#maelstrom writes
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New Face, Who This?
Don't mind me, just playing in the sandbox that is @ghouldjams cod fae au. Mal switches things up, as they are wont to do, and trips up a certain fae in the process. Featuring ghouls oc Witch who I adore.
Mal looked at themselves in the mirror. They turned this way and that, but something just felt. . . off. Pursing their lips they sighed, changing into the fifth outfit that morning. Ugh, still not right.
“Maybe it’s time for a change,” they murmured. When was the last time they did this? Twenty years ago? Maybe more? Yeah, it was time to switch things up.
Stripping bare, they stared at the mirror once more. It was always easiest if they could see what they were doing. To start Mal focused on their face, studying the wide jaw and square face they had become accustomed to for the last however many years it’s been. Reaching forward toward their reflection, fingers splayed, they twisted their wrist. Mal’s reflection fractured, tesselating out in patterns and colors like a kaleidoscope, before suddenly snapping back into place.
The face staring back at them was much softer, rounder around the cheeks with a charming mouth. Some things remained unchanged, like their fiery red hair and their bold eyebrows. For whatever reason they always stuck around.
Moving on to the rest of their body, they wanted to move on from the sleek and slim rectangular build. In the end, they went for something a little more filled out, hints of muscle and practical strength within a sturdy frame. They’d have to workout to maintain it, they were using magic afterall, not working miracles.
With the excitement of a new canvas, finding an outfit was easy, opting for a long sundress. The lack of sleeves accentuated the new muscles in their arms nicely, while also complementing their new more feminine face. A last little splurge of magic allowed their hair to grow just long enough to place in a messy bun.
As usual, the day was rather slow, mainly spent at their combination check out and consultation table project planning for recent clients. Creating patterns, planning dye lots, etc. etc. Their project ledger wasn’t completely full yet, so their curtains were pulled wide open, and a sign that said ‘Welcome, during business hours’ hung from the door.
This meant that a certain handsome fae could slip in with no resistance, immediately waltzing up to the counter with a confidence that should have been annoying, if they weren’t in such a good mood.
“Well hello, I - oh.” He started his greeting, but stumbled mid way through as Mal looked up from their ledger.
They raised an eyebrow, “Hello to you too.”
Confusion was visible on his face, “Sorry, I was just expecting someone else.”
“And who would that be?”
“The last time I came in, maybe a little over a week ago, there was someone else here. Kind of small, very cute, with shaggy red hair almost the same color as yours.”
“Hunting for information, are we?”
A boyish glint sparkled in the others eyes as he leaned over the counter, “Now that I think of it you two look quite a bit alike. You two wouldn’t happen to be. . .siblings, would you?”
Before Mal could even begin to think of a way to respond to that Witch glided in through the door, the wards tingling in delight and recognition of their clever creator. “Oh my gosh you will not believe the tea I have for you today, I heard that -”
It only took Witch a second to notice the changes, and only a few more to piece together what Mal had done, “Wow!!!! You look great! I love what you’ve done with your hair, and that dress looks gorgeous on you, did you make it yourself?”
Gossip forgotten, Witch ran up to dote on Mal, feeling the material and gushing over their new look. After a few minutes of this, the fae man coughed gently.
“Shit! Sorry, I’ll let you finish up with your customer,” Witch said.
“Oh, I’m not a customer,” he said.
“Then what are you?”
“A nuisance,” Mal said, “a nosy one at that.”
Witch snorted, but said nothing.
If he took offense to Mal’s comment, he didn’t show it, “All I want to know is who that fae is that I talked to a few weeks ago. About yea tall, pretty hands and shaggy red hair kind of like yours? Tell me, is red hair and attractiveness a job requirement? Or am I just incredibly lucky?” His lopsided grin would have been annoying if it didn’t look so good on his face.
Witch opened her mouth, “M-”
At the sound of their name starting in Witch’s mouth, Mal gave her a desperate look in warning. Even though ‘Mal’ wasn’t really their true name, it’s not something that they gave out left and right, let alone to loitering mystery fae.
With barely a stumble in her speech, she corrected herself, “My friend here runs this shop by themselves. And damn well at that.”
He chuckled, “Well then, aren’t you full of surprises.” This time, Mal didn’t miss the once over he gave them. When their eyes met, his golden eyes looked molten hot.
A blush rose to their cheeks unbidden, and Mal brought their hands together in a decisive clap, “Well! If you’re not a customer I must ask you to leave immediately as is shop policy,” a delicate line of fine print illuminated itself in recognition on the welcome sign, “Good day to you sir.”
The typically controlled and smooth wards were swift and erratic as they buffeted the mystery fae towards the door, however he resisted them as much as he could, “Tell me your name! What may I call you?” He called out frantically, attempting to brace himself against the wards unseen force.
Mal raised their hand to aid in one final push to send him out the door, but paused as their eyes met once again. There was a desperation and sincerity in his features. Before Mal knew what they were doing they opened their mouth.
“You may call me a fox, sir hunter, for that is all I am to you.”
“And a lovely Fox you shall be,” he said, before he was sucked out of the door and summarily deposited on the street, curtains closing with a solid thwunk.
