of their life forces, revealing to Corsair that she knows that he is Christopher Summers. As Jean repairs the damage, Corsair realizes that Cyclops is his long lost son Scott and goes to the unconscious man's side. However, Cyclops never wakes up to learn the truth, as soon as Jean repairs the damage she transports all the X-Men back home through the warp gate that brought them to the crystal.

There they find Professor X, Misty Knight and the Greys waiting and are confronted by Firelord, who explains that he has no quarrel with them anymore after Xavier explained how he was manipulated by Erik the Red. Following after the X-Men is Empress Lilandra, who's coming burns out the warp gate keeping her on Earth. She explains to Charles and the X-Men that while her brother was driven insane by the M'Kraan Crystal she is now the ruler of the Shi'Ar, however there must be time to sort out the red tape to have her rightful place put on the Shi'Ar throne, and until then she is staying on Earth.

CONTEXT

Dave Cockrum was an integral part of the All-New X-Men. Together with Len Wein (and I believe the help of Roy Thomas), they created all the new x-men. The costume designs are pretty much his. And this is what Dave Cockrum enjoyed the most in life, designing and creating characters. These are some quotes from an interview done by Jon B. Cooke:

CBA: Mike Friedrich told me a story that back in 1972 you had an idea for an international team book that eventually turned into the new X-Men. Is that true?

Dave: It wasn't my idea. Roy brought up the idea that he wanted to do a new X-Men book but he was talking about approaching it as "Mutant Blackhawks." That was Roy's suggestion when he took us to a fancy restaurant, telling us to order whatever we wanted—he had a hamburger. That was Roy's proposal: He wanted them international and to operate out of a secret base. Part of the rationale, as I understand it, was that Marvel was looking for foreign markets. And then, ultimately, we picked a bunch of nationalities whose countries weren't liable to buy the book! It never wound up fitting that proposal anyway.

CBA: After that, how long did you work on the proposal?

Dave: I had gone home and started designing some characters, but for some reason, there was a pause in the development, and they just hung fire for months. When it came back, Mike Friedrich wasn't involved any more but Len Wein was. I had drawn up a number of characters: The original black female in the group was to have been called The Black Cat. She had Storm's costume but without the cape, and a cat-like haircut with tufts for ears. Her power was that she could turn into a humanoid cat or a tabby. She wore a collar with a bell on it. When we came back to the project, after the hiatus, all of a sudden all of these other female cat characters had sprung up—Tigra, The Cat, Pantha—so I figured that we'd better overhaul this one! She wound up getting white hair, the cape, and becoming Storm.

CBA: Where did Nightcrawler come from?

Dave: When I was still a fan and in the Navy, my first wife and I were living on Guam in a house in the boonies (which was infested with roaches and rats). There was a terrible storm going on overhead, we had no lights, it was noisy and loud and raining like hell with thunder and lightning. To keep ourselves occupied and keeping ourselves from being scared to death, we sat around making up characters. We made up this duo, a guy I called the Intruder (a cross between the Punisher and Batman, with a chrome skull and black jumpsuit) and his demon sidekick, Nightcrawler. The original concept was a lot different in that Nightcrawler would howl at the moon, run up the sides of buildings and do all kinds of weird sh*t. He really was a demon who had screwed up on a mission from hell and, rather than go back and face punishment, he hung around up here with this do-gooder. So he was considerably overhauled when he wound up in the X-Men.

CBA: What input did you have with Colossus?

Dave: I drew him up and brought him in, saying, "Here's Colossus, our muscle guy." Len came up with the civilian name and origin. So it was my visual. Storm was pretty much the same, though when I wanted to put the white hair on her, everybody said that she'd wind up looking like somebody's grandmother. I said, "Trust me."

CBA: Was Thunderbird your character?

Dave: Yes. When I brought in the first design, everybody said, "He looks like an Air Force pilot!" I had this strange helmet on him that was an Indian design but nobody liked it, so I went back and re-did it.

