Wyvern

Welcome back, Yog! :-) I like this poem, particularly when I view it in its original format. The fifth stanza, which sits at the center of the poem in the version with proper spacing, was my favorite part of the poem and was rightfully chosen as the poem's centerpiece in my opinion. The imagery in that stanza was excellent, as the boy playing with soldiers and the parallel image of the statesman both really drove across the overarching theme of the poem well. I think I like the stanzas that incorporate specific imagery pertaining to war and the soldier's child more than the initial stanzas depicting dark fantasy-style images, as those stanzas felt like an older style of poem to me. I'm also not sure if the first person that appears in the first two stanzas of the poem is necessary to the poem as a whole, as that person could just as easily be referenced as a third person like the characters of the later stanzas are. I really like the way that you position the stanzas, by the way, particularly in the way that the various exclamations are placed side by side.

Very well done overall, Yog. :-) It seems like you put a lot of time and effort into structuring this, and it shows. Nice to have you back with us!

With that, Wyvern steals one of the military hard hats from the area surrounding Yog's poem and places it on his noggin. The lizard then whimpers and slinks away in the hopes of avoiding any troll clubbing...

Wyvern snorts at the spectacle and rubs his sensitive snout, glancing at Blby out the corner of his eye and grumbling over the loss of yet another potential customer. The overgrown lizard tilts his head and observes the banter that passes between Professor Hassium and the mischievous guinea pig, then scratches his scaly chin as a thought enters his devious mind. He pulls out his Devil's Advocate folder and snatches a blank sheet of paper from it, then fiddles through his pockets for a leaky quill and begins scribbling furiously. Wyvern scrawls his signature at the bottom of the document, then lets out a hiss and wanders over to The Researcher before the ink has even had time to dry.

"Excussse me, Dr. Hassium?" Wyvern pokes the professor on the shoulder, getting his full attention. The Researcher seems to stare at Wyvern in fascination, possibly observing his scales for their scientific value. "Name's Wyvern, niccce to meet ya. Lisssten, I'd be happy to direct you to the quarters of Dr. Tzimfemmestein so that the you might become acquainted with the Mighty Pen's mad scientist facilities, but I'm afraid there's a little business item that we need to discuss firssst."

Wyvern holds up his freshly scribbled document, raising a claw to clauses XXVI and XXXII (minus the fine print).

"You sssee, my horns happen to be the private property of Almost Dragonic Inc., as is detailed in the relevent clauses of this document. Tressspassing on the horns results in a fine of 580 geld, to be paid in hard currency, as is dictated in clause XIII." Wyvern lets his forked tongue flick back and forth and points towards a particular passage, then raises a claw at the guinea pig. "I'm afraid that your tessst subject has not only broken the trespassing law, but hasss also broken the 'no pets' policy, resssulting in an additional 150 geld fine for a total of 750 geld (20 geld service charge added)."

Wyvern rolls up the sheet of paper with a single swift movement, then extends a claw.

"If you pay up promptly, I jussst might be able to point yer guinea pig in the direction of Guido and Nuncio as well..."

;-)

I really like the way that this poem's structure relays the feeling of a dance, reverie. :-) I find the manner that you incorporate punctuation and line breaks in the third and fourth stanzas particularly effective, as it conveys a change of tempo that feels like a dance flowing in tighter, faster movements. Very nice use of a traditional poetic form. I agree with you that the ending is the weakest point of the poem, but I wouldn't go so far to say that it sucks... dropping the repetition of "Just ask" might be a step towards improving it, since that element didn't seem to add anything in my opinion.

Anyway, well done reverie. :-) Thanks for sharing this, I hope you got a good grade on it.

Wyvern barges into the Cabaret Room without the slightest bit of consideration for shy types, dragging a long line of frying pans leftover from Elvina's room on his tail stinger. He speeds up at the sight of Blby next to the Cabaret table, rushing through the room in a racket of clanging metal. The reptilian Elder's speed breezes over Tanuchan and Mynx's respective furs and sends Ozymandias' mustache into a spin. Blby's eyes practically bulge from their sockets at the sight of the crimson-scaled almost dragon approaching, and he darts under the table in the hopes of escaping from the other side only to be caught by his collar. Wyvern lifts the small newcomer up with a claw until he's facing his snout and then grins a grin of razor sharp teeth.

"Greetingssss Blby." Wyvern lifts a bag labeled "Almost Dragonic Brand Extra-Tough Orange Rinds™" and dangles it in front of Blby's face. "I was wondering if I might interessst you in a lil' product of mine, 25 geld cheap. Oh, welcome to the Pen by the way."

;-)

A loud buzzing sound echoes out from pitch black screens across the Pen before static ensues. Once the wavey lines of gray have slowed to a reasonable pitch, the screens display a fuzzy image of Wyvern's legs and tail sticking out of a large window on the side of one of the Pen's many spiral towers. The cameras blank out again just as the overgrown lizard's features slide the rest of the way into the room. They refocus several minutes later inside of a wide circular Pen chamber, and turn to home in on a dresser drawer that Wyvern has been digging through. The reptilian Elder tosses wing robes left and right, sniffing at them and observing their colorful and potentially sexy designs. He lifts a baige see-through wing cloak with star designs and goes cross-eyed, only to notice the news cameras. He quickly clears his throat.

