#space shipwrecks

[honourablejester]

Starfinder Character Concept: A Luminous Skeletal Priest

Okay. So. Reading the Ports of Call setting book presented me with the fabulous concept of the Last Call, a colony ship turned mobile funerary barge:

“Space is a minefield of fatal disasters, and the undead can arise from those who die gruesomely or without last rites. Knowing this, a Pharasmin sect called the Cemeterians repurposed a colony ship as their flying temple and set out to provide funerary services across the galaxy. Having now operated for over 50 years, the starship is known as Last Call is easily recognized by its sign reading “Let the End be an Ending” painted above its docking bay. The ship periodically jumps across the galaxy, serving as a trading post, morgue, and neutral ground for all but the unrepentant undead.”

This is enchanting to me. Combined with all the space undead you get in Starfinder, like my beloved Marooned Ones. Just the idea of a ship that is going out to find the wrecks, the dead stations, the lost colonies, in order to grant the dead their last rites and to lay the unquiet dead to rest. Or to just provide services for ships or stations that don’t have their own priests. I so want a character who at least spent time on her as part of their background.

And then, while I was thinking about deathly space priests and their funeral ship, I remembered a Starfinder race that I have loved since I first read about them: the Shatori. I noticed them because of the image firstly, Shatori are 7ft tall translucent immortals with glowing bones. They have a glowing skeleton that shines through their semi-transparent flesh. It’s amazing.

They accidentally set off an invasion of their world by daemons of Abaddon while looking for alternate power sources way back when, and created a spell to keep some of them alive in stasis until the invasion was over, but messed it up and wound up hibernating for centuries in a pocket dimension next to the Boneyard, the deathly energies of which gradually converted the sleeping Shatori into living but sterile immortals. They can’t give birth, can’t create more Shatori, so the survivors in that stasis dimension are the only Shatori’s that are ever going to exist anymore, and each death among them is an irrevocable loss. So they are, as a people, incredibly conscious of death, and seek to preserve their knowledge against their loss. As well as live full lives, in honour of all the Shatori that will never get to live.

Which. Combined with the Last Call.

Now. Shatori do not generally have truck with religion. They’re essentially immortal space Vulcans, they believe in impartiality and rational self-interest. And Pharasma, in particular, is complicated for them, on account of her Boneyard being the thing that … well, did the thing.

But they believe that each death is an irrevocable loss. They believe in preserving the knowledge and actions of those who have died. They believe in ensuring that those who are lost are not forgotten. So maybe one of them might be willing to crew a ship and find the lost dead and ensure that their names, their deeds, their knowledge, and the nature of their deaths, is recorded and not lost to time and the vast emptiness of space.

Also. Imagery-wise. A 7ft tall luminescent death priest, aboard a flying funeral ship. I’m just saying.

I do think I want an investigative sort of Cemetarian here. Not just last rites. They’re Shatori, they want to know the hows and whys and what-is-lefts. Recovery and preservation of knowledge, so that those who have died did not die wholly in vain. In which case, they might actually be in favour of the survival of intelligent undead, as it preserves the person and the knowledge, which might have maybe driven a little bit of a wedge between them and more zealous Cemetarians (and Pharasmins in general). So they might have been politely asked to leave the Last Call at some point. But they’re interested in continuing the calling regardless. In finding the dead of space, and laying them properly to rest, and recording the nature and circumstances of their deaths, and retrieving as much of who they were and what they knew as possible.

A mystic, almost certainly. Not a direct devotee of Pharasma, though they masked that well for a long time, more a simple chronicler of the dead. I think the Akashic connection? Knowledge, the preservation of knowledge. I like that Shatori already get detect magic, grave words, and stabilise as spell-like abilities. They lean towards deathly investigation from a standing start. We’ll likely build their spell repertoire to match that.

