***teaser***
To a veteran combatant, there is a number of clues and hints about a person that can be read from the way they stand, the way they move, even the way they look at things.
To someone who'd also been trained in the intricacies of etiquette and had done more than enough work in politics to last other people several terms in office, reading body language was something of a second nature.
She was both.
And the only thing she could actually tell about the person standing in her office, before her desk, and casually looking around, was that she couldn't tell anything about him.
No changes in posture, no fidgeting. If she didn't know better, she'd think he was some sort of cyborg or lifelike manequinn.
And the fact that two of his characteristics reminded her of another person, whom she neither trusted nor liked, didn't help much.
"You'll have to be brief, I'm afraid," she said. "There are matters that need to be seen to, and it's one of the burdens of mine to see to them as soon as possible."
"Ah. No worries, Miss Kruger, I shan't take up much of your time," the man replied. "This is more of a 'how do you do' visit than anything else."
"I was led to believe something different," Natsuki Kruger, Garderobe Principal and one of its Pillars replied.
"Oh, that. Yes," he drew a small document tube from with the jacket of his suit. "Pardon the absent-mindedness. I'm afraid I pulled rank on one of the usual middle-men we use so that I could look into this contract myself and get bearings for the company. We've never had the chance to pursue a communications exchange with Garderobe, you see."
"Is that so? I was aware the border nations usually send middlemen, rather than attend themselves, if only because of the travel times involved. I was not, however, aware, that the party in question had subcontracted," she admitted.
Red eyes blinked at her in what seemed like a well studied show of surprise.
"I'm sorry for my rudeness, in that case, and for being remiss in my introduction," he withdrew a small card from within another of his pockets, and laid it on the desk. "My name is Katz Schrdinger, of the freelance information gathering company 'Black'."
***
The Empress' new Robes.
an Incarna sidetrip
***
******
While I'm not going to actually start doing any work on this until Otome is out in its entirety, the scene has been running through my head for the past few days.
I've also been considering asking Nathan if his avatar's White Guardian Airlines flight schedule eventually deposits him there, since Nagi is arguably more hateable here than he was in HiME.
-Griever
When tact is required, use brute force. When force is required, use greater force.
When the greatest force is required, use your head. Surprise is everything. - The Book of Cataclysm

Here's another favorite of mine. Can't remember if I'd posted it or not, but I tried searching and didn't see it, so...
Devil Went To Jamaica
Artist(Band)avid Allan Coe
The Devil went to Jamaica.
He was looking to sell some weed.
He was doin' fine,
They were standin' in line,
It was excellent weed indeed.
When he came across a young man
Who was likewise peddling pot,
And the Devil slid down the beach to the kid
And said, "Boy let me tell you what.
I guess you kind of figured
I'm a reefer head of course,
And after all this time
I guess that I'm a conniseur of sorts.
Now your stuff smells okay
But this could tranquilize a horse.
I'll bet a million in cash against your stash
Cause I think mine's better than yours."
The boy said, "My name's Johnny,
And you ain't smoked nothing yet.
One hit of this grass will kick your ass.
You got yourself a bet."
Johnny, roll a ball of hash
And make sure it's the bomb.
Cause the Devil's got the kind of stuff they smoked in Vietnam.
You'll get a million smack-a-roo's in cash if you can cope,
But if you can't the Devil gets your dope.
The Devil packed a bong
With a little Acapulco Gold,
And resin flew from his finger tips
As he fired up his bowl.
He filled that chamber all the way
And he took a mighty hit,
And as they passed it back and forth
It gave them both a coughing fit.
(coughing)
When the bowl was finished, Johnny said,
"Hey man, that stuff was great,
But fill your lungs with some of this
And prepare to vegetate."
Cannibis sativa, Sweet Maryjane,
The Devil's in the backyard frying his brain.
Zig-Zag filled with the diggity-dank,
Hold on tight, it will hit you like a tank
The Devil nodded off
Because he knew that he was stoned,
And he asked if he could buy an ounce
Of the stuff that Johnny owned.
Johnny said, "Devil just come on back
If you ever wanna catch a buzz.
I done told you once,
You son of a bitch,
Mine's the best there ever was."
And they fired up doobies one by one.
Ain't gonna stop until the bag is done.
Green as a bullfrog,
Sticky as glue.
Granny, do you get high? Yes I do.

