#Bombs and Battlescars
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REVIEW: Sven Gali - Bombs and Battlescars (2023)
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#andy curran#Andy Frank#autographs#Bombs and Battlescars#Dan Fila#Dave Wanless#Dee Cernile#hard rock#heavy metal#Music In Motion Entertainment#Sean Williamson#Shawn Minden#Spellbound#Sven Gali#triumph
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Companion comments regarding Shadowheart's makeover, all of which I love.
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"Shadowheart walks a little freer of the shadows. She could shave her skull and paint it purple; it would still suit her."
<3 Jaheira, a hundred years down the line, is still best team mom.
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"Something is different about Shadowheart. New facial creases, perhaps? A fresh battlescar I hadn't noticed? Bah. It eludes me."
LMAO. Dork. I like to think Hector points out the actual change and she's like "Oh. Well, I didn't say I cared" but secretly she thinks it looks good.
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"Love Shadowheart's new look. Softer, less severe. It suits her."
Wyll is, as always, a sweetheart. <3
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"Gods, Shadowheart looks like a stack of gold! Never thought I could get so excited about someone's forehead, but here we are."
Rofl. Karlach is also a sweetheart, in a more casual way. (Also apparently I am almost as much of a dork as Lae'zel bc I straight up didn't notice until this dialogue line that it was a haircut change; I only registered that the color was different. Whoops.)
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"I was concerned when I saw Shadowheart creeping about with a blade in the dead of night, but it was just to cut her hair, it seems. It suits her."
I'm not sure I blame Halsin for jumping to a worried conclusion on this. XD
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"There's no more radiant sight than that of someone who's learned to love themselves anew. Shadowed in name but no longer in spirit - it suits her."
OK, that was very cute, Gale. [pats him on the head] We'll work on it for you too; maybe we can also get you a haircut when we get the bomb out of your chest.
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"Ooh, we have a new look for a new Shadowheart! Nice as it is, she still doesn't have the best hair in camp."
LOL. Don't worry, bud, you are still top of the heap. (I hope he and Shadowheart become white hair buddies and give each other fashion advice.)
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Withers has no comment on it, which I think is just tragic.
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#nowdrinking @monkishbrewing @monkishanaheim @monkishhenk Bomb Atomically #bombatomically canned on 5/11/22 8.3% ABV #dipa brewed with Mosaic, Citra & Galaxy #hops #monkishbrewing #drinkfreshie #dinklocal #supportlocal #neipa #westcoasthazy #westcoasthazyipa #dank #battlescarred #💙 #hazy #beer 🍺 #instabeer #beerphotography #cigarsmoke #beersnob #properglassware #beergamestrong (at Simi Valley, California) https://www.instagram.com/p/CfSiXbkpL6U/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=
#nowdrinking#bombatomically#dipa#hops#monkishbrewing#drinkfreshie#dinklocal#supportlocal#neipa#westcoasthazy#westcoasthazyipa#dank#battlescarred#💙#hazy#beer#instabeer#beerphotography#cigarsmoke#beersnob#properglassware#beergamestrong
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After not sleeping for five days due to Sir Battlescarred singing a night serenate at Lady Stillwaiting, Maid Jewel goes to sleep at Pixie's house. She finally sleeps but she wakes up covered in glitter from the top of her head to her toes.
Pixie really be like *glitter bombs her own house* but like Jewels wouldn't complain. She likes the glitter.
Rip her sleep schedule though
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This Week in Gundam Wing (July 7-13, 2019)
GW Tumblr Fandom,
Here’s your weekly round-up from the folks at TWIGW! Be sure to show your creators some love. <333
–Mod LAM
Fanfiction
In the Moment by luvsanime02
Pairings: N/A
Characters: Relena Peacecraft
Rating: General
Tag / Warnings: AU - modern setting, introspection, mild language,
Summary: Relena likes living in a fairy tale.
Dorothy’s Vacation by @helmistress
Pairings: 4xD, background 1xR
Characters: Dorothy Catalonia
Rating: Teen and Up
Tag / Warnings: vacations, alcohol, fix-it verse
Summary: Dorothy takes a week long vacation from work and makes plans to have Relena do the same.
Unchain Utopia (Chapters 1-7 of 14) by @bobo-is-tha-bomb
Pairings: 6xReader
Characters: Zechs, Relena, Reader
Rating: MATURE
Tag / Warnings: romance, fluff, sexual content, drama, family
Summary: When unexpected political roles are pushed upon you and your husband, you find your life turned upside down. The challenge is far greater than anything you have encountered before, but also leads to new insights. And who knows, you might even find the ultimate happiness there.
Death’s Emissary by @revy679
Pairings: 1xR
Characters: 5 pilots, Relena, Hilde, Dorothy, Sally, Lady Une, Zechs, Pagan
Rating: MATURE
Tag / Warnings: angst, violence, death, crossover: GW/John Wick
Summary: My homage to two of my favorites...Gundam Wing and John Wick.