For background … I don’t think I’d go priest. I suspect they may not still be a member of Pharasma’s flock, on account of not actually being that religious or opposed to undeath on a philosophical level. I think I’m going to go with Void Nomad instead. Touched by the isolation and death of the vast cold reaches of space. We’re going to be a philosophical sort of Shatori on an evolving journey of discovery regarding death, that thing which is the horror and inevitable end of our entire species. By studying and honouring and embracing those who have perished to the void, we are slowly learning to accept our own inevitable end.

So. A quiet, contemplative lady, a shining skeletal Shatori on a journey of discovery, death and acceptance.

For a name … I deeply love the names of the planets in the Shatori’s home system of Disaj: Perdane, the world they lost to Abaddon, Perdure, the world on which they enacted their desperate and doomed attempt to escape death, and Prevail, a world relatively unscathed by past mistakes. There’s a theme there that I like. So. She’s going to have renamed herself out in the void, to remind herself of home and to keep the knowledge alive.

Durance Vail. An ex-Cemetarian of the Last Call. A Shatori void nomad akashic mystic. Heh.

(Or, put another way, and still to my giddy delight, a 7ft glowing skeleton lady who would like to go exploring spooky shipwrecks and speak with dead people for broadly altruistic purposes).

(Also, yes, space undead and nautical horror will never not be themes for me. I like spooky ships).

[madcat-world]

Cold Wreck - space gooose

[thinkingimages]

Inside the Outset: Evoking a Space of Passage is a project by artist and filmmaker Rosa Barba following an invitation by Point Centre for Contemporary Art in Nicosia and curator Mirjam Varadinis to propose and realize a project in Cyprus.

The work proposed by the artist in 2013, started in 2014 and consists of two parts: a film and a long-term open-air cinema installation. The project was then presented to the Italian Council and received the first prize at the international competition (Third Edition) in 2018, and was awarded a grant from DGAAP (Directorate General for Contemporary Art and Architecture and Urban Peripheries), Italy.

Barba’s film is exclusively shot in Cyprus, including underwater shots of the Mazotos shipwreck, as well as aerial shots from archaeological sites. It is an investigation into the loaded, transforming topography that is already palpable in the landscape, before we actually understand what language it creates for our society. In that, the film follows Barba’s artistic approach to examine liminal states which manifest in between contested spaces, both mentally and geographically, in order to allow for a new perspective. The inaugural screening took place in Autumn 2021 at the open-air cinema installation in the Buffer Zone.

Inside the Outset: Evoking a Space of Passage, 2021

16mm film transferred to digital and 8k film, sound, 31:15 min

Produced by Point Centre for Contemporary Art, funded by the Italian Council. A collaboration with Famagusta Avenue Garage.

Images: Film still © Rosa Barba

[cheezyharu]

Pokeddexy 2023 | day 29: Scariest Pokemon

gotta love how this spooky looking fella is literally just an anchor lol

[gerec]

AU-gust 2023

9 & 10. Joker: Shipwrecked, Exiled

Pairing(s): Cherik, Starles Warnings: N/A

The sirens start blaring at the first direct hit, the computer warning of severe damage to the auxiliary engines. Erik curses as Azazel makes a mad sprint to the Engine room, while the rest of the crew try to keep their cool under heavy fire. The Genosha is used to having a little heat on its tail, as their dealings are often with the least savoury of the galaxy’s myriad inhabitants, but even they can concede that this is a lot, and that they might not be able fly or finesse their way out of this predicament.

It's not exactly common after all, to have half a planet’s armada after you, or specifically, after the long-lost Crown Prince of said planet hiding away on your ship.

The Westchester fleet hails them again, the automated voice of their flagship blaring through the comms, “Genosha, we have you surrounded. Surrender now. This is your last warning.”

“Erik,” Charles murmurs, looking out of the cockpit window at the dozen fighters keeping them boxed in on their current flight path. “Do as they say.”

“Fuck no,” Moira says, before Erik even has the chance to tell Charles to shut the hell up. “We’re not giving you up. You’re one of us, and we’re not going to let those bastards kill you.”

