#the flailing spires

[ry0ubakura]

Can we talk about Bakura's little gay rainbow ring power

[justashadetalkative]

3.) any recurring images/elements?

8.) what inspired your world building, if anything?

(Setting asks��| Accepting!)

.

3.) any recurring images/elements?

Cats, I suppose? 😂 

More seriously — spirals are a recurring visual element whenever I’m considering how to design any given part of the Spire, and they align with both the Spire’s tendency to draw in anything around it (consider a vortex) and with the general concept that any given problem has a high chance of spiraling out of control if left unaddressed.

(Spire diagram)

(Gate room)

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8.) what inspired your world building, if anything?

Hard to say, really; the origins of the Spire started so young that whatever stories I encountered at the time probably played a role, but I don’t remember. It was also collaborative with a childhood friend, so I have even less idea what inspired him.

But my combined interests in science fiction, disability rights, and medicine have played a big role in both the variety of creatures living within the Spire and my thoughts on how the Spire might be built to accommodate such a wide range of beings. Plus my determination to have magic be a viable aid for disabilities but never a cure-all, heh.

And it wasn’t an inspiration, exactly — I’ve actually never played one of the games myself — but the general existence of the Kingdom Hearts franchise is certainly a reassurance. My incredibly self-indulgent multiversal cross-genre setting doesn’t feel nearly so silly when I know how popular Kingdom Hearts is, ahaha.

[krtart]

Ventro is patient and gentle on an interpersonal level, but is also genuinely ruthless and a fairly unrepentant killer

And Space is an insufferable asshole but is also genuinely generous — and is kind of horrified about anyone dying under his watch, from any cause

And good grief are they just… weird fucking influences on each other :’D

[stungunlazertag]

pizzari doodle for the sillies

[justassorted]

Meta character design (( here too ))

Oooh okay let’s see.

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Mirian

Mirian was originally a bug alien type creature who was an NPC for an adventure I was running on an rp forum! So when I switched to designing her as a human, I made the potentially misguided attempt to try to keep her overall value scheme and a few other design hints? I.e. very pale eyes and somewhat darker skin, and big old glasses in place of the v. big mirrored eyes. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

On the plus side, it has at least shaped her human backstory in interesting ways! Even if I somewhat regret the ocular albinism thing — it feels like a cop out to conveniently have her on the very upper end of good vision among people with albinism, there are enough misconceptions about albinism as it is. :’D I’ve been waffling about retconning it for years now.

Other than that it was all vibes based. I asked my brain “somewhat unhinged lesbian scientist?” and it went “Short. Short is good,” and here we are. xD

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Ithadel

I already had purple and grey associated with rock creatures in my brain (my other OC Brian), so that was probably part of his overall color scheme. Goliath (?) from Gargoyles was probably haunting my subconscious, too, even though I’ve never watched more than an episode or two of the show. xD

But mostly, I was on a crest of my eternal “bat wings are versatile limbs! They grab things! And climb! And walk with them! And it’s neat!!” kick. So then I was having fun thinking about prehensile limbs in general, and gave him prehensile feet — because hey, wings, maybe they can hunt like raptors?

I also had Medusa on the brain — not literally, I don’t know much about the actual myth, but just… general petrification and turning things to stone thoughts. Thus the stinger (paralysis).

As for his human design, for whatever reason that’s… just what felt right the first time I started trying to sketch him and make picrews, hah. No thoughts head empty!

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Oscar

So this isn’t strictly visual design, but there were two things on my brain when I was first designing Oscar, and those were:

1) Duck Newton from TAZ Amnesty’s abysmal lying

2) Maurice from Disney’s animated Beauty and the Beast

Which. Mostly just informed his general flustered and blustery speech patterns in my head, hah. xD And idk how well that will be preserved in writing moving forward. As for his appearance… once again, it kind of just formed? Not a whole lot of conscious decision making.

