#villain!vitus

[i-like-the-eyes]

Chapters: 1/? Fandom: The Sandman (TV 2022) Rating: Explicit Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: The Corinthian/Original Male Character Characters: The Corinthian (Sandman), Vitus (OC), Dream of the Endless Additional Tags: Hero!Dream, Sidekick!Corinthian, Villain!Vitus, Smut, sidekick x villain, Anal Sex, Anal Fingering, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Enemies to Lovers, Superhero!AU, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers Summary:

"The Nightmare" - sidekick of the local super hero - get's kidnapped by one of their enemies - "The Demon" The two had fought and flirted in the past whenever they had met. Now being at the mercy of the pretty villain the Nightmare is struggling between his attraction towards his enemy and the loyalty towards his boss...

[cresvalkyrie]

HI VAL!!!

Who do you feel is the most interesting antagonist in Rejuv?

HI AXEL!!!

Most interesting rejuv antagonist, huh? Okay, this one is admittedly a tough question, because they're all intriguing in their own ways. Yes, even the silly ones like Team Anti-Assist (seriously, I really want to know why this organisation is even a thing. What did the Help Centres even do to them that made them this way??)

(potential spoilers incoming)

Madame X and Team Xen are the first antagonists encountered in the game. Their goals seemed straightforward at first, but as we progress through the plot it starts to get into ambiguous territory. Why do they fight for oblivion? Clearly each Team Xen admin has their own reasons for joining, most of them being for survival or for the sake of their loved ones (exception being Geara who most likely joined because of Vitus' influence), but if they knew that Team Xen is working towards oblivion why would they keep going? Sure there's the whole Soul Crystals thing which keeps them compliant, but by then they'd have realised there's no point staying loyal to Team Xen. Especially in Neved's case, which I'm not sure if he's that delusional to hope that his daughter would be spared from the oncoming oblivion if he remained loyal to Madame X's cause or he's also given up and decided he's past the point of redemption so might as well play the role of a villain until the bitter end.

Also, speaking of Madame X. She's the main antagonist, but she doesn't seem be wholly evil if ch12 is any indication. Her goals have something to do with breaking free from karma's cycles, but why? Who exactly is she? Why did she think that oblivion is the answer to what she wants? What connection does she have to Vitus? Too many questions, so little answers...

Vitus is also interesting one, and one we all love to hate with the sheer amount of shitty things he's done and how he's basically the root behind some of the game's most prominent antagonists (i.e. Geara, Angie, Melanie in the Bad Timeline arc, Angelus, Alice in ch14 and .karma files, and maybe even Madame X herself if her appearance in the prologue cursing him out and her Yveltal is any indication). But if you really look at it, isn't he just doing what he's made to do? He's the Yveltal host, a literal sentient exe file made for the purpose of destruction as part of the cycle of life and death. The only problem is that he's gone way out of control and destroyed more than he should most likely due to Zygarde's disappearance, not to mention his obsessive fixation with Arceus and the Archetype. For what purpose does he seek the long-dead god? Does he want to become the next Arceus, or is he trying to revive Arceus in a vain attempt to salvage this world and return it to "paradise"? Is that why he and Nymiera had a falling out in the distant past? Again, a lot of mysteries...

...okay, I've gone on a ramble here so. tl;dr, I find them all equally interesting.

[jazz-kitty]

For ask thing - 6, 10 (i think like i have an idea) and 13?

ended up being long

6. least favorite ship(s)

i had beef with melivenam [venelia? (menam? {something else?})] a while ago but i think it's chill now. cute even. adorkable perhaps. and i think talon & florin are interesting enough as Brothers In Arms as opposed to dating. but even that is loose; i just don't think they'd ever call each other the word boyfriend and at the end of the day don't actually care if people want them making out. and that's about the extent of it i think?

i don't really mind any of the ships i've seen; it's a small fandom and the amount of people that mention ships is even smaller. i'm chill with most of em. i'll draw like 80% of them. i see the vision and respect it even if i do not follow it

10. favorite villain / antagonist

smiles. You know. besides flora though who is the default answer because she is the best character ever. i like texen a lot. my friends have made several pieces of artwork with religious allegories with texen because it has been a joke for multiple years. i knew texen before i so much as thought about playing a pokemon fangame. texen was the first fangame character i ever drew. my friend made an entire reborn texture pack just for texen

and horrifically dedicated bit aside, i do think he's funny & enjoy seeing him on screen. don't diss the do

13. any random theories

this is already getting long as shit so im not explaining any of them #sorry. also because if i think about any of these for too long they fall apart:

eizen is the fourth of whatever eden clear & kieran have going on [chess piece thingies implied there was a fourth bitch and he's weird. idk. theyre in chess club together idk], madame x is the 2nd interceptor thats mentioned at the... interceptor computer thing... in like zeight? i think it was called that?, puppet master is risa and just uses he/him pronouns on the weekend (but she has a job so she doesn't really care about that right now {or rune but its more boring to think its rune just bc she's been off screen and mysterious. she's just dead or something bro #GiveItUp [< i am aware it is probably rune]}), nymiera is one million year old, vitus is one million year old and fumbled nymiera so bad that the plot of rejuvenation happened, whatever the gang in sashilla [ren, erin, venam, melia, you, aelita, other people im forgetting] is was wished for by maria and is why they were all uplled together & maybe the cause of intereceptors entirely, dr isha died however many years ago under a different name and stole the body, brain, organs, or something else that he definitely shouldn't steal to continue "living",

and the evil gang cool squad is the 6 protagonist kids who gave away their bodies to adrest's mom whatever her name is to stop storm 9. they can't do it themselves because they're just a bunch of teenagers, which is why they get uhh. me. hi. to fix the world using their image, while they get to watch Yay! im not sure why anything is specifically LIKE that, but im pretty sure that's whats happening. + adrest is here too because Mom said you have to bring me along if you wanna hang out with your friends :'(

[knightotoc]

The only Jedi who's ever gone to the Outer Rim and caused more good than harm is Kerra Holt. In chronological order:

- Tom Veitch foretold the trend (as he foretold everything) when he had City Boy On His First Mission Ulic Qel-Droma try to rescue the princess on Onderon (not technically Outer Rim in current canon but whatever), only to completely misinterpret the situation since the princess was getting kidnapped on purpose to marry her love. Ever since then every Core World Jedi going to the Outer Rim has also misinterpreted the situation and/or not assessed the needs of the people they are trying to help, leading to some dreadful cosmic tragedy. In Ulic's case, this small mistake was soon resolved, but in the back-and-forth of wars that resulted from this mission Ulic fell to the Sith and killed a ton of people, ending with a weak ass redemption of mansplaining forgiveness to a catgirl

- Nomi Sunrider stopped the Sith by... burning down a rainforest

- Revan (or as I like to call them, knock off Ulic Qel-Droma) did stop the Mandalorian takeover out there, but only after falling to the Dark Side themself. And what's worse, they took Malak with them. Half the time they clean up their mess, the other half they make it worse, and either way they go further into the galaxy -- bad idea!

