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Everything posted by Wyvern
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To give a brief update on the situation of "Any Given Moment": my last three shows, along with my show this week, have been preempted for basketball game coverage and won't be airing as usual. This will probably continue into next week as well, so I'll give this thread an update when my show scheduling goes back to normal. You can still catch me on the air from 9:30 PM - 10:00 PM US EST during this season of preemptions, but I actually wouldn't recommend it as I don't have much planned for the thirty minutes I'm on and usually just play things from the stations top ten. Sorry to anyone who's been trying to tune in. On another note: due to class credit issues and some rather poor counseling, there's a high chance that I'll be hosting "Any Given Moment" for one more semester than anticipated (cue repeated mantra: "it'sonlyacouplemoremonths.") I apologize for the "last semester" false alarm earlier, and will keep this thread updated as new details develope.
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"S-s-s-s-s-s-sure W-Wren." Wyvern stands frozen in place, an enormous Almost Dragonic grin plastered on his face, his scales trembling and his eyes still wide with excitement. "J-j-just give m-me a m-minute to-" Wyvern sways dizzily as a small cloud of steam exits his nostrils in a delayed reaction, his mind taking in the enormity of the firework-display of a Valentines kiss. The overgrown lizard raises a claw and opens his mouth, his forked tongue rolling loose as he steps forward and stumbles, falling head over heels into a pleasant unconsciousness. Wrenwind turns in concern for a moment, then notices the ridiculous look on the lizard's dozing visage and can't help but to break into a short giggle. Shaking her head, she moves back into the room and grabs the lizard by the tail, slowly dragging him out of the alchemy shop. As she does so, a bald man wearing a monacle and carrying a tray full of test tubes walks into the laboratory, but fortunately fails to notice Wren exiting the area as he exclaims: "What th- who is- ... a tree? A-a WIG tree! Hallelujah, my prayers have been answered!" ;-) OOC: Thank you for the date and the Valentine's gift, Wrenwind.
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Wyvern carelessly ruffles the front of his Almost Dragonic Brand Hunting Coat/Tuxedo as he approaches the entrance of the Valentine's Day Ball, creating a tear in the "delicate" (key word: cheap) fabric of his shirt as he rubs a claw against it. Cursing to himself, Wyvern casts a brief glance to the outskirts of the Conservatory as he gently shoves Equester inside, noticing the mishapen form of Tzimfemme and mistaking her for Tanuchan with a brown wig and her hair dyed silver. Grinning and casually waving to her, the lizard steps into the Conservatory without remarking her odd form, evoking a brief sigh of relief from Tzim as the possibility of blackmail is extinguished. Wyvern passes by Black as he makes his way into the well-decorated ballroom, his tail swinging to the band's warm-up riffs and his beady eyes wandering to the gorgeous flower that the vampire carries. Clearing his throat of a few ashes, the lizard pauses and taps Black on the shoulder, causing him to turn in startled manner. "Heya Black, great to see you here. Listen, I was wondering, I'm looking for a boutoniere and-" The reptilian Elder stops speaking as Black seems to turn a denser shade of pale, quickly hiding his Unnamed Flower from Wyvern and moving away from the lizard's area. Wyvern lets out a snort upon seeing this, then shakes his scaly head and turns to Zariah's table, wandering towards her and hissing: "Hi Zariah, nice lil' fling you got going on here. Say, have you caught Annael around by any chance?" Zariah frowns slightly and shakes her head, then smiles to the lizard and waves a hand towards the buffet. "Nice to see you Wyv, feel free to help yourself to some food. Just, uhhh, just remember that 'some' is emphasized here, O.K?" Wyvern rubs his scaly claws together and licks his lips with his forked tongue, still savouring the taste of Wrenwind's kiss but ready to indulge in other tasty treats. As he examines the area of the buffet from his position, he notices an enormous metallic object propped against the wall, and curiously hisses: "Sssay, Zariah, what's that thing near the wall over there." Zariah glances in the direction that Wyvern is staring, then smirks and shrugs. "I'm not sure, I think that's the gift that Sweetcherrie got Pilocanci for Valentines Day. A weapon or something..." Wyvern frowns deeply upon hearing the word "weapon," silently cursing to himself as he takes out a large box from within his tuxedo and sets it on the table. The pictures of two menacing-looking metal knives are painted on the cover, tagged with the words "Butterfly Knives" along with the phrase "Cheap Expensive!!!" "My present to Annael" explains Wyvern, noticing Zariah's staring at the box in confusion. "Will probably lose some of its effect in light of Sweetcherries more formidable gift, but check it out." The overgrown lizard lifts open the lid of the box, only to reveal a huge number of wooden toothpicks where knives would technically belong. As Wyvern opens his mouth to explain the significance of the contents, a swarm of butterflies flutters into the room by way of the open crack of a window. Circling around the box, the butterflies begin pulling one toothpick out of it each, and then immediately turn to poking Wyvern with them. As the overgrown lizard is surrounded by poking butterflies, he screams: "Happy -ow- Happy Valen- OW, ack! Happy Valentine's -ow ow ow- to Annael -YOW!- my Secret -argh!- Valenttaaaiiiiiieeee-!"