"*Ahem!* Greetingsss, welcome to the Almost Report." Wyvern bites his lip and moves in front of the wing cloak, blocking it from view. "This evening, we take you to the secretive Pen quarters of Elvina for an exclusssive tour in celebration of her birthday, which occured last week."

Wyvern turns and pulls up a string of brightly painted frying pans, which rattle in a series of clangs and crashes. He lets one of his claws roll down the edges of the pans, resulting in a sound that could be the considered metallic equivalent of fingernails on a chalkboard.

"Sssince we're also celebrating Racouol's birthday today, I figured I'd inaugurate this Almost Dragonic Brand Kitchen Utensil Party Decoration Set™." Wyvern grins and holds up the string of frying pans, shaking it. "Ssstay tuned as we attempt to give Elvina's quarters a lil' makeover. But to start things off, a few other news items."

Wyvern tosses the frying pan lineup to the side in a typically reckless manner, then dusts off his tunic and raises a news sheet to his snout.

"At the top of the news this evening: The Mighty Pen "Narratives" compilation is now available for digital download, and features selections from a number of well-known pennites with fine tastes in music. This latest project from Almost Draconic Recordings has received a good amount of positive feedback from the pressss, including glowing reviews from Canid, Big Pointy One, Racouol, and Asmadeus. The music, artwork, and lyrics for the compilation can be downloaded for free, right here, right now! Get yoursss today, and feel free to drop your thoughts on it in the Mighty Pen "Narratives" discussion thread."

Wyvern winces at the sharp sound of clashing metal as troglyodytes decorate Elvina's couch with several layers of frying pans. He flips his news sheet in the air and turns it over, distracting the cameras by continuing his report.

"In further news, voting Pen members are still encouraged to submit their thoughts on the September promotions vote to voting@themightypen.net if they haven't done so yet. The vote clossses on September 20th, which is soon, so get yer thoughts in before it's too late. Bribesss still accepted."

Wyvern almost bangs his head on a hanging set of frying pans as he makes his way back to Elvina's dresser drawer, marveling at the new kitchen cupboard feel of the room.

"To wrap up this report, be sure to give our newest member, Blby, a warm pennite welcome. He ssseems to be a little on the shy side, but toss him some citrus and he should be A-O.K. Tell'im Almost Dragonic Inc. sent ya."

The cameras move forward as Wyvern begins digging through Elvina's garments again, only to ram into one of the many hanging frying pans. Cue darkness.

Nice poem, Silver Wind. :-) The concept of hearing a beckoning call from an illusion of idealized love created by oneself is very interesting, and I like how the illusion initially seems real and then is gradually revealed for what it is in the poem. The descriptions of the love interest reminded me of a siren, and were very nice for the most part. I also like how the poem ends, with the acknowledgement that the narrator will never possess the illusion but that it's still a part of him/her.

In terms of possible things to improve, I found the reference to the heart as a "blood organ attributed to love" in the second stanza a bit off-putting and overly poetic. I do appreciate the originality of referencing a heart in a way that's not typically thought of, though, and perhaps you could expand and rearrange that section of the poem to really make the image stand out. There's definitely potential in it, I think.

Wyvern carefully considers the sea association, the potential illusionary state, and the fog comparison. He snorts and decides that the Sea Witch is simply not a babe of the Midnight Witch caliber, and that he won't be requesting any photos of this one... unless, of course, Silver Wind can convince him that this one IS worthy of his collection... ;-)

Prior to Sora Hikari's discovery later that night...

Wyvern turns to mai with a sneer of razor sharp teeth, rubbing his claws together at the prospect of a series of Almost Dragonic Brand Blackened Belts™. The overgrown lizard sticks out his tongue as he grinds the estimates for initial sales figures through his head, then slithers up to mai and pats him on the shoulder.

"An interesssting idea indeed -one that dessserves its own Conservatory space, I might add." Wyvern sneers, then swings his tail and turns to exit the quarters of the old Pen. "Now if you'll excussse me, I need to go work on a prototype for Almost Dragonic Brand Cartoon-Enhancing 3D Contact Lensesss™. Not to mention find a test subject."

;-)

OOC: These are some great ideas for RP threads, mai takekaze and Sora Hikari, but I think that they're different stories and that they both deserve Conservatory threads of their own. :-) If you'd like me to move your last posts to seperate threads (or a seperate thread) in the Conservatory, feel free to PM me and I'd be happy to do so. As it stands, I'm going to lock this thread since I feel that this particular story is completed. Thanks to everyone who participated!

Ladies and gents,

After over a year in the making, Almost Draconic Recordings proudly presents to you The Mighty Pen "Narratives," a compilation of story tracks selected by a wide variety of pennites which flows smoothly from front to back, both musically and conceptually. This thing has been a real struggle to make, but I couldn't be prouder of the end result, and I hope that you feel the same way. It is now available for free download, along with the cover artwork and lyrics. The lyrics document also features thoughts about each of the tracks, both from myself and from a number of the people who selected the tracks. I couldn't get each person's thoughts on the tracks they selected since absences do occur, but I'm planning on archiving the lyrics and thoughts in the Library so that people who were missed can add their thoughts at anytime. Anyway, without further ado...

