Okay, I managed to break my slump...
new story post involving Dag and Ben. They're headed your all's way now, leaving Brittle to his own fate. Ben has been stabbed by the amulet that summons the Raven Mocker, who arrives, and it is discovered that Dag and Brittle were lied to.

Next I'm seeing the Raven meeting up with Pandora and Death, and some kind of fracass that now their plan is once again spoiled.

Originally posted by wildtimes

Next I'm seeing the Raven meeting up with Pandora and Death, and some kind of fracass that now their plan is once again spoiled.

Naw, their plan ain't spoiled - they just have to drop back and punt, run with plan B or plan C. Last I heard, I think Pandora was fixin' to set her cap for neno and try to play HIM like a fiddle, but what do ya do with a fella that can turn his emotions on and off at will? Can't play on his emotions, and his hormone production seems not to be what it used to since he's an old fart and I keep hearing all about this new disease they just invented on TV called "Low T" or some such tripe that's supposed to make ya all lethargic and ungumptionable since yer hormones are all outta whack - that's what the theory says, anyhow - , so where's that going to leave her?

WHO is gonna play WHOM?

Anyhow, I loved that post - Ben has a way with words. I particularly liked the quip about the "expired crystal ball", and the turn of phrase "What a load of preposterosity." - pure gold!

Originally posted by silo13

And don't sit around too long waiting for that third shoe to drop... Don't want the third to be you!

Eh well, if it is, do as you will with the neno character - in that event, I bequeath him to the Space Opera in general, as common property. Sort of like a shiny new NPC. It's coming some day any how, and I've been expecting it for years. I'm not anxious to hasten it, but I ain't gonna run and try to hide from it either.

In all honesty, it's some times more of a shock to realize I'm still alive to hear that someone else isn't.

Ok, off to the races and get us outta the compound...

I'm honestly not sure what to do with it. Margo will have to lead us out, since it's her turf, but beyond that, I'm not sure who's going where. What is Margo's tie to the town? Pip may want to stay behind and garner revenge, but against what or whom? All his targets are gone now, and there's nothing to do in the town but rebuild, and why would either want to do that, given their individual histories with the town?

BIAD and neno ought to be bursting back through the cabin door any second, Tibbs and Muckles are in the vicinity, Dag and ErnieBen will have to be tracked down, as will Sslar who isn't near anyone at the moment, but who is carrying the sword that seems to be integral to the story on down the road.

So if Yydryl has been watching from the sky, does SHE know where the outlying members are? They've all been aboard at one time or another, so Yydryl can be expected to have a record of whatever biological parameters are necessary to scan for their signature, and on the plus side, there ought to be less "nukulur interference" to thwart that scan outside the wastes of the Badlands, and that's where the rest are at the moment - outside the Badlands.

The first order of business, I would think, would be to get out, get to the Tumblers, and get Gep back to his farm for burial, then sort out Pip and Margo, then find the oultlying stragglers, then try to sort out what the gods are up to with their various excursions.

ETA: I've been studying up on what makes the Earth's sky blue, so as to try to get a handle on what alien skies might look like, as well as the Earth's sky in different geological eras. It's surprisingly complex, not what a quick internet search would reveal at all. It involves the ambient color of the light itself (different stars have different spectral response, giving them different colors as seen by the human eye), how much air the light has to punch through and get scattered in and angle of the sun (this is why the horizon appears white at noon, but may redden at sunrise and sunset), the composition of the atmosphere (not as important as one would think at first), the thickness of the atmosphere, suspended particulates and aerosols... good gosh it gets complex, and that's all without getting into the calculus of wavelengths, Rayleigh scattering, Mie Scattering, and angular considerations of the viewer as measured against the sun position!

Some times - maybe most of the time - I tend to bite off more than I can chew, but being stubborn I chew the gob any how. I had hoped to use the information to plug into Terragen and create alien worlds for the Opera, but I may have to just use a fudge factor!

Hello, team...
wow, the punches just keep a-comin' eh?

Neno, wow, I'm so sorry to hear that another friend died...

Silo, I wish you a very speedy recovery. Pneumonia is awful; I've survived it twice, and my husband nearly died of it with a complication: empyema...fluid buildup in the lining of the lung, about a year and a half ago.

BIAD, so sorry about your tooth ouchy!!

I just visited my GP the other day and found out I have high blood pressure...
Terrific.
Aging really blows.

ErnieBen and Dag are headed west; the Raven Mocker is pretty pissed right now; the amulet that Ben flung into the ravine had some kind of curse or whatnot intended to kill Brittle, whose whereabouts are now unknown.

Sslar is headed west as well.