tushanshu | Entries tagged with † michaelangelo

Ah, um.

[Kitty looks a bit sheepish...but rather less woolly, in any case.]

So...uh. Hypothetical medical-slash-metaphysical question...

...whaaaat iiifffff...what if you accidentally............swallowed........your soul gem.

Hypothetically.

Asking for a friend.

But it is also quite urgent.

[This is the exact kind of quality person you let onto your turtle, everyone.]

wolfstrike

[After having spied on the Justicar, Yuri's been trying to get any glimpse of the search parties in the city that he can. They've been rather slippery the past few days though, and it's been a bit difficult keeping tabs on them all the time. But on the 20th, he does manage to spot something going on, and his voice will come clearly over the handsets.]

Hey guys, there's something going down in front of one of the Kedan's homes. One of the Chihuelan search parties is trying to force their way in.

...

Aaaand now they're calling for back up.

That's it, I'm going in. If there's anyone that can help, get down here.

[Yuri will then give instructions as to the location of where it's happening. After this, his radio goes silent. People can discuss things but Yuri won't be replying.]

purered

Text

Monday 8/3
Winds are high today. Most are keeping their laundry in so their unmentionables don't get blown away. Heat continues with little respite.

Tuesday 8/4
A smattering of showers in the morning. Cleared by the afternoon which was muggier than usual. Humidity cleared up by the evening. Winds continue, strong and erratic.

Wednesday 8/5
Weather remains hot, dry and windy. Nothing of note.

Thursday 8/6
I forgot to keep a log of this day. Something came up. Apologies.

Friday 8/7
Nearly lost my spectacles when the wind changed directions. Very heavy winds, many stalls closed early for the day when merchandise kept blowing around.

Saturday 8/8
Woke up with a spider on my face. I put her back in my pot of lavender, poor thing. Winds a bit less strong, but the heat remains nigh unbearable.

Sunday 8/9
Small showers in the afternoon. A lot of flora has wilted in this heat, so hopefully those give it some respite.

Monday 8/10
Many people working in agriculture are concerned about how long this drought is going to last. Heat remains constant.

Tuesday 8/11
Strong winds felled a number of trees. Fog in the evening.

Wednesday 8/12
Fog continued throughout the morning and cleared in the early afternoon. Hot, muggy and windy.

Thursday 8/13
Hot and windy - damage from fallen trees and debris in the wood sector, albeit minor.

Friday 8/14
Dry heat continues through the day and well into the night. Very unpleasant.

Saturday 8/15
Heavy and erratic winds made laundry a bit difficult. If someone happens to locate the vest that got away from me, I'd be most grateful.

Sunday 8/16
It feels like it's getting hotter, although the temperatures have only really ranged from 36c - 40c through the past two weeks and nothing has changed.

I doubt it needs to be said, but please do your best to conserve water.

[Video]

Continuing with garden tips from last time, here are some more rather helpful hints.

To restrict an aggressive plant from taking over your garden, keep it in the pot with the bottom cut out when you plant it. That will make the roots grow straight down rather than cause it to invade the space of your other plants.
To keep animals from eating your root bulbs, stake netting over your flower bed. Come growing season, cut holes in it for the flowers to grow, and you'll never lose your tulips to hungry deer again.
Compost takes about two weeks to integrate and stabilize in the soil. Do keep this in mind before planting.
If you have trouble with insects, natural repellents are garlic, onions, chives and chrysanthemums. Plant these in your garden and you'll have little need for pesticides which are, incidentally, very bad for bees and other pollinating insects.

....

I have been told that some levity would be appreciated in these posts. In light of the approaching trouble, I agree with the sentiment. So... yes. These are some jokes I've collected around town.

[He clears his throat and shuffles through his planner for his notes.]

What is the most musical part of a turkey?

...The drumsticks.

Why was the broom late for work?

...He overswept.

Which bird has the worst manners?

...The mockingbird.

Well, I hope that brightened your day a bit. Thank you, and have a lovely day.

[ooc: These two are still to blame.]

Current Mood: accomplished
Current Location: The Welcome Center
Current Music: Mozart's Symphony no. 40

redlightgreenlight

I have a few things to discuss.