The Mighty Pen "Narratives"

1) Coven "One Tin Soldier" (chosen by Peredhil)

2) Dana Lyons "Cows with Guns" (chosen by Venefyxatu)

3) Dispatch "The General" (chosen by Merelas)

4) Sublime "Date Rape" (chosen by Appy)

5) The World/Inferno Friendship Society "Me vs. The Angry Mob" (chosen by Whisky in Babylon)

6) Bernard Cribbens "Hole in the Ground" (chosen by Canid)

7) The Corsairs "Peter Street" (chosen by Racouol)

Richard Thompson "Vincent Black Lightning 1952" (chosen by Gwaihir)

9) Audra McDonald "Stars and the Moon" (chosen by Tralla)

10) Louis Logic & JJ Brown "A Perfect Circle" (chosen by Wyvern)

11) Sufjan Stevens "Casimir Pulaski Day" (chosen by Happybuddha)

12) The Decemberists "The Bagman's Gambit" (chosen by Mira)

13) Hayden "Skates" (chosen by The Big Pointy One)

14) Carrie Underwood "Jesus, Take the Wheel" (chosen by Wrenwind)

The tracks, artwork, and lyrics can be downloaded here:

http://www.themightypen.net/Mighty%20Pen%20Narratives/

If you'd prefer to download a folder with the tracks, art, and lyrics directly to your computer, you can also download them as a zip file by clicking here:

http://www.themightypen.net/Mighty%20Pen%2...nNarratives.zip

A quick note before you listen: this is a compilation that was designed to be listened to from front to back in the order presented in the tracklisting. Several of the tracks are edited for smooth transitions between songs, and to experience this CD fully you should listen to it all the way through in the order that was intended. I would highly recommend importing all of the songs into a playlist of some sort so that you don't have to pause between each track to download the next one - tempo and smoothness are crucial for this compilation.

Anyway, please enjoy. Let me know what you think in this thread if you get a chance, I worked on it for a looonnng time! I'm not going to say that I'm a fan of all the musicians included on here, but I do think they merge together to form a cohesive whole.

Finally, please be on the lookout for the next release from Almost Draconic Recordings: The Mighty Pen "Epilogue EP", featuring music selections from Patrick, Kikuyu Black Paws, The Portrait of Zool, mai takekaze, and more! Coming sooner than you think... :-D

Wyvern nudges his way into the Cabaret Room, dragging a pulley connected to a large curtained cart that rolls along the Cabaret rug. The platform of the curtained object creaks and splinters as Wyvern tugs at the cord, and the extra-large Celes Crusador Cafe tablecloth that covers the cart nearly drops when it's pulled to a halt. Wyvern lets go of the pulley and lets out a long hiss, melting to the floor and stretching his wings to rest for a moment. The reptilian Elder perks his snout up when Cabaret observers begin nudging his tail with their feet. He quickly clears his throat and pounces back into a standing position.

"Greetingsss all." Wyvern raises a claw and hiccups a small puff of smoke. "Just dropping in to wish Brute and Thinas a happy birthday. I got'em thisss little gift, which I think will suite the occasion nicely."

Wyvern circles the wide, cylindrical shape of the object, brushing its tablecloth cover with a claw.

"Ssseptember is a season of many great meadsss, dark elf meads included." Wyvern grins and winks to the spectators. "So, in honor of the booze prophet and the skilled dark elf, I thought it'd only be right to offer them this token of appreciation."

Wyvern pulls off the tablecloth cover, revealing a large wooden keg that reeks of alcohol.

"That'sss right. It's a keg of gunpowder to provide you with ammunition should someone wish to steal your booze." Wyvern nods and claps his claws together, ignoring the blank stares of the Cabaret crowd. "Sssorry that it smells like booze, I was doing a bit of drinking beforehand."

;-)

OOC: Happy birthday, Brute and Thinas! Hope you guys have great ones.

Thanks for the reviews everyone, I'm enjoying reading your thoughts. :-) On the subject of "Babel," I think my opinion falls between Zadown's and Elvina's, though it might be leaning a little more towards Elvina's since I didn't think that the ends of the film really justified the means. I did find the Japan story kind of interesting, though... my full review of the film is earlier in the thread if you want to check it out.

I've been tagging along with relatives to various films as of late, and recently watched "3:10 to Yuma" and "Hairspray." I wasn't particularly excited about seeing either film, but they more or less met expectations and were pretty entertaining.

"3:10 to Yuma" is a recent Western movie starring Russel Crowe and Christian Bale that's been getting a lot of acclaim in the US. It's a pretty good flick, though not mindblowing by any means. Russel Crowe is predictably excellent as the main outlaw being taken to execution, and his humor and attitude are the major highlights of the picture to me. That's not to say that the supporting actors aren't good, since Bale delivers in his role as well. The final city-wide shootout scene was a little over-the-top, but also kind of original for a Western film. Worth checking out if Westerns are your genre of choice.