The achondroplasia was very intentional, though. He was originally a D&D character, and I imagined him visually how I imagined him, but I also very much imagined him with a human attitude and cultural background. Plus I wanted the variant human stats for backstory & class building reasons. So… even in fantasy settings, he is definitely not a dwarf. :)

[beamorgan]

Favourite Reads of the Year

I will not be ranking these, because that would hurt my heart. Buckle up folks, there are a lot of amazing books out there

The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells

I know, I KNOW, I'm late to the party but omg this whole series is just as good as people say!!! I know I said I wouldn't be ranking, but if I was these would be fighting for the top spot. I have already relistened to all the audiobooks. I anticipate rereading them literally every year from now on. I would die for Murderbot, which it would think is a stupid thing for a human to do when there is a SecUnit right there. [adult, scifi]

Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett

Sequel to last year's fav Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries, this follows a bullheaded academic trying find the magical door that will let her faerie boyfriend back into his faerie kingdom. Chaos ensues in the Alps. It's fabulous, and the author's approach to using folklore is very similar to my own writing, which I love and also get imposter syndrome about. 10/10 recommend [adult, historical fantasy]

Model Home by Solomon Rivers

Would you like to be repeatedly punched in the gut? Look no further than this story of racism and child abuse in a Texas McMansion, with gorgeous prose and a genderqueer protagonist and the laundry list of content warnings you can expect with the genre. It hurt so good. [adult, contemporary gothic horror]

You Should Be So Lucky by Cat Sebastian

This love affair between a baseball play and a sports reporter was recced to me by the lovely @colubrina and boy was it worth the two-day binge it inspired! Romance can be very hit-or-miss for me, but this knocked it out of the park (please enjoy my pun). I didn't even have to know anything about baseball to love it! [adult, historical (1960s) romance]

The Locked Tomb Series by Tamsyn Muir

Another tumblr fav, FOR A REASON. Gideon is hilarious. Harrow is an absolute mess. Nona is BABY, my beloved. (Camilla and Palamedes have my whole entire heart). Also, the audiobook narrator is fantastic. In the words of the author, the buns are also fried chicken. [adult, sci fantasy]

Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brian

This one is @elodieunderglass's fault. Historical buffoonery on boats. The main characters are ridiculous. The sailing jargon is incomprehensible. It's great. [adult, historical fiction]

All You Can Ever Know by Nicole Chung

This is a gorgeous memoir of an interracial adoptee trying to make contact with her birth family while pregnant with her own child. It grapples thoughtfully with reconnecting to a lost culture, the complexities of family history, and the social and legal barriers adoptees face to learning about themselves. [adult, memoir]

Death in the Spires by KJ Charles

I devour everything Charles writes, so I was EXCITED for this mystery. She made it very clear on social media "It's not a kissing book!!" (it's kinda still a kissing book). She wrote a stonking book, as usual, with an underdog protagonist revisiting the murder that happened during his toxic time at Oxford university. [adult, historical mystery]

Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar

My favourite literary fiction read of the year, this meditation on Iranian diaspora identity is written by a poet and you can tell. I would suck the prose up through a straw if I could. The protagonist is an addict and also quite suicidal. It was fun :) [adult, literary fiction]

She Who Became the Sun by Shelly Parker-Chan

and the sequel, He Who Drowned the World. I don't even know how to sell this, all I want to do is flail incoherently about how amazing it is. IT'S AMAZING. JUST READ IT. (wait I know: this satisfied the part of me that was obsessed with Mulan as a kid) [adult, historical fantasy]

A Little Trickery by Roseanna Pike

The voicey-est book I've ever read. I screenshot like every other page. It follows an orphaned girl trying to survive in Tudor England through various means, such as faking a miracle in the church where her gay best friend is priest. [adult, historical fiction]

At the End of the River Styx by Michelle Kulwiki

My friend wrote a book! It made me cry!!! They were delighted with this!!! Please give this to any teenager in your life who needs to see thoughtful representation of grief and depression and boys in love. [YA, contemporary fantasy]

[merchant-wizard-and-jerry]

“Shop is open”

1 - Necklace of the watching spire - 40 currency

2 - Skull of Tarnook - 50 currency

3 - Wooden shield - 21 currency

4 - Potion of Monsterfication - 45 currency

5 - Arrows - 8 currency per Arrow

6 - 2x flails of madness - 40 currency ( @dragons-den-forging‘s item )

————————

"Wizard Essentials"

————————

Staff - teacup - 25 currency

Orb - Turkey - 10 currency

Robes - green - 1 currency per robe

————

"Consumables"

————

1 - Health Rune - 10 currency

2 - 10x vials of transformation - 10 currency per vial ( @aitobutmagic’s item )

3 - Blood stone - 10 currency

4 - Rune potion - 15 currency

——-

"Salt"

@ignisuadaroleplay @bi-gender-sorcerer @damnable-druid @crickled-thorn-thug @serious-tabaxi @song-de-lune @the-mighty-dalob @cleric-posting @sorcererest-sorcerer @yeast-wizard

[kaihuntrr]

part twenty-nine/epilogue: cheaters never prosper.

