& a dog of war.

& we don't talk about love.

laboratory — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 00:19:48 GMT

A couple of things!

1. An update at teriyakicon. Icons for all Nitro+ChiRAL games presently out, as well as a couple of DOGS and D.Gray-Man.

2. I'm laboratory at dreamwidth now too, but mainly as a fandom journal, and falsiloquence is its mirror. Please feel free to friend me up if you're over there. I don't really use journal services for what I'm supposed to any more, as you've probably noticed! So it's just fics and fanart and scans and crap like that. But I do still read my flist.

I also have a tumblr at falsiloquence. Please note that it's not worksafe! And as always, I'm still over at plurk, where I'm at my most visible.

I'll be posting some art over here soon, I just have to clean it all up a bit.

Hope all you guys are doing well. ♥ Love you all.

& i can go deeper for my lust for you.

laboratory — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 12:41:39 GMT

Webcomic update!

Futurition.

I'm stupidly proud of this background, huff. It's not all that elaborate, but I normally half-ass them so much.

& doctor doctor feel good.

laboratory — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 11:05:28 GMT

Futurition.

OH MAN ARE THOSE OLD PAGES GODDAMN UGLY and inconsistent and just awful or is it me.

Anyway, I went back and I changed a whole load of the dialogue (although I made a pact with myself to leave the rubbish art alone because it's so easy to burn out on that infinite loop of reparation) and I've kind of started carrying it on. For larfs.

It's a crappy little comic but the thought of continuing it wouldn't leave me alone, so I'm trying on a casual basis.

& or why it has to hurt to learn.

laboratory — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 20:06:43 GMT

Title: Family Play
Circle/Artist: micandou/mican02
Series: sweet pool
Pairing: Kitani/Zenya
Rating: R
Scanlation/Raw: Raw
Scanner: laboratory/falsiloquence@LJ.

Download.

& and i'll miss you around. but things can't be the same.

laboratory — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 05:57:40 GMT

Art dump again! Lots of oldbies.

x2 Lamento/Leaks fanart, Lamento/Konoe&Shui fanart, DOGs/Mihai fanart, Hetalia/Turkey fanart, Pop'n/GSK fanart, Kuroshitsuji/Ciel fanart, Kuroshitsuji/Ciel&Sebastian fanart, Kuroshitsuji/Sebastian fanart, sweet pool/Zenya fanart, x2 Tizra OC art and Futurition/Amy OC art.

Warnings forrrr... bara. Naked chests. Eyeballs. Suggestive imagery. There's nothing R-rated in this one, though.

DOGs/Mihai:

Hetalia/Turkey:

Pop'N/GSK (For Maki):

Kuroshitsuji

Bara Ciel:

Ciel:

Sebastian:

Lamento

Leaks:

Shui & Konoe:

sweet pool/Zenya:

Original:

Tizra:

Amy:

& there's no way i'm turning back.

laboratory — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 18:10:55 GMT

ANOTHER ART DUMP \o/

DOGs/Nill fanart, Lamento/Leaks RP fanart, Sweet Pool/Zenya meme fanart, Katekyo Hitman Reborn!/Mukuro RP Fanart, D.Gray-man/Lavi Fanart, and a Commission for Fran of Kingdom Hearts/Larxene RP fanart!

And one Absolute Threshold doodle of Commodore Smoker, Giovanni and Spike at the end, to shake up the formula. :')

NSFW. Porn, nudity, lolicon, noncon, disturbing imagery. Amazingly enough, no gore this time!

Larxene from Kingdom Hearts in her Amat clothing, a completed commission for Franchan.

Leaks from Lamento, who I play at Guys and Dolls which is a bit of an idealised Japan-style wonderland really. Tried drawing him in some fancified yukata/hakama.

Zenya from sweet pool, in response to the meme: Pick a character and draw them in the clothes you're wearing right now.

How I would probably end up RPing Nill.

Sketch of Mukuro after he and Zenya's fight/sex log in a meme post.

A result of talking to Ghost and Skyler extensively about Lavi's character and me just turning it into the worst possible scenario: Lavi getting fucked by parasitic eyetongue.

Absolute Threshold RP doodle of Smoker, Giovanni and Spike.