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Nightfae thinks carefully about what to say to the Elders of the Pen as she leans back in her applicant easychair, her arms crossed over her chest and her foot tapping on the Office floor. Her thoughts of how to phrase an explanation of Wyvern's absence are interrupted as she notices that a dirty wad of gum has become stuck to her shoe, and she grimaces as she watches it stretch from the depths of the Office clutter. Bunching her hands into fists, she briefly forfeits the moral of her poem and jumps out of her seat to air a complaint, only to stop as Wyvern hops into the room and waves a claw. "Greetings NightFae." The lizard strides through the room, his scaly tail knocking over a stray stack of paper as he approaches the applicants area. The reptilian Elder pauses for a moment as he notices the gum caught on Nightfae's shoe, and lets out a short sigh as he points a claw at it. "Awww, I was saving that for later y'know. Shoe soles tend to reduce the flavor... I may have to tax you for that." "What?" manages Nightfae, staring in confusion as the lizard snatches up her application poem and begins skimming through it. After a long and uncomfortable silence, Wyvern lifts his head and turns towards her again, folding her poem and grinning. "Good poem, Nightfae. It definitely evoked some fond memories of brooding over Almost Dragonic Brand Slogans... I'm actually a professional in the field of thoughtful speaking, so it struck me right in the geldpouch." Nightfae raises a brow, eyeing the lizard warily. "Y-you are?" "Absssolutely." Wyvern rubs a claw over the upper area of his tunic proudly, letting out a haughty-sounding laugh. "In fact, I have my thoughtful speaker I.D papers with me here, if you give me a moment." Wyvern turns from Nightfae and wanders a few feet away from her to the file drawer area of the Office, pretending to open one of the drawers as he whips out a leather-bound folder. Nightfae stares blankly as the lizard seems to begin talking to himself, and tilts her head towards his area in the hopes of overhearing his ramblings. "Advocates, they're hard to get. Too much geld, bad to rent- wait, that's not it... Need someone to steal on the side. No, no... I have a plan, with silver lining...? Argh!" Wyvern tears at the scales on his head as he wanders back to Nightfae, quickly tucking the folder back into his pouch and letting out a nervous and slightly less-confident laugh. "Can't seem to find those I.D papers, but the point I was going to make is that you should hire me as your official Almost Dragonic Brand Thoughtful Speaker. After you pay that debt you owe me for my used chewing gum, of course." Nightfae slowly takes a step back and shakes her head as the lizard leers at her, llifting her hands in front of her defensively. The lizard nods and lets out a number of inconsiderate curses upon seeing this, stamping her application ACCEPTED. ;-p OOC: An ACCEPTED application poem, Nightfae... Welcome to the Mighty Pen! I look forward to reading more of your poetry, as well as participating with you in a variety of community events. I like this poem, and hope you find the Pen a welcoming writing community for your works.
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Akallabeth sighs and turns to Tanuchan, his coffee mug half-empty and the corners of his mouth spotted with cookie crumbs. Frowning and casting a quick glance towards the entrance of the Recruiter's Office, the applicant stretches out in his easychair and mumbles a few curses under his breath, his eyes slowly shifting their focus to the grandfather clock in the corner of the room. "Duties, huh?" Akallabeth brushes a restless hand through his tangled hair. "Yeah." Tanuchan frowns and glances towards the Office door, shaking her head as if to apologize. "Although, I'm not sure if 'duties' would be the best wor-" Tanuchan is interrupted as the Office door slams open, almost as if on cue, and Wyvern barges into the room. The reptilian Elder skids across the messy floor and causes Akallabeth to drop the empty cookie tray as he comes to a halt, cringing as it clatters on the floor. Shooting a quick nod to Tanuchan and grinning a razor sharp grin, the overgrown lizard turns towards Akallabeth and vigorously shakes his hand, hissing: "Greetings Akallabeth. My apologies for the lack of punctuality, lemme see that application." Before Akallabeth can so much as raise a hand, Wyvern snatches the sheet of paper from his reach and begins reading over it with his beady eyes. Once he's finished, the lizard breaks into an even larger grin and scratches his scaly thin , eyeing the applicant as a hungry lion might eye a limping antelope. "Well, I must say, that sounds like quite a curse. Good thing that Waterlily isn't anywhere near this stuff... and to think that I thought that breeding him with a Saguaro cactus was a frightening idea." Akallabeth raises a confused brow as he watches the reptilian Elder shiver, and pauses for a moment before quietly clearing his throat. "So, uhhh, am I in?" Wyvern stops shivering upon hearing the question, and immediately grins and places a scaly claw on Akallabeth's shoulder. "That can certainly be arranged. Before I give this application the official stamp, however, I'd like to offer you a product that I think you might be interested in. Almost Dragonic Brand Weed Weakeners: because you never can be too certain when a plant curse might roll around your way, and breathing in fumes that hurt vengeful plants sure beats trying to cut them down." Akallabeth, having heard disturbing rumors of Wyvern's products and noticing the concerned look on Tanuchan's face, pales a little and shakes his head. "Awwww, c'mon." Wyvern's tail flails left and right in an agitated manner as he stares at the applicant with pleading businessman eyes. "I even have the botanist credentials for it, if you'll give me a moment." Akallabeth and Tanuchan eye Wyvern curiously as he turns his back to them and takes out a small leather-bound folder, waving a claw over it and muttering something about "avocados" and "slowly whining." After a few minutes of fumbling with his words, the lizard gives up in frustration and stuffs the folder back into his pouch. "Must have left'em in my one of my other Hawaiin shirts." Wyvern turns and raises a claw to his head, scratching at it in a nervous manner. "Let me at least show you how Almost Dragonic Brand Weed Weakeners work by testing it out on some of the fungi that's still clinging to the ceiling. Whoever said not cleaning didn't have its advantages was wro-" Tanuchan cuts Wyvern off by casting him a menacing glance, acting out the role of Melba in her absence. Wyvern sighs and slowly nods to this before stamping Akallabeth's application ACCEPTED, handing it to the eager applicant and bowing as he does so. As the lizard turns and exits the Office, he shuts the door behind him, which causes a fungi patch resting on the ceiling above Tanuchan's head to come undone. Several artificial mannequin arms and legs stored there tumble from their secret hiding place, burying poor Tanuchan in the process... ;-) OOC: An interesting story and an ACCEPTED application, Akallabeth. Welcome to the Mighty Pen! It's great to see that you've taken such an interest in the Pen community, and I apologize for any waiting period you had to endure for a response. I look forward to reading more of your writing and participating with you in community projects. Once again, welcome!