Peaceful by @deejayers
Pairings: established 1x2
Characters: Heero, Duo
Rating: General
Tag / Warnings: mermaid AU, fluff
Summary: Mermaid prompt - Mer A will braid Mer B’s hair while they’re sunbathing on the rocks. Everything is calm with the gentle push of the waves on the rocks, the air is warm and there’s a light breeze.
Changement de Rythme by @arsenicjade
Pairings: N/A
Characters: Dorothy
Rating: General
Tag / Warnings: N/A
Summary: Dorothy has lost many times. She'd never had her blade taken from her.
Autumn Days by @softnocturne
Pairings: 3x4
Characters: Trowa, Quatre
Rating: General
Tag / Warnings: domestic fluff
Summary: Quatre didn’t know what to do as he watched the rain pour from the safety inside his home.
Too Many Cats by @softnocturne
Pairings: 3x4
Characters: Trowa, Quatre
Rating: General
Tag / Warnings: domestic fluff
Summary: Quatre stared incredulously at Trowa, his eyes booring into those beautiful green eyes sparkling back. Crossing his arms over his chest, he knew he had to make a stand here.
Until Death by @softnocturne
Pairings: N/A
Characters: Trowa, Quatre
Rating: General
Tag / Warnings: deathfic, fluff, general
Summary: Trowa is Death and has to reap Quatre Winner...only to discover that the man has regrets and wants to see the world and can’t pass over just yet.
All the King’s Horses (Chapter 5 of 43) by @bailong05
Pairings: Jack Spicer x Chase Young, Wufei x OFC
Characters: Jack Spicer, Chase Young, Wufei Chang
Rating: MATURE
Tag / Warnings: Xiaolin Showdown x Gundam crossover, fem!Jack, mentions of abuse (physical, emotional, sexual), panic attacks, angst and hurt/comfort, romance, mentions of war, trauma (physical, childhood), healing
Summary: Shopping, a non-date, and a date
Fanart
Simplified Pilot Designs by @lemontrash
Aesthetic / Moodboards by @horrendoushaddock
Relena
Heero
Duo
Trowa
Quatre
Wufei
Adult Duo by @gundayum
Relena Study by @floorlimes
Other Fandom Works (Cosplay, Gunpla, Scans, etc.)
Quotes
Some Dynasty Warriors Gundam 2 quotes by @murumokirby360
On fighting, part 2
Better without you
No fear
@incorrectgundamwingquotes continues to delivery. Some favorites of mine from this week:
Dorothy on men
The Eagles won
Trowa’s alignment
Pet snake names
Applications
If you have not checked out @amyole‘s application, you definitely should!
Gunpla
Battlescarred Wing Zero and Deathscythe Hell, part 2 by @janaverse
Tallgeese WIP with video and video 2 by @christianmswanson
Scans and Edits
Wufei and a Sticker by @incorrectgundamwingquotes and @janaverse
Bathroom Etiquette by @incorrectgundamwingquotes
AMV - Young Blood shared by @myspicyuniverse
Heero’s dreaming (1x2) by @janaverse
Glory of the Losers scans
Quatre by @disturbed02girl
Zechs by @horrendousedits
Calendar Events
Gundam Wing Discord Meet-Up (July 13-14)
Happening NOW!! @lifeaftermeteor is convening another fan meet-up in the Discord Channel. Head over here to join!
Cocktail Fridays with @gwcocktailfriday
Post responses on Friday between 3-5PM!
This week’s prompt is here
Get ready for a Zechs-y Summer!
Summer of Zechs will take place July 7-20!
Stay tuned for more info, and follow @seasons-of-gundamwing
Gundam Wing Unorthodox Undercover Work Mini Bang
Event sign-ups are OPEN! Head over here to join!
The event itself will run August-November.
Be sure to follow @thisweekingundamevents for more info!
Gundam Wing 25th Anniversary Zine
@lifeaftermeteor is leading the charge on another fandom zine, this time in celebration of the show’s 25th anniversary.
MODERATOR APPS ARE CLOSED. Follow @gundamzine for more updates to come!