CBA: So you stayed with the book for two years?

Dave: I stayed through to #107. I couldn't stay with it because I was on staff by that time—my job was to design covers—and I just couldn't handle it anymore. I was tired and I gave it up. Later on, they asked me to do that Marvel Fanfare with the X-Men in the Savage Land and it was fun! I called up Chris and said, "This is really fun! If Byrne ever wants to leave the book, give me another chance at it." And Byrne left the book that following Monday. That was a weird juxtaposition! So I got the book back and I was enthusiastic again. It was fun for a long time.

The only reason I left the book the second time was because I had previously put in a proposal for The Futurians. It sat on Jim Shooter's desk for about a year, and he finally said, "Yeah, you can do this if you want." I was in some doubt whether I should quit the X-Men and do that but I really wanted to do it. Chris and Louise Simonson, the editor, talked me into giving up the X-Men because they thought I was more enthused about The Futurians. That was probably the biggest mistake of my life! That was about the time they started paying the royalties and reprint money. It takes nine months after an issue goes on sale before you get a royalty check so I hadn't received one yet by the time I quit the X-Men. When the first one came it was $2000 right out of the air! I thought, "Geez!" And it got better, and from what I heard, people like Jim Lee were making $40,000 a month on royalties. (That's why they could afford to go off and start Image.) If I had known about that kind of money coming in—even the $2000 a month—you couldn't have pried me off that book with a crowbar. The Futurians was never that successful.

CBA: Did you get to meet Jack Kirby?

Dave: Only once or twice. I had a run-in with him of sorts when I was designing covers. I would normally sketch out a rough and attach a logo to it, and send it out to the artist who was supposed to do it. They were doing "What If Jane Foster had the hammer of Thor?" and they wanted Kirby to do the cover for that. Well, me being me with the peculiar twist of mind that I sometimes have, the logo I put on said, "What if Thor wore a bra?" I sent it out and Jack and Mrs. Kirby were totally scandalized, sent it back, and refused to have anything to do with it. The powers-that-be demanded, "What are you doing to Kirby?! You've pissed off Jack Kirby!" I said, "But, but, but..." and they wound up having the cover done by John Buscema.

There was another time when I was working with Stan on the Fantastic Four cartoon. For whatever reason, they couldn't use the Human Torch, so I had the task of designing Herbie the Robot. I thought the whole notion of replacing the Torch with a robot was so lame, all I would come up with were stupid ideas: One of them looked like a trash can on wheels with a "4" on it, another was a lamp on wheels with a "4" on it. After a half-dozen of these, Stan says, "You know, you're really hard to work with!" And he called up Jack and had him do it.

So we know the reason for his departure may not have been caused by the impossibility of the this team to deliver on time, but because it was too much (it may still be that though). So who can replace Dave Cockrum on X-Men?

With Byrne there, a man known for being prolific (and high quality at being that), the title didn’t get monthly right away. So I am not sure what was the defining factor for Byrne being in this title, but I can tell you this... THE REST IS HISTORY!

REVIEW

So now to the issues in question. I have been explaining before how much I didn’t enjoy Cockrum as interior artist. His last issue, though... is very good. I don’t know if it is the experience with the characters, the Legion of Super-heroes rip-off or what... but he was on fire in that issue. Sure, Colossal Boy rip-off is the most obvious thing even on the cover... but Wolverine takes down Timberwolf rip-off and puts on his costume.

As for the last issue of this saga... what happened to Claremont all of a sudden? I noticed he liked to write funny, but he is a poet all of a sudden. And Byrne really elevates his writing. John Byrne is not the kind of person that usually just does his job (sometimes he just draws for the fun of it, though), so I can imagine that the X-Men as we know them wouldn’t be possible without the collaboration of these two legends.

