Etheric Labs

Germany – A month and a half on

doctorether — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 23:59:08 +0000

Wow, time flies when you are in another country sorting shit out and having some fun. This last week or so has been a whole world of wow!

First up, and this is important, life is now so much better. I mean that in all honesty. Finacially, things are looking up, work wise things are exciting, home life is better than ever due to a combination of the first two, and it looks like myself and my wife will be renting a great flat for the rest of our time in Germany. Now lets try and break this all down.

I guess myself and Sam didn't begin to feel at home in Germany until one important event. Cutting our hair cut. Those of you are are aware of us more personally know that we do not have 'regular' hair cuts. So having our hair cut as we want is a big deal. And yet it happened. The guy who cut mine owned the barbers. He and his employee knew English well enough to understand what we wanted, and were quite used to English people wanting more interesting hair cuts. Be they students, or, because the barbers is located in the centre of Bochum, performers in the local hit musical sensation (obsession) 'Starlight Express' (Starlight Express, Starlight Express, STARLIGHT EXPRESS!). He also knew his anime well and so understood what I wanted. As for Sam's hair cut – wow. Put it this way, everytime she has gone for a cut in the UK the hair stylist always refrained from cutting her hair as short as she asked, always citing "Let's see how it goes this short and do it shorter next time", not realizing how quick Sams hair grows, meaning again they never take off as much as they should to match the expectations of last time. Well this time round – hack – the hair fell away and Sam got a edgy, ultra short, asymmetric hair cut. Plus to top it off the stylist was eager to tone Sam's hair to silver. Silver! Again something in the UK they always feared doing.

So yeah, a hair cut makes the world seem great. Especially as it was something you feared would be a right pain in the neck to get done right.

The next thing that has been going well has been my work. I am now back into programming in Fortran. Yeah you heard me. Fortran. Not heard of it because you work with Java, and fancy modern stuff…. well fuck you bucko! Fortran rules mathematical coding. It works. It's simple. And everything else in my field is written in that or C++. It's been a bit difficult at time getting back into it, remembering how to write print statements for files, how loops are called, and so forth. This is because SVL (the code I was working with previously) was like the bastard child of Fortran and C++. But I am now happily back in the zone. Plus my boss, Jorg, and I, are in the same zone with the ideas we are working on.

Work. It pays. And it will pay well. I finally got my tax card through, with the correct tax class (Being married and the other half not working is a boon) and also it has been applied to both my upcoming pay cheque and to the pay owed me for the previous month. Something I feared would not get applied properly in time, and so resulting in me getting over taxed (I get taxed some 30% or so, if I was single it would be almost 50%, and well emergency tax is even more). This has happened to my friend up in Hamburg so I was worried. Especially when you want to put down a deposit on a new flat that will let you keep pets.

       Well that brings us to the housing situation. I have just signed a contract for a new flat. It costs more than most would pay. But it is worth it. Apparently we will be living in a posh bit of Bochum. But the place is fully furnished (no buying a kitchen for us – yeah read up on that one), has fully crockery etc, and is a warm rent (all bills, including internet). Plus we can keep our cats there.
        The deposit though is a lot. But fortunately, the agency said we should sign for 6 months, pay that portion of the agency fee, and then pay the remainder (they take a fee based on how long you are renting, maxing out at a bracket for 10+ months, which is an amount equal to two times the monthly rent). Well paying out 3 months rent in one go, plus the depost (another month and a bit rent) was a lot (hence my fear of getting paid correctly).
         Fearing the amount of money I had to find to pay in one go, I have been loaned some more from my mother and mother-in-law. So that was all the bases covered (especially as I had booked my wedding anniversary holiday back in October based upon budgetting assuming my correct pay and also getting the deposit back from our flat in the UK – I'll get to that).
           But things have now all balanced out. I have got my pay now confirmed, money to pay for deposits, I also got the money from December advanced to me, and also the deposit back from the UK – a whole 2 months later!
          Yeah that deposit. That has been the result of a series of emails, very frustrated emails, terse conversations, angry phone calls, and then finally a lame excuse from the landlord that they were waiting for the invoices back for cleaning the apartment. But they were willing to gives us back £600 pounds of the over £1000 deposit. Well thank fuck we got something back! And I have asked for the invoices as if they don't do so I can claim the whole lot back. So be careful when renting in the UK. Landlords there are cunts.