The rest of the motley crew shout similar sentiments, and Erik has never been prouder of the assortment of miscreants and misfits he’s come to call family. And Charles is more than just a crew member; he’s Erik’s, and Erik is his, and he is not going to let that thug Marko lay a finger on the stepson he exiled ten years ago.

“If they wanted to kill me, we’d be dead already,” Charles counters, which…none of them can really refute, given the sheer firepower aimed in their direction. “Give me up and they might just let the rest of you go.”

Erik rolls his eyes, and even Logan and Emma scoff at his words.

“You’re too trusting,” Logan grunts. “Ain’t no way they let us go once Marko gets his grubby hands on you, Your Highness.”

“He’s right,” Emma adds with a grimace, “I wouldn’t if I were in his place. Better to tie up all the loose ends.”

“You don’t know—”

Whatever Charles was going to say, none of them hear it, the ship suddenly spinning out of control, a precise hit sending them careening down into the barren moon below.

Erik regains consciousness sometime later, thankfully still on board his own ship, and – like the rest of his crew - still in one piece.

Unfortunately, that’s the extent of the good news, because a quick check of the Genosha’s vitals finds the entire starboard side smashed open, and the main engine damaged beyond repair. It’s a miracle that they’re all still alive, given the severity of the crash, and wonders if the enemy might have done something to help slow their descent. But that’s abruptly the least of his worries, because Charles is not right beside him, strapped into his chair….  

He stumbles out of the cockpit down the main hallway, then down the stairs and off the exit ramp. It immediately becomes clear that they’re inside the flagship’s massive docking bay, and that the Westchester forces have successfully captured their target. What’s not clear is where Charles has gone, and why there aren’t armed guards at the ready to escort them to the brig---

Then he looks up and sees Charles, a tiny figure in the distance, flanked on either side by row upon row of soldiers in Westchesterian armor. A man dressed in the heraldry of House Xavier steps through the blast doors – tall, blond and decidedly handsome – and smiles at a stunned Charles. Erik doesn’t understand what he’s seeing; not when the man goes down on one knee and bows his head, and not when the hundreds of soldiers all follow in kind, paying homage to the Crown Prince with the price on his head.

The rest of the crew catch up to Erik, just in time to hear Charles breathe, “Steve? Is it really you?” “Your Highness,” the man says, joy and relief abundantly clear in his voice. “I can’t believe I finally found you. After all this time.”

“I don’t understand. Kurt sent you---”

“No.” He watches as Charles closes the distance and pulls Steve to his feet. “Your stepfather is dead. You are the rightful heir to the throne of Westchester and I’ve come to bring you home.”

Charles shakes his head. “I can’t believe it. My friends? And Raven? Are they…”

“They’re alright. I promised you, remember? I swore I wouldn’t let any of them come to harm.”

In the two years they’ve known each other, Charles has rarely spoken of home, and shared very little of his life before his forced exile. It had never mattered before, what Erik didn’t know about Charles’ past, as they’d agreed to keep their own secrets even as they fell into bed. But now it seems the past would no longer stay buried, and the implications of it all – Marko’s death and Charles’ future as Westchester’s ruler – threaten to upend their fragile coexistence.    

Then, as the soldiers all rise and start chanting their Prince’s name, Steve pulls a teary Charles into his arms and seals their heartfelt reunion with a passionate kiss.

[cedar-sunshine]

character traits tag

thanks for the tag, @paeliae-occasionally! Leaving my tag for this open because I am SO tired bro

rules- list the traits that make your character your character, like the defining personality traits.

Im doing this for the space shipwreck crew!

Carbon - professional, protective, caring and cold

Civet - fun, temperamental, impulsive and empathetic

Altar - high energy, sunshiney, extroverted and reckless

Olive - introverted, calm, awkward and kind

Hermes - thoughtful, sweet, shy and gentle

Lazuli - sharp, ambitious, intense, single-minded

Halcyon - easily distracted, mildly obsessive, passionate and excitable

Bardiche - quiet, strong moral compass, compassionate, definitely a bit of a bleeding heart (all said with love, so am i)

Palace - self-absorbed, vain, supportive, elegant

I apologize if any of this is written weird I am so tired

[a-solitary-sea-rover-backup]

Captain James Cook’s HMS Endeavour is believed to have sunk in Newport Harbor during the American Revolution.