- the Jedi Exile blowed up a planet out there. At least they felt sorry about it

- idk SWTOR 😅

- GOAT Kerra Holt goes to the Outer Rim for a specific purpose (free the people from the Sith governments) and works her butt off to accomplish this, even putting a stop to corrupt drug running from the unhelpful Republic. I have a theory that the only reason future Jedi don't learn from her is (not bc she got written just before the Disney merger but) bc she was never able to return home to Coruscant and teach the others :(

- reading The High Republic rn, and this seems to be the main theme of the series, or at least my main takeaway. In the main storyline, the Republic (+ Jedi) build Starlight Beacon for no specific purpose and do not set up any kind of infrastructure to allow the local people to actually reap its benefits. My man Tia Toon calls them out and nobody listens to him except me. Unconvincing post-9/11 villains the Nihil destroy the Beacon, which falls into a local planet and kills a ton of people. Of course the Jedi had good intentions, but so did Ulic, Revan, and the Exile

- in the side storyline, Cohmac Vitus tries to cleanse some evil artifacts and ends up unleashing the Drengir (aka, sanitized Yuuzhan Vong)! This is what inspired me to write this post bc I just read this, and wtf man! It's such a clear example of "don't mess with the dark side if you refuse to study it." This situation really was fine until the Jedi tried to help! He does feel sorry about it too, I wonder of he's gonna turn evil from guilt

- most famously Qui Gon went into the Outer Rim incidentally to his political mission, saved Anakin while he was there with an elaborate Ben Hur reference, but did not save his mom or consider the affects on the community not to mention the boy, which ultimately lead to Darth Vader

- anakin sand ppl

- you'd think Luke and Leia going to Tatooine and killing Jabba would make things better, but according to the Mando TV show everything is still pretty fucked over there

- I guess Rey caused more good than harm by going to Exegol and killing poor old palpatine; it is sad that Kylo had to die, but she forgot him so ig we should too lol

[travelinlibrarian]

Friday Reads: Star Wars The High Republic: Midnight Horizon by Daniel Jose Older

Friday Reads: Star Wars The High Republic: Midnight Horizon by Daniel Jose Older

After a series of staggering losses, the Republic seems to finally have the villainous Nihil marauders on the run, and it looks like there’s light at the end of the tunnel. Until word comes of a suspected Nihil attack on the industrial cosmopolitan world of Corellia, right in the Galactic Core. Sent to investigate are Jedi Masters Cohmac Vitus and Kantam Sy, along with Padawans Reath Silas and…

[aeronbracken]

I never considered Vitus as anything other than a duskwight from some people (parents maybe, or he joined himself) who ended up with the empire whether through conquest or an alternative to banditry. He has an off-color skin tone and pointy ears, and I assumed the model and wiki listing duskwight was accurate to his representation. Interesting because I feel like if he was supposed to be genetically Garlean they go for a Wildwood model otherwise. Plus we get other duskwight imperials (Albeleo). I just assumed something with a theoretical meritocracy would be an option some duskwight would see as viable with the game lore given how they're treated in Eorzea. Also would explain why he wouldn't be able to advance too far despite being OP compared to regular soldiers.

Oooh I didn't know he was listed as Duskwight in his wiki page you are probably right. I didn't even realize his ears or skintone because it was at night when I did his duty.

Valens van Varro from ShB trials also uses an Elezen face so I thought they used an Elezen face for Vitus too.

I also assumed he was Garlean because besides his surname -we all know conscripts get new ones like Asahi or Fordola- his name sounds Garlean to me instead of being similar to other Duskwight Elezen.

[ahit-oc-corner]

Finally can show off my ahit villain oc Vitus with info this time!

[ikindamaybewanthertositonmyface]

The official description for Star Wars: The High Republic - Midnight Horizon,

ON THE EDGE OF VICTORY…OR DISASTER?

After a series of staggering losses, the Republic seems to finally have the villainous Nihil marauders on the run, and it looks like there’s light at the end of the tunnel. Until word comes of a suspected Nihil attack on the industrial cosmopolitan world of Corellia, right in the Galactic Core.

Sent to investigate are Jedi Masters Cohmac Vitus and Kantam Sy, along with Padawans Reath Silas and Ram Jomaram, all fighting their own private battles after months of unrelenting danger. On Corellia, Reath and Ram encounter a brazen young security specialist named Crash, whose friend was one of the victims of the Nihil attack, and they team up with her to infiltrate Corellia’s elite while the Masters pursue more diplomatic avenues. But going undercover with Crash is more dangerous than anyone expected, even as Ram pulls in his friend Zeen to help with an elaborate ruse involving a galactic pop star.

But what they uncover on Corellia turns out to be just one part of a greater plan, one that could lead the Jedi to their most stunning defeat yet….

Star Wars: The High Republic - Midnight Horizon goes on sale Feb. 1 from Disney Books and is now available for pre-order.

And Below the cut there is an excerpt from the book, which is VERY VERY VERY VERY GAY :D

So any fans of Zeen/Lula, I HIGH KEY recommend you read it like right now. :D

Zeen Mrala and Lula Talisola sat across from each other in meditation position, like they had so many times before.

Zeen wasn't sure when they'd stopped sitting side by side during these sessions and started sitting face to face. She just knew that it felt more intimate this way, more right.

As always, an infinite skyscape seemed to open up between them, like the whole wild galaxy came to life in their connected minds, from its giant spinning planets to the tiniest drops of dew on each trembling leaf.

"Do you feel me?" Lula asked, and Zeen knew she was smiling. They both were.

"Always," she said. It was true. Even those rare times when they were far away from each other -- like during the Republic Fair, when all hell was breaking loose and thousands of people cried out in fear and pain -- Lula's presence still felt like a beacon amid the chaos. It wasn't that Zeen knew exactly where her friend was, just that she could feel her, her warmth, and it had calmed her, guided her through the carnage until their physical bodies actually found each other.

But Zeen felt something else, too -- it had been growing inside her for months, and she had no idea what to do with it, even what to name it.

Fear maybe. Or perhaps love.

Whatever it was, she was pretty sure it was about to explode. She was about to explode.

Lula had been put in charge of the task force. For a Padawan, that was an incredible honor. It meant she'd probably be knighted soon. She didn't look happy about it, though. Lula was the most ambitious person Zeen had ever met, but it didn't seem to come from ego -- she wasn't trying to get ahead of everyone else; she just loved learning, loved challenging herself, loved the thrill of forward motion. Zeen knew Lula had been trying to slow down, let each step of the journey be what it had to be, but this kind of honor would've lit her up a few weeks ago.