The obvious power effect is, of course, an extreme case of being stoned. However, given the subject matter, a fun twist might be to make it affect beings of demonic origins or with demonic ties. This would be a LOT of fun to watch around Mara, for instance. It would also be amusing in the Buffy-verse, given the large number of demons and that vampires are of demonic origin there. Of course, if I'm remembering things correctly, the Slayer line was formed by infusing a girl with some demonic essence (at least according to the fanon I've read - can someone confirm this for me?), so you also have the possibility of friendly fire if Doug tries playing this around a Slayer...
There could also be other drawbacks, of course. If the song doesn't knock the targets totally into a stupor...what do you do with a demon or a vampire with a BAD case of the munchies?

This one has been bugging for a while. I could see it as a banish evil or as world saving song carried to an extreme.

Eurythmics:
I Saved The World Today
Monday finds you like a bomb
That's been left ticking there too long,
You're Bleeding.
Some days, there's nothing left to learn
From the point of no return,
You're leaving.
Hey, Hey, I saved the world today...
Everybody's happy now,
The bad thing's gone away.
And everybody's happy now
The good thing's here to stay
Please let it stay.
There's a million mouths to feed
I got everything I need,
I'm breezing.
There's a hurting thing inside
And I've got everything to hide.
You're breathing.
Hey, Hey, I saved the world today...
And everybody's happy now,
The bad thing's gone away.
And everybody's happy now
The good thing's here to stay
Please let it stay.
Doo dee dooo dooo doooooo
The good thing...
Hey, Hey, I saved the world today...
Everybody's happy now,
The bad thing's gone away.
And everybody's happy now
The good thing's here to stay
Please let it stay.
Hey, Hey, I saved the world today...
(Everybody's happy now)
Everybody's happy now,
The bad thing's gone away.
(So happy now)
And everybody's happy now
The good thing's here to stay
Please let it stay.

--Werehawk--
My mom's brief take on upcoming Guatemalan Elections "In last throes of preelection activities. Much loudspeaker vote pleading."

Either we're generating a lot more traffic than we used to, or ezBoard's prices went up in the last six months. I renewed the board subscription today, and paid $110 for half a year. I seem to recall that last time it was only seventy-something bucks.
Yuck.

-- Bob
---------
For Jor-El so loved the Earth, he sent his only begotten son...

Maybe...^^
This song starts of as false Gregorian chant, the first verse sounds like a gospel hymm, then segues into an upbeat J-pop, though the lyrics are not what you call sunny.
Yoake Umakuru Shojo (Shanagan no Shana 1st ED TV Edition)
Yoake umare kuro mono yo
Those born with the dawn
Keshite muishiwa naide
Do not lose sight of it
You are you shoujo, yo ima koso
You are you girl, its time
Furi hodoki agare!
Shake it off and stand up!

Mune no kizu wo kakushita mama kaze wo kimi wo
There is not a single way to just gaze at you as you run through the wind
Tada mimamoru sube nado nani mo nai
With that hidden wounded heart
Sono hitomi ha zutto saki no jibun wo sagawashite iruno?
Are those eyes of yours searching for the you that stands somewhere ahead of you?
Demo kikoeruyo fukai kanashimi no kodouga
But I can hear your deep and sad heart
Sekenderu!
Its screaming!
Im just yoake mae ko mae no kura yami ba
Im just telling, the darkness before the dawn
Ishou womo unmei dukeru
Could even determine the fate of life
Daijoubu, shoujo yo imakose
Dont worry girl, its time!
Kuyami hajuri koto ha nai
Theres no need to be mortified or ashamed
Fire Away!
Jyuuji wo seai shinuki de hanao wo kakero
Carry the cross on your back and run through the fire ready to die!
My first impression would be that of a super kamen effect. Instead of just words of encouragement, it heals any damages and gives any of the Senshi a powerup for the duration of the song. Though I'm not sure what transferring all that mana would do to Doug.
I'm also thinking that it would be most effective on Minako, if she has the most intact memories of the Senshi.
__________________
Into terror!,  Into valour!
Charge ahead! No! Never turn
Yes, it's into the fire we fly
And the devil will burn!
- Scarlett Pimpernell

