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aldryrththerainbowheart · 11 months

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The fairiest of all 1/2

Note: Based on this ask, I basically wrote this...I don't even know what this is, but I like it. A lot. I'm currently jumping between this and four other wips. It's like my brain won't rest and just keeps on spitting out AUs. Anyway, my main source is Celtic mythology with some Fey Wanderer and Feylost from dnd. The reader is technically not a changeling, because they are actually the original human taken by the fairies. Also, this Dante is dmc anime Dante, because I think he does not get enough love. I'll be posting part two cause this is already too long and it expanded WAY above my expectations.

Enjoy this helter-skelter of magical worlds.

Rainbow Dragon

The existence of demons and the infernal lands they inhabit is widely accepted in Redgrave and the rest of the world. However, the other world almost mirrors ours. A place that is always changing, always shifting. A place up is down, light is dark and nothing is as it seems. Unlike the underworld, it's so deeply intertwined with ours that it's sometimes impossible to tell it apart. But if you look closer you just may catch fleeting sight of it.

You grew up in the World of the Fae after disappearing from your home plane as a child. Your parents made a pact with a Fairy that they'll get whatever they wish for in exchange for their firstborn. Only when they held a wailing infant in their arms they realized what they got themselves into. Faefolk is too whimsical and fleeting to take on the responsibility of raising a human child, but they did their best.

Living in this world shaped you, whether physically or psychologically. You're a bit too easy in your step, almost as if you were floating. When you're happy, you smell sweetly like nectar or honey. Your hair grows unnaturally fast. Flowers bloom in your presence. You have little to no concept of time and space. You can't keep still even when sitting down. You almost always space out, as if your consciousness was split between two worlds.

All good things come to an end. Your Fae parent realized that there's no place for a human in the Otherworld, and because they cared about you, they knew you have to go back. Being figuratively spat out of your only home after reaching what your Fae patron considered mature age was like a slap in the face. The beginnings were...rough. You quickly realized that the human world is completely different from the Fae world. To this day, there are still many things you don't understand, but you've grown to accept that.

As much as you wished to leave your old life behind, once you touch the veil, you cannot stay away from it. What about the family of Brownies that lives in your old apartment building? Or that Dryad whose tree did not get cut down because you almost turned the city upside down to get signatures for the petition? Do the locals feel safer after those disappearances caused by the Redcapes residing on one of the roads leading out of the city? And that Merfolk, about to be sold by the local mafia to be a pet of some rich asshole? Time and time again, you found yourself being pushed between two sides of the conflict of two worlds.

You realized the potential of a human acclimated into the world of the fae. And so, you became a mediator between the Otherworld and the human world. The fey warden guards the place where the veil unravels and takes care of unwanted visitors that step over it in one direction or another. Luckily, you have your fairy friends to help you with this task. Also the wide variety of skills and abilities at your disposal.

A fey mystique surrounds you. Now as a fey wanderer, you represent both the mortal and the fey realms. As you wander the multiverse, your joyful laughter brightens the hearts of the downtrodden, and your martial prowess strikes terror in your foes, for great is the mirth of the fey and dreadful is their fury. You are able to augment your weapons with mind-scarring magic, drawn from the gloomy hollows of the Unseelie fey. Your experience with the fey guarded your mind and sharpened your tongue. You are not easily charmed or frightened and your mouth can get you out of any sticky situation. The Seelie court has blessed you with the assistance of the fey. You can call forth fey spirits. You can slip in and out of Fey world to move in a blink of an eye.

With the life you have, you were sure that there's nothing in this world that could surprise you. You were about to be proven wrong.

You met at a fair. So inconspicuous, like you were just average people or people at all. Your senses were alerted of the otherworldy presence. You started scouting immediately, but after half an hour you gave up, hoping the perpetrator will reveal themselves eventually. To distract yourself, you headed to one of the stands to buy ice cream. Just as you were about to dig into your cone, you caught sight of a handsome man in the crowd. He was easy to spot, towering over everyone, tails of bright red coats fluttering dramatically around him, snow-white hair sticking out like a sore thumb. When his eyes met yours for a brief moment, you completely forgot your surroundings, causing you to walk into one of the striped poles that held the string lights. The ice cream ended on shoes. Drat.

The incident successfully got rid of any cravings for snacks, so you took your chance at the Ferris wheel instead. When it was finally your turn, you couldn't believe who they paired you up with. The ride was a little awkward at first. The man in red did not seem to want to strike up a conversation and you yourself were finding yourself at a loss for words. You noticed the big guitar case he was holding.

"Are you a musician? Will you be performing tonight?" You offered him your best charming smile.

The man looked at you in surprise. "Um, no...my performances are for...different crowd."

"Ooooh," you nodded in understanding. "So, you're some rock star who tries to go low profile, got it." You grinned. "Don't worry, your secret is safe with me." and you finished it with a cheeky wink.

He laughed. Finally, he laughed, and it was the sexiest sound ever. His blue eyes filled with mirth, few white strands fell to his face. "You seem to be more of a Funk person yourself." He looked you up and down and you felt yourself shiver like his gaze was a physical touch.

You lifted your arms in defeat, "Hey, everybody needs a little Groove in their life."

Dante opened his mouth, probably to say something charming, funny, or flirty, or that he's madly in love with you, hopefully. You never found out, because at that moment, right when you were at the top of the Ferris wheel, the machine jerked to a halt. If Dante hasn't caught you in his strong arms, you would've probably fallen off.

"Whew! That was close. Looks we're gonna be stuck here for a while-" You turned to him with a flirtatious grin, but Dante had the same serious glare with which he stepped into the booth.

Before he had any chance to react he jumped over the railing and down onto one support beam holding the wheel. That's when you noticed it. As vast as your knowledge of the various fey is, you've never seen a creature like this before. Something between a big lizard and a centipede, with a terrible grin filled with rows of razor-sharp teeth, was gnawing at the center of the Ferris wheel. That thing wants the entire thing to collapse, you realized.

As if it sensed your gaze, the monster had turned to you, a disgusting grin widening even more as if it knew about your realization. Your silent exchange was pierced by a gunshot and the lights of the attraction fizzled out, followed by several terrified screams.

What will you do? What can you do? You asked yourself as you watched the mysterious man in red discard his guitar case and pull out a huge claymore. You only gaped as he lifted it over his head like it weighed nothing and slashed at the monster.

The slippery bastard dodged, curling its slimy body away, and slinked away on one of the support beams towards another unsuspect person in the nearest booth, but not before disappearing out of sight with a few ripples over its scaly skin. Camouflage. It seems the hunter realized it too, because he stood frozen at the center point of the Ferris wheel, trying to locate the creature.

From the corner of your eye, you saw a ripple in the air. You wanted to yell at the man to warn him, but that would alert the creature as well. It seems a little bit of magic is needed here.

Dante was alerted by a bright colorful sheen right above him. When he lifted his head, instead of the demon he saw its silhouette outlined in the mysterious light. Without hesitating, he jumped up and slashed vertically. He was rewarded by a howling screech and one severed leg falling down. The monster decided to retreat into safety, now that its location was revealed. Unfortunately, it decided your booth is the best choice. When the beast noticed the tiny human hunched in the corner of the booth, it snarled menacingly. Fangs baring in the victory at the easy prey. Any normal human would shit themselves at this moment. If you were normal, that is.

You wasted no time in showering the beast in a cordon of incorporeal violet needles. With a hiss of pain, the monster leaped at you with renewed rage. At that point, the booth could not hold your combined weights any longer and collapsed. Dante watched helplessly as the booth dislocated from its position on the wheel’s rim. He tried to get to you with all the inhuman speed he possessed. Desperate to save you, a strange person with a bright sparkle in their eyes and a sweet scent tickling his nose. He can’t stand the thought of your eyes losing that bright sheen, to be just another voice to haunt him in his dreams. That’s when he saw it. Instead of erratic descent on the concrete, you were…floating down. As if you were riding on pixie dust, you were surrounded by golden sparkles, legs poised, ready for the descent, arms perched above you. He only extended his arms in silent shock as you gently settled into his arms.

You locked eyes for a moment and Dante desperately scrambled for the things to say. THE Dante Sparda was at a loss for words, and you didn’t seem to be doing much better.

“That was…uh…”

“Yeah…” You couldn’t help but laugh at the bizarreness of the situation. Your laugh sounded like the tinkling of the bells, and Dante felt a smile stretching his lips as if of their own volition. As if he couldn’t help but be happy around you. Who are you?

The small world you two were in was disturbed by a loud crash of the booth hitting the ground. “Let’s get out of here,” Dante exclaimed sternly as he carried you away from the situation. Your eyes were still trained on the broken booth, still wondering what kind of creature you just saw.

“It’s better if you forget what just transpired here,” Dante told you as you stood several feet away from the ruckus as the police and firemen secured the area around ferries wheel. He spoke to you while you were both looking at the scene, not once looking at you.

“What was that thing that attacked us?” You ignored his question and bite into a cookie you pulled out of the sack filled with baked goods. The monster attack seemed to reawaken your craving for snacks.

“You don’t wanna know.”

“You don’t know what I don’t want to know.” You parried between the munching. If there’s something that stayed with you since leaving the Otherworld it’s your love for wordplay.

All he did was shoot you an annoyed look. You realized that this is not the way to go and asked him instead, “All right, what type of creature are you then?”

He finally looked at you, and he was met with those bright, sharp eyes again. They made the knot in his stomach tighter, his throat a bit too dry. He’s attracted to you, and that really won’t do. Especially since you seem to see straight through him.

He turned away and started walking away. He was acting like a jackass, and you were so nice to him. Even offered him one of your cookies. Hopefully, it’ll be enough for you to be put off by him. But then he felt a small hand tug on his with surprising strength.

“I said wait! Where do you think you’re going? It’s rude to walk away when someone’s asking you a question, you know?” You put your hands on your hips and waddled a finger in front of his face.

You were putting his silent brooding tough guy persona under strain.

“Dante.”

“Huh?”

“Name’s Dante.” He blurted out. Damn, he wasn’t supposed to say that. You really making him lose his hard-earned control.

Well, at least you were getting somewhere. “Nice to meet you, Dante.” You extended your hand,and without a second thought, Dante grabbed it.

“So, ferris wheel may be closed, but other attractions are still open. What do say we tried shooting game?” “I…” “Awesome! Let’s go.” Without letting go of his hand, you pulled him after you. You knew you were pushy, but being carried by this guy princess-style gave you a new boost of serotonin and new hope to try again.

Dante watched the small palm resting in his hand and pondered how he got himself into this again. You’re just so…maddening, bubbly, and intoxicating, and the syrupy-sweet scent that clung to you was driving him mad. Just as he was about to excuse himself again you turned to him and gave him a dazzling smile that completely disarmed him.

“Oh, by the way, my name is…”

#dmc dante #devil may cry #dante sparda #dante devil may cry #dante x reader #devil may cry dante #devil may cry anime #dmc #dmc fairy au

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yandere-bastard · 2 years

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Platonic yandere fairy gender neutral reader <3 (no read over its lazy sorry <3)

You were so young, so frail, well at least to them. They lurked in the shadows of the woods and there were many shadows at their disposal. You weren't hard working or strong or smart like you family seemed to be; you were sickly and weak and although you loved nature you ultimately were a indoor kinda kid. sometimes though, sometimes when you're older sister and mother fought and your dad was at work and your younger brother was at his friends house, sometimes you ran. You didn't run with a single purpose you would sprint as fast and hard as you could deeper and deeper into the fantasy like yet so menacing forest and you wanted to bury yourself in. Although it was supposed to be occasional. a cure for those big fights people have, it became less occasional, monthly to weekly to almost 4 times a week. Your health began to deteriorate and the shadows of the forest felt as though they were creeping up on you more and more. You think maybe you think too much, you're too poetic and dream filled but you still wish someone could save you.

They did want to save you, you just didn't know. the mass-less body they used curled around the trees following you. They contorted in jagged shapes unnatural ways shadows shouldn't move they follow you even as you stop. they're behind you, and suddenly you feel the presence of another you hadn't noticed before, it was them but you didn't know that, you didn't know they had been there for ages either.

They speak as you turn around, they apologize for scaring you and ask for your name, you have no reason to be concerned so you say it, it's only your first name so does it even matter really. They smiled in turn a smile more cruel then kind as it had been moments before. You saw how their eye's followed you, and you did what you seem best at, you ran. They didn't even put up a chase almost instantly fading into the tree filled horizon. You made it home locking the doors behind you hiding inside again. You didn't go outside anymore, not unless it was out the front and only to go somewhere else imminently. You weren't smart like your family wanted but you weren't stupid either, until you forgot that is; It was a bigger fight that normal things were being thrown and both your parents were involved with your sister, and you panicked.

You were sprinting deep into the forest before you could think twice, and before you even had time to regret your decision the mysterious person stood before you again, they were inhuman pale and thin and tall almost ghostly, almost demonic. They called your name like a siren song pulling you in forcefully, you stumble your way into their arms against your better judgment. you're quickly encased in their long arms clawed fingers gripping into your arms, you quickly feel yourself fading from consciousnesses words are being spoken and you cannot hear them.

Coming back to in a place you'd never seen was both expected and unexpected, you had hopped it was a dream but now as you look around it seems so whimsical and not evil. The one from before walks into the room, or more closely glides as their feet are covered and the movements forwards show no signs of their feet. Instantly their demonic demeanor fades into a softer one similar to the first meeting but so much less human all the same. They comfort you and relish in your existence in a way no one ever has it makes you feel wanted but you still pull away, until the foggy feeling and the siren song of your name return suddenly your cheek is resting on their shoulder as they large body coils around you, and you are unable to move you manage to process some one-sided conversation going on but the words are in one ear and out the other they didn't seem to care though even as you fade out again.

Awaking for a second time the room is the same and the kidnapper is sitting by your bed. They begin happily talking about everything you should do now that you have no where to run to, you understand fully, the day you met the day you gave them your name was the very day you sealed your fate, a new world would be left to explore with your new parent? you're not sure they don't seem to care as they continued talking focused or not.

#platonic yandere #yandere parent #yandere #idk what this is #for funsies

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johntigs · 8 days

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Wes Anderson Hasn’t Changed: And How His Unique Style Tells a Story (The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Three More)

Wes Anderson has been one of the most highly renowned filmmakers in the modern independent film movement. You can usually spot an Anderson film from a single, frozen frame. This is because he deliberately and carefully crafts his film worlds in an almost surrealist style. His distinctiveness is achieved through his unique composition, often symmetrical blocking, atmosphere, breaking the fourth wall, and length of shots. Andersons distinct visual style is prevalent in all his films, and one of the most important aspects in his storytelling. The previously mentioned methods that Anderson uses, immediately indicates to the viewer that they are about to be carried into a quirky and immersive world.