In the briefing room, she just looked sad. And Zeen's own first thought had been a selfish one: Lula would be knighted, and then what? What room would there be for a random girl from nowhere in the life of a Jedi Knight? The Jedi weren't supposed to form attachments; they didn't marry and settle down. They had more important things to do.

Zeen hated the bitter tone in her own thoughts; she should've been happy for her best friend in that moment. And what did it mean that Lula didn't seem happy, either? Only that Zeen was trouble, pure trouble, in her favorite person's life. A distraction.

That was when Zeen had decided to go to Corellia with Ram and Master Sy. She would get away for a bit, and maybe things would make sense when she got back.

She had instantly regretted the decision, but it was too late.

"Leaving will be good," Lula said a few minutes later, when they'd both opened their eyes. This was what they did, almost every day: They sat. They let the universe reveal its shimmering secrets around them through meditation, and then they spoke, quietly, gently, being as true as they knew how to be, about whatever was going on that day.

"I'm not sure," Zeen admitted. "I'm..." Was it fear she still felt? Not exactly. Just a discomfort. Uncertainty. But then... maybe that wasn't hers. "Are you?"

"I..." Lula didn't usually come up at a loss for words, but now she trailed off. "I don't want our hunt for Krix to become who you are."

Zeen flinched a little. She knew her friend was voicing a very real danger. Still, it hurt. "What will you be when we catch him?"

"I..."

"Where will you go?"

"I figured I'd stay here," Zeen said, because the truth was, After Krix didn't seem like a real thing, and it wouldn't until he was caught. She hadn't given it much thought because it was possible they wouldn't catch him for years, and it was possible they'd catch him the next day. What point was there in planning when so much was uncertain?

Lula smiled in that way she had that made her look like a little kid. "That would be amazing."

Zeen returned the smile, but the sadness and uncertainty remained, and she still didn't know if it belonged to her or to Lula. "I don't know what it will be like, when the chase is over," Zeen admitted. "I don't know who I'll be."

"We can find out together," Lula said. "The galaxy's changing as fast as we are. I've been"—her face darkened— "trying to figure out who I'll be, too."

"You got put in charge of a task force, Lula. That's practically unheard of for a Padawan. What's wrong?"

An alert dinged over the speaker system, then Ram's voice came through, breathy with nervousness and restrained giggles. "Um, Zeen Mrala we're about to leave for Corellia without yo--"

Reath cut him off. "No, we're not! Don't listen to him, Zeen. He's still practicing his jokes. But we are packing up the shuttle, so hurry up, please!"

Lula and Zeen rolled their eyes at each other, and then simultaneously got serious again.

Zeen didn't want to go anywhere where Lula's face wasn't going to be across from her, ready with a thoughtful answer or calm silence. But Zeen was also desperate to get as far away from all this confusion and turmoil as possible.

"I don't know," Lula said. "To answer your question. It's been on me the past few weeks. You've seen it. I still don't have an answer." She met Zeen's eyes with that determined gaze, the one that meant victory was imminent. "But I will figure it out, I promise."

Zeen smiled. She believed her. What else could she do?

Lula smiled too, and it looked real. "Now let's get you sent off to Corellia."

[fangaminghell]

hiiiii can i ask you what you think about different rejuv characters 👀

Hello! There's a lot of rejuv characters, so at the top of my head:

Melia is my bestie. I love her. I love her soooo much. I love her growth as a character, as well just being a bundle of positivity ( or trying to be) . She's so sweet and genuinely tries man. I love her.

Venam.....VENAM!!!! I love her dearly. Ever since we first met her, actually. And I love love love her character growth( I'm gonna be saying that a lot am I?). I was a bit set off with her character design change at first: not with the hair color, but the pigtails. I never expected Venam to rock pigtails lol. But honestly it long since grew on me lol.

Erin my friend Erin <3. She was a character that I was pretty meh about at first. She was pretty standoffish and I didn't really know how to feel about her. BUT BOY DID SHE GROW ON ME!!!! Fucking love her man. She's the best.

AELITA!!!!!!! SHE'S SO FREAKIN CUTE!!!!!! I LOVE HER DEARLY!!!! I think that's all I need to say about her.

Ren is another character that grew on me. Not that I disliked him or anything, but he was just "meh" for a good while, until we met him again. That's when I really got to see his character shine and sold him for me. I find him an absolute dork and I love it when characters tease him for shit. Also I need to know what the hell is up with Ren and Reina's family, cause that moment when Reina brought up their aunt ( I believe), Ren just ran. Like what happened. What's the tea,I gotta know. "Complicated" isn't enough, I need details!!!!

Madame X is....so weird to me. Honestly a lot of the antagonists are weird for me since I can't really get a good read on them- which I think is the point. What I'm saying is that Madame X and other main villains are fascinating to me. Well. Except Vitus. Fuck him.

There's obviously a lot more characters, but I think those are the main ones for now!

[spiteandsaltcentral]

Free pass to make fun of something you don't like <3

cool beansauce!!!!! i'm gonna do the cod fandom cuz why not

(i do not mean the saint vitus album children of doom. i mean call of duty.)

this fandom is way less based than you and i wish it was 😭 there are some ppl with genuinely good takes but those tend to be about the 141 loool. not that i mind, the 141 are cool... it's. so much harder when you like the villains. cuz then there are ppl who are like "they did horrible things!!11!1 you're an apologist!1!!" no. for fuck's sake. it's so frustrating. seeing takes like that squicked me out A LOT back in 2019 when i first started writing for makarov. back then i defaulted to the mindset of "oh i should quit writing abt him the way i do :(" since it was soft n fluffy but since then i've grown out of that cuz it's way sexier to do what YOU WANT and not give a shit about what other ppl are sayin on it 😎

kinda unrelated but i don't care for the mw19 ops lol

tldr; i TOTALLY understand why you don't consider yourself part of this fandom anymore. i don't either, i only write for it as part of crossovers now.

[spkothdvldotmp3]

so remember last july when i thought to myself, "haha, wouldn't it be cool if i made a mechsona?"

well, turns out a year of living with that thought in the back of your head will only get you 4,977 nearly 5,000 words of backstory and a spotify playlist, so, solid 7/10 experience

(okay look, Day 2 of the Mechtober prompts was the most coincidentally perfect overlap of "Mechsona" and "Blood," so I finally decided to stop being a coward and actually let people who aren't my classmates see this. ALSO, quick warnings for violence and death, if you're a bit squeamish about those sorts of things. So, with that said, the story itself...)

Introducing!

La Vie en Rouge

Dear Reader:

In this strange world, so bright and so bold

You may, somehow, find a Tale Yet Untold

You could read one now, if you so choose

This Tale- of the Blood-Red Dancing Shoes.