I think that this song would unlock memory blocks or help Doug remember for the duration of the song. Although I think that Doug would be leery of using it for the God in Heaven line.
Song Title: The Song Remembers When
Artist: Trisha Yearwood
I was standing at the counter
I was waiting for the change
When I heard that old familiar music start
It was like a lighted match
Had been tossed into my soul
It was like a dam had broken in my heart
After taking every detour
Getting lost and losing track
So that even if I wanted
I could not find my way back
After driving out the memory
Of the way things might have been
After I'd forgotten all about us
The song remembers when
We were rolling through the Rockies
We were up above the clouds
When a station out of Jackson played that song
And it seemed to fit the moment
And the moment seemed to freeze
When we turned the music up and sang along
And there was a God in Heaven
And the world made perfect sense
We were young and were in love
And we were easy to convince
We were headed straight for Eden
It was just around the bend
And though I have forgotten all about it
The song remembers when
I guess something must have happened
And we must have said goodbye
And my heart must have been broken
Though I can't recall just why
The song remembers when
Well, for all the miles between us
And for all the time that's passed
You would think I haven't gotten very far
And I hope my hasty heart
Will forgive me just this once
If I stop to wonder how on Earth you are
But that's just a lot of water
Underneath a bridge I burned
And there's no use in backtracking
Around corners I have turned
Still I guess some things we bury
Are just bound to rise again
For even if the whole world has forgotten
The song remembers when
Yeah, and even if the whole world has forgotten
The song remembers when

--Jenova
"Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened."
--Dr. Seuss

There was a woman - a woman's body - lying in the middle of the street with one arm stretched out and the other lying along the side of her body, as though she had fallen asleep in the middle of trying to claw her way out from under the massive block of fallen structural concrete that had crushed her entire lower body.
She had been anything but alone.
"Raging Heart," said Takamachi Nanoha. She looked across what should have been a busy street, and resisted the urge to grind her teeth.
The spherical crimson gem at the head of the slender white metal staff in her hands flashed once. "Yes, my Master?"
"Barrier," she ordered, and could barely even recognize her own voice.
"Cannot establish," was the answer, and while someone who didn't know either of them wouldn't have recognized it, there was a distinct undercurrent of apology beneath the normally dispassionate voice. "External disruption prevents stablization of pha-Protection!"
Years of experience at guaging the amount of drain Raging Heart placed on her own reserves of power told Nanoha that the levinbolt splashing off of her shield didn't have nearly enough power to be a threat, and it was her father's advice that made her turn to face the attacker with a graceful twist of her head that tossed her single asymmetric ponytail back over her shoulder - a showy display of assurance (not to say arrogance) that would provoke her attacker to either dismiss her as overconfident, and hence vulnerable, or make them wonder if the opinion it showed might be justified...
There were several of them, and through the corner of her eye she saw more filtering out of shadowed alleys and ominously dark storefronts. Their clothing - battle armor - was as uniform as the Time and Space Administration Bureau line personel she often worked with, but very differently styled - armored high-topped boots and elbow-length gloves and an armored breastplate over an almost knee-length tunic of interlocking metal rings and a short cape that came forward over their shoulders and fell a few inches short of their waists, and all of it battleship gray with slashes of vivid red trim. Their faces were hidden by their helmets, which were single units that covered the entire head save for a narrow T-shaped slit over the eyes and down the center of the lower face.
They moved like she had been told trained soldiers would - like her father still did, even years after his injuries had ended his career - and carried Expert Devices built to a pattern her memory immediately dubbed a nagamaki, a longsword's blade and guard fitted onto a short pole of about the same length. The crystal-clear lenses just beneath their guards wouldn't be full Connection Cores, but rather of the simpler, mass-produced Amplification type, but in these kinds of numbers, with her alone and more than a dozen of them surrounding her, she was probably in more trouble than she had been since that first battle with Vita.
"You did this," she said, very softly.
The one she was looking at flinched, slightly, then shook himself and brought his Device up to bear on her. So did all of his cohorts.
"I don't care why."
Intelligent Devices were alive, were people in their own right, and chose their own masters. Their function made it essential that they interact, connect with their users in far more ways than just the obvious, and, having been designed to do so, were driven to it at a level with much in common with a human's biological needs. Nanoha had once asked Raging Heart if that was why she had refused to go back to Yuuno after Precia Testarossa's death, but it had taken years to understand why even asking the question was an example of the real reason.
To Yuuno, then, as to almost all individuals priviledged to be granted the chance to direct such a powerful artifact, Raging Heart had been - not a tool, that was unfair to him, but a co-worker - deserving of respect, certainly, but subject to no real attachment. And both of them had been satisfied with that... until an all-too-innocent Terran schoolgirl had begun treating the Device like a makeshift member of her own family.
Raging Heart had been forged by the Scrya clan nearly a thousand years ago, but in all that time no one had known the person behind the featureless core and monotone voice as well as Nanoha had come to know her most constant companion.
The reverse, of course, was also true, and so it had been a long time since either of them had needed to bother exchanging advice or commands in battle. "Starlight Wave."
An expanding dome of light swallowed almost the entire width of the street, and the shockwave it threw off knocked the armored soldiers flying in disarray.