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This evening, I went to see MF DOOM, Labtekwon, and Shambhalla perform in concert at George Washington University's Continental Ballroom. The concert was sponsered by WRGW, and as such the promotion for it wasn't the best in the world. Never the less, the crowd that showed up for it was fairly big from what I could make out, and was mostly comprised of college students and their friends outside of college. There was a fence that seperated the audience from the front of the stage, which kind of annoyed me since I enjoy being next to the artist when they're performing. The first act to perform was Shambhalla, who I've seen several times in concert before and who I always enjoy. Before the show started, I met with Born Infinite and requested that he play one of my favorite Shambhalla songs, which it actually turns out that he and Agua were contemplating playing or dropping. They did end up performing it during their set, which I was happy about. The two of them set up ancient chinese scrolls on the stage before going into their songs, and put on a good show. Strangely, while Born Infinite normally shows his talents more in concert, it was Agua that really shined during this performance, as he seemed much more heated and passionate when doing his verses than his partner. This was highlighted by a spoken word piece from him that closed their set, where he practically fell to his knees while reciting his lines. After Shambhalla had finished, Baltimore's Labtekwon took the stage with two of his cousins. Labtekwon is often considered one of the most overlooked M.Cs in the hip hop circuit, as he's been doing his thing for about twelve years and has always strived to be stylistically innovative. Unfortunatly, part of the reason that he's never gotten much shine is that his choice of beats is rather lackluster, and this was very apparent during his set. He did some impressive things vocally and varied up his style quite a bit, but the beats backing him up made his set difficult to dance to and rather boring. Even more burdensome were his cousins, who were somewhat comic in their thugged-out Baltimore street steeze, but ultimately sort of cheesy. The audience didn't seem to be feeling him much, which is a shame since he still shows talent as an M.C. On a final note: it turns out that Labtekwon wears rimmed glasses that are approximately the size of his entire face, which I definitely wasn't expecting! There was a long, drawn-out D.J set after Labtekwon performed, which made the crowd restless and caused them to begin chanting DOOM's name. One thing to note about MF DOOM, aside from the fact that he's one of my favorite M.Cs, is that he has a rabidly loyal fan base that has memorized all of his lines and owns every single one of his numerous CDs. While I don't quite fit into that crowd, it's obvious that many of the people that showed up did, as when the lights dimmed and MF DOOM finally came out everybody went into a frenzy. The room went dark and white lights began flashing like lightning when DOOM went into his first tracks, which illuminated the metal dr. doom mask that he always wears in public. He put on a very good set which consisted of tracks that ranged from a number of his hip hop personas, including villain-from-the-future Viktor Vaughn and the three-headed space dragon King Gheedorah. The best part of his performance, however, was when he played tracks from his first recording as MF DOOM, which never get old and are super-entertaining. DOOM didn't have much movement on stage, but the way that he recited his creative verses was enough to keep the audience energetic throughout his set. Overall, it was a great performance and a very good concert.
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Wyvern scurries into the Cabaret Room in a typically belated manner, carrying a familiar-looking sack behind his back which clinks against his tail as he dashes. Coming to a skidding halt next to Cyril and panting in sharp gasps, the lizard waits until Yui-chan has finished reciting her beautiful poem before clasping a claw on the Master Critic's shoulder and hissing: "Hope you had a *pant* a wonderful birthday Cyril. I- *pant* I apologize for the lateness, and would still like to offer you a little gift of sorts. Lemme see here..." Wyvern digs through his sack, only to pull out a tiny star-shaped package of Almost Dragonic Brand Semi-Sharp Ninja Twinkle Stars. Frowning and scratching his scaly chin upon viewing the inappropriate gift, the lizard turns it in his claws for a moment before handing it to Cyril and winking. "I hope you enjoy this set of Almost Dragonic Brand Replacement Twinkle Stars, perfect for lighting any clouded night skies when the stars are covered in darkness. Happy birthday, once again!" With that, the reptilian Elder sheepishly turns and departs from the birthday gathering, leaving a visible trail of Almost Dragonic Brand Semi-Sharp Ninja Twinkle Stars in his wake.
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Yeah, I noticed that there was a spot for downloading it, but it's under section four which is entitled "Random stuff that shouldn't be downloaded." Will this particular random recording be an exception to the rule, then? ;-) I don't want to give it a spin without your approval, after all...
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Nice piece, drummondo. I particularly liked the lines "It's another kid's failings,/ But murdering a beat leads/ To sentence and jailings," as that offers an interesting perspective to ripping microphones. It's also cool that you did a recording of this, as performative poetry is obviously best heard performed. Your fake American accent actually strangely reminds me of this freestyler "The Underground Kid" who battled Sage Francis a few times, though his accent wasn't deliberate. Are you sure the recording of "Dropping Heads" can't be downloaded? I'd be happy to play it on my radio show at some point... ;-)
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Wyvern sat by the two passed out half-giants being used as a make-shift Buffet Table #2, chocolate-crusted and giddy, his snout hovering over a watered down cup of Sucker Punch and his forked tongue hanging loose. The reptilian Elder glanced at the faint bubbling in the liquid and hesitated for a moment, then shrugged and downed another shot, cringing at the memory of the seducer Prince's smooth tone of voice. The party span before the lizard, the sounds of "Love Rocket" spiraling in the background with an uproar of delighted cheers, the hands of the grandfather clock in the corner of the room upside down and crooked. "My boxers? Anyone? Anyone?! W-Wyvern!" Wyvern stared dizzily as one of the troglyodyte Blitz Ball enthusiasts ran up him, his hands in a secure grasp over the waistline of his sewage-coated pants. "Mr. Wyvern, have you seen my boxers by any chance?" The reptilian midget tried to cast Wyvern a puppy-dog eye glance, but failed to make his tiny black beads look appealing. Wyvern shook his head, raising a claw to his forehead as his focus remained on the clock. "No. Say" The lizard turned to the troglyodyte, waving a claw in an hyperactive manner. "Could you- could you read me the time on that clock over there?" The troglyodyte glanced in the direction of the grandfather clock, then shook his head sadly. "Naw, it's too hard to read when it's been knocked upside down like that, sorry." The troglyodyte pulled up his pants and turned, only to pause for a moment. "Not that it'd really matter if it was right-side up, since I never learned to count..." The overgrown lizard stammered and departed from the area, moving quickly in his Sucker Punch-enhanced state. Passing by DL Snake and Vanessa, Wyvern's eye caught Tasslehof wandering through the party, and he immediately rushed up to the kender and grabbed him by the shoulders. "Tasslehof" cried Wyvern in a high-pitched voice, shaking Tasslehof by his shoulders energetically. "Ni-Nice to see here! Nice to see you here! Nice to see you here!" "Uhhh." Tasslehof winced as he stared into the lizards flaming eyes, his foot still tapping to the beat of "Love Rocket." "N-nice to see-" "Nice to see you here!" Wyvern continued shaking Tasslehof, a scaly grin spreading over his face. "Listen, do you have the time? Do you have the time? Do you have the time?!" "Y-yeah." Tasslehof rummaged through his pouch, taking out a count down timer with "0:05:42" flashing on the screen. "Five minutes and fourty two seconds until the vernal equinox lunar eclipse, so it's around eleven fifty fi-" "FIVE MINUTES?" Wyvern snatched the count down timer from Tasslehof's hand and stared at it, flabbergasted. The timer now read "0:05:30." "Th-the eclipse!" With that, the overgrown lizard dropped the timer and began running through the party like a raging lunatic, shouting something about sunglasses and lunar prophecies. ---- Verteniun took the advantage of the change of song to "Love Rocket" by rushing to the dancefloor and grabbing Daliarus by the hand. Turning to Yui-chan, he smiled. "Sorry, do you mind if I take a dance with him? He and I are close." Yui glanced at the stranger oddly, raising a brow. "Uhh, no, feel free." "Why thank you." Verteniun bowed again and smiled as Daliarus stammered, then proceeded to break into a high-speed waltz with him, headed towards the stairs leading to the Conservatory's star-gazing rooftops...