"Hairspray" is a new musical (*gag*) with an all-star cast featuring John Travolta, Christopher Walken, and Michelle Pfeiffer amongst others. Though most of the musical numbers in the film are awful and John Travolta couldn't sing a note if his life depended on it, it's still a pretty well done movie with a nice point about race relations and some cool acting. Christopher Walken and Michelle Pfeiffer are both terrific in their respective roles, though Travolta fails to impress in his role as the ugly wife of Christopher Walken's character... there was some potential there, but Travolta's acting pales in comparison to Walken's. In terms of singers, Queen Latifah struck me as the best vocalist of the bunch, though the songs were all low points of the film for me. Not bad, but not really my cup of tea.

Still waiting for "The Darjeeling Limited" and "No Country for Old Men."

The news cameras aim upwards at a sharp vertical angle, filming bark, leaves, and scattered troglyodytes that hang from ropes to apply touches of makeup. Wyvern grunts as he climbs up to the next branch of the mighty tree, his claws shredding bark and his tail stinger picking up plenty of loose leaves. The overgrown lizard seats himself upon the branch with a pant and an unnerving creak, glancing around the tree's living space and admiring the lack of spider webs and general cleansliness of the quarters.

"Greetingssss, and thanks for joining the Almost Report for our second Pen treetop excursion." Wyvern wheezes a brief smoke signal of sorts, then wobbles to his feet and rubs his claws together. "Today, we take you live to Annael's special tree for one of our typical news camera invasssions, and possibly a bit of undergarment digging on the side."

Wyvern bites his scaly lip as he moves forward, spreading his wings for balance as he makes his way down the branch towards the tree's base. The leaves seem to bloom in color as butterflies awaken from almost every leaf, stretching their wings and turning in Wyvern's direction.

"In today'sss news-" Wyvern jumps and falls forward as a huge rush of butterflies circles his branch with speedy and effortless precision. The reptilian Elder clutches at the bark of the tree's base and hugs it with a nervous laugh, not looking down at the cameras (or looking down at all, for that matter). Wyvern gulps, then clears his throat and speaks with a nervous squeak, his feet trembling. "I-in today's news, voting Pen members are encouraged to cast their votes in the latest set of Pen promotions. Closssing date for thessse September promotion votes is September 20th, which gives ya plenty of time to come up with a bribe to sway the vote amongst other things, but the sooner you participate the better. All votesss (and bribes) are appreciated."

Wyvern turns his back towards the base of the tree and breaths a sigh of relief, having finally regained his balance. He scratches his chin and then begins pulling on branches that lean down above him to shake them, hoping to eventually uncover Annael's panties repository by trial and error. The lizard hisses a string of curses when each of his shakes proves to be fruitless, and pauses as gangs of butterflies swarm at him from each branch.

"In further newsss this evening, the Almost Report would like to remind our newer pennites that in addition to collaborative creative activities, there are plenty of non-creative activities that we'd love to sssee you participate in." A news box formed entirely out of butterflies appears in the right-hand corner of the screen. The butterflies dodge and weave into the shapes of the things that Wyvern's talking about. "Be it thoughts on movies, thoughts on music, or sssimply things you've learned (including things you've learned concerning the merits of Almost Dragonic Brand Products), we'd love for you to chip in to get to know you better. There's even a section for sharing pictures, though we ask that you apply to the Pen and stick around with us for a while prior to browsing through there."

With that, Wyvern nods and kneels down to inspect the bark of the branch he's standing on, hoping to find some hot undergarments hidden under the layers of tree. The branch snaps under Wyvern's full weight, and the lizard screams as he falls through several gnarled branch tips. A rescue net of butterflies manages to catch Wyvern to soften his fall a bit, but not before the lizard's speed and weight manage to knock out the Almost Report's news cameras...

"Oxygen mocks me!" cried Tick-Tock Man,

his bolts and time gone all screwy.

"Clockface? How dare he! It really is scary,

these thoughts of clocks going kablooey"

Poetry Pooper just took out a pad

and started jotting some notes.

"If clocks these thoughts chime on Tick-Tock Man's time

they really are worthy of quotes."

Wyvern grunts as he shoves a projector leftover from his "Opal Eyes" lecture into the Cabaret Room. The overgrown lizard pants and dusts off his claws, then grabs a hook at the bottom of the projector stand with his tail stinger and tugs at it. He shifts the direction of the stand until the projector light is facing a large screen, which happens to be a section of Happybuddha's stomach. Wyvern hisses and slams down on the top of the projector until it starts projecting a hazy version of the nebula image.

"Now, the way I sssee it, the border of this image is a Crumpled Paper Bag Asteroid Field, which was brought to space by Almost Dragonic Brand DisAstral Trash Disposal Servicesss™. The field provides the borders for an astral canvas, which some higher being hit with an abstract paint job. The way I interpret it, the whitesss are supposed to represent oxygen flowing, while the maroon ssside of things is supposed to be the twin hearts beating. Regardless of what it all means, it looks like the being received a pretty penny for it, since those little white dots must amount to no less than a thousand crowns. Shiny onesss, at that... it's enough to make me consider incorporating astronaut scouts in Almost Dragonic Brand DisAstral Trash Disposal Services™."

