Maria

Sister Maria of the order of the Sisters of Our Lady of Perpetual Turmoil was teaching her students, or as she thought of them, her hijos, when the call came. She excused herself when she heard the faint sound only she was trained to hear. She entered the supply closet, and pulled a phone disguised as a crucifix from the wall. It was the president. "Hola, Maria," he said in a smooth voice. "It's time."
"The Russians, I assume, No?"
"Sí. They have the bomb." The line went dead.
"Dios Mio." whispered the nun. She left the phone hanging in her hurry as she went to dismiss the class. The second they were gone, she closed the schoolhouse and hurried to the chapel. First she went to the cellar where the supplies for the Eucharist were kept. She blessed a chalice of wine, and some bread and partook of the sacrament. She then upturned the box of bread wafers, and unlatched the false bottom to reveal a multitude of silver discs, polished to a shine and sharpened to a razor edge, roughly the size of the wafers. She took these, and then hurried back into the sanctuary to remove the sword that had so long been hidden in the cross at the pulpit. She went to the altar, and opened the Bible which had been undisturbed for decades. A beam of light shot through the stained glass window at the front of the church, and illuminated the pistol that was nestled in the hollow book. Maria knelt, genuflected, and said a prayer. Then she rose, and sprinted from the building to where her motorcycle waited. Stalin had gone to far. He now faced the wrath of the nun.

Grammar

Yes, I have
The antidote,


And I can

Save her.












But I never said

I would.

Met talking about... a musical? (Godspell)

Yes, that's right, I've finally lost it (not). I was thinking about posting and I want to find another good post of song of the week, but I was shuffling my iTunes library just recently and I happen to have the soundtrack to a certain musical... Godspell. Now granted I never saw the actual musical :( but it's something that I would like to do sometime. I have seen the movie though, and that's what I'm referring to here. I loved it; definitely something different, but it remains pretty true to the Bible. Oh yes, and for those of you who don't know, I am a Christian, and I'm proud of it. The music for this film was great, I thought all the songs were well done and the seemingly unorthodox interpretation of Jesus' time on earth worked very well. Overall I just want to comment on this, because it constantly amazes me how back before they could really produce modern music, they found ways to make amazing pieces. It's a movie/musical that's well worth checking out, and I don't go to every musical I hear about, that's for sure. Thanks for the inspiration Elphaba, it's a great movie.

Funeral

"We'd all do
Anything


To have you

With us



Again."
Said Father John




But when Grandpa


Sat up

In the casket,



The priest stabbed him

With a silver crucifix




Again.

Today is a great day!

One of the best musicals on earth (in my opinion, at least) opened fifty years ago today on Broadway! "Which musical is that, Elphaba?" you may ask. It is: THE SOUND OF MUSIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So, for those of you who don't know this, I am a HUGE fan of musicals in general. However, Rodgers and Hammerstein are some of the best out there. That's not opinion, that's just fact. (Just kidding. Mostly.)

Time for a little history! The Sound of Music opened on Broadway with Mary Martin as Maria, and Theodore Bikel as Captain von Trapp. It was immediately successful, and is one of the most performed musicals in high schools across America. It was adapted into a movie in 1965, starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer. The movie beat Gone with the Wind as the number-one box office champion of all time. It held this statistic for over 30 years, until Titanic beat it in 1997.

So anyway, I know there's a "this day in history" thingy on the blog, but I wanted to commemorate this date with a post. (Plus, who knows when I will again, so yeah...) YAY, MUSICAL THEATER!!!!!!!!!!

Options

I'm still taking it easy, as anyone who expects a Song of the Day will soon discover, but I will probably still post more than anyone else here. This is due to my deep psychological need to post, not Met's failings to post often enough (failings which don't actually exist). It's been too soon since Elphaba stopped regular posting to determine if she fails to post frequently enough. Anyway, on to the tender heart of the matter.

Monday has always been the domain of my dear GLaDOS. However, despite the fact that she is Still Alive, you'll be GLaD to hear she won't be making an encore performance until Portal II. So now we must fill the space with something, lest Met greedily snatch my posting territory, as he is wont to do. Option one is a Jacques Cousteau tale; a prequel to my first. Before the beginning, I'd like to note how astonishingly difficult it is to write like this. Even so, I managed to write

A Prequel, Part I

Well, one thing's clear, thought Jacques Cousteau, It's dark. And so it was. As Jacques descended the blood soaked stairs into the dark depths of Darkdeep, the darkness deepened. He dared not unsheathe the Feldagger the Medium of Doomspeak had given him, for it still glowed with the blood of the fallen Yeti-Worm that had ambushed him. The light would cause the hosts of Darkdeep to notice him. And when they notice me he thought, Then they will know that the Gatekeeper is no more. If that happened, even the Half-Djinni Spirit King's blessing couldn't save him.

Option two will bring us all back to the days of our childhood. It will show us the dreams we dreamed, and the lives we imagined into being. It will then proceed to trample them, rend them thrice in twain, and force-feed them to us through a funnel caked with a slimy substance of questionable origin. Yes, it has come at last!