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-Winter- The rotund table of the conference chamber at Gremsdale Hall seemed desolate when stripped of its common maps and coordinates, barren in the grandeur of the heroic murals that covered the walls surrounding it. Flourishes of victorious combats circled the room like lost echoes of wars past, and Lymnor's image covered the ceiling like a spiraling spirit of hope. Two figures sat at opposite ends of the table, their manners of dress and dispositions seeming to suggest foreign strangers. The man seated at the left end was rigid in his chair, cloaked in several heavy coats and Winter boots, his arms muscular and his face rough with a light trail of beard stubble. He stared mostly at the table as his fingers tapped at its edges, though he occasionally glanced towards the woman seated at the opposite end. She was dressed lightly in a loose grey and blue tunic, her long black hair braided prettily behind her to accentuate her good looks. She leaned back in her chair, her legs cocked up onto the tabletop and her grey sandals crossed in a comfortable position, staring idly at the nails on her left hand while her right rested lazily behind her head. "Katherina... How can you wear that?" Katherina glanced up from her nails, meeting the man straight in the eye. "Hmm?" "How can you dress like that?" The man sighed and shook his head, directing a hand towards a window. "It's freezing outside." "Well, Gerald." Katherina smiled mischeviously, removing her right hand from behind her hair and pointing a finger at him. "I don't recall you complaining about it when it came to undressing me." Gerald opened his mouth to speak but choked on air for a moment, absorbing the comment and running a hand across the table top. He tapped a finger twice on the smooth surface, shaking his head. "Two years ago." He let out a deep breath. "That comment's not as effective now as it was then, you know." "Really?" Katherina crossed her arms over her chest, still smiling. "I guess that would account for the face you made when I said it. After all, it only took you about three minutes to muster a reply." "Oh please." Gerald let out an exasperated sigh, clawing a hand through his dark brown hair. "You really get a kick out of this, don't you?" Katherina stared at the ceiling for a moment in mock consideration, failing to keep a completely straight face. "Just about anything that annoys you, yep." Gerald let out a disgruntled chuckle, scratching his head and thinking for a moment. He then slowly shuffled in his seat and sneered. "Let's face it, Kate... you just still haven't gotten over those months we spent together." "Uh huh" muttered Katherina sarcastically, removing her legs from the table and switching to a different position. She crossed her arms on the tabletop and leaned forward despite the obvious distance, smirking at him. "First of all, Gerald, it's Katherina to you. Second of all, I wasn't the one who messaged to say meet at Gremsdale Hall early." Gerald stared at her in confusion, his sneer now gone. "What?" "Let me guess." cooed Katherina, enjoying Gerald's changing expression. "You thought we should meet here early to make sure that we were on time for the conference, right? You're not fooling me Gerald, I know why you really wanted to meet early." "What?" Gerald gritted his teeth, standing from his seat and glaring at her. "What do you mean?! Of course I arranged it so that we could be early, we don't want to be late, I- what do you-" Gerald stopped as he noticed that Katherina was now giggling helplessly, one hand over her mouth as she tried to contain it. He shook his head and slumped back in his chair, throwing a hand in the air. "God, you're hopeless Katherina." He stared at the ceiling for a long moment. "Look, about the clothes... you really shouldn't dress so lightly in this weather. I'm serious, you could get sick." "Well, I suppose I'll die a martyr for fashion then. A look is important for motivating troops, you know." She paused, then glanced at him and briefly cast him a gentle smile, less teasing than before. "Thanks anyway." "But if you think I wanted to-" Gerald was interrupted as the door to the hall opened and another man entered, scrawny and covered in several layers of robes and coats. He nodded to Gerald and Katherina, brushing a hand through his graying hair as he unpacked his belongings at a seat in a section between the two of them. Katherina stuck her tongue out at Gerald while the man was busy unpacking, signaling her victory. "Rald" said Gerald sternly, ignoring Katherina's final gesture. "A good day to you." "Yes yes, a good day." Rald finished unpacking and sat down in his chair. "Orin shall be here shortly to commence the meeting, I saw him talking with a fellow in the lobby. Big news, supposedly." Rald turned to Katherina for a moment, squinting to make sure he wasn't seeing things and shaking his head. "Dressed for Summer? I'll never understand you, Katherina." Katherina shrugged and shifted in her seat, the phrase "at least I'm not dressed for a funeral" caught on the tip of her tongue. She knew better than to retort a senior officer, however, and remained quiet. After a long silence, the doors opened again and a handsome man dressed in a regal uniform of blue and grey entered into the room, causing the three that were seated to immediately stand and bow. Orin nodded to each of the captains as he passed them, his robes flowing over the floor of the chamber until he arrived at his seat at the head of the table. Seating himself, he looked at each of them and slowly spoke. "Let us hear the new field reports. How go the divisions? Rald Wexsler, please commence." Rald nodded and cleared his throat for a moment, brushing off his robes and speaking. "The First Division of the Antaen Confederacy is doing well, sir. The veterans build their tactics, and the recruits are currently developing their skills in archery. The evil of magic has also been emphasized, and is central to all aspects of training." "Good." Orin turned his head towards Gerald. "Gerald Hitorin." Gerald placed a