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▶ The Rise and Fall of A Marriage
( Intro. ) Lotus Flower Bomb..............Wale ft. Miguel || ❝ we’re living in a fantasy. i feel when you dance with me. it’s feeling like you need to be my lady......my baby ❞
( one. ) Nothin’ on You.........B.o.B ft. Bruno Mars || ❝ beautiful girls all over the world. they could be chasing, but my time they’d be wasting. they got nothin’ on you baby ❞
( two. ) Say You Won’t Let Go.........James Arthur || ❝ i knew i loved you then but you’d never know cause i played it cool when i was scared of letting go. i knew i needed you but i never show but i wanna stay with you until we’re grey and old ❞
( three. ) Thinking Out Loud..............Ed Sheeran || ❝ darling i will be loving you until we’re seventy. baby my heart could still fall as hard as twenty-three ❞
( four. ) Switch....................................6LACK || ❝ ....and how could i blame her? a small town girl, now she all famous ❞
( five. ) Do Re Mi.............................BlackBear || ❝ and you got me thinking lately bitch you crazy and nothing’s ever good enough.......do re mi fa so fucking done with all the games you play ❞
( six. ) Battleships.........................Daughtry || ❝ but i want you, i need you, and i guarantee you we’ll make it out alive cause i don’t wanna fight no more even when the waves get rough, i don’t wanna see the day we say we’ve had enough ❞
( jojo’s interlude. ) Unsteady.............X Ambassadors || ❝ mother, i know that you’re tired of being alone. dad, i know you’re trying to fight when you feeling like flying. but if you love me don’t let go........hold onto me cause i’m a little unsteady ❞
( seven. ) Too Good to Say Goodbye...........Bruno Mars || ❝ tell me why, why can’t we try and start again? this can’t be how our story ends. you’re more than my girl, you’re my best friend. tell me you remember when i was your man and you were my girl. it was you and me against the world ❞
( eight. ) Battlescars.....................Lupe Fiasco ft. Guy Sebastian || ❝ hope the wounds heal but it never does that’s cause you at war with love ❞
( nine. ) Papers.....................................Usher || ❝ can’t believe the words to her i just said, but who the hell argue and fight like dogs at six in the morning.......i know it’s you i love, but then i also know it’s you that i don’t like ❞
( ten. ) Only When I Walk Away..........Justin Timberlake || ❝ now girl this little game you play, you won’t stop till you go too far but what’s a man like to say with a bullet laying in my heart? ❞
( eleven. ) This Step Alone..................Elliot Yamin || ❝ i saw us break. i watched us fall and it made no sense to me at all, you say that you will but then you won’t so i’m gonna take this step alone. it’s my heart of hearts, i always knew this jump was way too far for you ❞
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Titanomachy
Jupiter was shy of sixteen years old when his parents left him with his grandfather in the city of Othrys while they fought in the Third Titan War on Saturn’s moon of Titan. To say they went off would be a misnomer as they were drafted. In Jupiter’s mind, they were brave soldiers marching off to protect their planet entirely of their own volition, even willing to leave their only child behind to fulfill their duty. He wanted to be a soldier and a war hero, so he idolized them. It didn’t matter if he was left in the care of his grandfather in the planet’s capital with a war just around the corner in an apartment that was barely large enough to accommodate the pair.
Jupiter’s new room was really a small study converted into a living area for the teen. It was a small box with blue paint covering every surface with a single holoviewer on a wall, a twin size bed he barely fit into slid up against the opposing wall, and a window that served as the third wall that faced towards the city. From his room on the sixty-third floor, he could see the sprawling capital stretching miles into the distance. The overcast sky dumped rain onto the dull grey buildings, the city seemingly devoid of life and color save for the large hologram posters, or holo-posters, being projected onto the length of buildings.
Each one was unique in content, but similar in theme. ‘Support the War’ said a heroic face saluting the king. ‘Defend Our World’ said the heroic face in front of a Star Fighter. ‘Destroy the Drifters’ said the heroic face climbing into a bomber. On, and on, and on. These posters illuminated the city streets below with their call to arms. Some detailed the atrocities the Drifters committed, others listed the number of dead civilians by Drifter hands. In the single month Jupiter had spent in his small room, he had developed a habit of checking the holoposters every single day for any sign of change, any indication of what the war was like. All he knew was that every Monday, new posters went up. With them, new heroic faces from the Titan Army and new barbaric faces from the Drifter forces looked down upon the city. He dreamed of being one of those heroic faces.
He looked away from the window and back at the holoviewer discussing the latest news on the war effort. There was never any footage and only the same woman, Lavinia Sartorius, reading off the daily battlefield reports. Her mouth, which seemed a bit too large and bent into an odd smile, described conflict after conflict between the Titans and the Drifters.
The Drifters were a nasty bunch. Jupiter had read and heard all about them from the newspapers and news stations like the one he was watching. They drifted from planet to planet, toppling governments and civilizations to establish their own totalitarian regimes. They enforced their beliefs onto most of the solar system. First Earth, then Mars fell shortly after, then Venus, and then the Moon, and most recently, Europa. Titan was the last stronghold of stability and it was a war Jupiter believed Titan desperately needed to win. This is why he strove to be a soldier, to be the war hero that saved the solar system from a tyrannical force.
“Government officials are reporting that Olympia has fallen into Drifter hands, but the military is doing everything in their power to push the invading force further away from the beloved capital,” Lavinia said. “Early reports are estimating a thousand Titan casualties and well over ten thousand dead Drifters following the siege of Olympia. Officials are noting the barbaric measures taken yet again by Drifter forces. Hospitals and shelters bombed, fires set to parks, and citizens executed in the streets detail just a few of the atrocities carried out by the invading army.”
Jupiter’s throat tightened hearing the suffering Olympian citizens were facing, and he couldn’t help but think of his parents and if they were among the dead.
“Following public outcry, King Princep has considered lowering the conscription age to fifteen years old and raising the limit to fifty-six years old,” Lavinia said before the holoviewer abruptly shut off. Jupiter’s head swivelled around to see his grandfather in the doorway, the remote in his hand.
“You shouldn’t be watching that junk, Jupe,” his grandfather said. The scar trailing from the center of his forehead to his left cheek always caught Jupiter’s eye. It was a battlescar and a trophy of war. He knew he heard what the newswoman said, and he knew his throat had tightened as well.