A sea prince searches for her prey.

Pearl dove into the water and let her body swell. The freeing feeling of returning to her true form almost made up for the irritation of having to chase those stupid humans all the way to the port. Did those humans really think they could escape from her island? From her?

If Pearl’s stomach wasn’t rumbling from the chase through the forest and the streets, then maybe she’d have felt a small ounce of pity. Just a little.

She burst up from the waves, letting out a glorious shriek as the storm sang in her. Violent winds brushed her sides, the storm growing stronger with her presence in it.

Then she turned her eyes towards the ships scattered across her bay. 

So these irritating hunters thought they could escape in a crowd? Not a chance.

She didn’t know which belonged to those humans, since none of the ships had turned on their offensive growling machinery, but she’d find them eventually. She always did.

Pearl dove under the waves and swam to the nearest large ship, snatching it from the surface of the water and crushing it in her grip. She stared at the ship with fire in her eyes as her fingers dug into the wood and metal, the loud creaks and screeches of steel echoing. The ship crumbled into nothing but a mess as she dragged it under water. But-

There were no humans.

There were no flailing, wretched creatures struggling in the water. 

Pearl raked her gaze over the ships scattered across her bay, all the sails down and none of the growling machinery grating at her ears. So they’d cut all the ships loose as a distraction? Clever… but ultimately useless. 

Pearl swung her tail around and toppled three empty ships with a mighty wave. She grinned. So useless. 

She slammed her fists down on another of the ships, tall waves flying out as more of those stupid wooden eyesores sank with the water. 

She didn’t know how many ships she destroyed, but what was most important was that there were no humans in any of them.

Before Pearl could scream out in frustration, she caught a glimpse of Hunter’s dorsal fin slinking through the waves, near the rock forest.

Pearl dove under the water.

She swam up to Hunter, but the other prince paid her no mind, keeping her gaze focused. Fixated. Stalking.

Pearl knew better than to interrupt her. 

She watched as Hunter swerved through the rocks, a feat she couldn’t do, and stopped before sneaking through the gaps. Hunter turned to look at Pearl, her gaze sharp. Hunter somehow always knew if she was being followed… though, she was the best at hunting out of all of them.

Hunter glanced away from Pearl, but tilted her head and swam through the gap.  

The pests were this way, were they?

But how did they get to the rocks so soon…?

Whatever.

As soon as Hunter’s tail disappeared through the rocks, Pearl burst out of the water. 

One of her hands slammed down on the stone spire, gripping the rock to hoist herself above the water as the rain grew more and more violent. She surveyed the narrow channels of water below, straining her ears to listen for any growling machinery that those hunters tended to use.

She couldn’t hear the machine, but she saw something instead.

Bright white clashing against a light brown– sails on a ship. 

There you are.

Pearl climbed over the rocks, trailing the hunters as they attempted to flee. The rumble and crash of thunder and lightning only fueled her hunger as she slammed her legs into the rocks around her, throwing herself over them and towards the ship. She chuckled to herself as the ship swerved around the rock spires desperately, trying to outrun someone who couldn’t be outran.

They couldn’t play this game forever though. Pearl was getting hungrier by the second.

Pearl narrowed her eyes at the small stream the hunting ship was on. There was no way she could get in the water- she’d only end up either trapping or hurting herself- and she couldn’t let the hunters slip through the rocks!

She looked to the side and saw a hefty looking rock spire leaning at a precarious angle. An idea sparked in her mind, and she started pushing the rock spires down, creating a bigger space for herself. No human would leave this island alive, Pearl would make sure of it.

She toppled more of the rock spires over, leaning over to watch as the ship continued to move through them, slipping under an overhang so she couldn’t see it anymore. They were still moving?! Pearl growled. They wouldn’t be moving for too much longer.

A quick snack would be just fine. The satisfaction of destroying these humans in particular would outweigh any satisfaction of her stomach.

The rock spires were moved just enough for Pearl to squeeze herself in. She couldn’t fully submerge herself, but that was fine. She wanted to get this done and over with, anyway.