So about the new place. We will be living near the lake, and near the castle, Blankenstein (yeah for real!). It is far larger than where we are living now, and what we had in the UK (which was unfurnished). So we will have double the space (78 sqm). So in terms of money the new place is a steal and makes renting in the UK look like a joke.

So overall I can say I am more happy than I have been for quite a while. I have my wedding anniversary coming up (3 years) and I have a new home to look forward to. Work is a blast, and also I have a new rpg group in the works for Vampire. My sister has said that this is the honeymoon period, and that we will more than likely change our tune in another month or so. But I think that depends on the type of people you are. If you are typical, 'normal' types, then perhaps so. All the normal things are all changed when when you move. But if you are a rpg geek, computer nerd, science type, goth, you are more tied to niche sub cultures. Subcultures that between countries are in fact more similar. Due to this fact (and the fact that my work life is all in English) the culture shock has bee dampened by interacting with those that can guide us through the pitfalls.

Killepitsch #killepitsch

doctorether — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 01:46:15 +0000

Hey there. Hell when was the last time that I did a blog post?

Stuff going on right now? Reading up on DFT and planning more out for my project. I basically am dissecting the data output from the quantum calculations, so far for simple systems, but then I will be looking at larger systems, and more importantly, periodic systems that represent the bulk phase of substances, and their surfaces. When considering these types of systems the data output is of course far more complicated.

This week has also been some what quiet as my boss is on paternity leave as his wife recently gave birth. He should be in next week but we shall see.

Otherwise we have now started properly flat hunting. However, I fear that for this month and the pay I am owed from December, I will be over taxed. Hopefully the best case is a normal taxation, worst case the emergency tax will bee applied. This is awkward as we will be wanting to pay agency fees and put down a deposit on a flat. This is also not helped by the fact that we are also stilled owed our deposit on our old flat in the UK. Fucking cunts!

Today however has been good. Feel properly at home in Bochum now that we have found an excellent hairdressers and so myself and my wife got hair cuts. Even better for my wife they cut it exactly in a way that in the UK they often refrained from doing. Also it was really cheap! It is amazing what a good haircut will do.

Also today we found the local comic store. OMFG! So many collectable figures I have to get!

Otherwise just feeling a bit down as our friend in Hamburg is still having a tough time there with work, rentals, relationship stuff and getting taxed too much. It really sucks.

So now for the main event. Killepitsch. What is it?

From Killepitsch.de

The Killepitsch Story
A true story of a real
Düsseldorf specialty.

Once upon a time …

“A genuine Düsseldorf specialty.” The story of a real old town resident, with Hans Müller Schlösser, creator of the unforgettable “Schneider Wibbel” and Willi Busch, the old master of traditional customs:

It happened during the last war. The two old friends were huddled in air raid shelter on again, as they did so often, whilst the bombs rained down outside. “I say,” Willi said, “If this goes on, they’ll kill us too!” “But not as long as the two of us have quietly left something alcoholic to drink,” said Hans. “We can not drink what we have not got,” replied Willy. “How can you say that – you brew your own, do not you?” retorted Hans. “I can not,” Willi said, “We’re not allowed to. But I’ll tell you one thing, Hans. If we get through this without getting killed, I’ll brew something for you, a real lip- smacker. That will be some drink, I tell you. And I’ll tell you what, we’ll call it “Killepitsch”.

This is the origin of the name “Killepitsch”, but it was not a specialty yet. Not until 1955, when the small, well-stocked “Et Kabüffke” town bar opened in Flinger Strasse in the heart of the old. Hans came upon his friend Willi on the opening night. “Hey, Willy, what came of the idea Killepitsch is I bet you’ve forgotten all about it!” he taunted him. “No,” said Willi. “I had not forgotten – it’s been ready for ages Here it is -. Cheers Mmm, it smells delicious, like a garden herb, strong, not too vague, not too bitter And it must be good for the digestion -. It slips down a treat! “

And then this has been the reaction of many in Dusseldorf since. The old town and “Killepitsch” belong together. Try it for yourself and see! - Killepitsch – 42% alcohol.

