Wyvern

Wyvern clears a few ashes from his throat and wanders to a tilted podium at the front of the Conservatory. The idle Conservatory crowds raise their brows as they watch Wyvern's tail clack along the carpet, a long line of snapped mousetraps armoring his scales. The overgrown lizard pulls his tail up to the podium stand with some effort, letting out a loud whimper as a sharp snap echoes through the halls. He then bumps the podium microphone in a loud screech of static and stammers, casting a jagged grin of teeth to the crowds. "Greetingsss fellow pennites and honored guests." Wyvern waves a claw towards the crowd. "As you may or may not be aware of, the Mighty Pen has come down with a certain rodent problem... there are not nearly enough rats available to attract cute and innocent kittens to Almost Dragonic Brand Experimentation Outlets™! Not to mention that the Pen's feline contingent deserves an extra treat or two every now and then, which is why I propose an immediate plan of action." Wyvern reaches down to the foot of the podium and places a very delicate match figurine of a rat on top of the podium, only to watch it collapse in an instant. He frowns and pokes at the pile of matches with a claw, then sighs and raps his claws along podium's corners. "That was just a, errr, y'know, a demonstration of what rats typically look like after they get caught in traps." Wyvern forces an awkward laugh as he shoves the matches off of the podium with a claw. "Anyhow, onto the proposition. I propose that we build a mousetrap oriented towards capturing the Grim Squeaker. Once we capture the Death of Rats and imprison him, the population and life expectancy of rats in these quarters will naturally increase. Feel free to offer any components that may work towards a design." The Conservatory spectators pay no attention to Wyvern's ramblings, still stuck on how more rats could possibly be beneficial to the Pen. They look up for a moment as Wyvern attaches a small sign to his tail: !!!Free Free Free Mousetrap Starter Sets Free Free Free!!! Remove at your own risk ;-)

I found this poem quite fascinating, cryptomancer. The incorporation of the camera as a medium for expressing love struck me as very original and evocative concept, and it was handled very well through the emotional impressions of the narrator. I particularly liked the manner that the physical sensations of the camera were rendered into feelings of love, as the click, flash, and feel of the camera were all effective details that brought the poem to life. The one part of the poem that felt a bit out of place to me was the first two lines of the second stanza: "I beheld beauty in forms aplenty/ Seeking the depths from which beauty arose." I felt that the phrasing of this segment ws awkward, and that its message went against the notion of longing for an image of beauty brought up in the final stanza. Very well done, cryptomancer. An intriguing and well-executed poem. P.S: a 't' is missing in line 13.

Crazed Reptilian Invades Woman's Bathroom at Local Park Wyvern taps his foot on the ground as he waits for Sweetcherrie, smirking giddily to himself and watching a group of children play a game of "kick the news rat" around a nearby water fountain. The overgrown lizard leans back on the bench and stretches out his neck, only to jump when his horns slip through the bars of a cage and spark a loud roar. The reptilian Elder wipes a bead of sweat from his scaly brow and regains his composure, then perks up as he overhears two security guards passing by. "... subject has been identified as Sweetcherrie. You want to call the janitor, or should I do it?" "Sssscuse me." Wyvern butts in and raises a claw, causing one of the guards to drop his triple-glazed donut. "Did you say Sweetcherrie? See, I'm her escort and-" "She's locked in the girls bathroom." The guard looks Wyvern over and frowns. "We're 'bout to get the janitor over there to get her out. You must be a pretty negligent escort if you just let her slip away like- hey! Where're you going?!" The security guard is answered only by a trail of dust as Wyvern dashes off in the direction of the bathroom stalls. It is only upon seeing the overgrown lizard in motion that the two guards identify him as one of the culprits that had rushed into the zoo earlier without paying. They begin to race after him, only to slip on the triple-glaze remains of the dropped donut and fall face first onto a battered rat leftover from the "kick the news rat" game. Meanwhile, Wyvern reaches the bathroom stalls and extends a claw to the door, a grin overcoming him as thoughts of rewards for heroism in appropriate settings consume him. The grin vanishes from the lizard's face, however, as he realizes that he may need some sort of battering ram or pick if he wants to break the lock that's trapping Sweetcherrie inside. Wyvern raises a claw to his chin and scans his surroundings with a beady eye, only to brighten up upon noticing a promising animal cage nearby. "Don't worry Sweetcherrie!" calls out Wyvern as he rushes to the cage. The sign next to the cage reads "Warning: White Female Rhinocerous - EXTREMELY RARE." "I'll save you!" Wyvern rattles at the cage for a moment, then bangs at it with his horns until it opens a crack. He watches in glee as the white rhinocerous charges out of it, but a look of dismay overcomes him as the mighty animal takes a detour towards a crowd of tourists rather than racing to the bathroom stall. The lizard sighs in frustration, then realizes that he just broke a lock himself when opening the cage. He hops back towards the bathroom stalls with a grin, ignoring the screams of zoo observers that have broken out in the rhinos wake, Wyvern notices an old janitor with a set of keys at work at a stall upon entering the girl's bathroom. The janitor unlocks the door of the stall, then dusts off his hands and smiles. "Should be good to go. Sorry for the inconvenience, miss. I'll be outta here to leave you to your privacy." Wyvern curses to himself at being a minute too late to execute his "heroic" deed as the janitor passes him with an odd look and rushes out of the bathroom. The lizard's scaly tongue hangs loose as he waits in silence for Sweetcherrie to exit the stall. He doesn't notice the large group of cheerleaders that rushes into the bathroom's main entrance , seeking refuge from the rampaging rhino... News rat cameras flash left and right...

