#exposition dump

[writingwithfolklore]

The Exposition Dump is a Myth (sort of)

There's a reason you're often told to avoid the exposition dump (kills the pacing of the scene, can be boring to read), but I might argue you never actually need it.

That’s because good exposition does two things:

1. It comes in the moment it is necessary

Backstory is told the very moment it is necessary information to tell, rather than to set up when it will be important. That means we don’t know what the neighbour does for work until we see her going to work. We don’t need to know about the town next over until we’re walking into it. We shouldn’t know about the bad things the mother has done until she’s right in front of us.

This is because information that doesn’t have direct relevance to readers is easier to forget and not that interesting. Every piece of exposition you share has to have direct, immediate relevance to the situation.

But better yet…

2. It’s shown through action and conflict

Good exposition isn’t told to the reader in a big chunk but rather explored through action or conflict. It can be as simple as this change:

“Mandy worked most of the day as a nurse at the local hospital.”

To

“Mandy rushed past him, dressed in her typical blue scrubs. She offered him weak smile, deep bags hanging under her eyes, before darting out the door and slamming it closed behind her.”

From this change we demonstrate the same info but in a more interesting way that ultimately reveals more about Mandy’s character. Plus, it trusts the reader to put together that Mandy is very busy at her job at a hospital rather than telling them directly.

Instead of telling the reader that the city is dangerous at night, catch them three blocks from their car as the sun quickly sets. Through action or conflict, we not only learn the information you want us to know, but we can explore who the character is based off how they act and react across different situations.

So, no, you don’t really need an exposition dump. If there is no point in your story where information comes up naturally in a moment it’s relevant and can be told through action or conflict—it’s probably unnecessary and could be cut out.

That being said, many works (even professionally published) use exposition dumps, and sometimes very well! So as always, it's up to the writer.

What are your thoughts on exposition?

[rogueslove]

X-Men Vs. Avengers (1987) #1

[shadowphoenixrider]

Full House

(The morning after Shadow and Gambit's reunion, it's time for Shadow to face the music, and the other X-Men.)

News spread quickly through the X-Mansion that I'd returned, courtesy of Logan and Jean, and it hadn't taken long at all for Scott to appear to Remy's door, unable to hide the smile tugging at the corner of his lips as he glimpsed me cloaked in one of Gambit's shirts.

Both Remy and I looked like kids caught with our hand in the cookie jar, but Scott just offered to unlock my dorm door so I could get a proper change of clothes. He also gently asked if it would be okay if I came and chatted with him and the rest of the team during breakfast.

Which was how I found myself in the kitchen, surrounded by the X-Men, and Gambit sitting beside me with a comforting hand on my waist.

"Took you two bozos long enough." Jubilee commented, pinching her fingers together. "I was this close to staging an intervention!"

"Doubt it woulda worked, kiddo." Logan grunted from his place at the counter. "Both of them were too stubborn to see it."

"You're one to talk." Gambit ground out behind his teeth, netting him quite the death glare from the older man.

"Now now," Hank lifted his large, placating hands, "whilst an intervention may certainly have spared some of the heartbreak, love is an emotion with considerable volatile unpredictability. As much as we wish it otherwise, we often need to let it take its course, as fast or slow as it may be."

"Might I remind you that we're not here to discuss Shadow and Gambit's relationship?" Storm cut in, with a tone that was both breezy and yet commanding, her ice blue eyes sweeping over the room like a monarch surveying her kingdom.

"Storm's right folks, settle down." Scott said, coming to stand in front of me, a steaming cup of coffee in his hand. "It is good to see you again, Shadow." He began, a small smile tugging at his lips. "You were only gone a couple of weeks, but we all keenly felt your absence." His head and what I assumed was his gaze tilted towards the tall man next to me. "Some more than others."

"But do not think it was your healing gifts we missed, Shadow." Storm spoke, a gentleness to her voice even as it brimmed with conviction. It reflected in her ice blue eyes. "Whilst there was a definite absence felt, it was your company that was yearned for above all."

"Yeah." Jubilee folded her arms, leaning against the table. "After you left, your friends stopping coming too. It got real quiet here."

I blinked, surprised.

"Wait, really?"

Gambit nodded silently.

"Makes sense though." Rogue spoke. "Why stick around when the reason they had to hang around weren't here any more?"

"But I thought..." I frowned. "What about Lemming? Wasn't he working as admin here?"

"Stuck around the longest, but he were as loyal as the rest of your crew." Logan said, working a small thin stick around in his mouth. "Comes back from time to time to do his hours, but his heart is with you and your gang." He stared at me, a slight smile on his gruff features. "Gotta say, quite the loyalty you inspire, bub."

"Mmm." Cyclops hummed, nodding. "When you left, it was as if we'd lost Morph again." He paused for a moment. "The only good thing was that you were still alive."

He looked down, staring into his coffee. Jean reached out to touch his arm.

"I..." My turn to stare at the table. "I'm sorry."

"Dere no need to apologise, chère." Gambit said, his hand rubbing against my back. "Ya did what ya had to."

"I would like to address it, though." Scott said, and I looked up, meeting his ruby gaze. "Your feelings, in the wake of what happened to the Professor."

"You sure 'bout diggin' up old bones, Slim?" Logan growled lowly.

"Yeah, don' know if dis be a good idea..." Gambit agreed, shifting on his seat.

"It's alright." I butted in, looking between the two men, placing my hand on Gambit's. "The bones aren't that old, and the only way to treat an abscess is to open it up to drain the pus."

"And my concern is that if we don't treat this wound now, it's going to turn septic." Scott added, and I smiled as I met his gaze. He'd been picking up more from Hank and I than I'd realized. Scott gestured with his mug towards me. "So...?"

I sighed. Well, here we go.

"Sure it's no big surprise that I'm not on the same level as the rest of you." I began, letting my gaze drift over the other assembled mutants. "I'm weaker, less athletic, can only just about swing a sword around, and my powers have barely any offensive capability. There's no way I'd ever be able to measure up to any of you in that regard. The only thing I have of worth to bring to the team is my ability to heal."

"That's not true!" Jubilee blurted out. "You-!"

Jean placed a hand on the teen's shoulder, smiling softly.

"I agree, but let her finish."

"But...!"

"Come, petite, let's not leave a story half-told, non?" Gambit smiled at her, convincing a reluctant Jubilee to let me continue.

"True or not, being able to heal was the only thing I saw as making me eligible to be one of the team with the rest of you. In every other sector except mission support and research work with Hank, I was nothing more than a burden, always having to be babysat in the Danger Room." I lifted a shoulder. "Sure, I had my sword, but I wasn't good with it. So I put my all into being support, being your medic. I didn't mind that. I prided myself on it."

"So when your abilities were challenged by Professor's Xavier neurological injuries, and you were unable to deliver a satisfactory outcome..." Hank murmured, trailing off. I nodded.

"Yup, got it in one." I stared at the table again, propping my chin up on my interlaced hands. "The one time I really, truly had to save someone, and I couldn't. I failed to save one of the most important mutants to us and mutant-kind. And to make it worse, it was because of a rule I put on myself!" My hands curled into fists, soft trills of pressure-pain coming from the joints that were now locked tightly together. I pushed them aside. "If I knew how to heal brain injuries, I could have saved him! Instead I just..."

I took a breath, pressing my forehead into my knuckles to swallow down the flare of emotion that rose in me, stinging at my eyes. I released it, slow and steady, unknotting my fingers and stretching them out. The trilling faded.

"I just had to watch him die, with the rest you. I felt like a failure. I still feel like a failure, even now. He took me under his wing to protect me, gave me food, lodgings, and a stipend, and what did I do to repay him? Let him die."

"Dat ain't true, chère." Gambit said firmly. "Ain't what you did at all."

My gaze snapped to him, a retort on the tip of my tongue when Rogue interjected:

"Remy's right, Shadow." She folded her arms, straightening her back. "If you call what ya did 'letting' him die, I hate to see ya fightin' to save someone."

To my surprise, murmurs of agreement sounded out around me.

"If I remember correctly," Jean said, "it was the Professor himself who told you to stop working so he could wish us goodbye. You fought until the very end."

"Indeed!" Hank nodded. "Whilst your treatments were palliative rather than curative, you expended most of your power to keep the Professor not only alive, but comfortable. If not for your Herculean efforts, Xavier might not have survived long enough for Magneto to join us to call for Lilandra, which in turn saved his life, even if he is not physically present with us anymore."

"But he-" My protest was cut short when Hank shook his head.

"Perhaps Professor Xavier was clinically deceased for a few moments. But only a few, before Shi'ar technology revived him." Hank smiled. "It does not matter if your actions alone were found wanting, if the outcome was positive regardless." He frowned thoughtfully for a moment, stroking his chin with his claws. "Shadow, if an emergency physician becomes exhausted in the performance of external cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and has to hand-over to their colleague, if that colleague ends up restoring spontaneous circulation, does that make the previous physician a failure?"

"No!" I shook my head. "No. They tried their best, they were just exhausted."

"Exactly. You personally might not have been the architect of saving the Professor's life. But through your efforts, you kept him alive long enough so he could be."

It felt like my whole world tilted on its axis. All this time...I hadn't failed at all?

"I...I just..." I couldn't grasp the words with the enormity of it all, of their faith in me. Their lack of disappointment.

"You put the Professor's survival solely on your shoulders." Scott pressed, stepping closer. "You had to save him because that is what you do. That is what you're good at." His expression softened with his voice. "So when you don't manage it, you lose your purpose." He tilted his head. "Sound about right?"

Words fully failed me then, and it was all I could do to nod as the emotions came roaring back. Except this time there was no holding it back, not when Scott had essentially read my feelings out to me if they had been nothing more than a script. My eyes burned as they filled with hot tears, my breath shuddering and heavy as a strangled sob tore itself from my throat. Gambit's arm looped around my waist and pulled me close into his body.

"Oh, sugah..." Rogue murmured.

"You are more than just a healer to us, Shadow." Storm said kindly. "You are a confidante, a friend." Through my blurred eyes, I glimpsed her angle her head towards someone. "More than a friend, in some cases."

"Indeed." Hank, now. He offered me a handkerchief, which I gratefully took with mumbled thanks. "Even if you were stripped of your powers, I would never dream of trading your partnership in my work, or your confidence in which to discuss theories of the biomedical nature."

"Yeah, who else am I gonna beat at Mario Kart?" Jubilee piped up. "Gambit?"

A chuckle bubbled out of me, and I felt the Cajun raise an eyebrow in her direction.

"Jus' keep talkin', petite." He drawled. Jubilee grinned mischievously back at him.

"It..." I swallowed hard, wiping away my tears as best I could. "It wasn't just that. I..." I couldn't bear to meet their eyes as I admitted it: "I thought you'd be mad at me."

A rippled 'what?!' sounded out amongst the assembled crew, including the man sitting next to me.

"Sugah, why'd we be mad at you?" Asked Rogue incredulously.

"Because it was the Professor." I forced my voice to be louder than a mutter, despite desiring more than anything to screw myself up into a little ball and vanish. I envied Miranda's invisibility. "You knew him so much better and longer than me, not to mention everything he did for mutant rights and this school and everything. A-And here's me, a fucking outsider, comes swanning in and cocks up healing him the one time I really needed to bring my A-game." Gambit's arm around me tightened slightly.