& it was me on that road, but you couldn't see me.

laboratory — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 15:52:00 GMT

The Beginner's Guide to Playing BL Visual Novels With Rudimentary Translation Equipment.

It's not complete, but it's pretty much there!

Made for BL games specifically, but the same thing mostly applies to hentai games and any other visual novel. It was mostly because all the most helpful guides I've found covered different bits of the process, rather than the whole thing from beginning to end, so I thought... yeah, go on then.

If you run into troubleshooting problems, leave a comment there.

& your body is something i might not survive.

laboratory — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 18:04:38 GMT

Nitro+ artdump. Mostly sweet pool, one Lamento, some OCs.

NOT SAFE FOR WORK. Nudity and blood, plus guro is linked to. Also these images are really big, because I got lazy with my resizing. :(

All of my drawings have the same slightly-parted lips, man. When did that start happening.

LAMENTO | Leaks & Shui.

SWEET POOL | Kitani & Zenya.

Complete GURO version.
SWEET POOL | Zenya.

SWEET POOL | Zenya.

SWEET POOL | Youji.
COMPLETE MILD GURO version.

OC | Tizra.

OC | Sheridan.

RO OC | Ignis.

& the phantom star we both will see.

laboratory — Fri, 26 Nov 2010 19:28:08 GMT

This post is here for a reason, honest.

& i am petrified by the thought of losing you.

laboratory — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 06:41:19 GMT

IS EVERYONE STILL HERE youdidn'tabandonmedidyou...

Did I mention I'm back from Boston? I'm totally back from Boston. While I was there I met Seiko, Sheep, Fizzy, Hane, Shannon, Issendai, and Soo in roughly that order, and it was splendiferous. So including Ghost and Skyler while I was up in Londontown, I had a pretty socially productive time of it. They were all amazing and I was shy and awkward and generally a pretty useless guy. Seiko is my favourite in the land, and we had a good character-building time.

I'm still alive, really. But today and tomorrow I'm going in to do full days of classroom assisting Third Years with Mr. N, their new teacher, so that may not be true for too long.

Anyway, this is what I'm really here for! It's motherfucking art time.

My RO Shadow Chaser, Ignis.

Xbox hueg version.

& il est temps pour nous de raviver la flamme.

laboratory — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 17:58:18 GMT

Finally, some pictures of Barney! o/

His personality's really come out since we got him. He's an absolute joy. :')

& i know you're sick alone, and i'm telling everyone everything.

laboratory — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 22:34:30 GMT

Just a few photos picked out of a mess of bad ones. Cardinham, Par beach, Colliford Lake.

Also, ponies.

Cardinham

Par Beach

Not supposed to shoot into the sun. :(

And the sky sewed wrong, but I like the cave. I'll share it just for the cave.

Colliford Lake

& that destination shows you legends long extinct.

laboratory — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:03:58 GMT

RAME HEAD Duhnuhnuhnuhnuuuuhhhhh!
LOTS OF CHURCHES Aduhnuhhhnuhnuhnuh!
HAVE SOME PICTURES Nuhnuhnuhnuhnuhnuh
SOME OF THEM AREN'T VERY STRAIGHT.

/takes a bow.

/slides.

St. Martin's Church.

Rame(?) Church.

Starlings!

Quite a lot of starlings.

& i need to lay off the panoramas.

laboratory — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 03:12:41 GMT

Tons and tons and tons of photos. Hayle, St. Anthony's church, Chagford's reservoir in Dartmoor.

Hayle and the Church of St. Anthony, Falmouth.

Guillemots can always be found in some numbers on the rocks adjacent to ithe lighthouse.

St. Mawes Castle, one of the two defensive castles flanking the entrance to Falmouth Harbour. I haven't visited it yet, I think; I visited Pendennis Castle, which is its counterpart on the other side.

You can tell I love my sweeping panoramas.

A European robin.

St Anthony's church.

A medieval coffin.

I'm sure I'm missing some pictures from inside the church.

Chagford.

I'm such an idiot. The heron flew out of the grass right next to me and I froze up. I sort of expected it to make its getaway too fast for me to snap a picture, but itttt turns out Herons are slow as shitters.

Nevertheless, I didn't get a picture until it was almost gone.