Pennites rush into one another in a chaotic knot of directions as the shadow looms over the Cabaret quarters, steadily creeping over the Pen's turf. The loud roar of the mothership that soars above the roofs is only challenged by the angered scream of Melba as she finds a new set of toppled paper avalanches in the Recruiter's Office. Pen members stare at the Unidentified Flying Object from windows and garden benches, their eyes widening in fascination. "Knight?!" cries a familiar, Loremasterly voice from a certain Tower. The words are hopelessly deafened by the roar of the engine. "What did we discuss about flying spaceships above large social gathering poi- aaaawwwwwwwww forget it." "Is that a tail?" Mynx shrinks away and clutches at Gryphon's left wing as she points up at the craft. "Looks like a fur coat or something *shudder*" The chatter of pennites goes quiet as a loud voice is projected from the spaceship. The shrill voice seems to boom from invisible speakers, echoing through every nook and cooridor of the Pen's halls. "Attention, civilians of the earthling organization 'Mighty Pen.' We, the Sharpein Royal Escort Service, do hereby declare it president/dictator/all-around-supreme-ruler Pilocanci's birthday. All your gifts are belong to us!" Several pennites scream as a rush of tiny objects begins rocketing out of the bottom of the mothership and whirling straight towards the Pen quarters. The panic subsides a bit, however, when Anna extends a hand and catches one of falling objects. She stares at it with a curious eye. "Confetti...?" ;-) OOC: A Happy Birthday goes out to YanYanGanaffi/Pillow. :-) Hope it ends up being a good one.

Very well written pieces, Sweetcherrie. I think that both of the scenarios you present here are things that many Pen people can relate to, and your uses of detail and emotional impressions in each of them worked very effectively. The bad day narrated in the second piece is something that I'm certain many of us have experienced at various points in our lives, and the escape from the real world in the first is a particularly relevent experience to us net dwellers. I hope that the writing proved to be therapeutic, and wanted to thank you for sharing it with the Pen community... It's a comfort simply knowing that you're willing to share your darkest moments here, as it just enforces the feeling of the Pen being one big online family. Thank you for sharing. :-)

This strikes me as an excellent poem, Happybuddha. :-) One thing that particularly stood out to me was the use of "tone-deaf" in the final stanza, as I thought it was a perfect means of describing the emotional state of the pair given the musical metaphor of the piece. The use of the metaphor throughout the poem was also very effective, and was kept very fresh and original. The choice to space the poem differently after the narrator's "thrust" also struck me as very intriguing. One minor thing that might potentially be improved: in the first and third stanzas, there were moments where the language used seemed to distance the narrator at times. In the first stanza: though I love the originality of "pirouetting," I'm a bit ambivalent about it after reading through a few times. Perhaps if "over and through" were dropped from that line, it might work better, as that's simply implied. In the third stanza: "dissonant thrust" struck me as a bit formal in tone, and you might consider replacing "dissonant" with something else. An excellent and evocative poem. Very well done.