“I’m just doing my duty as a citizen of Titan,” Jupiter said, a naive smile stretching across his face. He watched as his grandfather opened his mouth before remaining silent for a few moments. Jupiter could see the Mauser C96 replica in his grandfather’s holster, a trophy of the Second Titan War the old man had fought in many years before. The plasma handgun became the popular weapon of choice for those serving in the military shortly before the Second War began and remained popular to that day. Jupiter didn’t know much about the war as the schools on Titan didn’t teach much history. All he knew was about the war came from the stories his grandfather used to tell when he got drunk. They were beautifully bloody and brutal war stories. He was a true hero in Jupiter’s mind. It was a different time, his grandfather would say. Things were different back then.
“Jupe,” his grandfather said, his cold eyes softening, “there are things you don’t quite understand yet, things I’m not sure you’re ready to hear.”
His grandfather was always like this. He always had the words on the tip of his tongue before he pulled them back. They were secrets he wished his grandfather would share, but he knew better than to expect that.
“You always do this, grandpa,” Jupiter said. “You know I’m almost sixteen, right? My birthday is in exactly fourteen days. In fourteen days, I’ll be getting a letter in the mail telling me where to go to see my recruiting officer. I’m going to be a soldier and I’m going to destroy the Drifters.”
Whenever Jupiter mentioned being drafted, he would watch an expression flash across his parents’ faces. Now he could see that same expression on his grandfather’s. His eyes would get softer, his frown would relax, and his voice would slide higher in tone. One hand would go to his hip and the other would rub his beard as if he was lost in thought. Instead of an intimidating presence, Jupiter would feel at ease around his grandfather. He never understood why though, why they would look at him like he was a clueless child.
“I know, Jupe. I know,” his grandfather said, a hand lightly rubbing his wrinkled and bearded face. “I fear that no matter what I tell you, truth or lie, it wouldn’t stop you from fighting.”
“Just, tell me what you want to tell me for once,” Jupiter said with narrow eyes and a furrowed brow, “You’re a veteran, but you act like serving your country and planet is taboo. You never talk about the Second War anymore, you threw away your uniform, you rejected your VA assistance, and you reject almost anything that identifies you as a veteran except that gun.”
His grandfather remained quiet in the doorway. His previously softened expression hardened again. Those cold eyes cut into his skin and sent a shiver up Jupiter’s spine. His grandfather crossed his arms and stepped closer to his grandson.
“Everyday, you become more and more like the obedient Titan they want you to be,” His grandfather said, his voice low and scratchy. “I was just like you when I was younger, Jupiter. I bought what they were selling and I did some horrible, horrible things in the name of this county and planet.”
“I know, grandpa,” Jupiter said. “You told me those stories when I was younger, back when you drank. That’s just the cost of war! That’s what the king says.”
He watched his grandfather physically sigh, his entire body rising and falling with that single inhale and exhale. He remembered his father doing the same when they spoke about the war and about Jupiter enlisting. His mother would look away and shake her head. They both loved their country though. Why else would they leave their only child to fight in the war?
He watched his grandfather open his mouth, only to hesitate. His grandfather’s eyes were trained on the holoviewer that was off as if it was waiting for him to speak. His mouth slowly closed and his teeth began to grind together.
The lights began to flicker before going out completely, leaving the pair in the dark. Jupiter rose from his seat on the floor and looked out of the window. The holoposters were gone, the city lights had vanished, and the only source of light came from the overcast sky. He could hear his grandfather shifting around, the air in the room seeming to change. It was cold. Chills ran up Jupiter’s spine. He opened his mouth to speak, but the rumbling cut him short.
It was a dull roar, like a low bass note. Like the sound of a tsunami slowly approaching the shore. Like the planet itself was groaning, ready to split open to unleash whatever lie beneath its surface. The hum filled every crevice of the city. Jupiter raised his hand to the glass and felt it vibrate against his fingers. He could feel that vibration in his body, feeling it seep deep into his core to grab hold of his soul. A pit formed in his stomach, yet his chest felt warm and tingly while a small smile stretched across his face.
He could hear the residents around them scrambling. Muffled words were yelling to pack, women were yelling at the world around them, and children were crying about the sudden departure from their home. These words broke through the walls.
The power flickered, then turned back on, and with the added surge of electricity, the holoviewer turned itself back on. He looked into the glass and saw his grandfather fumble for the remote and flip through the channels.
“-ember to report any possible dissenters for rehabilita-”
“..number of civilians dea-”
“..of Othrys being under siege. For any just joining, the Titan government has released a statement stating that a Drifter Star Carrier is attempting to penetrate the blockade above the planet’s beloved capital. King Princep has been evacuated as well as the rest of the royal family. Citizens are advised to head to the nearest shel-”
Before the man with a smile etched onto his face could finish his sentence, the channel cut to static. Shortly after, the sirens whirred. The loud and reverberating sirens chilled Jupiter to the bone and seemed to nearly override the maddening low hum that invaded every cell of his body. He half expected beams of light to shoot out from the sky, grabbing people and pulling them up. Instead of beams of light, a black triangular tip began poking through the clouds.