I dragged my gaze up to Scott and Jean. "I thought you would hate me, especially since you both knew him the longest."

They were shaking their heads before I'd even finished my sentence.

"No, of course not." Jean said, reaching out to touch my hand. "We'd never hate you for doing your best."

Scott nodded his agreement, before casting a look over the others.

"I think I can safely say that goes for everyone here too." A chorus of affirmatives and nods replied to him.

"But that's what you wanted to believe, weren't it?" Logan suddenly spoke up. His gaze was like steel, yet old. Knowing. "Easier to stomach people hatin' you for failing, then get pity you don't feel you deserve."

I nodded, and felt Gambit's grip tighten again, his head gently resting against mine.

"Explains why you got increasingly agitated despite Jean and I's attempts to comfort you." Scott said.

"You wanted us to be angry, so it would justify your self-hatred for 'failing'." Added Jean.

"Easier to run when ya don' think anyone gon' follow you." Gambit murmured, his voice rumbling through his chest.

"Ah. The evening Gambit found you outside, afflicted with hypothermia." Whilst Hank didn't say it, I felt the 'self-afflicted' hang in the air like a stain.

"'Xactly." Curling a finger under my chin, Gambit very gently lifted my head to look him, his red black eyes soft and tender. "You were runnin' again, weren't ya, chère?"

I wrapped my arms around myself, pulling my head away to stare at the floor.

"...Yeah. I...I couldn't bear it. So I ran away." Another squeeze from the Cajun.

"What changed your mind, Shadow? That made you return?" Storm asked. "I doubt it was your feelings for Gambit alone that brought you back to us, as strong as they may be."

"It was definitely the catalyst, but no, there was more to it." I traced the whorls of the wood grain on the table. "I tried to return to what my normal life was before I met you all. The hospital took me back as a 'gesture of goodwill' towards mutants after the Professor's 'death'." Logan snorted derisively. "Yeah, I know. Not worth the paper it was written on. Regardless, even if it was never definitively 'proved' I was a mutant, a lot of people saw me as one anyway."

"And it turns out that a place that has a procedure to report suspected mutant employees tends to attract people who dislike mutants. Who'd've thunk." I sighed bitterly. "I guess I was so human-passing I never noticed it, much to my shame. I will say, no-one was outright hostile to me, and interactions were polite, but they were cool in that way that you knew if there wasn't a HR department, they'd be saying something completely different. It was like being in high school again, completely iced out of every social circle and treated like a pariah."

"I am very sorry that happened to you, Shadow." Hank frowned, his tone friendly, yet a sharp edge was faint underneath it, not pointed towards me. "Are you still employed by them?"

"For now, but probably not for much longer." I said. "I know that's probably part of the reason they're isolating me - so I'll leave on my own accord, but..." I heaved out a sigh. "Fuck, after everything I've experienced here, I have no capacity for dealing with petty workplace politics."

"Indeed. It will be their loss for their foolishness." The doctor nodded.

"You have my sympathies, Shadow, but I'm not sure how this is relevant." Scott spoke, raising an eyebrow.

"Trying to go back to my old normal proved to me that I can't." I explained. "Being here, helping the team however I can, it's more than what I was doing." Raising my hand as Hank opened his mouth, I continued: "I know in my heart of hearts that I am doing good in my own way, but...it feels so...so intangible. I could see what I was doing here. See the wounds I closed, the tests Hank and I did, discovering new ways to fight the Sentinels when we trained."

I looked away, staring at a point on the wall. "Unless I suddenly get fit enough and pass the exams to become a paramedic and find someone who'd hire a mutant, I'll never do anything that feels like it matters, that makes a difference."

I smiled ruefully. "That and Ebak kinda...opened my eyes a little bit." My eyes shifted back to Gambit, watching me intently. "And gave me the push to really...reach for the things I want." Laying my hand out on the table, palm up, I smiled at him. "As that Bon Jovi song goes: 'to live while I'm alive'."

A smile spread across Gambit's lips as well, one that reached his eyes, and he placed his hand in mine, interlacing our fingers together.

"Not bad taste, chère." He commented. Jubilee snorted.

"You're sure not beating the 'old woman' allegations, Shadow." She arched an eyebrow at me, before dissolving into giggles as I stuck my tongue out at her.

"So aside from finally admittin' you and Gumbo have something goin' on," Logan drawled, giving me a bored look, "anything else you discovered? Sure hope it ain't that you can give Summers a run for his money in the speech department."

"Can it, Logan." Scott snapped. "Not the time."

Anger flashed across Logan's face, and I quickly raised my other hand:

"It's fine, Scott!" I said hurriedly. "I do need to get to the point." I squeezed Gambit's hand slightly, gathering my composure. "My point is, I didn't just come back for Remy." I lifted my chin up, meeting Scott's eyes behind his red glasses. "I'd like to rejoin the team. If you'll have me."

"What makes ya think we'd say 'no', sugah?" Rogue chuckled richly, grinning widely.

"Indeed." Jean smiled. "It was always the impression that you were leaving temporarily to clear your mind and make a more informed decision away from us."

"You are always welcome in my laboratory and in our life, Shadow!" Hank cried, smiling broadly. "I welcome your company. And your opinions on recent matters!"

"Steady on McCoy, let's not overwhelm the woman and make her change her mind." Logan commented, a small smile playing on his lips.

"That a 'yes', Wolvie?" Jubilee grinned at him. He grunted, shrugging.

"Yeah, well, someone needs to keep the rest of you in one piece." He arched an eyebrow, shooting a smirk at the Cajun. "That and Gumbo won't be sneaking out at all times at night to see her."

"Didn' know ya cared, Logan!" Quipped Gambit, grinning back at him.

"Hmph." Logan folded his arms. "Care more 'bout the security risk of leaving your window open to go chat your lady up."

"You are more than welcome back with us, Shadow." Storm smiled warmly. "As Rogue herself said, there is no reason to think we would refuse you. Both as a member of the team, and good friend."

I blushed brightly under their affection, ducking my head.

"T-Thank you. I...I just-"

"Felt like you needed permission, right?" Scott supplied.

"...Yeah." I nodded. He smiled, one that I think reached his obscured eyes.

"I know the feeling." He reached a hand out to me. "Then allow me to welcome you back to the X-Men, Shadow."

I clasped his hand to shake it, and felt Gambit press a kiss to my head.

"Welcome back, mon ombre." He rumbled deeply, the timbre of his voice brimming with affection.

"Th...Thank you." I smiled shyly, looking around the kitchen to each face of the X-Men. More people who called me friend. "All of you."

"You can have today to settle back in," Scott said, immediately back to business, "but tomorrow you'll be included in the drills with the rest of the team."

"If I may," Hank piped up, lifting a clawed finger, "I have identified a slight issue."

"Go on, Hank?" Scott frowned slightly.

"I presume you've returned to full-time employment, Shadow? Will you be able to make time for your duties around it?" The doctor asked.

"I will, one way or t'other." I replied. "Gonna submit a request for part-time hours later today, and see what they say. Either they grant me the request; in which I'll get the time, or they'll refuse me, or I'll be fired." I lifted a shoulder. "If they refuse me, I'll just hand in my notice. Life's too damn short for their nonsense."

Scott nodded.

"I'll take that into consideration."

"Have you discussed this with your parents?" Asked Storm.

"Not yet. I was gonna head home today and get things in motion with my work." I explained.

"Need a ride back, chère?" Gambit asked. I swore I saw Rogue roll her eyes out of the corner of my eye.

"Ah, it's okay," I smiled at him. "I know a guy. He's waiting for me to check in, and he can take me back."

"Then let's not keep him waiting." Scott spoke. "You're dismissed, team."

---

One quick call later, and Ebak was stepping out of the shadows of one of the X-Mansion's rooms, wrapping me up in a big hug.

"Hello Gremlin." He murmured affectionately.

"Hey big guy." I replied, squeezing him gently.

When I opened my eyes and stepped back, we were behind a set of trees I knew to be in my parents' neighbourhood, their bare branches reaching for the sky. The suburb was quiet except the distant chattering of the local starling flock as it roved from garden to garden.

"Can't get any closer?" I asked him as we stepped out onto the path, raised and cracked by the tree roots that snaked under it.

"I could get a little closer, but figured the walk would give us time to talk." Ebak smiled, gesturing for me to start off, falling into step with me on his hearing side. "So, m'dear, how'd it go?"

"Well, they let me back onto the team, so that's good, right?" I smiled shyly.

"You've decided to rejoin them?" He smiled warmly, quickly pulling me into a half-hug. "I'm glad."

"Yeah. Decided to grab life by the lapels, like you said." I met his dark brown eyes. "Do the things that I want to do."

"Mmm." He hummed, before smirking, eyes glinting. "I have pretty good ideas, don't I?"

"Oh my God, you are never letting me live down the 'hot shower on a hot day' thing, are you?" I groaned, to his laughter.

"Nope." He grinned widely. "Never."

"I changed my mind," I declared, "can I go back to being an only child again?" Ebak's laugh was a full belly one; a sound I loved to hear, even at my expense. "In seriousness though, I heard from Jubilee that you and the others that you stopped going to the mansion after I left. Was...was that because of me?"

He nodded.

"Myst said it didn't feel right for us to go there whilst you weren't, and we agreed." He explained. "Lemming stayed on the longest to work, and Miranda...has her own reasons, but all in all we stopped going when you did."

My heart dropped into a bucket of ice, the painful wave of guilt pulsing through my veins. No, that hadn't been my intention at all - I was supposed to leave the mansion and their company, not the others. I never wanted-

"I'm sorry." I breathed. "I-"

"Shh shh shh." Ebak moved over to me, taking hold of my upper arms. "Hush. No blaming yourself." He raised a finger as I tried to protest. "I'll tell Ber!"

"But El-"

"Don't 'but El' me, I'm being serious." He interjected. "This was an agreement between all of us, because even if it had been someone else like Miranda, Myst or Ber, we still wouldn't feel happy going to a place our friend felt like they had to leave." Ebak smiled. "Where'd you think we got all that free time to be with you?"

"I..." I grabbed and hugged him tightly, emotion overwhelming me once more. He embraced me just as firmly. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, Shad." My brother murmured softly. "We love you, you know?"

Tears pricked at my eyes.

"Y-Yeah. And I love you all so much too. I'm so lucky to have friends like you."

"And we're lucky to have you too." Ebak replied, patting my back before he pulled back. "Now c'mon. Let's get you back home before they send out a search party."

"You did tell 'em where I'd be, right?" I asked as we set off again. I remembered leaving a note...

"Well yes, but they're your parents. They're going to worry." Ebak smiled. "Just like we do."

"True." I nodded. Suddenly, a realization hit me like a lorry. "Oh...God."

"Hmm?" He hummed, arching his scarred eyebrow.

"I just realized." I groaned. "I gotta introduce Gambit to my parents at some point."

"Haha!" My brother barked out a laugh. "Good luck with that!"

"Thanks! Very reassuring!"

Ebak patted my back.

"It'll be fine, Shadow." He smiled. "He loves cats, doesn't he? They'll just need to see him with Spock, and they'll love him!"

"Uh huh, the six foot Cajun thief with a motorbike and penchant for being a flirt." I said flatly. "He'll go down real well next to Tom."