fist on his chest. "The Second Division of the Antaen Confederacy continues to excell, sir. We have been blessed with many strong recruits this year, both in power and in will. The soldiers continue to develope their physique, and many excell in melee combat. A pride in the Confederacy is also always valued." "Good." Orin turned and waved a hand towards Katherina. "Katherina Lumend-" "The Third Division of the Antaen Confederacy is a force to be reckoned with, sir." Katherina smiled. "In addition to mastering both the art of ranged and melee combat, they are skilled and intelligent planners, easily capable of qwelling any rebellion. I take a great pride in my troops, as they have their hearts set on their goals and are a thoroughly talented unit. I am certain that there is nothing they will be unable to accomplish." "Good." Orin nodded, slightly irritated by Katherina's previous interruption but otherwise ignoring it. "Please be seated all, we have news from the East." The three division captains took their seats, silent and attentive as Orin spoke. "It appears that the Kahn lineage may be within our grasp." Orin cast his eyes across the table, glancing from captain to captain. "Word has it that Maxon the Kahn, leader of the Rebels of Kahn, may venture to the West in search of a seal hidden at the Kii Penninsula, North of Gremsdale. Once a great rebel leader, Maxon has grown old and foolish in his conquests, which gives us this opportunity to strike. His death would be a means of destroying rebel hopes, and could possibly end the ventures of Rebels of Kahn entirely. For this reason, it is important that we act with stealth and accuracy in order to intercept him. Each of you shall choose the finest soldiers from your respective divisions to form a special unit, which will specifically be used for this operation. You have four months to make these decisions, and the operation will be conducted one month after that. I trust your judgement. Questions?" "Sir." Rald spoke softly, contemplating the task. "Is this the operation that was hinted at in earlier conferences, the 'Sealed Fate' operation?" Orin turned to Rald and shook his head. "No. His Emperor Neren has requested that that operation remain confidential until it has been further developed. News of Maxon's plan to journey West reached us just recently, and this new operation was developed in light of that." "So, old Maxon is actually venturing out here?" Gerald shook his head, his tone somewhat skeptical. "I have a bit of difficulty believing that... why not simply send his rebels?" "Still worth pursuing" interjected Katherina, suddenly standing and bowing to Orin. "Sir, I promise to have my choices ready at least a month before Rald or Gerald, despite the difficulty of choosing from so many talented soldiers in my division. I'll set about it immediately." With that, Katherina shot a knowing glance to the two other captains, and briefly winked to Gerald before departing from the chamber.
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To those that are interested in listening: the first full-length show of "Any Given Moment"s last semester on the air will be aired tonight, from 8:00 PM - 10:00 PM US EST at http://www.gwradio.com. For the theme of the evening, I'm doing a wrap up of 2004 by playing a number of tracks from my favorite albums from last year, as well as some other exceptional music released in 2004. If anyone was intrigued by my descriptions of albums in Falcon's "Music" thread, this an opportunity to hear sample tracks from those albums. A special guest may also possibly be co-hosting the show, though nothing has been confirmed yet on that front... be sure to tune in if you can!
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Wyvern careens into the Cabaret Room at full speed, coming to a screeching halt and producing burn marks in the chamber's fine rugging as he gasps for breath. Perking his scaly head up and noticing that he's only a few days late in arriving, the lizard strikes a victory pose at his improving punctuality and promptly slithers towards Knight. Producing a tiny package from a shady-looking sack that he carries, the lizard hisses: "Hey Knight, just wanted to wish you a slightly belated Happy Birthday. Here, this brand new second-hand set of Almost Dragonic Brand Semi-Sharp Ninja Twinkle Stars is yours to keep at no charge. Well, no charge until you charge someone with them that is... They're only semi-sharp, but I'm certain you'll make good use of them as a weapon." With that, the overgrown lizards casts Knight a toothy grin and winks, speedily moving his way towards Sorciere. Digging through his sack, he frowns when he pulls out a package identical to Knight's package, and scratches his scaly chin thoughtfully before tapping her on the shoulder. "Hi there, Sssorciere, just wanted to say Happy Birthday to you. I realize I'm a wee bit late, so I hope you'll accept these, errr... Almost Dragonic Brand Semi-Pointy Twinkle Star Talismans, perfect for last resort spell components. Be wary when you use them around ninjas, though..." Wyvern grins and bows to Sorciere as he hands her the gift, then turns and slowly paces towards Signe, nervously fiddling with his claws as he remarks that her age hasn't made her any less striking. Fumbling through his sack, he produces yet another identical gift-wrapped package, and grumbles to himself before tapping one of her wings with a claw. "Hello there Sssigne, a Happy Birthday to you, sorry it's a little late. To make up for it, I got you these, umm... Almost Dragonic Brand Almost Stylish Twinkle Star Earings. With any luck, you can sabotage the make-up drawers of other gals with them to appear even more sexy in their presence! Hope you enjoy them." The overgrown lizard adjusts his collar a bit, bows to Signe, and then quickly departs to the Mighty Pen Couch to watch the three birthday pennites dawdle over their strikingly similar gifts. ;-) OOC: Belated Happy Birthday wishes go out to Knight (January 30th), Sorciere (January 31rst), and Signe (January 31rst). Sorry for the lateness, I hope you all had great ones.