The apartments around them were silent, most likely vacant. Jupiter imagined them stripped bare of any essentials. He imagined the families running down flights of stairs with nothing but a red emergency light filling the stairwell while the sirens blared and the hum seeped into them.
“Jupiter, pack anything you can,” his grandfather said, breaking the hum-filled silence. “We are leaving.”
He decided to ignore his grandfather. Jupiter stared into the city, the lights and the holo-posters shining brightly once again. The holo-posters had evacuation instructions, but Jupiter ignored them. His eyes were trained on the black triangular shape growing larger and larger. The Drifter’s Star Carrier, a warship designed for interplanetary travel, had broken through the blockade above the city.
The black pentahedron warship, like a pyramid set upon one of its four points, descended upon the capital mere miles away. Glittering lights dotted the massive structure while the center slowly opened, releasing a gloomy yellow glow that spewed tiny black dots from it’s depths. Star Fighters, fighter jets designed for space and terrestrial conflict. Jupiter looked up and saw dots piercing clouds above to intercept the dots exiting the warship. The tiny flashes of light, the faint sounds of explosions and gunfire, the fire that consumed the black dots, and the burning carcasses of the distant fighters falling into the city invigorated the teen.
Jupiter was in awe. This was what he had waited for since the war began. This was what he was alive for. This was his chance to be a soldier, to be a war hero, to serve and protect his glorious and righteous home and planet.
“Jupiter!” His grandfather said, his voice echoing into the room. “Have you finished packing? It’s time to go, right now!”
“Yeah grandpa, just give me a minute,” Jupiter said, his eyes barely leaving the glass window he stared through. He watched the ships edge closer and closer, the sounds of the gunfire and explosions growing louder and louder. The low humming, that raw power emanating from the Star Carrier, sunk deeper into his flesh.
“I said now, Jupiter!” His grandfather said.
To be honest, Jupiter did not want to leave. He did not want to miss a single moment of the glorious spectacle before him. He did not want to miss his chance to fight, to kill, to be a soldier. He would grab a rifle and go to the forefront and fire into the enemy. He would kill and be victorious over the invading Drifters, those barbaric savages that killed his fellow Titans. He was invincible and no enemy would be able to stop him. He was so lost in thought and the spectacle, he did not comprehend the stray missile flying towards his building.
“Jupiter! Get your ass in ge-”
His grandfather did not finish the sentence as the building shook from the collision. It was at least one or two floors above their apartment. He was knocked to his feet as the window shattered and showered him with glass. He lay curled in a ball, protecting his body from the shards cutting into his skin. After an eternity in the teen’s mind, he opened his eyes.
He noticed the empty pane that let the rain pour down upon his curled body. He noticed his aching ribs and dizzy head. He placed his palms on the floor to pick himself up, only to feel the sharp cut of glass sink into his flesh. He hissed and fought the pain and stood up. Jupiter shook his hands, looking at the broken flesh and dripping hands and falling glass. He rarely saw his own blood.
Jupiter stumbled out of the glass coated room. His breathing was deep and fast, his hands left prints on the wall as he looked for support. The teen stepped out into the living room. It was nearly the same as his room, only larger. A blue box, a shattered wall-long window, a holoviewer on the wall opposite of him, and a couch up against the other. To the right was the kitchen with what utensils were on the counter now littering the floor. The living room floor was littered with shards of glass, some larger and some small. He noticed a single, sizeable shard coated with blood. He followed the droplets to his left. His grandfather sat on the couch, his hand held tightly over his leg. Jupiter could see the cut beneath his fingers and the liquid spilling from it. It was the most blood he had ever seen come from one person. The bubbly feeling in his chest replaced itself with a painful pit in his stomach.
His grandfather looked up with soft eyes and a weak smile. He looked pale, almost as pale as the white hairs dotting his beard.
“Hey there, Jupe,” he said, nodding down to cushion to the left of him. “Take a seat.”
Jupiter hesitated, but for once, he did as he was told. He sat down on the couch and looked at the blood pooling on the floor. The teen looked up at his grandfather. The old man chuckled and shook his head. Jupiter did not quite know what to think. It was just a cut on his leg, right? Why did he look so pale?
“I’m gonna be straight with you, Jupe,” his grandfather said, his head wavering for a moment. “I got cut pretty deep and the bleeding won’t stop. I’m probably going to die.”
Jupiter wanted to say something, anything, but the words could not form. No one was supposed to die in his life. He was supposed to be a hero and save them all.
“Now, now Jupe, listen,” his grandfather said. “I know you want to believe that we live in a wonderful place, but we don’t. I never said anything, your parents never said anything, because we couldn’t. They were always listening to us, always watching us Jupe. I should have said something anyway. There’s so much to say.”
Jupiter’s eyes narrowed and his brow furrowed. The first thought in his mind was that his grandfather was a dissenter, that he was a traitor. The thought stayed for but a moment.