& always with the pictures these days. i have no life at all.

laboratory — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 21:23:46 GMT

I think I had a bit of mild heat-stroke last week, because I felt pretty wretched on Sunday night. I'd been out walking along the coast of Trevone that morning, and on the day before that I was struggling across sand dunes in blistering sun at Hayle. I burned my face a bit, and that's taking a while to fade.

Beautiful walks, but they didn't make for spectacular pictures; they were kind of a bit too brochure-ey. On Monday we went to Berry Pomeroy, a medieval castle out on Dartmoor that was later converted to a tudor/elizabethan estate by sons, grandsons and great-grandsons of Edward Seymour, who bought the property and was the Lord Protector of Henry VIII's only son and the first Duke of Somerset. Despite being extended and built up massively over these generations, it was eventually abandoned, and all the ongoing construction work was just left incomplete. In its history, it's only ever been owned by two families - the Seymours and the Pomeroys. It belongs now to the current Duke of Somerset.

That more than made up for it photo-wise, so as a warning: there's absolutely millions of pictures under the cut.

The castle reminded me a lot of the ruined architecture in Ico, especially where the creeping weeds and vines had started to really overcome the walls, and where all that was left of some of the predominantly-glass buildings were the long, tall pillars that stood between the windows.

The view of the front.

Walking through...

The main courtyard. It was incredibly cold despite the blue sky.

To the right on the inside of the entrance. This led up to the family chapel building and the curtain wall. I didn't go up there yet.

This was one of the most intact buildings. It contained the Elizabethan Great Hall, a Buttery and Pantry, private rooms, the kitchen... it was sort of the main body of the home for banquets and general living.

This building was predominantly glass. All that's left now are the raw foundations. It was used for large celebrations, masques and, if I remember right, 'taking indoor exercise'. General far-too-rich-to-know-what-to-do-with-it Elizabethan tomfoolery, pretty much. It had views across to the land it owned, with ponds full of carp and eels.

Icoicoico.

I kind of like that leaning pillar. It looks like it's waiting in line at a bank.

Being in there, you could definitely tell why they needed so many fireplaces. Even with glass in the windows, it must have been bitterly cold. I was absorbing my sacks from it.

Up the chimney. Remember when we used to shove kids up there? Those were the days.

Some of the remaining slate flooring. Also, an American family were there on holiday. In SHORTS! ARE YOU PEOPLE MADE OUT OF SOLAR ENERGY? HOW DO YOU NOT JUST DIE?

The view emerging from the East terrace.

This! This is the view from the north side of the house. We went on this path later, and there's pictures of that too.

I took so many pictures. I think I thought they might make good reference for something one day.

Someone had left this in the window of the West building.

More of the West building.

After we went along the East Terrace, we saw a part of the East building we hadn't been in yet. We decided to circle 'round and have a look, and it led us to St. Margaret's Tower. Allegedly the home of one of the two ghosts said to dwell in the Castle, the White Lady. Margaret Pomeroy had the misfortune of falling in love with the same knight as her sister Eleanor, and so her sister locked her in the basement, a prisoner in her own home until she wasted away and died.

The stairs from the room in question.

From there, the Curtain Wall and the view up to the small chapel. The Curtain Wall was originally a medieval defense, and although it still remained in use in a similar fashion (with a meagre amount of guards - six or seven at most), the area we walked through here had been converted into a garden. We could see why; it was a heat trap, and it was the first time we'd been warm since we arrived.

Since the sun was starting to come out, we sat and ate our sandwiches.

England was flipping between Catholicism and Protestantism at this time, with every monarch going against the former. This was built as a Catholic chapel. When it was outlawed, they took communion and presumably practiced in private.

Nice ceiling.

Through this hole, they'd... do their bodily business into the dry moat below.

A painting of the three kings coming to see baby J.

BAT.

Since we were warm and refreshed from our lunch, we decided to go on our epic woodland walkies. We first went South, until we reached a dead end, and then doubled back to take the 'difficult' road, which was much steeper and circled around to the East. We soon realised we were taking the path we'd seen from the castle.

Along the way, the path eventually becomes a route for private property and long, long drives up to small estates. Oh, but to be so wealthy that every morning I could get up and swing open my lattice windows and look out at the GIANT FUCKING CASTLE. I'd never stop orgasming long enough to crawl into my Rolls Royce for my usual weekend meeting at the Country Club.

I heard a rustling as we walked along the path, and doubled back to investigate. Suddenly, lizard.