"Hehe, maybe." Ebak smiled knowingly at me, a sparkle in his eyes. "But that's not going to stop you, is it?"

I grinned widely.

"No. Not in the slightest."

[superlativesamsara]

Okay I've been procrastinating long enough and I've got like fifteen minutes of downtime so who wants to learn about Soul, and more specifically spirit particles and the Quincy arts?

Okay, now below the cut, hey there, glad you're interested. Weird shit upfront, Quincy Powers are funky, in that on paper anyone can use them with a focus, they're also hereditary, that is to say, using them extensively will cause gradual, subtle alterations in the makeup of your soul that will allow your children (and theirs and etc) to use the powers. I figure things like blood adoption or inheritance rituals should also transfer this ability retroactively but I've never tested it so good luck have fun there I guess.

Now, without Further Ado! Part 1: What's a Quincy and How Do They Work?

Well essentially, what differentiates a Quincy from a baseline human, is the natural capacity to interact with and to varying extents control spirit particles, which will henceforth be referred to as Reishi. This is accomplished by expenditure of Reiki, spirit energy. Reishi is produced and naturally shed by the souls of all living beings as they grow and mature. In animist worlds, they can probably also come from rocks and stuff that have spirits but, again, never tested, so not relevant to the discussion. Reiki, likewise, is produced by the soul, much like other forms of spiritual energy such as Ki, Hado, etc.

The original original Quincy Order draws its lineage from an incarnate deity, the Soul King, though the specific nature of said deity and their relation to it is variable from universe to universe. What doesn't vary, however, is that the most effective focus for Quincy powers, whether wielded by born Quincy or baseline humanity, is the Soul King's personal crest, a five-pointed cross, typically worn as a silver charm on the wrist. Through this symbol, even those without the natural propensity for such an ability can channel Reiki to manipulate Reishi.

The Quincy Order, in their native universe, were founded by a man with the dubious distinction of housing a large fragment of the soul of the Soul King, granting him great power and strange abilities relating to the forming and manipulation of Reishi. He founded the organization with the intent to protect humanity from the predation of spiritual beings that were commonplace in his world but nigh unheard of in the greater multiverse, so I shan't dwell on them for now. I will however note that, with the aid of the lovely @valorxdrive, I can confirm that Reishi-forged weaponry is effective against Heartless, should that be an issue relevant to your local slice of multiverse.

Anyway, back to the history lesson, given that, at the time, since the abilities were in their infancy, the average Quincy could hardly be expected to stand up to a race of spiritual being all but evolved to predate upon humanity, the order used their newfound powers to forge bows and arrows of spiritual energy, that they might engage their foes from a safer distance. Over time, techniques were invented that would level the playing field, such as abilities that harness Reishi to reinforce the body's strength and durability, and a variation of the flashstep, but despite this fact it remained the traditional Quincy doctrine to primarily favor bows and other forms of ranged weaponry.

But! Now that we've passed the basics of the history lesson (feel free to drop asks in my box if you want more details later) we can move on to the meat of "you keep talking about these powers but how do they actually *work*, Rose?"

Well! Simple, really, once you've got a feel for your spiritual senses (or a focus to do half the work for you). You lightly expand your Reiki into the air around you, saturating the ambient Reishi particles with it, and then you *pull* on that energy to drag the particles along with it into the desired form. Depending on the person, and with extensive practice, you might find that combining your Reiki and Reishi in the proper shapes or formulas will naturally create interesting effects. For example, in the proper ratios, my Reiki turns Reishi shadowy and causes it to take on a vaporous appearance.

Additionally, through practice, one will obtain a sensitivity to the spiritual aspects of the material plane, able to sense spiritual beings or significant expenditures of spiritual power nearby. The range of this is dependent on the person in question and the magnitude of what they're trying to sense.

That's about all I have to ramble without any prompting (again, ask box, right there :D), but as a bit of a tidbit because I know someone wants to ask: yes, you can harden things other than your skin with Reishi. No, I would not recommend trying to stand on air without extensive practice because it is very hard to get the amount of self-applied back force just right.

[papermint-airplane]

Previously on The Non-Canon Just Because I Feel Like It Bachelor Challenge...

Seven contestants answered the casting call to join a Bachelor Challenge reality show. Once they arrived to the filming location, however, they were rendered unconscious by an unseen force while signing the standard reality show waiver, then abducted into parts unknown of OUTER SPACE!!! where they regained consciousness and were forced to sign a new waiver they weren't allowed to read.

Despite the fact that this show was now taking a decidedly different format than the one they signed up for, the girls decided to remain calm and proceed as if everything was perfectly normal. Well, some of them.

Eleanor: Am I the only one weirded out by this?

Their mission was to compete in challenges to win the heart of Aiden Ayy, our alien bachelor. Unlike the contestants, Aiden never signed up for a reality show in the first place. Instead, he was abducted from his Earth home where he had been stranded for 18 years, and held captive in a separate pod from the women. Why was he chosen to be the bachelor in this reality show? Because...uh...because of rational non-petty reasons unrelated to any sort of deep-seated desire to see this particular man suffer.

It's simply because he...uh...he looks good on camera. Yeah, that's it.

See? The camera loves him.

Anyway. *cough*

The first challenge, a waffle-making contest, was held and the apparently-duplicitous Rose was the failure of the week.

She was ejected from the house, but not before she could reveal her true colors as a spiteful sore loser who vowed to return and do whatever it took to win.

Why does she want to win so badly? Does she care about Aiden at all or is defeating the competition and being declared the victor the only thing that matters to her?

Bailey, the challenge winner, became the first contestant to go on a one-on-one date with Aiden. The two, though awkward at first, began to hit it off with one another.

That's when Bailey dropped the bombshell that she was still in love with her ex-boyfriend who she had been forbidden to see by her father. Bailey then tried to forfeit the competition but I, the all-powerful Watcher, refused to let her leave of her own volition. If anyone leaves this house, it's because I said they can, understand? That's how this show works, and don't any of you forget it!

Bailey moped for a bit.

Viridia slapped the shit out of Kitty.

The two events were unrelated, mind you, but it was hilarious. I just had to see it again. Sometimes, I just replay that part over and over again just to see the stupid look on her face.

The next challenge began *cough* shortly afterwards, but there was something decidedly off about this one.

It soon became apparent that Rose, the thorn in my side she is, had somehow managed to evade my security measures and sneaked her way into my control room during my lunch break, locking me out in the process. For whatever lame-brained reason, she forced the contestants to ride a bull to prove their commitment to Aiden which is just so incredibly stupid to me. I mean what does riding a bull have to do with dating someone? Is this a sex thing? Is this a metaphor about taking charge in a relationship? Did any thought go into this whatsoever?

Predictably, Kitty, the contestant with the largest proverbial stick lodged firmly up her proverbial ass, lost. Even though this challenge was not my idea, after valiantly wresting control of the competition from Rose (entirely off screen so you'll have to imagine how that went down) I decided that Kitty's loss was canon. Honestly, I just wanted to get rid of her. Her constant lectures on propriety were bringing down the whole vibe.

Bailey attempted to throw the competition yet again, but it was Kitty who was ultimately ejected from the house much to the delight of me, Viridia, and the viewing public at large.

Speaking of Viridia, she was the winner of the challenge, and just as soon as I get this jerry-rigged satellite back into position to continue my pirate broadca--I mean, completely legitimate broadcast --she will be going on a one-on-one date with Aiden.

Where will the competition go from here? It's anyone's guess! Will the growing alliance between Eleanor and Bailey become an issue for me maintaining control of the house? Will Rose return to wreak havoc once again? Will Viridia blow out Aiden's eardrums when it's just the two of them in close proximity with each other? Will my devious machinations be revealed? Will the various intergalactic law enforcement agencies who have been keeping a keen eye on this completely legitimate broadcast finally locate the planet the hostages--I mean contestants are being held on? Will Tumblr stop messing up the format of my posts so the pictures are in the body of text instead of all clumped together at the top of the post?

Find out soon on...

The Non-Canon Just Because I Feel Like It Bachelor Challenge!

[Beginning] [Previous] [Next]

[ryssbelle]

Had a silly dream where JD and Floyd came back to the troll tree before the last trollstice but after singing killed their grandma and decided to doodle and expand upon it a bit

Clay never left the tree but was too scared to return to the families pod since he didn’t want things to go back to how they were before, he did try to find his brothers during the escape but got separated by the cave in.

John Dory was the one to find Clay and see him get caught by the cave in, when he came out of the tunnel without Clay and holding his wristband they all just assumed he was dead. Even so JD still searches for Clay with the hope that he might’ve escaped and is alive out there.

They know Bruce is alive but after JD got the post card he assumed Bruce didn’t want to be found

Some more doodles that kind of show their dynamic

Also-

JD always brings home souvenirs for the brothers both as an apology for being gone for so long and also because of this:

[diginuisance]

Nooo Ienzo don't feel guilty about things your dads did when you were a kid that you had no control over!!! Noooo he can't hear me he has gummi airpods in!!!

[tiddygame]

Ghoap god type AU.

Soap is the long forgotten god of death.

Ghost is his first follower in a very long time.

Ao3 /// part 1 /// part 2 /// part 3 /// part 4 /// part 5 /// part 6 /// part 7 /// part 8 /// part 9

————

At first, Soap had been seen as kind and benevolent. The one to end someone’s suffering and help them along to the afterlife. However, as more wars began to break out, his perception changed into that of a bloodthirsty warmonger. The type that you sacrifice the blood of innocents to for luck in your upcoming battles.

Soap had simply ignored the brutish offerings. But then they spread. Like a plague, soon everyone was murdering their chosen victims in his temples in the hopes that it would bring them even more fortune.

Realizing that his presence was just causing more and more to die, he let himself fade away. He was reduced to nothing more than a comforting feeling people felt before they died. Over time, the so-called offerings stopped. Scared of what would happen should he return, he continued to fade.

A god is only as strong as their followers believe them to be. With no followers, no offerings, they are nothing. While mortal weaponry may hurt a god, may even get them to bleed, it cannot kill them. A god can only truly die when they are no longer remembered.

Soap is waiting for the day that he is truly forgotten and can pass on when he gets a feeling. One he has not had in an age. Though his worshippers have abandoned him, his temples and statues remained, though now significantly worse for wear. And someone just provided an offering of a single slice of bread on one of his statues.

A meager offering, sure, but it’s enough to get his attention. He has almost no power nor any energy left, but he sees a soldier sitting next to the statue as he ate his meal.

Meanwhile, Ghost hadn’t the faintest clue what god he just gave an offering to, but he felt a little better afterwards and so just hoped they weren’t evil. He took note of the statue’s appearance and when his troop was encamped near a town, he snuck away to a local library to see if there were any books he could find about it.

He was not apart of the army willingly, but he owed them a life debt and they had decided that it would only be repaid upon his death. Just a glorified prisoner, he was kept at the general’s side as his favorite weapon. Sneaking away was difficult, but definitely doable. The few times he was caught, he made enough of a disturbance that it was easier for everyone involved to let him do his thing.

They did not need to worry about him running away. If he was able, he’d have run the second he was given the chance. However, he was stuck. As long as he owed a debt, he could not leave.

The statue, at the very least, gave him something to do.