Firstly, with all the preparation for a potential war with the Chihuleans, our focus seems to have drifted away from the enemy on our home soil. The Cultists...We haven't seen anything of them for some time, but we know they are here somewhere. We need to eliminate the local threat so that they can't catch us off guard later. We can't fight a battle on two fronts.

Secondly, we know that Tu Vishan still lives, but we need to decipher what the visions meant and must research how to heal the turtle. The visions mean something, I think we should ask some of the Kedan elders about the symbols and things that we saw in the visions.

This brings me to my third point. We can't run around on our own hoping to get things done. We need to organize ourselves and work together. Look at what our cooperation did with Zatanna's magic...We did that by working together. So I suggest two teams, one to take on the cultists and one to research the visions in hopes that we can heal the turtle.

[Private to Skulduggery]

I know who poisoned Anton. Meet me at the Hotel and I'll take you to him.

gistful

I regret to inform those who knew her that Lady Alayne Stone appears to have left the city.

purered

[He taps the screen gently, and there's a bit of a shake to the camera. But congratulations! Klaus can operate bio mechanical machinery! And you get a nice view of a rather... imposing and somewhat bewildered face.]

Is it working...? Ah, yes, there's the little light. Marvelous.

[He clears his throat and leans away from the camera, sitting upright. His posture is impeccable, and his gaze stern. Or maybe that's just his face.]

Good... [He glances to the time in the corner of the screen.] ...evening, everyone. I am Klaus Reinherz, the Executive Director of Libra. As I'm sure you've fathomed, I'm a new arrival to this city. Much of the situation has been adequately explained by the gentleman who found me. [He neglects to mention he was discovered unconscious on a pumpkin.]

I do have a number of points I'm a little hazy on – namely these baby turtles... turtlings...? Apologies, I'm unsure of the correct terminology. And perhaps if there are any electrical outlets I can use to charge my phone? Also this.

[He holds up his right arm, undoes the buttons on his shirt cuffs, and rolls up his sleeves, revealing a silver cuff set with what appears to be a rectangular piece of carnelian.]

I don't recall purchasing any jewelry and the only information my benefactor gave me on the matter was that if I take it off, I would expire. You can imagine my reluctance to test this, though I think he's... ah... what's the phrase...? ...yanking my chain?

My final inquiry is on the matter of local customs and culture. There seems to be some latent tension with the locals and, as you can imagine, I would not want to cause undue offense and add to the troubles. Details on practices that are commonly considered polite or taboo would be most welcome.

I do appreciate any assistance or information offered, and I am more than happy to return any favour in kind.

Thank you, and good evening.

Current Mood: grateful
Current Location: The Welcome Center
Current Music: Vivaldi's Summer

stonebird

(Despite using the console in the Hotel's lobby, Alayne has made herself as comfortable as she would be in her room. She is sitting at a table with pieces of paper placed around her. Three drawings are easily visible: one is a large wolf, another is an equally large hound with a deformed (or injured) face and the last is a bird in a cage. She moves her pencil over the sketch of the bird, adding shadows.)

Choose an animal for yourself. Then think of the animal others would choose for you.

Are they the same?

(She switches to the sketch of the wolf, adding shading there - particularly around its neck.)

If not, why?

(Also, thanks to her lacking her hair dye, the whole of Tu Shanshu can now see that her hair is auburn.)

stonebird

(Encrypted to Valdis)

May I speak with you privately about a certain matter...? (Her voice is prim, proper and to the point. She is hiding her hope in case she is destined for disappointment.)

(/)

What stories are common in your world? Were you raised with tales of adventure? Romance? Or tales meant for teaching?

(Books were an important part of her life at Winterfell - and she passed much of her time in King's Landing and the Eyrie with them as well. When Joffrey and Sweetrobin weren't bothering her, that is.)