Wyvern snorts, then grins to himself and pulls out a small book bound in a cheap cardboard dustjacket.

"Of courssse, it's all explained here in this handy-dandy Almost Dragonic Brand DisAstral Trash Disposal Constellation Guide™, which features such memorable numbers as the Big Dumpster, OIron and Rubber Bandromeda. 80 geld, cheap." Wyvern holds the book in the air. "No squirrels were harmed in the making of this guide... only trees, plants, birds, deer, and fish."

Wyvern turns back towards the image of the nebula and raises a claw to his chin.

"Of courssse, I still have trouble explaining the odd oval-shaped image at the center of the picture..."

"Uhhh... Wyvern? That's Happybuddha's navel."

;-)

Nice poem, hig4s. :-) I really like the arrangement of the words in the first stanza and the rhythm that you give to the negative adjectives and verbs, though the "yet remains hot" of the fourth line felt a bit more like an afterthought to me and you might consider rephrasing that segment. You set a nice tone for the poem in the way that you punctuate your lines and organize your dark vocabulary, which makes for a smooth read. It's interesting how you end the poem with "Sticks and stones preferred," since the poem itself is so focussed on the arrangement of negative words... I think it makes the emotions behind the piece clearer. Well done.

Wyvern steps into the Banquet Hall wearing a tacky suite covered in glittery green dollar bin symbols and puffy crimson gloves. The reptilian Elder adjusts the gold bar tie that's been knotted too low and tight around his neck, then passes by Silver Wind with a wink and wanders up to Regel. He taps Regel on the shoulder and strikes a sleazy salesman grin.

"Cool poem Reg." Wyvern clears his throat and pulls out a parchment that extends to the floor. The document rolls over Regel's feet and continues rolling down the hall with unsettling length. "Lisssten, I have this contract for the development of Almost Dragonic Brand Anti-Solicitor Wards™ and a couple thousand empty signature ssspaces that you might want to take a look at..."

;-)

"Katzzaaaannnniiieeeeellllll!"

Katzaniel freezes up and braces herself at the sound of a familiar reptilian voice, which echoes closer at an alarming rate. Wyvern spreads his wings and pounces, narrowly missing Katzaniel and glomping a faceful of Cabaret carpet instead. The tigertaur winces at the sight of Wyvern removing his snout from between two floor tiles, but slunches her shoulders and just stares as the lizard revels in a leftover piece of candy found under the carpet fibers.

"*Ahem* Great to sssee you Katz, welcome back." Wyvern grins and shakes Katzaniel's paw, then pulls her in for a quick hug. "I certainly missed ya. How about a quick drink?"

Wyvern licks his lips and stares up at the ceiling as he digs deep into his belt pouch. He eventually pulls out half a bottle of Bruteweiser, a quarter of a lime, and a sixth of an Almost Dragonic Brand Indestructable Beer Mug™. Wyvern stares down at the broken fragment with a snort, then uses it to uncap the bottle and hands the booze to Katz.

"I wouldn't worry much 'bout adminissstration, all that leaderly mumbo-jumbo's been under control for a while now... just takes the right amount of bribes and a lil' flattery on the side. I think that just having your creative presence around here is enough to inspire, though, so don't hesssitate to join into things and have a little fun." Wyvern pauses, then nudges Katz with a scaly shoulder and lifts his snout to her ear. "Though I would like to see those wedding pics when you get a chance."

The blurry camera lenses gradually focus in on what appears to be a construction zone set up across a Pen hallway. Crimson striped construction tape is spread out to block the arched entrances to the hall, and troglyodyte underlings are hard at work squinting and knocking at various places along the walls. Some of the troglyodytes are lifted to the ceiling area by means of Almost Dragonic Brand Mini Construction Paper Cranes™, which sporadically collapse under the weight of the underlings. The cameras move forward as Wyvern steps into the hall, cursing at someone over a portable crystal ball.

"Waddaya mean there aren't any Khaydonsss available?" Wyvern snarls into the crystal ball and cuts off the incantation with a snort, stuffing the crystal ball into his pouch with a scowl. He freezes up when he notices that the news cameras are recording, then quickly brushes back the scales on his head and switches to an evil grin. "Greetingsss, and welcome to the Almost Report. This evening, we hope to take you live to Valdar's secretive quarters for an exclusive almost dragonic invasion. As sssoon as we can find the door, which should be any minute now..."

Wyvern raises a claw and turns to the busy troglyodytes, who look confused and seem more preoccupied with scooping bug snacks from the wall cracks than finding secret entrances. Wyvern pulls a whip from his belt and cracks it down twice, hissing something about troglyodyte skin boots being in season and sending the underlings into overdrive. The overgrown lizard sighs and lifts a mic to his snout.

