Damn I Am Pretty Art Laboratories

The Nephillim Heresy.  Dr. Elixabeth Zanachek, the Researcher.  She and her fellow researchers hire and act through double blind investigators, trying to gather data on Noah and all Kaiju-gem created psychics. Aspects Beware The Observer Effect: Zanachek and her researchers are careful to try and avoid the observer effect, hiring and working through various intermediaries in order to do their work.  This catchphrase keeps them from directly acting in Noah, even though their indirect interactions do have an effect on Noah as a whole. A Cure For The Kaiju: The Nephillim Institute believes that Demons, Angels and the Song are carriers of genetic diseases, victims of mutations that in the long term cannot be good for their overall health.  They note the majority of Demons with deformities that prevent them from having more happy lives.  They believe Angels have serious mental abnormalities, and they know next to nothing about the Song, which worries them. ...

I don't how I found this quick game, but I did.  And I suck at it.  Therefore, I find myself addicted to it. Divinare is a frighteningly easy game to learn.  Its theme and art is suburb, which is always a plus for me.  It looks and feels like you are playing a game of mediums, especially with the simple mechanic of just counting and predicting the number of cards. But it has a deeper level than that; it feels deep.  There is a deeper, more complicated sort of bluff game going on underneath the hood.  As the game goes along, you try to make predictions- you try and guess by the end of the round how many of each color there will be.  You have to change predictions each time you play a card.  During the round, there are times you have to pass cards to other players. Simple.  Other people have done good descriptions of how to play the game, let me more precise here in summarizing what I love about it. Divinare is deep enough that its ...

Part One Can Be Found Here GOD YABAI ANGELS So then we first got a look at the second flavor of psychics, who called themselves Angels .  Seemed stupidly apt, given that their first leader, Metatron, became convinced that they really were Angels.  Prettier than anybody, yet they still got the psychic powers that only some Demons got to have, sure, easy to think that. Metatron rose to power quick.  He and Babylon came to clash over control over the office of the Prime Minister.  The Prime Minister used to be a corrupt tool of Babylon.  This triggered a vicious war between the Metatron, and pretty much everyone. Metatron founded cult around himself.  It didn't help that all the old families that Babylon had spurned aligned with him.  They were attracted to the beauty, grace and the power of the Angels.  Metatron founded a pogrom against Babylon and its employees, but he never hunted down Demons or tried to commit genocide against them. ...

Hey, here is some notes on the general history of Noah.  The plan is to write it in character, with some slang invented for the sake of creating raw chunky flavor. AFTER THE FLOOD "Hey.  You done trying to ghost out on me? You're the one who wanted to hear it the story of it.  I already know this yabai kaij back story, eh?  You are the one asking about it. Ok, ok, its all osha, gotme?  Letme start fromt he top of the text, as they say: The flood came first.  Noah had been built and completed years into it.  They used to have land and cities and empires up there.  Back before the skies were clogged and the seas rose so high.  So people headed down into the sea.  Noah was the first city, and it got its backing from all over the pacific rim. What caused the flood?  We did.  Thats the story we always hear.  We burned the skies, our empires melted all the ice and the oceans rose higher and higher... Some of the stalw...

Office of the Prime Minister.  Prime Minister [name To Be Determined] wants to fix his city, to drive out the psychics that wage war in it and keep the Demons and Angels from taking power away from him.  But perhaps his own inability to see smaller threats may be his downfall... Aspects This Is Our City: [TBD] wants a unified city for humanity, a sort of civic drive to make the city a better place.  People follow and listen to [TBD] because they believe in the same dream he has.  'This is our city,' he says, 'and its up to us to make it a better place to live.' War On Corruption: [TBD] is dedicated to taking out corruption it sees in the rest of Noah's crumbling government.  Its a mad quest, with blind focus, regardless of the cost.  [TBD] and his followers believe that pushing for complete, honest control of the government... even if that means civil war to make it so... Emergency Deuterium Control: Lastly, [TBD] and the Office of the Prime Minister...