I blame the lack of recent updates in this thread on a combination of cancelled shows and subjects that probably wouldn't interest pennites. I'm planning to incorporate more Pen involvement and intriguing subjects in upcoming shows, so stay tuned! My "Adrenaline Rush" show on speed rap that aired a few weeks back went O.K I guess, but no better than that. I think those who warned me and expressed fear at the concept of two hours of speed rapping were in the right, as the concept kind of wore thin after the first hour or so. Oh well, can't win'em all... I still had fun talking in a fast voice for the entire evening, and gave Pen shouts that turned into tongue-twisters. ;-) The week after that, my show was cancelled for some sort of "Colonial Invasion" basketball-type thing, so the Galapagos4 show got pushed back to last week. This show actually went surprisingly well, and I thought the mix turned out excellent. Nothing too interesting to report in terms of what I talked about, though... I think I was getting too into the mix and hardly spoke at all over the course of the show, except to give props to Galapagos4 and the Mighty Pen. I forgot to shout out Zool when playing Denizen Kane and Mestizo tracks, d'oh! >_ This week, I'm planning to run a second "Speechless" mix consisting of all quiet, downtempo stuff without vocals. It should have a more cohesive sound than the "Speechless" show I did a few semesters ago, simply because a huge amount of great downtempo instrumental stuff has come out since then. I'll try to dedicate a portion of the show to a certain pennite celebration of union that occured this weekend (which I'll leave the culprits to mention at their own will, ahem), and there's also a possibility that the Outerlimitz, a talented hip hop group out of Chicago, might call in for an interview. This show also won't be too taxing on the ears, so flip it on and play it in the background while doing your work. Next week, I'm planning to execute my much-delayed "Eros Literate" show in full. I think the mix and overall presentation of this show will be some of my best ever, but to top my other shows, I'll need participation from some of you Pen gals out there who have a minute to spare. I'd like to get a few people to call in to answer the longstanding question that forever haunts us males: "What qualities do you find attractive in a guy?" You can answer in any way you see fit, and can feel free to chat beyond that, read a poem, or ask me a question or two. Friday, 11/4/05 is the official air date unless my show happens to get cancelled, which is extremely unlikely at this point. If you're a Pen gal that might be available to call in and chat on that day and are interested, shoot me a PM. Oh, and I'll still be dressing formally for this, for you webcam ogglers. ;p

Wyvern hop-skip-jumps in circles around Patrick's sign-up stand as Gwaihir carefully pens his initials on the colorful sheet. The reptilian Elder's tail twitches in anticipation as Gwai moves away from the booth, and Wyv grabs an owl feather quill as a number of news reporters start circling the area. The lizard poses in front of the sign up sheet as the paparazzi cue up their blinding flashes, flexing a scaly arm in an embarassing display of scales and no muscle. He then places a pair of Almost Dragonic Brand Plaid Horn Stockings™ on his head and poses in a pic that wouldn't look out of place in the National Geographics "Endangered Species" section. "As you can ssssssee, I am now etching my initials onto the sign up sheet." Wyvern scrawls a large 'W' and poses, only to realize that he's accidentally written the letter on a posterboard for the quiz show. He cringes as he watches the dark ink trickle down the board, and promptly signs his name in the appropriate place, almost blotting out the other names written there in the process. The lizard lets out a nervous laugh and rubs the back of his scaly head with a claw. "Mr. Wyvern." A reporter levels a microphone connected to a long pole in front of Wyvern's face. The mic clashes against Wyvern's snout with a loud screech of feedback. "You've mentioned that your participation in this quiz will be a shameless publicity stunt to make up for your disasterous performance in the earlier beauty pageant. How far do you plan to go in this gameshow?" "Partsss one to three, and I'll beat the top of the competition. After all, I'm choosing 'Famous Pennites' as my topic..." ;-)

Wyvern scurries into the Cabaret Room upon noticing a slight pause and ripple in the movements of his quill across a tax rebate document. The lizard throws his arms in the air when he finds Xaious sitting on a large box containing the latest Pen roll call results. Wyvern grins as he approaches Xaious, and grasps the time traveler's hand with a claw. Good to hear that things are looking up in your life and that you're keeping yourself busy, Xaious. Always remember to make an argument and to have an introduction, body and conclusion when writing an essay. They'll become easier when you get used to the structure and outline of essay assignments, I think. Congratulations on the job, the girlfriend, and the academic success,... may things continue to look up for you. :-) Never be afraid to post here and keep us updated! With that, Wyvern takes out a whistle labeled "Absent Pennite Life Update" and blows a low horn sound from it, then digs a claw into the Pen roll call box where Xaious sits in the hopes of finding a lead to his missing Almost Dragonic Brand Magic Portal™.