"Well, while my news crew continues searching, this evening's headline is a reminder that the Piazza of Portraits remains open to the latest in fashionable character art and photography. Newer Pen members are highly encouraged to contribute a character portrait of themselves for other pennites to familiarize themselvesss with if they haven't done so yet. Take it from yer ol' pal Wyvern: to get the mossst out of this community, you'll want to have a character founded in thessse halls for me to market products too." Wyvern snickers and rubs his claws together. "And on a ssslightly related note, the Almost Report is still searching for a cute female intern or two to liven things up around here. Willingness to increassse show ratings by wearing scanty outfits a major plus, affection towards scaly lizards also a bonus. Jussst slip a PM over to yers truly if yer interesssted *wink wink.*"

The sounds of snapping paper and reptilianoid screams interrupt Wyvern as the troglyodyte who had injured himself on the Almost Report several times before comes crashing down with one of the Almost Dragonic Brand Mini Construction Paper Cranes™. Wyvern grumbles to himself and steps over to the scene of the wreckage, tossing a bill for the broken machine on top of the pile of cheap paper and scales.

"In further newsss this evening, Almost Draconic Recordingsss has informed us that the tentative releassse date for the Mighty Pen "Narratives" compilation has been set for September 14th, though there's always the possibility that the date may be pushed back. Rumor hasss it that the tracklisting has been finalized, but that some final tweeks are being made to the accompanying lyric sheetsss prior to hosting it digitally."

Wyvern grunts and pulls out a blueprint for the halls of the Pen, rotating it sideways and then upsidedown.

"Now if you'll excussse me, I'm gonna set about finding this dang door."

With that, Wyvern begins trailing along the walls of the hall with his tail stinger, shoving several troglyodytes and objects to the side as he passes through. This includes the news cameras, which promptly black out.

Very nice poem, mindofvividcolours. :-) I think that the last two stanzas were my favorites, as I thought that "Nestled in the marmalade fur./ She touched each black stripe." was a beautiful passage that really conveyed the comfort that the girl feels with the tiger and her caring towards him. The simplicity of the last stanza was also very sweet and well-placed, and seemed to sum up the poem nicely. I also liked the knowledgeable nature of the tiger, and the manner that the girl seemed almost mystified by him at times. The prosaic style of this poem also makes me wonder if there's the potential for expansion into a longer story, which I'm sure could also make for an interesting read. :-)

There were a few word choices that made the meanings of lines somewhat ambiguous to me, with two standing out in particular. In the fourth stanza, I'm uncertain what the "it" refers to... the tiger's claws or eyes came to mind, but those would both be plural. You may want to clarify that stanza a bit with some alternate phrasing or word choice. Also, I wasn't quite sure what the word "poster" referred to in the first stanza... do you mean a poster as in the material object that you hang up on a wall, a poster as in someone who posts on the internet, or some alternative meaning? There weren't really any other references to it throughout the rest of the poem to my knowledge, so perhaps the word isn't necessary.

Anyway, I enjoyed reading this poem mindofvividcolours. :-) Thank you for sharing it!

Wyvern raises a claw in the air and turns towards McFrog, his scaly face a knot of rage and his jaw agape in a full frontal display of razor sharp teeth.

"Ssstop, THIEF!"

The reptilian Elder sprints to the window and grabs at the other end of his sack of geld, hooking it with one of his claws. A frantic cry twists its way down his tongue as he pulls and tears the sack with his claws. Geld spills out in every direction, pouring out of the window and into the inescapable pits of the Office mess. Wyvern grits his teeth and flings his claws back and forth, catching as much of the fleeting loot as he can. He grabs one particularly large shiny object and turns to examine its net value, only to find that he's caught Frank McFrog by the shoulder.

"You." Wyvern snarls and lifts the golden frog "statue" by his neck collar, looking him dead in the eyes. "Look at what you've done! Thossse funds were gonna go into the production of Almost Dragonic Brand Spontaneously Combustible Pillows™, so that consssumers would be able to buy heat for their Almost Dragonic Brand Self Heating Blankets™. And now my plans're ruined, you toad!"

Wyvern tears at the scales on his head with his available claw, then drags Frank McFrog to the Recruiter's Desk and forces him to face his application portfolio.

"And how DARE you attempt to pass off the storiesss of respectable pennites as your own." Wyvern points at the application documents and stares Frank McToad down so hard that his frog tongue loses its sticky-ness for a moment. "Plagiarisssm is an offense punishable by instant rejection and banning from the Pen, which is exactly what I'm gonna do. Disssgraceful! Just wait 'till I give Ozy a buzz."

Frank McFrog frantically attempts to hop away, but finds himself still caught in Wyvern's unrelenting grip. The overgrown lizard drags the shiny frog across the room until he reaches the Office's only serviceable crystal ball. He begins chanting the contact info for Ozymandias' Tower quarters, but stops mid-incantation as a diabolical thought enters his mind. The overgrown lizard clears his throat of a few ashes, then slowly turns his head towards Frank McFrog and sneers with a gentler look in his beady eyes.

"Y'know what, though? I'm not gonna ban or reject you, Mr. McFrog. I've had a sudden change of heart."