Most recently the anthology, The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Three More shares the peculiar styles that Anderson has been developing and perfecting in his previous decades of film creation. Henry Sugar specifically shares all the techniques Anderson’s previous films expanded on to create a visually compelling experience that only Anderson could produce.

Out of the Anderson films of the past, Henry Sugar best resembles his 2014 film, The Grand Budapest Hotel. The similarities are immediately obvious due to the decision for both films to be made in a 4:3 aspect ratio. Additionally, the reasons both films are made in this way are similar. Henry Sugar as well as The Grand Budapest Hotel both take place in the early 20th century, when the 4:3 aspect ratio was the standard. This for one, puts you in the timeframe of the film without outright telling you and gives the film a similar feeling to films of the era. This one choice is also the cause for many unique framings and blockings. The condensed ratio allows for more vertical space to be used in shots. This is one thing that makes this film feel distinctly “Anderson”.

He already is known for his symmetrical dollhouse-like shots which are a staple in the “Anderson” style. “The use of symmetry in Anderson’s films reflects his preference of formalism over realism. Formalism in cinema is a style of filmmaking that reflects the director’s subjective perspective on the world” (Bracken). This application of formalism is the main driver in the dollhouse symmetrical style. There is something so off, yet so visually pleasing in any Anderson scene. If you were to look at the way that any scene is shot, you would notice that every characteristic of the scene is perfectly placed and stationed. This gives that dollhouse feeling.

For example, in Henry Sugar the scene in the hospital (Pictured Above) has many places of symmetry. To either side of the screen, there are the two main doctors. With them in the direct center there is the main subject of the scene. To the back left of the shot, are two more doctors standing side by side nested perfectly in between the left doctor and the man in the middle. To the other side in the background, there are two small windows that serve as the symmetrical balance to the two doctors in the back. This symmetrical balance creates the whimsical, surreal Anderson style which builds the feeling of his films. “Anderson intentionally creates scenes that feel almost real, but something always seems unnatural, with the characters existing in their own little Twilight Zone” (Rawlings).

As for how the 4:3 aspect ratio creates the distinct Anderson style, the casino scene is a great example of how vertical space is used to make up for the limitations of horizontal space. Since things need to be more squished in the 4:3 ratio, Anderson used perspective and vertical space to create a visually interesting scene. From the top of the ceiling in the background there is a large chandelier that centers the table in the back. To the right side, there is another casino game being played which is also being centered by its own light. Then on the left we have the character Henry Sugar balancing out the other parts of the shot. The way that things are placed allows for a lot of wall space being shown for off in the background, making the room feeling large. Then with Henry so close to the camera balancing everything out he becomes the focus of the shot.

Anderson also likes to use a lot of long takes in his films, especially in Henry Sugar. Which adds to the whimsical nature of his films. Henry Sugar uses many long takes throughout its almost 40-minute runtime. A long take is a scene that is or is meant to appear like it was taken in one shot. The way that Anderson uses long takes in Henry Sugar is unique. The short film has an almost play-like feeling, which is created by the way that settings are changed within the long takes. The backgrounds move and change as they would when you are watching a live play. The movement gives the film the feeling that the world and set itself is living and breathing.

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These long takes and moving parts are engaging and visually interesting. The way that the sets dynamically move to create the next background, and how they come together perfectly is essential in creating the Anderson whimsy. In the casino scene previously mentioned, there is a lot of set movement that is a great example of this. At the start of the scene, Henry Sugar walks into the casinos lobby. The walls behind are moved to reveal where the cashier would be, then the wall once again moves to open into the large casino floor (the person who plays the cashier also swiftly switches positions to move the wall, which is a great showing of how intricate the film can be). The rest of the scene takes place within the casino floor, then once everything concludes henry Sugar back tracks in the same way back to the lobby. This scene is an astonishing example of how not just the characters, but the worlds in Andersons films have their own distinct feeling.

Something that Wes Anderson isn’t afraid of doing, is breaking the fourth wall at strategic moments. In many scenes, characters can be seen looking directly into the camera, and this happens essentially throughout the entire film. The film takes the form of many monologues that are geared toward the viewer. This engages the viewer in a deeper way and allows for more of the whimsical Anderson nature to shine forth. It seems like characters are aware that there is a viewer, and they are catering to them directly. In this film it is done through the writing, and characters looking directly into the camera.

Many times, when characters are looking into the camera it is almost like they are saying, “we know you know this is absurd”. Taking another look at the hospital scene, the two doctors break the fourth wall and look at the camera after the old man tells them he can see without his eyes. This is a ridiculous claim to make, and the doctors break the fourth wall to tell you they know they are aware of that without using dialogue. The characters looking directly into the camera in this scene, and addressing the viewer adds to the Anderson charm. Otherwise, the characters are always addressing the viewer in some way. The way the characters speak is as if they are telling a story to someone, and the way that the film visually identifies itself is complimentary of that.

Since the late 1990’s Wes Anderson has been developing a unique, interesting, and engaging visual and storytelling style that is uniquely his own. The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Three More uses all of the tools Anderson has gained throughout his filmmaking tenure to make a unique addition to his filmography. Through the set design, shot symmetry, long takes, breaking the fourth wall, and the quirky atmosphere that is created from all these implemented traits creates a film that is engaging, interesting, and assuredly “Anderson”.

Works cited:

Bracken, Madyson. “Why Wes Anderson Is Obsessed with Symmetry.” MovieWeb, 29 June 2023, movieweb.com/wes-anderson-movies-symmetry/#:~:text=The%20use%20of%20symmetry%20in,world%20in%20an%20objective%20sense.

Rawlings, Will. “The Beauty of...Wes Anderson.” Duke Independent Film Festival, Duke Independent Film Festival, 10 Feb. 2022, sites.duke.edu/dukeiff/2022/02/10/the-beauty-of-wes-anderson/.

#wes anderson #henry sugar #grand budapest hotel #film #retrospective #movies #movie review #Youtube

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feifeixiv · 1 year

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A Time and Place

“Seems they’re taking us seriously.”

The Crystal Exarch broke their companionable silence first, though the soft and bouncing music exuding from seemingly nowhere kept the atmosphere from becoming too tense. Behind them, Alphinaud and Alisaie were examining gleaming portraits hanging from the walls in the prior hallway, the sounds of their footsteps quite comforting.

The Grand Cosmos lived up to its whimsical name.

Fei turned and met eyes with the now hoodless Crystal Exarch, vivid red irises though soft, were rather unnatural. But everything else was exactly as he remembered.

G’raha Tia. To say he had no suspicions would be a lie, but to put that face to this person made the entire mental exercise almost laughable. When Fei recalled the petulant, rather childlike obstinance G’raha could have, the calm and eloquent Crystal Exarch seemed an entirely different person. Perhaps though, it was the change that one hundred years in the First would bring, accompanied with all of its sorrow and loss.

Fei nodded, carefully tucking that thought away. “Seems to be so.” They crossed the threshold of the door, walking into what seemed to be an enormous, enchanted ballroom. Alphinaud and Alisaie’s voices faded into the music far behind them, leaving only the tinkling of the metal on Fei’s outfit and the thudding of their shoes. Figures dressed the part in Eulmoran finery spun and twirled, so transparent as to be figments of their imagination.

“What grace,” the Exarch mused, head tilted to one side. “I don’t sense any aether, so likely not spirits. Perhaps projections?” His question was posed to no one in particular, and did not pique Fei’s interest insomuch as the gentle sway of the Exarch’s skirts. Like he, too, wished he were dancing.

With a quick bite of his lip to contain a smile, Fei mentioned off-handedly, “My lord, did I ever mention what it is I do in the Source these recent days? When I am not here on the First, I mean.” The Exarch spun around, a curious glint in his eyes, hungry for the information being offered to him like a ravenous kitten.

“I was curious about the costume,” he admittedly freely, gaze darting down the expanse of bare skin before flushing with realization at what he’d done. His eyes quickly fixed back on the face of his champion, and saw the swell of a tiny, satisfied smile. Swallowing, the Exarch waved his crystalline hand. “It does seem rather conducive to the way you fight, so I thought not to question it.”

Fei took a light step, graceful and poised, and led into it as he danced a small circle around the Crystal Exarch. The man’s eyes never left him, face filled with wonder. “I dance, in a troupe, for the people of Eorzea,” Fei laughed, reaching out and grasping the Exarch’s hands before he could pull away, tugging him into place.

The Exarch gasped. “Is this really the best time? The best place?”

“If man must wait until the most opportune time, the most opportune place for everything, will he ever get anything?”

And thusly, Fei began to lead, the warmth of the Exarch’s hand on his shoulder and the cool crystal of the other clutched in his own. Whether surprisingly or unsurprisingly, the Exarch followed in stride, steps a little clumsy with disuse but not incorrect, their waltz in perfect sync with the music, and with each other.

The only sound between them was their slightly labored breaths. Fei marveled at the lightness in the Exarch’s limbs as he gained his bearings, the ease of his movements. Though the song never seemed to end, though their dancing companions seemed not to rest, it didn’t matter. They moved together as one, and if the Exarch felt dissatisfied with being led, he did not let it show.

A twirl or two later, the two smiled at each other when their eyes met once again. “Even this,” the Exarch said. “Is there naught the champion of Eorzea, the Warrior of Light cannot do?”

“Don’t try to ask me to sing for you,” Fei said seriously, leaning down closely to the Exarch’s face as if speaking some grand secret. The breath caught in the Exarch’s throat, and though he looked nowhere else, he knew if he tried he could count every freckle on the Warrior of Light’s face. “Nashmeira and F’lhaminn both expended much of their efforts, but Fei Qian cannot carry a tune worth a damn.”

A small and somewhat exasperated chuckle escaped between the Exarch’s lips. Seemingly on their own, Fei’s eyes flickered down to them as something twisted gently in his heart, in the same breath. Before either of them really knew what happened, their dancing stalled little by little, step by step, even as they continued holding on. The music and the projections moved on without them, their perpetual reverie missing the two now lost in each other.

Fei’s eyes trailed back up G’raha’s sunkissed skin, following the harsh and geometric lines of crystal, until their gazes met. That feeling, that soft and tickling ache in Fei’s heart grew, and his lips parted to say something that refused to leave the tip of his tongue.

What do you say so candidly to the man who prepared for more than a hundred years to bring the world to its knees for the sake of your own salvation? Whose purpose and sacrifice revolved around the nigh-unattainable goal of preserving your life at the expense of his own?

“G’raha, I...” Fei hesitated, his thoughts such a whirlwind he missed the way the Exarch’s grip tightened, his eyes gleamed. He wet his lips. “After all of this is over, I--”

“This room is enormous!” Alisaie’s voice echoed over the music and like a frightened cat, G’raha leapt back to a safe and not at all compromising distance. Fei remained slightly hunched, the words he’d wanted so desperately to say swallowed back into his lungs. Unlocking the depths of his heart was too much to hold, too much to bear. The fear and doubt nearly swallowed him whole, the agonizing loss of love kept his words chained to his breast.

As the twins made their way over to them, Alphinaud’s curious expression speaking volumes while the Crystal Exarch shuttled them along towards their destination, Fei realized something.

Perhaps, this was not the time or the place.

#my prose #my WOL #WOLGraha #shadowbringers spoilers #FFXIV spoilers #FFXIV #my poor bunny has to lean over so far just to get a handful of him lmao

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desdemonafictional · 3 years

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Okay I have another little chunk of cleaned up RP from yesteryear. Like the last one, I filled in all the Hisoka stuff after the fact.

This is some self indulgent fantasy guro

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In the middle of reaching down to the floor, where his pack of playing cards lay in a whimsical heap, Hisoka froze. It was so unlike him to pause that way, stock still in the middle of a graceful sweep--all his movements were graceful, after all, and Gon had taken it for granted until that very moment, watching the ungainly stumble as Hisoka righted himself on suddenly unsteady heels. The cards lay on the ground where they fell, untouched.

Gon would never have thought to look for signs of weakness in Hisoka's bearing, but now that he had tipped his hand they were all Gon could see. He took a step forward, hand lifted, wanting to touch the core that Hisoka's every flicker of tension seemed to curl in over. He stopped short just in time to remember his manners.

"May I?" he said, looking up towards the older hunter's face.

The miasma of Hisoka's ren, as it burst over him, felt as viscous and dark as the first time he had felt its touch, in the Heaven's Arena, without the understanding or the means to counter it. Gon guessed it was kind of like that again. Nen still existed in his body, he'd been assured, but he couldn't seem to access it. Without the ability to pull a cloak of ten around himself, it was almost as if thousands of horrible fingers were dragging at their nails over his skin, pulling and tearing at him.

He let out a steadying breath. The feeling was awful, but at least knowing where it came from was made it easier to endure. And he sure wasn't going to let Hisoka intimidate him, no matter how hard the push was.

Hisoka fixed him with that malevolent feline gaze. "Go on then. If you like," he said. "You may yet live to regret it."

His undershirt was black, a tight stretchy weave underneath one of his billowy crop tops. His body twitched as Gon drew near, but he didn't retreat, or take back his lukewarm consent.

Gon gently took hold of the undershirt's hem, the small knuckles of his fingers brushing against unnaturally chilled skin, and drew it upward.

Underneath there was nothing but a hollowed cavern, like the mechanical core of a toy solider, with the ragged remains of vital pieces hung suspended there. The remaining flesh gave uneasy little twitches, as if his body was desperately trying to carry on its natural function without support. Gon had never seen anything like it. It was terrible, and yet it was oddly neat. It was a horror almost too fantastic to be real. Too bloodless. Too whimsical.

"This is really impressive," he said, as he let go of the hem with one hand. He ran the pad of a finger over the edge of flesh instead, where the great bite had been taken out of Hisoka. He had an urge to touch more, to take the delicate bits of guts in his hand and feel them pulsing in his fingers, but it seemed like it would probably hurt and he didn't want that.

He just wanted... he just wanted...

Hisoka shivered when Gon’s warm finger traced along the gaping ruined flesh.

"It does take some little skill," Hisoka admitted. He was probably going for modesty, but his voice was oddly hoarse.

Gon started to pull away, realizing that he'd probably overstayed his welcome, and that wasn't polite. But as he retreated, the invisible web of Hisoka's nen stuck and pulled at his fingers, as if it didn't want to let him go. The ragged guts gave visible twitches and throbs.

Hisoka moaned a little. His breathing increased, just the slightest bit. He took hold of Gon’s fingers in his own, cool pale digits wrapped around warm dark ones. He started guiding Gon back toward him.