First version of a city map.  It has locales I haven't detailed or anything... consider them blank spots for future me or others to cling onto for ideas. Enjoy!  :D

I'm an member of the collected citizenry that call its self the United States of America.  We got their first, so we get to have that name first- or so we say when others try to contradict us.  Its the 25th of December, and I guess its that time of year again: Xmas. I choose Xmas instead of Christmas for a plethora of reasons, primarily being I'm not Christian.  Although, the holiday isn't really Christian any more either.  Xmas is kinda of a result of American Cultural mixing, the end result of two or three hundred years of European cultural sharing and mixing until our modern, corporate and secular culture enshrines it. This doesn't devalue it for me, but I think some people might try to tack on religious reasons that aren't there for a holiday that should have nothing to do with religion.  Its day to be with family or at least reflect on that.  We talk of a "Xmas Spirit", and in general we mean act like human beings to one another.   And ...

I've been a fan of Forbidden Island for a bit now or one could be more precise and just call it the whole genre of cooperative board games.  I'm unsure as to why, if it is the nature of cooperative games to be like roleplaying games or if I just like playing games where people don't compete, but work together.  I'd like to think its the later.  Here are my thoughts on Forbidden Desert. Forbidden Island's appeal comes from its modular nature, which lends easily to a sort of re-playability.  In my collection of co-op games it takes a nice spot.  Like Pandemic though, I've found it possible to master the puzzle central to Forbidden Island .  Or at least, I think, to find its harder difficulties appealing.  Core to why Forbidden Island is a success is its modular design, clever card mechanics and great structure for teamwork in-game. (As an aside, the art to me is also a neat reason to play it too.) Forbidden Desert picks up where Forbidden Islan...

Introduction | Start (1/5) | Previous (4/5) "You awake in here?"  Blackthunder opened the door to the back of the van.  Cold air greeted Noir, he could smell burning.  She got into the van, her face cross. "Nice accommodations, officer."  Noir replied. "Not an officer.  And technically you aren't being held, smartass."  Blackthunder undid Noir's handcuffs.  "However, I'd feel justified after that stunt you pulled in there." "You people need to listen to me-" "We people," Blackthunder interrupted, "Can at least call the sheriff's office.  This is still private property.  So, try some respect, got it?" Noir glared.  "Not an officer.  Not arrested.  Got it.  Anything else or are you going to listen to what I have to say?" "How about you answer a question or two for me."  Blackthunder sat down on a bench across from Noir.  She took out a joint and tossed it at him.  ...

Introduction | Start of Story (1/5) | Previous Part (3/5)  | Next Part (5/5) Despite the spirit's undramatic exit, Noir still managed to find the stairs and started to make his way up to the top of them.  He carried a large wooden box he'd found in the basement.  Noir needed to get it to the poltergeist, but he didn't hear them running around any more. Instead, the floor above creaked.  Heavy footsteps moved around, each step methodical.  It sounded like there was a fair number of them. " Great.  Who am I dealing with now?"  Noir grunted and continued up the stairs.  He hoped it for local police, or something like idiot teenagers.  Knowing his luck it would be something worse than police.  "The mob.  The local mob, angry at me for taking their best place to kill people.  And now they need to finish me off to protect it." The door to the basement opened, just as Noir reached it.  The necromancer tried to glance ov...

Intro | Start (1/5) | Previous Part (2/5)  | Next Part (4/5) " Jeez.  I have to remember to roll with the fall, like Father taught me."  Noir shook his head, remembering pieces of his childhood.  "If jumping down hills to catch sheep, roll with the fall don't break your neck, or 'don't go breaking bones, no money for that now,' as he used to say." Noir smirked at that.  He then began to frown, realizing he couldn't see a thing.  It was dark down where he fell.  A basement? The necromancer put out a tentative hand, feeling the ground around him.  Cold dirt.  Rocks.  Pieces of glass.  Ash with charcoal. He took his time to climb to his knees, kneeling in place.  He tried to decide how to figure out how high of space he had.  "Also have to think about that Hive-geist too, might be able to haunt down here too." "Such 'tis the Children's limits, they are bound above but never below."   The voice of the Chris...