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-Autumn- Agneer the Kahn traced his finger down the rim of the opaque glass, blurring it with a faint moisture and focussing his bloodshot eyes on its contents. Through the torchlight, he could make out the liquid moving in faint ripples with every touch, lightly oscilating like a soft yet relentless Autumn breeze. He layed his elbows on the rotted wooden table in front of him, shutting his eyes as he ran his cold hands through his dirty mess of black hair and letting out a quiet moan. The sound of his tent entrance flapping open and of footsteps approaching him signaled that news had arrived, but he didn't bother lifting his head to greet the messenger. "Sir" spoke the visitor in a firm and familiar voice. "Word from the South." "The leaves" choked Agneer in a tormented tone, moving an elbow and knocking over his glass. He lifted himself from his chair groggily, practically tripping over one of its legs and cursing softly. "Sir" The messenger hesitated, partially extending a hand yet not daring to approach. The stench of alcohol lingered in the tent, almost dizzying him. "The division of the Rebels of Kahn sent south of Salinsway and Meertag, to the Costeer Ranges, they-" "The leaves are falling!" cried Agneer, his voice hoarse and terrified, his eyes wide and bloodshot. He stumbled forward, causing the messenger to start back. "Falling. The trees... the trees so barren!" An awkward silence passed as Agneer examined the messenger for a moment, still perceptive in his drunken state. "Herot, right?" "Y-yes sir" The messanger trembled slightly, struggling to maintain his firm composure. "Herot Grudor of the Rebels of Kahn, sir. I was sent to inform you that the mission to acquire the seal of the Costee-" "Don't tell me, I don't need to know." Agneer grimaced, staggering a foot back in the direction of his table. "The mission was a horrendous failure from the moment my father assigned it. No, don't tell me... I don't need to know how many valued Looms we lost to such foolishness." Herot nodded to this quietly, staring at the ground. "Magic" Agneer seethed, stroking a hand over his face. "Our magic. By a thread, Herot!" Agneer turned and moved forward, accentuating his exclamations by clasping his fingers together. "By a tiny thread, and he wastes the Rebels on what...? Rumors!" Herot nodded again, and then looked up. "If I may be permitted to agree with you, sir." Herot glanced towards Agneer nervously, cringing as he watched him kick a bottle laying on the ground. "His honor, Maxon the Kahn, has grown old. And time, far from wisening him, has seemed to have a negative effect-" "What?" Agneer turned his face and looked Herot in the eye, scowling. "What did you say?" "I-" Herot took a step back. "I'm sorry." "Sorry? You owe him everything! All of us!" Agneer flailed a hand in the air. "These tents, this division of the Looms... his! And you speak of wisdome. Never use my father's name in vain again." "Yessir." Agneer cast Herot an angry glance, then slowly began pacing. "Does the Dainus order of the Looms know of our losses yet?" "Yes sir." Herot lost any remaining sense of fear at the question, regaining his firm posture. "They mentioned that they may send reinforcements to our camp to make up for our losses." "Good." Agneer paused for a moment, frowning and turning to face Herot again. "And the Rebels of Ganarth?" "No, not that I know of sir." Agneer sighed, clutching his forehead. "They'll probably complain to the Dainus order once they learn of it. Ever since Lortif the Ganarth sent and lost those rebels to father's missions, they've been a thorn in our side." Agneer's conversation was interrupted as another man, cloaked in robes, shuffled into the tent. "Sir" The man bowed to Agneer. "The weapons merchant that you sent for is here." Agneer nodded. "Gorth Admeiri?" The cloaked man nodded back, smiling. "The very one." "Excellent." Agneer smiled, then turned briefly towards Herot. "I must be off to make a few purchases for the future of our Kahn. The leaves have fallen, it is time to gather them where they rightfully belong. You are dismissed." With that, Agneer followed the cloaked man, ducking out of the tent and wandering into the cool Autumn night air.
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How does Wyvern eat a Toffifee candy? (Wyvern spears one of the candies with a claw, lifting it to his snout and sniffing at it as he aims his forked tongue at the circular chocolate that crowns it. Devouring the chocolate and sipping the nougat and hazelnut out in a single slurp, he repackages the remaining shell and labels it "Almost Dragonic Brand Used Toffee" before offering it to a bystander for a mere five geld) How does Inspector I.M Clueless eat a Toffifee candy? (Inspector I.M Clueless cringes as his fingers struggle with the candy wrapper of a Laffee Taffee bar, the challenge of opening it leaving him in a state of defeat and humiliation. Abandoning the impossible task, he turns towards the commercial camera and smiles, approaching it as he mistakes it for a jumbo-sized magnifying glass. The image on the screen goes black for a moment, then turns to static and dead air...) How do YOU eat your Toffifee?
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Wyvern sits perched on a wobbly branch of an oak tree located outside of one of the Cabaret Room windows, dressed in a canary outfit loosely based around Gryphon's form and hesitantly examining a music sheet. Tossing a bag of Almost Dragonic Brand Bird-Pooper Scoopers aside and cursing at their strange lack of sales, he clears his reptilian throat and opens his scaly mouth to sing. The overgrown lizard-canary's throat throbs and swells,... then throbs, then swells, then continues to swell until he realizes he has a piece of bird feed stuck in his throat. Clutching his throat and gagging, the reptilian Elder just has time to marvel at Celes Crusador's elaborate breakfast platter before the branch breaks and he crashes down to the uncomfortable, Almost Dragonic Brand Bird-Pooper Scooper-filled garbage can below. Cringing as the bird feed becomes dislodged from his throat, Wyvern holds up a sign that reads "Happy Belated Birthday, Wrenwind" before collapsing into an unconscious heap of scales... ;-)
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Wyvern darts into the Recruiter's Office just as Peredhil heads out, waving to the polite bard briefly with one of his claws as he steps into the Office. Nodding to reverie and grinning, the overgrown lizard steps towards Sweetcherrie and swiftly bows to her, nearly embedding his horns in a nearby applicant easychair as he exclaims: "Welcome to the Pen, Sssssweetcherrie. I'll be responding to your application shortly." With that, the reptilian Elder quickly snatches Sweetcherries application story from his cluttered desktop, winking to her as he sets about reading through it. The applicant raises a brow as the lizard stops his attentive reading mid-way through the application in order to take out a sheet of paper and start scribbling notes, and puts her hands on her hips as Wyvern spends a good twenty minutes jotting things down in this manner. Once he's finished in his scribblings, the overgrown lizard continues in his reading, and nods happily when he's reached the conclusion. Tearing off the initial paragraph of the story and stuffing it into his pocket for future personal use, the lizard leers at Sweetcherrie for a moment before hissing: "Well, that was a very good story. Now, shall we go over the copyright details for the marketing campaign?" "Copyright details?" Sweetcherrie raises a brow in confusion. "Marketing campaign?" "Absolutely" hisses Wyvern gleefully, pulling out his notes with one claw and pointing at a line mid-way through the story with the other. "You mention yourself how well Trey would work as a stuffed animal for kids, so I went and wrote up a little outline for the release of Almost Dragonic Brand Trey Cuddly Dolls. Ready to proceed?" Sweetcherrie's eyes widen in confusion. "I-" "The way I see it, since Trey is a quafter and all, the doll will have four animal shapes to play with." Wyvern grins evilly, slowly rubbing his claws together. "It will start off as a Koala with a pig's snout and tail, colorful butterfly wings, and a furry body of stripes reminscent of a zebra." "But" starts Sweetcherrie. "That was a-" "Then, after he's been hugged a few times, he'll change into his second form by losing his butterfly wings." The greedy lizard lets out an evil cackle. "For his third form, he'll lose the pig tail and snout after getting cuddled more. And for the fourth and final form, he'll miraculously transform into a pile of feather doll stuffing!" Sweetcherrie stares at the lizard in disgust, suddenly feeling a pang of sympathy for the doll-deprived children of the world and raising a finger to speak. "But that's not all" interrupts Wyvern again, his tail fidgeting in excitement. "Almost Dragonic Brand Trey Cuddle Dolls will also have several phrases that they can speak when you tug on their ears... they'll be perfectly irresistable! After all, who can turn down adorable quotes like 'What are you looking at?,' 'Don’t you know anything, you silly little girl?,' and 'I don’t care where you come from, but I like you.'?" Sweetcherrie stares at Wyvern again, this time in disbelief. "Anyway, if you could just sign here..." Wyvern takes out a scribbled sheet labeled 'Almost Dragonic Makeshift Contract' and turns to hand it to the applicant, only to suddenly get hit in the face by a fresh fruit cake tossed at him by Melba. Cursing to himself as he drops his paperwork, he submits to defeat and promptly stamps Sweetcherrie's application story ACCEPTED. ;-) OOC: On a more serious note: an ACCEPTED application story, Sweetcherrie, welcome to the Mighty Pen! I found "Rhiannon Meets Trey" a wonderfully imaginative and ambitious piece, in the vein of both Mary de France and Lewis Carroll. I'm definitely looking forward to reading more of your works here at the Pen, and also really appreciate the comments that you've been writing for the works of others. Once again, welcome!