Those hunters were trouble enough. Their stupid schemes, their outright insulting attacks on her, and….

Pearl growled, the thought too infuriating to deal with currently. But she shook her head and took in a deep breath, a vicious smile plastered over her face.

“Come out, little ones!” 

Her throat always felt so sore after forcing this form to speak in human tongue, but it was worth it.

Humans had to learn their place in the ocean, after all.

Pearl sniffed the air, attempting to smell the foul stench of humans or the repulsive scent of their machines. She couldn’t smell much other than the seawater and rain, but she knew they had to be around here somewhere.

She lowered her head, scanning the waters for anything out of place. Something bright and white, something dark and brown, or even the faintest sound of a human’s squeal.

Then, she smelled something.

A murderous grin crept up her face as she slunk lower, prowling over the water’s surface as she crept up to one of the crevices. The faint smell of human began to linger in the air as she grew closer and closer, her hands twitching in anticipation. 

There, beyond the small waterfall, Pearl could smell something foul.

She dipped her head, pressing it against the rocks as she breathed. 

She could smell the stench of humans beyond the water.

“Hunters don’t belong here.” She whispered, though she was sure that no matter how low she spoke she still sounded loud and overwhelming.

Pearl lowered her arm under the water, slowly reaching for the ship from the depths. She could feel the tips of her fingers touch the cold wood and–

“PEARL!” 

Pearl quickly jerked back at the sound of her name being called in the distance.

Who–

“Pearl!” the voice shouted again. “Where are you?!”

Pearl froze as she registered the voice. Chromia. He was awake. And he was looking for her. He sounded… panicked-?

Pearl’s fins flicked as she glanced between the waterfall and where she’d heard Chromia’s voice come from. The humans were right there, maybe she could snatch it before–

“I need you, Pearl!”

Hunter was still around, she could deal with the humans. She still had to be stalking them. Pearl was actually a little surprised that she’d gotten to them first.

“I’m in the rock spires!” Pearl shouted back, lifting her body from her crouching position, “I’ll come to you!”

Make it quick, Hunter.

Pearl hoisted herself out of the water again, climbing over the rock spires until she could slip back into deeper waters. She was out for just a moment, but the feeling of entering the chill waters always gave her a shiver of comfort.

She looked around the dark waters, trying to spot something colorful in all the murky blues. As soon as she saw the glimpse of her friend’s serpentine tail, she swam forward hurriedly.

“Chromia!” Pearl swam in front of her friend, worry written all over her face. “Chromia, I’m here, what’s wrong?”

Chromia blinked when he saw her, tilting his head with his red fins flicking in the water. He had sounded so worried earlier, but Pearl noticed the small, cheery smile of his tugging at the side of his face. 

He… looked fine. 

When he was panicking, the stripes on his body would pulse a million colors a second, and his long tail would thrash around left and right, hitting whatever was nearby. But Chromia looked as relaxed as ever, his coral orange and cerulean blue eyes looking at her like everything was alright. 

Chromia bumped his head against Pearl’s affectionately, locking their crowns for a short moment before he moved away. “Nothing’s wrong,” he said nonchalantly. He pushed his hands in front of Pearl, her mind only just now registering the screecher carcass in his hands. Pearl could see the clear bite mark on the screecher’s neck, its long tail curled in on itself. “I just thought it’d be good if I caught you breakfast.”

Screechers were a filling meal, but did Chromia really need to get food for her?

“I was in the middle of catching my own food,” Pearl grumbled, but took the carcass from him anyway, “you didn’t need to do it for me.”

“Well I just thought I'd take advantage of the storm to do some hunting,” Chromia shrugged, “and I just happened to catch enough for you too....”

“But I didn’t cause it this time.”

“Maybe Hunter did?”

Pearl shook her head. “No, she and I went out around the same time.” She glanced back at the rocky waters, her eyes narrowed and her voice became a low hiss. “She wanted to play human a little longer.”

Hunter had wanted to play longer than Pearl had expected her to. Something about seeing her friend in the midst of all those annoying humans bothered her so much. It was the same thing that it was with Chromia, but…

She wanted those humans dead immediately. A more than annoying swarm of humans coming to not only ruin her day, but get friendly with Hunter and become parasitic with Chromia.

“And what’s wrong with that?” Chromia’s voice snapped Pearl out of her thoughts.