He was intrigued. He did not recognize the features at all, and his research confirmed that it was not a well known deity. It takes a long time of asking the right people and finding the right books to uncover the story of the forgotten god.

Having read everything — from loving poems about the being helping sickly children find comfort in their last moments to angry anecdotes about desperate townspeople sacrificing themselves in the hope that the god would show them mercy — he decides to give the god the benefit of the doubt.

He figures the world is shitty enough, why not find some good that had been tucked away? Ghost himself was seen more as a weapon than a person and couldn’t help but sympathize. He was never one for gods or worship, more likely to curse the heavens than ever sacrifice something of his, but he almost felt bad for the being. So, the next day, from one bloodthirsty monster to another, he gives the forgotten god more offerings.

It’s still not much, just an apple and a ring the general wouldn’t notice missing, but he sets them there anyways. He damn near jumps out of his fucking skin when the feeling of an accepted offering floods through him. He stares at what would have originally been the face of the statue, but nothing happens. The trees behind him continue to sing their song in the faint breeze, with the sounds of a lively woods never fading.

There is no outside sound, no out of place movement, no indication that he hadn’t just imagined the feeling. A leaf falling from one of the branches and landing on the pedestal, where the offerings were now gone, snapped him out of his staring contest. He muttered out a gruff thanks and sat down to eat, ignoring the feeling of being watched.

[lazycranberrydoodles]

chapter 2 - reincarnation (masterpost here)

[dandelionjack]

saw this on the forbidden app could not resist reposting because it’s true. “the one who waits is almost here” is lazy LAZY writing. stop dangling lore in front of our faces… make it SUBTLE. show not tell…

did russell go to the chibnall school of bad screenwriting before his return because these episodes do genuinely feel like they’ve been created by a different person entirely than the emotionally intelligent, thoughtful showrunner who gave us the first four series

[hedgerlogs]

If you're still taking requests, can you draw Tsukumo? :D

he won a harrowing ebay battle

[writingwithfolklore]

When to Info Dump

                I was taught as a young writer to never ever ‘info dump’. An info dump is a paragraph (or several) that just runs the readers through info they need to know. While avoiding info dumps is typically a good practice—lots of information at once can be overwhelming, boring, or ‘cheap’—as with most things in writing, never say never. Recently, I finished a book that info dumps often, and with intention, and it worked.

                To info dump well, you actually have to do it often (or relatively often). Just one info dump somewhere in the middle or beginning of the story is going to seem like a mistake. Using it as a literary technique however, and it adds a sort of intrigue, whimsy, or discordant tone to your story.

                In this way, it becomes a quirk of your narrator’s voice. It should match or make sense with the character you are following. A super serious, meticulous character may info dump in the way they would list off the information they know. A more bubbly character may info dump out of excitement to share their interests.

                Which brings us to the type of information you can reasonably info dump without getting in trouble. Of course, the information shared should be stuff that your character would know, but also, information that they would care to share.

                For example, that serious character would info dump only pertinent, personally important information, whereas the bubbly character probably wouldn’t info dump about real estate or politics—unless of course it’s part of their special interests. A detail oriented character may only info dump about things they are noticing in the moment. A history buff would definitely info dump about culture and the past.

                Essentially, use the right amount, for the right character, with the right information, and you can pull off an intentional and well-done info dump. Otherwise, avoid it!

                What are your thoughts on exposition or info-dumping?

[azural83]

The recent wave of movies/shows that go on a "tell don't show" route because people behind them think consumers are too stupid to understand a thing on their own makes me appreciate arcane more than I did before

[shadowphoenixrider]

Skin Deep (2/2)

(Continuation to this. I hope you like dialogue because, erm, there's a lot of it here! Also forgive me for my first attempt are writing...most of the X-Men here! I'm doing my best! Medical descriptions continue, but with less blood this time.)

"So, Hank, tell us what you've discovered of our new friend's mutant powers." Professor Xavier said, gesturing for the doctor to speak.

"Shadow's power are utterly fascinating!" Beast replied excitedly, glancing briefly to the young woman sitting on the medical cot, before addressing the others that had gathered in equal curiosity; Wolverine and Rogue stood either side of the professor, whilst Gambit leaned up against the wall, shuffling his cards to keep his hands busy.

"She has the gift of cellular communication and manipulation; not to the extent of being able to shapeshift, but it seems she is able to perform manipulations on the micro-level to command cells to move, divide and perform all their specialised functions as they have evolved to do. Indeed, she is so in tune with them, she can process information from them as if they were her own; sometimes even more efficiently than normal."

"How so?" Xavier asked, steepling his fingers.

"Cells in our bodies communicate by the use of biochemical signalling." It was Shadow who spoke this time. "With the exception of nerve cells, which use the changes in their membrane potential - a form of electrical charge - to transmit electrical signals, usually by the use of voltage gated ion channels."

"Fucking hell, now there's two of them." Wolverine groaned, and Gambit had to suppress a smirk.

"I can control these signals myself, but I also seem to be able to...streamline them? I can make things happen much more quickly than what a human or mutant's body could do alone." Shadow nodded to Gambit. "A pneumothorax-"

"A pneumo-what?" Rogue frowned. "English please, sugah."

"Pneumothorax - 'air in chest'." Shadow explained. "It's when air becomes trapped in the pleural sac that wraps around the lungs to keep them lubricated, and avoid friction from rubbing against the ribs as they inflate and deflate. Usually those of the size I found in Gambit's require a drain, but I managed to eliminate it just by speeding the process of the reabsorption of air into the surrounding tissues."

"Not only that, but the wound you repaired." Beast gestured. "Gambit, if you'd be so kind to show the rest of us your right palm."

Gambit tugged his glove off, opening his hand up to the others as they leaned over.

"There's nothing there, sugah." Rogue raised an eyebrow. "Sure you're not jokin' with us?"

"Non, there definitely were something here, mon amie." Gambit said. "Made a mistake wit one of my cards durin' de scuffle, cut my hand open pretty bad. Couldn't move my fingers dat well after. Like they be caught on something."

"It was a deep laceration with an injury to a palmar digital vein and a seventy-five percent division of the extensor tendons." Shadow added. "A repair that would have certainly required surgery and several months of hand therapy to heal properly."

Wolverine uttered a low whistle. Gambit found himself flexing his fingers. No wonder she was so intent on healing me. That fils de putain nearly disabled me for months!

"And yet there's not a mark to be seen." Xavier commented, rubbing his chin. "How does it feel, Gambit?"

"Like before it were hurt." He replied, spinning a card expertly through his fingers to demonstrate. "Wouldn't have believed it myself if Gambit didn't see it happen wit his own eyes." He looked to Shadow, offering her a smile. She returned it with a shy one of her own, ducking her head.

"I've told you how the scene looked when Wolverine and I got there, Professor." Heads turned to see Cyclops walking into the medbay. "Yet Gambit was completely fine. Shadow's power seems to be like Wolverine's healing on tap."

"Glad you could join us, Cyclops." Xavier smiled. Gambit noticed movement out of the corner of his eye; Shadow had tilted her head in the very same motion she had when they'd first met. "Yes, I remember your description of the scene. It is very fortunate Gambit crossed paths with someone with such gifts."

"Petite?" The Cajun asked, shifting attention once again. Shadow's blue eyes flicked back and forth a moment, thinking.

"You've got a cut, Cyclops," she said. "I think it's...your left hand?"

Everyone's gaze swung back to said mutant, who looked taken aback.

"I...I do. I got a papercut a couple of minutes ago. How did you-"

"Ya hearin' something," Gambit's eyes fixed on Shadow, realization dawning, "aren't you?"

She blushed, looking away and scratching at the back of her neck.

"Yeah." Her gaze returned, although now she was looking at her feet dangling off the edge of the cot, her hand playing with her hair. "It's...a part of my power. When hurt or damaged, cells release a chemical signal to call for assistance. For some reason, I can hear it. The stronger the sound, the more the person is hurt."

"Extraordinary!" Beast breathed.

"Lotta people hurt in lotta differn' ways. Bein' able to hear all that, all the time? That sounds a pretty noisy life, sugah." Rogue said gently.

"Yes and no." Shadow admitted. "It seems to be just for recent traumatic injuries than anything chronic like cancer. But..." She wrapped her arms around herself. "You're right. I've had to learn to tune it out sometimes. Especially in crowded places, but also..." Her fingers curled into her hoodie. "People get weird sometimes when you offer to help. You know?"

No-one had to say anything, or even nod to understand. Even the mutants who could pass knew the tightrope you had to walk, not to hint or suggest you were something else, an 'other'. Regardless of the comfort in your own skin, the danger remained in the back of your head.

"I am sorry your gifts have brought you sorrow." Xavier spoke kindly.

"Thank you, but I'm one of the lucky ones." Shadow replied, smiling sadly. "It's easy enough to hide, and it doesn't give me too many problems."

"Now hold on a second." Wolverine spoke up. "If it's easy to hide, why'd you get attacked in the first place?"

"The sound I hear when someone's in pain is like tinnitus - a ringing tone." Shadow explained. "But I heard a completely different noise, like the signal was going in and out." She sighed, running a hand through her curly hair. "I got curious, followed it to the source, which was the guy with a gun welded to his arm." A wry smile. "I asked if he was doing ok, and he took offence. You know the rest."

"The cybernetics were extremely crude." Beast mused, scratching his chin. "You were likely hearing his body under stress, reacting to the foreign matter forcibly bonded to it."

"Den you were in the wrong place at the wrong time." Gambit shook his head, twirling a card over his fingers. "Lucky I were dere, petite."

"Yes." Cyclops folded his arms. "Though it sounds like he would have attacked anyone, mutant or otherwise. He just got 'lucky'."

"That's not exactly comforting, Slim." Was Wolverine's gruff response.

"At least this escalation appears restricted to a single person." Xavier spoke calmly. "A dangerous extremist that we managed to stop before he could cause any damage."

"Gambit beg to differ." The Cajun grumbled.

"What've you gotta worry 'bout?" Rogue grinned at him, thumping him on the shoulder almost hard enough to knock him to the side. "She fixed you right up!"

"Dat don't mean it didn't hurt de whole time!" He retorted, shooting her a look. She just replied with a raised eyebrow, amused. "'Sides, dat fight be harder den Gambit expecting." He frowned, looking back to the professor. "If dey start figurin' out how to wire dose blasters up, we're gon' be in a lotta trouble."

"Indeed." Xavier nodded. "However, we are getting off subject." He turned back to Shadow and Beast. "You clearly have some control over your powers, but I am curious of the limits of your potential. I presume you've never used them in anger?"

"No." Shadow shook her head. Gambit raised an eyebrow, watching her carefully.

Lying...? He wondered.

"I can't manipulate cells beyond one or two in a pteri dish without having direct skin-to-skin contact with them, and it takes a while to establish the connection with another's body." Shadow continued. "And that's not easy to do when they are other things going on - people throwing hands at you tends to disrupt your concentration."

The Cajun's dark gaze flicked to Xavier, wondering if he sensed the same thing he had. The Professor may have the clarity of a telepath, but Gambit had read more than enough people to sense something was off. His gut told him there was something she wasn't telling them. But what, he had no idea.

"I get the impression that our friend has learned to control her mutation, yet little more." Beast suggested. "Do you practice your powers at all, Shadow?"