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Black, It's definitely nice to see you committing yourself to a story, and the heart and inspiration to write is present in your recent story. Resident Evil similarities aside (zombies/canine zombies, female heroine sporting a large arsenal of weaponry, shot gun blasts that blow off the heads of several zombies at a time, mutant research labs with viruses) your story seems to present an interesting take on the B-movie action zombie formula and is a nice start. I especially liked the mutant house cat reference in your most recent post, as it caught me off-guard and was an interesting and original twist. There are several suggestions that I'd like to offer you for ways to improve and build upon what's a nice start to a story, since you seem very motivated to write it and I'd like to help out. The following things came to my attention: - The tone of the story currently seems a little confused to me. Your ambition to write an excellent story is apparent in your incorporations of action, comedy, horror, and drama, but at the moment the story doesn't seem to have one particular focus. Is the story meant as comedy, action/drama, horror, or a comic spoof of horror and action/drama? Is the story's slant more oriented towards comedy, or is it meant as something more serious with comedy interspersed throughout it? I would recommend staying consistent with one or the other, as alternating between seriousness and comedy in the posts may cause the serious to not come off as so serious, and the comic to not seem so comic. - I mentioned this earlier, but the Resident Evil influence definitely seems apparent in the story. While there's nothing wrong with using Resident Evil and zombie flicks as a point of inspiration, you should be sure add your own original details to really make the story your own. A perfect example of this would be the mutant house cat reference, as that is you using your imagination and applying it to the mutant research lab scenario, creating something unique that really catches the readers attention. Cliches can be used well if you play off of them correctly, but if you simply add details that have already been seen elsewhere, the reader will probably be uninterested in them. - On a more minor note: grammatically speaking, the dialogues might work better without adding the names in front of the quotations to indicate who's speaking. Instead, try to use as few indicators as possible... let the dialogues indicate who is speaking, or perhaps add gestures or actions between the dialogues that show which character is speaking. Elipses are also used rather extensively throughout the story, which is something I sympathize with since I used to use them 90% of the time. You may want to cut down on them just a bit, as they can slow the flow of the story and make the reading more difficult. Those are my three main suggestions. Once again, I'm happy to see you committed to writing this story, and encourage you to continue it! Oh, and by the way, the Black and Travis cameos left me with a grin. ;-)
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Last night, I went to see Jean Grae, Diverse, and S.P.P in concert at the Black Cat in Washington D.C. I hadn't reserved tickets in advance for this concert, so I was worried that I wouldn't get in when I arrived at the Black Cat and saw a huge line for tickets. Fortunatly, despite the line, I was still early enough to buy myself a ticket and get a spot in the front row of the concert to dance. The club was irregularly packed with people for the show, which made for a very lively Washington D.C crowd for a change. After an introduction from the female slam poet Olu Butterfly, who hosted the show, S.P.P were the first act to take the stage. Consisting of the Washington D.C M.Cs Storm the Unpredictable, Priest the Nomad, and the Poem-cees, they put on a very energetic performance that placed an emphasis on team work and different stylistic approaches. I hadn't heard of the collaboration of these M.Cs before, so I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of their set. I also picked up a single from Storm after they performed, and after listening to it I think it's some really good stuff, certainly worthy of some airplay. After a short break, Diverse was next to perform. Much to my surprise, he brought along Longshot, who released one of my favorite albums of last year, as his hype man. I was really happy about this, and naturally shouted out for Longshot to perform some material from his "Sacrifice" album, which he did. D.J Rude One of the Chicago beat-making squad Single Minded Pros was also there backing them up behind the boards, which was cool. Unfortunatly, while their set was pretty good, the stage presence of Diverse and Longshot didn't quite live up to their recorded material, and they had probably the least memorable set of the evening. Finally, after another break, the headliner of the evening, Jean Grae, came out to perform. She's perhaps one of the best female M.Cs out there, and she put on a very good set. I should note at this point that there was this cute girl up in the front row dancing next to me throughout the sets, who was occasionally casting me glances and smiling, and who I chatted with between sets. Near the end of Jean Grae's set, Jean pointed to this girl and her two friends and noted that they flew all the way from Minneapolis just to see her perform, and they were called up to the stage to dance, which was funny. Jean Grae had this casual, childish sort of attitude on stage that was also very fun to observe, and it was a cool set overall. My only regret is that she didn't perform the track "Under the Hammer" with Diverse, which I was looking forward to hearing. Other than that, the only real downside of the evening was some commotion from a neo-Black Panther party that was in attendence, who got thoroughly drunk and began demanding that they take the stage when the artists were performing (ironic that this should occur at the Black Cat...). Overall though, it was a fun concert and a nice way to exhaust myself dancing.
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A heads up to anyone who's interested: "Any Given Moment" will return for it's final semester on the air a week from today, on Thursday January 27th. The show has a new time of 8:00 PM - 10:00 PM US EST, and will be broadcast every Thursday during those hours until May. There's a chance that the show will be slightly less Pen-oriented this semester since I'm going to be building with some music artists, but I'll still give shout outs to Pen members and always encourage pennites to call in. If anyone is available for recording the show as an MP3 at those times for Pen members who want to listen in but have scheduling conflicts, I'd be very grateful. Once again, the new information for the show is: "Any Given Moment" Thursdays, 8:00 PM - 10:00 PM US EST Listen online at http://www.gwradio.com Call in: (202) 994-9749 AIM: RGWradio Update: my show on the 27th has actually been preempted for a football game, and while it might be on the air from 9:30 PM - 10:00 PM, there won't be much of a theme or anything. Check back next week for a more complete show.