“You don’t know the thi-” his grandfather said, shaking his head lightly, “You don’t know the things they made me do back then. They promised me the world and instead I raised my child and grandchild in this mess. Your dad was just like you, Jupe. He was so patriotic and believed Titan was a wonderful place. He saw first hand the real Titan when his best friend’s family was ‘rehabilitated’ for being dissenters. They kill them, Jupe, the people who disagree.”
Jupiter watched his grandfather and watched the pool steadily growing larger. He showed no emotion. His mind was screaming, ‘liar!’
“Your father loved you so much. He wanted the world for you, Jupe. He didn’t want you following in his footsteps, but what could he do? What can anyone do when you have no power, no freedom?” His grandfather said, his words trailing off and his head starting to droop. “They lie to you, Jupe. They have always lied. That’s what they do, Jupe. They lie and make you do what they want you to do. They kill us and say someone else did it. I don’t want you to become like me, Jupe. I don’t want my grandchild making my same mistakes. You’re just a boy, Jupe. You didn’t know any better.”
A sudden heat and loud explosion rocked the building. Jupiter looked out the window and saw plumes of fire and smoke rising from in front of the building. The teen rose from his seat. He looked down while the rain pelted his face. It was the shelter he would had been heading to had he listened to his grandfather. His grandfather would probably still be okay if he had listened. Maybe they both would have been caught in the explosion.
At first, his chest burned and his fists clenched. His hands dripped blood down to his feet. Then he saw the bombers, the same ones he saw on the holo-posters. The same ones those heroic faces climbed into to destroy the Drifters. They were the ones dropping the bombs. They were the ones destroying the shelters and the civilians.
What does a boy do when years of indoctrination clashes with what a trusted family member and his own eyes tell him? He yells. He screams. He lets the burning in his chest fade until its cold and hollow. He was supposed to be a soldier. He was supposed to be strong, invincible even. He was supposed to defend and protect his home and country. But what was his home and country? Who were they really? Were they those heroic faces? Or were they those bomb that fell?
He turned to ask his grandfather for the truth, the whole truth, the truth he always had on the tip of his tongue but never said. His grandfather’s head was slumped down and his hands were relaxed. The pool had reached the teen’s feet. Jupiter’s eyes went to his grandfather’s. They were open and staring at the floor. For the first time, the battlescar that Jupiter saw as a trophy of war looked like a wound instead. It must have been a constant reminder of what his grandfather did. Those war stories he told when he was drunk were not stories of triumph or victory. No, they were stories of limbs and faces and moments permanently etched into his mind. Before today, all he knew was the glorified version of war he was force fed daily. No one he knew was supposed to die, only the Drifters.
The boy looked out the window and watched a Drifter Star Fighter fall from the sky. It was burning as it took an unexpected turn upward. It slowed considerably, but it was not going to stop. Jupiter wanted to move, but he remained still. The Star Fighter crashed into the building. He was on curled up on the floor again.
Unlike before, he was back on his feet within moments. His grandfather’s gun was in his hand and he was already in the hall. The child soldier marched towards the stairwell and climbed several flights. The years of indoctrination flooded his mind and the burning in his chest was stronger than ever. On the tenth floor above his grandfather’s apartment, he saw part of the fighter jutting through the wall six apartments down on the left.
His heart pounded and he ground his teeth as he stepped closer to the door. For a brief while, the world was right again, but that was beginning to fade. He wanted to cry, but soldiers do not cry. He wanted to turn around, but he did not. He simply climbed over the wreckage and opened the unlocked apartment door.
The rain had stopped. The living room was relatively untouched. This apartment’s study had a Star Fighter lodged within it. It was burning and the heat warmed the soldier with his grandfather’s gun in his hand. He held up the gun and walked towards the fighter. He realized he had never held or fired a gun before. He simply emulated what the posters showed. With a hiss, the cockpit of the fighter opened up. The gun shook in his hand while he waited. A body dressed in a black fighter pilot uniform fell from the cockpit and hit the ground with a thud. A black helmet covered their head.
The child soldier remained silent. Words simply could not form. He did not fully comprehend what he was doing either. It was all a daze to him. It was a daze when the pilot sat up and took off her helmet and stared at the child soldier in front of her. Her hair was a red color with freckles dotting her body. He had never seen anyone like her before.
“What’s your name?” the woman asked after a few moments of silence. Her smile was warm and familiar, like the way his mother smiled at him the last time he saw her. He remained quiet for a few moments. She smiled and nodded, slowly rising from her position with a hand holding her ribs. The child soldier’s aim followed her.
“My name is Juno,” Juno said. “I’m a part of the Drifter Forces.”
Hearing that, the child soldier’s finger started applying pressure to the trigger. His hand shook as the burning in his chest faded completely. That familiar pit sat in his stomach. His chest felt cold and hollow. She motioned towards the gun.
“That gun, it is standard issue among the Titan Army, but you do not look like a soldier,” she said, taking a step further away from the Star Fighter as the flames crept closer to the cockpit. “Are you a soldier?”
She had seen it many times before. A child thinking they were invincible, ready to fight for their country but not ready to die for it.