The silence was thick in the shop before Witch broke it, voice strained with barely contained laughter “~You may call me a fox for that is all I am to you~”
“Shut upppp”
“Well, he’s a handsome hunter, I'll give him that.”
Mal put their head in their hands, “He’s a nuisance and nothing more.”
“Suuuure.”
They giggled desperately, “He is!! He comes waltzing in saying that he doesn’t want anything and then I kick him out cause he’s loitering!”
“God Mal you’re insufferable, he’s flirting with you you idiot.”
“He is not.”
“If you say so. But you best believe that I am going to bring this up over dinner because never in the time that I’ve known you have I seen your wards react like that.”
Mal raised their head, eyebrows furrowed, “Dinner?”
Witch gave them a confused look, before letting out an exasperated sigh, “I forgot to say it out loud huh.”
“Yup.”
“Well, your ass, my house, I’m making dinner cause I haven’t had you over in ages. Be there or be square.”
“I wonder if I could actually turn myself into a square.”
“Dammit Mal.”
#1fae1#maelstrom fic#maelstrom writes#oc: mal#oc: witch#I need a name for this fae#theres only so many epitaphs I can give him#Lowkey want to name him Handsome#Cause 99% of his descriptors have started with handsome#ghoul you keep giving me so many great ideas for Mal#did anyone catch the movie reference?#wonder if Mal will see a certain someone wearing a certain beanie at dinner 👀👀👀👀👀👀#im so bad at slow burn i just want these two to fuck#but i also want them to have a reason to fuck yknow#feels weird just throwing them together without any sort of relationship growth#augh
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X3 ~ Deathly Design
Reference ~ Unfortunate Future ~ ♪"Unbroken"♪
Upon a dry-desolate land field of sands. A destroyed-convoy caravan left a smoke-signal upon the skies torched. Scattered around could only be explained as a massacre.
Ruins, mangled, battered, broken cadavers of crimson-wearers.
Said their red-they famously wore represented the blood they sacrificed or had spilled. Trying to play honor among fellows. Putrid, disgusting… When did it happen?
When did pirates become a bunch of soft-heart; little bitches? Care about others outside their Crews.
Facade, another lie. Maelstrom sells others' beliefs; they're what Rules the Seas. Taking over-every route. Policing and enforcing marine-law. Creating a hub that’s only known-remaining.
How many Beast Tribes, they chase out of their territories? How many walls were made against nature? How many-times, they had to get on their knees, and got bailed out by a Warrior who had no reason to be involved. Calling themselves pirates, poor imitations. Only vigil remaining of pirates were the ones who were chased out, those who had semblance of identity, voices too distinguished, still-carry.
Embers were being snuffed out, their crews, desires of freedom, stomped out prematurely, eaten and spit down their throat, and then told to say, thank-you. Those-who governed with invincible numbers and that fleet, was all they had.
Revenge consumed one man. Who carried the burden, weight, of his dying breed of people, a self-inflicted-martyr.
Pressure, twists like a knife, darkens a soul. Shouldering the responsibility of bygone-eras.
He once reigned with gallantry.
Individual-rogue was dead. Wishful thinking to hope this was a cruel-dystopian-joke, future’s roots finally known.
Good-riddance. This manipulated realm would rejoice their thanks in time, they’d acknowledge and revere him. While he conquered them all for their benefits, because no-one else was capable.
All those left skewed, left to the afterlife, to be absorbed into the soils and amount to actually something, and attained freedom. If they-were actual pirates. He’ll be waiting for their appreciation in the Seven Hells, expectantly.
Bloodstain leather-studded boots walked away from the scene. Mantled-cloaked, holding himself like some prestigious, acclaimed pirate-king, dreadful-aura surrounded him.
Behind a land-slide rock, sweat profusely leaked from a leg-shaken Maelstrom; yuck a survivor. Cowardice behavior showing their genuine-hide, self-preservation. Unfortunately this poor-sod, encountered this individual-once. Newly pure-destructiveness wasn’t seen before. His eyes-bulged, tears ruined his face, from a snot weeping nose.
Hurt people,
Hurt people.
All you must know.
Those blonde brows-angered together, his fellows with their entrails what-was-left of them, was upon his clothes. Looks like they got some-richer texture on their coat. Revenge was infectious like a poison-droplet; it could taint a whole barrel.
That scoundrel… N-No-monster had to be stopped! This wasn’t the first-instance. Random locations of Maelstrom being deployed supposed to deliver or pick-up rations or goods, were being chosen, tactically. Small-ports, barely guarded, were being butchered, harvested.
Malice did this for sport. Bilge-water rats squeaking pests amongst his lion den.
Take away duty and employment expected from trade-deals. You risk clients and employers-ire, you create severe rifts. Costing a whole City-State ton not just gil, but reputation. He couldn’t oppose them directly in the open-waters. He could drain them of resources, create panics. Make a civilization of needy-greedy denizens start growing irate. Maybe put some teeth-back in their maws.
A rifle was aimed shaken but nerves fought until steeled thinking of his kindred.
The-kid had one-shot.