Right. Chromia played the long game when it came to humans too.

Though, as far as she knew, he was only studying those things rather than just… eating them outright.

That part always confused her. 

But she knew better than to question her best friend. He was still Chromia. He was still… sensitive.

“...Nothing, I suppose,” Pearl relented, “just a bad mood. I am hungry. Thanks for the food.” She hesitated before biting into it, savoring the taste of the screecher as she chewed and swallowed. She could feel the groans in her gut lessen as she filled her stomach.

“It’s no big deal,” Chromia shrugged as he watched her eat, “I hope your bad mood goes away with some food, then. Have you not eaten yet?”

Pearl looked up at Chromia. “No, I’ve been… busy,” she sighed before taking another bite. “Running around an island can be exhausting.”

“The atmosphere is pretty dreadful, too,” Chromia snarked, crossing his arms. He looked a little unimpressed as he tilted his head to his side. “The flowers are growing well, at least.”

“I’ve been doing my best to keep those alive,” Pearl said quietly, “Those were your gifts, after all.”

They were one of the first gifts given to Pearl when she first tried getting used to her human form. Chromia had talked about the pretty flowers that grew only on land, so small and delicate compared to the huge coral spires and reefs she was used to seeing with him. They were like little sprouts of coral, only they couldn’t grow past the size of Pearl’s human palm. There were always small anemones and corals around, of course, but those didn’t feel as dainty as the flowers he could grow on land.

All the colors seemed to go on the small things while all the bigger plants were just greens and browns. Supposedly the colors could change from green to orange, but Pearl had never seen it. It was incredibly dull.

“And it seems like I need to give you more of them,” Chromia hummed playfully, “more color can make the island a lot prettier to look at.”

Pearl rolled her eyes and pushed Chromia away with a smile. “I like to think the forest is a little pretty…,” she chuckled. “I can’t make anything as colorful as your reefs, Chromia.”

“I’m not saying you have to,” Chromia shrugged, then his eyes widened as a thought came into mind. “But… if you want… I could teach you how to grow them properly.” He smiled, and Pearl felt a smile creeping onto her own face in response.

“I’d like that.”

They enjoyed the small silence, listening to the swift waves overhead and the faint thunder far above them. Pearl finished the screecher in a few more bites, patting her stomach with a relieved sigh.

“We could head up and start now, if you’d like,” Chromia glanced up at the surface then back at Pearl. “I don’t think any humans on your island will come out in the next few hours.”

“Yeah,” Pearl agreed, “Oh wait–!” Her eyes widened. Humans. Right. She almost forgot about them. “Hunter was off doing some… hunting. I think we should wait for her.”

“You don’t have to.”

Almost as if on cue, Hunter swam up to them with an eerily calm look to her. 

Hunter’s name described her perfectly, if Pearl was being honest. She excelled in hunts and would often make light competition with the other princes just to rob them of their victories with her stealthy abilities. In contrast to Chromia’s multitude of colors and Pearl’s bright red carapace, Hunter was a sleek black and white, the only bright parts to her being the pink cloth around her chest and her pink eyes. She also had a bit of fun decorating herself- adorning a spiky collar and bracelets of ships she took down with pride. Her claws were an obsidian black, like Pearl’s crown, with smooth black skin extending to her forearms where knife sharp fins curved over her elbows.

Hunter glanced behind herself, looking at the distant rocks for a short moment, then looked forward and dipped her head in greeting. “Chromia, glad to see you awake.”

“Hunter! How are you?” Chromia gave Hunter a small hug. Pearl swam back a little for Hunter to give Chromia a hug back. Pearl did not want to get a cut from those elbow fins of hers. 

“Sorry I caught you napping earlier,” Hunter patted Chromia’s back and broke the hug. “But I’m doing fine. A little tired, but that’s it.”

“How goes the hunting?” Pearl asked. Hunter met Pearl’s gaze and tilted her head, as if thinking about what to say next.

“...It went alright,” Hunter said after a long pause, “nothing for either of you to worry about.”

Pearl wasn’t exactly sure how to feel about that answer, but if those humans were dead, they were dead. It was probably why Hunter was so casual about it in the first place. Though it did feel a little interesting, as Hunter spent quite a bit of time with those humans recently.

And those humans shouldn’t be regarded as anything more than snacks.