Do you believe them true? I used to believe heroes existed and that all evil was punished. (Her tone is heavy with satire, though it is directed at herself.) Children are foolish.

theideaguy

[The person on the console screen looks shockingly like Sokka. Have you ever seen Sokka before in person? Then it's pretty easy to tell that the person on the screen actually is Sokka. He's got Sokka's eyes, Sokka's skin colour, and a somewhat similar style of hair given that there's still something like a small swish of hair at the top of his head.

[Except, he doesn't look exactly like Sokka. Unlike the Water Tribe warrior, his hair is slightly different—worn down instead of strictly pulled back. He's sporting a rather large moustache and a rather glorious beard. He's sporting the colour red instead of the colour blue, even if his clothes is somewhat makeshift. And above all else, he doesn't sound like Sokka. The man is talking with a rather posh and sophisticated accent and a pitch that's at least an octave or two lower than Sokka's normal voice.

[But it's still Sokka. Though perhaps if one hasn't seen him before, he might be mistaken for someone completely new.]

Greetings and salutations, my dear citizens of the Shell.

My name is Fire. Wang Fire! Sophisticated gentleman and trained psychotherapist, at your service. [He twirls his moustache with his right hand, as if to add embellishment to the declaration.]

It's come to my attention that, of late, there's been quite the rumblings of frustration on the account of a good many people that I've had the pleasure of making acquaintances of. And why ought it not to be the case? The Shell has changed so dramatically over the past few weeks, almost to no one's general preference. And so it's with this in mind that I've decided, as a most magnanimous gesture, to offer my services to you all.

Should you perhaps need someone to talk to about matters of the mind or the heart, you might find me around the Midnight Hotel, where I'm currently staying. If you can't find me around, just ask around reception. They'll be able to summon me to your side in a jiffy.

michaeljangelo

[Turtle Family Encryption.
Mike hasn't messed with it, so if Don or Leo or Raph trusted you enough to consider you part of the family, then you're seeing this.

What this is, is Mike looking spread way too thin around the edges. Like someone who's maybe had one too many sleepless nights, and quite possibly spent a little too much time away from his own lantern.]

I think Raph's gone. Like...gone gone.
I've checked everywhere, and he hasn't been here.

You guys haven't seen him, have you?

...are you there?

i_speak_softly

[Don sits at his console, opens a Video channel, and prepares to speak. Before he can get a single word out, Mike leans in front of him.]

We interrupt this program to bring you the following special announcement.

[Don sighs and pushes Mike out of the frame to say his piece.]

Caretakers of hatchlings, please listen!

This mean you, chuckles. Pipe down.

[Yes, Mike, thank you. Continuing now.]

It's awfully hot out there, and while you may have heard that reptiles love heat, too much of it is dangerous for them.

Please don't cook your turtle.

The hatchlings, like all reptiles, are ectotherms. This means that they regulate their body temperatures by exchanging heat with the environment around them. In other words, they take on the external temperature.

They're cold-blooded.

Yes, Mike, that's what I said. Could you please stop interrupting me? Ahem...

While reptiles are adapted to tolerate a wider range of internal temperatures than mammals, they can still suffer from both heat stroke and hypothermia when conditions are too extreme.

We repeat: please do not cook your turtle.

[Fine. From here on out, Don is just ignoring the interjections.]

Like now. Please don't let your hatchlings stay outside too long in this weather, no matter what they say to you. They will overheat and get sick. But, bring them inside carefully.

And not just because they're likely several times your size, though there's that too.

Remind them that safe equalization is very important. Going directly from an extreme temperature to a comfortable one may sound like a good idea, but it causes another condition called thermic shock. That can lead to unconsciousness or even death.

We know about this because we're turtles, and we've been turtles longer than they've been turtles, and so clearly we know better than they do. That's just Science.

[A pause, what else does he need to say.]

Oh, and remember that turtles drink a lot, even when it isn't this warm. Be sure to provide plenty of clean water!

Because good hydration is key.

Never put your hatchling in an ice bath. Ever.

That's just cold, man.

I don't really trust these "coldstones" either.

...

I'm done, Mike. You can talk now.

[The screen is again filled by Mike's gleeful face.]

We now return you to your program, already in progress.

