#and ran away with the concept off a bloody flaming cliff | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

activate-shadow-of-the-window · 5 months

Text

Reading Othello hit me hard, and for procrastination reasons my brain decided to write the following mock-play versions of very crucial scenes in Among the mountains of everlong, the prequel to Cracking like a dry branch in a westward wind, and a tragedy that I didn’t know was a tragedy until I took a step back and realized that I just traumatized half the cast by putting them through actual warfare. So of course the only correct response was to write scenes from a nonexistent play about it!

A warning for spoilers (out of context) for Among the mountains of everlong (which I haven’t even bloody published yet), an unhealthy mother-daughter relationship, and a person getting mostly assassinated. He’s fine by the end of the scene.

Also they’re inspired by lyrics from the Oh Hellos because of course they are.

Scene 1: Exuent

(Enter Lynette and Katherine opposite each other)

Lynette: O daughter, dear Katherine, why dost thou seek’st

Mine council so late in this day of storms?

Don’t thou know’st that we be in such grave times

So fierce and tempest-tossed that no monsoon

Nor squall at sea would dare fight in the sky?

Katherine: O mother, dear Lynette, why dost thou ask

Such questions that thou must already have

The right crystalline answers of somewhere

Within thy head so cold and circled tight

By that which is frosty and silver there? (She gestures at the Powder Snow Torq)

Lynette: O rogue, o snake, o daughter of my love,

This war, this time, this wind-whipped land o’ mine,

Tis that which makes my nights so long and dark

And drains my light, my mind, my very self.

Tis why thine mother is so dull and grey.

To make it clear, I’ll say it thusly here:

My dear, I am a ship, a great one too

Cannon-heavy, tall and proud, bright as well,

But this here gale, this world’s great gusts,

Do send me top’lin tail o’re teakettle,

Rolling and bounding across wave and crest

Of war and peace and work and rest.

Tis why I still wear this old torq round here (She gestures at the Powder Snow Torq)

As it is what keeps this head on its neck.

Katherine: Lynette, do halt thine tongue and still thy breath.

Lynette: Why so?

Katherine: Why so? Why ask? Why prod and poke me so?

You of all the folk in this castle

Tall and proud upon the mountainside

Should know why I do speak with serpent’s tongue!

Blight me, o mother mine, if thou dost not

Know in thine stubborn heart the reason why!

(Lynette approaches Katherine, and the Powder Snow Torq glows)

Lynette: Daughter mine, thou treadst a line spindly

Thin and glasslike now. Sayest what thou

Darest.

Katherine: Do I sayest what I dare, Queen Mother?

I shall and will, and, like crystal, it shall

Be clear and flawless cut by mine sharp tongue

And teeth. Do listen close so you might hear.

(Katherine leans towards Lynette)

Katherine: I am not the fool I was when I

Was young and sweet like berries on a vine.

Thine crocodile eyes I have seen clear

And clearer still how you hunger right here.

Thine eyes you batt like ashes in the place

Of dying embers dancing ‘bout the log.

Yet thou art warm and bright and eat the branch

As swiftly as thou eats those words spat out

By mourners and the grieving few whomst thou

Allow to weep. No, Queen Mother, I trust

Thou not one grain of sand nor speck of dust.

So sayest I, right here, right now, to thou:

I turn my back for I am off to leave.

(Katherine about-faces and stomps away to her exit)

Lynette: Daughter mine? O, curse this day, o sing

Thine song for mine own sake, great Overture

At Dawn, o lord, do sound strong with trumpets

And horns of brass and pride that rage and reave

So that this storm may pass me by for once!

O once, just one time of good rest grant me

I do plead of you, o great Dawn’s ire made

In flesh and tusk and cape that flaps with wind

No mind the still and silent of the morn!

Away, o pain, o weakness in my heart,

And still mine soul, spirit within this chest.