OK. What is it like?

It looks like a syrupy, dark brown/red. The packaging is quite neat, obviously being marketed to a younger crowd these days and of course has quite the goth vibe to it.

Smell wise it is similar to Jagermeister. But without being so obnoxious, not being so heady with the anise smell. So this smells less like awful medicine.

Flavour wise, it is initially a sweet anise, that if you neck it, doesn’t give you a rough shudder that Jager gives me. Otherwise it has hints of mint, coffee, molasses, orange peel, Angostura bitters, and even hints of Vimto of all things. It is difficult to pin down but it is far more pleasant to sip compared to the more well known, and renowned Jagermeister.

So cocktail ideas? I can see this being a good substitute for bitters in a Mojito or anything else which calls upon bitters. Perhaps also in a cafe coretto.

So stay tuned for my cocktail experiment with this liquor.

2011 and going forward

doctorether — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 00:30:51 +0000

    So it’s 2012 and idiots across the world will now be counting down to their ‘doom’ on the 21st of December. So before I go into a round up of the year that has been lets follow up my last post of my first week in Germany.

    Life in Germany is steadily getting better. Shopping for food is substantially easier now we know where to go to do it. This has meant that I have got back into making stir fry meals, pasta dishes and similar things. It feels good to once more be consuming a healthy balance of things.
    This last week has also seen our friend, James, who works at Big Point as a games designer, visiting, and spending our time watching plenty of movies. Buy a new TV and blu ray player when we got here was has made a big difference. We now also have all of Sam’s DVD collection and are over half way through watching all of Angel.
    Also on the subject of food we have finally found one place that does a decent brunch called Mandragora. Inside is dark like an old pub back in the UK. While outside are gurning gargoyles. So far it has been great, with a crazy selection of pancakes to eat.

    So onto the year in review.

    January:
    January saw a very cold winter with lots and lots of snow and myself and my wife in the flat with our two young kittens. I look at their pictures and it is hard to imagine them ever being that small.
    Also had a good time celebrating my birthday with my fellow Capricorn, and musical alchemist, Mark. We’re the same age (his birthday being the day after) and we share a lot of the same interests. Plus his girlfriend is the awesome Anna, aka Aiko273, who has photographed my wife. These are two people I am really greatful for making friends with.

    February:
    February is always special as it is the month in which I celebrate my marriage. Of course with the kittens this meant getting away was out of the question. Plus we really couldn’t afford it what with getting the kittens and paying for their medical care. It feels sad each time we cannot go back to Venice but then we did have the cats to think about, who have been a great addition to our lives.

    March:
    Seems a dead month. Roleplay wise we were close to finishing the Changeling chronicle, and had played a one shot of Fading Suns, and were preparing Exalted.

    April:
    April saw me join the Darker Days Radio team. Initially as a guest I am now a co-host, adding to the insightful thoughts of Mark and Mike.
    April also saw me start my first foray into freelance writing for games, in this case for David Hill and Filamena Young’s project, Amaranthine. I still need to run it at some point . It was a good start at doing some writing and I hope to do some more again.
    Also April marks me being with Sam for 4 years.

    May:
    Saw a few good things. A paper being practically finished. More Darker Days podcasts. Running Exalted for a larger group of players. And also buying the Asus Transformer.
    If there is one piece of technology that has changed my life, the Asus Transformer is it. Fucking hell has it been worth it. Not only for being a web device. Not just for being an ereader. But it actually does make it easier for working on certain things. It makes life less cluttered. It also comes with a stupid amount of free storage space on the web! Hell i use the thing during games. It is just such a joy to use. I really want the new one, but that is just greedy.
    Also played on Mass effect and thought it was a pile of crap.

    June:
    We went to see the weird film, Rubber, at a showing that took place in the mausoleum of Warwick St Mary’s church.