Frank McFrog lets his limbs hang in relief for a moment, then glances up at Wyvern with an inquisitive ribbit. The reptilian Elder continues dragging him through the Office, and stops when he reaches a tall door covered in cobwebs at the far end of the room.

"No no, banning and rejecting you would be far too light a punishment. Inssstead, I'm gonna auction you off as a television gameshow prop." Wyvern opens the tall door with a sneer, revealing the creepy darkness of his seldom-used Office closet. The bones of past applicants dot the moldy floor like Minta's skeleton confetti. Wyvern shoves Frank McFrog into the dungeon-like closet quarters, then slams the door behind him and locks it with a grin. "Have fun in there while you contemplate being sold. And welcome to the Pen, however short your visit may be."

Wyvern snickers to himself and takes out a blank sheet of paper from his Devil's Advocate folder, scribbling Frank McFrog's name on it and stamping it ACCEPTED. The overgrown lizard slides the ACCEPTED sheet under the closet door so that McFrog can observe it, ignoring the applicant's increasingly frequent ribbits.

;-)

OOC: An ACCEPTED application, Frank McFrog. Welcome to the Mighty Pen. :-) I look forward to reading more of your stuff, even if it is from the depths of the infamous Office closet... ;-)

"Ya sure? It might look blue, but it tastes purple I ssswear!"

Wyvern licked the icing from his claws as he continued piling things onto his plate, having forgotten the reason that he'd trekked deeper into Yui's shadow manor in the first place. The overgrown lizard sneered and picked at the considerable portions stuck between his scaly teeth, his ego extra-bloated over having acted as Tzimfemme's personal party escort. He took a moment to bask in his own reptilian pride, glowing like a red light district sign in the room's shadow realm atmosphere, then gestured to reverie and pointed towards an available seat. After licking the remaining grease from his bib, Wyv raised his mug of booze and let a long hiss slide from his snout:

"Cheerssssssssssssssssssssss."

:-)

"Oh wait, hold on a sec." William picked up his "How to Walk Like a Proper Librarian" book from the bloody grass and flipped over to the appendix, browsing for the sections on proper Librarian appearances. "Let's see here... glasses, moustaches, token ear pencils, dust bunnies... ah, here we are, goatees. Saysss here that 70% of librarians don't have goatees. It also says that 98% of librarians don't have hornsss. Hrmph, no wonder they're considered such nerds."

"An' a extra curvy horn! An' wiggy eyebrows!"

William glances down at Minta with a frown, then looks over at the eager floating Pen with an even deeper frown. He tries to pull off his moustache in the hopes of having a weapon should he need to defend himself against excess makeup, only to realize that it's now stuck on his snout. Wasting no time, Wylliam flips through his book until he reaches the chapter on how librarians are supposed to dash full speed to head. The adjective "quietly" is the only thing listed as a resource.

"Weeellllll, I guess I better be off." William waves to Minta and the Pen with a nervous laugh, then starts tip-toeing full speed ahead in what happens to be the direction of the forest. Due to the tip-toe technique, the librarian's pace measures at little more than a fast walk. "Let me know how that drawing stuff turns out!"

"Excuse me, sir? I don't see you listed for an appointment."

Wyvern ignores the voice of the cloak-hooded girl with the white hair behind him as he wanders further into the large decorative chamber, motioning towards the camera people with a claw so that they'll follow him in. The overgrown lizard hisses deeply as he glances over the impressive decor of the chamber, admiring the fine array of weapons on the walls and swatting tatami mats to the side with his tail with each step. Wyvern pauses at a bookshelf and pulls out a supplemental guide for the RPG "Small Eyes, Big Wallet," then turns to the cameras as he wanders over to a beautiful screen door.

"Greetingsss, and welcome to another episode of the Almost Report." Wyvern halts as he reaches the image of a Heian period Geisha that rests on a screen. He extends a claw out to the motif like a TV shopping channel salesman. "Thisss evening, we take you live to the abode of mai takekaze for a look at his deluxe gardening shack headquarters. As always, no permission has been obtained, rendering thisss visit all the more exciting for viewers."

"No permission?" The hooded girl with the white hair in the background places her hands on her hips. "Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to-"

"In tonight'sss news: the Almost Report would like to alert Pen poets to the wide variety of collaborative poetry exercisesss hosted by Silver Wind in the Muse and Quill Café." Wyvern leans back against the the screen with the Geisha designs, his wingspan testing its durability. "Poets are encouraged to tessst their topic handling skills, their stream of conscious techniquesss, and their abilities to weave webs of lines (an exercise Pen poets are also encouraged to continue here). The more collaborative and intertwined the poetry, the better. Booze ssstreams of conscious and expensive web line quilts are also highly encouraged."

Wyvern scratches one of his horns and shifts his weight against the screen, causing it to bend and creak. He then lifts a claw to his snout and whispers into his microphone.

"For the record, Sssilver Wind is also a dang good photographer." Wyvern winks to the camera. "You might consssider striking a bargain with her if yer in search of a photo that's difficult to obtain. Jussst be sure to warm her up with a lil' poem response beforehand."

