Nostrum is a modular display system, made up of 6 interlocking modules in colors that skilfully mix three similar shades, from the darkest to the lightest.
A game of shades whose result is a play of chromatic dynamism which, together with the sinuous and harmonious forms of the modules, recalls the continuous breaking of the crests.
The library is an ode to the 'mare nostrum' and its ability to unite and preserve the beauty and the identity of the Mediterranean.
It can be printed in PETG or PLA.
Material: Resin,
• Dimensions (in): W 23.62 x D 39.76 x H 77.55 (W 60 x D 101 x H 197)
The pain woke Billy, from a strange dream about deep, dark water. Scuttling creatures that lived on the skins of whales, in the mouths of fish, and never saw the light.
I honestly could've split this one into two chapters, but i didn't want to come up with another vaguely symbolically relevant homeopathic remedy for the chapter title. So enjoy a 5k update! Tozer's in this one! Having a pretty bad time as per usual!
Did a surprise me visit and landed in Nostrum! I loved the entrance. The fishing dock was pretty cool as was the dig site area. The inside of the house was awesome!
DA 9577-8333-9701
Doomed & Stoned's tribute to the psychotronic sci-fi classic Logan's Run (1976), directed by Michael Anderson (1920–2018), who started his career early on with a production of George Orwell's 1984. The futuristic score featured in the film was by Jerry Goldsmith. who just a few years earlier had composed the jarring score to Planet of the Apes (1968).
For this redux, we've worked on bringing out the basic narrative of the film, pairing it with a power-packed doom metal and stoner rock selection by Beastmaker, Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard, Space Witch and much more.
🔥PLAYLIST🔥
LOGAN'S MISSION (00:00)
1. Space Witch - "Hex" (01:48)
FOUR MORE YEARS? (11:48)
2. Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard - "Les Paradis Artificiels" (12:02)
DELINQUENT ZONE (22:01)
3. Atragon - "Monastery of Silence"
MUSCLE (28:44)
4. Beastmaker - "Now Howls The Beast" (29:57)
TERMINATE HER! (34:38)
5. The EviL - "Sacrifice To The Evil One (35:17)
LAST GATE (45:44)
6. Pyreship - "Gravity" (46:12)
THE INSANE ROBOT (53:35)
7. Sahara - "Saint Rose" (54:53)
WISHFUL THINKING (1:05:30)
8. Nostrum - "Ember To Ash" (1:06:12)
THE OLD MAN (1:15:00)
9. LÂMINA - "In The Warmth of Lilith" (1:15:33)
YOU ARE TERMINATED, RUNNER (1:25:12)
10. Throes - "Zepsuta" (1:25:44)
CAROUSEL IS A LIE (1:31:53)
11. TarLung - Band - "The Prime Of Your Existence" (1:33:34)
THERE IS NO SANCTUARY (1:44:38)
12. Ogimaa - "Fallen Empire" (1:46:16)
(illustration by Mercer Mayer for the 1967 first edition of the Logan's Run novel)
This is a fan-driven podcast and bears no official connection to the film or its production company. For more information on Logan's Run and to purchase the film, visit IMDB.
#TGIFriday couldn’t come soon enough this week. This kid knows what’s up. First round of Blood Bitters is on him.
This ca. 1890 advertising card is from the Audiovisual Collections and Digital Initiatives Department of the Hagley Museum and Library’s Fingerman collection of ephemera (Acc. 2009.213). To view a selection of digitized items from this collection, including this one, click here.
@Sarah, thank you for helping me extend that smut scene and for beta-ing my chapters!
Chapter 8
Arya felt ill the next morning. Her head throbbed, her throat hurt and her eyes were blood shot. But what really got to her, was the fact that Troy Otto was lying in bed next to her. Not only was he still there, but he still had his arms around her, cocooning her – like he was promising to protect her even as he slept. She felt ashamed he had seen her that way: broken, weak and in need of protecting. Her cabin was no longer a safe haven– not when she could smell his lingering scent on her sheets, her clothes, her pillows. He appeared so peaceful when sleeping: like he didn’t have a care in the world…like he was happy. ‘Of course he’s happy. He’s seen me break,’ she thought sourly, unable to stare at his face any longer. In fact, she couldn’t stand to even be there any longer.