First Week of Actual Work

doctorether — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 19:48:27 +0000

      So it is Christmas Eve and I have now worked my first week at my new job. Things are falling into place. For starters I now know what I am exactly doing for my research. Basically it is a very natural evolution of the work that I did for my PhD. It's going mean I have to learn some new concepts with regard to Density Functional Theory, but the basic concept is really cool and might offer a route to doing the same sort of work but applied to the stuff I worked on at Warwick.
     I've almost settled into my new office. Getting music onto the computer there, setting it up how I like, getting back into using Linux (a good thing), have a play with LaTeX, Jabref, and I now need to convert my Endnote bibliograpy over to Jabref. I have also sorted out a few basics, like running the program I will be mainly using.
      On the subject of technology I have given up on keeping a paper lab book for ntoes and results, and have now started using Evernote a lot. Works perfectly, and for any written notes I take pictures of the sheet and store it there with the typed up notes.
      Also this week were are getting more used to shopping for food. There are a few shops we like shopping at, and really it is not any moe expensive that the UK. Just seems buying healthy is considered a bit weird over here. The assistants in the health food places are really nice though. I guess they are happy that we 'strange young people' want to shop there.
      We have also been to Essen, which is quite modern, and has a lot of shops there, including a Lush which Sam gets cosmetic and bathroom washes from. So we will be going back there for hopping in future.
      Also it looks like we now have two rpg groups. Or at least one and one in the making. One will be a semi frequent group playing Dresden Files (which is a pretty good system). But we will also soon be setting up a new WoD group. On that note Darker Days 32 is out where myself, Mark and Mike are joined by Vince, who with Mark, set up the podcast to begin with.
      This Xmas then is going to be spent watching Xmas films (Batman Returns, Gremlins, etc) and having our mate James stay over, as he has been in Germany for a month now and is working up in Hamburg.

First few days of the new job

doctorether — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 23:44:46 +0000

So loving my new job. I know it has really been 2 days there but the thing is I can make more immediate contributions. Right now I just have to get familiar with the code, since the methods it is based upon I know inside out (shit I get asked to review papers on the subject as I am an “expert” on it). So instead the challenges are more related to the applications of the methods. It just feels like it will be less of an uphill battle.

Add to that I will be getting a decent wage for which my previous experience counts for a lot. So I being paid what I am worth. This means finally I can save money, while paying off the credit card, and in the next 10 months, finish paying off my loan to the bank.

This is weird. I have never been in such a scenario. Even better it looks like renting over here will actually give you good value (seriously our flat here is as big as our old one but we are paying less and bills are included).

Other plus’, I feel like my work drive has been renewed, plus I like the atmosphere of living here. Not worked out what is different. Maybe it is the cheap, but excellent food.

Add to this I have a conference in Berlin at the end of March, and I can take my wife with me. So basically we just have to pay for her train ticket.

To finish off we now have almost everything ready for Venice for our 3 year anniversary. And well being married is great, and in Germany you get a tax break for it

My first week in Germany – Bochum, University and living in another Country

doctorether — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 23:34:54 +0000

So a week has gone by. And it has been my first week living in Germany. Where to begin?

Well the week before the move was spent in Manchester with Sam's mum, and so we had a week with our cats. They are now justover a year old. Sam realised that the date that we got to Manchester to see them was a year to the day when we first got them. They have been living in Sam's old room, and seem very happy with that. They were unsure at first when we arrived, but then caught our scent and were back to their old selves, following us around and as a result, they were more brave and so ventured downstairs more often, with Yamato not bothered by the other two cats that are there. Yamato I think has got slimmer, but that is more than likely due to him being more powerful, as he seems to like running up and down stairs.

That week we got the chance to catch up with family, such as Sam's aunts, my sister and her partner, Sam's brother and his partner, and also Kat and Dave from my year of chemistry at UMIST and PhD at Manchester. It was a hectic week, and flew by, and soon enough we were off to the airport for our flight to Dusseldorf.

The weather that day was shit. We were able to get all our luggage on, with out paying for any excess weight. When we went to the gate to get on board we saw the air strip and well, it as crazy. The wind was blowing rain across the tarmac, and the plane we were flying on was a propeller driven thing. Needless to say it looked a little dodgy, but was in fact quite a good flight. However, take off was bad, with the plane having to wait as the rain and wind made zero visibility.

Arrival at Dusseldorf was fine, and we got a taxi all the way to Bochum. The taxi as fine other than the driver taking the wrong way into the uni, and so this cost time getting the keys. Instead we went straight to the guest house and then I had to walk and get the keys. Not great when it was freezing.