“What were you two hunting, anyway?” Chromia asked, tilting his head in curiosity. “It must’ve been a pretty tricky beast if you had to go into the rock forest.…”

Pearl froze up.

Chromia couldn’t know what happened. He couldn’t know Pearl was after his humans– he probably didn’t know they tried to escape! He’d been asleep for the past few hours, save for the time he stopped her from killing one of them. That was embarrassing.

Gods, it would’ve been so much easier if those humans had stayed put on the island until she had the chance to hunt them all down. No more annoying hunting. No more irritating boasts. Plus, Pearl could deal with them, keep them away from Chromia. None of them could put their sick little ideas in her best friend’s head.

Especially that blonde one.

“It was one of those crawling things,” Hunter spoke up rather quickly, probably attempting to hide the truth along with Pearl. Pearl internally sighed in relief. At least she wouldn’t be alone. “...I forget the name.”

“You’re sure?” Chromia asked, an oddly knowing smirk tugging on his lips. “I didn’t see any on my way here….”

“I’m sure, but they’re easy to miss in the rocks, and you know Pearl is pretty bad at catching those things.”

Pearl froze as a small giggle escaped Chromia, his tail swishing back and forth as he attempted to hide his amusement.

Pearl rolled her eyes. That seemed to get Chromia off their tails, but did Hunter really need to embarrass her like that? “Very funny, Hunter.” 

“Just be glad I caught it. Those things can multiply and ruin an ecosystem so quickly,” Hunter snarked. And in came all the gloating. If there was one thing Pearl couldn’t stand about her, it was that. “I mean, seriously, why even have all those rocks if you can’t even fit in them? It’s like you’re asking to get yourself trapped like a beached–”

“Hunter.” Chromia hissed, the tip of his tail twitching in agitation.

Hunter swam back a little, smiling awkwardly as she lowered her shoulders. “Sorry, sorry. I got a bit too prideful there,” she scratched the back of her neck. “I’m just so glad to be me again.”

“How long has it been since you’ve been in your true form?”

“Days,” Hunter replied wearily. “You wouldn’t believe how much I wished for a storm to break so badly, I missed the feeling of seawater on me.”

Chromia nodded in agreement. “I missed it too.” He looked at his body with an almost nostalgic look on his face that made Pearl’s heart feel soft. He was home. This was his home. “Though… there’s something coming up soon that I wanted to go to.” He looked away, wringing his hands as Pearl narrowed her eyes.

“Another one of your playdates?” Pearl asked, attempting to hide her discontentment, since she knew what he used that tone for.

“There’s a festival Warden and I were planning on going to,” Chromia smiled sheepishly. He looked at Hunter and tilted his head. “She’s also wondering if you wanted to go or not, Hunter.”

“Gods, yes!” Hunter exclaimed gleefully. “I haven’t seen her in weeks!”

“You’re going too…?” Pearl muttered, sounding a little more bitter than she wanted to.

“Why would I say no to spending some time with my girlfriend?” Hunter replied immediately, her fins actively twitching in excitement. “We have so much catching up to do!”

Hunter giggled to herself, seemingly losing the ability to keep still as she thought about her girlfriend. It seemed nice to have someone that you adored so much, and someone that you adored right back.

Sure, she had Chromia, but they were… different.

Chromia smiled brightly at Hunter’s enthusiasm, but it dropped when he locked eyes with Pearl. Pearl bit her lip, feeling a sudden and unnerving chill in the ocean. Then Chromia tapped her shoulder, his soft hands causing her to flinch. 

“...Pearl, I’m not asking you to go,” Chromia said softly, sweetly. “I understand how you feel about humans. You can stay in the sea. I’ll be fine.”

“What if you get hurt?” Pearl winced at how low and pained she sounded, unable to look at him. She could feel his gaze on her, the familiar reassuring smile on his face that she knew too well. She hovered her hand over her scar, the ugly mark on her face that was caused by those… creatures.

“Hunter and Warden will be with me, won’t they?” Chromia moved closer, his arms slowly wrapping around Pearl’s neck. “And who knows, Sanctuary and Parrot might turn up too.”

“That’s making me feel worse, Chro.”