It had started like any other day. And not even an interesting kind of “any other day,” like a Saturday, which always promises adventure, or a Thursday, which has a tendency towards mystery. No, this was a Tuesday kind of “any other day,” which merely meant inescapable boredom.

At the very least, that’s how it started.

However, as Adeline Troffea was leaving her house, she heard the trumpets that signaled Lord Vitus’ arrival. She groaned. A visit from Vitus- sorry, His Most Esteemed Lord Vitus, she snorted as she mentally corrected herself- never went well. He was a deeply unpleasant person to be around, as he looked like a spoiled child and acted twice as bad. Additionally, he was usually about two seconds away from screaming nonsensically at any townsfolk who bothered him, like some sort of Saturday-morning-cartoon villain. Sometimes Adeline was sure he must be doing it on purpose- his ridiculous moustache (twirled oh-so-carefully at the ends), his pale skin and delicate hands (that had clearly never done anything harder than gesture dramatically from the shade provided by his servants), the too-fine crowns and jewels and capes his draped himself in (who even needed more than one crown? Isn’t that too excessive, even for Vitus?)- he couldn’t be for real, right?

Reader, Lord Vitus would prove himself to be more real than Adeline could imagine before this story’s end. But we’ll get to that in time.

Hopefully, Adeline thought to herself, walking down the well-trodden path into town, I can be in and out of the market before Vitus takes a single dainty step out of his carriage. Fabien, her best friend (practically an older brother, really) as well as the town’s shoemaker, had promised her something special today- an early birthday present, he had called it the day before, as the birthday in question was “an entire week and a day away” and he didn’t know if his “poor, old heart” would hold out that long.

“Fabien, you’re barely 30!” she had protested, shaking her head.

“I know, Addie, I’m ancient!” he’d moaned, before adopting the affectation of what was probably supposed to sound like an old man, but instead sounded more like a wheezing duck. “I can feel my brittle bones crackin’. They ain’t what they used to be, I tell ya. You know, when I was just a boy, I had to walk to school every day? Uphill! In the snow!”

“Both ways!” Adeline joined in before they both dissolved into laughter.

So now, here she was, in front of Fabien’s shop, feet tapping on the ground in a sort of nervous excitement. Gingerly, she opened the door.

“Hello?” she called. The response came from somewhere in the back of the shop.

“Ah, Addie! What a surprise! What sort of thing-that-I-totally-don’t-know-about brings you here today?”

She rolled her eyes as she began to make her way through the shelves and around the cobbling stations to the back of the building. “You know, it’s a funny story actually, but my best friend- well, former best friend, I should say-” she was cut off by a sharp laugh as she turned the next corner and came face to face with Fabien, holding a beautiful red box.

“‘Former best friend?!’ Is that any way to treat someone who’s gotten you such a spectacular present?” he asked, schooling his face into an over exaggerated pout.

“It is if they’re going to be stupidabout it,” she replied, yanking the present from his hands with ease. Fabien made a wounded sound, and Adeline stuck her tongue out in response before opening the lid of the box.

Inside was the most beautiful pair of tap shoes Adeline had ever seen. The leather they were made of was white as freshly fallen snow, and the perfect balance between flexible and sturdy. She turned them over in her hand and gasped, brushing her finger over the engravings on the metal taps.

“Roses,” Fabien smiled softly, “because I know they’re your favorite.”

Overwhelmed, Adeline could only set the shoes aside for a moment and tackle Fabien in a hug. And for that one shining moment, everything was perfect.

“Oh, I simply must have these!” a haughty voice sang out behind Adeline, who jumped at the sudden noise. Standing there was none other than Lord Vitus himself, bedecked in his finest golden cape, and holding- oh no, absolutely not. Before she could even register her own movements, she yanked her shoes back.

“No, you simply mustn’t have these, actually,” she quipped in that same snooty tone, stuffing the shoes back in the box, before suddenly realizing what exactly she had done. Refusing the Lord? Taking things right out of his hands? Mocking him to his face? How could she possibly get out of this?

Clearly, there was only one answer.

She bolted.

She heard Vitus’ petulant cry of “After her!” ring out from behind, and then the heavy sound of soldiers’ footsteps, but she dared not look back. Instead, she ran harder, her mind racing almost as fast as her feet. There had to be someplace to hide. She turned a corner, onto a smaller side street. She couldn’t go home, it was too far away.She burst out onto another street before turning abruptly, one hand wrapping around a streetlamp to keep her momentum as she flew back where she’d just come from, the soldiers falling over themselves in their confused haste. But there were so many soldiers, and there was no way she could outrun them forever.

She ducked into a dark alley for a moment, throwing herself behind a couple of barrels just as the men appeared at the mouth of the alley. She held her breath as they hurried past her, trying not to catch their attention with her heaving gasps. And this is why I’m a dancer, not a runner, she thought, half delirious on a cocktail of exhaustion and adrenaline. Could it have been minutes? Hours? All the streets had blended together long ago, and her muscles ached with exertion. Unintentionally, she closed her eyes, just for a moment.

A strong hand clamped down on her shoulder and Adeline’s blood turned to ice in her veins as her eyes shot open again. Her despairing cry was cut short as another hand covered her mouth. She shook her head wildly, terror taking over, before she caught the gaze of her captor.

Fabien.

Adeline felt her entire body sink back in relief with his appearance. Slowly and ever-so-softly, Fabien removed his hand from her mouth, making a shushing motion before Adeline could even open her mouth to ask what was going on. He carefully undid the buttons of his cloak, taking if off of himself and wrapping it around Adeline. It dangled loosely from her small frame, making her look even smaller. A disguise, she noted distantly, hiding in plain sight. Once he’d secured it around her shoulders, Fabien began to explain.

“Everyone’s pretty proud of you, you know, standing up to Vitus like that. I know you’ve always been a bit of a wildcard, but that was even better than expected. You should have seen his face when you ran, oh my-”

Adeline made a small noise of distress. She hadn’t been making a statement, she’d been making a mistake! It was all a big misunderstanding, and now she was going to be killed, or worse, and she hadn’t even had the chance to wear her beautiful birthday shoes, and-

Fabien shook her gently, murmuring comforts, and she took in a shuddering breath, focusing back on him.

“You’ve been brave enough today. Let me take a turn, okay?” he said softly, gesturing at the shoebox. Without waiting for a response, he grabbed it from her still shaking hands. In seconds, he had pried open the lid, taken the shoes out, and tucked them into the inside pockets of the cloak Adeline now wore, continuing to talk as he did so.

“The village has been giving Vitus the run-around all day, trying to keep him off your trail, and honestly, I’m not sure he’s noticed. That man is so far up his own ass that I genuinely think he can’t even comprehend the thought of people working against him.” Fabien smiled a bit as Adeline giggled weakly. “Just keep a low profile. We won’t let anything happen to you. Promise.”