Sneaking out of his embrace, she swallowed the painful lump of shame in her throat. Frustrated, she growled quietly as she realised that he had, at some point during the night, taken her shoes off. Spotting them placed neatly by the door, she grabbed them on her way out. She didn’t quite know where to go but she figured the ranch was big enough to hide her from him– at least for the rest of the day.
She wound up going to the pantry and decided to spend her entire day there. She recognised Vernon and approached him, “Mind if I take over?”
He cocked his head to one side, “You’re up mighty early.”
Arya shrugged, “Wanna contribute.”
Sighing a little, he nodded, “Well alright then…” Placing a clipboard in her hands, he took her through what she needed to do.
“You don’t have to do it all today—”
“I want to,” she interrupted him with a shake of her head. This would occupy her for most of the day.
“Ok well, I’ll leave you to it.” Vernon nodded, having heard enough from his son, Mike, to know that he could safely leave the place in Arya’s hands.
-/-/-/-
Troy had slept peacefully that night. He woke up with a slight smile on his face as he recalled how tightly Arya had clung to him all night. Her legs had been tangled with his and her head has been buried in the crook of his neck. She had needed him and that thought alone had been exhilarating. No one had needed Troy before. Abruptly realisation hit him that she was no longer in his arms. In fact, she wasn’t even in the cabin. He couldn’t hear the shower, nor could he see her boots. He wondered if she had gone to pick up breakfast but, glancing at his watch, he saw that he had already missed breakfast. She should have been back by now…unless she didn’t want to come back to him. Anguish curdled within him as a feeling of hollowness spread through his bones, clenching his gut; she didn’t want him even though he had been there for her. How had he not noticed she was just like his mother? No, he checked himself, Arya was special – she was different – there had to be a reason for her leaving him. Still fuming, he decided he would just have to hunt her down and demand an explanation. Furiously he decided he would make her see that she was just letting herself down by behaving in this ridiculous manner. He’d show her his hands could be as violent as they had been tender; he was angry enough to choke it out of her. Storming out of her cabin, his mood worsened as he spotted Madison approaching.
“Good…she had someone with her last night.” Madison spoke softly which only furthered Troy’s anger.
“What did you do!?” He growled, his hands clamping around her upper arms like shackles.
“I didn’t do anything!” She hissed, “I told her I could help her through it but she wouldn’t listen to me. She screamed at me and ran away. I just came to check up on her.”
“Tell me exactly what happened.” Troy rebuked and Madison’s eyes widened a little in realisation.
“She didn’t talk to you about it, did she?” She winced as Troy’s grip on her arm tightened, “She didn’t talk to me either- I just know because she screamed it at me. She wasn’t in the right frame of mind—”
“But you know what happened?”
“I won’t tell you, Troy,” she growled back, “That’s a conversation you’ll need to have with her.”
Upon Troy’s nails digging into Madison’s shoulder, she spoke, “I thought you valued loyalty? Do you think Arya will be happy when she finds out this is how you got me to talk about her past?”
Clenching his jaw, Troy glared at Madison who, upon realising that her words were affecting him, pushed on, “Go speak to Arya about it. She’ll appreciate it. She’ll open up to you that way, Troy. As a woman, as a mother, that’s the best advice I can give.”
Narrowing his eyes, Troy reluctantly let her go as he saw sense in her words. It wouldn’t do him any good to push Arya further away…not when he wanted her so badly. He’d ask around for her and when he found her, he’d ask her to tell him what happened. She’d open up to him and lean on him and everything would be fine.
-/-/-/-
“Your kids are sitting over there.” Troy pointed out brashly as Madison sat beside him for lunch. The older woman smiled as she placed a napkin on his leg, “I know,” she nodded and began arranging her cutlery. Troy usually enjoyed the games they played but he wasn’t in the mood for it today. He already despised the fact that she knew more about what had happened to Arya than he did. He didn’t want to get into it with Madison now, he had decided he’d rather speak to Arya first. Troy’s jaw clenched at the mere thought of Arya. He had asked his boys about her and even Gretchen but none of them seemed to have a clue as to where she was. Arya was hiding from him, Troy had figured that much out, but he couldn’t quite understand why.
Troy swallowed his annoyance at Madison, instead observing who was entering the mess hall for lunch. Arya would come, he was sure of it. She hadn’t had breakfast this morning so it was a safe bet to assume she’d show up for lunch.
“She’s not here,” Madison pointed out, much to Troy’s chagrin. He sneered and ignored her, turning his gaze back to his food.