With this classic issues I feel tempted to see the art with the originals, and the re-colored (usually for digital) versions. The Batman digital comics were recolored in an awful way so I usually try to avoid those... but this run... I don’t know. The coloring would probably get in the way of Terry Austin’s inks.

Welcome to the X-men, folks!

I give these issues a score of 8

[xtruss]

Hoatzins!

Science:

Cookies, Honey, Tangerines, Manure — These Birds Have Some Strange Scents

There's still a lot scientists don't know about odor in the avian world, but this much is clear: Some species really smell.

From pungent parrots to citrusy seabirds, there are some wild smells in the avian world.

Around a decade ago, Danielle Whittaker walked into her laboratory with a Brown-headed Cowbird in a brown paper bag. Whittaker is an evolutionary biologist at Michigan State University who studies the role of smell in bird behavior. She sometimes uses bags to keep captured birds calm while she brings them into the lab for banding and data collection before releasing them.

Cowbirds lay their eggs in other species' nests, saddling other parents with the child-rearing responsibilities. Whittaker had a hunch that maybe they pull off that trick by not having much of a smell to give them away.

Not the case.

“As soon as I opened the bag there was this scent, and it was very much like cookies,” Whittaker says. “I thought somebody had cookies in the room. I was shoving the bag in everyone’s face, like, ‘Smell this bird!’ Which, it turns out, not everyone enjoys.”

Until surprisingly recently, conventional wisdom held that birds have little or no sense of smell. But in the past several years, researchers have overturned that misguided assumption. They’ve found that scents help some birds find food and avoid predators. And they’ve learned that the odors birds themselves produce are useful in selecting mates, identifying relatives, and distinguishing their nests from countless others in a colony.

“It’s a whole new way of thinking about how birds perceive their world that has been basically ignored for centuries,” says Julie Hagelin, a University of Alaska Fairbanks biologist who also studies smell’s role in bird behavior. “We just don’t understand it yet, and that’s exciting.”

There are no doubt lots of discoveries waiting to be made in this emerging area of ornithology. This past fall, for example, Whittaker published a paper showing that bacteria in the preen glands of Dark-eyed Juncos play a big role in determining the birds’ scents. (Juncos smell musty and not altogether pleasant, according to Whittaker. “I sniff all my birds now,” she says.)

One thing scientists in this young field have already learned: There are some wild smells out there. All birds likely have some odor—at least 177 avian species emit one that humans can detect, according to Hagelin’s research—but these ones are particularly pungent.

Kākāpō

Kākāpō.

Hagelin’s fascination with avian funk began with a fat, flightless, nocturnal parrot. She was a volunteer in New Zealand with the recovery program for the critically endangered Kākāpō. One day that work involved holding one of the birds against her body while changing the battery in its tracking device. “The scent of this bird’s plumage rubbed off on my T-shirt, and I smelled like Kākāpō all day,” Hagelin says. She began wondering about what role that strong scent might play in the birds’ lives, and she’s been researching related questions ever since.

“Their feathers smell sort of sweet and musty,” she says. The odor is strong enough that, some mornings, while walking a dewy trail, her nose would pick up lingering evidence that a Kākāpō had waddled along the same path before sunrise. “To me it smells like a mix of lavender and honey and dust.”

Others have described the bird’s scent in similar terms. They’re like “musty violin cases,” one researcher told National Geographic. “Sweetish and vegetative,” researchers from New Zealand’s Massey University called it. And, as one of the Massey team noted in a 2012 thesis paper, poet Sonja Yelich even wrote an ode to their aroma, which she described as “some honey, papaya & the inside of an old clarinet case which is spitty.”

For millennia, Kākāpō could strut around smelling like whatever section of the orchestra they pleased; the birds evolved without any mammalian predators to pick up the scent. But their strong odor helped to make the birds easy targets for introduced rats, cats, and other mammals, which played a big part in slashing the Kākāpō population to just 51 individuals in 1995, when the latest intensive recovery program began. Today there are around 200 birds living on three predator-free islands.