Since we were about to leave, it was naturally time for the sun to come out.

The end.

& at least i did something today, even if i was too exhausted to do futurition.

laboratory — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 23:17:24 GMT

Final Presidency VII continues.

I actually had to edit the Aerith picture a little bit for this one, so it's not as pure as the others. :( It was easier to shift the back of her head down to fit Palin's than it was to find another picture of Palin at a similar angle, without the fringe, that would fit as well as this one.

& veni, veni, venias, ne me mori facias.

laboratory — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 01:07:28 GMT

A sort of follow-on from this.

Estuans interius
ira vehementi
Estuans interius
ira vehementi
Gordon Brown.

Gordon Brown.

I suppose I need a Cloud!Cameron and Cloud!McCain to really complete the set, though.

(Tifa!Palin?)

& it's easy when you know how it's done.

laboratory — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 19:45:42 GMT

It's just more photos today. This time, I went to Dartmoor.

I'll have to take responsibility for any bad photography this time; these are all mine.

"don't fuck it up."

A rest area surrounded by tors.

We fed them some wholemeal bread with cheese. Some birds can get vicious and attack other birds who get the food they go after, but the ones that are in groups generally are very civil to each other. When the group's strength is yours, you try not to harm anyone.

They all got food in the end, anyway. Except for me, because I fed them my whole sandwich.

The scruffy one in the front here came pretty low in the pecking order. He didn't get any food at first, so after a while we started directing food towards him. He was also more inclined to scour the grass for anything he missed than the others were, and got a lot that way.

And then there was a cloud burst. Within a minute the moor went from this

to this.

And then it got better again.

Two Bridges.

Princetown.

Princetown prison.

A slightly crappy picture of two of the most visible buildings from here...

And a better quality image of just one of them.

And the entrance. And then it's back to more moor!

And a huge tor to finish off.

AND THAT WAS MY DAYYY.

& les barreaux d'une cage peuvent céder sous le poids des larmes.

laboratory — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 23:31:14 GMT

Today I realised my mum needs to step awayyyy from the Photoshop. But here's some nice pictures of where I've been this week!

All of these were taken by my mum so I can't claim credit for any snazzy shots.

Except that one, and one other.

Shell Woods!

An old tram line. Further up the road is the remains of a former rock quarry, so presumably it was used to transfer rocks in carts.

... And this dragonfly is the one picture I took.

Boscastle. Unfortunately the best pictures of this place are on my phone, which doesn't want to transfer files right now. ): I'll save them for another day.

We started off down there.

There was a cave down the bottom, and you can just about see it on here.

Watch tower. Still in use, still has two uniforms on duty. Right behind here, a guy had me take a photo of he and his family sitting on a rock with amazing compression lines. I took a nice close up of the rock detail after they left, and I really hope I can get it off my phone.

I think that's it.

& reinforcements? i am the reinforcements.

laboratory — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 21:41:21 GMT

Disregard this; notes for my faulty memory's sake.

Game Events.
General Character/World Facts.
Notable Dialogue involving Sydney, Ashley or Hardin.

Sydney and his Mullenkamp cult invade Duke Badorba's mansion, looking for something. Lord Joshua, Duke Badorba's precious relative, is kidnapped by Sydney's second-in-command, Hardin. However, Hardin seems skeptical about their chances of finding what Sydney is looking for, prompting Sydney to demand if Hardin doubts his power.
Meanwhile, Guildenstern attacks Duke Badorba's mansion with the holy knights or 'Crimson Blades', knights in service of the Cardinal, looking for Sydney. He orders his men to put out the flames before the mansion is rased to the ground and all is for naught. However, he fails to find Sydney first, as he has competition.
Parliament's Valendia Knights of the Peace (VKP) formed a squad to deal with the felons (Sydney) and sent the Riskbreakers (Ashley). He has an encounter with Sydney where he shoots him with his bowgun, and Sydney appears dead. However, he soon gets up and goes to swing at Ashley with his sword, but is too weak to fight him. Along with Hardin and Lord Joshua, Sydney escapes to Leá Monde and leaves Ashley to deal with his wyvern (D'tok).

Duke Badorba has two of his men dress in the garb of the Holy Knights and burn his own mansion, complete with hostages and family, to the ground. He then orders his men to take over Leá Monde and deal with Sydney and the Crimson Blades.