On Tuesday evening, I went to see Atmosphere, Blueprint, and p.o.s at the 9:30 Club in Washington D.C. Slug, Blueprint, and p.o.s did an in-store signing at Tower Records the afternoon before the show, so I had a chance to meet up with them and chat with them there. This was actually the first time that I met Slug in person, despite having seen Atmosphere perform numerous times in the past, since he's not an easy guy to catch after shows. He gave me props for the "Murs is my best friend" T-shirt I was wearing (the one with the stick figures, for those who've met me and might know what I'm talking about) and I got my picture taken with him. I chatted with Blueprint and p.o.s for a while and then interviewed them on minidisc with some D.J friends of mine, which was fun. Blueprint also got me on the guestlist for the concert after I mentioned the show I did on his record label, Weightless, which he had tuned into last semester and remembered. Onto the concert itself: I arrived there a bit later than usual, right when p.o.s was beginning his set, and unfortunatly couldn't make it to my usual spot in the front row since it was occupied. Still, p.o.s destroyed it with the best set of the evening. Those who've read my previous reviews might recall the Atmosphere show I went to with Zariah, where p.o.s had lost his voice and had only a boombox to back him up. Well, this time around, he was in full energetic form and had D.J Turbo Nemesis backing him up with music and scratches. He was a beast on stage, practically screaming a number of his lines and running around the stage. Crescent Moon, another MC from Minneapolis, came out to perform a few tracks with him and act as his hype man. The set seemed to leave a very good impression on the audience, who cheered quite loud by the time he was done. Excellent performance, I'm definitely looking forward to his upcoming album now. Blueprint was the next to take the stage and rock it. He was the act I was looking forward to seeing the most, since the last time he performed in D.C remains one of the best live sets I've ever seen (it's recorded in an earlier post in this thread, if you're curious). His performance this time didn't quite match the magic of the last time I saw him, but was still a very fun and impressive set. He got the stoical crowd moving their bodies by interspersing his set with sing-a-long renditions of Michael Jackson's "Billy Jean" and Queen's "We Are the Champions." He performance was mercilessly short this time around, but he still had the crowd striking funny poses and laughing by the end of it. Two of my D.J friends, Zan and Pete, were blown away by his performance, but I guess I'm a little spoiled by the last time I saw him pass through D.C. Still, highly recommended. Once Blueprint finished, Atmosphere took the stage as the main act of the evening. Atmosphere have always built on their set over their years of touring, and this time was no exception Their performance started theatrically, with Crescent Moon acting as a bartender at a miniature bar they set up on stage over a jazzy piano background fprovided by the live band. Slug came out and performed tracks with the band for a while, which had a very jazzy orientation and worked well. Then, the band left the stage and, much to my surprise, Ant took the stage to back Slug up as the D.J. The reason this surprised me is that Ant, the other half of Atmosphere with Slug, is somewhat of a recluse and hasn't ever toured in the past. It was interesting to see him spinning for Slug, though the results were not quite as good as those with the band. The highlight of the evening for me was when Slug started performing tracks from Felt, a project he did with Murs, and shouted "This is going out to my man in the Murs T-shirt. He and anyone else wearing a Murs T-shirt can go up to the merchandise stand and take any one CD for free." Hahaha. Sure enough, I went and got a free CD when the set was over, and also got to speak with Ant for a bit. Good times, overall.

Not a problem, Elvina, I'm happy to answer any questions or concerns. :-) The Pen is first and foremost a site where people can write together and relate to one another through the shared interest of writing. A great deal of writing and feedback for writing is posted, naturally, but if you enter the site with expectations and standards for the feedback you recieve, you're bound to be disappointed. There's no guarantee on the amount or quality of feedback you may recieve, though you're always guaranteed the respect of your fellow Pen writers. :-) As to why it makes a difference if a story has been posted elsewhere: many of the people who write on the Pen post their works only on the Pen, and rely on this site as their sole source of feedback. Their works recieve priority to works from other boards, which have often recieved a great deal of feedback from writers on those other boards. The use of the Library as an "archiving" point is simply to show that the work has already existed on a different board before being posted here, and does not imply that people will not respond to it if feedback is requested. Hope that makes sense. Please feel free to PM me if you have any more questions.

This was certainly a nice start to your first book in the "Warrior of Fire and Blood Trilogy," Elvina, though it can be difficult to judge a story by its prologue alone. :-) Still, I really liked the attention to detail in this introduction, as well as the manner that you placed the reader right into the setting of the story without the use of any unnecessary explanatory passages. I really like your uses of showing, and am sure that the meaning behind the "Turawein" title will become apparent as the story progresses. As for a potential way to improve this prologue: I didn't think the last paragraph was needed, as it just tells the reader what's coming up next and lacks suspense. If you'd like to reveal Kormaran's plans and intentions to build drama, you may consider interspersing more of his feelings through the body of the prologue. Pertaining to your question about the lack of critiques and responses to this piece: I think the general lack of response may have to do with this prologue being archived here from another board where a longer version is available, as priority is normally given to works posted on the Pen. Threads and stories from other boards are commonly archived in the Library forum of the site, where I can move this thread if you'd like. Also, as I mentioned, it can be difficult to respond to a story knowing only its prologue, and I'm certain that many writers here have been waiting for more of the story before replying. Thanks for understanding. A nicely written prologue, once again. :-)

A nice poem, word eyes. :-) The message of fake friends is heartfelt, particularly in the context of the internet, and I really liked the idea of the narrator as a rickety crutch. I also found the history of the narrator with the friend-turned-stranger interesting, and liked the concept of masks and truth versus lies. In think that the ending of this poem comes off as much more immature than the rest of the piece, and you might want to consider rendering it a bit more ambivalent given the ambivalence in emotions and truth depicted in the rest of the piece. Criticisizing the fake friend for his "'Pity me' stories" in the poem may also run the risk of pretentiousness, as in some ways the narrator is aiming to evoke sympathy and pity from the reader in the poem. The metaphor of the war also didn't strike me as very original when compared to some of the other metaphors used in the poem, and there were points where the lines felt a bit forced by the rhyme scheme ("as if your mood was photocopied," comes to mind). Out of curiousity, was this poem based on experiences with a pen pal on the internet? If so, I'd be intrigued to learn more about the context of the interactions between the narrator and the fake friend... in fact, even if this relationship had nothing to do with an online setting, I'd still be interested in learning more details pertaining to it. :-) Nice work.

