Lucas Cats

by on February 13, 2018 at 12:01 am
Posted In: The Races of Humanity

The lion-derived Toshi of San Lucas ruled the Hankou continent under the mountain of the gods’ watchful eyes. They were glorious and powerful, serving the greatest gods in the universe. Then the fires of our arrival burned in the heavens. We did not come from the mountain, as previous fires had. We came from the skies, and that shook their beliefs to the foundations. People questioned the power of the mountain gods, and a full-scale religious war erupted throughout Toshi society. They fought with words at first, then snarls and claws, and finally with far more dangerous weapons. Their slaves took the opportunity to rebel as well, and Toshi society was soon beset on all sides with chaos and change. Religious and rebellious violence waged across the continent for decades. Then the mountain of the gods awoke once more and buried all who doubted the true gods under burning lava. Or so the faithful explained it. Faithful and unfaithful alike fled to the highlands to escape the lava, and they fought even harder for the scarce resources and land up there. It was the end of the world as they knew it.

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Hancock

by on February 12, 2018 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Diaries

So we’ve got a new movie coming out soon in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Black Panther. It’s been promoted by some press as the first black superhero movie. And others as the first black blockbuster movie. I’m certain it will be a good movie. I have yet to dislike a single one of the new Marvel movies, so I expect to enjoy this one as well.

But to get into the mood, I’ve been gong back and watching superhero movies of the recent past. Catwoman. Blade. I may have strayed into looking at Wild Wild West and Men in Black. Not exactly superhero movies. More in line with Lethal Weapon, but still fun to watch. The last one I watched was Hancock.

I have yet to see a Will Smith movie I did not enjoy. Hancock proudly continues that tradition. It starts in modern day Los Angeles, where a very drunk Hancock is spending most of his time not giving a crap over what people call him. He’s an a-hole, and he acts like it with a careless disregard for property. Unless someone shoots his beer bottle. Then he gets annoyed.

Long story short, he’s been around since the early 1900s. He doesn’t age, he can fly, he’s bullet proof, he’s really strong, and he can stop a train by just standing in front of it. And he’s the only one of his kind. Then he saves the life of a guy who specializes in image consulting for businesses. Which starts the “redemption” arc of the movie.

There’s more to the story, but that gets spoilerific, so I’ll just say that it is fun all the way to the end. Though unlike many superhero movies, Hancock’s only true supervillian is himself. It’s a surprisingly deep story, with some serious Kleenex moments. And it works. I could see Hancock in either the DC or MCU movies popular right now. It portrays him as both powerful and vulnerable, like most modern superhero movies do, giving it a truly human base to work with.

I give it two high-flying thumbs up as a thoroughly enjoyable film to watch from beginning to end.

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The Gateway Run

by on February 11, 2018 at 12:01 am
Posted In: The Essential Galactic Atlas

The star systems of Hellespont, Marmara, and Bosphorus are named after the waterways that link old Constantinople to the Mediterranean and Black Seas. It is a fitting name for the stars that link Alcyone to the rest of the Western Alliance. Hellespont and Bosphorus are bright and powerful sub giant stars, which makes travel to them far easier than other nearby stars. Marmara is a bright giant, making it one of the most powerful single stars near the Pleiades Cluster. The three systems are the best hyperspace run towards The Taurus Gateway, and most starships traveling there follow that path. Ships stop to refuel, load cargo, or buy updated maps of the Pleiades Cluster. Their crew and passengers go to restaurants, buy collectables that prove they were there, or see the beautiful vacation destinations. Those systems are money pits, a source of revenue for the great trading empire that is Constantinople.

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Julie

by on February 10, 2018 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Art, Character Profiles

Julie came out of her shell after moving in with her aunt. She learned to play the clueless ditsy innocent blonde like a fiddle. All the boys that never noticed her before followed her around like puppy dogs. I didn’t get the chance to echo them. She just dragged me along, you see. She practiced her music every day. She taught me how to study. She sang with the voice of a carefree angel. She did homework. She did track and field, ice hockey, and cross-country skiing. And yes, she joined the cheerleading team. She did band and choir. She tried out for everything her father would have held her back from. She grew up before my eyes, leaving behind the shy and reserved girl she had been, and becoming a self-assured and confident young lady. She kept me by her side through all of it. I loved every minute.

High rez version available for free on Patreon

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Lucas Cats

by on February 9, 2018 at 12:01 am
Posted In: The Races of Humanity

The tiger-derived Laohu of San Lucas lived forever in the underbelly of civilization on the Hankou continent. They were slaves, their parents had been slaves, and every generation going back to the very beginning of time had been slaves. They were the unfavored of the gods of the mountain, and it was their lot in life to toil for the betterment of their masters. Their masters gave them enough food and shelter to survive, but never enough to thrive. Their labors built the empire but they enjoyed few of the benefits. Then humanity arrived on their world, and they looked up to see flames streaking across the sky from a place far beyond the mountain of the gods. They began to worship these new, gleaming sky gods who wielded fire of their own. Their masters punished all who fell into such heresy, and the Laohu prayed for salvation from slavery and death as they prepared to take matters into their own claws.

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