For a moment, Adeline was so overcome with emotion that felt like her legs might give out underneath her. Instead, she threw herself forward and hugged him, wrapping her arms around him as tightly as she could.

“Thank you, so much. For everything.”

Fabien squeezed her in return.

“Nothing to thank me for, Addie.”

It was at this moment the sound of soldiers came rushing back, hurling them both back into reality. In a flash, Fabien pulled the cloak’s hood up, casting Adeline’s face in shadow. He gave her a little push towards the other end of the alley, nodding reassuringly. Adeline took a deep breath, steeling herself, before walking, confidently as she could, back out onto the crowded street.

There were soldiers everywhere, knocking on doors, stopping bystanders and asking them about Adeline’s whereabouts. A customer just coming out of the bakery- Monsieur LeClair, she noted- was having one such conversation… if one could call “a man taking obnoxiously large bites out of a muffin and then speaking with his mouth full, spraying bits of food directly into the soldiers’ faces” a conversation. As the soldiers hurriedly excused themselves, disgustedly wiping the muffin bits from their faces, Monsieur LeClair caught Adeline’s eye and winked. She smiled and bowed her head in return before scurrying off again. As she made her way to the town square, she passed at least a dozen or so variations on this conversation- townsfolk left and right making excuses, even outright lying to the soldiers, distracting them long enough for Adeline to slip away, towards the town square.

Vitus was exactly where she thought he would be- right in the middle of the town square, complaining loudly to anyone who would listen (and all those who wouldn’t). She leaned against the brick wall of the closest building, trying to make herself look as small and unassuming as possible. She bit her lip as she thought through possible escape scenarios, keeping Vitus in her peripheral vision, right up until-

“We found the shoemaker, Your Lordship, but no sign of the girl or the shoes.”

Adeline felt her heart stop as her head turned on autopilot. A crowd had gathered in the square, following three figures that Adeline loathed to recognize as Fabien and Lord Vitus’ men. One soldier shoved Fabien down roughly, while another threw the shoebox down with such force that it popped open, revealing its empty inside.

Vitus rolled his eyes at Fabien, looking bored out of his mind. “Where are they?” he sighed.

“Where are what, My Lord?” Fabien asked through gritted teeth.

At this, Vitus seemed to revert to an overgrown toddler.

“My shoes! They were so very pretty and I wanted them, but that little wretch stole them from me and ran off and I want them baaaack!”

Fabien, still on his knees, snorted.

Vitus blinked, clearly surprised. Suddenly, another laugh joined in, and another, and another, and in seconds the entire crowd was laughing at this grown man’s tantrum. Even Adeline found herself giggling, albeit shakily.

It was as though Vitus had only just now realized what kind of a predicament he was in. No one was going to give up the shoes, or the girl, and to make matters worse, they weren’t going to take him seriously either. He glanced nervously around the crowd for a moment before his lip curled and his nose scrunched up, as though he had just smelled something particularly unpleasant. Standing to his full height, he raised his voice.

“You have one week to hand over the shoes! If you do not, there will be, shall we say… severe consequences.” He turned around dramatically, which reignited the snickering, and quickly made his way back to his carriage processional.

As the carriages rattled away, Adeline was struck by an idea. It was a bad idea, she knew, and probably too risky, but she had already defied the odds once today, and with the adrenaline still coursing through her veins, she felt unstoppable. She nimbly climbed to the roof of the nearest building to pay her respects, so to speak, waving in the direction of Vitus’ window. She ripped off her hood dramatically, snorting when Vitus’ face contorted in rage. And as her heart sang with love for her town and her people, her feet were helpless to dance along for all the world to see. From her perch on the roof, she watched the other townsfolk join her in celebration, dancing in their own little ways. Madame Beaumont lifted her son Jean into the air, spinning him around as he giggled. Michel Rousseau was doing a little shoulder shimmy. Even Old Lady Coralie was dancing a little two-step. Adeline beamed at them all before turning toward Fabien. Several people were still gathered around him, making sure he wasn’t too hurt, and Adeline almost climbed right back down to join them. But, as though he could sense her worry, Fabien looked up suddenly at met her eyes. He smiled at her before winking conspiratorially. Relief flooded through her as she winked back- a sign that everything was going to be okay, and one she believed wholeheartedly.

Just before she climbed back down to go home, she chanced a glance back at Vitus’ carriage. For a second Vitus met her eye, his glare an ice cold promise of revenge. Adeline shivered under the threat, before gathering herself just enough to make a rude gesture back at him. The distressed shriek that followed was music to her ears.

That pompous man-child had it coming anyway, Adeline thought, and resolved to put the matter out of her mind. Of course, Reader, it wasn’t so simple as that, but let it not be said that she didn’t try her best to hide her misgivings from everyone, even herself.

After what was probably too many hugs goodbye, even for her, Adeline finally made her way back home with her new shoes. The moment she closed her door, she slumped against it and slid down to the floor, exhausted and terrified. Her eyes stung with unshed tears as she recalled the look in Vitus’ eyes as he took his leave. She was no fighter! She had no money, no strength, no prospects- no hope. How could she possibly try to stand up to the army Vitus would surely bring back with him? And she couldn’t- wouldn’t- put her people in danger like this, not after they’d already done so much for her. That’s it, she thought, rubbing her eyes, she would go right back to the village and work something out with everyone else, something to keep everyone safe and out of harm’s way before Vitus could return.

But as she opened her eyes again, her gaze fell upon the shoe box, lying on the floor beside her. The shoes themselves had tumbled out from her little outburst, and they almost seemed to be calling to her, begging her to at least try them on, to dance in them. And after so much trouble, how could she possibly refuse?

The shoes were a perfect fit- of course they were, they were literally made for her, she thought as she snickered a little under her breath. Watching herself carefully in the mirror, she raised her right foot ever so slightly before kicking it forward in a test shuffle. She smiled. The sound of metal against the waxed wood floor was perfection. Unable to help herself, she hummed a little tune, matching each note with another step- a cramp roll here, a paradiddle there, a set of triple time steps- she was in her element as she lost herself to the dance.

Dancing in the shoes filled her with such joy that she really could almost forget about the whole thing with Vitus. Adeline knew he wouldn’t take this lying down, and with his power and resources- she knew she had to be prepared. First thing in the morning, I promise I’ll figure out a plan, she reasoned. It’s not as though he could even attack tonight anyway.

So she danced and danced and danced, until the day finally caught up with her, and she quite abruptly fell asleep, not even bothering to take off her new shoes.