The Daughter of Maru, [To Be Determined or TBD].  CEO of the megacorp Babylon.  She controls all of Babylon's resources, including its Demon-filled Psi Division and Tech Archives.  Her family had taken control of Babylon decades ago, but even before then it had become a Demon-driven faction trying to take complete of Noah. Aspects There's Opportunity In Mutation: [TBD] Maru believes that Demons have unlocked genetic potential, and that unlike Angels, they can tap into a variety of mutations.  This variety is a rich resource, that is waiting to be exploited.  Take advantage of what one has, especially the thing others fear. Greed Is Good: Finders keepers.  There is power in profit, and that isn't bad.  Seeking wealth is a good thing.  Anything else that counters that is a lie.  The only way to make sure that wealth and power does what is good, the only way is to make certain you have control over it. We Made This Town: And we can br...

Introduction  |  Part One (1/5)  | Next Part (3/5) Jingle.  Jingle. The tall and thin Christmas spirit drug the Necromancer out of the neighborhood into the woods.  At least that is what Noir guessed, considering the pile of snowdrift her touch imparted on him.  Besides dragging, he could her bells jingling with each step they took deeper into the woods. Jingle.   Then the bells stopped .  Noir lifted his head from the ground, realizing that his legs were so cold and numb he didn't notice that the spirit had dropped him.  He felt solid planks underneath him.  They creaked as he tried to stand up. "That's a no go."  Noir muttered under his breath.  His eyes, now uncovered from the snow started to adjust to his surroundings. The 'woods' the spirit had dragged him into wasn't just woods.  She'd dragged him into a abandoned building, a big one at that.  She'd taken him through a broken down wall, but the struct...

Introduction|   Next Part (2/5) Mother- I've been thinking about my encounter with the Dragon again.  That Crossroads and Xia.  That has been the last time I've talked with the Dark man, and now the holidays have made their approach.  My wandering have led me back into the pacific northwest, a land very much full of wolves as father would've said. I don't understand why the Dark man sought to make me cross lines with the Dragon.  I've learned only a scant little more after the matter.  The Dragon is part of some order.  The number seven is sacred to them.  And they kill monsters. That is it.  Kyle or this Dragon or whatever is a monster hunter.  That makes him seem even more childish in retrospect.  To treat the world as so simple as evil beasts or good people, one to save and the other to slay. I still can't make it home for the holidays.   Portland has drawn itself to me, and I'm in some suburb or outgrowth of it ...

I'm starting a new story.  Its a Holiday story, and it revisits Noir Badarte, the Necromancer with a Heart of Gold.  He first appeared back in In Black .   In Black was a practice run, and I didn't have a outline or a real plan for it.  It was more of Halloween-ish kinda story, but uses a variety of elements I've collected in my head and I threw all of them out.  I wanted to write a story to get my brain working the right way, and In Black did that. But Noir Badarte was more than a temporary creation.  Like a lot of the pieces in In Black (and even Black Friday or the Humility Mackenzie Interview ), Noir is a deeper creation I plan to use over and over.  Noir Bedarte has become a loner, choosing to travel with his cadre of dead as his only friends.  Even among them, Noir dislikes being with them, and he feels like he's lost sight of why he is doing what he does. I like Noir, specifically because I like the idea of a necromancer, a dead-ra...

I crashed Monday.  A headache and lack of sleep conspired to delay me.  But here is another entry.  Lets see where this ride takes us. (wink) It would be better if the King were dead. A broken man.  Skinny and thinner than a skeleton.  His sunken eyes are stained purple with bygone tears.  Unkempt hair upon his head, his ruddy beard is has pieces of mourning and depression in it.  He sags on his oh so very old throne.  The king's finery now is torn.  Velvets have rotten.  The gold is tarnished, what else is iron or steel covered in rust.  Black dirt has collected under his shattered nails.  The air about him is aria, a dirge.  It cries for his kingdom, for it is no more. Long live the King. Previous Flash Fic

Previous Part (1) "That doesn't sound possible," Johann said when he interrupted me.  "Giants?  Are you certain that is what you saw?  No one else reported seeing Giants of any kind." I shrugged.  "I thought you wouldn't believe me.  I don't have any more evidence than what I saw when I was a little girl." "Why were these creatures attacking the town then?" "Excuse me?" "I asked, why were these 'giants' attacking?  Did you learn anything about the origins of their aggression?" I blinked.  He didn't completely dismiss what I was saying.  Yes, he did express some disbelief, but clearly Johann wanted to know as much about something he didn't think was true.  "Why?  You clearly don't believe what I'm saying-" "You have no clear evidence."  Johann didn't look up from his scribbling.  "T he United States Multiversal Survey can't make any clear determin...