Overgrown Lizard and News Cohort Drive Popular Cheese Outlet to Bankruptcy Wyvern continues arguing with the waiter as Sweetcherrie offers her suggestion, tossing his scaly arms in the air and accidentally brushing her hand off in the process. "Waddaya mean we have to pay before we can leave?!" Wyvern spits hints of ashes at the waiter as he yells the words. "We never even ordered anything!" "Excuse me, sir, but if you you'd like to see the bill in question..." The waiter adjusts his cheese cake cap with one hand and lets out an indignant grunt as he digs through his swiss cheese clipboard. He rips a sheet from the board and shoves it in Wyvern's direction. "I have it right here." Wyvern and Sweet both stare at the ten-foot-long tab, which details over twenty of every cheese item (and, by default, every item) on the menue. Their eyes widen upon spotting the tiny cheez-E whip claw print stamped as a signature. "Back up to the main kitchen!" cries a distressed voice over the speakerphone, squeaks and static clouding the voice's clarity. "Oh God, they're eating it aaalllll, back up! Back up please, back up!" Wyvern freezes and casts a glance to Sweet as the waiter waivers from side to side, one foot leaning towards the exit door and the other moving for the kitchen. Wyv knocks the waiter's cheese cake hat over and smears it onto his face, then grabs Sweet by the hand and races towards the exit. The doors of the kitchen burst open in a swarm of news rats as they rush out. "Quick," gasps Wyvern as Sweet reaches the top of the staircase. "Sssorry, gotta make haste again, newsss ratsssss!" Sweetcherrie frowns as she begins running through the city streets with Wyvern again, wondering if her entire date will be held marathon style. She's so consumed in this thought that she hardly notices when she rushes with Wyvern through the tall zoo gates, barging straight past the ticket counter without paying. Zoo security is halted by the swarm of news rats that follows the two trespassers. Wyvern and Sweetcherrie dart through various areas and exhibits of the zoo. They cause a crowd to turn and point at an exhibit dedicated to the interactions between reptiles and mammals, and almost lose their footing around the squid ink blacktop playground. Wyvern and Sweetcherrie come to a screeching halt as they arrive at a bench sitting at the corner of a few animal cages. The overgrown lizard sways and collapses onto the bench in exhaustion. Sweetcherrie stares at him in bewilderment, then turns and watches the news rat pack grow closer and closer... only to watch them turn around and run in the opposite direction. She raises a brow in confusion until the low growl of a tiger gets her attention. Panthers pace in a large cage nearby. "This should give us at least a moment of calm." Wyvern lets out a deep breath, then sits up straight and offers Sweetcherrie a seat at the bench. He strikes a toothy grin. "Ssssso, how's the news business going? Making any profits off of one-time only advertisers *hint hint*?"

Very good poem, drummondo. :-) I love your juxtaposition and combination of "Bulletproof" and "Glass" in the second stanza, and found the use of the open bulletproof window a very intriguing metaphor. I also really liked the phrasing of the last line of the poem, and felt that the word "discarded" was a strong way to close the poem given the way that the narrator discards the card at the beginning. In terms of potential things to improve in this piece: I felt that there were two spots in the poem where the language and phrasing deviated from the excellent modern tone of the rest of the piece. "Vile beauty" and "I choose carefully my weapons, and" both seemed a little off-putting me, and one potential way to improve this might be to find some other way to show that she's beautiful in the first case, and to drop the adverb and the "and" in the second. Also, I didn't understand the meaning behind the phrasing of distress as "dis-stress" in the final stanza. Great stuff. :-) And once again, I love the original metaphor.