Hoopoe

Eurasian Hoopoes.

Pro tip: Do not threaten a Hoopoe nestling. When in danger, they’ll squirt a stream of feces at an invader in self-defense.

That’s not the only source of stink from these distinctive birds of Africa and Eurasia. The preen gland is where birds produce the oil they rub on themselves to keep their feathers clean and waterproof. But come breeding season, something weird happens to the preen glands of female Hoopoes and their nestlings: They swell up and produce what one book describes as “an evil-smelling fluid, with a stench like that of rotting meat.”

Scientists say this noisome goop likely serves to deter predators; Hagelin points out that decomposing flesh can contain dangerous microbes that some animals may avoid. The smelly fluid has another function that's been more firmly established: It contains beneficial bacteria which attack other bacteria that can eat away at feathers. Hoopoe moms-to-be also spread this stuff on their eggs, which helps seal small pits in the eggs to keep out microbial threats.

On top of that, Hoopoes are notorious for not cleaning out their nests, even though nestlings are known to plaster the walls in poop. No surprise, then, that a German insult is “stinken wie ein Wiedehopf”—to stink like a Hoopoe.

Crested Auklets.

Crested Auklets.

Some years after Hagelin washed the Kākāpō smell out of her clothes, she found herself on an inflatable research boat off the Alaska coast, where she was studying smell in Crested Auklets. A group of maybe 75 of the seabirds flew past, about 25 feet from the boat. That was close enough to get a big whiff. “It smelled like someone was peeling a tangerine right next to me,” Hagelin says.

As Audubon magazine has somewhat saucily reported, Crested Auklets have “wild and kinky mating rituals,” and their distinctive smell plays a big part in their “rambunctious sex parties.” When a female auklet takes an interest in a male suitor, “she buries her beak in the male’s neck feathers—where that fresh tangerine scent is strongest—in a move called a ‘ruff sniff.’”

Hagelin says she’s heard from Alaska Natives in her study area that it’s common to smell a flock or colony of Crested Auklets before seeing them. The rocky islands and outcrops the birds inhabit are often shrouded in thick fog, so Hagelin suspects scent might be an especially important communication channel for them, to compensate for low visibility.

In any case, the odor they’ve evolved could be a heck of a lot worse. “It’s really pleasant,” Hagelin says. “There are plenty of other scents in seabird colonies that are not as appealing.”

Hoatzin

Hoatzin.

It’s fitting that Hoatzins smell funny, because everything about these Seussian weirdos is just a little bit strange. They nest above rivers and wetlands in the tropical lowland forests of South America, allowing their young to plop into the water below when in danger. The nestlings then climb a tree back to safety using bizarre claws on their wings that they lose as adults.

Hoatzins are pretty lousy at flying, so your first clue that there’s one nearby might be the sound of it flapping into bushes and branches. Another clue: a strong barnyard smell. Turns out, those two quirks are related. Hoatzins are weak flyers because they have an unusually small sternum, leaving little room for flight muscles attach to the skeleton. And that small sternum is designed to make space for an exceptionally large crop and esophagus, which, with help from gut bacteria, act as a fermentation chamber. They’re the only birds known to possess this odd digestive system, which helps them to break down tough and sometimes toxic plant matter, since their diet consists almost entirely of leaves. “Hoatzins in effect are flying cows,” the Cornell Lab of Ornithology says.

As in cattle, this “foregut fermentation” in Hoatzins produces methane, which they belch out, with an odor that’s been compared to that of cow manure. As a result, even dictionary editors—et tu, Merriam-Webster?—have dubbed this species the “stinkbird.”