The apartment is pretty good. A nice big corner sofa, a fully kitted out kitchen area, a coffee filter machine (that made me happy), and a good bed (I've slept well on it, must be a firmer mattress). We should have the rest of our luggage arriving Friday, along with a new TV. We have internet and so we have been able to skype, but of course we have no new mobile number as it takes, and costs Orange, a lot to unlock my phone ust so I can use a different SIM card. Sigh.

Anyway, Saturday we went to Dusseldorf, which was very busy and and found a nice tea shop there, and on the way back got stung on the train fare. We didn't get our tickets stamped properly. Oh well the money lost we have got back on our power bills from the old flat (we were in credit).

Sunday of course was quiet. With everything shut we had little food in the flat. It's been a bit hard to know where to go shopping, more so when your phone is useless and has no access to google maps.

Monday we went into the office, and from there were taken by one of my boss's students to register as living in Bochum, get our tax card started, get health care organised, and of course open a bank account. Fun day.

So Tuesday was quiet as Sam has had a cold, which is a bit strange for her. We later went to the department Xmas party, where we met some of the others of the Theoretical Chemistry department, and today I had my induction at the department. Looks like I need to learn how to use LaTeX and so forth. Fun!

So tomorrow is the start of my new job.

Other things to look forward to are joining a new RP group, and of course James is coming to stay over Xmas.

Expect a few photos soon and more as I stumble through the German language.

5 days left

doctorether — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 11:14:29 +0000

So in 5 days time I willbe flying over to Bochum, Germany, where I will be working for the next three years. Over the last month we have had a computer game cosplay themed leaving party, friends staying over, our friend James leaving for Hamburg to start his new games design job, and we have said farewell to a number of others.

Leaving our flat involved large amounts of books being packed and things being thrown away/given away. We got the flat nice and tidy in the end but of course there will be deductions from our deposit. Anything we get back will be a bonus.

Everything easily fitted into the moving van, and so we travelled up later on Thursday with the last few things, mainly laptops and electrical things.

Now we are at my mother-in-law's place, with boxes of our stuff everywhere. We will need to sort through it again so it can take up less space. We have also been reunited for a short period with our cats. They seem to have become even more friendly and are quite happy and get on OK with the two older cats that are already here.

Yesterday we had the chance to meet up with my wife's brother and his girlfriend. We had food at quite a hip pizza restaurant, with pizzas like brie and duck, or wasabi prawns. Today, later on, my sister and her boyfriend are turning up, and will be dropping off a suitcase for us to use, as we will be filling that one so that it can be sent so it arrives just after we get to Germany.

Overall it has been a bit draining the move. I will tired, mainly in my legs and back as muscles feel well and truely stretched. I'm also wheezing a little, but I think that is a combination of muscle tiredness, dust and also the fumes from the oven cleaning spray.

Tonight we will be going to Black Planet, a goth/industrial night. It is a special event in memory of a local DJ who passed away, but it will also then be a good chance to catch up with those we have not seen much of for the last 3 years.

Tuesday will also be a busy day as in the morning I will be popping into my old research lab and in the evening going to watch my wi'fe brother's band playing.

Right. I need to have breakfast and relax some more.

World of Darkness and the Science of Evil

doctorether — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 21:55:37 +0000

World of Darkness and the Science of Evil

World of Darkness (WoD), both new and classic settings, has a primary focus on supernatural horror. Monsters are things from myths, from our past, Biblical or from our folklore. They are urban legends and ghosts of old, or quite simply men driven mad and have become something new.
But horror and terror are not just born from magic and the arcane arts and powers of forgotten gods. Horror can be born from science.

In classic WoD (CWoD) a war exists between science and magic, fought by the Technocracy and the Tradition mages. It is a war of belief and absolute truths and control. And so magic and science are different simply by definition and categorization. They come from the same source. The difference is the lens through which the truth is viewed. Spirits, ghosts, aliens, vampires etc, are just entities for which the science is not fully defined.
This view of science and the supernatural is also within new World of Darkness (NWoD), but the presentation is more fuzzy. There is no war between magic and science. Without that analogue in Mage the Awakening, science and magic bleed over into each other in many different ways. It is the interface between the two which can be exciting and lead to different horrors.