The Dragon King.  Allyn "Al" Iblis.  Icon and the leader of the Dragons Crime Syndicate.  Having taken control of the Syndicate, Iblis believes that might makes right, and that he and his have the right interest of the people in mind- even if it is at the cost of some of them. Aspects Might Makes Right: The core truth of the Dragon King, he shows strength to make his point.  He never backs down.  If it requires a violent response to make a point, then yes, Iblis will do it.  Threats.  Strength.  Endurance.  Actions are louder than words. Lord of the Kaiju-Lotus: Iblis and his people control the smuggling operations in Noah.  Getting any sort of good is easy for him and his crew, and is something the other powers in Noah work to stop.  Smuggling in tons of illegal substances, from unapproved foods or Kaiju-Lotus.  He markets out the drug, the most addictive substance for Clayborn.  So many people hide their Kaiju-Lot...

1912.  New York City, New York, USA. I sighed. "There... My parents and brother died that day.  People in town always thought it was something with the horse, that it bolted and killed them.  It was an accident, sir."  I tried to not look the German in the eyes. "Please, Miss MacKenzie," He said.  His english sounded weird and foreign.  He introduced himself as Johann Clas.  He wore a grey suit that looked worn and old.  His eyes were brown.  Dark brown facial hair coded his mouth, neatly trimmed but stained at the edges by whatever he ate this morning.  He never took his pen off the paper he was scribbling into.  He just kept scribbling and scribbling. "Call me, Johann.  My work at the USMS requires a more thorough explanation of what happened on the day of October 1st 1900.  What really caused the accident?" I murmured the answer.  "Giants." "Beg pardon, I didn't quite hear you-" "Giants, sir."  I l...

Fimbulwinter is that chill that shakes you to your bones.  Fimbulwinter is the last winter, the terrible cold that foretells the end of the world.  Its the last great expression of Winter, probably its great eschatological expression. The Fimbulwinter foretells the doom of the gods in Norse mythology.  And we, as humans, can gaze back and remember that prior era.  When we were blind and could not foretell whether the world would die this winter, this unbidding chill or if it would survive and re-emerge back to its full strength. We could predict it, but it never was a certainty.  And sometimes, we still wonder about that.  Could we make a unholy man-made Fimbulwinter?  A Oppenheimer created storm of cold that renders the world dead?  If we could make our own Fimbulwinter, does that mean we humans can cause the death of the Gods? Its not certain we humans have control over the Gods, new or old.  But the power to unleash a Fimbulwinter? ...

Uriel, The Golden Crown.  Icon.  His cult has a stranglehold on much of the wealth and power in Noah, but more than few see him and his as a fundamentalist cult.  Some others see Uriel as a uniter, who might be able to help save the city from the demonic problems it faces. Aspects Divine Right of Rule: Uriel (or at least the Golden Crown) firmly believes that all Angels are divine beings.  They are the chosen ones, meant to guide, and most importantly, rule Noah.  Others are meant to kneel or fade away altogether. Touch Not That Demonic Filth: Uriel and his followers disdain all Demons , and think of them as inhuman animals, not persons.  Their racism is rigid, and if asked why, most members of the Golden Crown would reply, "they are demons.  They deserve everything that we do to them." Old Money Of Noah: Lastly, Uriel and the Golden Crown is deeply connected to the wealthy families unaligned with Babylon, who want control of the city once aga...

"To Investigate Extraterrestrial, External and Unknown Threats."  Established by an executive order of Theodore Roosevelt after a meeting with Mark Twain and Nikola Tesla in 1904, the USMS documents and archives all information about contact with other realities and dimensions.  The USMS is a small agency which investigates and analyzes interactions with breaches of other realities, dimensions and worlds.  The USMS is not a hidden secret of the US Government, although most other bodies of the US Gov't remain ignorant of it.  This isn't a willing ignorance, as the USMS finds itself constantly trying to keep the rest of the United States informed of threats they find.  A bureau of the Interior department, the USMS is fact-finding organization that has no regulatory responsibility, although it has leeway with justice department and other agencies.  Constantly the USMS seeks out some form of enforcement ability.  General disbelief and other factors al...