Therefore, all groups will now proceed to Leá Monde in pursuit of Sydney.

Leá Monde is an ancient city, a 2000 year old place of incredible wealth and beauty. It used to be a thriving hub of activity, populated by over 5000 people, but a great Earthquake 25 years ago brought that period of Leá Monde's history to an end.

Callo (a fellow agent, but a noncombatant of the VKP) meets Ashley near to Leá Monde and reports that the two sentinels have been murdered. It appears that the only way to Leá Monde is below ground. The water is a hive of whirlpools and has been since the Earthquake rose the reefs beneath the water. A great crevasse prevents entry from above ground.

Callo tells him that some of their agents were sent to the Leá Monde ruins, thinking they were the Mullenkamp base; not one returned, and they were undoubtedly killed by men. The two of them proceed into the opening under the ground, where Ashley will make his way to Leá Monde. Down there, they find their men killed with swords.

It turns out that the area below ground is a wine cellar, well-fortified. The wine made by Leá Monde vied with the best in Valendia, and since it went out of business, it now sells for a premium.

Sydney Losstarot is the leader of the religious cult Mullenkamp. His real name and age are unknown. The VKP consider him to be one of the self-styled prophets of the apocalypse, as there are no doubt many.

While it's unknown what the Cardinal makes of Sydney's crime, the VKP believes his prophet role is a cover, the cult is a front, and believes he's in alliance with Duke Badorba, who controls parliament from behind the scenes. Thus, the attack on Badorba is believed to be a result of the two sides falling out. Ashley questions whether it couldn't just be one of the Cardinal's witch-hunts, yet again.

While there are many would-be prophets in the world, Sydney is understood to be quite different. His prophecies always ring true, and he enraptures many with his revelations. They all say he is a miracle.

They say he knows the pasts of those he meets, and reads hearts.

Ashley accuses Callo of being quite taken with him, and tells her to notify HQ if he's not back by the morrow's eve. Callo turns to leave the cellar, only to find Sydney waiting for her at the top of the stairs. She is promptly kidnapped. Later, two of the Cardinal's Crimson Blades would also be found dead at the entrance. Unlike the ones in the cellar, they would be found to have died by their own hands.

This suggests that Sydney has the capacity to 'will' men to end their own lives, so deep into their psyches he can reach.

Inside the heart of the wine cellar, Ashley experiences a brief quake; it seems the city is still suffering from mini-quakes/aftershocks. He comes upon two of the holy knights struggling to get a door open. One informs the other that a key couldn't be holding the door shut; it has to be a Grimoire. They're concerned that someone on the inside locked it, and that they'll be cut off from the others. The scouts haven't yet returned.

One leads the other to a floating platform - the work of another Grimoire, and they comment on Sydney's wyvern (referred to as a wyrm/dragon) being spotted at the Duke's mansion. 'Where there's magick, there'll be dragons.' They make it clear that their job in Leá Monde is to purge it of the Mullenkamp cult, and also to procure the miracles of Leá Monde. Their goal, ultimately, is to control this magickal power. 'Guildenstern's lot' is also said to be capable of wielding such power, even though holy knights are servants of the Lord, and ought never to meddle in the black arts.

Ashley sees a vision of a boy (his 'son') and recoils. The noise alerts the two knights to his presence. Ashley emerges from hiding and kills them both, continuing deeper into the cellar.

'Guildenstern' orders his knights to go back and deal with the 'Parliament watchdog' pursuing them, telling them the VKP is their enemy. They turn to deal with him, and as Guildenstern turns away from them, he becomes Sydney. Sydney can therefore take on the guises of other people, but it isn't yet clear whether he merely manipulates their eyes to see what he wishes them to see, or if he truly changes his shape.

Ashley disposes of the men, and there's another quake - bigger than the last. After it's over, he experiences a vision. A beautiful green field, and a tree. Under the tree, he sees his son, who calls him papa. Inside the cellar, he sees his son again, up on the highest ledge. He turns towards the door, and vanishes. Ashley pursues him, and faces a boss. After defeating it and reaching for the door, he hears a metallic applause behind him, and turns to see Sydney standing below, watching him.