Think a Miqo’te with trained senses didn’t hear, smell, that filth in that-rubble? He swung-back preemptively and the bullet-clanked against a plated-bracer worn on his wrists. Deflecting and taking rotation, golden-eyes-staring into the soul.
Foul presence of dominance. Unbridled walking akin to tyrannical bosses.
He owned this world and fucked it,
You-forget how small it was?
We trampled on it instinctively after-all,
Our true-purpose.
Amusement came, a smile, and shake of his head. “Want ta’ die, boy? I’ll get you t’ live-eternally.” Voice carried bass. Authority, sheer-certainty.
For he alone,
Him alone is believed, Necessary.
“Good-jewelry can b’ made. Think, I’ll cut yer toes, fingers off and wear em’ as a bone brooch. I’ll gouge-an eye, feast upon it while your other is left t’ witness. I’ll keep you breathing-barely functioning until I choose. To give ye freedom. We’ll see, if you’ve got in-fact a spine and strangle-it around that pretty-neck like a noose. Like you hang my condemened people, every’ Sun' while getting fancy promotions and bein' publicly applauded.” Verbal painting ran through the mind of his opposition, on-a-wrong side of misfortune-law, visualizing, he felt his entire-being on a different plane altogether, happened.
Blackbeard took the slowest-stride, heavy-stepping on soils.
The lad-of-red was devoured long ago, by fear. Piss soiled his pants, until hysteria roared out and screamed, horror.
“W-w-why us! Why us?!” He needed to reload his rifle. Couldn't find-strength like his digits-were already gone. This pirate’s-dreadful Presence, was… unfathomable wicked.
Playful-remorse showed on the Seeker. “Mommy-send you out here to die? Cruel of her yet not unexpected. Wanna-know why? Cause I can.” Speaking of the ill Admiral Merlwyb, nobody remained holding balls left to stand against her. She collected them in her purse. A purest savagery reason, a Scourge no-doubt about it had become the very-thing he once, paraded around-to-exterminate. A chilling-grin forebode on that visage.
Pirate-stopped in his tracks letting-confusion and relief travel in his victim. An-attack was already made. Living-animated chains from his sheathed scimitar’s hilt had conceal, snaking around his leg burrowing in the sands.
Creeping until jailing his prey to his shackled-fate.
“Play pirate. Get th’ real-deal’s attention. I’ll b’ nice… Unlike you all-did with courtesy, bringing the severed-head of my wife, sayin’ ye found her. Maybe, I’ll do that with you. Leave you as a parting-gift on the Admiral’s desk, Starlight is comin’ around th’ corner. Get a little-sweet on her.” Vengeance, irrational-rage, vile revenge had finally-claimed the-once heroic pirate to act on bottled-past.
“I-I-I Didn’t do that terrible act, I swear!” He proclaimed trying to run away, his feet-entangled, chain already taking his ankle, tripping up on his own feeble-true design finally shown. Those little-badges worn, ranks, they only account so far. Then when you’re left without numbers, bodies, you’re nothing more than another’s, kill count.
Tsking, disappointing from his pursing-lips. “O’ poor-lost-soul so unguided, I’ll ferry ye’ home... You wear that-crest. Collective-n-crew, a walking ship, ye-live like a hivemind donning your crimson uniforms. Wanna carry the-others blood so badly, fine. I’ll paint that symbol. There’s a sea-that-finally swallows ye’ all.” There was no-deterring this mindset. Black-clad Captain, was overwhelmingly taken by murder on the mind. Had become-his-recent favorite vice.
The victimized-man crawled trying to scurry but the predator enacted haste for execution. As he neared-closer, in the clouds-roaring a draconian-cry shrieked. Snowflakes descend below-staining, unimpressive in Blackguard’s dismay.
Newly brandished, foiled Noble Hero, of the historical past had come to save days.
Opposing forces from several-fates yet again, staring to beholden gaze.
Piercing Blues to Unyielding Golds.
A shining-pillar white knight, once thought dead, had resurrected with redeeming qualities and elegance, pristine. Once former being a spitting-image of Captain. Now they’ve flipped, again.
Would’ve and should’ve stayed that dead, a pirate’s desire remained. A cold-unforgiving scowl gave rise to this incomplete-world, a Blackest Sun heralding as a Champion. Wasn’t going to forgive this transgression ruining spoils.
Meet The Sworn.
Ft. @lordshiroelune
#reader discretion advised#Extra-credit#ffxivwrite2023#FFXIVWrite#tales of the goldbrand#creative writing#seeker of the sun#keeper of the moon#maelstrom#Black Chapters#Forever Destined#Creative Writing#-captain kuro solaire
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WIP Not-Wednesday
Tagged by @gloryride-thanks!! ❤️❤️
I've been very eagerly waiting for Phantom Liberty to come out, and trying not to start a new file with Hiro until then, which means there probably won't be very many landscapes/ambiance pictures till that drops. I miss taking them but I really want to start fresh, especially with the new mechanics being teased.
I've also been working on little drabbles about Hiro, and his life before the events of 2077, I'd known vaguely what his timeline was, but never spent much time exploring it, and he changed a lot as a person. So I wanted to start writing scenes with him, and perhaps trying to photograph them someday--maybe doing comic strips or smething.