“Go ahead.” As if he could barely contain his excitement, as if it strung through him like a tensed piano wire, driving his heart faster and faster, almost audible in Gon's ears. “Do it...”

Gon stiffened in Hisoka's grip.

A spike of adrenaline lanced his chest. That low noise, which was as familiar as it was worrying in Hisoka's throat, had stirred something in Gon's stomach that even the ren hadn't managed, as lethally dangerous as that had been. The ren had hurt, and it had been a threat against his body in a real way, but it hadn't touched anything inside of him. Not the way Hisoka's soft moans did.

He could pull away. He thought he could pull away. And even if Hisoka wouldn't let him go, he could at least try. But he still wanted to touch--he still wanted--

If anything, the thrill of fear that raced up the back of his neck only sharpened the desire.

It occurred to him that for all that they had been opponents and allies again and again since the day of their first meeting, Hisoka's hand around his now might have been the first time the magician had ever willingly touched him without violence. It was that thought more than anything that made Gon relax into his grip.

Under Hisoka's guidance, Gon slipped his fingers between the ruined flesh. He cupped a length of pale organ, oddly hot compared to Hisoka's chilled fingers. It fluttered under his touch, like a captive butterfly, as he stroked a thumb over it.

Hisoka’s mouth fell open and his forehead tensed, hand loosening around Gon’s, letting him take the lead. “Yes...” he panted, “oh...” The center of his throat had sort of contracted, which made his voice deeper, and his breathing became increasingly labored.

There was no flinch of pain when Gon cupped his insides, thumb stroking a length of skin that should never have been bared to the open air, let alone touched. He marveled at what Hisoka was letting him do. It was gentle, but so invasive. Above him, Hisoka’s shoulders shook. The Nen surrounding his organs and holding them in place may have protected him, but Gon’s blunt fingers were invading that, sliding over it.

“A-ah!” His hand slid off of Gon’s fingers and gripped forearm. He stared down at Gon’s hand inside him, open-mouthed, and shuddered.

"You're so warm here," Gon murmured, not thinking much about it. "Your insides are so soft..."

His sharp nails dug into Gon's skin, drawing blood just below the elbow. Gon paused, looked up--caught sight of Hisoka's throat working, swallowing over and over again, as if he was caught and trying to get free.

“You know, Gon,” he said, at last, “it would be terribly intimate to die with you fondling my most secret areas, but the clock’s ticking, and you haven’t said a word about whether or not you’ll help me. Might we discuss that?”

"Oh!" Gon said. He could feel the nails in his forearm threatening to break skin. He guessed this must be a pretty time sensitive injury. He glanced up at Hisoka's pink tongue, as it traced that familiar path over his lips. It must be pretty serious if Hisoka was passing up the opportunity to ooze his intensity all over Gon the way he usually did. He'd never known Hisoka to flinch back from anything, intimacy or pain or otherwise.

He pulled back, reluctantly, trying to tamp down his own curiosity.

"Of course I'll help you," he said. "If we want to get you help any time in the near future, we're going to have to travel. I think Killua and his sister are sight-seeing on the north end of the continent."

He put a reassuring hand over the claws Hisoka had been digging into his arm. Hisoka probably didn't need any reassurance, but somehow it felt necessary to convey this sincerity. Everyone had told him that Hisoka lived in a different kind of world than most humans. He wouldn't want Hisoka to think he didn't understand the gravity of the situation.

"Don't worry," he said, "I won't let you die."

Hisoka made a choked noise and then, turning away like a cat caught in a moment of dishevelment, pulled his undershirt back down into its proper place.

#hunter x hunter #guro #hisogon

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brelione · 4 years

Text

The Surfer And The Siren

Chapter One:The Story,The Legend,The Bullshit.

@kelsiejayy designed this mood board.Lets just take a moment to appreciate how pretty it is :)

Chapter Two

It was a hot,humid day.The lack of clouds only made it worse and JJ was sure he would end up with a sunburn.Sunscreen had never really been in his top priorities and today he was beginning to regret it.The sun was high in the sky,the water unnaturally calm out in the marsh.As the boat came to a stop Kiara had let her hair out of its messy knot.She knew from experience that if she went swimming with her hair in its bun that it would get all snaggly and gross when she took it out.John B set his cold beer down,throwing his board over the side of the boat before making two awkward finger guns with his hands before jumping off the side.Kiara pulled off her light weight t shirt before jumping in as well,making a large splash in the cool blue water.JJ tossed his board before jumping in as well,coming back up to shake the hair away from his forehead.The heat against his tan skin wasnt as intense anymore and he felt comfortable enough to lay on his stomach on top of his surfboard,head down with cool water splashing onto his face every couple of moments.

Pope had done the same and John.B had decided too as well.Kiara was floating on her back,enjoying the contrast between the cool water against her back and the hot sunlight on her face and chest.It was a relaxing and calm experience until Pope spoke up. “Guys-hey,guys.There’s someone watching us.”He whispered,turning to face them and sounding a bit scared.Kiara rolled her eyes,not bothering to look at him. “Im serious,look,there’s someone right there.”He whispered,turning on his side once again so his back was facing them.John.B sat up on his board,helping Kiara to sit on it and balance out the weight,pretending to conversate so that if someone really was watching they wouldnt be suspicious.They glanced over to where Pope was looking,seeing a head bobbing in the water only fifteen or so feet away. “JJ-look.”Kiara whispered to JJ.He hadnt bothered looking up,figuring Pope was just seeing a rock or perhaps a seal.He groaned quietly,looking up so his chin was on his folded fingers.He squinted,lifting up his hand to block the sun.

“Hello!”John.B shouted,causing Kiara to look over at him with wide eyes. “Are you fucking kidding me?”She whispered,smacking his arm.A few seconds later the silhouette raised an arm out of the water and sent an awkward wave towards the group.They waved back,confused as to where this person had come from. “Uh-are you alone out here?”John.B shouted,noticing that there were no boats or boards in the distance. “Um...Yeah,yeah,Im just out for a swim!”The figure shouted back.It was feminine and smooth with a strange accent that JJ couldnt quite put his finger on.He bit down hard on his lip,so hard that he thought blood might start to trickle.His eyebrows furrowed,squinting and trying to see her better.Her head disappeared under the water,not showing up anywhere. “What’s wrong with you guys?”Kie asked upon noticing their facial expressions.Pope’s eyes were noticeably wide as he stared down at his board,JJ’s jaw stayed dropped as he stared out to where the girl had previously been,John.B’s face was a light red as he stared down into the blue water.

“Huh?”John.B asked,looking up at her.Kiara glazed at the two boys who had luckily snapped out of their strange trance. “That was weird,dude.”JJ laughed off his nervousness.He brought himself back to the boat,lifting himself up the ladder and pulling his board up. “Shouldnt we go and check if shes okay?”Pope asked.Kiara nodded in agreement.The three of them got onto the HMS Pogue quickly before moving slowly through the water and keeping an eye out for the girl.No floating bodies,luckily.But no sign of her at all either.When they got back to the Chateau the sun was setting and the air was becoming cooler than it was that afternoon.Pope and JJ had decided to change into normal clothes,hanging up their wet bathing suits and changing into whatever was dry and would fit properly. “We’re gonna head up to the corner store,you guys want anything?”JJ asked them. “Get some chips.”John.B told them,not looking up from his rubix cube.Pope sighed. “What kind of chips?Doritos?Lays?”He asked.John.B shrugged.

“Ooh get skinny pop.”He requested.The two boys began their walk up the cracked cement street.The corner store had been there for so long.It was old and worn down with cracked paint but had pretty much every snack and drink that someone could want.A nice old man owned the store,he wasnt the grumpy kind of old man though.He was friendly and appeared younger than he was.The bell jingled as JJ swung open the door.Old Richard seemed on edge,staring at the door like he was waiting for Obama to walk through.The boys went straight to the chip isle as they hunted for Skinny Pop.JJ had picked out a bag of cool ranch doritos when the bell chimed. “Hi,Rich!”You spoke excitedly almost like a nine year old about to go to Disney World.JJ’s jaw clenched,fingers clenching the doritos bag while his heart beated loudly in his chest.

The voice had the same effect on Pope,eyebrows furrowed while his mind emptied of everything besides your voice.You didnt know that,though.You hadnt seen Richard since last week when he had come to visit you at your cave.He was your oldest friend.Literally.The man was almost eighty and you had been friends with him since...well pretty much forever. “Hello,Darling!Ive got two last customers for the night and then we can get going.”He informed you,a smile coming across his dark face.The sound of the mature and croaky voice broke the boys from their trance,JJ’s head immediately whopping towards the door.His knees went weak as his eyes fell on you.He had never seen someone who looked quite like you.Your hair was long,curly and blue.You were around 15 or 16,a charming grin plastered on your face.You wore tight white ripped jeans and a large balck band t shirt that was clinging to your body due to the material being wet.JJ felt nervous as he and Pope walked up to the counter.

Girls didnt usually make him feel this way.He knew pretty much every single teenage girl on the island and he knew that they all had a thing for him.He was incredibly handsome and talented and funny so he could understand. “That all for today,boys?”Richard asked as he scanned the barcodes on the items.Pope and Richard made small talk but JJ couldnt be bothered to pay attention.His eyes were darting between you and the floor boards.The parts of your eyes that shouldve been white were tinted green or perhaps it was the lighting.You werent wearing makeup or any fancy jewlery yet your blue hair was well kept almost as if you got it professionally washed,dyed and cut every week.He cleared his throat,grinning a bit. “Um...is this your granddaughter?”He asked Richard.The old man chuckled,his face wrinkling as he smiled. “Something like that.”He answered,putting the chips and candy bars into a paper bag.

A small smirk came across your face as it clicked in your mind that these had been the same boys you had seen while you were swimming in the marsh. “Uh...Are you-are you from figure eight?”He asked.You shook your head,twisting the small copper ring on your pinkie finger.Pope looked over to you,blushing and looking away.You were slightly nervous too.It had been a while since you had been around human men that werent Richard.You tried not to giggle at how easily effected they were. “So youre visiting from the main land or some place?”The blonde boy asked as he played with his bracelets. “No,no,im from around here.”You laughed quietly although the sound still bounced off the walls.He gulped,the breath catching in his throat as he heard the whimsical giggle before nodding. “Um,well,im JJ and this is Pope.”He blushed a bright red.He was nearly the same shade of red as his hat. “Cool,im (Y/N).”You introduced yourself.Your voice echoed through his ears,his pupils dilating as he looked down at you.

Pope took the bag and nudged JJ’s shoulder.They both waved to you as they walked out.Once the door was closed behind them Pope let out a loud laugh. “What was that about?”He asked his friend.JJ shrugged,flustered by the encounter.The sky was a dark blue now,sprinkled with stars.The moon was full and a cream yellow color. “Did you get a weird feeling?When you heard her voice,I mean.Like a weird stomach ache or something?”JJ asked.Pope bit the inside of his cheek,the paper bag swaying at his side. “I mean,yeah,but maybe you’re just really high or something.”He tried to make it make sense.JJ shook his head. “Im gonna go back in there.”He turned around. “You can do that but im not waiting for you!”Pope shouted to him.JJ rolled his eyes,standing right outside the door and taking in a large and nervous breath.He opened the door,the familiar jingle of the bells filling his ears.

You looked up at him from the other side of the store after hearing the sound.You were filling a paper bag with pop tarts,jolly ranchers and swedish fish.Pretty much anything that tasted good and gave you small bursts of energy.Richard was behind the counter,a variety of folded shirts and shorts being stuffed into a drawstring bag.He glanced over at you before looking back at JJ. “We’re closed for the night,JJ.”He reminded the blonde.JJ nodded. “Yeah,I know,sorry.I think i dropped my lighter here so im just gonna look for it.”He lied. “Be quick.”Richard told the young boy.JJ went to the chip isle,pretending to look. “Do you need help finding it?’You asked,now standing at the end of the isle.His breaths went shallow,ears ringing as he looked into your eyes. “Why dont you just come back and look for it tomorrow?”Richard suggested.JJ bit his lip,the ringing stopping. “Um...Oka.Ill just come back tomorrow.”He turned to leave the isle but was stopped by the sound of your voice. “Is this it?”You asked,the silver zippo lighter in your palm.

He nodded,fingers brughsing against yours as he took it from your hand.A shiver ran down his spine,a loud sound between a scream and a laugh filled his ears and mind while his vision became nothing but bright white.He couldnt feel anything around him or even his feet on the floor.It was like the feeling of jumping into water on a really hot day with music blasting from a shitty five dollar speaker.It was pleasant but also scary.When your hand fell away the feeling left with it,leaving him to just stare down at you with shock.You just grinned,knowing exactly what had happened before making your way to the back of the store to grab an energy drink.His fingers tightened around the lighter.He walked out of the store again,feeling a mix of surprise and relief when he saw Pope leaning against a tree and eating pringles.

He jogged over to the tree. “So how’d it go?”Pope wiggled his eyebrows.JJ grinned. “Uh,well...I definitely saw her.”He rubbed the back of his neck.Pope laughed in his face before they began their walk back to John.B’s. “so you have a crush on a girl you just met,that you know nothing about and that youve barely spoken to?”Pope asked as he crunched another chip between his teeth. “Well,when you put it like that it sounds stupid.”He frowned,taking the tube of chips away.Pope chuckled. “If you still remember her name next week you should ask her to hang out with us.”He suggested.JJ nodded.When they got back to the house JJ laid down in the hammock,staring up at the sky like an idiot. “So JJ met a girl today.”Pope told the group as he took a sip of pepsi.Kiara rolled her eyes. “Please do not tell me that you hooked up with a girl behind the store.”She groaned.JJ shook his head. “No,I didnt.This was different.”He rolled onto his side so he was facing the others.John.B laughed,taking a swig of gas station beer. “So whats this girls name?”He asked.JJ let out a long,breathy sigh.

“(Y/N)...god,she is so pretty.”He whispered,almost dreamily.Kiara rolled her eyes,eating a piece of popcorn. “Theres more to girls than that,JJ.”She reminded him.He nodded. “I know,I know.She has such a nice voice and she had blue hair and she just seems so...I dont even know.”He thought out loud.Kiara snorted. “Youve got a crush.”She teased.John.Bs eyebrows furrowed,his smile turning into a confused frown. “Blue hair?Like that old legend?”He asked.Kiara grumbled something under her breath. “Please do not tell me that you still believe in that bull shit.”She tossed a sour patch kid into her mouth. “Wait,what?”JJ asked.John.B sat up straight. “You cannot be serious.”His voice went flat.JJ shrugged,lighting a blunt.Kiara threw a sour patch at Pope before eating one. “Rafe Cameron will not shut up about it.”She huffed. “What are you guys talking about?”JJ asked,becoming annoyed. “Its all bull.”Pope shook his head.