Ashley: Sydney!
Sydney: So this is a Riskbreaker.
Most men complacently accept 'knowledge' as 'truth'. They are sheep, ruled by fear.
But you are different.
Always calm, detached. A smooth flow of thought into action.
Indeed, it is almost as if...
[Spreading his arms.]
As if you had no soul.
[He turns, walking away from Ashley.]
How do you do it? Body and soul are one...
Yet yours are separate, like a child from a knight in his storybook.
Where is your soul, Riskbreaker?
Is this VKP training? Or did you see something that made you shut your soul away?
[He turns and extends his arm.]
Show me your soul.

This leads into the second flashback, a repressed memory that Sydney forces to the surface.

Ashley is once again at the field, watching the tree. The boy runs to his mother and father, sitting there and having a picnic on the grass. His father is Ashley. The mother kisses this Past Ashley and stands; as she walks away, she's cut down by soldiers; as Past Ashley runs to her, he hears an arrow befall his son, and runs back to find him dead.

Ashley returns to the present, down on one knee before Sydney.

Sydney: You killed your beloved wife and son.
Ashley: ... They were cut down by fallen knights. Jackals.
Sydney: Wrong. You failed to protect your wife, your child. You failed in your duty as a knight, as a husband... as a father.
You killed them!
Ashley: Sydney!
[Ashley charges at him, and Sydney jumps far from him using magick, landing on a distant ledge.]
Sydney: Try to catch me, Ashley Riot!
Look outside yourself to find your truth.
Ashley: What's your game?
Sydney: Hardin!
[Hardin appears on the opposite ledge, holding Callo.]
Callo: Ashley!
Ashley: Merlose!
Callo: Pay no heed to me! Take them, Riot!
Sydney: [Raising his arms.] The city of shade will forgive your sins, my son-
And call forth a power, a power that lies within you even now!
This is my game.
I run, you give chase. I am the hart, you are the hunter. But this hart has laid a few snares of his own...
I am waiting for you, Riskbreaker.
[Sydney ascends into the dark.]
Ashley: H-Hold! Sydney!

He turns in time for the door to slam behind Callo and Hardin, the two already gone.

Ashley proceeds onwards and comes across a dying man, who begs him to end the pain. However, before he can do anything more, the man passes away, and his soul emerges from his body. It's at this point that Ashley meets his first example of an 'incomplete death' - the zombification of corpses that occurs within Leá Monde, as a result of the accursed dark magick it acts as a hub for.

He deals with plenty more zombies, a boss made of armour (powered by the souls of the dead?) and proceeds out of the cellars and into the catacombs, where he has plenty more dealings with ghouls and monstrosities. He experiences another earthquake, each one more troubling than the one before.

As he emerges from the catacombs, Hardin watches. He isn't there, but he nevertheless stands as a projection that the real Hardin watches through. He's with Sydney, who at that point in time is scrawling on the ground with his claws, creating ancient sigils on the stone. Callo looks on, her arms bound. Sydney tells her that as long as she doesn't attempt escape, no harm will come to her.

Sydney: What think you, Hardin?
Hardin: [Observing Ashley.]
Gods... is he even human? He fights with the strength of a brigade...
Are all Riskbreakers that powerful?
Sydney: I think not. Our Ashley is a vessel, you see.
He has merely partaken of the power around him. It is as I have foreseen.
Hardin: What next, then?
Sydney: What next? We let him give chase a while.
Hardin: This is madness, Sydney!
The Blades will hold this town soon, and we dare not face their undivided forces!
We've no time to play cat and mouse!
Sydney: Relax, my good Hardin. Remember, it is all part of my plan.
Hardin: Were the Duke's betrayal, the Cardinal's meddling... and a Riskbreaker strong as a bloody Titan all part of your precious plan too, Sydney?!
Sydney: [He slowly turns to stare at Hardin.]
Hardin: [Stiffens, and then looks away.] Sydney, forgive me.
Sydney: [Spreading his arms.] Be calm, Hardin. It is of no account.

The exchange makes clear that he was involved with the Duke, but that the Duke betrayed Mullenkamp and Sydney's attack was part of his revenge against him - or at least, that is what Hardin has been led to believe by Sydney.

Sydney goes on to note that Callo (here referred to as 'Inquisitor', presumably her job title) seems quite unafraid about her predicament, and more curious about what they are up to. It impresses him. When asked what he's doing, Sydney tells her that he's preparing a feast for her friend.