That night, Adeline had the strangest dream. She- no, the whole town, was dancing to song unlike any she’d heard before. It almost… hurt, in a way, to listen to, and yet she was sure it was the most beautiful melody she had ever heard. It felt as though it had wormed its way into her soul, her very existence, and intertwined itself so deeply that it might never leave. For a moment, Adeline felt fear, the likes of which she’d never known. She tried to wake herself up, to scream for to someone to help her, to do something, anything to stop this, but she couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe, couldn’t stop-

And then Calm washed over her completely, every other thought and sensation lost to the ocean of the strange melody as it lulled her back to sleep.

When she opened her eyes the next morning, it was to find that the song had followed her into the waking world. She knew something was wrong, but as she tried to figure it out, every thought was just out of reach. She stumbled out of her room, towards the front door, but her limbs felt almost disconnected from her, almost as if they were being of their own. She slammed face-first into the door, and, for a split second, the ringing of her ears overpowered the music enough to. I need… help, right, that was it, I need help because of…

Because of……

The music, the music, the music- it consumed her every thought. Every step and every breath taken in time with that exquisite, unending song. Every note whispered sweet nothings in her ear, asking, pleading, begging her to join them and become beautiful too, until she was helpless to resist any longer. Until finally, she began to dance.

And dance, dear Reader, she did.

She found herself completely at the mercy of the music as it maneuvered her around like a marionette. She was only vaguely aware that she had somehow made it to the town square, and that several of her concerned neighbors were trying to talk to her, but nothing could break through the haze of the music.

As the day went on and on, passersby occasionally stopped to try to rouse her from her state, all to no avail. It seemed there was no way to reach her, and as night fell, they stopped trying. The light of the moons illuminated her as she danced, and were it not for the sound of the metal in her shoes they might have assumed her some dark spirit. Perhaps some still did. But the fact remains that all the townsfolk, save one, eventually found their way to sleep, secure in their ignorance of the events to come.

The next morning, as the suns rose over the horizon, the people of Strasbourg woke to the sight of not one, but two figures dancing in the square. By breakfast, it had been made a dozen. By lunch, it was nearly half the town. And by 8:46 pm, on the dot, all 398 residents of Strasbourg had found themselves unwilling victims of the dance.

Reader, there are many things I wish I could tell you.

I wish I could tell you that the dancing stopped just as strangely and suddenly as it began, and it became a scary story told for many generations. Or else, I wish I could tell you that the townsfolk found a way to weaponize their dancing and rose up against Lord Vitus, and discovered the cause of their dance- a machine of Vitus’ cruel creation, designed to transmit an almost imperceptible signal into the minds of those who heard it and drive them to madness. Picture it now, Reader: Vitus, stroking a gloved hand down the side of the machine as its whistles blew and the steam that rose from the spouts shrieked, the sound of his dastardly laughter barely audible over the chaos, until it was suddenly cut short by the doors to the hall as they opened with a BANG, and Vitus would finally come face to face with the consequences of his actions.

But more than all that, I wish I could tell you Adeline never remembered what happened as she danced. That for the seven days and seven nights that she danced in the town square, without food, without water, without rest, she was never aware of the fact that everyone she had ever known lay dead or dying at her feet.

None of these things are true, of course. The dance continued, the machine was not destroyed, and as the days passed Adeline slowly became more and more conscious. She watched, helpless, as all around her, her friends, her family, fell to the ground to dance no more. She yelled, screamed, pleaded to anyone who would listen, to anyone who could help- and the only response she got was the answering cries of her village, getting smaller and smaller.

By the sixth day of the village’s dance, there was only one other person still dancing beside her. It was Fabien, because of course it was Fabien- she didn’t know if this was supposed to be a blessing or a curse, though she was leaning heavily towards the latter. His steps had been slowing and his wheezing had increased exponentially in the past few hours, and Adeline knew what was coming, even if she couldn’t bear to say it aloud. Fabien, on the other hand, had no such qualms.

“I did warn you,” he rasped, after a coughing fit had nearly sent Adeline into a heart attack of her own, “That I wouldn’t make it to your birthday. My heart is just so-”

“God, shut up, please, for once in your life just shut up!” She screamed, her voice breaking. Her outburst seemed to shock him, and she turned away before she could see the tears streaming down her cheeks. She took a shuddering breath before barreling on.

“Fabien, this is all my fault, I’m so sorry, I should have-” he made a sharp noise and she cut herself off, choking back a sob.

“Don’t you dare think, for even a moment, that this is your fault,” he whispered, sounding more serious than she had ever heard him. “We all made our own decisions, you and me and everyone else. This is not on you, even a little bit. It was my choice, and I would choose it in a million lifetimes, okay? I just-” Fabien dropped to his knees, gasping, legs shaking almost imperceptibly, and Adeline felt her heart shatter.

“Addie, I’m so sorry,” his every word sounding like it had been ripped from his throat, “I’m so sorry I couldn’t keep my promise.”

And with that, he, too, was gone, and Adeline’s last remaining hope had died with him.

Oh Reader, what could she do but cry? So she cried. She cried for Fabien, for Monsieur LeClair, for Madame Beaumont, for Michel Rousseau, for Old Lady Coralie, for every lost soul of Strasbourg, until only one remained- and only then did she cry for herself, dancing alone once more.

The tears still streamed down her face when Lord Vitus returned with only a small squadron the next day, a full week after Adeline’s dance had begun. Towering over them from atop his horse, Vitus called out to his men.

“Oh ho, what have we here? An entire village, destroyed by some sort of plague, it seems. What a tragic end… But look! It seems one still suffers. Let us put the poor thing out of its misery, shall we?”

The largest of their number stepped forward, an axe readied in his hands. An executioner, Adeline realized tiredly. He made his way towards her, gingerly maneuvering around the corpses littering the town square, and Adeline wished she still had the strength to huff out a laugh. To show respect for the dead, on the path to kill another? How utterly ridiculous! Without a sound, the executioner raised his axe above his head, and Adeline closed her eyes, prepared to meet her end.

“Wait!” Vitus’ whining cut through the air. “Bring her to me first! She has something of mine that I want back.”

The executioner shrugged, before lunging towards the unsuspecting Adeline and hefting her over his shoulder with a grunt. She struggled against him, as much as one can struggle with a body that refuses to stop dancing, but it made no difference- he was simply too strong. Within moments, she was set down before Lord Vitus.

“The shoes,” he demanded. “Hand them over.”

“Are you kidding me? All of this for some shoes?” Adeline whispered hoarsely. “Hundreds of people, an entire town, dead, because you couldn’t stand the thought of someone else wearing these stupid fucking shoes?”

Vitus sneered at her. “On the contrary- I’m killing you because of the ‘stupid fucking shoes,’ as you’ve so crassly called them. Everyone else was… shall we say, collateral damage.”

Adeline’s breath caught in her throat. Her village, her friends, her family- they weren’t even some kind of fucked-up punishment for her, to drive her mad with grief and guilt. They were just “collateral damage,” not even worth an afterthought in the mind of their murderer. Her rage boiled inside of her, and had Adeline been able, she would have killed the man herself just then.