This is a poem by Glenn Hunt, the same guy who did the Molson "I am Canadian" rant. It's used in a recent Lexus commercial, and it, more than anything I've ever written, defines what Paradox is a god of.
Moments
A Moment If You Please
Moments Can Be Short
Moments Can Be Long
There Are Moments Of Joy
Moments Of Sorrow
Moments Of Passion
Moments You'll Never Forget
Moments You've Already Forgotten
Moments You Didn't Get
There Are Awkward Moments
Senior Moments
Moments Of Truth
And Momentary Lapses In Judgment
People Who Ask For A Moment
Share A Moment
I Need A Moment
You Got A Moment?
Wait A Moment
You Can Take A Moment
Make A Moment
Spoil A Moment
And If All The Stars Line In The Right Moment,
That Moment Can Be Perfect
Moments Can Define You
Moments Can Delight You
And Moments Can Change Your Life
Heres To The Moment
And Squeezing All You Can
Out Of Every Last Single One Of Them --
Christopher Angel, aka JPublic
The Works of Christopher Angel

The Scientist
by Coldplay

Come up to meet you, Tell you Im sorry, You dont know how lovely you are
I had to find you, Tell you I need you, Tell you I set you apart
Tell me your secrets, And ask me your questions, Aww lets go back to the start
Runnin in circles, [sounds like] Comin our tails, Heads on the science apart
Nobody said it was easy
Its such a shame for us to part
Nobody said it was easy
No one ever said it would be this hard
Aww take me back to the start
I was just guessin, At numbers and figures, Pullin the puzzles apart
Questions of science, Science and progress, Do not speak as loud as my heart
Tell me you love me, Come back to haunt me, Oh when I rush to the start
Runnin in circles, [sounds like] Chasin our tails, Comin back as we are
Nobody said it was easy
Aww Its such a shame for us to part
Nobody said it was easy
No one ever said it would be so hard
Im goin back to the start
Ahhooooooooooooooooo
Ahhooooooooooooooooo
Ahhooooooooooooooooo
Ahhooooooooooooooooo

It's certainly got lyrics that would ping on Doug's gate-home-search radar, but I'm more inclined to have it be a research tool song - he plays it, and any research or reverse-engineering type problems he's working on get repeated intuition rolls the way Good Morning gives wake-up rolls - and the answers he receives usually come from looking at one or more of his initial assumptions in a different way.
There's several Tsunami Bomb songs I've listened to and liked this evening, too, but Bob has said that he doesn't much like punk. Tsunami Bomb is kind of Girl-Band punk, but still punk... yet how can I resist songs li8ke 4 Robots and an Evil Scientist?
Also, though most of their stuff has no lyrics (and is serious WTF techno) Converting Vegetarians by Infected Mushrooms has enough of a vocal component to qualify, thoguh I'm not sure what it would do - though I suppose turning everyone in his AoE off of meat for the duration is the obvious... or on to it, for that matter.
- CDSERVO: Loook *deeeeply* into my eyes... Tell me, what do you see?
CROW: (hypnotized) A twisted man who wants to inflict his pain upon others.
Dr. Akagi will recover. Observe, Rei smiled. Shinji-kun, are these your clothes?
Ritsuko shot up like a spring loaded meerkat. What? Shinji-kun is naked?
See, Anata? Dr. Hentai is alive and well. - Innortal's _I Do_
--
"Anko, what you do in your free time is your own choice. Use it wisely. And if you do not use it wisely, make sure you thoroughly enjoy whatever unwise thing you are doing." - HymnOfRagnorok as Orochimaru at SpaceBattles
woot Med. Eng., verb, 1st & 3rd pers. prsnt. sg. know, knows

Re-reading NXE, I realized that we're never quite given a description of the Madman Omar's sign on DJ's door (at least, up to halfway through Symphony of Terror; I can't remember if it does past that point). So I decided to make it.

I think it's in line with something that DJ would have found in his travels, ne?*********
Touched By His Noodly Appendage
www.venganza.org