“No,no im telling you she had to be the one that saved me when I wiped out!And that time we were on the boat and a whole ass bag of swedish fish went missing off the boat!Or today when that random girl was in the marsh?Think about it!It had to have been her!”John.B exclaimed.JJ blew out a stream of white smoke. “I still dont know what youre talking about.”He released more smoke from his lungs and out his nostrils. “Okay-so for the last hundred years a girl with blue hair has rescued like a shit ton of people and saved a ton of beached dolphins and went to the Stone Wall riots and obviously no one around here has blue hair so whenever someone with blue hair shows up its like ‘wow its her’ but like,what if its actually her?”He finished his rant. “Alright,but like,this might be a bit dramatic….but maybe she just dyed her hair.”Pope tied a gummy worm into a know. “Hair dye is fucking expensive,no pogue could afford it.What kind of fancy kook would have blue hair?”John.B defended his argument.Kiara frowned. “Youre serious right now?”She asked.He nodded.

“And what did Rafe Cameron say?”He asked.Kiara sighed,leaning back in her chair. “He was saying how he saw her and Sarah fighting seagulls and they went away by her singing to them and then he blacked out or something dumb like that.Now he set up a camera by the beach because he’s convinced she’ll show up again.”Kiara explained,closing her eyes as she spoke.JJ smirked. “So lets steal the camera and find out.”He suggested.Kiara shook her head. “Thats a terrible plan.He probably has the live video going to his phone anyways.”She yawned.

@milamaybank @drewswannabegirl @teamnick @unmotivatedwritings @danicarosaline

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fromthedust · 3 years

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Shaun Tan (Chinese-Australian, b.1974 - book illustrator)

Rules of Summer - Never leave a red sock on the clothesline.

Rules of Summer - Never be late for a parade.

Rules of Summer - Never ask for a reason.

Rules of Summer - Always know the way home.

Rules of Summer is a large-format picture book about a friendship between two boys tested by challenging situations. It's a story with no particular narrative, just a list of mysterious rules such as 'Never step on a snail', 'Never argue with an umpire' or 'Never leave a red sock on the clothesline.’ As each rule is broken – not always by accident – surprising consequences ensue. Readers are invited to decide for themselves what is really happening, and why. Silent crows look on as transgressions accrue, building toward an ominous climax.

Never leave a red sock on the clothesline - This was one of the first images conceived for the book, before I knew what it might even be about. I originally sketched children cowering behind a fence, hunted by a big black dog, but the familiarity of fairytale wolves felt too ‘loaded’, so I transformed the antagonist into a big rabbit. This actually feels more unsettling to me than a wolf – a soft herbivore turned predator. The landscape evolved into a kind of residential area behind old factories, commonly seen around inner Melbourne suburbs where I live. The red sock was added later, adding a mysterious narrative to the picture and offering a natural (if inexplicable) title; and when it came to colouring the rabbit, a deep crimson felt right. It’s not necessarily a demonic rabbit, but might be part of a local mythology known only to these boys. All you know is that it’s probably not a good thing . . .

Never be late for a parade - The older brother has made his first mechanical companion while the younger brother is still playing with found parts, either because of a shorter attention span, a lack of expertise, or that he just doesn’t understand the peculiar rules, whatever they might be in this instance. He has yet to figure out his place in the world, and is for the moment little more than a bemused, innocent eye. He looks directly at the reader (the only time that happens in the book), inviting us to make sense of something fundamentally irrational. While the younger brother works away at his ‘robot’ companion, the eldest is always far more advanced when it comes to this kind of alchemical engineering . . . I wondered if kids could easily construct lively beings out of junk, how quickly might it dissolve into power games, jealousy and corruption? By itself, however, I found this image could be read more openly in a number of ways – the main element being that the older brother refuses to wait for the younger one, and, more deeply, the idea of fun and the anxiety of missing out on fun so often exist side by side. The nature of these creatures and their ‘parade’ is open to imagination. I based them on my study of old tin-toys; clattering, rigid and a little awkward, but full of weird character. I wanted them to look more like wind-up puppets than robots – more shell than substance. Two of the machines / animals are waving to each other, so there is a sense of kinship there, maybe achieving some independent thought or feeling. Each creature is meant to look as if it has a very specific personality. The suburban setting is very important, though I’m not sure why – it could just be that it looks like a place from some childhood memory, a peaceful, uneventful place. I was very interested in the brightness of the lime-yellow hill upon which the younger brother is working, and the strange darkness of the sky (almost like night), which adds a surreal effect, adding an ominous discord to an otherwise whimsical afternoon.

Never ask for a reason - The fight scene is an interesting one – a sudden dramatic climax. The boys are animated yet the creatures are very still, not knowing what to do, like puppets without masters. I also imagined the fight as being like a campfire scene in a deep black night; and immediate feeling of heat and violence; the secondary feeling a kind of melancholy isolation. My idea for the fight scene began life years ago, inspired by a Goya painting of giants buried knee-deep in a landscape swinging clubs at each other – a deadlocked 'eternal battle', the meaning of which is nicely unclear, but with a feeling of colossal pointlessness. Here, all the entities from previous adventures have gathered to observe the conflict in a kind of bewildered silence. In earlier sketches I had the various creatures falling apart or walking away, as if the magic of a shared imagination has dissolved, but I felt there was something too ‘obvious’ about that. It seemed much more interesting for them to just watch, like a ritual gathering around a fire, unable to intervene, or frozen in time. There is a sense that they are fading from reality by making them all the same desaturated colour, weakly illuminated within a greater enveloping darkness.

Always know the way home - This painting, one of the earliest images imagined for the book, is largely inspired by a recurring dream I used to have as a child. It involved walking home from school (either alone or with my brother) and then suddenly noticing it was the middle of the night and nobody else was around, no house or streetlights, no sound, and even after walking for hours we were no closer to home: a dreadful feeling of complete stillness. This painting, however grim, is really more hopeful than frightening – the boys look small and vulnerable, but they are secure in their togetherness and purpose, and the road home is clearly marked. They just need to keep moving, and eventually they will reach the dawn light. . . . The painted objects are very stream-of-consciousness for me, and not especially symbolic or allegorical. The huge animal skull is just one irrational ruin among many: gutted institutional buildings, a crashed warplane, bombs, machine parts, craters, and spiky growths. In hindsight, I think there is some similarity with landscapes of World War I, such as those depicted in paintings by British artist Paul Nash, as well as photographs of landscapes devastated by mining, or other environmental disasters: the photographs of Edward Burtynsky are particularly inspirational here (look up the film and book ‘Manufactured Landscapes’); also, less consciously, ‘The Isle of the Dead’ by 19th century Symbolist Arnold Boecklin. The colour of the image is a little unnatural, a bit poisonous or mineral, in contrast to the more organic blush of light along the horizon. I imagine this place as a kind of borderland between life and death, death being a completely banal nothingness, whereas this place still has a strange beauty to it – although grim, there’s some pleasure in looking at its scarred contours and wreckage.

https://www.shauntan.net/summer-book

#art by others #other's artwork #Shaun Tan #illustration #painting

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bigskydreaming · 4 years

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So I’m writing a short story in my Changelings ‘verse for a galaxy brain commission that was simply “Boyd gets a boyfriend.” Nothing wrong there. But it does mean I feel like I finally gotta nail down the full intricacies of Boyd’s magic, which is unnecessarily....extra, due to the existence of the Curse of the Specialist Snowflake that afflicts me.

Like, I couldn’t just give him one physical change and one magic like most other Changelings, nooooooo, he’s gotta be the Zodiac Kid and have twelve completely different changes and magics, one for each sign and he changes throughout the year in accordance to the changing of the signs. Why’d I do it that way? Cuz I gotta, obviously. Hahahaha, shut up, me.

I mean, there was a point to it originally, like, his sister Alicia’s Change and magic is that she’s surrounded by ghostly versions of a bunch of her alternate universe selves at any given moment, and she can communicate with them and call upon their skills and is sometimes called Sibyl around town, so like, the common thread/theme of her and Boyd’s magic is like, an infinity of self, but also, by “there was a point to it originally” I also just mean I couldn’t settle on and pick what I wanted Boyd’s magic to be so I was like here’s a fun thing I could do, make up a reason for him to have even MORE options.

.....I feel like, potentially, this self-created problem I’m having could have been avoided somehow, but gosh, fuck if I can see how.

So most of Boyd’s magic is hammered down....

In his Sagittarius phase, he’s physically a centaur whose lower half looks like a night sky studded through with starfields and moving constellations, and his magic from November 23rd to December 21st is uncanny intuition, a kind of off-the-top-of-his-head divination. He just instinctively knows the answers to questions when he’s in his Sagittarius phase, the more specific the question the more accurate his answer. He doesn’t have context, he doesn’t KNOW how he knows the things that he knows, he just knows them.

You ask him if you’ll meet someone who could very plausibly be the love of your life within the next week, and if he says yes, its absolutely, one hundred percent true and accurate.....but if you ask him then how can I find them, he might say well first thing you gotta do is get out of my face and stop bugging me, and then walk down the street and turn left.....and that too, would be absolutely true and accurately point you in the direction that answers your question but like, that’s all he’s got and you’re missing a few steps at that point. So. Its not an exact science or anything.

There’s definitely tricks to maximizing the intel you get out of him when he feels like being hit up for intel and doesn’t just string you along to be a total troll. Which he is. Hence why he also spends most of December filling in all of Alicia’s large stockpile of crosswords and sudokus, as he just instinctively and whimsically knows what to fill in even if he doesn’t actually have a clue WHY the Mesozoic Era is the answer to 49 Down. Alicia maintains this is cheating. He maintains he doesn’t care, and answers 64 across with “Johannesburg.” Fuck if he knows why.

In his Capricorn phase, he sublets his apartment in Bordertown and takes a month lease on a place underwater in Sub Francisco.....as for this period he’s more of a classical merman, but also if a classical merman has goat horns. But like, whose to say they don’t? Have you ever met one? Thought so. His magic during this period is horns of plenty.....he touches something to one of his horns, and comes away holding two of that item. So it basically only works on things that can be hand-held, but other than that it could be food, physical items, medicine, etc.

In his Aquarius phase, he’s physically the same as he was when a normal mainstream human....except that his skin has a faintly translucent quality as if that of water, with faint stars spiraling in distant patterns in the depths of his slightly watery form. He’s not invisible or actually translucent, like you can’t see through him or even see his organs or anything....rather, its more like most of the time he just looks like normal, human Boyd, albeit wearing a lot of glitter for some reason....but then he turns and catches the light just so, and for a moment you can see how the light is shining THROUGH him similar to the way it shines through the surface of a body of water. His magic in this phase is based on Ganymede, the cup-bearer of the gods.....water he touches becomes imbued with healing properties.

Like, he unscrews an ordinary bottle of Evian and reaches in with the tip of his finger, and whammo, you’ve got a healing potion whose magic will last until the last of the water is gone, even if its not used until after his Aquarius phase. Once he’s imbued a source of water with his magic, its a healing potion from then on out, which makes his shop a useful place to find healing magic year-round.....or at least until he runs out. You come into his shop even in late July, if he’s still got some healing potions lying around they’re as good as ever....but if he’s already out of stock, you’re out of luck until next year’s Aquarius phase rolls around, and you gotta go look elsewhere on Mercy Row for a healer in the meanwhile.

In his Pisces phase, he goes back to his Sub Francisco apartment as his physical Change here is that of a centaur-triton....kinda the classic ithyocentaur, but also he’s got kinda webbed-like wings spanning from his back.....its a whole thing. But a good look. His magic in this phase is ‘the perfect pair’....he cups his hands and forms a magical, elemental construct in the shape of a koi fish that’ll swim off in the direction of the perfect complement to something or someone. Like a personal, magical compass guiding him or whomever he makes one for to like, the magnetic north that exists somewhere as the perfect counterpart to an already present south pole. Whatever, this makes no sense and is super confusing, I get that. But it makes perfect sense and is not confusing in my head. Still just working on translating from point Head to point Paper without the concept getting lost in the translation.

In his Aries phase, he’s his ‘normal’ mainstream-appearing base form....but also he’s got golden wings and ram horns. And his magic is that he breathes fire. But its magic fire, and it doesn’t burn things it touches, it turns them to gold. Its a whole Golden Fleece thing mixed with a King Midas thing.

In his Taurus phase.....idk yet. I mean, bull horns seems a pretty obvious go-to motif, but haven’t decided for his magic yet. Mostly because @sunwukxng is a Taurus and he takes things like this juuuuuuuust personal enough that I know if I don’t come up with something good here he’ll decide its a mortal insult towards all Tauri and thus him as well, and he’ll declare a blood feud against me that shall last five hundred years. And he’s already got like, six of those in progress, so....trying to avoid racking up anymore.

In his Gemini phase, he splits into two selves, his physical self and astral self, so he’s basically followed everywhere by both his shadow and a spirit version of himself he can astral project elsewhere. And when his astral self goes through something, kinda like how there’s that idea that when a ghost passes through someone they feel a chill or as if they almost left their body for a second.....his astral self can kinda like....yoink other peoples’ astral selves out of their physical forms temporarily. Yoink is of course the highly technical, scientific term for the phenomenon. Obviously.

In his Cancer phase.....idk yet. Look, its hard to be classy and deep concept-y about crabs, okay? I’m sorry Cancers, but even in the original myths about the constellation the gods were like yeah, this crab constellation was a mistake, we just felt bad about Artemis kicking that one all the way up into the heavens after it pinched Orion, the only himbo she ever almost made a boytoy out of. A lot of other Zodiacs featured animals that had the common perception of being viewed as pushing the sun across the sky, so there’s maybe something there in that direction....idk yet.

In his Leo phase, Boyd mostly appears as his ‘normal’ base mainstream-human looking self....except he’s big in a way that is not exactly Giant Big (and there are a good couple dozen giant-sized Changelings living in Bordertown, so like, he isn’t officially anywhere near that) but he is possessed of a height and size that are nevertheless best described as Ridiculous. Like he’s bigger than the Strange Angel, but not as big as Teddy the Sun-snake. That means nothing to anyone but me. Whatever. Moving on. Anyway, in his Leo phase he also has a fiery red mane kinda....that’s threaded through with silver stars in the Leo constellation shape. His magic in this phase is his ‘roar of command’....basically, he can imbue anything he says with the force of his will, and thus like.....make inanimate objects do what he tells them. He’s like “Open sesame” and a locked door is like you got it, boss.