I've also been working on AU ideas--I still really want to do a horror AU with the brats, and find a way of photographing it, or at least making a pinterest board so there's something visual.
I've also been working on modding more, when I have the chance and managed to finally get the characters to actually look at each other, instead of into the distance, or owl themselves so they're trying to look at me the entire time. The next challenge is going to be getting crisp images. I'm using a 4k monitor so it should definitely be possible, but so far we're getting everything from fuzzy to grainy and not clean. So it'll definitely be a chance to experiment and see what works <3 It's also making me more comfortable with post-editing, even if it takes longer.
What could they be looking at? Who knows? 🤷♀️
Tagging: Whoever sees this and wants to do it--not sure who's been tagged recently and would love to hear about y'alls projects
#wip wednesday#cyberpunk 2077#virtual photography#cyberpunk ocs#mutuals ocs: dagger#maelstrom#dum dum#brick#my writing#my shots#modding
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Me? Randomly writing again about my kids? It's more likely than you think.
#I wrote this a little while ago but hey#wig writes#tf#tfa#transformers#transformers animated#maccadam#maelstrom#viceglide#my writing#and fun with gender!!
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Kinktober 2023
Day 30: Hiro/Dum Dum/Others--Free Use
*****
He doesn’t think he could pick out their faces in a crowd, or them his. But it doesn’t matter, as long as they all get off in the end.
“Go on, face up Princess—let them see you.”
The grip on his hair is harsh, but the sensation fades, less pressing than the onslaught of others, gazes dragging along his skin like the skim of hands. Another laughs, static crackling in their voice, cruelty audible beneath the haze.
“Where’d you find the whore?”
“Just wandered in, looking all lost.”
It’s not strictly true, he’d known exactly where he was, what he wanted—knew they probably did too, a hint of familiarity, however faint. This isn’t the first time this has happened, nor will it be the last, wanting to just let himself drown—less deliberation and even less thought. He needs it, as much as he needs to breathe, a moment to turn everything else off.
A voice, distorted but oddly familiar diverts his attention, glance traveling over cables and puckered scars, before fixing on the man’s face—seven red optics piercing him.
“You’re back.”
His words are conversational, amusement in the way his lips curve—tone casual even as he takes in the sight, shirt balled in the corner, long forgotten—black-blue bruises dotting his shoulders, and the arch of his neck.
“Wasn’t enough for you the first time?”
Even as he says it, he’s already closing the distance between them, cybernetics cupping his chin, grip surprisingly delicate.
“You heard ‘em. Look at me.”
It hurts to look at him directly, red lights blazing in the dark of the club—but he tries his best, a shudder at the harsh exhale of feedback.
“Pretty little thing.”
From anyone else it would sound while not innocent, affectionate—an endearment. The man makes it sound like utter filth, relishing the feeling, shame long since forgotten. A thumb traces his lips, order without words, and he obeys, accepting chrome fingers into his mouth, tongue brushing the smooth surface. The optics never leave his face, cataloging every minute detail, an appreciative hum low in his throat.
“Bet we could find a better use for it.”
**
It’s only when he’s out of the shower he notices, a quick glance over his shoulder—movement making his body ache deliciously, eyes settling on a distinct black smear, jumble of numbers and letters not quite faded, stark against pale skin.
Dum Dum.
#cyberpunk ocs#oc: hiro oda#dum dum#nsft#my writing#maelstrom#kinktober#kinktober 2023#tw: derogatory language#tw: power dynamics
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give a read to my newly published story, Maelstrom -Kakumei Monogatari (A story of revolution)
SNS centred with Akatsuki, Kakashi and Shisui as the main side cast
Prologue is quite short, but I tend to keep chapters between 5k and 7k :)
#naruto#writing#fanfiction#archive of our own#my fic#maelstrom - kakumei monogatari fic#sasunarusasu#sns fic#sns#narusasu#narusasunaru#sasunaru#sasuke uchiha#naruto uzumaki
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sleeping draught - What was the last dream you had?
The nights are coming faster and faster, Yloise thought miserably as she stomped through the gates of Revenant's Toll toward the Rising Stones. A cold wind from the north kicked up a flurry of fallen leaves in a whirl in her path - she kicked through them with determination, drawing giggles from a nearby band of Doman children playing below the sturdy stone walls of the keep. Normally, she would have laughed along with them at the scene, but her foul mood combined with a seemingly perpetual exhaustion lately only resulted in her drawing her robes closer around her neck, frowning as she swept through the doors of the Rising Stones. She had almost reached the door to the upper quarters of the keep when Tataru called out to her from behind her desk.
"Oh, Yloise," Tataru began, waving an wrapped parcel over the pile of receipts and letters, "you have a package too!" One of Yloise's eyebrows quirked at this development - the shipment was several days overdue. She placed it almost immediately after the recent defeat of the dread primal Leviathan, but bandit raids on caravans had become more and more commonplace in the north of Eorzea, delaying the movement of goods. She managed a smile at Tataru, mumbled some heartfelt thanks, and hurried upstairs with the parcel.