"On myself, yeah. I use them when no-one's looking, to heal bumps and scrapes." She folded her arms. "Hard to practice on others though, without revealing myself."

"I can imagine it's not an easy thing to ask someone." Cyclops said. Gambit traced the edge of the card he was holding, recalling the strange feeling of someone under his skin.

"No. Nor easy to explain." Shadow sighed, her hands fidgeting with her sleeves. "I was lucky I had an understanding partner for a while, who let me practice on him."

Gambit saw Rogue cross her arms from the corner of his eye, sadness flashing across her face for a moment.

"What happened to him?" She asked softly. Shadow's shoulders slumped.

"Things fell apart. He loved me for who I was...but he wanted that part of me to stay a neat party trick, something to put on the shelf that only the two of us could use as an asset." She scowled. "There were other problems, that of two high school sweethearts growing up and away from one another, but it was my powers that broke us in the end. Because they can be safely ignored, he wanted me to just put them aside and concentrate on marrying, settling down and having babies together. As if my powers aren't a part of me like my eyes or lungs or hair!"

Her lips curled into a furious snarl, eyes flashing with boiling resentment.

"I have a power that doctors could only dream of having, something that could help, and instead he just...wanted me to forget about it, pretend to be normal!" The anger soon broke however, and a thickness entered her voice. "I'll never be normal. And after everything we'd both been through, I thought he'd understand that better than anyone."

Shadow chuckled bitterly.

"Not that it really matters now, though. Even if they'd let me practice as a mutant, I never could pass the tests needed to qualify as a proper clinician." She glanced up at Beast, who offered her a sympathetic smile. "Had to go for a lab tech job instead. I figured maybe my ability could still help with diagnostics if I was careful and could back my reports up with evidence. Tilt the needle more in the patient's favour, you know?"

"I sense a 'but' coming." Cyclops said what Gambit was thinking. Shadow blew a sigh out of her nose.

"Everything was fine for a while. Then, I'm three days into my annual leave and I get a call saying they're tacking three months of administrative leave onto the end of it." She ran a hand through her hair. "One of the techs got his thumb up his ass about me 'potentially' being a mutant. Overheard me talking to myself and thought it was good grounds to start shit."

"I presume this had nothing to do with your ability, since you can communicate with cells silently." Beast spoke, a claw tapping his chin in thought.

"No, nothing to do with my power. Sometimes I just talk to myself to help me think through a problem. Or just inanimate objects in general. It's just a thing I've always done since I was a child, nothing to do with being a mutant." She lifted a shoulder. "Maybe something I said in my ramblings could have been suspicious? But at the same time, how do you prove that I'm actually speaking to something to communicate, over just plain eccentricity?"

"People like those see mutants in every corner." Wolverine grunted. "Woulda only been a matter of time."

"Yeah, I guess so." Shadow agreed, briefly pulling her lips into a thin line. "So, yeah. Signed off work 'cos of some asshole, and now I potentially have a hate group gunning for me too." She rested her elbows on her knees, her forehead on her knuckles. "Deep joy."

"You have my deepest sympathies, Miss Shadow." Beast spoke, resting a massive hand delicately onto her shoulder. "But, if we may return to the subject of your current power and limitations?" She looked back up, nodding. "Thank you. I have reason to believe that whilst you have a good grasp on your powers right now, their greater depths are as of yet untapped. You should be able to refine them in multiple ways; offensively, defensively and as a general utility, both for yourself and others."

"I figured as much myself." Shadow said. "I've been able to exceed my body's normal limits temporarily by some subtle manipulations, but it's difficult to maintain due to the damage it causes. Such as lifting the control limts on my muscles - I could use them to their full potential to lift a car, but it requires focus first to lift the limits and keep them off, and then to endure and heal the damage suffered from such an act."

"That could improve with time and training." Beast replied. "As you well know, you wouldn't be able to heal as you do without practice, or be able to tune the sounds of hurt from others out."

"I am curious as to your current limitations of your healing." Xavier spoke, and Gambit felt the telepath's gaze on him. "You said you can only use it with skin-to-skin contact?"

"Yeah." She nodded. "I need it to be able to commune with another person's cells and form the connection into their body. It's like I have to move my consciousness into the person, and that's what takes the time. Of course, if the injury is in just one area, like the arm, it's quicker for me to connect with that area than it is to fully 'move' into another's body."

Gambit paused his card shuffling, interest piqued fully.

"Interesting. From what Gambit told me of what happens, it seems as if your body enters a trance - still alive and functioning, but your mind elsewhere."

"Yeah. I kinda...'lose' connection with my own body temporarily, especially if I fully 'move' into another's. But it's more a case that I don't notice what my body's feeling - not that I've actually moved inside the person."

"So if your body was to be hurt or the connection broken..." Beast mused.

"I'd be ripped back into myself." Shadow said, winding one of the drawstrings of her hoodie around her finger. "Had it happen a couple of times by accident, and it's always unpleasant. It takes me a couple of seconds to adapt to a person's body when I enter and then readapt to my own when I return - you can imagine that a jarring re-entry doesn't exactly make me feel very good."

"No, it doesn't." Xavier agreed. Gambit lifted an eyebrow. Getting forced out of someone's head must feel the same way for the Professor and Jean.

"What's it like, bein' under someone's skin?" It was Rogue who spoke this time.

"Loud." Shadow chuckled. "Bodies are a riot of noise, both from cells talking to one another to just the general sounds like the heart beating, breathing, all that." Her eyes became far away, flicking back and forth in thought. "It...is hard to explain. It's like I become someone else, but I'm not them. I'm...I'm like a house guest. I can listen to their music, move their furniture around and stuff like that, but it's not my house."

"Sounds 'bout right." Gambit chimed in. "Feels like dere someone under your skin wit you."

"Brrr," Rogue shivered. "Don't like the sound of that, sugah."

"Yeah, it a weird feelin' at first. But after a while you get used to it. It don't hurt, it just...uncomfortable. Least to begin with."

"That's pretty much how my ex described it." Shadow nodded. "Uncomfortable and weird, but not painful. I can understand why people wouldn't enjoy the experience, nor the thought of having someone with near free reign over the most precious thing to them."

"Near free reign?" Xavier asked, his brows furrowing. "You don't have full control?"

"No." Shadow shook her head. "Like I said, I'm a guest. I've not yet been forcibly evicted by someone on purpose, but they still have full control of their body whilst I'm inside them. Anything I do, the person could fight back against me."

"Did dat when Gambit felt his fingers move without him." The Cajun added. "Her grip strong, but not complete."

"With enough strength and contrary directions, a person can overpower me." Shadow said. "I mean, all it would take is for someone to sock me in the jaw and I'm flung straight out." She turned her head slightly, looking thoughtful. "I also...have rules."

"Rules?" Gambit's eyes narrowed slightly.

"Technically I have control over every cell in the body. That includes brain cells." A sudden tension tightened the air. "I don't think you need me to tell you what that means, even over the fact I can already technically puppeteer a person if I wanted to." Shadow slowly raised her gaze to the others, meeting their eyes and holding them firmly.

"I don't know what I can do in that regard, I don't want to know, and I never will know." She spoke firmly, with conviction. "It is my one unwritten master rule I follow above all others - I will never touch or interfere with another's cognition or will or anything to do with the brain. Partially because it is wrong, and partially because I'm shit scared about how badly I could fuck someone up if I make a mistake. Help someone suffering a stroke, sure - that's just a blood vessels, I know how they work. But I will never, never touch the brain tissue itself."

Gambit considered her, impressed both with the heated force behind her words, and the fact she'd shown her hand in this way. It would have been easy to lie by omission, and yet here she was, highlighting how much trust he'd laid into her hands. He'd essentially given himself to her like a patient gave themselves to a surgeon, and like that surgeon, she'd repaid his trust only by taking care of him. No more, no less.

"An admirable code to live by." Beast said softly. "Your own Hippocratic Oath."

"I try to follow that too." Shadow said. "'Do no harm'."

The doctor gave her a wry smile.

"The Hippocratic Oath is a little more lengthy than that, but the colloquial version will be more than enough for your needs, I think."

"Words don't give me much comfort, sweetheart." Wolverine growled. "We just have to trust that you won't mess with our heads?"

"You wouldn't need Shadow's help anyway." Gambit countered. "You heal jus' fine on ya own."

"That may be Cajun, but what about the others who need her help? What about you?"

"She looked after me well enough."

"You don't have to trust me." Shadow retorted, pulling herself up to her full height. "Like I said, I wouldn't be able to heal you anyway if the contact wasn't fully consensual. Besides," she gestured broadly. "the fuck am I gonna do? I'm useless unless my hands are on someone's skin! I don't even know how to fight! I have nothing to gain except a grave."

"We are getting ahead of ourselves." Xavier spoke with steely firmness, fixing Wolverine with a glare. "You are assuming that Shadow will even stay with us."

Wolverine grunted, folding his arms but offering no further objection.

"But Professor, that is your preference, isn't it?" Cyclops piped up. "For Shadow to stay whilst we investigate the Friends of Humanity member that attacked her?"

"It is my recommendation, yes." Xavier agreed, turning to the young woman. "If you stay, you can train and refine your powers, and perhaps learn some techniques to help keep yourself safe when you leave us in the future. This will not be a permanent placement, unless you wish it to be." His ice blue eyes shot another glare at Wolverine. "Regardless of current opinion."

"Still don't like it." Said mutant grumbled.

"Why is her powers differen' to what the Professor an' Jean can do?" Rogue asked, folding her arms and raising an eyebrow. "They could do much worse, but we're fine with them! Ah, no offence, Professor."

"None taken, Rogue."

Wolverine growled in frustration, scowling.

"Fine. But if she stays, I'm keeping an eye on her."

"That's fair." Shadow nodded. "So long as you'll at least grant me that chance for a scrap with you if I do screw up, and you don't just off me whilst I'm sleeping."

"Thought you said you couldn't fight?"

"I can't." She smiled, holding her hands out. "I just prefer to be stabbed in the front, not the back."

Despite himself, a smile tugged on the corner of Wolverine's mouth, and also on Gambit's.

"Does that mean you've made a decision, Shadow?" Xavier asked.

"Yeah." She nodded. "I'll stay for a little while. Least 'til the heat dies down from those guys, and my job lets me back in."

"A fair agreement." Xavier smiled slightly. "There are some spare dorms for you to stay in, and we can help make arrangements to move some of your personal belongings here, if you wish."

"I'll go and sort that, Professor." Cyclops spoke, taking his leave.

"I'll let the others know we got a new guest." Rogue added, offering a smile to Shadow. "Welcome to the family, sugah."

"Now, to more prudent matters," Xavier began, "whilst you are our guest here, you will be expected to pick up your side of the tasks here, as well as train. This is a school, not a hotel."

"Wasn't expecting a free hand-out." Shadow replied, looking to Beast. "I'm happy to help as best I can, and I'll try to keep out from under your feet otherwise."

"I am certainly grateful for another pair of hands." The doctor grinned at her.

"Good." Xavier said, becoming thoughtful. "Did you say you were expecting to be on leave for three months?"

"Round about, yeah. I have one week of annual leave, then the admin leave starts." Shadow snorted. "Least I should be grateful they let me keep the holiday..."

"Alright. Then we will make the necessary arrangements to accommodate you." Xavier turned. "Please come with me, Shadow. We'll sort out the details in my office."