(Lynette exits clutching the Powder Snow Torq around her neck)

Scene 2: Caesar

(Scott is kneeled and holding Montgomery’s head as the latter bleeds; looking on are Joey, Sausage, and Shubble)

Scott: Dear father mine, slip not into those hands

Of bone and rags that do grasp at thine soul!

Montgomery: Dear son, don’t fret, not now, not here, I beg.

Scott: Not yet, not yet! O Death, not yet! I pray

To you, wingéd Nocturne, do strike Midnight!

O you with feathers dark and bleak who flies

Through clouds, o’re moon and sun, and calls

Your home the stars themselves, may those keen ears

Hear this blight-strewn call from these lands beyond!

Montgomery: Plea not, my son, cry not and waste no shouts.

Scott: Song o’ Dark! Heed my prayer! Do come

Hither and guide my hands so true and sure!

I beg of thee, great wings so shadow-swept

Uproot mine thorns and knot mine brambles here

And there do root my pricks and grow my stems

So that he may breathe again and again! (His hands begin to glow)

Montgomery: Scott, dear son! I feel thee, thine spell

It works and weaves and roots down deep in me.

Stop not! Halt not! A second more, I pray! (He coughs)

Joey: O miracle, this day in June, halt not

Strong prince, weave true and thick those thornéd twigs

Of magic there round blood and flesh that cleft

So quick and viciously by that foul beast

Of Skytouch sent!

Sausage: Speak not so quickly, friend, at this time now.

We know not who might see or hear these words

Slip past our lips when shock’d and frightened are

We here today under this spell of loss.

Montgomery: Speak of me not in tense of past, Void’s sake!

I breathe still and my heart beats now in here! (He coughs)

Shubble: Fair Gilded Crown of Solis dear, rest now

And calm thine racing heart so that your son

May knit your throat and mend your voice to strength.

Another day may you yet see with luck.

(All exit, Montgomery borne on a stretcher)

Scene 3: Hieroglyphs

(Enter Skizzle, Salem, Mini, and Rebels)

(A loud booming noise is heard followed by more explosions above)

Skizzle: Hark! Hear that outside?

Salem: I hear that not.

Mini: I do hear that.

Rebel: What be it, sir?

Mini: It be the song of war.

The cannons hit those notes on high with pride,

And gatt’lers cry the parts of basses deep

While rams of trees and metal wrapped do sound

More like the sweet mel’dies of altos strong

With surety in breath and tone only

Possesséd by the birds of opera stage.

Rebel: Why do they be singing at such an hour?

Skizzle: I know not but much I can guess

From facts gleaned from notes passed between the folk

At watch upon the walls of Cistern Bay.

High there do they see much and hear as well.

Tell me they have ‘bout odds and ends, things nice

And nasty too. All things blood, steel, bones broke

And steeds maimed far beyond the edge of life.

Salem: But what use are steeds maimed, bones broke, and such?

Day by day the same you hear from those

At watch on high from walls and skies above.

Skizzle: True that, but the day before last did change

That same rhythm of war. Said they who watch

That barreled guns and cannons tall did aim

And fire shot without shot true to hit

Those ‘top the walls, to find them out by light

Of powder shine and iron gleam midair.

Salem: They attack, then, now, within this night?

Mini: Most assuredly.

Salem: Why, we must man the cannon here, and take

Up swords and bows to fight against any

Who daréd face these vali’nt Red and Gold! (She draws her cutlass and holds it high)

Up, in arms, all wings and claws, to fight!

(Salem exits, followed by Rebels)

Mini: Join her I shall, and man the comms to keep

This Bay half up and down free from talons

Borne green and sharp ‘longside that banner high.

(Mini draws his sword and exits)

Skizzle: O, my comrades, true to those colors

O’re head and clack beneath mine feet down here.

Fly high, my birds, sing strong and fight til’ death!

For even those great stars above be naught

But dust alight and gilt with light on high

Yet great and bright do they still be, and we

Be like those shapes once fought and loved and died.