In his Virgo phase.....I am not entirely sure what he looks like yet. I’m pretty sure its mostly his mainstream-looking ‘base self’ but like.....with an unnatural charisma, but also something a little less generic than that. Needs a specific hook still, beyond just “I’m ridick pretty.” Like, he’s Sinqua Walls. He’s always ridick pretty. Its a thing. But his magic in this phase is like.....an aura of inspiration. He just sorta puts out a vibe that inspires people around him in various ways that are unique to the individual.

He’s also way shorter than he used to be even before his Change hit, or like, shorter than he is in any of his other phases. Like, we’re talking five and a half feet max. Is there any reason for this whatsoever beyond me being amused at the juxtaposition of him going from his Biggest and Most Ridiculous Phase immediately to his Smallest and Most Ridiculous Phase? No. No there is not. Fear the deep profundity of my creative process, for it is deep and it tis profound.

In his Libra phase....I’m not sure yet what his physical change is, but I do know his skin has a scaled texture, and I know those aren’t the scales normally associated with Libra but there’s a point to it, its just......missing some ingredients still to totally make sense. But he also tends to wear a blindfold a lot of the time during his Libra phase because I know his magic here has to do with viewing things in terms of overlapping possibilities and potentialities, like, he looks at things and sees not just the way they ARE but also a whole bunch of different ways they COULD be, and his magic enables him to kinda tweak things from the way they are more towards one of those other possibilities, in a sense that’s all about ‘balancing’ things.

However, the sensory stimuli of all those potentialities 24/7 is honestly overwhelming and gives him serious migraines, so he mostly tries to rest his eyes behind some kind of blindfold most of the time and just take it off to focus on specific things in order to utilize his magic, and only a little at a time. This is probably the most technically ‘powerful’ of his magics in terms of both versatility and scope, but it takes a toll and he really tries to pace himself during his Libra phase or it just gets to be too much, really fast.

And then lastly, in his Scorpio phase, he’s got a whole scorpion tail and barbed stingers along the outsides of his arms.....but rather than lean into the whole ‘eww Scorpios are duplicitous and manipulative’ and also ‘eww scorpions,’ his magic here calls back to how scorpions are actually protective guardians in a lot of mythologies and folklore, and there’s also plenty of Zodiac lore about the idea of the Scorpio sign being all about uncovering truths at any cost, etc. So his magic here is another ‘liquid/mutable’ type and takes the form of venom from his stingers that’s almost like drops of amber.....and that have various properties aimed at uncovering truths and exposing lies and falsehoods. Like, elixirs made during his Scorpio phase are another highly sought ware at his shop, because depending on the venom concentration he places in each, they have different properties. Like, he’s got vials where just a drop placed in your drink or on your food will reveal if its been drugged or poisoned, or vials of elixirs that basically act as magical truth serum.....and then other vials where like, you splash a little of it on something you suspect to be an illusion or a magical disguise of some kind, and it’ll dispel the false magic and reveal what’s truly there.

“What happens if like, I splash it in the face of someone I think is wearing an illusion disguise and it turns out they’re not and that’s really just what they look like?” A customer asks.

Boyd shrugs. “Then they’ll just be wet. And probably a little pissed, I imagine. That’ll be $49.95 please.”

“I thought you said it was $29.95!”

“That was before the Asked Stupid Questions tax was applied,” Boyd smiles placidly. “Will that be cash or credit?”

Okay. So. Typing that all out cleared up some of that for me but not quite as much as I was hoping as Cancer and Taurus apparently still persist in Vexing me.

Hmmmm.

#changelings 'verse #cast of characters

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thebladeblaster · 3 years

Text

Pokémon: the Dark Circuit (aka Vanguard Descends season 2)

Chapter 5 Battle At Sea

Aichi’s current team

Level 79 Wingal (Lycanroc (dusk)) rock

Moves:

Stealth rock

Crunch

Stone edge

Play rough

Level 77 Llew (Golisopod) water/bug

Moves:

Sucker punch

Blizzard

Liquidation

First impression

Level 78 Gancelot (Lucario) fighting/steel

Moves:

Focus blast

Stone edge

Meteor mash

Dragon pulse

Level 85 Soul Saver (Haxorus) dragon

Moves:

Outrage

Iron tail

Dragon dance

Scale shot

Level 100 Alfred (Aegislash) ghost/steel

Moves:

Sacred sword

King’s shield

Iron head

Shadow Claw

After getting out of the bath, they went to the dining room. Like most other rooms in the castle it was unnecessarily large. Aichi didn’t linger on that too long after the food was set on the table. He felt his mouth water as his stomach growled again. He tried to remember his table manners despite his intense hunger. Though, just shoveling food into his mouth was extremely tempting. He resisted the urge and ate at a reasonable pace. Llew however instantly dug in. Wingal sniffed the food cautiously before deciding it was safe and started eating. Gancelot ate more cleanly than the other two, but in their defense they can’t hold silverware anyway. Soul Saver mimicked his table manners similarly to how she did in Alfred’s castle. Speaking of Alfred…

Aichi looked over to where Alfred was; he seemed to have wandered off. He felt a bit worried especially with Ahmes already missing.

“Lucario. Lucario. Lucario. Lucario. Lucario. Lucario. Lucario. Lucario.(Don’t worry about Alfred, he told me he’s just checking up on something.)”, Gancelot told him.

“What would that be?”, Aichi thought.

With Alfred…

“Oh is that you Aichi boy?”, Pegasus asked as the door opened.

“No, it’s Alfred Pendragon. The once and future king of Galar.”, Alfred replied, revealing himself.

“Ah, it talks?!”, Pegasus replied with mock surprise.

“Why are you doing this?”, Alfred asked.

“Is it hard to believe I’m just helping out Aichi boy from the goodness of my heart?”, Pegasus replied.

“I know you already know about him. You knew who were before we ever entered the castle.”, Alfred replied.

“What makes you say that?”, Pegasus asked.

“You didn’t react when Aichi talked to us. I noticed your men giving him weird looks, but you didn’t look weirded out or surprised at all. Also, it’s your tone. I can tell you know more than your letting on.”, Alfred explained.

“Ah, I see you are rather clever Alfred. Yes, I know very well who Aichi boy is. It’s hard not to know when he was able to defeat one of Team Asteroid’s Psyqualia users. I don’t want anything bad if you’re thinking about that. I simply don’t like Team Asteroid. They have spoiled the fun of the whole world. Back in the olden days people used to do fun things like make cartoons that aren’t war propaganda. Cartoons just for the sake of entertainment they were the best. Now, it’s all about the war blah blah and convincing young chaps to risk their lives for their region. Anyway, I want things to go back to a more whimsical and fun time. Giving Aichi boy medical attention, a bath, and food is a small price to pay for that.”, Pegasus explained.

“I see...you don’t seem to be lying. Sorry about being so paranoid, but with the nature of what Aichi is. A lot of people with not so good intentions try to take advantage of him.”, Alfred replied.

“Even his own father only thinks about him as a tool for world domination.”, Alfred thought.

“I don’t blame you, Alfred. It’s just smart for you to be cautious. You all are so protective of him, he definitely seems like he needs it.”, Pegasus replied.

Alfred nodded, that’s why he had originally joined Aichi in the place. He’s young, naive, and has lots of power. A very bad combination. And all the malicious programming placed in his brain certainly didn’t help. Iit messed up his ability to think clearly and made him act very unlike himself when it took hold of him. He seemed to be grappling with it again. He needs positive guidance in his life. So, he wouldn’t end up going down a dark path not unlike his father and even himself at one point. He saw him personally almost like a son. He had gotten rather attached to Aichi.

“Right, goodbye Pegasus. I believe Aichi still intends to leave after dinner to find our lost party member.”, Alfred said, with a light bow before seeing himself out.

With Aichi…

Every few minutes Aichi paused his eating to look over for Alfred. The poor boy was so worried about him. He was very relieved when he saw Alfred float back in. It made him able to relax a bit and focus on filling his stomach. He’s going to need all the energy he can get to find Ahmes. Eventually, they finished and Aichi was given a new bag along with potions, revives, and food.

“Thank you very much, Pegasus. For everything, I don’t really have anything to give to repay you. I hope we meet again one day.”, Aichi thanked, with a polite bow.

“It’s nothing Aichi boy. I was glad to help you.”, Pegasus replied.

Then, they all left Pegasus’s castle and were back into the wilderness of Alola. Aichi put his finger to his head trying to sense around for Ahmes. He didn’t feel him at all. Sure, he felt other Gallades but not Ahmes. Aichi frowned hoping he hadn’t gotten too far or...the worst had happened to him. Aichi shook his head, not wanting to even consider the possibility. He was probably just somewhere else in Alola out of his range.

In Sanctuary town…

Naoki looked around Sanctuary town after school, eventually ending up in front of the Sendou household. Word had already gotten around fast that Aichi didn’t go to school today. He felt a bit worried for him and decided to go to his house.

“Maybe he’s just sick and I’m making a big deal out of this.”, Naoki thought.

He hesitatingly walked up to the door and knocked on it. The door slowly creaked open a little eerily which made Naoki raise an eyebrow. He flinched when a scaly finger pointed at him with a watery bullet starting to form. Naoki couldn’t help, but let out a startled gasp.

“Mom, that's Aichi’s friend.”, Naoki froze, recognizing the voice of Aichi’s sister.

The door opened more and he now saw Shizuka with Elaine by her side who was the one pointing at him.

“Man, your guys’ mom totally gives off gang boss vibes.”, Naoki blurted out.

Shizuka’s eyebrow twitched a bit at the ‘gang boss’ comment and Naoki flinched.

“I’m sorry, but Aichi is not here right now.”, Shizuka informed him.

She still felt very ticked off that the evacuation people wouldn’t let her look for her son. Now, he was lost who knows where and possibly in her ex-husband’s hands. She honestly considered just tying her son to her hip at this point. He always finds a way to get himself in danger. She was finding it extremely difficult to contain her motherly worry for him. She wanted to go out and find him, but she had to take care of her daughter too. She was completely stuck and it was frustrating. She remembered back when things were so much simpler. However, she never regretted having kids just the person she had them with.

“Oh...do you know when he’ll get back?”, Naoki asked.

“No.”, Shizuka replied, feeling her heart sink.

“Okay...uh...see ya later Mrs.Sendou and uh...Aichi’s sister.”, Naoki replied, waving goodbye.

“My name is Emi.”, Emi told him.

Emi looked down very worried about her brother as well. Especially after she kept having those weird dreams of what seemed like Shuka’s world. She never wanted to see Aichi be like how he was in those dreams. She just wanted her dorky older brother that she knew back. She didn’t mind having to deal with waking him up as long as he was safe at home. The dreams still felt like some kind of a bizzaro world to her. Though, Aichi was able to do some of the stuff she saw in them. First of all he could obviously always understand Pokémon. Second, he was crazy strong. She wasn’t quite sure if he was as strong as the dream Aichi. Third, he was able to do that weird absolute lock thing against Shuka just like in the dreams. She had this really bad feeling that wherever he was something was wrong with him. She just hoped when he came back he would still be himself.

In Alola…

Aichi brandished Alfred as a blade. He held up Alfred’s shield in defense when a Turtonator breathed fire at him.

“Wingal use stone edge! Llew use Liquidation! Gancelot use focus blast! Soul Saver use scale shot!”, Aichi ordered.

The Turtonator growled in pain as it was bombarded by sharp rocks. However, he wasn’t the only Pokémon attacking them. Those Pokémon are hit by the others attacks. A Bisharp charged at him and he guarded. With a simple foot movement he got behind him and delivered a hard knock on the back of its head with Alfred’s hilt. They continued on like this for a few days walking through Alola and ending up with fights from the not so friendly locals. Aichi grew increasingly worried as he still had no luck finding Ahmes. They ended up setting up camp a few times with rotating who’s on lookout.

Near Alola…

Our heroes and the Quatre Knights soon approached Alola. Little did our heroes know they were slowly being pursued by someone hiding their power. Yami couldn’t put down this bad feeling he had. He continued looking over the boat, but didn’t see anything. He stopped when he picked up Aichi’s aura and was getting closer and his exact position became a lot clearer. The Quatre Knights arrived before our heroes and quickly flew over the islands looking for Aichi. Though with the massive overgrowth it was rather hard. The trees had grown up super high in some parts and plants covered most of the region. They all flinched when in the distance the Akala island volcano suddenly went off. Lava seeped from the volcano quickly overflowing at an unnaturally rapid rate. The Kantonians looked especially panicked at this especially when they saw the shadow of a titanic Pokémon.

“It’s him!”, Yugi said, sweating nervously.

“That jerk must have followed us!”, Jonouchi said.

The others rushed up as they got a better view of the colossal Pokémon. It had red scales and a grey underbelly. It had lots of spikes on it and strange black markings. It had massive claws, a row of sharp teeth and golden eyes.

“You have got to be shitting me. Is that Groudon?!”, Misaki gasped in disbelief.

“He’s huge! He’s not even dynamaxed, yet he’s that big?!”, Kamui commented, his jaw dropped.

They all paled as a massive fiery blast was sent in their direction. They quickly threw out their Pokémon to try and get out of the boat. Kai threw out Overlord and flew on his back. Misaki threw out Guardian and flew on its back. Kamui threw out Kaiser who for some odd reason could surf. (How it could, was beyond me. Even I don’t know. It just works. I’m not joking, you can actually teach Tyranitar surf.) Miwa flew in Dauntless. Kourin flew on Bridgette. Yugi surfed on his Blastoise with Anzu. Joey threw out his own Charizard which was shiny and flew on it with Honda. The others on the boat hastily jumped onto their own Pokémon who could fly or swim.

Kai, Misaki, and Kamui mega evolved their Pokémon. To their surprise Yugi and Joey were able to as well. Joey’s mega Charizard was mega Charizard Y though. They didn’t have much time to dwell on it though and quickly rushed to stop Groudon. Though, they were at a massive disadvantage right now because they couldn’t use all their Pokémon while over open sea.

“Overlord use hurricane!”, Kai ordered.

“Guardian use psychic!”, Misaki ordered.

“Kaiser use surf!”, Kamui ordered.

“Dauntless use giga drain!”, Miwa ordered.

“Bridgette use giga drain!”, Kourin ordered.

“Catapult use hydro cannon!”, Yugi ordered.

“Red eyes use solar beam!”, Joey ordered.

“Punisher use eruption!”, the boy from before ordered on top of Groudon.

The attacks all collided with each other causing the ground to shake.

Meanwhile on Melemele island (Alola)...

Aichi and his Pokémon minus Alfred stumbled as they felt tremors ripple through the ground. They were in a thick forest and the mountain covered their view.

“What’s going on?!”, Aichi questioned.

“I don’t know, maybe one of the volcanoes erupted?”, Alfred replied.