"Step away from that screen!"

Wyvern gulps and scurries away from the Geisha screen as the cloak-hooded girl approaches with a hefty-looking Anti-Wyvern mallet, taken from the wall of weapons. The overgrown lizard stumbles his way through the width of the room and trips over a news camera wire on the ground, falling face first into mai's kotetsu cushions and causing an cloud of feathers as his scales hit the fabric. The girl with the hammer curses and races up to Wyvern, only to be distracted by the sight of the troglyodyte cameramen indulging in food from mai's refrigerator. Wyvern ceases his squeaky whimpering and pleas as the girl storms off in the direction of the troglyodytes, and uses the opportunity to snatch the microphone from its position on the floor.

"To wrap up thisss report, a reminder that the Almossst Report is happy to broadcast any newsss items you might have for us. Jussst PM us any collaborative project or event you'd like to have us announce, and we'll be happy to twist it in a way that conveys the information with a subliminal advertisement for Almost Dragonic Products." Wyvern lifts himself to his feet and wipes the stray feathers from his scales, flinching at the thumping sounds of troglyodytes as they hit the ground. "Also, a reminder that the report is perpetually in search of hot female internsss - you know who to write! Until next time..."

Wyvern bows to the camera in front of him, not noticing the Anti-Wyvern mallet as it's slowly raised over his scaly noggin. The camera blacks out just as the weapon falls towards his horns.

Nice poem, Silver Wind. :-) I like the use of the word "pulse" in the tenth line, as the beat of the line and the moon reference following it do feel like they could occur in a pulse. Your uses of dark adjectives and imagery throughout the poem also give it a kind of scary tone, which works quite well. I also like the way that the poem starts with the quickening of the heartbeat, and the thought of the stars as eyes made me think of a giant bug. Out of curiousity, was the odd syntax of the lines "up crooked arm/ presented in of fearing" intention? I like the arrangement of those lines, but at the same time their syntax feels a lot different than that of the rest of the poem.

I recently watched "The Lives of Others" on DVD. It's a German film based on the secret police of socialist East Germany during the 1980s, and focuses on the corruption and surveillance methods that they used while at the same time offering a surprisingly humanistic portrayal of some of those involved. The film won "Best Foreign Film" at last year's Oscars and has received rave reviews across the board, so I thought I'd give it a try. I thought it was a solid good movie with some well-developed characters and a very nice ending, but it didn't quite measure up to "Pan's Labyrinth" in the "2006 Foreign Film" book. It was still better than any of the American movies that won Oscars last year, though, and I don't regret having seen it.

After purchasing and re-watching it several times, I can also safely say that "Inland Empire" is my favorite movie from 2006. "Pan's Labyrinth" and "Borat" were also great to me, but "Inland Empire" really is in a league of its own and never gets old. Every time I watch it, I end up viewing it from a completely different lens and perspective, which is very refreshing. Enormous replay value. Of course, not everyone will be into it... in fact, it'll probably only appeal to a select group of people, since it's pretty darn artsy and piecing together the fragmented plot doesn't really seem to be possible. It'll also rack your brain and shock your senses at points. Still, in terms of experiencing a woman's deeply internal thoughts and fears on-screen, it's damn near unparalleled and a huge accomplishment from Lynch. This movie leaves an impression so strong that it's difficult to get it out of your head after watching it, even weeks after seeing it. Only the daring in search of something entirely abstract and experimental need apply, but it's essential viewing for those people. You can read my original review of it here.

A word to those who skipped "Grindhouse" in theatres and were planning on checking it out on DVD: it seems that you missed out. Tarantino and Rodriguez are releasing extended versions of the films on two seperate DVDs (one for each film) but these films have been edited to include more scenes and are supposedly different from the original theatrical presentation. The DVDs apparently won't include the hilarious fake B-movie trailers and lost film reel moments of the original screenings, for example. I'm really glad that I managed to catch it while it was still in movie houses... it's a shame that it bombed so badly in the US. You can read my original review of "Grindhouse" here.

In terms of films that I'm looking forward to seeing in the future: Wes Anderson's new flick "The Darjeeling Limited" is coming out in September and looks pretty promising. The Coen Brothers also have a new film coming out in November called "No Country for Old Men," which is apparently some kind of Western thriller that features Tommy Lee Jones amongst others.

This is a very good piece of writing, Zadown. :-) The way that you detail elements of reality with the abstract imagery of the wasp dream is very striking and original, and seems to communicate the feel and impression of the dream through the events that transpire. My favorite moment of this imagery might be in the final paragraph, where the computers and fans seem to take on the roles of the wasps. There's also something sad and fascinating about the way that you end the piece with a reference to the narrator's "paper body," and I felt a similar element of sadness in the description of the wolves that gobble up gibberish lectures. It feels sort of like an inescapable despair that courses through the piece, which gives the writing a strong tone and leaves an impression by the time that the story is over.

Anyway, this is very well done, both in its uses of language and in its concept and execution. On a side note: if your writing involves dreams and powerful impressions, you really should try and check out "Inland Empire" at some point... -_O