The young woman nodded, hopping off the medical cot to follow closely behind. Gambit watched her go, sharing a quick smile with her before his gaze became a little more intent than he expected; whilst Shadow's hoodie was baggy and hid much of her form, her jeans absolutely did not. He found his gaze wandering down her back to her hips and legs, lingering to watch her thighs flex under the denim-

Wolverine elbowed him in the ribs.

"Put your tongue back in your mouth, Cajun." He grunted, a smirk playing on his gruff features. "She's not on the menu."

"Gambit can appreciate fine art without havin' to touch it, mon ami." He retorted, glaring. "'Sides, thought ya didn't like her."

"Hmph. Maybe she's not a threat. But still gonna keep an eye on her, just in case." Gambit folded his arms, raising an eyebrow. "Don't give me that look. You shouldn't be getting ideas either way; she'll be gone after those three months, anyway."

It turned out that Shadow would stay for much, much longer than that...

[pearl484-blog]

I like to balance my sentimonsters by giving them weaknesses for their physical traits and have a rule of one senti-monster/one power and only if they’re based on a Peacock or someone with sufficient magic. Futhermore, smaller senti-monsters are more skilled with magic and larger are more skilled with brute strength. 

Under this ruling, a sentimonster that is small and lightweight is likely to be fast and able to do magic more easily, but will be easy to launch. This is important as most parties involved are invincible, control over your movement along with your opponents’ is key. A heavy senti-monster will be physically stronger, but slower. 

A senti-monster who can shapeshift will always have the same mass, so if they shape-shift into something smaller, they’re a bit heavier and slower than their counterparts, but still workable. If they’re bigger though, they deform when touched with sufficient force and have their movements easier to control than their bigger counterparts. 

Gaseous senti-monsters cannot physically attack, but can move very quickly. Unfortunately, their movement can be as easily controlled as other gases. (Partial is prone to the same weaknesses, but their solid bits stay solid with as much advantage as that’ll give them. Other amorphus senti-monsters will only be able to attack with the amount of mass that’s being committed to the attack. 20 grams of matter may still pack a bit of a punch with superstrength, but it’s still only 20 grams. It’s laughable compared to it’s full body, which -depending on the viscosity of the monster (which affects its grappling ability) can be slow (very viscous with a strong grappling ability) or fast (thin like water with low grappling ability)- may have difficulty moving quickly.  

Why doesn't Felix just create one single, versatile senticompanion. With a good variety of powers, is capable of hiding/disguising (like...shapeshifting or having a 'civilian' form or something) and also being useful in a fight and maybe for espionage. Like... that's the logical thing to do. Aside from the writers being idiots ig

I mean why didn't Nathalie or Gabriel do that either.

But also.

With Felix, supposedly he doesn't want to use Sentimonsters as tools so.

[smilesrobotlover]

AO3

First|| <-prev Next-> (coming soon)

Chapter 14- The Ruined City

The silence was deafening as Kori, Sheik, and Rusl walked through the deserted city, with debris covering almost every inch of the ground. The buildings were big and made with some dark material that felt like stone, and right across from them was the biggest building in the city that had a bell at the very top staying still and silent. Kori was glued to his grandfather’s leg despite the man struggling to walk, but Rusl never complained, with his hand firmly hanging onto him. Sheik walked ahead, staring at the ruins in front of her, looking around her to make sure they weren’t being followed. Finally, Sheik stopped, staring at a spot between buildings before turning to the others.

“We’re blocked in,” she simply said, and Rusl frowned, holding Kori tighter.

“What do you mean?”

“Look at the space between those buildings there,” Sheik said, pointing to where she was staring. Kori and Rusl both walked to where she was standing, and Kori squinted his eyes, seeing a wall of glowing pink designs swirling up far above the tall buildings. Rusl huffed and shakily ran his hands through his hair.

“I see it now,” he muttered, “I guess we’re stuck here then—wherever ‘here’ is.”

“Where are we?” Kori finally asked, not quite understanding what the Twilight Realm was. Sheik and Rusl both glanced at each other, staying silent until his grandfather gestured for Sheik to answer.

“The Twilight Realm is another world parallel to ours,” she started to explain, “a place where it’s perpetual twilight.”

“Perpetual twilight?”

“There’s no night or day,” She answered. “Only twilight.”

Kori frowned, looking down at the ruined buildings scattered across the place. No night or day… how did people sleep?

“It explains why you’re not feeling well,” Sheik said to Rusl, who looked unusually pale. “Light dwellers don’t belong in the Twilight Realm.”

“What’s a light dweller?” Kori asked.

“It’s us. Those from Hyrule and Ordon and Labrynna.”

Kori frowned. “So light-dwellers get sick here… then… why do we feel fine?” Kori looked at Sheik, who never wavered despite Rusl getting worse and worse. “We’re light-dwellers too! I’m from Ordon, right?”

“You’re only half light-dweller,” Sheik simply explained. “You’re also half Twili, which makes traveling in the Twilight Realm no issue for you.”

Kori’s eyes widened, looking down at his blue hands. He was never a normal human like everyone else in Ordon—he knew that, and he knew that he was a Twilian. But he never truly understood what it meant. Him being able to hide in shadows and walk freely in this strange realm… was it because of his Twili counterpart? And if they were in this Twilight Realm that matched his Twili blood, did that mean his mommy was here?

“So what about you?” Rusl asked, staring at Sheik with his brows furrowed. “Why do you feel fine?”

Sheik stared at him for a moment, her hands fidgeting with each other as she clearly struggled to say something. Rusl stepped closer, a more concerned look in his eyes as he tilted his head.

“Are you… are you Zelda?”

Sheik looked down, hiding her hand, but Rusl didn’t let up.

“I’ve only seen one person in my life that used the light arrows,” he said, and Sheik finally gave him a defeated look, pulling down her mask to reveal her face. Rusl’s eyes widened, though he didn’t look too surprised.

“Well that explains a lot,” he muttered, turning to Kori who kept looking between them.

“What’s going on?” He asked, and Rusl gestured to Sheik with his head.

“Sheik has a triforce piece, which is why she’s not sick,” Rusl simply explained, but it didn’t clear anything up for Kori. His grandpa looked around the ruined buildings, letting out a deep breath and blinking a couple of times. “So what do we do?”

Sheik stared at him for a moment, almost looking uneasy, but she finally turned her head to look around at the city as well. “I don’t know. The barrier is trapping us within.”

“Well, sounds like we have to fight the beast to try to get out,” Rusl suggested, but Sheik shook her head.

“You can barely stand right now, Rusl. We are not prepared for a fight.”

“What about your light arrows?” Rusl argued. “They sure packed a punch before.”

Sheik looked down at her hands, rubbing her right one. “No, I can’t use them. Not here.”

Rusl’s face fell and he looked down at the ground with a defeated expression on his face. “So… what can we do?”

Sheik looked back up at him, a sad expression on her face. “I don’t know.”

The two stared at each other for a moment, an uncomfortable silence falling between them, until a distant roar was heard behind them. Kori gasped and ran to his grandpa, who weakly grabbed onto him.

“We need to go,” Sheik hissed, pushing Rusl and Kori to follow her. The three ran as silently as they could, the sounds of the beast getting closer to them. As they ran, Kori’s foot stepped on a sharp rock and he fell to the ground with a cry. Rusl wasted no time running back to him, gathering him into his arms and running to where Sheik hid, which was behind a ruined building. Kori felt his grandpa stumble behind the wall, falling to the ground as he breathed heavily. His grandfather was a strong man, but his strength was clearly dwindling.

“Stay quiet,” Sheik whispered, peeking past the wall, her gray eyes transfixed on something. Though it was faint, Kori could clearly make out the sounds of the twilight beast moving through the city, searching for them.

Rusl’s heart was racing, with it pounding against both their chests, and his grandpa hugged him close. He was shaking terribly, his grip growing more and more weak as the seconds passed, each one feeling like a minute. It grew uncomfortably quiet save for the sounds of the beast and Kori’s breathing, and he had to cover his mouth when he felt like he was making too much noise. Sheik tensed, reaching her belt with a more intense look in her eyes, but a sound of a rock being thrown at a wall broke the silence, and Kori heard the twilight beast begin to move. Looking up at Sheik, Kori noticed that she relaxed slightly, hiding fully behind the wall again with a soft sigh of relief.

“Pst.”

The group tensed up again, all looking at a hole in the ground where two red eyes watched, a black hand gesturing for them to follow.

“Hurry light-dwellers,” the voice hissed, the gesture becoming more frantic. Sheik glanced at Rusl and Kori before cautiously moving to the hole. Rusl strained to stand with Kori in his arms, but he was able to drag himself behind Sheik, his hold on Kori sagging. The three made it to the hole, with Rusl allowing Sheik to go down first, then Kori, then him. As soon as Kori hit the ground, he was greeted with cold soft dirt that felt good on his aching foot, but the relief went away when he saw the strange men helping them. They were tall creatures with blue skin and burning eyes, black markings decorating their body and glowing symbols on their chests. One was big and round, dwarfing Rusl as he helped him down the hole, and the other was tall and skinny, his red eyes watching Kori.

“I don’t think it noticed us,” the round man said, looking at the tall one, “let’s move before they pass out.”

The tall one finally looked away from Kori, and the little twilian hugged his grandpa’s legs in fear, not ever seeing anything like these men. The two led them through a tunnel, the light almost completely gone which caused Rusl and Sheik to run into the walls and stumble over rocks, though Kori was able to see relatively fine. It must’ve been a twili thing. Finally, light appeared at the end of the tunnel, giving Kori some hope that they were reaching a safe place, but Rusl suddenly collapsed, his body crumbling against the wall and ground.

“Grandpa!” Kori cried, rushing to his grandfather’s side, who looked deathly pale.

“I… c..can’t…” Rusl whispered, his head lolling to the side. Kori was about to panic, but the round man stood over him, scooping up his unconscious grandfather.

“He’ll be fine. He's not the first light-dweller we found,” he said, continuing down the hall. “As soon as we reach the sol, he’ll wake up.”

Kori glanced up at Sheik, who was nudging Kori along. He was terrified, but he couldn’t be separated from Rusl, so he followed close to Sheik, his eyes on his grandfather’s dangling arm.

The group finally reached the lit-up room, and the strange men split up, one moving to another strange man who looked the same as them, while the other holding Rusl moved to a table that had a glowing orb resting on top of it. Rusl was set next to the orb, and a normal Hylian suddenly appeared, looking over his unconscious grandfather.

“What happened here?” He asked, his hand resting on Rusl’s shoulder.

“More light-dwellers. Just like you,” the round man explained, shifting the ball closer to Rusl. Kori simply watched, but Sheik took a step forward, staring at the Hylian man.

“I don’t believe it. Captain Hoz!” Sheik suddenly exclaimed, and the Hylian man spun around, looking at the two with wide eyes.

“Hey, I know you!” Kori said, recognizing the man from the woods. Hoz looked between Kori and Sheik, his eyes resting on Sheik for a minute longer before abruptly falling to the ground on one knee.

“Y-your Highness!” He stuttered, his head bowed. “You’re here!”

“I am. I’m relieved to see you safe, Hoz,” Sheik said. “You may stand.”

Hoz obeyed, raising his head and standing with an ashamed look on his face.