Kandara shifts in his seat nervously, the image of Annael's swirling butterflies still running dizzy circles in his mind. He bites his lip as he watches Sweet smother the kitten to the point of prolonged myowls, then turns his head to Caralyn. "Errr, she's not going to hurt it, is she?" Caralyn flashes a gentle smile in the Kandara's direction, and starts to speak only to freeze as a particularly painful myowl screeches through the Office. Kandara and Caralyn watch as Sweet rolls across the floor of the Office, wrestling with the kitten. She ricochets from one stack of paper to another like a bumper car, crashing in delighted giggles and highpitched meows. "Of course... not." Caralyn tugs at her shirt sleeves and winces as a pile of paperwork comes toppling down. "Though I hope that Wyvern arrives soo-" The slamming sound of the Office door cuts Caralyn's words short. Wyvern comes storming into the office, dragging a large sack behind him and pausing ever so often as his tail stinger gets stuck in the fabric. The lizard casts urgent glances about the Office until he spots Sweet wrestling with the kitten. He throws his claws in the air and rushes towards her. "Where did you find that?!" Wyvern grips the kitten by its tail and tugs at it twice before pulling it from Sweet's grasp. "You should be more careful, they're delicate creatures don'tchyaknow?" With that, Wyvern swings the cat into his large sack by its tail and triple knots the top of the bag. Sweet's lower lip quivers as Wyvern begins dragging the sack away, and Caralyn raises a brow as she notices the words "Cute Innocent Kittens for Almost Dragonic Brand Torture Device™ Testing" printed over the back of the bag. "Excuse me, Wyvern." Wyvern turns in the direction of Caralyn. His bag hops left and right in muffled meows of desperation. "Hmmm?" "Don't forget to respond to the latest Pen applicant while you're here." Caralyn winks to Kandara. "He's been waiting for quite a while." "Oh! I'm ssssorry." Wyvern drops his sack and immediatly wanders up to Kandara. The applicant notices the bag hopping towards the Office exit as Wyv shakes his hand. "Lemme see that application." Wyvern snatches Kandara's poem from his desktop and reads over it several times. Once he's finished with it, the overgrown lizard folds the sheet of paper and strikes a toothy grin. "Niccce twist at the end there." The lizard motions with his claw. "And I can assure you, 'deep and dark' is just where this kitty will be going." "Errrr." Kandara squints in confusion. "Which kitty?" Wyvern raises a brow and turns, only to jump as he finds the Office door open and the "Test Subject" sack gone. The overgrown lizard quickly stamps Kandara's application ACCEPTED before racing after a trail of shed hair that leads out of the Office... ;-) OOC: An ACCEPTED application poem, Kandara. Welcome to the Mighty Pen! I apologize for the waiting period, and look forward to reading more of your writing and posting with you in collaborative threads. Once again, welcome!

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I went to see Qwel & Dallas Jackson, Stick Figures, and Mestizo at DC9 in Washington D.C this evening. I had been looking forward to this concert ever since Mestizo mentioned it to me at the San Francisco Denizen Kane show that I went to with Zool. Qwel is often considered the most prolific member of the Galapagos4 collective for his consistant album output and originaity, and a friend of mine has always hyped me about how great his live show is. My friend Phil and I arrived at the concert early, and chatted a bit with Qwel, Robust of the Stick Figures, and Mestizo (who instantly recognized me from the San Fran show!) before it started. The venue was a tiny bar that could fit maybe 100 people, and the stage didn't look like it could hold more than a turntable and three M.Cs. The crowd was unfortunatly tiny, though Mestizo mentioned that it was much better than the disrespectful audience they had experienced when passing through Johnson, Johnson. Mestizo was the first to take the stage, and put on a nice short set. It was not quite as good as his performance in San Francisco, mainly because the sure-shot crowd rocker "Pick Up 52s" was not included in his set for this tour, but it was still a well done group of songs. He seemed tired from having rode around in a van all day but performed around fifteen minutes of standouts from his excellent "Blindfaith" CD and demonstrated his usual skill on the microphone. The Stick Figures, a group composed of M.Cs Robust and Prolyphic, took the stage after Mestizo finished his set. Robust's last solo album, "Potholes in our Molecules," ranks as one of my favorite albums from 2004. The brilliance of Robust's recorded material didn't seem to translate well to the live stage, however, and the Stick Figures' set felt a bit lacklustre and grew boring after a while. The occasional slip ups they made in switching up the music and remembering their verses hindered their performances a bit. but it was their lack of enthusiasm and excitement on stage that really dragged their set down. Robust and Prolyphic are both talented artists in the recording studio, but I would not pay to see another of their shows. Qwel's energized performance, which closed the evening out, made up for the Stick Figures tiresome stage act. He played a relentless combination of old tracks, new tracks, and unreleased tracks, never missing a beat over the course of his hour and thirty minute set. Highlights included an amped performance of his track "Brick Walls" (which some of you might remember from that "Poetic Justice" compilation CDR), a preview of a dramatic track from his "Freezerburner" album coming out next year, and a freestyle involving Mestizo and Robust that ended the evening. It amazed me that he could go from one hype track to another over such a long period of time without tiring out. Qwel's performance alone was worth the eight dollar admission. A good concert, overall, though not one that ranks with the best that I've been to.