As an historical link between Australia and the city of Newport, presenter Glenn Shorrock talks about the wreck of the Endeavour in this scene and presents what was then (1983) believed to be surviving wood from the wreck, including a small fragment that traveled to the moon on Apollo 15 (whose Command Module was also called Endeavour.)

However, as there has been some controversy in recent years about which shipwreck in Newport Harbor is actually the Endeavour, it is possible the space-flown fragment Shorrock is holding here (and another fragment flown on the Space Shuttle Endeavour in 1992) may have come from the wrong ship. Maybe.

Shorrock quotes an alternative story of Endeavour’s loss, saying that it instead sunk off Newport in the 1790s is, having been renamed Liberté by a French owner. This account is less-supported by the historical evidence and may instead refer to another HMS Endeavour or to another of Cook’s ships, the Resolution. However, given the coincidence of Australia II’s opponent in 1983 being named Liberty, this probably made a better story for the producers.

Certainly it must have been compelling for mid-20th-century Australian and British America’s Cup challengers to imagine their J-Classes or 12-Metres were sailing over the wreck of the Endeavour, just as it must have been for the astronauts to think they had fragments of the right ship. But until we identify its wreck for sure, perhaps imagining is all we can do…

[erisolkat]

ERISOLKAT!!!!

i’ve been an erikat-er since day one. love me drowned was always my fave homestuck parody….

OMG SAME its literally so unironically good who gave them permission. who said they could do that.

[britneyshakespeare]

has anyone ever written about how much the comedy of errors (shakespeare's first comedy and one of his earliest plays in general) has in common with the late romances, as far as tropes go? that play where the main plot was ripped from terence but then he added in a second pair of twins for more slapstick and extra complications? the really really silly one that for centuries many considered to be too low to be a proper "comedy" and instead was actually just a farce? that play where, like in the late romances, a family is seemingly lost and ripped apart forever for most of the play until the miraculous ending when everything comes back together again and the peace is restored? has anyone ever written a paper about that? because i think about it ALL the time

[erinchavi]

every winter morning when i start my car in negative temps and it creaks and cries as it tries to turn over the engine i am reminded that it is a machine whose natural state is quiet and in one way or another one day its pieces will not be assembled and alive with me but they will lie cold and alone and they will be done. it's not even a living thing but it makes me so upset to think about

[kazenarts]

Starship wreck on an alien desert, with a new visitor.

[gskiphotography]

Shipwreck in the turquoise waters of the Bahamas.

[iwrotemrtambourineman]

today was so much but also nothing happened but also I’ve watch many videos about ship wrecks in the last 24 hours so maybe that’s why today had that je me sais quoi

[cedar-sunshine]

pride post 1

Using pride month as an excuse to ramble about my ocs being queer in cool ways. If you don't like the labels they use get queerer you aren't queer enough. And in pride month too 😔

We love Altar being simultaneously in an incredibly sapphic relationship and a gay as hell mlm relationship. She's a wonderful role model and you too should date an autistic engineer mechanic who doesn't know how to communicate and a depressed tboy space pirate with symbiote friends. Also he's like a quarter space squid and brightly colored so just cool no matter what. Literally the epitome of 'both mlm and wlw' technically she's bisexual but like. Who careeesssssss. If u asked him he'd say he's sapphic and lesbian about Olive (who is fem! They use they/them but they are fem! They are a nonbinary woman-esque thing, I'll explain it later it's also cool) and he's also very gay and achillean and mlm about Hermes. Genuinely just can't get over Altar being queer in every single direction like if you ask her if she's nonbinary she'd say no but that's bc she's like. Hyperbinary. He/she for the win. Altar isn't nonbinary he is both binaries. I have definitely misgendered her before on this account and probably will again but!! My bad entirely.