The soldier’s eyes stayed trained on the woman in front of him. The words of the newscasters with mouths bent into smiles, the words of his grandfather resting peacefully ten floors below, and the words of his own mind fought for dominance. He wanted to pull the trigger and be the soldier he wanted to be and be hailed as a hero among his people. He wanted to put the gun down and give up. He wanted to shoot out the window and jump.
“I don’t know,” the teen said.
He lowered the gun and he walked to the window. He looked at his reflection in the cracked glass, the split running from his forehead down to the left of his cheek. He looked out onto the city, at the burning buildings and glitched holo-posters, at the Star Fighters burning and falling, and at the Star Carrier looming above the city mere miles away.
“If I am,” the teen said, “I don’t know for who.”
No one he knew was supposed to die. War was not supposed to be like this. He was promised glory by those posters, by those people on the holo-viewer, and by the king he submitted to.
Juno nodded and stepped closer to the teen, eventually standing next to him. She watched his reflection, the vacant eyes he had. She followed his gaze towards the bombers in the distance, killing the young and the old and the unfit to serve who fled to shelters. Those were the people the government deemed worthless. After all, they could not fight. Killing them meant less mouths to feed and more resources for the war. Their deaths would fuel the war effort. Teens like him would feel their chests burn and their hearts pound and their fists clench. Teens too young for war would grab their grandfather’s gun to go kill a Drifter. He understood that now.
“Jupiter,” Jupiter said,” My name is Jupiter.”
The sun broke through the slowly scattering clouds. They could see Saturn and her rings up in the sky.
“And for the first time in my life, I see the truth. The truth my parents and my grandfather desperately wanted to tell me, to show me,” he said.
“It is never easy finding out the truth about Titan, especially by those who live within it,” Juno said. “It is even harder watching the truth play out.”
Her foreign voice was like silk to Jupiter’s ears. She was nothing like the barbaric faces he saw on the posters. He had a gun in his hand but she approached him and put her trust in him regardless. Who really were the Drifters? Who really were the Titans?
His body shook and his heart pounded and tears slipped from his eyes. He gripped the gun tightly and refused to let go. His chest was cold and hollow. He felt alone for the first time in his life. Then he felt a hand on his shoulder.
“Jupiter,” that silky voice said, “come with me. We can keep you safe.”
Jupiter felt his body relax. He did not realize how tense he was. He nodded in response, fighting back tears as the image of his grandfather burnt itself into his mind. It was the first of many memories to be burned into his mind, the kind of memories that made you drink and share with your grandkid when you really should not.
“I want to fight them,” Jupiter said. “Maybe not as a soldier, but I want to make sure no other kid ends up like me.”
Juno hesitated, her mouth stuck open like the words had caught in her throat. She knew he had to be fifteen at the highest due to the draft. She simply smiled and nodded.
“And you will, Jupe, if that is what you wish,” Juno said. “For now, focus on growing up.”
Jupiter found himself smiling. He could try, but he already knew his childlike innocence was gone forever. He watched the sun shine through the broken clouds to light up the broken city. The broken man simply laughed. He did not know when or how, but he would help topple the Titans.
For now, he would enjoy the view as the last Titan bomber fell from the sky in a ball of fire.
This was the second short story written for my fiction class. I hope you enjoyed it and feedback would be lovely!
Thank you,
Alex
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The Scars and The Bruises.
Running face first into the unknown without fear of emotionally dying. Heart break was a choice... no, I didn't mind trying.
I stood firm and defiant of the forces unknown. Though their powers, mighty, I would respect the strenght that they'd shown.
I would love with a Heart as Immense as a tower, upon the pinnacle of my being love was a bright and gentle shower.
But what lay underneath wasn't as it had seemed, but battering bruises and battlescars my body was teamed.
She said,"With such an immensely great resolve you've gained ignorance too." Evidently Her words cut closer and passed that much through.
She offered Holy wisdom with a fist and a plan, with every single waking moment challenged my purpose as a man.
I made a hard act to follow, moved quicker than young Apollo, laying low into myself an even harder pill to swallow.
Movement became the message, divisions my morning stretches, with her on mind yet I still played on them benches.
I layed low and prayed low until the brute was finally back, the force that grew course and always kept me off track.
The over thinking, heavy breathing, sinking ship of a man, the outcome of a Hydrogen Bomb crashing into the sand.
But soon on and there after, Fear became the master. Heart, a hardening plaster. A walking internal disaster.
Not knowing when to Love or if I was ever really Alone, longing for the day I'd receive the same love I had shown.
Turns out She made more of an impact when she tweeted. Turned round, left town and so later conceided.
So this was the story of the scars and the bruises.
Characterwise? Only the reader chooses.
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Fell off my longboard bombing down a hill on my way to work #ouch #longboard #battlescars #stillworking #rightbackonthehorse #gimp #yyj (at Victoria, British Columbia)
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Mirrodin, Part 6
Glissa suggests that the others go to Taj-Nar in order to get Raksha’s aid while she leads the levelers away. Slobad however goes back for Glissa and the levelers split to go after him as well. Slobad knows Glissa is going after Memnarch and refuses to let her go alone. A slagworm helps Slobad by slowing his pursuers long enough for him to catch up to Glissa. The two of them return to the lacuna where Glissa replenishes her magic. She manages to eliminate their pursuers and they make there way back to the core of Mirrodin. She realizes after an exchange with Memnarch’s golem that Slobad is no where to be found. It would seem that Memnarch has a new plan that involves the goblin.