“You’ve just gotta give her space.” Madison sighed, her hand rubbing the side of her face, “She’s been through a lot, that girl. Last night was probably the first time she talked about it. She just needs to process things…don’t take it personal.”
“I wasn’t asking for your advice,” Troy cut in snidely though her words had actually soothed his agitation a little. He had to clench his hand into a fist and bite his lip to stop himself from asking her a question. His internal struggle lasted a few long minutes before he huffed and gave in, turning to face Madison, “Why is she hiding?”
Madison had a bitter-sweet smile on her face. “You’ll have to ask her that.” Then, placing a palm on Troy’s arms, she squeezed lightly, “She’ll come to you when she’s ready.”
Troy felt his gut clench a little at her words. She sounded warm and her concern seemed genuine. He was finding it hard to differentiate between Madison’s manipulations and her sincerity. He’d have to watch her more closely from now on. He figured his promise to Jake was null and void now because Madison herself was seeking him out. She was planning something, that much was obvious but he couldn’t quite figure out what. Troy knew people like Madison didn’t just sit around twiddling their thumbs- he just didn’t know if her manipulations extended to Arya too or not.
“You going to talk to her?” he asked, his eyes narrowing.
“When she’s ready, sure.” Madison nodded, “Think she just needs to be alone for now though.”
To Troy, it sounded like Madison was warning him not to pester Arya. All morning Troy had been containing his urge to hunt her down and demand an explanation for her just disappearing. It was frustrating enough that Arya wasn’t around to explain herself but for Madison to think that she had a better gauge on Arya than he did… that was what sent him over the edge.
Gritting his teeth, he scoffed and tore into his steak. That seemed to be signal enough to Madison so she didn’t push conversation with him. As she glanced at him from the corner of her eye, she knew he wouldn’t heed her words: as soon as lunch was over Troy would go looking for Arya. She only hoped Arya could handle Troy when he found her.
/-/-/
Arya had had a quiet day. A day in which she had simply, single-mindedly carried out the most mundane of tasks. She had tried to let it occupy her mind so completely that there was no room left for her to stew on the events of last night. As hard as she tried to focus on her tasks at hand though, she’d find her mind drifting. She’d smell soap and it would trigger the memory of his scent as she buried her head in the crook of his neck. She remembered things with more clarity now…the way his calloused fingers had stroked her hair back from her forehead, how they had wiped away her tears and his lips had whispered promises of safety against her ears. She worked hard to suppress those memories as they brought about a cacophony of emotions in her. She felt humiliated he had seen her that way: ashamed for having cried in his arms and mortified that she had needed him in that way. Yet she had also felt peace...the kind of peace she hadn’t felt in a long, long time.
A gasp caught in her throat as she recognised a heavy set of footsteps walk slowly towards her turned back. It pissed her off that she even knew what his walk sounded like. Gritting her teeth, she sucked in a deep breath as she prepared for a fight.
“So is this where you’ve been hiding?” Troy’s voice had a dangerous edge to it.
“I haven’t been hiding,” she snapped, getting defensive.
“Why did you leave this morning?” he growled, dismissing her answer, his hands gripping her upper arm and spinning her around to face him.
“And why should I have stayed?” she spat back, “So you could look at me with pity? What did you think would happen, Troy? Did you think I’d have kissed you and thanked you for saving me? That’d I’d be in your debt?” Her eyes grew moist and her throat grew hoarse, “Did you think I’d see you as my knight in shining armour? Do I look like someone that needs rescuing?? Just because I was raped, doesn’t mean I’m weak, you hear me?!” Her cheeks were flushed with anger, her eyes ablaze and wild, whilst her hands had subconsciously been thumping against Troy’s chest, trying to increase the distance between them.
Anger marred his features for a brief moment as he acknowledged that she had been raped. It was an uncomfortable realisation, but one that he had known deep down anyway. Then it struck him that she cared what he thought of her and that caused a different sort of lurching in his gut. Utterly perplexed, Troy wondered how someone as beautifully strong as Arya, could ever worry about appearing weak.
“You stupid, stupid girl,” he mumbled, his brows furrowing and his lips stretching into a smile of disbelief. “I don’t think you’re weak. I never could. I know you, Arya.”
“You don’t,” she interrupted, furious, but he gripped her tighter and pushed her back against a stack of shelves, his body pressing against hers, silencing her.