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The man slowly shifts in his position in his chair, eyeing Hydrobear suspiciously and shuffling through several papers. "I see, a music career. In what genre of music, might I ask?" "Well, I was sort of thinking of something along the lines of death metal." "Ah." The prison warden fidgets uneasily, marking a few notes down on one of his sheets. "Mr. Hydrobear, according to our records, you have starred in such films as 'The Mighty Pen Chainslaw Massacre with Fries,' 'Hideous Murder on the Athenaeum Express,' and 'Tavern of the Bloodied Harpy Quill...'" "That's correct!" Hydrobear grins, breezing a hand through his mowhawk. "Though that's not counting the indie flicks of course, like 'Manor of Mass Anihilation' and 'Zoollander.'" The man nods to this calmly, then shuffles his papers, only to nervously disarrange them and shuffle them again. "Well *ahem*" The warden places his chin on his knuckles and frowns deeply, facing Hydrobear for a moment and then turning towards the second man. "What do you think, Charlie?" "I think it's great!" cries Charlie happily as he plays an ultra-violent fighting game on his hand-held gaming system. "I loved that film 'Hideous Murder on the Athenaeum Express.' May I have your autograph, Mr. Hydrobear sir?" The sound of a weapon loading accentuates Hydrobear's smile. "That depends... Do you feel lucky, punk?" The first man sighs and shakes his head as the woman frantically searches for her glasses on the table, accidentally falling over as she reaches out for any familiarly-shaped object. The man shuffles his papers, disarranges them, shuffles them again, disarranges them again, and begins shuffling them again. "Fine" grumbles the warden, hesitantly taking out an ACCEPTED stamp to place on Hydrobear's prison release papers and then pausing. "Oh, one last question Mr. Hydrobear... what do you know about the man named 'Red?'" Hydrobear's visage loses its confidence and goes pale as the warden holds up a picture of Wyvern in a tattered prison uniform, handing out Almost Dragonic Brand Token Black Market Cigarettes and grinning a grin of razor-sharp teeth. ;-) OOC: Welcome back, Hydrus! If this is your third time applying to join, then it'll be my third time informing you that a Pen membership is a permanent thing and sticks with you forever. Then again, I really liked this story, so perhaps your re-re-application to the Pen was for the better. ;-) Anyway, as Gyrfalcon noted, you retain your status as an Initiate, though you may have to work off a Weenie title for not participating in the last Pen roll call. Welcome back again, I look forward to reading your stories and roleplaying again.
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Wyvern raises a claw and gawks as Minta cries out the superior bid, his eyes widening in horror as he realizes that his thirty geld proposal has been outclassed. Fumbling through his paperwork chaotically, he manages to come to the realization that a bid of 25 earned geld from Minta would have been equally successful, considering that the net worth of Almost Dragonic Brand Semi-Sharp Ninja Twinkle Stars is approximately negative ten geld. Discarding the thought and cursing to himself, he tears at the scales on his head as he wonders what went wrong with the bribes, not noticing the numerous Almost Dragonic Brand Semi-Sharp Ninja Twinkle Stars that are tossed back at him as they bounce harmlessly off his scaly hide. Wyvern fidgets in his seat nervously, breaking out into an almost sweat as he adjusts the collar of his tunic. He reaches a trembling claw towards one of his signs, muttering a mantra about how geld vanishes and reappears as he clutches it with his scaly fingers. The lizard then fumbles for a quill, but is interrupted by Minta's squeals as Starlight carries her out and jumps to his scaly feet, gasping: "Fourty Five Earned Geld for the Devils Avo- I mean the Devil's Adven- The Devil'sss Advocate!" The overgrown lizard clutches his throat and collapses once he's made the declaration, his forked tongue tied in a series of complex knots and his voice straining at the bidding of geld.
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Today, I decided to try out the "Zero" bar at Lady Celes Crusador's recommendation. I found it decent, slightly vanilla-oriented in flavor and a bit too chewy with the nougat for my taste. Overall, it wasn't a bad candy bar, but I doubt that I'd get it again. I also recently decided to try out the cereal "Waffle Crisp," which recieved a mixture of rave reviews and "disgusting" comments from my friends. Personally, I thought it was a very tasty cereal, with just the right amount of maple syrup flavor and texture to emulate a waffle, though the aftertaste of it left something to be desired. Never the less, I'd recommend it to fans of sweetened junk food cereals everywhere.
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Wyvern rubs his scaly claws together and hisses to himself sinisterly as he considers the merits of the artifact, savouring the thoughts of it's usefulness for entering bars without being recognized and setting up elaborate plots. After a long moment of hesitation, he scrawls something onto a sign in an illegible font and holds it up for all to see: "I bid 30 earned geld and one Almost Dragonic Brand Semi-Sharp Ninja Twinkle Star on the Devil's Avocad Advocate" The overgrown lizard then quickly pulls out several bundles of paperwork, immediately scribbling down thoughts on ways to make up for geld losses, as well as sending bribes of one Almost Dragonic Brand Semi-Sharp Ninja Twinkle Star to each opposing bidder.
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Wyvern steps into the Cabaret Room as the debate continues between the two parties, clearing his throat of a few ashes and handing out Almost Dragonic Brand Party Favors to each of the groups as he exclaims: "For the record, I think it'sss ultimately a tie between pirates and ninjas... Thossse who pirate ninja gear have an advantage as they have no ethics code (thank God!) and can modify the ninja materials anyway they want, but let's not forget that the ninjas originated the style and the gear itself. The ninjas have had more practice with the materials, but the pirates have the advantage of improving upon the ninja blueprints." The pirate and ninja crowds both stare at Wyvern in confusion as he grins left and right. The reptilian Elder then promptly takes out a large sack of goods. "Ssspeaking of pirated ninja gear, anyone up to purchasing some Almost Dragonic Brand Semi-Sharp Ninja Twinkle Stars? Oh, and those Almost Dragonic Brand Party Favors are ten geld a piece, by the way..." ;-)