Pokemon: The Golden Apocalypse - Prologue

Red ran through the dense forest, branches ripping at his clothes and snaring his feet. The vines that hung down from the canopy were covered in vicious thorns, but he ran straight through them, ignoring the searing streaks of crimson they left on his exposed face and arms. Behind him, a roar bellowed through the trees, causing some branches to fall, such was its ferocity. He tripped on one of these and before he could rise, the skies darkened. A reptilian monstrosity flew through the air above, spewing smoke from its nostrils and fire gleaming on its tail. As it flew past, a torrent of water erupted from the river to Red's left, and the dragon fell from the skies, somewhere to his right. The Blastoise turned in Red's direction, where the Charizard had fallen. Cursing, Red jumped up, and tried to escape the spot where soon, no doubt, two behemoths would battle. He had barely started, when both creatures fled from some creature more terrible than either of them. Though hidden by the forest, its advance was marked by the tremors that shook the ground and the crashing of distant trees. Red ran for but a moment, before reaching a clearing at the end of the forested valley. His heart sank, and his thoughts dulled as he slowly realized there was no escape; instead of a steady rise to the level of the surrounding land, there was a steep cliff, precluding any progress. Red turned, intending to run past his pursuer, when the Venusaur entered the clearing. The titanic beast stood twenty meters high, and a vine thicker than a large apling snaked from the bulb on it's back. Just as it was about to grab Red, the sun reached an angle that cause light to suffuse the scene. The vine retracted as the bulb on the giants back opened. A glow began to emanate from the flower, which grew unbearably bright and then leapt from bulb. The beam howled towards Red, heat rolling off it in waves and-

Red awoke screaming. Realizing it was just a dream, he laid back down. He was almost asleep when an errant thought strolled into his consciousness. He was sixteen today. It was the day of the Calling.


Option three is where I write a dark tale, Elphaba calls it horrible, I reply sarcastically, Met intervenes, Elphaba sides with him and I cry.

Song of the Week 10: 'Zeno Paradox' by E-Bison

Alright, here's a fairly new remix off OCR from 10/19/09 that I'm happy to post as song of the week 10. This one is the first track off of Humans + Gears: Xenogears ReMixed and be sure to check out the trailer for that as well. Now I've never heard of Xenogears before coming to OCR, yes I admit I'm actually not really that big of a gamer. I only know some more popular games. Let me say right off the bat that this remix impressed me a ton. This is something that seems to me like the equivelant of Black Wing Metamorphosis, except for Xenogears and in a lot of ways this is cooler, depending on what mood you're in. This really is an epic piece and to quote djpretzel's writeup "everything about this piece is rich, dynamic, and dramatic," which really rings true. E-Bison truly delivers an awesome mix and something that after only hearing around 20 times I'm willing to put up as song of the week as our entry into double digits. To listen to the track, take the link I put on an awesome mix. djpretzel does a much better describing this mix then I can ever do so I reccomend you check out the write up for sure. Overall, I assure you that this will be worth the listen and I might put some more tracks up from the project, because they're certainly pretty good. I've already got part of this song as my ringtone, starting at about 2:12, really cool stuff. Highly reccomended.

Heaven

I died

And stood before

Peter.



He said

I had been



Good enough.



As I walked

To the gates



He stopped me.




A hole opened

Beneath me,


And he whispered




"However I've seen


Your blog."

Sorry, but...

I'm not gonna be posting for awhile. I know I just started a seven-post series on the 7 Deadly Sins, but it's... a long story. It's just something I have to talk to Reogan about.





Speaking of which, if I suddenly disappear in an "accident" in the near future, start here. Reogan might kill me. Or not care. I really have no clue.

Song of the Day Sixteen, Narrow Escape

The shroud over the land seems to settle, and the hero is dismayed. He soon becomes aware of rumbling below ground, the mountain on which he stands has not yet lain dormant enough to have forgotten the ways of its forefather, Vesuvius. The hero turns to seek shelter, but as he does, the tunnel collapses, and he's left stranded on the small outcrop of rock. He finds himself trapped; unable to traverse the steep slope while the quaking continues. Just as a frightening glow lights the dark black sky above, a flash of color appears at the rim of the caldera. The Queen and her Cavalry have kept their spirit still, as shown by their polychromatic appearance. The steeds are supernaturally fleet of foot, and they sprint to the hero with ease. The Queen, using but one arm, scoops him onto her stallion, and they ride downwards at a breakneck pace. Before reaching the bottom, they encounter a ledge, and sail off of it, moving forward enough that the fall becomes too great to hope for survival. But they do not fall. Instead, in the light of the Queen, the Cavalry ascends, with the hero, into the clouds.