Her room at the Rising Stones was small, but comfortably appointed - a warm bed, a sturdy desk, a modestly stocked tea table, enough shelves for her books and potions, and (her favorite attribute) access to the walkways and allures of the upper castle. She tossed her codex and coat onto her bed and immediately set to work opening her parcel. She fished a knife out from one of the drawers of her desk, and carefully cut away the wrapped outer packaging. A cloyingly sweet smell wafted off the slightly damp waxed paper wrapped around her items. She unfolded the paper carefully, revealing four ochu vines. The ends of the vines were already drying out, a result of the delay in transport, but the rest of each vine was still plump with the sap she needed. With the knife she used earlier to open the outer wrapping, she cut the dried end off one of the vines, and squeezed a few drops of bright green sap into a prepared tumbler that had been waiting for this moment for days and days by now. She activated a cluster of fire crystals under the kettle on the tea table and went out onto the balcony while the water boiled.
The last rays of the setting sun still reached the top of the ruins of the Agrias above Silvertear Lake. The sight of the dead dragon wrapped around the wreckage had always filled Yloise with unease, as if they were merely frozen in time and would both one day wake and resume their battle. She produced Zezesu's old pipe from her pocket, filled it with a thimbleful of tobacco from a tin stashed in another pocket, and mechanically lit and puffed at the pipe as she gazed without focus towards the Lake. The snaking form of Midgardsormr's corpse conjured images of Leviathan sliding through dark waves. The wind howled and Yloise shuddered. Not tonight. Not tonight. Not tonight. She tapped the still burning embers from the pipe and headed back inside to prepare her tea.
She repeated the familiar recipe rhythmically in her mind as she pulled down jars of dried flowers from her shelf: chamomile and lavender and a little bit of valerian with honey. She poured the steaming water into the pot to steep, and shuffled out of her clothes and into her nightgown, tossing her coat and codex onto the floor and smoothing down the covers. What else needed to be done? She knew this would work quickly and she'd only have a moment or two before the concoction overwhelmed her. She blew out the candles, the only light in the room coming from the darkening glow of the fire crystals.
Like Leviathan's eyes. Red and terrible in the dark.
Not tonight.
Her tea was presumably drinkable by now. She carefully moved through her darkened room, pouring the tea into her prepared tumbler, and downing the entire potion at once. It took only a moment for her entire body to feel heavy. She almost knocked the tumbler over setting it back down on the table, and she staggered to her bed, slipping under the covers with the last of her strength before the sleeping potion took hold.
Her last thought before the dark overtook her was whether her mother saw Leviathan's eyes too.
#7th astral era#through the maelstrom#THIS ENDED UP BEING MUCH LONGER THAN I INTENDED UH#yloise coneillants#~writing tag#leviathan
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Just dropping by to say how much I love your fic "dying makes one dumb" the constant back and forth between V and Dum Dum and their whole dynamic just makes so much sense and the way you write the dialogue and slang?? have a feeling like it's more consistent in your work than in the actual game afkahfgjks thank you for the preemest content! <3
Dude. Anon. Fuck... thank you for saying so. I fucking LOVE Dum Dum, and it's a travesty there isn't more of him in the game. Give me some DLC where we can join gangs and have 'partners' and be as horrible or saint-like as we want. I want a true RPG Cyberpunk game where I can be a morally grey street kid that wants to suck Maelstrom's (particularly Dum Dum's) chrome cock. GIMMIE THAT GAME!
But also, thank you... love you. Is anyone wants to read Dying Makes One Dumb, read the warnings beforehand? >_>
#ask#anon#cyberpunk 2077#dum dum#maelstrom#fanfic#fanfiction#writing#borg#more like yum yum am i right???#!!!!!!!
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for those keeping track i had to stop reading 'no coincidence' because it looked like [redacted] died and i felt my soul go too
#the epic highs and lows of published cyberpunk 2077 original fanfiction#i have like 50 pages left i will try to push thru maybe today or tomorrow dkdndksmdk#its not a bad book but there are parts that just kinda drag and i am not super into the characters besides Maelstrom who despite#my talking up are really not in it very much lmao.#i do like aya and mileena but the others just arent hitting for me and even then mileenas parts bore me to death#cant stand albert#ron is okay ig but zor is the most boring generic protagonist man there is#idk if thats by design or what lmao but damn its not doing it for me#i think it would play a lot better overall as an animated movie tbh#kosik's writing style isnt exactly my jam v.v#anyway can i just get a maelstrom series please ty
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The Newcomer
From @ghouljams cod fae!au, Mal gets bugged by someone new.
Mal sat on the floor of their shop, large stone mortar and pestle between their legs as they ground madder roots for dyeing. Their mind was carefully blank, constructing the most neutral emotional state as possible, so as not to impart any one particular intent on the dye goods. In a lot of cases, Mal had to harvest and process things prior to knowing what they would actually be used for. This meant they’d had plenty of practice over the years in imparting as neutral an intent as possible on the goods they kept stocked.
The sound of the madder root slowly grinding into a powder against the aged stone was a familiar one, and Mal could pick out exactly when the powder was good enough by sound alone, going gradually from the popping and crushing of whole roots to the gentle hiss of smooth powder between ancient stones. But it wasn’t there yet.