“I do. So much so…that I don’t even need to ask you whether he’s dead or not…because I know he is. Was it a slow death? Was it painful?”
She gaped a little at the hunger in his eyes. He wanted her to tell him how she killed the man that had assaulted her. “It was,” she mumbled. Gulping, she elaborated on how exactly she had killed him, all the while hating the twinge of satisfaction she felt upon seeing the look of pride on Troy’s face. She could see herself walking a dangerous path…getting swallowed up in the depths of Troy but she couldn’t stop herself. She was too far gone. The violent rage in him called to her like a siren song and she couldn’t help but follow.
“He was with two others. They were outside the house, on look out. One of them tried helping me I think,” her gaze not meeting Troy’s. “He tried telling them they didn’t have time to rape me.” Her jaw clenched tightly, “I shot him with his own gun.”
“Good.” Troy murmured as he drew her head to his chest, embracing her. She let out a staggered breath as she too wrapped her arms around him. She sought solace in him, much like she had the previous night except, this time, she was completely lucid. She waited for that feeling of dread to creep up within her – since she’d been raped, she hadn’t even considered letting a man touch her this way again…but Troy wasn’t just any man, now was he?
Abrupt screams broke their tender moment, forcing them to part.
“It’s coming from outside…” Troy muttered, his feet moving fast as he tugged her along. The moment they had left the pantry, they spotted a plume of smoke at a distance.
“Fire,” she breathed with wide eyes as she ran after Troy.
The flames had woken everyone up; soon a crowd had gathered around the burning house. Arya watched as both Jake and Troy began throwing buckets of water, trying to damp down the flames, but her feet remained planted to the ground. She couldn’t help but stare, as the wood burned and the stone walls blackened. There was something so painfully elegant about the destruction.
Jeremiah made his way to the front and after staring sorrowfully at the burning house for a few seconds, he yelled at his boys to stop wasting the water. “They’re dead,” he stated bluntly, speaking of the elderly couple that had owned the house.
Arya’s gaze was fixed on Troy. He had been desperate to stop the fire: to run in and save the old couple. It was as if, in that moment, he hadn’t even considered the possibility that it was too late. Seeing such raw anguish on his face jolted something within her. Their eyes met for a second: ocean blue clashing with mud brown, and she wrapped her arms around herself a little tighter to suppress the shivers that had erupted from the base of her spine. Her feet remained firmly stationed as the crowd slowly dissipated. Every fiber in his body was tensed and jittered from unspent frustration. His jaw clenched and unclenched as he stared at the burning cabin. He was fascinated by the flames, she knew, just like she was. Arya started— she recognised that look in Troy’s eyes… it was the exact same look he’d had only a few minutes ago in the pantry…when he’d been looking at her. To him, she realised in astoundment, she was a roaring fire. Her heart thumped brazenly, threatening to leap out of her chest as she stumbled upon this pivotal realisation. He saw her as a wildfire: destruction and pain and warmth. As Troy faced her, his eyes ardently seeking hers, she realised that he wanted to burn with her…and she with him.
She moved with purpose as she closed the distance between them. Everything about him was magnetic to her in that moment; his pain, his ache, the darkness buried in his bones, the rage flowing through his veins. She wanted it all. Palms cupping his face, she pulled him down and sealed his lips with hers. He froze for a second, eyes wide open with confusion. He didn’t quite understand her behaviour. She had never willingly approached him like this…never made the ‘first move’, so to speak; Arya didn’t show affection…but now…now she was kissing him like her life depended on it, pressed against him, her fingers sinking into his hair. Eyes falling shut, his hands roamed her back, her shoulders, her hips, before settling for wrapping her pony tail around his fist as he became immersed in their kiss.
She let out a soft gasp as he tugged her hair, her mouth opening to allow his tongue entrance. His groan of pleasure set embers aflame within her, causing her to press against him more firmly. She was all but melded to him but still, she needed more. He seemed to need the same as his hands gripped her thighs and lifted her up. Wrapping her legs around his hips, she panted as she broke free of his lips. He began walking them back to his place as her lips showered kisses against his jaw. “Not that I’m complaining,” he chuckled, “but what brought this on?”
“I see it now,” she mumbled between kisses, “The way you see me. The way you want me…I want you that way too.”