“Oh no, look!” Vitus sounded so genuinely miserable that for a moment Adeline was taken aback. “You’ve gone and ruined them!”

She glanced down as Vitus gestured towards her shoes and saw it was indeed true. The once-pristine white was long gone; now the leather was completely stained through by her own blood.

Reader, do you know what she did then? Why, she did the only thing she could.

She laughed, Reader. She laughed for the first time in what felt like a lifetime, all her frustration and sorrow and fear and anger and fatigue welling up from within her as she faced this utterly ridiculous man. She laughed. And as Vitus’ disappointment turned to shock, then to an angry pout, she laughed even harder. Even the dance, for a moment, seemed to laugh with her, each shuffle taking on the tone of ha-ha, ha-ha.

Finally, Vitus had had enough. He struck her, clean across the face, and for a moment, the laughter ceased as she gasped in pain.

“You know, I think they look better this way,” she drawled after catching her breath. “The red really brings out my eyes.”

Lord Vitus, clearly having expected Adeline to fall to her knees and grovel for forgiveness (fat chance, she thought, even if I hadn’t been cursed), puffed up like a particularly unpleasant frog as he spluttered through some sort of retort. Even his stupid moustache seemed to puff up with him, Adeline noticed in tired amusement, as he finally settled on, “W-W-Well, I never!”

He turned away from her sharply and caught the eye of the executioner. Adeline’s stomach dropped as Vitus’ face returned to that arrogant smile. He looked back at her, malice gleaming in his eyes, and addressed her once more.

“I do soapologize, it seems that I have forgotten myself for a moment. I am, however, fully prepared to make it up to you. You see, I do, in fact, possess the antidote to your little ‘Dancing Plague,’ as it were, and I would be delighted to offer you the cure.”

Adeline couldn’t see it, but as she felt movement at her back, she knew what was about to happen. In one final act of defiance, she spat at Vitus, who squealed as he tried, and failed, to avoid it. He huffed once more as she laughed at him, before screeching his final command.

“A PERMANENT CURE!”

And with that, Adeline felt pain explode in her legs, near blinding in its intensity. For a moment, a scream overpowered the music, and it took a moment longer to realize the scream was her own. She blinked though unnoticed tears to look up -when had she fallen- at Vitus, but she couldn’t quite focus on him -or anything else. She felt so -tired sick- dizzy, and she wanted nothing more than to close her eyes and –die- rest. But the pain in her legs screamed for her attention, and as she dragged herself up, she realized why.

At its simplest, a cure is just a way to remove a problem. It doesn’t need to be as advanced as a vaccine, or as complicated as the witches’ remedies of old. In fact, Lord Vitus’ antidote was both exceedingly simple and remarkably effective.

The permanent cure for the Dancing Plague? Simply remove the problem.

Namely, the legs.

How strange, she thought, in that last moment of lucidity, as she stared at the legs- her legs- lying on the ground a few feet away. I almost expected them to keep dancing.

And with that, she fell, lifeless, to the ground.

But Reader- she did not die.

[omegaplus]

# 3,908

If anyone had asked me to place bets on myself on 2021, I’d tell you I should’ve. That year chose to be good to me.

The moment I discovered the juxtaposition of sprayed indigo on new fresh cotton was the one that defined the year. Just like mathematical functions, it’s the factor that defined everything else after it.

I enjoyed the double feature of visiting Williamsburg to do record-shopping at Rough Trade for what was my most expensive receipt ever. I drove all the way up to scenic Oyster Bay for a long-time friend’s new pickle business just to buy a piece of his music collection. Then came an unexpected bombshell: Long Island would have its first-ever pinball arcade in Bay Shore. I missed badly on not going to Manhattan’s Modern Pinball now that it closed down during the pandemic, so having one back only a few miles away from home was an amazing bestowment and godsend. I got back into shows by heading to Greenpoint’s Saint Vitus for a Body Void / Portrayal Of Guilt / Uniform bill and meeting Michael Berdan himself for some merch- and records. Unbelievable.

Holidays were rarely hit and mostly miss, save for Christmas when I drove ninety minutes and a quarter tank to Staten Island to finally make good on a promise to visit my family. For the first time since that burning summer before the new millennium, my cousin Criss, Dorona, and I caught up over our golden-era days, meeting all of their candy-coated sugar-high kids, and remembering their friends who overdosed and died.

Omega WUSB enjoyed its most ambitious broadcasting year to date with a busy summer of anything and everything we could get our hands on. I met my long-time contact Rob Villain for the first time in nine long years and had him sit-in during one of my broadcasts, and -Tash of Sound Vines gave me a higher appreciation for indie artists.

But nothing - and I swear nothing - would top this #1 moment I had experienced at work: an Irish girl in her early 20's who walked up to me and showed me a 40 year-old Sony Watchman she bought at the local salvage and recovery. She even turned it on for me and it worked. I almost dropped dead right in the middle of the store. Eight months later and there’s not one single day or minute that goes by that she’s not on my mind; a short girl of straight shoulder-length cinnamon hair, pale skin, glasses, a cute voice, and heaping enthusiasm becomes the more-than-welcome respite from the norm.

Even though I had many of these victories, there was still a lot of time across the calendar for fighting through. I enlisted myself to seek a nutritionist and I’m devoting my diet and wallet to better, healthy eating. I also had signed up for weekly counseling to dislodge the force-fed hard-to-swallow pills and undo at least some of the collateral damage done by friends, family, co-workers, and interests over the years. Anxiety is being held at bay with just a daily wellbutrin, but every night the spectre of loneliness and depression sleeps in the same bed with me and I’m hanging on to whatever interests I have while staying connected to a world that’s seemingly slipping away. But if there’s any positive take-away in all of this is that the cream of mental illness and well-being is rising to the top. More people are openly declaring their issues for all to see and there’s minimal judgment in my eyes from the childish and uneducated. Those people are never welcome standing in the same circle as I.

Just as indigo on fresh new cotton made a forever impression on me this year, so did the sounds experienced throughout the year. Genres for every season. From new discoveries in minimal / synthwave / EBM (Coloroid, Linea Aspera), post-punk / d.i.y. (Yard Act, Deeper), hip-hop / street (B0nds, Obnox), experimental sounds (Mega Bog, New Chance), and jazz / fusion (Hubert Laws & Earl Klugh, Heavy Joker), they came with me to every drive to the radio station, through train rides to New York City, blustery winter nights, and to record stores. It’s all signed, sealed, and delivered like every other quarterly juncture and remembered forever. Nothing’s changed there.