Mal felt a presence brush against the open curtains outside their shop, before there was a gentle knock at the door. They were in the zone though, mind blissfully blank, and felt no urgency to get the door. Afterall, the madder wasn’t finished yet. Large chunks still remained interspersed amongst the finer powder, which just wouldn’t do.
By the time they were done, enough time had passed to cause the shadows to noticeably shift in the shop. They only felt a little bad at the prospect of having lost a customer, afterall their commission log stayed quite full these days. Cleaning up, Mal poured the fresh madder into its glass jar and found a spot for it on the large, over cluttered shelves along the wall of the shop. Preserved and processed dye plants from all over the world found their cozy home among these shelves.
They felt the gentle brush of a presence against the wards of their shop once again, making them jump slightly. It felt familiar, like the one from earlier in the day, but that seemed unreasonable. Who would have waited this long? Witch could let herself in, and this felt different from that codependent pair, Love and Ghost.
When Mal opened the door, they saw a handsome fae idly playing with the fabric of the exterior shop curtains. At the sound of the door he whipped around, as if caught with his hand in the cookie jar, and smiled sheepishly.
“Sorry about that, the craftsmanship is just amazing I couldn’t help myself. Did you make these?”
“I did,” Mal said, “are you the one from earlier?”
“Oh yeah, I didn’t mind waiting though, you seemed busy.”
Huh. “Are you looking to come in?”
His smile brightened, “If you don’t mind. I’ve heard such good things about your work.”
“You’re welcome in, for this transaction,” Mal said, opening the door wider and feeling the ward surround him like a bubble as he slipped inside. He looked around the shop with wonder, full to the brim with textiles, fiber, dyestuffs, and more. Seemingly forgetting they were there, he strolled around the shop gently touching and admiring everything on display.
Eventually Mal’s patience wore out. They cleared their throat, losing their train of thought for a second when he swiftly turned his head, giving them his full attention. His eyes were a warm brown, almost yellowish in the afternoon light, and his gaze felt heavy with. . .something.
Quickly recovering, they said, “So, did you have something you were looking for?” Mal really wanted to say ‘What do you want’, but decades spent getting coached by friends on ‘social niceties’ taught them that that would seem ‘rude’. He joined Mal at the high counter top that doubled as a crafting and consultation station, resting his elbows against it and settling in. His eyes were even more brilliant up close.
He sighed through his nose, pursing his lips in thought before saying, “No, not really.”
Mal’s eyebrows furrowed, “What?”
He shrugged, “There’s not really anything I’m looking for right now.”
“Then why did you come in? Don’t you have something you want? A new obscura, protective wear?”
“Nope,” he said, popping the ‘p’. A small smile bloomed on his face, seemingly amused at their confusion.
“Then why are you here?”
He swung his arms open wide, once again taking in the splendor of the shop, “Like I said, I’ve heard such good things about you and your work, and I've peered into your shop once or twice while I've been out and about. I just had to come in and. . .”
Once again he dropped down onto his elbows, leaning over the counter slightly. His eyes quickly flickered up and down, before staring straight into their eyes, “. . .see what all the fuss is about.”
Mal hummed, oblivious to the once over and took a look at the clock, “Well, I hope your perusal was satisfactory, the shop is closing soon. For future reference it would be helpful to have some kind of idea when you come in.”
As the clock struck the hour, the ward that had bubbled around the newcomer constricted slightly and his eyes briefly flashed with shock and alarm. It wasn’t a dangerous pressure (yet), but it was uncomfortable and seemed to be pressing most towards the direction of the door.
He flashed Mal a dashing smile as he walked backwards towards the door, aided by the ward to keep him from knocking anything over, “I’ll be seeing you around then.”
He winked, and the door shut behind him with a satisfying click.
#1fae1#oc: mal#cod au#maelstrom007#maelstrom fic#maelstrom writes#Mal gets bugged#Cause I say so#i'm not really sure who this fae is yet#he needs a name#he just sprung out of my head as i was writing#i like him though#i think the wards on the shop behave like how things move in and out of cells#yknow how they go up to the membrane#and then the membrane forms a bubble around them and lets them in#i like it cause i think itd be a very effective way to kick someone out like how Mal did#and maybe squish them into a pulp#as a treat#Mal is so oblivious#next time Mal talks with Witch shes gonna be like#Mal they were flirting with you#Mal: Pikachu face
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~ Crimson Authority ~
#Other characters#FFXIV#Final Fantasy XIV#Eyebrows#The Thorn...#Major Antagonist#Maelstrom#Marine vs Pirate#Got a lot to set-up from every angle for writing#hyur midlander#Screenshots#Think last name is gonna ironically be Maelstrom#First name dunno yet *thonks*
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my f...m...my frends in cyberpunk!au
#cyberpunk 2077#corporat#street kid#Oleg Vishnevskij#Germann Merzkih#Maria Hoff#cyberpunk maelstrom#OCs#goth#idk what to write
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So! Update on my SWTOR woes! I figure putting it in the main tag makes it so everyone that helped me sees it. Thank you everyone for your advice! I was so nervous about asking and you guys are so cool!