Pausing, he brought her lips to his and kissed her feverishly, exhilarated to be wanted by her. “It’s a long walk,” she mused as her head nuzzled the crook of his neck, “You don’t have to carry me.” In an instant his muscles tensed and his pace picked up. Her brows furrowed as she noticed. Cupping his face again, she pressed a long kiss to his forehead. “I won’t leave again, Troy,” she assured him softly. His eyes flickered to hers, scanning them for any indication of insincerity. Upon finding none, he nodded. “Kiss me,” he breathed. She smirked and complied, her mouth latching onto his briefly, their noses brushing together when she pulled away. She grinned as he immediately asked for another one. She sucked his lower lip, her teeth tugging gently, making him groan. He lowered her to the ground— after all, he thought grinning, they would get to his cabin quicker that way.
The rest of the walk was heavy with anticipation and had seemed to take forever so when they finally arrived and entered his cabin, Troy slammed her against the wall, unable to wait a second longer. Their breaths mingled as their lips collided in a haze of lust and need. His hands explored her body as his lips left a bruising trail down her neck. Arya, unwilling as ever to be overpowered, tugged on Troy’s hair, pulling his head up to kiss him roughly. She ground her hips against his, grinning at the moan it elicited from him.
In a swift movement that took her by surprise, he lifted her up, carrying her to his bed. She wrapped her legs around his hips, savouring his messy kisses and the feeling of his hardened length straining through his clothes beneath her.
Tumbling onto the mattress in a mess of entwined limbs, he pushed her shirt up, greedily planting open-mouthed kisses against her exposed stomach. She squirmed with pleasure beneath him, her nails scratching at the back of his neck, as his hands roughly caressed her breasts and his lips attacked her mouth again.
Her hands grabbed at his back, aching to pull him closer, inside her. Unbearably frustrated at the layers of clothing still between them, she abruptly wrenched his shirt off over his head, then her own, and finally her bra. Slow and breathy moans escaped from her as his mouth descended on her breasts, taking her nipples into his mouth in turn, slowly drawing electric circles with his tongue. His fingers drifted down to the top of her jeans and paused, his eyes teasing, caressing the soft skin just above her waistline. She growled softly in anticipation, then kissed him deeply, wordlessly begging him to move his hands lower. She felt his smile through their kiss as he acquiesced, breaking apart their lips to pull off her jeans and panties. Guiding his face back up to hers, she kissed him thoroughly as his fingers teased the sensitive skin of her inner thighs. His fingers moved up, done with teasing and her hips bucked involuntarily at his touch, her teeth digging into his lower lip in retaliation.
He grunted as her legs wrapped around his hips, squeezing, urging him to just get on with it. But he wanted to savour this. He wanted to savour her. Unlocking her legs from his hips, he forced them to fall back onto the mattress, “Not yet.” His voice was commanding yet calm. It made her pulse quicken. He sat back— his eyes never ceasing in their roving over her naked figure— to strip off his remaining clothes, giving Arya her first tantalising view of his hardened length. He leant back over her, his fingers entwined in hers as he held her hands above her head. His kisses grew sluggish as they sucked on her neck, her collarbones, her face.
“Troy,” she moaned, her lips plump from his kisses and his teeth.
“I want this to last,” he breathed as his lips traced a path down her chest.
“I’m not going anywhere, Troy,” she murmured. He looked up at her, continuing to kiss down the length of her torso, and saw her eyes burning with wild longing before she made a confession of her own, “I want you. I want this. Again and again and ag—”
Curses escaped her mouth and her eyes squeezed shut as his nose nuzzled her center. His lips stretched to a wicked smirk as he made to change position, but Arya was not going to let him stop there; she pushed on his head, preventing him from moving his mouth away. Taking the hint, Troy grinned that incredibly sexy grin of his and continued licking, sucking and nibbling at her bundle of nerves till she was moaning and grabbing at the sheets, at him, at anything.
She screamed through her first orgasm of the night and he reveled in it. As she came down from her high, she pulled him up, aching to kiss him. On seeing the question in his eyes, she nodded minutely, her legs moving to hungrily embrace his hips. He kissed her rousingly and buried himself into her, their mouths sharing moans of pleasure as he moved inside her with intoxicating rhythm.
It was fast and crude and indelicate but as they lay in a tangle of limbs, limp from exhaustion and their orgasms, they both drifted into the most satisfied slumber of their post-apocalyptic lives.