“You must forgive me, my queen. I have… failed to do what you asked of me.”

“Do not apologize, Hoz. It was a task I fear you were doomed to fail.”

The round man walked up to the group, looking between each person. “It seems you know them, Hoz?”

“I do. This is Queen Zelda,” he introduced, and the man gave Sheik a look.

“You’re the queen of the light-dwellers?”

Sheik shook her head. “Not all light-dwellers. But I am the queen of Hyrule.”

The man’s eyes squinted. “Hyrule. I see…” his gaze suddenly landed on Kori, the bright eyes rounding as he stared.

“That there is a little boy I met when I first met the twilight beast,” Hoz explained. “Er… I don’t remember his name.”

“It’s Kori,” Sheik muttered, and Hoz nodded.

“Right, Kori…this here is Nerc.” The round man bowed his head and Hoz pointed to the slimmer man. “That is Turk. They're nice, don’t worry.” Hoz said, patting Kori’s head as if to reassure him. It helped a little. “I’m really happy to see you, my queen. But I wasn’t expecting either of you to be here.”

“Safe to say I wasn’t expecting to see you here alive,” Sheik replied, and Hoz let out a chuckle.

“It’s a long story.”

“As it is for us.”

The group looked over at a taller strange man, one who towered over everyone in the room. His dark red hair was covered in a brown cloth that draped over his arms, and everything but his loins were bare. He was skinny, and he had glowing markings on his arms, chest, and nose, and his orange eyes watched the group with an unknowing expression. Kori felt himself cower away, a strange, raw fear beginning to overtake him. He found himself grabbing onto Sheik despite not knowing her well, hiding behind her leg as he watched the terrifying man. The man stared at him for a moment, and when Kori felt like he was about to cry, a small boy poked out from behind the man’s leg. Though he looked the same as the tall, scary man, there was a friendly look in his big, gold eyes as they watched Kori curiously. Kori tilted his head at him, and the boy tilted his head back.

“Light-dwellers, we are Twili,” the tall man announced, and Kori’s gaze traveled to him once again in shock. They were Twili? Creatures that roamed the Twilight Realm same as his mommy? They weren’t strange monsters, they were him.

But why did they look so different from Kori and his mommy?

“Zelda, was it?” The tall Twili turned to Sheik, his hand on his chest. “You’re the queen of the light realm, I pray that you will hear our tale and aid us in this dreadful time. My name is Vand, and I am the governor of this city.”

Sheik stared for a moment before bowing low, her knees bending and her head hanging. Vand bowed back before standing up straight, with Sheik following.

“Tell me everything,” she said, and Vand nodded, leading the group over to the table where Rusl was beginning to stir. Kori’s grandfather opened his eyes, and Vand leaned over him with his hand resting on his head.

“Do not panic, light-dweller. You’re safe,” he reassured, and Rusl sat up straight, looking confused.

“Where am I?” He asked, his words slurring slightly, and his eyes landed on Kori. “Kori—”

“Sit down, Rusl,” Sheik ordered, gesturing to a seat next to her, “we need to figure out what’s going on.”

Rusl gave Sheik a baffled look, but he obeyed, sliding off the table and immediately pulling Kori close to him. Kori didn’t fight back and felt relief being next to his grandpa, who was no longer sick. He still felt weak, but strength had clearly returned to Rusl. His grandpa sat down, pulling Kori onto his lap and he looked at the others, observing the new room they were in. Rusl’s eyes landed on the glowing orb on the table, and he gave Vand a look.

“This is a sol,” Vand explained, “it’s best if you light-dwellers stay near it, lest you succumb to the twilight.”

Rusl nodded, his brows furrowed. “Ok…are you… a twili?”

“Yes.”

Rusl shifted in his seat, his hold on Kori tightening. “You’re uh… not what I expected you to look like.”

“I should say the same about you,” Vand replied, and Rusl let out an awkward laugh.

“Right…”

Sheik looked between the two for a moment before landing her gaze on Vand. “So what happened here?”

Vand nodded, lifting up the little boy from earlier onto his lap and staring at the table somberly. “You all know about Zant, correct? And the invasion he planned?”

The adults in the room nodded seriously, a heavy feeling appearing in the air.

“You see, he was a tyrant when he stole the throne from our queen. Those that accepted his reign were forced to invade the light realm as his soldiers, while those that denied him were turned into those dreadful shadow beasts.” Vand shuddered. “I don’t wish that transformation on anyone. Living creatures are not built to consume that pure darkness. I was one of the last leaders to turn into one, but the transformation suddenly stopped when the queen and a light-dweller appeared to stop Zant.

“There were hundreds of shadow beasts roaming the twilight realm. They were used to make us obey Zant’s every command. But when the queen and light-dweller came to stop Zant, they were all defeated, put out of their misery. And yet… one somehow escaped.”

Rusl tensed, his heart beating harshly against Kori’s ears.

“We lived in ignorance, believing that peace had finally found us after the terror of Zant’s reign. But little did we know that the lost shadow beast was only beginning its attack. In a big city, it’s not uncommon for me to walk by an unfortunate, homeless Twili that’d be there one day, and then gone the next. It wasn’t uncommon for someone who did very little for his city to suddenly disappear without a trace. But when the disappearances grew, when fathers, brothers, and sons began vanishing, we knew something was wrong.” Vand paused, his expression growing dark. “I—I thought nothing of it. Twili would disappear everyday, but it didn’t mean anything. How could this be any different? But oh… it was, and I fear that my hesitation caused everything to get as bad as it did.

“Soon men of my council vanished, and I finally sent the soldiers to find out what was causing these disappearances. And that was when the mutated shadow beast revealed itself. After years of surviving in the twilight realm without anyone knowing, it grew far too powerful for the soldiers. I sent a messenger to alert the queen, but that was when it raised the barrier, locking us in. For days we desperately tried to fight back, but we could not overpower it, for it had the element of surprise. We were weak, disorganized, and after it destroyed every building, took hundreds of Twili, I decided to retreat with the survivors. This is… all that is left of the city.” Vand gestured to the few Twili in the room, and Sheik looked down, her brows furrowed.

“How long have you been like this?” She asked, and Vand shook his head.

“I don’t know. A year? Maybe more. The power of the beast came so suddenly.”

“How did the twilight beast become so powerful?” Rusl asked.

“It’s stealing life force,” Sheik answered, and everyone looked at her. “The light spirits told me that it steals force. That’s why it’s so powerful.”

“So it’s been slowly stealing force from Twili,” Rusl commented.

“Then it grew powerful enough to create a barrier and teleport between worlds,” Hoz added. “You know that big building in the middle of the city? That’s where it’s hiding its prey.”

“The missing people?” Sheik asked, and Hoz nodded.

“Yes. All of them, unconscious and barely clinging to life in this darker world. I saw them when the beast took me and my men here. I… I am a coward—I left them behind to escape.” Hoz’s head bowed slightly, shame apparent on his face.

“They’re not dead yet, Hoz,” Sheik said, resting a hand on his. “Sometimes we need to retreat and make a plan. There’s no shame in that.”

Hoz nodded, but he didn’t look convinced.

“The best way we can save those taken by the twilight beast is to escape the city and alert the queen,” Vand said. “But to break through the barrier is… impossible.”

Rusl hummed and turned to Sheik. “You have the light arrows. I’m sure those can break the barrier.”

Sheik sighed and shook her head. “I told you Rusl. I…I can’t use the light arrows.”

“But why?”

Sheik shook her head again, her left hand rubbing her right one. “I can’t. The twilight realm hinders my light magic.”

Rusl slumped, his hand mindlessly fiddling with Kori’s ear.

“Well, what about the sol?” Hoz suggested. “Will that give you enough light magic to pierce the barrier?”

Sheik paused for a moment, her face contemplating the idea. “Perhaps it could…”

“If you can break the barrier, my queen, it would save the rest of the city,” Vand said enthusiastically, shifting his son in his arms. “I know I am the last person who should ask you of this—none of this would’ve happened if not for my negligence—but I beg of you to help us.”

Sheik nodded, eyeing the sol. “I don’t know if it’ll work, but if it does, then we’ll have hope in escaping.”

Vand nodded his head, a smile on his thin face. “Thank you, my queen.”

“Don’t thank me just yet. If you will kindly give me time to figure it out, I’ll let you know once I feel the light magic.”

“Of course. The sol is yours to hold if it helps.”

Sheik nodded again and stood up to grab the orb, her hand gently rubbing the design.

“Though, if I may ask you light-dwellers one question,” Vand spoke up, and Sheik gave him an inviting look. Vand’s head moved to where Kori and Rusl sat, his long and thin finger pointing directly at him. “What is she doing here with you?”

It grew silent, with Sheik glancing at Rusl and Kori in confusion. “I beg your pardon?”

“The twili girl. Why is she here with you?”

Kori sat up and looked at Rusl, who was watching Vand with his eyes narrowed.

“Are you talkin’ about Kori here?” He asked, and Vand nodded. Kori turned back to him, his head tilted.

“I’m not a girl,” he said, and Vand’s orange eyes widened slightly.

“You’re… not a female?”

Rusl shook his head. “Nope, Kori’s a little boy.”

Vand stared for a moment in shock, his orange eyes widening more and more. “So… the rumors were true?”

Kori and Rusl both gave each other confused looks, but his grandfather’s expression turned dark.

“What are you talkin’ about?” Rusl asked, and Vand shifted himself, his gaze turning to the table.

“Well… many years ago, our queen finally gave birth to an heir who would lead the Twilight Realm to prosperity. But… it was rumored that there was something wrong with the child.” Vand’s eyes travelled back to Kori, and he soon grew uncomfortable with the conversation. “They said she gave birth to a boy. And he wasn’t fully Twili. He was an abomination.”

Kori winced at the word, looking down at his own hands. Was Vand talking about him? He’s been called something like “abomination” so many times in his life now it wouldn’t surprise him if he was.

“Wait, wait wait wait,” Rusl started, adjusting Kori in his lap and facing Vand fully. “What do you mean? You’re makin’ it seem like it’s weird that the queen gave birth to a boy. Why should that matter?”

“There’s only one female Twili. She must give birth to a female Twili to carry on our race.”

Rusl stared for a long moment, glancing at Kori before glancing back up at Vand.

“Midna?” He finally said, his voice thick with shock. Vand nodded.

“I do not know how you light-dwellers know our queen, but I shouldn’t be surprised since you accompany the bastard child—”

“Don’t call him that!” Rusl snapped, wrapping his arms protectively around Kori. Vand’s eyes widened and he leaned back, and Sheik stood up to step in front of the Rusl.

“I apologize, Vand. Please continue your story,” she said, shooting Rusl a dirty look. Though his grandfather didn’t look regretful, and instead seemed furious. Kori was almost wanting to hide into the shadows, not wanting to hear anything anymore, not wanting to learn what “bastard” even meant—he just wanted to go home, free from this nightmare.

“No, I must apologize,” Vand said. “I did not mean to insult you. The thing is… the boy was the talk of the century, many rumors flying from city to city. I couldn’t believe them. But the rumors all ended when… it was rumored that the boy was murdered by the queen’s advisor.”

Rusl’s breath hitched and Kori’s blood ran cold.