Memnarch has mutated the vedalken and they take Slobad to the hastily rebuilt Panopticon using telekinetic powers. Glissa attempts to get into the Fortress, but is kicked unconcious by a mutated Orland. Bruenna comes and takes Glissa to safety. She nearly gets killed by armed Leonin guards because she just teleported in from nowhere. She gets Glissa to a healer and they’re able to convince Raksha that they’re friends of Glissa. Raksha reveals he’s been injured in a Nim attack and left his cousin to lead the battlefield. Unlike the times Geth was commanding them, the Nim seem more coordinated and aggressive, leading to the conclusion that someone else is controlling them.
Glissa, after reconciling with her sister, turn their attention to worrying about Slobad. Raksha assures them that Slobad isn’t to be counted out.The group decide to split up in order to find Geth and get the help of the goblins. The elves head to the Oxidda Chain but get ambushed by a Vulshock and goblin party (yet another human) whom states that he’s an ally of the goblins. The elves do not seem convinced enough to trust him. Meanwhile, Slobad is getting tortured by Memnarch and his golem. Memnarch wants the tinkerer to help construct a new machine that will extract Glissa’s planeswalker spark from her body. Back with the elves, they are semi-prisoners of the Vulshock-goblin when they come under attack by Leonin, who is led by Raksha.
After subduing the goblins and the Vulshok, Raksha hands the elves Geth’s severed head, whom is somehow still alive. Geth tells Glissa that Yert (who is a vampire now) will exchange Bruenna’s life for hers. Glissa agrees and Raksha heads off to the goblins while Glissa, Geth and the skyhunters go to Yert. Unfortunately, the Nim take out most of the skyhunters, leaving one and Glissa. Yert tries to feed on Nissa, but because he’s controlled by Memnarch, he is unable to since his master wants her alive. In the midst of the chaos inflicting Yert, the two escape to find Bruenna. The lone Leonin sacrifices herself after Glissa promises she’ll assist the Kha (Raksha). WIth Geth’s help, Glissa finds Bruenna surrounded by glowing cables. As she cuts though the cables, a flash of blue occurs and Bruenna disappears from view
Glissa awakens to find herself in the middle of the Glimmervoid, a featureless expanse of tiled metal. Bruenna is with her, appearing more battlescarred than Glissa remembers. that blue flash was a time freezing spell that surrounded Glissa and Geth, trapping them for five years. Glissa learns of the horrors that befelled Taj-Nar and how the Mephidross has expanded over Mirrodin. Yert and the Vedalken have formed an alliance and are warring with anyone who remains to stand in their way. Down in the core, Slobad puts the finishing touches on the spark transfer machine that has been five years in the making. The poor goblin has been tortured to the point he only wants to exert Memnarch’s wishes, but there’s still a portion of him that survives and starts trying to reassert control.
Glissa struggles to accept that the reality that now exists since it felt like no time has passed for her. They come under attack by Thopters, but Glissa uses her magic to easily dispatch them. Bruenna then casts flight on them and they head to the goblins for safety. She reunites with her sister, now the queen of the Leonin. Her sister became queen after they had exiled Raksha when he detonated a bomb on Taj-Nar, forcing the Leonin to flee the city. There has been no word from him since. They turn their attention to Yert, who has total control of the Nim through a device called the Miracore. If they can steal this device, they can grab the Nim to become allies of the Mirran alliance. They also discuss Memnarch whom they haven’t seen since Glissa’s disappearance. He’s been busy cleansing himself of the Mycosynth and when he’s done, he will be able to be destroyed by Glissa since he’ll be metal again.
As they wrap up the strategy meeting, the Nim attack the goblin residence. Bruenna gives Glissa a bracelet that will give her unlimited flight and a 2 use teleport spell, one to teleport where she wants and another to teleport back to where they are now. They head through the warren dodging Nim and vampires, tracking down Yert. They find him in the nursery where he is holding the children hostage. After an exchange between them, Glissa spots the device they need on Yert’s neck so she teleports inside Yert, blowing him up and capturing the device in the process. She sends the Nim back to the vault using the device. She then takes leave of her sister and Bruenna, intent on facing Memnarch once and for all.
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Jex gets schooled by ex-Honeymoon Suite member "Ray Coburn", Noirison asks a question of Harrison, and Mike unboxes Sven Gali (Short Videos)
I’ve edited three highlights from Saturday night’s show into three shorts below! Please enjoy:
1. “Ask Harrison” from “Noirison”: What would you do if moustaches were outlawed?
2. Mike unboxes an autographed Sven Gali CD, the brand new Bomb and Battlescars!
3. Last and best of all, “Roy Coburn” (ex-Honeymoon Suite) asks Jex: What is it you hate about my keyboard playing?
Jex’s reaction: …
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