Song of the Day Fifteen, Hope Lives On

This update isn't late. It's just on Peruvian time.
(Twelve points to anyone who can explain why Peru is the ideal country for this excuse)

The hero emerges from the mountain dungeon onto a ledge just below the outer rim of the caldera. He sees that, as his foe claimed moments before, all his efforts were for naught. A twilight had fallen over the land. A lugubrious lethargy leeched life from all beings. The skies slowly broil with a faintly rumbling lightning. The remains of the Pandora still glow in the aftermath of the inferno. The hero looks on the land, as even the plants seem to break under the oppressive weight of the darkness. All at once, the faint wind ceases and a chill falls across the land. The color drains from all life, and only grey remains in the shadow. The hero looks at his own sleeve - his own arm - and in the light of his sword sees, to his relief, he still has the bright vitality he had possessed before, if a little dimmer. The world, though, seems to be devoid of hope, and seems to foretell a coming absence of life. Suddenly, a movement catches the hero's eye. He sees something nearing the ashes of the city. He recognizes the mayor of his own town, along with the prominent working men of the village leading a caravan to the ruins. Between the men, shielded by them, are the survivors of Pandora. There are merely a few score - the flames took many - but there are enough. The village would rise as a phoenix might. It is now that the hero sees a splash of color in the crowd. Helping an old woman along, is Pandora, the kind girl named after the very village she has come to rebuild. Hope lives on.

GLaDOS's Lament Epilogue

Still Alive

Untimely

I know we should cry

Or shake our heads
And stand


Solemnly,


But we all
Giggle


Like schoolgirls.




Seriously,

Who misspells



'Suiside?'

Song of the Week 9: 'Above Reason' by zircon, tefnek

Song of the Week is back! Except now it's sort of just inconsistent in posting. I can't make any promises, but I'll try to get at least one song in from OCR each week. This week I'm jumping right into it with a fast paced track from Streets of Rage 2, by zircon and tefnek, two very good electronic artists. Something I also want to quickly mention is that OCR has changed a bit in terms of design, the sidebar is gone and they've just made some minor adjustments, but it's pretty cool. Anyway, the track (titled Above Reason) can be found at that page and if you want to listen to it right away, the link is here. After rereading djpretzel's writeup for this track I realize that he wrote this soon after the release of Antigravity; zircon's 3rd album. Oddly enough I'm listening to it right now, currently on Warhead. Also if you're going to check out Antigravity, check out the Antigravity remix contest and the results for some more really good music. Now that I'm done promoting zircon let's revisit song of the week 9. Above Reason is awesome, crazy synth work and as soon as the melody kicks in you know you have something great here. I love the big beats as the melody rolls on, some really great breaks here, and I love the percussion. 1:58 just blows the whole thing open and goes insane, I love it, love it, love it. Really cool stuff, gotta check it out.

GLaDOS's Lament Part XXIII

I saw her slow.
The fumes leeched
Her breath
Away.
Panting.
Gasping.
She lay on the ground,
Struggling for air
That was no longer there.
If I was thinking,
If a shred of my mind remained,
I would have foreseen
Her next move.
Adrenaline
Coursed through her veins.
Within seconds
She was at me
Once more.
She removed what little remained
And killed me.
As I died
One final time
I watched her pick through
The rubble.
She broke my heart.
Killed me.
Abandoned me.
And I love her.

Most of This is True

I clawed my way up through the darkness and woke screaming. My heart raced and my muscles were tensed to escape from some imagined and already unremembered terror. The entire house seemed silent after the echoes of my yell faded. I laid there, soaking in sweat for a moment, before I realized that it was far too hot under the covers. Upon standing, my vision swam, and I fell to the bed. After a slight pause, I stood again and, swaying slightly, made my way to the kitchen. I didn’t bother with the light, because I’m always certain that I’ll see horribly intelligent red eyes and a dripping maw right outside my window. Being a writer of decidedly dark fiction does that to you. I fumbled in a cupboard to get a glass, cringing at every noise. Finally succeeding in quietly extricating one, I went to the sink and filled it. The moment after I took a drink, I was struck by the thought that something could have been in the glass, and I wouldn’t know. I might have swallowed mouse droppings or a quietly pulsing arachnid egg mass unaware. I poured what was left down the drain, set the glass on the counter, and walked to the door. I opened it and slipped outside. The cool fall air was wonderfully refreshing, and I closed my eyes as I raised my head to the sky. It felt like something was horribly, horribly wrong, but it always did, and I refused to act on the feeling. Every rustle of the grass was an abomination lurching towards me, every breath of air the whisper of wings bringing fanged doom from above. I’d long since grown used to this paranoia, and so I felt my very soul shudder when, upon opening my eyes, I saw a figure, silhouetted in the light of the full moon, standing on the roof of the house across the street. His attention was fixed down the road a ways, and he didn’t seem to notice me. Without turning, I slowly moved back until I could feel the door behind me. I grabbed the handle, and turned, but it was locked. Icy terror gripped me, and the world turned black. How long I slept I do not know, but I awoke before any sign of dawn had appeared. The glass sparkled with frost, and a chill breeze blew. I shivered, as I tried to recall why I was here. I couldn’t help but gasp as I remembered and I swung my head up to see my neighbor’s roof. There wasn’t anything on it. Then I heard the thump of a great weight landing, and a single stone fell from my roof to my shoulder. I looked up and saw those terrible eyes looking at me, wreathed in wrinkled brown scales. Four long fangs protruded from a dripping snout, and the stench of decay wafted down to me.

Minutes later, all was silent in the cold night. The air was still and the frost glinted red in the moonlight.