(Skizzle draws his sword and exits)

#horizon to horizon au #empires au #empires fanfic #iambic pentameter #dont bloody ask how my brain works #it just decided what if fanfic tragedy was also shakespeare #and ran away with the concept off a bloody flaming cliff #this is one hell of a way to procrastinate #and i started writing among the mountains of everlong to procrastinate on give me back my heart you wingless thing

1 note · View note

amxxrawrites-blog · 6 years

Text

Drops of Crimson - a short story

An incessant alarm rang in my ear, stealing me from my sleep. I sat up and rubbed the tiredness out of my eyes. It was another day at Multimedia University. I showered, got dressed, combed by tangle-ridden black hair and noticed I had a bump on the top right of my head. Before I could inspect it further, my alarm sounded off again, reminding me that I was indeed late.

As I climbed down the last flight of steps at my dormitory, my head started to throb and my body felt sore and exhausted. I tried to recall what exactly happened the night before but for the life of me, I couldn’t. Everything was such a blur and I simply had no time to ponder over my thoughts. I had to get to class.

“Free fall. Isn’t that an interesting concept? To feel weightless as you plunge into oblivion,” Calvin said blithely as he twirled a pen between his thumb and forefinger.

I turned to my right to look at my boyfriend, Lucas, who was nonchalantly laughing at his friend’s morbid remark. I, on the other hand, sat silently, feeling a sense of awkwardness bubbling within me. Calvin was no stranger to saying uncomfortably morose things. Like a moth to a flame, he was attracted to all things dark and sinister. His appearance even reflected that, for he was wearing an all black outfit with his hair interminably in disarray.

I shifted my eyes to look at Calvin who was now drawing a stick figure at the edge of a cliff on his notepad.

“Weh, are you okay?” I asked, genuinely disturbed by his behaviour. He looked at me and his eyes were drenched in sadness.

Before he could respond, Lucas cheerfully interjected, as he always does.

“Sayang, Calvin is always like that, remember?” he mocked.

He was smiling widely, showing off his prominent dimples. He truly was handsome in every sense of the word. Unlike Calvin, Lucas had perfectly gelled hair and a glow to him that illuminated every room he ever walked in. Despite that, he dressed casually, donning a slightly tattered shirt.

“I guess so… By the way, any of you have minyak cap kapak?” I asked. It was hard for me to keep my eyes open and maintain balance due to the stinging pain behind my eyelids and on my lower back.

“No. Why? You have a headache?” Lucas asked, concerned. At the corner of my eye, I could see a shift of discomfort as Calvin averted his gaze to the mundane beige floor of the Creative Multimedia building.

“Yes, a bloody agonising one. And I can’t seem to remember what happened last night? It’s as if someone had knocked me out cold,” I joked dryly which received a chuckle from my boyfriend but not even the slightest smile from Calvin. Instead, I garnered the most abnormal reaction.

“Nala, Lucas, I gotta go. I just remembered my mom’s waiting for me for lunch. If I’m late, she’ll mengamuk kaw-kaw,” he muttered hastily while attempting to joke. In a flash, he packed his things and rushed out, abandoning us.

“Well, that was awkward,” I acknowledged. Lucas nodded in agreement. He grabbed my hand and began leading me out the class. I pulled it back.

“I can’t leave yet. I have to submit my assignment. You go on without me,” I said.

While waiting for Madam Razana to arrive, I caught a girl standing at the end of the hallway. Her back was turned towards me. I felt alarmed when I noticed she had blood gradually permeating the white fabric of her skirt.

“Hey, are you okay?” I asked, walking towards her. I stopped dead in my tracks when she turned around.

She had no face. Where her eyes, nose and lips were supposed to be was completely barren. I felt the tiny hairs at the nape of my neck erect and I stood frozen to the ground. I willed my limbs to work but I was paralyzed with fear. The entity sensed my horror and in a split-second, she hovered above the floor and bolted in my direction. I snapped out of my trance and ran.