Sydney: Cylda-meundes-ihaati-smouta,
ferdes-raati-salba-gylmota,
emperor of shade descend from the dark.
Honour sin-soaked contracts of kinship; lead your beast unto me.

When the incantation is complete, the sigil on the ground illuminates in blue, expands, and vanishes. A rift forms in the air, generating a great wind.

As all this unfolds, Callo glances to the side in time to see a vision of a child, identifiable - or at least similar to - Lord Joshua.

They eventually move on, and Ashley soon comes upon the monster Sydney has summoned for him; he's close behind them, yet. He's able to deal with it and move forward, at last reaching the city ruins of Leá Monde.

Meanwhile, a holy knight called Duane receives news that his third squad has vanished. The knight was unable to confirm their deaths or verify their corpses, and so Duane strikes him across the face and tells him he's a coward, and a stain on the escutcheon of their order. He sends the knights away to look for Mullenkamp's rat hole, telling them to leave no stone unturned. It seems Sydney and his ilk have still managed to evade the Blades entirely.

The Blades are also growing restless, losing their number and finding no trace of Mullenkamp.

The cold ones don't walk under the sun, but soon night will fall, and they fear what that brings with it.

Though some Mullenkamp members are found and beaten, they refuse to surrender their leader's location, and reject the insistence of the knights that they pray to the lord for forgiveness. The Blades do cross themselves, but it is diagonally, in an X shape from shoulders to sides, rather than vertical to horizontal.

Upon death, the Mullenkamp members don't simply die. Those who serve the dark become invaded by it - 'an unseen visitor'. Those it taints become undying, and they experience an 'incomplete death'. Their bodies are ruined, and turn to dust; their souls live on, wandering aimlessly, seeking the corpses of those who weren't tainted by the dark to steal and return to life as the zombies that Ashley experienced in the catacombs.

This is what Guildenstern explains to his lover Samantha, and to Grissom, a very devoted member of the knights. In return, Samatha asks him if it's the death she will experience, presumably being a vessel of the dark. At this point, Guildenstern confesses that he's seeking Sydney for that very reason - he knows that Sydney has discovered the key to immortality, and seeks to make he and Samantha eternally undying as Sydney appears to be. This is information Ashley is privy to, but he's accosted by Duane as he eavesdrops, and disposes of the knight and his backup.

Guildenstern sees Ashley. The two stare at each other, and Guildenstern eventually turns, leaving by the stairs. Ashley returns back underground, heading into the Abandoned Mines. Once again, he is being watched; this time, the man in question is the ex-Riskbreaker Rosencrantz who, it will be revealed, is under orders from Duke Badorba. However, he has certain agendas of his own.

He defeats several bosses in the mines: a wyvern, a demon of fire, and a gargoyle. After that, the story continues. Ashley finds himself overcome by a strange power again, and falls to his knees. As he looks up, he's faced with a view of Merlose's back as she stands before him somehow. Then, there is a blinding light as he seems to 'enter' her, and see through her eyes.

He observes Sydney and Hardin. Hardin is looking on into the distance once again, observing something elsewhere. Sydney comments that Callo must find them strange, and Callo responds by saying that 'unnatural' is more the word. When she goes on to say more, Sydney shushes her with a wave of his finger, turning his attention back to Hardin as he reports.

He's observing the Blades above ground, who have become less focused than they had been last night. They're split into three groups and fearful of losing numbers. Sydney comments that these aren't the trained professionals of last night but weaker sellswords, and another dispute begins to unfold between the two men.

Sydney: [Facing away from Hardin.] Guildenstern doubtlessly wished to catch us in the Graylands.
Yet we proved to cunning a quarry...
Hardin: It is a hollow victory. Our losses are greater than the Blades'. And they have cut our puppets' strings and turned them against us.
They soon will hold the surface. We are lost!
Sydney: [Looking down.] We have sacrificed much...
Yet it need not be in vain, need it, Hardin?
Hardin: How can they control our servants? How!?
Sydney: Not all of them can. Only a few.
Hardin: Yet we are the masters, are we not?
Have we been betrayed by one of our own?
Sydney: I think not. The Cardinal has prepared long for this. Twenty years watching... waiting.
Hardin: Think! They struck us just as we were moving on the Duke! They know our plans, Sydney!
Sydney: Temper, Hardin. You must learn control.
Hardin: All is lost, Sydney! Lost! We must leave now, or we'll be warming our toes in Hell!
Sydney: [Charging up to him.] I said control yourself.
I'm telling you. All is well.
Trust me, Hardin. All is well.
[Hardin collapses, looking up at Sydney.]
Sydney: We are friends, aren't we, Hardin? Give me your trust, friend.
Hardin: ... Yes.
... Friends.
[Sydney gives him one last look, and turns to walk away.]