“Lucario. Lucario. Lucario. Lucario. Lucario. Lucario. (I sense one did, it’s on one of the other islands though.), Gancelot said.

“Ahh!!! One of them erupted! Where is it?”, Aichi asked.

“Lucario. Lucario. (The one right of us.)”, Gancelot told him.

Aichi turned to the direction of the island.

“Lycanroc! Lycanroc! Lycanroc . Lycanroc. Lycanroc. Lycanroc . Lycanroc. Lycanroc. Lycanroc . Lycanroc. Lycanroc. Lycanroc . Lycanroc. Lycanroc. (Oh no! No you don’t! There’s no way you can save all the Pokémon on that island unless you stopped the lava somehow.)”, Wingal yelled, knowing exactly what Aichi’s thinking.

“Then that’s what I’ll do.”, Aichi replied, they jumped as Aichi seemed gone in an instant and Alfred lunged forward nearly catching Aichi before he seemed to disappear.

“Lycanroc! (That stupid idiot!)”, Wingal yelled.

“Haxorus! Haxorus! Haxorus. (We gotta catch up to momma!)”, Soul Saver yelled, running as fast as possible after Aichi.

They all ran and Alfred floated to catch up with their reckless trainer. Aichi was flying high in the air looking over to the island. He had a light blue aura around him and his eyes had rainbow spirals. However now that he was in the air the Quatre Knights spotted him as he flew over to Akala island.

With the other…

Misaki got in closer with guardian who punched Groudon with icy punches. The others continued to launch their attacks at Groudon in different spots. The boy sat on top of Groudon not very impressed as he could hear Groudon cringe in pain. It shot more fire balls and swiped at them with its claws. Large spikes erupted from the ground which nailed Kaiser and Catapult. Thankfully, it didn’t impale them but it did damage them, cutting them multiple times. Their strong shells protected them from being impaled.

“Kaiser!”, Kamui called out.

“Catapult!”, Yugi called out.

They started sinking as the Pokémon that they were riding on was heavily injured. Their hearts beat loudly against their chest.

“Y-yugi!”, Anzu called out, holding out her hand to Yugi.

Yugi reached out for Anzu as his necklace suddenly glowed with a bright golden light. Kamui threw out Tough Boy and recalled Kaiser.

“Yugi!”, Kamui called out concerned, riding over to him on Tough Boy.

“Yu-gi-oh!”, Kamui had no idea where that noise was coming from, but the light got brighter.

Kamui stumbled a bit surprised when Tough Boy shook a bit. He looked up to see Yugi? No Yami, but he wasn’t transparent and others could see him. He was holding Anzu in his arms sitting on the back of Tough Boy with Kamui. Yugi became Yami? Kamui blinked in shock, completely stunned.

“How the heck did you do that thing where you grew taller?”, Kamui asked.

“We’re at a disadvantage in the sea. We need to get to land and attack there.”, Yami told him, as he pointed to land.

“A-alright man.”, Kamui replied, still trying to process what just happened.

They rode Tough Boy over to the shores of Melemele island because there was no lava. As they reached the shores Aichi who was in the air saw Groudon. He gasped in shock seeing Groudon. He quickly flew over to Akala island too focused on saving the Pokémon to notice the other people flying in the sky especially since they were tiny dots compared to Groudon. He had to stop the volcano somehow. He hoped Groudon didn’t cause it. Aichi flew so fast the others didn’t see him they only felt a sharp wind blow past them.

“Woah, that the heck was that?!”, Joey questioned, desperately holding onto Red Eyes with Honda.

The Quatre Knights pursued Aichi who hovered over the Akala volcano.

“Now...how do I stop it?”, Aichi questioned.

He remembered that blast attack he shot from his finger. Maybe he could just destroy the volcano? Wait...that was probably a horrible idea and would be too destructive.

“Stop...stop...how do I make it stop...wait a minute.”, Aichi pondered, before looking at his pointer finger wondering if what he was thinking of would work on inanimate objects like lava.

“Well...I might as well try. Absolute lock!”, Aichi called out.

He shot at the lava hoping for the best. He squealed when Groudon shot fire at him in annoyance.

“Well if Groudon is the cause then...Absolute lock!”, Aichi said, pointing his finger at Groudon.

The others gasped in shock when Groudon suddenly became stuck in place. Two intersecting white rings with a golden lining and a light blue aura surrounded Groudon. Misaki and Kourin’s eyes widened, realizing who shot the attack at Groudon instantly. Aichi looked relieved when the eruption actually did stop and the lava came to a halt. Kamui was too preoccupied trying to get to land. The boy on top of Groudon’s eyes twitched with annoyance.

“Who dares?!”, the boy questioned angrily, looking around.

The aura the rings gave off was unfamiliar to him. No one he knows did this. The boy growled angrily.

“Kill them. Whoever they are.”, the boy said.

Groudon roared as the red orb was activated. Suddenly Groudon was encased in a red gem. A golden omega symbol flashed on the gem. When it broke out it’s markings had changed and now looked like lava. It’s underbelly was now black and it’s spikes became black. Not to mention it was even bigger than before. The boy touched its head and it was surrounded by his murky gold aura and broke through the absolute lock. Aichi’s jaw dropped, looking stunned that Groudon actually broke out.

“That dumb giant! He broke through my absolute lock!”, Aichi sweated nervously as he felt a anger that wasn’t his boil up inside him.

Aichi twitched trying to keep control of himself.

“Calm down!”, he told himself, hoping that would work.

“You! You don’t understand! My pride is being threatened! I am supposed to be the supreme being! First you let yourself get punched by that stupid armored scientist! Second you let us get thrown around by Celebi! Freaking Celebi! Third, that lower Psyqualia user knocked us out! Then some dumb giant is going to breaks through one of my signature moves!”, 003v replied, his voice full of venom in his mind, which made Aichi jump.

Aichi sweated nervously in complete disbelief not understanding 003v’s complete insanity. He didn’t even realize 003v was keeping score. He thought maybe he was insane too for talking to himself.

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ask-the-crimson-king · 4 years

Text

Coming Home

It was a quiet night. If anything could ever be called ‘night’ upon this world, anyway. The landscape was oddly beautiful. The land around the wanderer was glittering under the roiling, ever-turbulent skies. He briefly wondered if they would ever be calm, but he quickly realized that would be a foolish notion. For things to be calm, that would require stagnation, the antithesis of his capricious god’s whims. So he would be confined to this world of shifting madness, with its turbulent skies, never able to look up with his bare eye and see the stars. With his enhanced sight thanks to his abilities, he could, but... There was a certain feeling that came with being able to look up into a night of clear stars. A certain sense of awe and wonder, to see the galaxy laid bare before you. To see every dot and know that there was a system there, with life and its own splendor and beauty.

The traveler walked on. The Legion was nowhere to be seen, and nor were the braying beastmen who sometimes accompanied them. There were no shrieking, cackling, shifting creatures lurking nearby. He was alone, within these barren plains. These plains of obsidian and basalt, these plains that grew crystalline stalks of grass and odd, misshapen trees. These plains that became plains of opal, with rocks of topaz, some reflecting eyes that watched the wanderer. This was a rarity upon this world of shifting rock, to be able to find a place so bare. No skittering, no footsteps save for his own.

Calm.

Peace.

Quiet.

He had a place where he could experience this. It was never too far away. But he still preferred to find a place within the Materium, if at all possible. There was something... something... real here. Something that helped to ground his fractured, turbulent self. He loved the Great Ocean, and he could spend an eternity studying and wandering its tides and seeing its wonders, but... there was still something wonderful about the Materium, even on a world like this.

Even on a world with winds that stirred. Winds he could not truly feel anymore, although his mind did try to emulate the feeling.

The wanderer enjoyed coming to places such as these where he could spend them in peaceful reflection. He had his Tower, yes, but it wasn’t the same. This place, although a fabrication, felt more appropriate. He had no destination in mind, either, and he did not need one. When he was ready to go back, he would simply spread his wings and fly back, or simply will himself to return there. But for now, he enjoyed walking. He enjoyed the false feeling of the earth and rock beneath his feet, although he knew it wasn’t real. It never would be again. Nothing more than a phantasm.

He cast his gaze skyward, sifting through the mass of colors and spotting the place where he had first looked at the skies in wonder. The first night he had arrived home. Oh, how long ago that had been. He remembered the awe that had completely consumed him, and the week he had spent wishing to learn more about every star he saw in the sky. He had done it, with help. But it was incomplete, he insisted. He remembered the look on the faces of those who had decided to teach and take care of him when he proclaimed he wished to catalog every star in the galaxy and beyond. Surprise. Disbelief. Some had chalked it up to a whimsical imagination. But he had done it. It took far, far longer than a week, but he had done it. And when his findings were published in the library, he remembered how he was glowing with pride.

It was the first of many that would come to fill those libraries. Soon after came his discoveries in terms of the Great Ocean, of the disciplines that would define his home, of the fauna and flora of his now-barren home...

The traveler realized he had stopped walking to stare at the charred rock in the distant sky. It was almost ready to grow life again. It was so close. It was so, so close... But then it was killed once more. He always remembered the first day it died with a pang of sorrow and regret within his very soul. He felt that he should have moved on -- this event was millennia ago, after all -- but it still stayed with him, as much as he hated to admit it. He remembered the skies growing dark. He remembered the rain, he remembered the destruction, the cries he ignored...

The price he finally had to pay.

Gods, what a fool he had been. All a waste. He should have fought sooner. He shouldn’t have let himself become so consumed by grief so quickly. Everything was his fault, and he acknowledged it. It was partially why he even brought this world back into the Materium. He wanted to find a way to make amends, or to try and have things be the way they should’ve been. It’s why he had been reaching out to the various psykers of the galaxy. He wanted to teach them. He wanted to help humanity truly reach its full potential. He wanted them to become enlightened.

He wanted for them to find a place to call home.

But this world? No. This world will not suffice. This world will be his home, and the home of his Legion. But the psykers, the humans? They will have his old home, once they are able to safely secure it. Thanks to a gift from a friend, he would be able to, hopefully, rewild it with native species. They had been growing quite well within the designated greenhouses and gardens, and they would be ready for transport soon. With the Great Rift opening so close to home, he had hoped it would offer protection. Obviously, he thought wrong.

The wanderer shook his head, letting out a sigh before he began walking again. Walking upon the shifting plains that ended at a river of shifting water, reflecting all sorts of colors, the colors bathing the traveler’s skin and turning it blue. Things swam within the waters. Unnatural things. Mutated things. One stopped to gape up at the giant looking down at it. After it swam away, the traveler simply walked over the river, continuing on his way. He saw the twinkling lights of a human settlement, and he stopped. He felt another pang of sorrow as he looked at it. They deserved more. They deserved to have a better home than this.

They would, he told himself. Once more he looked to the skies, through the turbulent heavens, seeing the scorched remains of his old homeworld. For a moment, he thought he could see a small, green sprout, out of the dust. Even if it was his mind only making illusions, he still found himself smiling.

Yes, they will have a home, someday.

They all would.

#been a while since ive written a thing #based on the song by avenged sevenfold #loosely based #more of i listened to it as i wrote this #magnus the red #coming home #moonclaw writes #warhammer 30k #kinda feelsy

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kingofthewilderwest · 5 years

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I feel like one reason THW didn’t do much for me was that the stakes didn’t do something different or greater than before - at least, not at a tangible level, a concrete level.

Technically there were stakes in THW: the tribe left Berk, Hiccup had Toothless taken from him, generals were waiting to wage war on the world, and Toothless as alpha let the dragons of Berk be captured.

But here’s the thing: none of that was new. All of that had been done before in one if not two movies.

And it was done to greater impact before.

Just to take HTTYD 2. The stakes felt greater in HTTYD 2. To me, there was a lot more sense of realism, consequence, and impact to the events that happened to Hiccup here. Valka’s Bewilderbeast was killed, a loss that cannot be reversed. Hiccup also lost his father directly through Toothless. Watching Drago ride on Toothless’ back has an unnatural sense of horror to it, as Drago rides off with all the dragons now under his control. And when Berk’s home was threatened, it had more sense of reality.

I know Grimmel entered Hiccup’s house (a juicy piece of villainy I adore) and burnt down many of the homes, but even then... the raid didn’t feel as “personal” because of the Hairy Hooligans’ response. The tribe’s meeting in the Great Hall felt similar in tone to the meetings Stoick had in the war room - yet another attack that destroyed their buildings but not their spirits. Berk’s been on fire HOW many times from dragon raids? The Hooligans’ protests at leaving their homes were muted (I could and hopefully will later write a separate analysis on my issue with the Berkians’ characterization in THW), they shrugged into Hiccup’s idea fairly quickly, and the exodus was shown in such a lighthearted tone... that it didn’t feel like a moment of gravity. What should have been a high stakes moment wasn’t depicted as such. Instead, we laughed as the Light Fury knocked Hiccup off Toothless’ back. Instead, we listened to upbeat music as the Berkians used a whimsical method of carting their belongings with them on an adventuresome journey. Instead, we watched the Berkians remain upbeat as they found a new place to live, shrugging Hiccup off as chief, and treating the situation as a positive experience.

The stakes didn’t feel solid enough to sell me on the villagers’ plight - be it here, or later in the movie when Grimmel and the warlord swooped in again. The climax didn’t have as much sense of stakes because there were fewer tangible elements of consequence. We saw the dragons taken away and in cages (something we’ve seen before, including the start of this movie), but the Hairy Hooligans were otherwise largely unimpacted. We saw a force led by generals... who didn’t appear to be doing any damage to the world around them, and weren’t doing any damage to the tribe of displaced Berkians now. The dangerous consequences hadn’t been built up enough prior to the climax, and the climax wasn’t enough to make the threat vibrant.

But in HTTYD 2, when Berk was under threat, it felt under threat.

Hiccup and his companions have already lost a major battle (almost ten minutes long on screen!!!) against Drago with severe consequences, consequences that are given time on screen. We have a full scene of Hiccup sobbing over his father’s death, and another full scene of Stoick’s funeral. We are still reeling from what Drago’s done against our heroes.

But Drago’s not pausing for our heroes to pick themselves up. He’s moving to Berk. And back on Berk, the village’s dragons, in a creepy daze, fly away from their owners, and into the masses of Drago’s deadly forces.

I want to reiterate AGAIN these are deadly forces which we have seen in action. Unlike the just-for-plot generals of THW, we actually KNOW what Drago’s armada can accomplish; they can overwhelm Valka’s dragon sanctuary, defeat our protagonists, even lead to the casualties of key leaders. Seeing this legitimately deadly force - with all of Berk’s dragons used against them! - hovering over the dark skies... that’s threatening stuff.