The beautiful carpets decorating the walls of the reading room are practically torn from their holsters as Wyvern comes barging into the room. The lizard tosses the "Pen Fairy Tale Reading" flyer clenched in his claw to the side and sneers in the direction of the old woman dressed in expensive-looking clothing. He pounces onto a pillow and adjusts his position in a storm of scales and torn fabric, ignoring the feathers that fly in the direction of Sven and young Myth. Having successfully destroyed the pillow and found a comfortable seat, the lizard stretches out and hisses: "This is the free publici- public reading, right?" Wyvern waves a claw in the general direction of the old woman. "And yer taking story ideas, right? Well, I got one for you that's a real kicker. It'll be a sure-fire hit with the campfire crowds and the leisure harem waiting rooms alike!" "Let me guess," sighs the old woman from her seat. "It's going to involve dragons, isn't it?" "No no, no dragons. It's not that kind of campfire." Wyvern pauses for a moment. "Well, I mean, unless you count almost dragons, in which case there might be a certain-" "Just tell me the damn idea." "Right." Wyvern grins, letting his forked tongue hang loose. "Well, I' wanna fable, and I want the moral of this fable to be that the wyvern is the most charming, cunning, and downright successful specimen of a businessman out there. I would also like the story to revolve around Almost Dragonic Brand Aardvark Bobblehead Figurines™, like the one I've brought to this reading today." With that, Wyvern reaches into his pouch and pulls out a tiny figurine of Aardvark, which he hands to the storyteller. The old woman turns the poorly fabricated toy in her hands for a moment, only to gasp in shock as its head comes flying off in a jet of steam. ;-)

Very good poem, word eyes. :-) I thought that this piece had a very strong premise and emotional base behind it, and that this was shown through the strong impressions and imagery expressed within it. My favorite part of the poem was probably the fourth stanza, which I thought had excellent details and which was worded in a very concise and striking manner. I also really liked the manner that the narrator cannot bring himself to express his own guilt to the mother of the deceased, as I found it very realistic and well-founded. In terms of potential things to improve upon in this piece, I felt there were points in the poem where the phrasing became a bit wordy and over-explanatory. Two examples of this that I found were: "It certainly was an accident that devestated the containment of death in its own cynical chamber" (l. 4) These are just a few personal suggestions that come to mind.

The Cabaret Room doors burst open as Wyvern strides into the room, his scaly snout turned towards the sky. Faint simmers of smoke trail from the lizard's nostrils as he sniffs at the air, and several of the pennites congratulating Black shift to the side as Wyv strides towards the vegetarian buffet. The reptilian Elder grabs a plate, examines it, then slaps a "120 geld" sticker onto it and stuffs it into his sack. He then begins testing each of the platters by sticking his forked tongue into them and sucking at their rims, only to be interrupted by a tap on the back. *Ahem* Wyvern turns around, only to find that noone is there. The lizard's eyes widen for a moment as he contemplates the possibility of tomatoe suicide bomber ghosts stemming from the soup. He then realizes that his facial position is still tilted upward, and readjusts his roving snout so that it faces the gnome in front of him. "Excuse me, Mr...?" "Wyvern." Wyvern pauses, then extends an avocado-stained claw to the host and grins. "But you can call me Missster Gnomish Financial Reliability, if you'd like." "Errr. Mr. Wyvern, I'll have to ask you to refrain from eating from the party buffet until after the congratulations have been given." Wyvern raises a brow. "You mean it'sss a party? What're we celebrating?" "Black has the esteemed privelege of being the only person that I like at the party this evening." The gnome strikes a dignified grin and waves in the direction of Black. "Please, do give him your best." "Ah. Well, congrats Black." Wyvern grins and waves. The lizard then digs a claw into one of the buffet platters, and pulls out a second helping of zuchini ashes from the kitchen disaster. "Say, what do you call this black stuff anyway? S'pretty good." ;-)

A few new additions to the junk food connaiseur catalogue: Ben & Jerry's "In a Crunch" Mood Magic ice cream - limited edition - The description on the back of the carton of this flavor seems to suggest that it's oriented towards people with too much work on their hands, so naturally I decided to give it a wiz. ;-) Peanut butter ice cream, chocolate-covered peanuts, and a crunchy fudge swirl are advertised as the ingredients of the flavor. The ice cream and peanuts were typical enough and didn't catch the attention of my taste buds, but the crunchy fudge swirl I found very interesting and original. Think "Nestles Crunch bars before they've been solidified" and you wouldn't be far off. It's worth tasting for this ingredient alone, though once the fudge swirl runs out the ice cream turns rather bland. Hershey's Mocha Almond Bar - limited edition - Yet another "limited edition" marketing ploy of Hershey's, but this bar is surprisingly good. They basically took a Hershey's with Almonds bar and added in mocha coffee bean chips, which they sprinkled over the bar. Very much a Starbucks yuppie orientation, but the combination of mocha and almonds has an undeniable chemistry. This bar gets my seal of recommendation. Reeses Big Cup - limited edition - This is basically another "different shape, different size" variation of Reeses Peanut Butter Cups. Instead of packaging two cups in a wrapper, it's one larger cup. Apart from a slightly larger amount of peanut butter in the big cup, there's very little that differentiates it from the normal peanut butter cup. But then, Reeses Peanut Butter Cups were pretty darn good to begin with.