“The rumors quickly died down, and I had forgotten about it but… seeing how a male Twili that looks like the queen herself is here… I see now that most of the rumors were true.” Vand stared at Kori, making him squirm under his gaze. “But the rumor that the boy prince died was a false one. He lives.”

Rusl slumped back, running a hand through his hair, and Kori looked back at him.

“Boy prince?” Kori repeated, wondering why Vand kept staring at him everytime he said it.

“Your mama’s a queen, Kori,” Rusl simply explained. “You’re a prince.”

Kori’s jaw dropped. A prince? There was no way that was true! If it was, he wouldn’t be living on a farm, he’d be living in a castle with a big bedroom and hundreds of toys just like Amber! But if his mommy’s a queen… then it would be true… yet he couldn’t bring himself to believe it. Even if he was, he wasn’t exactly the princely type. Amber felt very princessy when he first met her, with an air of politeness and maturity that was fit for a future leader. But not Kori.

“Well, if you’re all ready, I’d love to make a plan of escape,” Vand interrupted, clearly uncomfortable with the conversation, and he looked directly at Sheik.

“Please give me a moment to find the light arrows within me,” Sheik simply said, and Vand nodded.

“Of course. You and the others may sit over there if you need the rest,” he gestured to an area by a wall covered in cushions, and Rusl nodded, setting Kori down and walking towards the cushions. Though Kori couldn’t ignore the way he moved slowly, wavering slightly when he plopped himself down on the cushions. Hoz and Sheik followed, with Sheik sitting in between the two men.

“Let me know once you’re ready,” Vand said, and he finally walked to the rest of the Twili, with the young Twili boy still eyeing Kori. Sheik rubbed the sol again, her brows furrowed as she stared.

“Is it working?” Hoz asked, and she shrugged.

“I’m not sure.”

“It’s not helping me, I know that much,” Rusl complained, leaning against the wall and rubbing his face.

“Sol or no sol, you’re still a light dweller,” Hoz said, “we don’t belong here, and our bodies know it.”

“Perfect,” Rusl grumbled sarcastically. “I’m afraid I won’t be able to do much in this condition, Sheik.”

“Do not worry about it. You just need strength to escape. Do you have enough to do that?”

Rusl nodded. “I’ll definitely have enough to get Kori out.”

Sheik shook her head. “You need strength to get yourself out too.”

Rusl’s mouth twitched with an amused look in his eye, and he nodded. “Of course, your Highness.”

“We’ll make it out,” Hoz said encouragingly, “I’m sure those light arrows will do us good.”

“Oh they will. You should’ve seen them against the beast!” Rusl exclaimed. “It’s the reason why we were able to escape it in the first place!”

“So they must be our only hope,” Hoz muttered, but Sheik simply stared at Sol blankly, her pose stiff. Hoz gave her a look before glancing at Rusl. “Are you alright, my queen?”

Sheik sighed, her eyes closing. “I’m not… sure if I can summon the light arrows.”

Hoz’s eyes widened. “What do you mean? Is the sol not working?”

“N-no—I—” Sheik sighed, looking ashamed. “Fighting against the beast there was the first time I’ve used the light arrows since fighting Ganondorf. I don’t know how I did it then and… I don’t know if I can remember now. It just happened.”

Rusl gave Hoz a concerned look, but it quickly melted into a smile and he rested his hand on her shoulder. “It’s ok. You did it once recently, that means there’s hope.”

“Yes, let us know if you need anything to help, Zelda,” Hoz said. “Take your time if you need it.”

Sheik (or Zelda?) smiled, giving them a nod, and the adults chatted for a while before slowly falling asleep one by one. Rusl was out first, passing out and snoring after a few minutes of chatting, Sheik was next, with her slumped over the sol, and Hoz, despite being stubborn, fell asleep after Sheik, and soon Kori was left alone with his thoughts as he listened to his grandpa snore. He tried to fall asleep, and he did doze off a few times, but he couldn’t seem to find the rest he felt he needed. His mind was still reeling over everything that happened today, and so sleep was not coming easy to him. It didn’t help that he felt uneasy with the way the twili watched him; he couldn’t tell if they hated him or were amazed, but the way their strange eyes stared frightened him. They weren’t ever cruel towards him, but there was something about them that freaked him out, though he didn’t know what.

Though what bothered Kori the most was his own identity. He always knew he was a Twilian—half from his papa and half from his mommy—but he was now comprehending what that meant. Kori had always known about his Hylian counterpart (or moreso his light-dweller counterpart) but learning more about his Twili was… new for him. So new and so overwhelming. The only Twili he’s ever seen in his life were him and his mommy, yet these Twili looked completely different from the two of them—with smaller, glowing eyes that had no emotion behind them, gaunt faces, sharp teeth. They looked like…. Freaks….

The word echoed in his mind, the word that had been used to describe him so many times. The shrieks and cries of those that threw that word at him were heard, and here he was calling these men the same thing. He supposed he and the Twili were always doomed to be freaks.

Yet another thing poked at his mind; he was a prince. A prince of the Twilight Realm! What did that mean for him? Was he going to have to rule this world soon? Was he going to have to leave his home and family behind in Ordon?

The story of the prince filled Kori with a sense of dread as he replayed it through his mind. Vand said that the prince was killed… but if Kori was the prince, why was he alive? He didn’t think his mommy had another son, so what was the deal with the supposed dead prince? Kori’s thumb traced the long scar on his forearm, his brows furrowed as he observed the old thing. It was a scar he was so used to seeing, that it was never brought up for him. Some had questioned it, but he’d always tell them the same thing: he didn’t know where it came from. But with the story of the prince… did this scar come from the story?

“Um, hi.”

Kori flinched into his grandpa, looking up to see the Twili boy from before standing before him, a small smile on his face. The boy’s golden eyes were wide, almost nervous looking, but he was still smiling politely, with needle-like teeth standing out like bars against his mouth. Kori stared for a moment, but waved shyly.

“Hi.”

“Your name is Kori, right?”

Kori nodded.

“My name is Quacey.” He bowed his head slightly, and Kori copied him. “It’s nice to meet you!”

“It’s nice to meet you too,” Kori muttered, feeling slightly less nervous. Quacey sat down next to him, his hands resting on his knees.

“My papa is wondering what the light-dwellers are doing,” he explained, facing Kori’s grandpa. “Are they… dead?”

Kori frowned. “No. They’re just sleeping.”

To make sure, Kori stared hard at his grandpa, whose shoulders and chest were moving with his breathing. Feeling slightly relieved, Kori turned back to Quacey, nodding.

“Yeah, they’re sleeping!”

Quacey nodded, looking slightly confused. “What is sleeping?”

Kori blinked. “What? You don’t know sleeping?”

“No.”

Kori frowned, figuring that Twili didn’t sleep like light-dwellers. He remembered his mommy never seeming to need sleep no matter how long she stayed awake.

“Well, sleeping is when you close your eyes and you lay down, and then you imagine fun stories in your head and then you’re asleep!”

Quacey nodded his head, though he still seemed confused.

“How long do you sleep?”

“However long night is.”

“What’s night?”

Kori blinked again. This kid didn’t seem to know anything.

“Night is when the sun goes down,” he explained.

“What is—“ Quacey stopped, his dark blue skin flushing purple.

“The sun?” Kori finished for him, and Quacey nodded. “The sun is… like the sol!” Kori pointed to the sol in Sheik’s lap, and Quacey nodded, more confidently. “The sun is in the sky though, and it’s super bright and makes the sky blue!”

Quacey gasped. “The sky can be blue?”

Kori nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah! And there’s white fluffy clouds too! I always like to look at them and see shapes made out of them!”

“I like to do that too!” Quacey exclaimed. “We’d always do it on top of my house. I miss looking at the sky.”

Kori nodded, wondering how long Quacey had been stuck down here with the twilight beast on the loose.

“How old are you?” Quacey asked after a moment of silence.

“I’m ten!” He proclaimed proudly, and Quacey gasped.

“I’m ten too!”

“Really?”

“We’re the same age!” Quacey hopped up excitedly, making Kori giggle slightly. “Do you want to play?”

“Play what?” Kori asked.

Quacey pulled out a small, velvet bag out of nowhere and poured the contents all over the ground. There was a small rubber ball with about ten small pebbles sitting in a pile, and Kori tilted his head.

“You have to bounce the ball and grab as many pebbles before it hits the ground,” Quacey explained, demonstrating it for Kori. “You have to pick up the pebbles one at a time, you can’t scoop it all up.” The ball landed, just as Quacey was about to grab one. “Whatever you don’t pick up you have to drop. Do you want to play with me?”

Kori nodded, excited for a distraction. Quacey allowed Kori to try it out for a few turns, and then they started playing. They played ten rounds, and Kori had to pick up as many pebbles as he could without having to bounce the ball a lot of times. The round ended once he was able to pick up all the pebbles and then they’d start the next round. The goal was to have as little points as possible, which surprised Kori. Normally the more points he had, the better, but the points would go up with the ball having to be bounced, which was bad. The two played ten rounds, with Quacey winning. And then they played again. And again and again, with Kori improving more and more as they played. It was very fun and satisfying as Kori picked up as many pebbles as possible, with Quacey cheering when they were all picked up. It felt like a few minutes of them playing, but it must’ve been a couple of hours when the others began to stir, with Sheik standing on her feet and marching to Vand.

“I can summon the light arrows,” she simply said, holding the sol to her side. “We can escape.”

Vand stood, his eyes wide and intense. “O-of course. You’re ready to break the barrier?”

“If my light arrows will pierce through, then yes. Let me wake the others, we’ll need to make a plan.”

Vand nodded and Sheik marched up to Rusl and Hoz, kicking the two men awake as Kori and Quacey watched. Rusl flinched and jolted awake, looking around wildly while Hoz simply stretched, and the two looked at Sheik, who gave them a nod.

“Come, we’re going to plan an escape,” she said, and the two scrambled to their feet, with Rusl giving Kori a look before reaching Sheik. The two kids watched as the adults huddled together, and Quacey gave Kori a concerned look.

“Do you think we’re really gonna escape?” Quacey asked, and Kori frowned, nodding. The adults were clearly figuring something out—it was giving him some hope.

“Every plan we’ve made has ended in failure,” Quacey suddenly said, a serious tone in his voice. He was watching the adults talking at the table, his hand clutching the ball. “Everytime more and more people got taken away… I never saw them again.”

Kori watched Quacey, feeling sorry for his new friend. He wondered if Quacey had other friends in the city, or other family that were taken by the monster. It was a horrific thought.

“Are you… really a prince, Kori?” Quacey suddenly asked, and Kori shrugged.

“I guess so? I didn’t know that my mommy was a queen, but I guess she is.”

Quacey nodded, looking down at the rubber ball and pebbles. Kori could tell he was no longer in a playing mood.

“Will she help us?” He finally asked after a moment of silence. Kori frowned, but nodded excitedly.

“I know my mommy will help!”

Quacey nodded again, but tears began to form in his eyes. Without thinking, Kori leaned forward, wrapping his arms around his new friend. Quacey cried quietly into his shoulder as Kori held him, rubbing his back and rocking him back and forth.

“We’re gonna be ok,” he reassured, humming a song his papa would always sing to him whenever he got scared. It seemed to relax Quacey, and the two stayed huddled as the adults began their plan for escape. Kori only hoped that they could escape and find his mommy.