So what am I getting at?

The supernatural and scientific can blend together to give birth to new horrors. In CWoD we saw this with the Hitmarks of the Technocracy. They are cyborgs powered and designed using hyperscience, Enlightened Science, which is simply magic manifesting as technology. In NWoD there similar concepts in Promethean the Created. Each Promethean lineage is aligned to an element (earth, air, fire, water, spirit). But the also present the concept of Prometheans born of nuclear energy and radiation. There are also those Promethean which are cybernetic. Essentially androids, but made human like by the Divine Fire. In Hunter the Vigil there are groups that turn to science to fight the supernatural, making use of advanced weapons to fight the things in the dark.

So can science give birth to things that in fact mimic or tap into supernatural powers, or can the reverse happen? Why not. Can science modify the supernatural, and the reverse? Well yeah.

Some of may favourite story seeds look at things like this. For example, in the Chicago book for NWoD, they talk about Bell Laboratories and the particle accelerator there. Because of the cutting edge science being used the suggest the idea that such machines tear open the skin of reality and allow in strange energies, material and entities. These entities could easily fit the definitions of spirits, or even aliens, or the Fae. In Night Horrors: Wolfsbane, this idea is further expanded upon when detailing the Idigam. These banished spirits consumed the powers of spirits that rode to the moon from other worlds. This along with the book Summoners for Mage the Awakening, and of course the concepts in Changeling the Lost, allow you to play on the question, ‘Just what are spirits?’ Are some spirits really just inter dimensional beings? Can you clone from them? What about demons and angels? Are they just other forms of aliens? Are those were creatures just some sort of cryptid? Perhaps just a mutation? We know there are ghosts, but what about ghosts from alien worlds brought to earth on a comet? What does vampirism mean in light of blood research and stem cell science?

So my advice for games? If you want to through your gaming group a curve ball add a bit of science. There are things in the world that science has yet to explain but can be used to fight. But there are things not understood that science has created.

So some random story seeds to use:

- An organ transplant from a werewolf leads to something strange and murderous.
- Cloning of a changeling leads to something more like a fetch.
- Quantum teleportation allows for a exponential spread of a spirit.
- From the depth of space comes a signal that follows Atlantean magic, but sent by a race from another world.
- A supernova sends energy, in the form of flux, to earth, and awakens Pandorans.

[actual play] Changeling the Lost – Venice #changeling #whitewolf @White_Wolf_Fan

doctorether — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 01:23:31 +0000

Changeling the Lost – Venice Unmasked

Farewell to Flesh and Nightmares

Freki knew she was dreaming. Of course she did. Such was life being one of the Lost. She had full perception within her dream state, the kind of lucidity that was reminiscent of what it was like in Arcadia.
Freki found that she was in her cot, in the wattle and daub hut of her family. Out side in the night the celebrations were taking place up on the high ground around the large fire that was blazing into the night sky. It was the festival of Imbolc. The time of new life being born and the pushing back of the night. She was meant to be in the hut, asleep. However, she had sneaked out and was watching adults letting go of themselves. There was much laughter and revelry and drumming from the hill.
She then felt a chill down her back and she looked back to see that a figure on a horse was watching her. He held a spear, and lacked an eye. He had a long beard and had a cruel smile. It was Odin. The horseman charged towards Freki, who found she could barely run for she was a child once more. She darted between the huts and made for the hill, the holy ground.
Clambering up the hill, Freki made her way to the fire. Looking back she could see the Fae lord at the foot of the hill. Freki retreated into the festival. Masks were worn, depicting cruel and fearsome beasts designed to scare away the night. Man and woman danced naked in just woad.
Freki looked around, seeking her parents, when there on the stone throne wear the Crone and Maiden should sit was sat the Doge. The Doge of Venice. The Doge of the Court of Carnival. He wore his garb of white and gold and his golden mask shifted from one emotion to another.
She gingerly made her way towards the lord of Venice, and the fae being spoke to her.
‘Your time has come, just like them’, as he pointed to a roughly shaped tree from which three bodies hung. The Doge guided the childlike Freki towards the gallows and from there she could see the faces of the dead and that the tree also bore a face. Freki knew it. It was Leafy Tom. He had been found dead just a couple of months back, and that he was one of the House of Winter.
Freki then woke from her dream. She was back in her sleeping bag, in the cold of the attic where she made her home. There next to her pillow was a single black crow feather.