A quick update to this thread: my show last week was cancelled due to a famous radio guest speaker hogging the airwaves during my regularly scheduled time slot. For this reason, the "Adrenaline Rush" show has been rescheduled to this week, and will be airing this evening at the regular place and time (http://www.gwradio.com , 8:00 PM - 10:00 PM US EST). Pleasecheckitoutifyoureintospeedydeliveriesandfastrappingoverwickedfreshbeats withplentyofpenshouts. Next week (10/14/05), I'll probably be doing a show on the talented Galapagos4 collective from Chicago, since they'll be passing through Washington D.C on the 12th. I've reschedules the "Eros Literate" show to the week after that (10/21/05), and there are a couple of people who have expressed interest in it so far. More information/plugging about that show when the date approaches. Thanks for listening!

Lowlife Lizard Kidnaps News Agent in Suicide Run Sweetcherrie trips and almost stumbles as Wyvern pulls her by the hand, racing across a wide open street. A skateboarder veers left, an automobile honks its horn, a horse drawn carriage topples over, and a hotdog stand converts to selling ice cream as Wyv and Sweetcherrie pass by in a flash of red and grey. Behind the pair, the news rats dodge in hot pursuit, maneuvering through detached skating wheels and horse hooves. "Ssssorry to keep you hungry!" Wyvern's voice reverberates in the air as he continues to run. His beady eyes turn to Sweetcherrie. "You can have some bread, y'know, if you feel like an appetizer." Sweetcherrie's nose twists to sour distortions as Wyvern scrapes some of the moldy bread still clinging to his right thigh and offers it with his available claw. "No thanks," manages Sweetcherrie between gasps of breath and bouts of nausea. "I-if I need something, I can always reach for the broken egg in my hair." "Sunny side up, I hope?" Wyvern winks and swerves, twirling Sweetcherrie in a circle. "Here, this alleyway! " Sweetcherrie shuts her eyes and bites her lip as she's pulled down a narrow staircase. She finally breaths upon reaching a halt at the bottom of the stairs, and waits for several minutes with her eyes still closed. The sharp smell of melted cheddar and clatter of dishes cause her to open her eyes and glance around at her surroundings. Cheap plastic tables and dated new years decorations are sprinkled around the wooden floor and walls of the small eatery. A man dressed in a suit that ressembles a piece of camonbear cheese sits at the ordering counter in the back of the aclove, and sets down an old magazine as Wyvern and Sweetcherrie approach. "Hi, welcome to Cheese Louise's Grilled Cheese Depot, home of the Big Cheese whopper twelve cheese sandwich special. Can I take your orders?" Wyvern nudges Sweetcherrie with a scaly shoulder and strikes a grin. "They'll never find us here." ;-)

Wyvern scurries into the refurnished Cabaret Room and squints at the shiny blue texture for a moment, his beady eyes shrinking as they adjust to the temporary decor. The lizard pauses and scratches his scaly chin, then reaches into a sack that he carries and begins sprinkling leftover tax confetti onto the walls and floor to add a festive spark. The reptilian Elder then takes out an Almost Dragonic Brand Random Whistle of Fortune™, and raises it to his lips to blow. He frowns when no fortune appears in front of him , and frowns deeper still when he realizes that no sound is coming from the whistle. Wyvern blows again and again on the device in the hopes of causing a noise of some sort, only to jump in surprise as Tanuchan and Jonathan Wolfe storm in through the door. "What's with all the racket?!" cries Tanuchan, clutching at her ears in pain. "I was trying to get some sleep." Jonathan Wolfe grumbles in assent as Wyvern stares at the duo in confusion. The lizard glances at the whistle again, then clears his throat and exclaims: "Well, if you must know, it's a belated birthday party. Best wishesss to Peredhil (October 2nd), Lady Celes Crusador (October 4th), epinephrine (October 1rst), musicevangelist (October 2nd), Hydrus (October 3rd), Damon Inferel (October 4th) and Starlight (October 4th), all celebrating their birthdays in the course of this move! Bring out the refreshments. Annnnnaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" Wyvern blows on his whistle once again, only to have his tail stand out on end as the sound of a loud sports whistle rings throughout the Cabaret Room. Three gangs of cheerleaders suddenly burst into the Cabaret Room, using doors, windows, floor boards, and large open chests (*cough*). A polite quartet of cheerleaders waltzes its way to a corner and sets up a formal refreshment stand, while another group of cheerleaders wearing Arc du Triumph T-shirts rev up a rousing version of "Joyeux Anniversaire." Wyvern ducks at all the excitement, and quickly backs away into a corner in the hopes of congratulating the birthday pennites in turn, whenever they arrive. ;-) OOC: A happy belated/happy birthday to (in chronological order): epinephrine, Peredhil, musicevangelist, Hydrus, Lady Celes Crusador, Starlight, and Damon Inferel. Hope you all had great ones.