— National Audubon Society | By Andy McGlashen | Associate Editor, Audubon Magazine | January 23, 2020

[rathologic]

PSA: Rat Fog Editor patch 1.1.1

Hey! This is news from a month ago that I totally forgot to post -- Rat Fog Editor has been updated. There are no new features in this release, but it fixes an error that caused an incorrect black skybox tile during cloudy days, as well as mislabeled color settings. I'm looking into automatic updates for the 1.2 release, but in the meantime, please get the v1.1.1 program s/t your mods work as intended 😭

[seerofmike]

waow 500 people are dead but the sky is so pretty today....still messing around w colors in rat fog editor

[thebookrat]

Today I'll be sharing my thoughts on the final book in Syrie James' Dare to Defy series as part of the blog tour for Duke Darcy's Castle; all of these books are stand-alones and can be read individually and/or out of order. A copy of this book was provided by the publisher for review purposes. All opinions are honest and my own. Affiliate links not used in this post.

Duke Darcy’s Castle: A Dare to Defy Novel (Book 3) by Syrie James Historical Romance, Victorian Romance / 384 pages Publisher: Avon Impulse eBook ASIN: B07DCD1HYB, (February 25, 2020) Mass market paperback ISBN: 978-0062849717 (March 24, 2020)

In Syrie James' newest Dare to Defy novel, a devastating duke goes head to head with a determined young woman. Lance Granville, the Tenth Duke of Darcy, was none too happy to give up his career in the Royal Navy to inherit the family title, complete with an ancient crumbling castle he needs to renovate. When an architect arrives on his doorstep, Darcy is astonished to discover that she's a woman. Kathryn Atherton has one goal: to become the first woman architect in Britain. Marriage doesn't figure in her plans. Despite the odds, her schooling is behind her. Now she needs experience. When she's sent to a small tidal island in Cornwall to remodel a castle, the last thing Kathryn wants is to be attracted to its roguishly handsome owner. Kathryn is determined to keep things professional, but the sizzling attraction between her and the duke quickly blazes out of control. When Darcy learns that Kathryn is an heiress whose fortune would save St. Gabriel's Mount, he wages the most important battle of his life: to woo and win the woman who's captured his heart. But duchesses can't be architects. And Kathryn has worked too long and too hard to give up her dreams…

AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | BOOK DEPOSITORY | INDIEBOUND | GOODREADS | BOOKBUB

It's been a struggle for awhile now for me to finish books. I know a lot of us are having focus issues, and finding it difficult to enjoy things the way we normally would have in a pre-pandemic world. So I don't hold it against Duke Darcy's Castle that it took me multiple months to finish what is a fairly simple romance novel. At least, I don't entirely hold it against the book. Whenever I managed to pick up Duke Darcy's Castle, I found it engaging and easy to fall into; it's light and pleasant and gives the reader what they're probably expecting from a Victorian romance called Duke Darcy's Castle -- everything except the Darcy part, that is (if "Darcy" piqued your interest, know that this is not a Pride and Prejudice retelling, though it does have some nods). The book is steamy and pleasantly fluffy and surprisingly feminist*, and on the whole, I enjoyed it. But. There was something holding me back from loving Duke Darcy's Castle, and it wasn't just Corona-focus. I've grown accustomed to cheesiness and a fair amount of cliche in romances, and tbh, as a general rule, I don't mind it. But there has to be balance there that makes the cheesiness work, or twists the cliche into something new, and I think Duke Darcy's Castle was lacking that something extra. The book occasionally felt a little too write-by-numbers; not phoned in, exactly, but missing a spark. In the way of erotica masquerading as romance, it was mostly just a string of near-miss sexual encounters with talking scenes peppered in. And while there's nothing wrong with erotica (and I'd be fine with more dukes and lady architects in erotica), the format doesn't really do much for building an understanding of who the characters are individually or as a pair, or why I should care if they get it together. That is crucial in a romance. It's the thing that makes a reader care. It also doesn't help that their reactions and liaisons are so immediate and intense. Insta-love is endlessly debatable across fiction, and I contend that if done right, it can work (it's just very rarely done right). But I think insta-love/lust in this instance did these characters a disservice. It robbed the story of tension and anticipation. The reader isn't given a chance to know either character before being plunged** into the fog of their raging hormones. The final thing that held me back from loving Duke Darcy's Castle was the overall voice. I think a lot it readers will see "Victorian romance" and expect something very buttoned up and probably more historical (as in, no modern amenities, because so many readers equate histrom with regency, and regency with some cultured, nebulous before-time). This lack of understanding on the reader's part alone may make parts of the story jarring. I understand that late Victorian is actually fairly modern, so I wasn't too thrown by talk of indoor plumbing. But at times, the voice is yesterday-modern. I can't entirely put my finger on it, other than to say it feels jarringly current at times, which took me out of the flow, and kept me from fully buying in. That said, it's still a fun, steamy distraction from the world outside our isolation chambers homes, and if approached as a tease more than a building romance, I think most histrom readers will enjoy it. For myself, despite its flaws, I did find myself curious to read the other two books in the series. * Surprising only in that it's set in the Victorian era, and not that I expect romances or Syrie James to be lacking in feminist rep. ** phrasing.