Right now I’m projected to win my store in not only revenue but also credit card applications for the year. I’ll fall short of the $2,000,000 mark and could come second in tech- support memberships, so my chances of winning the triple crown are very slim. All this through dealing with endless forced interactions with the town undesirables, staying later, opening-to-closing shifts, early store meetings, call-outs, having staff cut in half, and losing even more in no thanks to an off-the-handle general manager who got yellow-carded for sexual harassment. Yeah. It’s been eventful.

I had enough. No more of those interactions with grown adults who act like children competing for me to notice them; silly swing-set and sandbox children I’d never planned in meeting in real life. The stress is no longer worth my health, heart, or sanity and no should should cost anyone that. A career change is long overdue. My ultimate end-game is to leave retail hell forever and work from home web-building while still designing, writing, sound- and photo-editing, and broadcasting. Amazingly, I’ve kept it all since the very beginning of Ω+.

One month before seeing Boy Harsher in Brooklyn and February vacation begins, with Ministry in March. After that, Lord knows what cards the powers above will deal me.

It’s 2022 and we’ll play a new game. Let’s hope for the best. See you then.

(p.s.: you will get a record-store victory tour from us this year. We promise.)

[ourladyofomega]

Amazingly, 2021 chose to be good to me. A full house of jacks over 10’s was the winning hand.

A one-and-only March visit to Williamsburg, Brooklyn’s Rough Trade. A brand new pinball arcade opens up by surprise. A scenic drive to my friend’ M-Ro’s pickle shop in Oyster Bay to buy a piece of his music collection. Picking up Rob Villain at the train station for the first time in nine years and having Chinese dinner before sitting in for my summer broadcast. Meeting the slender -Tash for the first time and taking in that top-shelf indie-rock sensibility she had. Seeing Uniform, Body Void, and Portrayal Of Guilt at Greenpoint’s Saint Vitus and finally meeting my hero Michael Berdan. Finally, a ninety-minute drive out to Staten Island for Christmas dinner with my family, catching up with my golden-era cousins and having our first peaceful outing since the turn of the millennium.

But nothing else, in any point of the year, would compare to the brown-eyed ginger I met at work who took out and demonstrated a still-working Sony Watchman for me. Eight months later and not a day goes by that I don’t think of her, anticipating her to visit my store on Sundays where she’ll actively look for me and wait for me to help her out.

Even though I had a few shiny glossy wins, there was plenty of time throughout the year to fight on through. I enlisted myself to see a nutritionist and also a weekly therapist who pushed me through to get things done. She helped dislodge those hard-to-swallow pills and repaired some of the collateral damage done by past friends, family, co-workers, and former interests. The spectres of loneliness and depression still hover around me but not as close when a daily wellbutrin is taken. Things have been somewhat more stable and less erratic around me in life and at work after coming close to walking out and quitting a few times like Atlas holding everything up on his bare shoulders: forced interactions with entitled or undesirable customers, early store meetings, opening-to-closing shifts, staying later, call-outs, having staff cut in half, and losing even more co-workers to other locations in no thanks to an off-the-handle general manager who got yellow-carded for sexual harassment.

For every season, there were various sounds that defined them. Finds in minimal / synthwave / EBM (Coloroid, Linea Aspera), post-punk / d.i.y. (Yard Act, Deeper), hip-hop / street (B0nds, Obnox), experimental sounds (Mega Bog, New Chance), jazz / fusion (Hubert Laws & Earl Klugh, Heavy Joker) and African musicks (Mahmoud Guinia, Sengerema Kagunga S.D.A. Choir) were the key moments that defined every drive and train ride to New York City. Let’s not forget the endless chimes and noises eminating from all the pinball tables I got my hands on (Firepower, Big Guns).

On the visible side of things, Omega WUSB had its busiest broadcasting year and summer ever playing everything I got my hands on. Ω+ is still going forward and there’s definitely much more to be told and show to everyone. And Our Lady Omega has almost tripled in followers. It’s been a non-stop final week for us thanks to our one post of hip-hop / rap logos and Peanuts cartoons on vinyl-life philosophy.

2022 will start with me seeing Boy Harsher at the Music Hall In Williamsburg, Brooklyn, a two-week vacation in February, and Ministry in March. More money is on the way and so is a badly-needed career change if I need to salvage my health and sanity. I’ll still be designing, writing, sound- / photo-editing, and broadcasting. I’ll find time in looking for the the rare and overlooked aesthetics and redeeming qualities that stand out in people, print, and physical objects. I’ll still keep in touch with myself while tightly grasping on to stay in an environment / world that seems to be slipping away and wants to expel me.

Thanks to everyone here who came to visit, re-blogged our posts, followed, and listened to us across the board. It’s helped. Seriously. I’m grateful for all the connections I have here, because I sure as hell don’t have them on Long Island.

It’s a new game come midnight. Fresh deck, clean money. Deal me in.

[autumnslance]

Radovan, Sophie, Cato Mammula, Vitus quo Messalla, and Rostik

Gunbreaker introduces Radovan, a rare survivor of the clan that used to live at Bozja Citadel, and Sophie, his viera conjurer companion. They escaped Imperial captivity together and sell their skills as bodyguards, becoming each other’s new family in the process. Radovan decides to teach the WoL how to wield a gunblade in the traditions of his clan, as there is no one else left.

Each quest moves to a different city of Eorzea (and a new outfit for Sophie in each), from Gridania to protect a popular if eccentric singer, to Ul’dah where a woman’s plea for aid is not all it appears, to Limsa Lominsa to escort an important prisoner, and to Ishgard, where the Ironworks welcomes Garlean defector Cato Mammula, with plans that can help the freezing poor--but Cato’s past intersects with Radovan’s, and draws dangerous attention.

The villain is a man who tortured Radovan until he’s now plagued by seizures, a dishonored officer said to be as fearsome in combat as the Black Wolf, and seeks a means of regaining his rightful place in the Empire--Vitus quo Messalla.

Level 80 brings the WoL back to Revenant’s Toll, where the duo decide to “hang their hats” (very funny, given it’s a hrothgar and viera). Radovan wants to find new adventurers to instruct, and he’s interested to hear about Thancred somehow knowing his clan’s specific disciplne.

Then it’s off to track down another hrothgar gunbreaker that’s appeared in the realm. We catch up on the aftermaths of the 60-70 quests and those characters before finally meeting Rostik, whose goal is to seek other surviving clanmates and rebuild Bozja. Radovan considers it, but he can’t leave Sophie, nor his own calling of training new gunbreakers so their clan’s traditions live on.

And then Rostik leaves us with this:

“I, too, taught someone from outside of our clan how to wield the gunblade. You have much in common with him, Radovan. He too has someone that he wants to keep by his side, like family.”

[kyrie-silverwings]

“Oh? Your little lion? Go on...”

I wanted to play with Vitus a bit longer... u_u 

it would be really cool if I could put Kyrie in the GNB stories... *cough* cute villain *cough*