[End transmission.]

backwordscompatible

[Another day, another morning of having to ration her tea and breakfast. Of residual smoke lingering in the air from the explosions that had gone off down the street. Of the near radio silence and informational uncertainty that came with it. Of having to stare at the ugly remodeled palace and remember that, whatever was inside it, it had been enough to scare certain people into staying as far away as possible.]

[There was something particularly special about this day, however...or, at least, there was supposed to be.]

[The good news was that Zatanna seemed to be feeling a lot better. You'd never know from her expression, though, as she stared dully into the camera for a fleeting moment, before calmly holding up a sign (in English):]

WORST
"SWEET" SIXTEEN
EVER

[It was the most trivial of teen trivial things, but she didn't care. Malicant wanted to listen in on everybody's conversations? Find out what they were talking about? Fine. She would rant and rave all she wanted, and he would have no choice but to listen.]

[Because #F*@kYouMalicant]

looksfine

[You may be pleased to know, certain residents of Keelai, that Aya had no intentions of offering another long-winded highly detailed technical analysis of...whatever it is she's up to at the moment. In fact, her latest message is surprisingly simple:]

It has been brought to my attention that my choice of vocabulary and diction is considered...unnecessarily formal by some.

[To put it mildly.]

I have made several attempts to alter my speech patterns, but have realized that I still lack a more concise understanding of what precisely entails formal versus familiar speech. Therefore, I am seeking any an all information regarding more colloquial expressions or terms that may be used in everyday conversation, which I will do my best to learn and subsequently employ accordingly.

Thank you.

((PRIVATE TO: HAL JORDAN (2011) - 100% AYA ENCRYPTED))

[Her eyes narrow, however, when the following message is delivered. Anger was not quite an accurate assessment of her emotions at that particular moment...but annoyance wouldn't have been a stretch.]

You did not follow through with your agreement to meet with me last month, and have since done nothing to rectify this error.

I wish to know why.

sticksaround

[ Casey opens with about five seconds of space to start with, since he's rechecking his console operational stats as a precaution. His voice is stiff and a little muffled, but easy enough to understand. ]

Alright. Definitely got this working! [ Moderately loud enthusiasm abounds for a brief moment there, and it is promptly tamped down. ] Sorry. I asked about how these worked just to be safe, but I also hear I got a pretty thick skull, y'know? [ And here there are two quiet thumps followed by a light hiss, because he sure did knock on the side of his head for emphasis. ] Wanted to make sure I got it.

So, uh. Hey. Name's Casey. I'm from New York, and if you don't know what that means, I feel sorry for ya. I guess I'm here to wake up half-drowned and defeat evil like everyone else? The half-drowned thing is pretty new, but I actually have some experience with evil, so here's hopin' I can put myself to good use. I mean, between giant turtles and fightin' bad guys and studying for English Lit., I'll take the bad guys.

If there's anything bigger than the welcome wagon that a guy should be let in on or a familiar face or somethin', though, I'd really appreciate gettin' that outta the way now. Maybe directions to a good sports equipment store? [ Pauuuuse. ] Thanks. Really.

[ That equipment store is really important though. ]

backinakidflash

[It's been some time since Bart has graced the Network with a post. After Tim left the first time, that had been a miserable one to make. The shine is definitely gone like the cheap, shiny (lead-filled) paint on a kids meal toy.]

You know what is one of THE most annoying short story I've ever read? Hills Like White Elephants. Cause like. The Lottery was a trainwreck of stupid and gross, the one where that girl got shot out of the airlock was tragic, Super-Toys Last All Summer Long, All in a Summer Day - they're all about the worst of humanity, and I get that.

[It's strange how he has a hard time coming up with a short story that wasn't A huge downer, but, since he's venting, he doesn't pause the fast-paced, near breathless delivery to muse on it for long.]

But Hills Like White Elephants, man. It's four pages of doing nothing but waiting for this couple to stop dancing around the topic and complaining that everything tastes like licorice. Like that's a bad thing. I'd cut off my arm for a twizzler. All right not the whole arm, but me and my pinkie have never been on the best of terms. Twizzlers are nature's straws. And that's how they go. On and on. For pages of nothing that dance around everything and you just want to shout at them to freaking say it already because the rampant silence is killing her and the incessant chatter is putting him off. But on the other hand, who cares about him? He's a scumbag, and I hope that - in the fiction of Hemingway's - she grew a spine and dumped his fatass and ran off to run a tourist bar in Borneo. Because he was freaking selfish.