At this point, Sydney gives Hardin orders to go on ahead with the Inquisitor (Callo) and lock all the doors with sigils to slow down their enemies. He tells him he's going to visit Guildenstern.

As he leaves, Hardin calls his name again. Sydney stops.

Hardin: If we are truly friends, do not 'compel' me so...
Never again, Sydney!

Sydney doesn't respond, and promptly exits. As Hardin goes to take Callo in another direction, Callo looks to the door Sydney left through and experiences another vision of Joshua, who informs her that Sydney intends to die.

Ashley recovers, muttering Callo's surname, and presses on. His observer Rosencrantz stands by, watching and wondering just what Sydney has done.

Returning to Samantha and Guildenstern, Guildenstern has discovered carvings and realises that they're ancient Kildean lettering from Mullenkamp's time. A time before the birth of St. Iocus, a time when sorcerors were as common as sellswords. It suggests that far, far in the history of Valendia, there was a period when the dark arts of Leá Monde were common and controlled everywhere.

Samantha wonders aloud whether the Cardinal will keep the Grimoires, referred to as the 'legacy of Mullenkamp' from falling into the wrong hands, and Guildenstern reassures her. He tells her that ceding their power to a fanatic like Sydney is madness.

They discuss the Gran Grimoire - the ultimate codex of sorcery. Guildenstern calls it the prime mover, the machinery of life itself. Truly, if Sydney had that power, they would certainly know about it already.

Sydney interrupts, standing on the opposite side of a gate beside them, and watching the pair. He tells Guildenstern that if he had that book, he wouldn't know what to do with such power. Guildenstern accuses him of trying to control men, to control God himself.

Sydney: Oh please.
Warping the minds of men and shepherding the masses has always been your church's domain. You lure sheep with empty miracles and a dead God.

He then accuses Samantha of also being a sheep, whose God is the exact kind of demon she feared.

TBC.

& sors immanis et inanis...

laboratory — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 16:43:44 GMT

My brother suggested I post it on my LJ too, so I thought why not. :') Inspired by issendai's post where she said of Obama:

It's like... It's like he agrees with the things I believe in, or something. Like at any minute he's going to bust out and do something for global warming or gay rights or the far right's attack on contraception.

It's a trap, right? He's evil, right? One morning we're going to wake up and he's going to be on the front lawn of the White House, wearing leather and straps, with silver hair down his back and ginormous swords in both hands, roaring in Japanese while setting mecha on fire, right?

Estuans interius
ira vehementi
Estuans interius
ira vehementi
Obama.

Obama.

& and the memories of me will seem more like bad dreams.

laboratory — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 19:23:54 GMT

No theme today. Low quality pictures of pretty much a smattering of things that I've been collecting on my phone over the last few months.

A 3d wall map of Bodmin Moor, inside Jamaica Inn.

A cat that wanders into the Jamaica Inn gift shop.

Toilet paper for elephants.

The Doctor Is In.
Unless I'm not here in which
case I'm in the canteen, peeing
(not in the canteen), forgot to change
the sign, am at the dentist, am sick, am
dying, am dead, have freshly dead family members,
my train is late, my train ran me down, my train
is cancelled, it's a holiday, it's snowing, I'm having
a midlife crisis, I'm in a tutorial or the world is ending.

& my shelf life's short; wish they'd make it more easy to follow.

laboratory — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 15:49:54 GMT

Photos of Tintagel and other places. Why not, I ask you?

Tintagel:

This is big bruddie, slowly frying in the sun.

Aandddd the beach today, because why the fuck not, I ask you:

& but i'll see, i'll see you again.

laboratory — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 00:56:09 GMT

Photos from some of the walks we've been on, as promised:

So there you have it.