Freki was rightly frightened. She had already suffered from a vision of Odin’s crows coming to drag her back to Arcadia. She had that vision when she had drunk from the river in the depths of the Underworld. Had they already come for her, she asked herself? Desperate for company she called the others, only getting responses from Else, the Wizened mechanic, and Stitches, the Wizened Chirurgeon. Freki asked that they meet her at the Florian, the famous tea house in Venice.

Freki dodged through the mass of tourists that had gathered for the Carnival. There were many and tonight was the first night of the festival. All about people were wearing masks and costume. People were stopping to take pictures with large lens cameras. There were changelings that were also amongst the crowd and Freki was barely able to keep a grip on her sanity. She pushed through the crowds of St Mark’s square and to the Florian, where the waiter asked welcomed her, knowing she was a friend of Clio’s.

Clio was able to take a break and soon they were joined by Stitches and Else, and together they enjoyed some tea, trying to calm Freki and make some sense of her dream. As she sat there explaining her dream and the faces of those that were hanging from the gallows, she spied at the window, looking in, a crow faced person. Their nose and mouth were formed together into a smooth, pale, fleshy beak like shape, with a head of black feathers. Freki grip the arm rests of her chair in fright, and stuttered to the others, who look to see what she had seen but saw nothing but costumed people and tourists.
A moment later one of the waiters tapped Clio on the should to introduce another person that was looking for her. He was a changeling also, and appeared to them as a well dressed man with an immaculate and expensive suit. However, his mien showed he was something different. He had marionette arms, and that his suit seemed not quite fully stitched together. He had no face but instead a featureless head of canvas. He was a designers dummy, covered in pins and needles. It was also clear that he was of the Spring Court. He introduced himself as Silk, but he went by Vincenzo Fratelli. He had come from Verona and the Freehold there to give give good will to the Doge and to offer his services as a tailor. He had come looking for Clio, as he had already been to the Casa da Mosto to meet the Vernal Duke, Malvolio, who had then sent him to Clio so that he might make her a dress for the ball to be held this evening by Count Carnelian.

Sonata only woke up in time to get out of the hotel room window. He had taken to making his way into hotel rooms, using his contracts to ensure the residents slept, while he too slept knowing they would not wake or be disturbed by his use of room service. He left the hotel and took to the streets, seeking out a hot meal and the others. He had borrowed a suit for the evening and was looking foward to the party.

Silk had made outfits for Freki, Stitches and Else, binding them to a pledge that they inform him of anything strange that may occur that evening. It was a simple pledge and the others took it on gladly. Now in new clothes and with Clio in a striking dress, they went to the Palazzo Pisani Moretta and met up with Sonata, before heading in. The party catered to both mortals and changeling, and so they had to be careful about revealing themselves.
Aurora, a Shining One Fairest of Count Carnelian’s motely, the Harlequins of Carnelian, greeted them and led them to the main hall. They were presented, using their chosen mortal names. That evening they had the chance to talk with many of the Freehold who came from a number of the Houses. There were many drinks and things to eat, and they sat enjoying a number of courses for the meal. Sonata spoke with Polo of the Silk Road Pirates, Autumn courtiers who dealt in hedge fruit, exploration and the recovery of dangerous artifacts. From him they learnt that there had been sightings of the Leviathan, the shipped captained by the Fae Lord, Commodore Fathom, and that there had been a greater number of hobgoblins in the Hedge.
Later on, Clio took the time to entertain the Summer courtier, and captain, Mikal Minos, a bull like Beast, and proud man. It had been Malvolio’s task for her to ensure desire took hold during the party, and that she should do her best to propagate it as she was now the Sage Escort.
The night dragged on and then it was time to leave. The motley and their new friend, Silk, waited outside the palazzo when they heard a scream coming from nearby. Together they rushed to the scene and found a group of people gathered around a body. Stitches pushed forward and examined the body. On the forehead of the body was cut the Roman numeral, 5. Also a rib had been cut from the man. Stitches had seen this before. The Rib Killer. The foul Fae that they had defeat only just before Christmas. The name of the killer was whispered in the crowd, and fear welled up in the hearts of all there. Then there was a scream as they all looked up to see a shadowy figure looking down on the scene. The crowd fled and so did the motley. Clio and Silk ran towards the Ca da Mosto, while the others headed to the House of Autumn at the Teatro Fenice.