[He shrugs at this terrible understatement. 'Shithead' would be better, or reprehensible dickwad, but this isn't actually a symposium on the works of Ernest Hemingway. It just seemed like the best way to bring up how there were so many things, including Malicant, that no one talked about directly. Talk about white elephants by bringing up the story where they talk about white elephants to ignore the white elephants.]

So, yeah. Most annoying four pages I've ever read, and that's not counting all the essays analyzing it. Half of them were longer than the story! That is what happens when you hafta keep avoiding a topic. The coding and decoding detour takes way longer than flat out talking about it ever could, and. Let's be real. Not talking about things is halfway to lying, and oh-what-a-tangled-web hasn't stuck around for two centuries because Marmion is such a gripping read. Ohgoditreallyisn't. Why am I talking about Walter Scott?

[He actually stops here, scratching behind his ear for a moment until the tangent becomes a parabola and re-intersects with the original topic.]

Ugh, right. Hemingway. Things snowball. Before you know it, you're in an entire room full of white elephants, crowding out all the oxygen, and you can't turn around without face planting in saggy gray butt. Names that you shouldn't say, that you can't say, things you don't want to say cause you'll upset someone else or you, or piss them off and. It's turning every conversation into "Oh. We're talking about that now? OK."

ALL of it could be avoided if people just said what was on their mind because decades of watching what I say is getting old. I can't take it. I'm not wired for patient and subtle. I'm gonna be the first Allen in four generations to get gray hair. Because all I can do is sit here like -

[He jumps to his feet dramatically, pointing off in the distance.] "What in the world could that be?"

[And sits back firmly, as if it's possible to sit down resolutely with enough speed and force. Bart slaps a hand on the desk for good measure.] IT'S A WHITE ELEPHANT. It sucks.

And so does Hemingway.

definingfuture

You know what I want? A pizza. For those of you who are familiar with it, I just realized how long it's been since I've actually had a good pizza, and it's almost criminal. For the rest of you, you don't know what you're missing.

You think we can get a pizzeria started somewhere?

And while I'm thinking here, is anyone really that uncomfortable? It's not so bad once you figure out the secret to it.

[The smile he puts on is deliberate and smug. It's the kind of expression he gives when he knows someone else wants him to have a bad day just so he can ruin their plans. Or maybe he's just trying to piss someone else off. Who knows?]

Want a hint? Here's a hint: When is a door not a door?

[Locked; encrypted 30%]

"Ajar" doesn't sound like "a jar".

[Locked; encrypted 50%]

That's not even the answer I'm looking for. But this is the next clue.

[Locked; encrypted 80%]

M must be for marshmallow. And we all know that marshmallows aren't that intimidating.

The answer is adaptation. The riddle was just for fun. Also it's when it's ajar. [No it wasn't. It was "code" or "back door".]

duelkatana

[BASIC ENCRYPTION TO:

alphatar,

dustonmyfeet,

jirk,

wintershepherd,

angermanaging,

bindsthedead,

starcharter]

[The figure hunched over in front of the feed is: a turtle, green, wearing a blue bandana around his head, and brandishing two swords over his shell. But he isn't the same Leonardo as the one these people must know. His fingers are steepled in front of his face, covering a good portion of his mouth, and his hard gaze is locked forward. Behind him stands a second turtle; shorter, stockier, his mask a dark red, and also very much not smiling.]

If you're seeing this message, it's because you know L - [the slightest pause, his knuckles tightening over his face before dropping from in front of his face to rest flat on the desk] Leo. We're cousins of his, and we... have some bad news. If you would let us, we'd like to meet you face-to-face.

[ooc; log for secondary action ~~incoming!~~ here!]

alphatar

[A broad smile is on Korra’s face when she turns on the video feed. She’s leaning to one side of the chair and looking pleased as punch.]