I'm planning on just doing Voss and Corellia for now to keep from burning out! This is like attempt three at me making a Jedi Knight because I wanted her to be my Outlander and then I'd freeze up and panic because I wanted it to be "perfect" but y'know what? Perfect's overrated anyway, this is supposed to be fun! I'll keep the other planetary storylines on the backburner in case I need to level up any further, but since I hit level 50 before I was out of chapter one and I thiiiink I hit 54 last night finishing Maelstrom Prison, I don't think I need to worry about my level being too low for a while. 🤣🤣🤣
(side note—thank you so much @greyias I GOT THE STUPID WHATSHISFACE COLONEL GUY WITH THE EYEBEAMS FINALLY 🤣 I do not know why I didn't think of using those crates as a shield before, I am so dumb :P)
You guys were so helpful and nice and I don't know what else to say I'm so bad at this 🥴🤣 but thank you! All of this actually helped me work up the courage to maaaaaaybe share my stuff? At least screenshots and backstory rambles because I have to share it somehow. I can only yammer my brother's ear off about it for so long, and he's the only other person I know IRL that's as into all this as me, so y'know. 🤣 I might make a masterpost to introduce everyone but I gotta gather up all my screenshots first and I'm kinda meh about getting good ones, so :P we'll see. And condense about two and a half/three-ish years of my brain hurtling backstories at me faster than I can write when I'm supposed to be writing other stuff into readable paragraphs. Uh... yeah, maybe don't expect it too soon. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 I'm queuing this for tomorrow because I only got the chance to actually sit down and write this at midnight here, it's been crazy. Thank you again, everyone! I'm so bad at social stuff I don't know what else to say but thanks!
I don't know how to end this, so uh... Here! Unnecessarily adding all my Republic side characters in because I love them and I constantly want to infodump when it's not the time or place! 🤣
Aja Verdona, my Jedi Knight; Reilly Hawkins, my Smuggler; Ataraxia Kestis, my Consular (and my smuggler's twin sister); and Ijaaka Ordo, my Trooper. They have permanently rewired parts of my brain and I love them all dearly even though I accidentally play favorites with Aja. 🥴
#It was a nightmare finally getting a chance to play yesterday#Two days of chaos (nothing bad just a lotta stuff to do) and then as I'm trying to finish Maelstrom Prison a FLIPPING STORM ROLLS IN#And our janky old potato of a laptop WON'T HOLD A CHARGE ANYMORE so unplugging it to finish wasn't an option#It did add to the ambiance of racing through the facility trying to get out in time I'll give it that 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣#BUT I DID IT. FINALLY. I AM FREE.#...until I have to run it with my trooper since she's the only one Pubside that hasn't done it yet. great. 🥴🤣#I'm trying so hard not to infodump about my characters yet. I will make a proper post. I WILL make a proper post.#I HAVE IT IN WRITING NOW#I CAN'T CHICKEN OUT! TAKE THAT ANXIETY BRAIN!#I swear I tried to condense this and make it shorter I'm so sorry. Once I get going I never know when to shut up 🥴🥴🥴#Sorry for crashing the dash! It will probably happen again! 🤣🤣🤣#K8 Rambles about SWTOR#SWTOR#Star Wars The Old Republic#SWTOR Jedi Knight#SWTOR Jedi Consular#SWTOR Smuggler#SWTOR Trooper#SWTOR OC: Aja Verdona#SWTOR OC: Reilly Hawkins#SWTOR OC: Ataraxia Kestis#SWTOR OC: Ijaaka Ordo#I know I used that picture for Aja already but listen getting good screenshots on my janky computer is HARD#so when I get a good shot I USE the sucker#I've never queued anything before I hope this works!
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The Maelstrom and the beasts
Beasts
Those most at risk to turn into beasts are those who have trouble regulating their emotions. This is one of the things that Nightmare and Dream managed to find out before they died, though it had only been a theory. The others have since seen this proven as fact.
People like Cross and Error, who were close to a spirit, happen to have a slight immunity buff, but if it won’t save them if they can’t keep calm. There’s also only a handful of people like that. Finch and Ink may be the only other ones.
Hacker and Bobby are probably high risk wuh oh
Xena is very high risk and Cross is trying very hard to help her work on that, but Xena doesn’t want to work on it. She doesn’t want to fight this thing! No one else can seem to convince her to at least try.
The radiance beasts are called ‘radibeasts’ (said like ‘ray-dee-I beasts’), and the corruption beasts are ‘negabeasts’. Totally did not base the radibeasts off of the Sin Eaters from FFXIV: Shadowbringers. Me? Never
None of the beasts are sentient.
The radibeasts’ blood glows gold, and the negabeasts’ tend to glow purple, but not always. Similarly, the radibeasts tend to come mostly in white, yellow/gold, and sometimes orange, while the negabeasts’ can come in any number of colors. This is because radiance and positivity are gold, and while negativity is purple, corruption’s color somewhat depends on the user. At least in DS and other kai + frey involved AU/MVs
The radibeasts and negabeasts will go after each other at any and every opportunity. The only thing they want to kill more are humans, monsters, and Corvus and Orion.