Furthermore. We’ve never seen an enormous fucking mountain-sized dragon stand on the shores of Berk. The dragon dwarfs the entire village, and presents a scene of horror and destruction that we haven’t seen the likes of before. We’ve seen Berk go through fires. We’ve seen Berk lose buildings. We haven’t seen Berk’s buildings stabbed to shreds by giant pillars of ice. This isn’t the Berk we know. This is a village in chaos. The villagers are terrified, they’re shocked at their leader’s death, they have no dragons to defend them, and there’s no way that even these bold souls can stand their ground against a massive mountainesque ice spitter. They had difficulties before with the Red Death, and now, an even greater Bewilderbeast is destroying their one place of safety, the place that had finally become a peaceful paradise for dragons.

Then that dramatic color keying? It’s ominous and sets the tone.

To see Hiccup’s tiny group of companions move toward Drago, and see Berk in such disarray? That’s a sense of stakes.

It did a good job amplifying the stakes beyond the first HTTYD. The stakes of the first HTTYD are extremely exciting, and in many ways similar to HTTYD 2, but HTTYD 2 does a good job of refreshing what we’re seeing. In the first movie, the villagers were also in danger from a monstrous dragon, but they were on different shores, where their home wasn’t threatened. There wasn’t a human antagonistic element, a war leader out to conquer them. Toothless was taken from Hiccup, but it was by Hiccup’s father, not a power-hungry villain who hoped to demolish Hiccup’s people. In the first movie, we have two friends uniting, rather than finding a way to rebuild a destruction of trust, a rift.

THW didn’t give us a new level of shock and stakes beyond HTTYD 2. We saw things we’ve seen before - warlords, Toothless taken, Berk’s dragons taken, etc. - but not in an amplified or revamped enough form to feel like a great shock to viewers. It didn’t build up before enough, and it wasn’t built up enough during the climax... to feel deep tension.

And it’s part of why Hiccup deciding that Toothless should leave his side feels surreal and ungrounded. We’ve literally seen greater powers than this, and Hiccup’s response was, “We are the voice of peace, and bit by bit, we will change this world.”

If THW wanted the ending they gave us, they needed higher stakes, different stakes, revamped stakes. (Other things, too, but this included.) I know I’m not the only one who asked myself at first, “Wait, is this the climax?” when I got to it at THW. It’s because it didn’t build enough to something great enough to merit the end. HTTYD 2 did everything THW did, but better. HTTYD did basically what THW did, but better. Before you go out with a bang and change the entire status quo of the dragon world - taking dragons away from us - you have to give us a sense of stakes to match.

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post-itpenny · 4 years

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Silence

@clownsgobeepbeep a short meeting between two lively conversationist in the slasher au uwu

There was a child in the woods, at least they appeared to be a child. They had a rather whimsical- abet creepy- hand-sewn hood on and a strange doll in their arms. They sat on a small ridge overlooking an even more bizarre scene.

At the bottom of the ridge was someone running for their life. A hiker that had wandered off a trail, now regretting the decision so, so much.

The thing that ran after them gained ground in seconds, it could remind one of a raptor in the way it ran. Body bent just slightly forward as strange avian legs took long strides. One could almost imagine some strange feathered tail acting as a rudder behind it. It moved without a sound across the forest floor, tackling its prey and gutting them while still alive. The victim’s screams the only sound.

The child watched as the thing clawed up a tall tree taking its victim with it.

Then, nothing. The blood-smattered leaves and entrails being the only signs of what had happened. All was quiet.

The thing came falling down from the forest floor with a “whump!” Landing on its feet in front it’s audience.

The Huntress tilted her head in curiosity. It was female that was obvious now that one could look at her while she was still. Her face painted in black ash, hip-length red hair- a wild mess filled with braids, feathers, and tiny bones. There were black feathers everywhere.

The child looked up at The Huntress in silence. The Huntress looked down at the child in turn.

Then, for something so tall, the creature was able to fold itself to being at the child’s height. She reached into a pouch on her hip, not the bloody one but another made of soft deerskin.

The Huntress pulled out a small knife-

And an apple.

She carefully sliced the apple in half, giving one piece to the child and popping the other half into her own mouth.

The child looked down at their own half of the apple, ignoring the smears of human blood on it and placing it inside a bag they had with them.

The Huntress pointed in a direction, the child turning their head to but saying nothing. The Huntress seemed irritated. In a gentleness that seemed unnatural for someone who just murdered another so ruthlessly, the child was now being cradled in the arms of the creature as she sped across the forest floor.

The movement was almost too fluid for someone with only one set of arms and one set of legs. As they moved there was something else, not physically there but an awareness of something following along.

The Huntress ran faster.

Finally the child was set down on the path of a trail, the very same one the unfortunate hiker had left. The Huntress stepped back, careful not to touch the doll in the child’s arms. Pointing again down the trail, towards civilization.

They left, the feeling of the other thing that had followed left as well. The child turning to go in another direction, following their own agenda.

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roguebotanist · 4 years

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I’ve been playing around with talk to transformer today and thought it would be fun to extend a bunch of sim bios! I think someone may have done something similar recently, but I’m not really sure. Anyway, here’s every sim in Strangetown (bolded parts are their original bios). Long post ahead:

Loki Beaker

As soon as he perfects his latest invention, Loki is sure to get the recognition he knows he deserves. In the meantime, he keeps himself busy by trying to assemble a nuclear reactor out of common household items. During one of his experiments, he accidentally melts the family dog. Realizing that his so-called tools of destruction are so harmless, Loki gladly takes his pet back home and happily adopts it. Fearing that the strange creature will cause more damage if he is ever left alone, Loki goes to great lengths to keep it, including stacking hundreds of baby chicken eggs in the backyard.

Circe Beaker

Circe knows 238 different ways to make someone scream, and none of them are nice. She enjoys taxidermy and collecting coat hangers. She has a wonderful knowledge of names and an affinity for Hallmark, which is why all her books are centered around Christmas and spring holidays. This is particularly important to her, as her whole life is completely shaped by them. The children love to ask questions about things, and they are able to make up as many of the answers as they like. Do you have a huge embarrassment problem? One of Circe's known phrases is 'Where's the finger in your back pocket?'.

Sometimes in the garden, she prances

Nervous Subject

His hobbies include twitching and blinking a lot. He's also fond of travelling and baking. Along with the broad and meaty teeth of a canine, St George the giant groundhog has a day-old beard and a partial gingivitis – which is the inflammation of a plaque inside the teeth. His beard and gingivitis don't hurt his routine; they just mean he's a bit slower and a bit more circumspect.

That's because he's aged.

Olive Specter (yes, it gave her stats)

Olive will stop at nothing to get what she wants. She spends her time collecting mushrooms, sharpening sticks, and excavating her yard. As you might expect, she has a big appetite, and eats anything that she thinks is good enough for her. She's as much of a carnivore as you are, and is able to catch fish or birds at the least opportunity. She doesn't bother with plants, and prefers to live in areas full of food.

Alignment: Neutral evil

Hit Dice: 1d8+2

Speed: 30 feet

Ophelia Nigmos (this one is unsettling and strangely coherent)

Ophelia's hobbies include hypochondria and monitoring the air quality. She worries about the future... and the past... and the present. Especially right now.

Her past memories have become like mantras, repeating over and over in her head. They are the most important thing to her. This time, she's not sure she will remember them the way she did before. She's aching to go back and erase her past.

That which is most important to her--the things she left behind--has been forgotten. And nobody can help her. Nobody.

PT9 Smith

The only thing PT9 loves more than his lawn is his family. When he is not spending time with his children, he enjoys clipping coupons and staring up at the sky. Over the years PT9 has found his place in the aquarium world. He has helped educate people on different types of fish and he has hosted various education seminars for clients who have "fish stories" to share. In his spare time, PT9 enjoys spending time with his wife and his grandchildren.

Jenny Smith

Jenny loves having a career, but she wishes she could spend more time with her family, and maybe make some new friends. She really likes green. She wishes she had more friends. She wishes her mom would talk to her more often. She wishes she had nicer hair. She wishes her nose looked like a horse's. She has a lot of sympathy for humans and hopes to see one in the future. Jenny is a cross between a cat and a dog with a medium build, no special traits, but that means she's got a lot of muscle and a huge body

Johnny Smith

Johnny dreams of being the hero that rides in on a white horse, or at least a cool sports car. He'd go on to become the worst Superhero in all of space and time, which I guess is exactly what a normal, human teenage boy would do.

Jill Smith

When Jill closes her eyes, she sees dolphins. She has her heart set on becoming a deep sea welder someday. She loves dolphins so much, she's often put one in the trunk of her car and hit the gas to cheer her up.

"I love them so much," Jill declares. "I'm a Dolphin Lover."

Pascal Curious

No matter what happens, Pascal believes there is a logical explanation for everything. In his free time, he practices home psychoanalysis and collects conspiracy theories. He's become adept at opening jars containing creepy little bones or fragments of jellyfish, an odd skill in the world of ponysaurus hunting.

"I have been extremely lucky with bone fragments and that's not even being exaggerating," Pascal said.

Vidcund Curious

Serious and exact, Vidcund strives to fit the universe into a nice tidy package. He has an unnatural fondness for African violets. He is literally covered in them, from head to toe, if not technically. This is an odd love-hate relationship, a love-love and a hate-hate; that leaves us to sit and imagine the potential war between the vine and the earth.

Lazlo (”Twilight”) Curious

Not as studious as his older brothers, Lazlo got his degree in Phrenology. He likes to call phone psychics and spends hours trying to bend forks with his mind. His middle name is "Twilight" because his father was a vampire. He hates flowers.

General Buzz Grunt

The General likes to have his clocks set to military time. He used to enjoy barbershop quartet singing, but that is classified information. It's unknown when he fell in love, but it's possible that he was one of the first humans to understand the concept of love.

Tank Grunt

Tank Grunt wants to be just like his old man. He spends his days lifting heavy things, dodging imaginary bullets, and being bigger than the other guy, but deep down inside, he wonders if anyone really knows who he is. He hates it when his grandmother wants him to call her "Mama" and his grandma is pissed, and he just wants to stay in the dark and get away from the boring world around him. If he could just learn to love himself, he'd be unstoppable.

Ripp Grunt

Ripp totally doesn't care what you think of him. He is going to do whatever he wants to do, which is mostly what everyone else is doing. He has this whimsical desire to show off his tattoos, even though they give me nightmares (sometimes it feels like these tattoos are like a big torture device). He is hyperbolic and outrageous and uncouth and rude to the point that he's almost comical.

Buck Grunt

More than anything else, Buck wants to be a pet stylist to the stars. He spends a lot of time wondering why his father never seems to notice him.

"I want to have big hands and big feet, and I'm hoping I'm going to end up a couple of feet longer than my parents are," Buck said. "My Dad tells me a lot of things like, 'My son is going to be that guy who gets attention by the funnest side of you you've ever seen.' "

Cousins' health makes him optimistic about his prospects

Ajay Loner

To pass the hours, Ajay enjoys counting the grains of sand in his backyard. He may be about to blow his last few thousand, so he worries no more. "You can always count them. You just have to keep on keeping on," he says.

Chloe Curious

The complete opposite of her sister, Chloe just wants to meet new people and to have a good time. She can often be found daydreaming or chatting on the phone. She is very positive and has a creative mind, a big help when composing mean tweets. She always makes sure she keeps her emotions under control and is not too outgoing in social situations.

Lola Curious

Intelligent and focused, Lola knows what she wants and how to get it. She enjoys politics and telling those around her what to do. She keeps her enemies close and keeps a close eye on her enemies' backbones. Her love of Doctor Who and her interest in exploration drive her to travel the galaxy.

Erin Beaker

Erin spends a lot of time working on her psychic powers. Of course, she isn't really psychic, but don't tell her that. Erin's already a pro at picking out great dates with potential future partners. Nothing beats having a psychic date.

Kristen Singles

Kristen envisions herself as a world famous sports champion. She doesn't particularly care for Strangetown, but it's only a pit stop on her track to greatness. As much as she hates to admit it, her talent has never been in question, but that's not stopping her from strutting and parading around town in a T-shirt advertising her skills. She's no longer treating her sport as a game, but instead is obsessed with her prowess as a self proclaimed "muscle mom."

#ts2 #long post #this took HOURS bc I wanted them to all be at least mildly entertaining #I think buck's is my favorite

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writing-with-mari-blog · 4 years

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The Forest

Hi guys! So, this is a drabble from a story I’ve been working on for a while now, and I’ll be introducing some of the characters soon, as well

The basis of the story is that it’s set in a kingdom known as Kazikilo, which houses many Provinces and villages, including Kanunjo, which was a war-torn Province and is distrustful of Kazikilo and its government

The character in this excerpt is from Kanunjo and it is a story from her childhood, and in this story magic manifests in a child when they turn three, and the limit of their power grows as they do so their body doesn’t get overwhelmed with it when they’re so young, and it reaches its greatest capacity when they’re seven

That said, enjoy the drabble!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I discovered the wonders of my village back when I was a child. It fascinated me, how it was hidden from every other province and person, how no-one seemed to remember where we were if they stumbled across us, not that it happened often.

How, if you asked, they would tell you we moved around as we saw fit. We didn’t, really, but that lie was what kept us safe, it was what hid our city from prying eyes or power hungry madmen. We were Kazikilan, but not.

My father teased me about my view of our people, telling me that my view of our village was over romanticised, not that I knew what that meant at the time. As a child, I hadn’t known what he meant, but looking back now I can see it.

My mother told me the same, told me that there was nothing beautiful or whimsical about how we got there. She was right, of course, but my view had remained unchanged back then.

Until that night. Nolum Rosai, it was called. The forest on the edge of our territory, part of the forest that no Kanunjan, no Kazikilan, was brave enough to enter for fear of what lay hidden in its branches.

At least, none but the foolish ones who seek to prove their bravery or sought thrill. My parents had made one thing clear to me, that under no circumstances should I ever enter the forest. If they didn’t scare me enough, the survivors’ stories--not that there were many-- did enough to deter me from even coming close, deter me from being that fool.

But it wasn’t enough. All the warnings, all the horror stories, and I was still foolish enough to wander into Nolum Rosai. Into the forest that sent the strongest Kazikilans running.

I’d never sleepwalked before, not before then and never again. No one understood why, but my parents assumed I’d done so because I’d turned seven that day, and my magic’s full potential had finally unlocked, three years after I’d manifested.

If I’d had the ability or the idea, I might’ve shot back at them about how “if that was it, why didn’t you firebreathe when your powers were fully released.” But I didn’t, I knew vaguely of my father’s discomfort with his Drakon abilities, not that I ever understood why.

My mother didn’t either, but we never pushed him to explain himself. But this story isn’t my fathers to tell, it never was and never will be. This is one I have to tell myself.