I’ll be reopening the dojo in the Wood Sector and I need some teachers, mentors, instructors- whatever you want to call yourselves, to teach people that want to learn. Any fighting style will do, but if it’s martial arts; then all the better.

If you’re interested in lessons, get in touch with me here or privately. I don't know how much lessons are going to be yet, but I'll try to keep it low.

[There's a pause where Korra considers her next words and her smile fades a little.]

If you're half as good as Dinah Lance is [Not was.] then I need to talk you.

[Four months of training with Dinah isn't enough for Korra. She wants to dig in further into the various styles she was mastering, and this is the only way she knows of to find someone that can help her do just that.]

duelkatana

[He's been stranded in other dimensions before. Other timelines before, too. They've always been temporary excursions, and even now, he believes wholeheartedly that this time is no different. There have been no magical Time Scepters or reality-bending War Staffs to break him out, return him home where he belongs; but he knows it in his bones. He'll wait a lifetime if he has to, but he knows he'll see his family again.]

[Before now, his personal record for being lost in another place was three months.]

[One year. Twelve months. Four of them without his brothers.]

[Yeah... former record thoroughly bested.]

[Early on the morning of the 24th, Leo slips quietly from the suite he shares with his cousins, skipping out on their usual morning routine. He leaves no note, but his covers are neatly folded and his weapons and mask are gone from his bedside. All the markings of a Leonardo Mood™ are left in his wake.]

[He spends a few hours in Keeliai; visiting his usual places, stopping by his own suite. He passes over what used to be Raph's. He almost goes to the Fire Sector to check up on his old safehouse, but decides against it.]

[Around noon, he ducks into a console cafe and takes a seat at one of the farthest corners, writing up an anonymous message to send into the network.]

In my world, there are many myths revolving around the World Turtle, an ancient beast who carried the world on its back. In Chinese mythology, the heavens were separated from Earth by four great pillars. One day, they collapsed, sending the world into chaos; floods drowned the land and fires scorched the earth, and ferocious animals devoured the people of the world.

In desperation, the goddess Nüwa, creator of mankind, patched the holes in the sky using smelted colored stones. She then sought out Ao, the Great Turtle who had lived in the seas since the creation of the world, and cut off his legs in order to replace the fallen pillars.

With the sky repaired and the heavens once again supported, the floods receded, the fires were snuffed out, and the beasts died away. Carrying the Nine Provinces of China on her back, Nüwa embraced the harmonies of spring and summer, autumn and winter... Yin and Yang.

Seems like it worked out for everyone in the end. Except for the Great Turtle.

skybluejeep

[Stiles, already a big believer in layers, is wearing two sweaters, a jacket, a scarf, and even though you can't see it, has his blanket draped across his lap. He looks like what a cartoonist believes appropriate cold weather clothes looks like. Or, no, he look like Randie in A Christmas Story! Yes.]

Okay, why is it cold as balls right now? I'm from California. I'm not used to this. This is completely unacceptable. If I wanted to live like this, I'd move to freakin' Alaska and cuddle up with a polar bear. I'm going to get frostbite. Things are going to start falling off my body because of this, I know it.

Bryn, I'm calling out sick for the duration of this because if I go outside I'm going to drop dead. Of ice. I'm going to turn into an abominable snowman after all, and this time it won't be a joke.

Petition to make the turtle swim to Tahiti, sign below, thanks.

Tu Shanshu

video;

Radio | Backdated to Sept 20

Console | Subject: Weather | RE: Strong winds, consistent heat

Radio

[CONSOLE] video;

[Console: Video] | [Subject: Arrival, RE: KVR, Libra]

[Console] (Video) ❅ The Fourth

[Handset] (Audio) ❅ The Third

[Console: Video]

Video 003 - The one with the bad news.

002 ~ Video

✦ 014 ✦ [VIDEO] ✦ (Open to ACTION) ✦

➢ 004 | VIDEO

001 • [audio]

Video; take the big game down

07 § video

003 ⚔ video; basic encryption

Video;

002 ⚔ TEXT; anonymous

5 → Video

Links