Draconic-Imagineer

My grandfather didn't talk about his time at the NSA. To us, he was just a retired linguist who spent his weekends tinkering with shortwave radios in a basement that smelled of stale tobacco. When he passed last winter, the task of clearing out his "shack" fell to me. Behind a false panel in his crawlspace, I found a heavy, lead-lined film canister. It wasn't labeled with a name, only a set of coordinates and a date: 17.05.1961. Inside were dozens of translucent microfiche sheets. I actually had to look up what a microfiche was. They weren't in English. They weren't even in standard Russian. They were written in a frantic, shorthand technical cyrillic used by the OKB-1, the Soviet Experimental Design Bureau. I’ve spent the last three months translating them. My hands are shaking as I type this. History says Yuri Gagarin was the first man in space, and he came home a hero. These files say he was just the first one who survived the return trip. The following are some the logs I have

A giggle woke me. I sat up in bed, heart racing, eyes rubbing away the haze of sleep. As my vision cleared, I saw a small figure standing a few feet away—a girl, no older than eight, staring at me with an impish smile. I couldn’t tell if she had just appeared… or if she’d been there all along. “Wanna play tag?” she asked, tilting her head. A strange energy crept into my limbs, shaking off the last clutches of exhaustion. I was awake now—at least, I felt awake—but my thoughts swayed somewhere between logic and dream. Still, before I could question what was happening, I was already out of bed, halfway to the door. “Tag!” she giggled. “You’re it!” She was gone before I could move, already out of the room. My legs followed without question, as if something unseen urged me forward, whispering that I had to chase her. I ran down the hall, not even thinking about who I might wake. Eventually, I reached the glass door that led to the backyard. She was outside somehow, despite the door

My name is Renee Beaufort and today, I became bodiless.  You may know me as an actress, a model, an icon, a pretty face, and more. Surprisingly natural long purple hair and I even favor the color. I have been in the industry my whole life while being perfect in every way. Having many lead roles and front lines in many magazines. All while being rich when I moved away from my parents to be independent and not having all of my money go to them. I sound like a Mary Sue, right? Despite all of the money and fame, I grew bored of it. This was a life forced upon me while having an image that I kept consistent all throughout the years. The age was just different. Just a pretty woman with a perfect figure. Something about that sounds lame. Especially with how long I have been doing this. As a result, I tried to go out of my comfort zone whenever possible. Take on villain roles that are not femme fatales or eye candy. Photo shoots of bizarre outfits or situations. That was when I had enough

Art versus life looks different somehow, But a beauty all the same! The flowers this year are so wonderful, So I'll draw them to look at again. The willow tree is weeping to-day, But it doesn't have to be: I'll paint it a picture with yellow and green, Smiling all happily.

Lauren pounded the plaster a bit to find the chicken bone, now bleached and tanned like a dinosaur bone. "There, it's our own fossil. But let me tell you, Dil. A lot of people would have trouble imagining what a chicken would look like a hundred million years from now from just this bone." "That's the problem Mantell had," Dil explained. "He found the teeth, but nine years later in 1831 he found a skeleton. Then he could see what kind of animal he was dealing with and what it may have looked like." "Oh, wow." Lauren gasped seeing these models at the Crystal Palace Garden. "These things look quote a bit like you." "Yes, that's why he called it Iguanodon," explained Dil. "It's a combination of the Iguana lizard and donta, meaning 'teeth'. It was not until several years later that the Iguanadon was just one of many creatures called dinosaurs." "Yes, Sir Richard Owen coined the word 'dinosaur', meaning 'terrible lizard'," Lauren continued. "By the time the word dinosaur became

Lauren and Dil went back to the studio. Lauren struck up a conversation. "So Dil, you know them all much better than any human. Which dinosaur is your favorite? I'm partial to the Maniraptors myself, but we will talk more about them later." Dil explained. "Well, I always had a soft spot for the sauropods, like the diplodocids. They embody what a dinosaur should be. Just plodding about, taking it slow and steady, and for someone like me who cannot even get three feet off the ground. Just imagine the view if you were a Brontosaurus." Dil began to wax hopefully as he thought to the tops of the trees. A song played: If I had been born a dinosaur, I'd be the most gigantic size. And about thrice as wide as a house I would be, But I'd be quite gentle and live peacefully. If I were a dinosaur, Other than me. If I had been born a dinosaur, My neck would be extremely long. So I could eat leaves off the highest of trees, As well as small plants on the ground at my knees. If I were a