I’d gone to bed the night of my seventh birthday content, in a familiar darkness. I woke up in what was anything but.

Everything around me was black, like the shadows I held power over, but it wasn’t the same. This darkness felt worse, felt colder,and it sent a shockwave of emotions through me. Fear, terror, helplessness, they moved through me quickly, too quickly for me to process most of them but they affected me as they pleased.

My breathing became erratic, too quick to give me the air I needed and doing little to help my situation and my legs began to shake from a mixture of fear and frigidity. I was lost. I was cold, and tired, and confused, but worst of all I was undeniably lost.

That was enough to set off my survival instincts and before long, I could feel a now-familiar darkness around me, my shadows wrapped around me like a cocoon. Their comfort did little to stave off the coldness around me, but they gave me a sort of familial warmth. It was in that semblance of comfort that my breathing began to even out and my heartbeat slowed down in turn.

I still didn’t have the courage to glance around me, hoping my fears weren’t confirmed and that I wasn’t where I was beginning to think I was. I kept to my shadows, praying to any Spirits watching over me that this was all a bad dream.

But fate was cruel that day, and the Spirits unkind. There was irony in it, I supposed. Irony in that I could survive attacks from rebel groups, could survive trained mercenaries, but still quivered in fear at having to face a forest with little besides a reputation and a few missing people.

Ironic even more so in that I survived. I lived to tell of this place, when almost all others were met with insanity-driven wandering to an untimely, torturous end.

I don’t know if I was the only one that ever survived this forest, but I knew I was one of the few. I remembered my parents’ faces when they saw me return. The faces of my brothers and sisters even though they were still young.

It had been the thought of them that made me brave enough to look at the darkness around me, to see the faint outlines of trees. My mother had always warned me not to go near this place, that had been my first thought.

The trees had risen high above me, black as night and glowing an eerie silver from the near sightless moon that peered at me as though she was laughing.

I shouldn’t have been scared of that darkness, of that lightless abyss that had bowed to me three years ago, but that darkness was different. This one felt unnatural, felt evil. It was not mine to control, nor would it ever be.

It would never be controlled, never tethered, always free. Free to kill and craze, and do anything it pleased in the name of protecting its forest. It took me time to accept the idea that I could live or die by its invisible hand.

Spirits protect me. I thought as I murmured a prayer to them before I even realised what I was doing. One of hope and protection. I could only hope they heard.

My mother used to tell me stories about this forest and our Spirits. They were the reason that this cold darkness remained omnipresent, a gift from Spirit Rajani, intended to protect the forest from any who wished to take advantage of its resources, but he was the Cursebringer and the Summoner of Shadows, and it was the best he could do. He was the one who gifted this darkness to Nolum Rosai.

My parents told me that my power came from him, and that I should not be afraid of it. That it was an honour to be gifted with the power of a Spirit, that it would make me powerful, strong enough to defend my people, if I had to. I hoped it would make me strong enough to defend myself, first.

My mother used to tell me that if I ever got lost, I should stay put and she would find me. That wouldn’t work here, everyone knew the dangers of lingering in this forest. The threat of insanity and death lingered, and I knew that I had to get out of here.

So, I stood on again-trembling legs and forced myself to move. Forced myself to trust my intuition and move forward, hoping it would lead me out of this place. I think the forest knew I was leaving because it felt like those cold shadows surrounded me, fighting through the cocoon of warmth that still surrounded me, trying to make me afraid, to try and drive me mad, but I was more afraid of never seeing my family again.

I focused on them, on the happiness they made me feel and the light they brought with them everywhere they went. On the idea that I didn’t want to cause them unnecessary sadness over something I had subconsciously done.

Vague outlines of distorted images tried to fill my mind, images of my family and my friends, looking for me but not finding me. Them not caring, saying they had never cared. The worst of them all, the shadowy image of my little brother, the little brother that I lost before I got the chance to know him.

That was the one that broke the dam, and before even I knew it, tears were falling, and I didn’t know if it came from anger or sadness, but I knew that I needed to get these images out of my head. I knew that, and acted on it, summoning more shadows to protect me and block out the vague outlines of what the forest was trying to show me.

It didn’t stop the tears, but it was for that little brother that I continued, that I would not let my fear of this place win. I ran blindly now, tripping and stumbling in the darkness for what felt like hours before I could see the gentle lights coming from the edges of the forest.

I didn’t know if it was another trick of the forest, but I was willing to take that risk and vaulted myself towards the lights, towards what I hoped was the comfort of home.

And I guess I was lucky. I guess the forest pitied me, or recognised me as one of its own, with my own control over shadow, but it let me get out alive. I kept running, even if I’d made it back home.

I only stopped when there was sound again, when that cold,creeping feeling left me. When it no longer felt like some outside force was trying to pull me back, trying to trap me in the forest.

I stopped only when warmth met me, and I was enveloped in the arms of my parents. When I was able to hear them, and feel guilty for their tears even though I was crying, too.

“You scared us.” I heard my mother whisper, and I couldn’t even apologise, only crying harder.

Fate had given me no choice. Fate had forced me to sleepwalk, to enter that forest and to experience a fear I never wished to experience again, a fear I went out of my way to never experience again.

Even as I faced that forest that I had wandered into when I was seven, now older, much more experienced, and still believing fate cruel. It was forcing me into that forest again, forcing me to face those fears again, this time with two others at my side.

I could only hope that the forest took mercy on us.

#creativewriting #creative writing #drabble #drabbles #thetrials #writingwithmari #mywriting #worldbuilding #short story #character building #backstory #original character #oc #fantasy

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wykart · 5 years

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Fix Her

It’s been a while but I’ve decided to commit (??) to finishing this Five and Vanya fic! Sorry if you’ve been waiting ://

Summary: Five was Vanya's only friend at the academy, once he left, everything changed. A.K.A It’s a fic about Vanya and Five's friendship growing up, and how that friendship kept them hopeful in all the years they spent apart.

Chapter 6 (read on ao3, or read chapter 1)

28 days before

“Five, what’s wrong?” He seemed moody, even more than usual. He was huddled over the book he was reading, hunchbacked and staring down the page with an unnatural intensity. He wasn’t even reading it, just staring at the same block of text until his eyes grew raw and watery. He pulled out a notebook and pen and began scribbling feverishly onto the page, pressing so hard against the paper that she was sure it would break.

She’d stopped playing her violin to question him, but he didn’t seem to notice that the music had stopped. She’d only had the instrument for about a year and a half now, but already she loved it more than anything. She'd been playing here in the library alone since early that morning, whilst the other’s had trained. Five had stomped in looking distraught, and sat himself down with one of those dense theoretical physics books he somehow found solace in reading.

He slammed the book shut abruptly, snapping up to look at her with wild eyes. “I can’t believe him!” He snapped. It wasn’t hard to guess that he was talking about their father.

“What has he done now?” she sighed, sympathetic.

“He still won’t let me time travel,” he threw his hands up, exasperated. “I’ve been practising my spatial jumps like crazy – you know I did five of them in seven seconds and I didn’t even pass out! I thought he’d be proud or something, after all those times I’d faint after two or three in row, but no, nothing.” He paused for a moment, but started rattling off again before Vanya could get a calming word in. Sometimes it was best to just let him vent. “I mean, I don’t know what I expected, even when we do what the old bastard says it’s never enough. He doesn’t think I’m strong enough, he thinks I’m just some stupid kid like the rest.”

Vanya let him stew for a moment before speaking up, cautious. She wasn’t sure that she wanted him to try something that was apparently so dangerous. Their father was always forcing the others to push the limits of their powers – but he was quite firm on the subject; time travel was a step too far. It was uncharacteristic, for sure, but perhaps only because it was an ability that Reginald couldn’t control, that couldn’t serve the purpose of the academy. She began slowly, “Well, he says it’s dangerous, what if you got hurt or lost or–“

He interrupted her. “I’m not scared, Vanya,” he scoffed, “and I know what I’m doing.”

She sighed, setting down her violin and sitting down on the couch beside him. ”I know you do, Five.”

“Sorry,” he said, a moment later, calmer now. “It’s just that, I put so much effort into showing him I could be what he wanted, that I could be an important part of the academy, but now he tells me I can’t even explore the full range of my power. All that talk about our ‘gifts’ and our obligation to reach our full potential – it’s all just inspiring bullshit to get us to do what he says, isn’t it?”

“That’s his game, he makes all of us care so much about making him proud, but I don’t think he really loves any of us –“ she paused before adding, with a smirk, “maybe Luther, a little bit.”

Five rolled his eyes, “Oh god, he pisses me off so much.” She smiled back, and they sat together quietly for a time before he spoke again. His tone was purposeful, almost whimsical. When he looked up at the warm light of the chandelier overhead, he was staring out into a place she couldn’t see, his mind, his master plan. “We could escape, you know, and not just out of the city, we could go to a different time, somewhere that dad could never find us.”

“You really think so?” She was willing to play his game, it was fun to fantasise about such things, even if she considered it all too good to be true. Hopes were best kept low, She’d learnt as much in her short life already. ”Where could we go?”

Anywhere,” he said, throwing his arms out wide, as if to indicate that the world was their’s for he taking “Or, anywhen,” he winked. She giggled at the smug look on his face, as if he’d just made the cleverest of jokes. Suddenly he was all seriousness again, brows arched in concentration. “I think we should go to the future, wouldn’t that be incredible?” It was hard to wrap her head around, moving through time, but she trusted him. “We should wait though, until we’re a little older and until I’ve practised time travelling enough that I’ll get it right.” Vanya watched him, he was going through the process in his mind, weighing their options, building the scenario in his head. “Just think about it Vanya!” He leant forwards and placed an over-enthusiastic hand on her shoulder. “Dad would never find us, and there’d be all sort of cool stuff there - like robots, even smarter than mom, and teleporters and spaceships that can go anywhere in the whole universe!”

It sounded so wonderful, she found it harder than ever to rule out the possibility. “You’d really take me with you?” She asked. Even after all these years, it was hard to imagine why he would. He gave her a sad smile and sat down beside her again, taking her hand in his and giving it an encouraging squeeze.

“Of course I will Vanya,” he said, searching for her eyes beneath her fringe. “Once I learn how, and I get lots of practise, it’ll be no trouble at all. We can take a suitcase and your violin, and we’ll never have to come back here again.”

“That’s sounds,” she grinned, “extraordinary.” He returned the gesture, and the secret plan sat unspoken between them throughout most of the coming weeks, save those precious moments they spent alone here in the library or hidden away in the old, forgotten places that the other’s barely visited. It was a safety net, a promise kept that, if things got bad, they would have each other, they would have an a way out.

He opened his notebook again and began writing. His calm, light scrawling struck a contrast against the dark jagged symbols from earlier, as if he’d been trying to take his anger out on the very page. More sums, he never seemed to tire of them. He was still flustered, though, and he’d made a mistake.

She pointed to the bottommost line, reminding him, “remember to carry the four.”

…

14235 days after

Remember to carry the four.

“Honestly, you think I’d forget something like that?”

Well you did, just yesterday, and it took you hours to figure out what you’d done wrong.

“Yes, alright but I’m paying attention this time.”

You mean you’re not pass-out drunk this time.

Five rolled his eyes, she was always on his case about the drinking. There weren’t any other depressants laying around forty years into the end of the world. It was numbing, sometimes it even created an illusion of contentedness. “Hey, now that’s not fair, it was my fortieth anniversary of being stuck here with you, I was celebrating an occasion of utter hopelessness.”

You love me, she chided.

“Well, yes, but that doesn’t mean I’m not sick of eating four-decade-old tinned beans does it?”

I thought you’d given up on going back to your family.

“Of course I have, there’s nothing left for me there. I still have a world to save - if I can, or at the very least, I want to see for myself what did this, and why my powers are useless here.” He sighed, stepping back from the wall at the chalk scratches he hoped would unlock the secrets of time and space. He’d spent the morning reinforcing the canvas shelter overhead. You could never be too careful, especially after that time it rained suddenly a few ears ago, and washed away half his work. “How many times have I told you this, Delores?”

Far too many. Sometimes you need to remind yourself what you’re fighting for. Of course she was right, it was rare that she wasn’t. He was the one who needed reminding of the world he’d lost. He was the one that needed to keep motivated enough not to drink himself into a hole and forget about it all. It was Delores that stopped him from doing just that, almost every day. She was always smiling, so positive and hopeful despite the crushingly poor odds. They’d overcome everything the end could throw at them so far. He couldn’t give up now.

Some decades earlier, he’d stopped searching for survivors. Everywhere he went, he saw more of the same: ashes, ruin, and corpses in various states of decay. He wasn’t about to try and cross the seas, he’d only get himself killed. He remembered huddling under piles of fallen stone, or holing up in an underground bunker that hadn’t completely caved in, just to hide from the blizzards that raged for years on end. The winter was long, but the fire was worse, and surviving the radiation it brought had been a miracle in of itself, though he wasn’t optimistic about his life expectancy. He remembered reading somewhere about what happened to the world after a nuclear strike, or a high-impact meteor. He’d found it fascinating to consider the hypothetical; what an interesting feat of science, of nature. Living it was something else entirely.

First ash, then ice, fire, and now, the world was finally starting to look that way that it used to. Plants had begun to grow again, sprouts of green between the gravelled roads, roots snaking up through rusted metal, leaves splayed out towards the sun, fighting through crumbling stone. It was beautiful, in a way, that life in some form kept on struggling. The weather was becoming more and more stable, the sun beating down pleasantly on his back, and the dark, moonless nights were no longer frigid, bone-chilling affairs. With a fire going, they were pleasant too. If he found a bed of newly-blossomed flowers, struggling to life in this unforgiving wasteland, he thought that it might be a pleasant place to die too. He tried not to think about that, not yet anyway.

Not today, and keep telling it to yourself everyday until you’ve finished the job, or until the job is finished with you.

“I know,” he muttered in reluctant agreement. He realised he’d been slacking, losing himself in his thoughts again. He lifted the chalk back up to the wall and tried to grasp at loose strings of thought. When he was concentrating on his equations, the one great problem of his life, he could block out the rest of it. There was no room to think about anything else. “I’m so close, I can feel it.” How many times had he said that? When had he run out of creative ways to lie to himself?

I know you are. You can do this, you can stop it. This is what the academy was meant for.

That sentiment had made so much sense when he was a child, when he’d been riding on promises from his father that they’d save the world. Of course, nothing about him made sense anymore – I mean, just look at Delores… When everyone else was gone, and your own head was the only place left, sense didn’t count for anything, you made your own.

This goal was all he had, because all this time – his whole life – it couldn’t all be for nothing. He wouldn’t let it be for nothing.

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