The Maelstrom
The Maelstrom, after it absorbs the old Tree’s magic, is able to form tentacle-like appendages from its body, made of it’s super toxic corruption or radiance. That’s why Orion was mumbling about calamari and squid
The Maelstrom might be sentient, but it couldn’t understand its surroundings for a while. It can only sense emotions, positivity, negativity, radiance, and corruption. It didn’t know Corvus and Orion were statues, and then destroying them would destroy the magic it wanted.
The Maelstrom controls the beasts. It directs them to certain places or people during a fight, and can command them to ‘retrieve’ things, such as the statues of a couple of spirits
The Maelstrom also acts almost entirely on instinct. It seeks out strong sources of positive or negative emotions and takes it for itself, turning it into magic for itself. It has no real goal except to ‘survive’, and as it’s own magic is constantly warring against itself, it needs to consume large amounts of magic frequently.
It would likely spread to another multiverse if given the chance.
Due to the Maelstrom’s nature, the multiverse is actually sitting in a balance between positivity and negativity! Unfortunately that balance is still fucked up right now somehow.
The Maelstrom, oddly enough, will leave unusually strong spirits alone until it can find a source of the opposing magic. For example, Dream’s radiance might’ve been a tempting target, but it didn’t have an equally powerful source of negativity, so it didn’t go after him right away. If it knocks its own shit out of balance, that’s not going to be good for it! Or anyone else, with how powerful it’s gotten. If it becomes purely negative or positive the whole multiverse will probably crash and burn. So that’s a fun thought.
Origin story!
In Corvus and Orion’s universe, a very small settlement of priests lived near the Tree. They had decided to try to help protect it, as a tree with this sort of magic must surely be very important. Lots of people, human and monster, seem to want to take the apples, too.
Two of those people have been hatching a plan for a while now. And while they’re working out how to distract the priests, not realizing that there’s a guardian spirit as well, the humans run into this little creature. A little impish dude. A trickster. A little bastard, if you will.
The imp had tried to steal apples from the Tree before, evading the priests but being chased off by the guardian with a few scratches. They’re not too happy with the spirit guarding the Tree, and decide to be a little bitch about it. The humans don’t know this, though.
The imp, disguised as a regular monster, asks the humans what they’re up to, and goes “oh? You wanna steal the apples? Well, I tried that once. I failed, but I’ve been working on a way to deal with the spirit. I can help you, if you promise to share.”
The humans agree, not realizing that by ‘share’ the imp meant ‘give them all to me’, and they all make a plan.
The imp has been painstakingly working on a weapon that can deal with the Tree’s guardian. An ornate magic dagger, which they refuse to show the humans until the time comes.
During a short lapse in the priests’ active watches, they attack. The imp goes for the spirit, only for her to jump out of the way. They wind up stabbing the Tree itself instead, and before they can pull it out the spirit kills them, their hand still clasped around the hilt of the dagger. That’s um. Not good for the spirit.
The priests had heard a commotion and come running, and the humans are forced to flee, but the spirit’s fuuucked. The priests can’t seem to heal her.
She tells them the Tree is going to need a new guardian, and they’re all like “yes, yes, we will steal their firstborn children.”
“That’s. Oddly specific. and kind of medieval. But whatever i guess, as long as they can protect the Tree.”
The spirit expires, and they begin looking for the two humans that attacked with that little imp fucker.
…It seems like there’s still a presence inside the Tree, though.
They study the imp’s dagger and learn about many of the enchantments on it, but do not notice that it was also very capable of transferring certain energies. Guess what little bastard in stuck inside the tree
The process caused them to lose a lot of themself, though, and they’re essentially asleep. Once they wake up…weird shit starts happening, eventually leading up to the Maelstrom’s ‘birth.’ Anything of the person it once was is gone, now. They paid a much bigger price for their greed than they could’ve known.
#Sunfall DS#The Maelstrom#The Beasts#it’s a whole ass Thing#I made the draft like yesterday I think and then had to deal with Things(TM) and forgot to post it SKDJFJDH#the thing I wanted to draw ain’t getting done any time soon I think but whatever#my headphones broke and now I’ve lost motivation for all creative things that aren’t writing or writing-adjacent#I don’t know why that includes drawing and not writing#I’m just going to skulk in the corner and wail about the headphones
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thinking about leviathan
thinking about all the writing about leviathan i’m not doing in the googledoc and it’s JUNE and i just finished STORMBLOOD
#smooching whoever wrote the lvl 45 drk quest for specifying the leviathan fight as the one where fray tried to reach out to wol#because OHHHHHH MY GOD#drk spoilers i guess#7th astral era#yloise coneillants#through the maelstrom#the advantages of not writing for an audience are also sometimes the disadvantages of not writing for an audience#i have no one to hold me accountable for my own process a;lksdfja#leviathan
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Maelstrom - Kakumei Monogatari Chapter 1 is out!
Leave a comment if you find the time to do so, it helps :)
#naruto#writing#fanfiction#archive of our own#my fic#sns fanfic#sns#narusasu#sasunaru#sasunarusasu#narusasunaru#maelstrom kakumei monogatari fic
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