ABOUT SYRIE JAMES SYRIE JAMES is the USA TODAY and Amazon bestselling author of thirteen novels of historical, contemporary, and young adult fiction and romance. Her books have hit many Best of the Year lists, been designated as Library Journal Editor’s Picks, and won numerous accolades and awards, including Best New Fiction by Regency World Magazine (the international bestseller “The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen”), and the national Audiobook Audie for Romance (“The Secret Diaries of Charlotte Bronte”, also named a Great Group Read by the Women’s National Book Association). Los Angeles Magazine dubbed Syrie the “queen of nineteenth century re-imaginings,” and her books have been published in twenty languages. A member of the Writer’s Guild of America, Syrie is also an established screenwriter and playwright who makes her home in Los Angeles. An admitted Anglophile, Syrie has addressed audiences across the U.S., Canada, and the British Isles.

WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM | GOODREADS | BOOKBUB

SEE MORE ABOUT THIS BOOK FROM OTHER BLOGGERS ON THIS TOUR: International bestselling author Syrie James tours the blogosphere February 24 through April 24, 2020 to share her new historical romance, Duke Darcy’s Castle: A Dare to Defy Novel (Book 3). Twenty-three popular book bloggers specializing in historical romance and Austenesque fiction will feature, spotlights, exclusive excerpts and book reviews of this acclaimed Victorian romance novel featuring a strong, independent heroine and complex, swoon-worthy hero.

February 24 Austenprose—A Jane Austen Blog (Review)

February 25 Laura Lu's Reviews (Review)

February 26 Scuffed Slippers Wormy Books (Review)

March 02 Unabridged Chick (Review)

March 04 Drunk Austen (Review)

March 06 Austenesque Reviews (Review)

March 09 From the TBR Pile (Review)

March 23 Half Agony, Half Hope (Review)

March 16 Romance Junkies (Excerpt and giveaway)

March 20 Courtney Reads Romance (Review)

March 23 My Jane Austen Book Club (Excerpt and giveaway)

March 26 Laura's Reviews (Review)

March 30 Chicks, Rogues and Scandals (Review)

April 01 Robin Loves Reading (Review)

April 06 Frost Magazine (Review)

April 07 Frolic Media (Review)

April 13 Let Them Read Books (Excerpt and giveaway)

April 15 Dena Garson (Spotlight)

April 17 Romantically Inclined Reviews (Review)

April 20 Book Rat (Review)

April 23 Unwrapping Romance (Review)

April 23 Delighted Reader (Review)

April 24 The Lit Bitch (Review)

via The Book Rat

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[rathologic]

I built a tool for modding the weather file in patho1! Rat Fog Editor is a free and simple graphical interface to edit fog and lighting colors, render distance, and district tints. See the mod page for more info :-)