As they ran through the labyrinthine streets, fear coursing through their veins, Else became isolated from the others. She stopped in the street looking around. From the shadows it came to at her. The large, shifting shadow of paint brush strokes and large white teeth. It attacked, drawing from it’s shadowy form a huge bloodstained knife. It lashed out, missing Else as she ducked away. Else was trapped, but then from round the corner of the street Freki attacked, tearing into the Fae. Else found her moment and drew her iron dagger and attacked. The knife cut deep but the creature did not recoil or howl in pain. But it did then flee, push Else away, seeing that it was cornered. Freki looked at her claws and saw that there were chunks of flesh and blood.

The next day the motley gathered once more at their haunt of choice, the English pub, Devil’s Forest. Clio and Silk had stayed the night at the Ca da Mosto for safety, hoping to speak with Malvolio, however he was not there. At the pub, sat in the booth near to the red phone box, Freki explained to the others the strange bits of flesh she had clawed of the Fae. Else also explained how it did not seem to be effected by iron. They looked at the bits of flesh and realised it was synthetic.
With these strange bits of information Silk was able to reveal his reason for being in Venice. He had been sent by the Freehold of Verona and the Winter Queen to warn the Doge of the coming of a motley of the Scarecrow Ministry. The motley had murdered a number of changelings in Verona, and even mortals. Silk asked that the others might get him an audience with the Doge at the main ball.
However, before that ball was the one held by Malvolio at the Palazzo Pesaro Papafava. Clio must attend as she had recently been made the Sage Escort and so had much socializing to do.

That evening, at the ball, the motley arrived and were introduced to the gathered revelers by Malvolio’s motley member, Tybalt, the cat like Beast seeming. He warmly welcomed Clio and Silk. They were then met by Madam Roseblood. She knew their about their encounter with the Fae on the Lido, and had met the others and knew of Clio’s reputation. She made a rude comment about Clio’s dress, gaining the ire of Silk who had made the dress for Clio. Silk and Madam Roseblood traded insults before she hugged Silk and nibbled on his ear.

The party continued and escalated. Sonata spoke to Malvolio about getting some Hedge fruit wine. Clio spoke to others, ensuring that they followed their desire and lust. She was in the whirl of a dance when she was partnered with a man who was rather strange looking. He was a gaunt Gravewight Darkling. He had a thin moustache and was skeletal like. His clothing was Burton-esque, with black and white stripes. As they danced they talked and the Gravewight spoke of how you can never trust a ‘Blue Moon’.

Packing for Germany – 1 month to go. #germany #moving #life #chungkuo #davidwingrove #rpg

doctorether — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 18:02:51 +0000

So there are now about 5 boxes of books. 1 of them is just RPG books. It weighs a freaking ton. I’ve basically downsized what I am taking with me to Germany to a few books while the rest goes into storage at the mother-in-laws, so if I really need something she can post it out to me (or we can ship whole boxes even). So I plan to take with me;

NWoD Core
Vampire the Requiem
Mage the Awakening
Cthulhu Tech
Geist the Sin-Eaters.

The last two I can ditch if I need more space/weight.

Thank god I have a lot of books in pdf format.

I’m doing the same with clothes as well. Plus we have unboxed 99% of all DVDs and put them into 5 big wallets (and I mean big) so that we have stuff to watch. But again we might have to downsize some and get the rest posted out or even ripped to a hard drive.

Moving sucks, but then it does me we are getting rid of a lot of crap (which we did when we moved from Manchester), which means welcome to an even more minimalist life style. Thank fuck for digital I say.

Oh, reading wise, the first of the prequels to the original Chung Kuo series by David Wingrove is great, but makes the world we live in look quite fragile.