I sped through the hallways but my attempts to outrun her were to no avail, as if I were a mouse trapped in an inescapable labyrinth. I found myself being led to the Siti Hasmah library. I must’ve seemed mad, frantically dashing towards the entrance and barging into the glass doors. However, as soon as I entered, all the lights shut off in unison. Inundated with fear, I halted, completely blind in the pitch-black darkness.

Suddenly, I felt cold.

A loud smack against the library tiles startled me. I turned my head and the lights atop the bookshelf illuminated. There was an open book on the floor. The lights flickered as I began walking towards it.

The words RAPE and DECEMBER 5th 2017 were scrawled all over the book in bold, jagged letters. I screamed when the lights shut off again. I waited apprehensively for something to happen. All of a sudden, a loud whoosh echoed throughout the room coupled with an intense cyclone that flung hundreds of books toward me. I tried to dodge but I was constantly pummelled to the ground. Pages were being ripped straight off the spine and chucked towards my face. I kept reading the same words over and over again as if it were on an everlasting spiral, that instead of going outward was going inward, tightening around me, constraining me, suffocating me. The winds raised me off my feet and blew me to the end of the room. The entity appeared again.

“What do you want?” I screamed.

She looked at me and I immediately felt an unfathomable grip, causing my body to go limp. She walked toward me and with every step, the grip loosened.

“I want to show you what happened to me.”

I was taken aback by how an animalistic, foreign, incomprehensible being could sound exactly like… a normal girl.

As soon as the words left her, I felt something heavy slam against me and I shut my eyes, wincing at the pain before opening them again. My vision became blurry as if I were looking through a cloud.

“Stop! What are you doing?” I heard a girl exclaim. I peeked from behind the bookshelf to see her swatting away a man’s hand that was placed coyly on the inside of her thigh.

“Come on-lah, nobody’s here. Let’s do it,”

“No, get off me!”

“Sial lah!” he growled before he shoved her headfirst against the frame of the bookshelf.

He proceeded to climb on top of her, pin her down with a strong forearm and pull up her skirt.

The library was so silent, I could hear her tears fall and splatter onto the floor like shards of glass. She became unconscious as he mercilessly continued to rape her. Gradually, rage started to build up inside of me like a crackling inferno until I finally exploded.

“Stop it!” I yelled. They turned around and my life changed immediately.

The girl.

She was not some faceless entity, nor was she a stranger or friend. She was someone much closer and dearer to my heart.

The girl was me.

And the guy.

Calvin was always an abnormal guy. He truly was. But never did I ever think he would be capable of rape.

And I was right.

Because the eyes that were looking back at me were not his, it was Lucas’s.

“Nala,” he whispered under his breath.

I stood silent.

Suddenly everything around me began to evaporate into dust and I screamed at the top of my lungs, shutting my eyes willing it all to be gone.

Only then did the pain fully hit me. My body ached and my head throbbed but it was no contender for the pain that hurt the most.

My heart.

It bled and stung, for it was prickled with the thorns of betrayal.

I remembered everything, every word, every cry, every thrust, every drop of crimson that fell, tainting the floor and my innocence.

“Nala!” I heard a cry and opened my eyes.

There he was, standing tall and I noticed that I was kneeling on the ground. The library was packed with people and the books were neatly arranged on their respective shelves as if nothing had happened. I looked up at him. The lights behind him were casting an angelic shadow upon his handsome face. He had no guilt and he had no remorse.

Who knew that the devil could disguise as the love of your life?

The thing is, nobody tells you that a ghost is not a faceless, deformed creature but a handsome, smiling boy.

Nobody tells you that the same boy you would cross rivers and trudge mountains for can now have you terrified, plagued and locked up in the chains that bond you to him.

These are the ghosts that no one talks about yet these are the ghosts that will stay with you for the rest of your life.

0 notes