Chromia paused for a moment, fins flicking in thought. Finally, he sighed. “I still come back to see you every few months, don’t I?” Pearl looked at him, seeing the look of wonder and love in his eyes that she adored so much. It hurt to know he’d be leaving so soon. “This won’t be any different. I just…,” his eyes shifted around, then he looked back at Pearl. “I just want to see what their festivals are like! I always miss them!”

What’s there to see on a human island, anyway? Pearl had this island, and apart from the humans that plagued it, there was nothing special to see. She knew Chromia’s island had a lot more people and a lot more irritating noise– she couldn’t imagine being there and tolerating it for so long. She preferred the serene silence of the ocean, not some loud human ritual.

It hurt that she wanted to go, she wanted to be with her friends, but it hurt to leave the sea. She’d get hurt. She’d been hurt. 

Was it really worth going up there?

“...Do you want to go, Pearl?”

Chromia asked so nicely, so warmly, so much so she would have let him stab her with his crown if he asked. She knew he wouldn’t, though. 

Pearl felt her heart twist under Chromia’s gentle gaze.

If Chromia and the others were planning on being in one place together, something could happen– something would happen. She needed to be there. Maybe she couldn’t be in the- the festival with them, but she needed to make sure they were all safe.

She needed to make sure Chromia was safe.

Humans don’t deserve him.

“No,” Pearl lied, trying not to break her composure. “I’d rather be here, where we’re meant to be.”

Chromia looked… sad. It was like he’d wanted her to say yes. It was like he wanted her to go with him, to let him show her what good there was in the human world. 

But he was wrong. And that meant she had to lie to keep him safe.

“Alright, if that’s what you want….” Chromia bit his lip, holding back a sigh. Pearl felt her heart drop at that, then flinched when Chromia reached forward, fully wrapping his arms around Pearl to give her a warm hug. “I love you, Pearl. You’re my best friend. You always will be.” He rested his head on Pearl’s shoulder, fully allowing himself to release the tension in his shoulders.

Pearl’s hands trembled as she hugged him back, feeling awful, like it was the last time she’d hold him so close to her heart.

“I love you too, Chromia.”

[lets-try-some-writing]

Just a thought here but since alpha trion adopted optimus when he was Orion what would be the other original 13 (dead or alive) reactions to having a nephew?

Assuming this is set in a universe where Optimus isn't the Thirteenth, this will be interesting indeed.

A New Prime?

Alpha Trion had exactly one function, that being to serve as Primus's recorder and prophesier. He was to watch, he was to quietly direct the flow of events, and he was to wait for the day when it would come time for his brother to make his return. That was his purpose, and he was content in it.

However one stormy night, things changed.

Alpha Trion hardly left his archives, but when he did it was always with purpose. He never expected for a storm to blow in and viciously tear across Cybertron's surface. He was forced to abandon his task and seek shelter in among the towering spires that made up Cybertron's wilds. There he waited out the acidic rains and the howling winds that made even the largest mecha struggle. It was unexpected, but it was a momentary setback in his mind... right up until as if sent by some sort of divine power, a young mech emerged from the foliage.

Even though his huge optics and the remnant sensory panels lining his helm spoke of the mech hardly being a vorn into younglinghood, he was large for his age, coming up to roughly Alpha Trion's waist. His frame was slim and heavily armored, his denta were sharp and fanged, and he had claws deadly enough to shred most creatures adorning his digits. He was a dull gray, but his optics were so wide, so full of life. However most notably was the face that the mech had a face and an aura that caused Alpha Trion to pause in consideration.

He looked exactly like Thirteen. He wasn't Thirteen, his spark was too youthful and didn't possess the same touch of ancient power, but Alpha Trion knew him for what he was. This mech was meant to be Thirteen's vessel, his chosen child meant to house him when the time was right. That was all Alpha Trion needed to know to have a good reason to collect the mech and begin dragging him back to Iacon even as he snarled and flailed like a wild animal.

He brought the mech back to his archives and didn't hesitate to begin taming the wild youngling. It was not easy by any means though.

The youngling who he affectionately named Orion Pax was nothing short of a monstrosity. He was downright feral in every aspect and even with the Covenant offering slight insight into the future it didn't make managing him any easier. Orion needed to be kept away from others for over a vorn while Alpha Trion training him out of chewing on everything. He needed to get Orion some frame alterations to make him more presentable and he more often than not emerged from meeting with Orion covered in claw marks and bites. It was even harder trying to convince the youngling to consume his energon in a civil manner and not eat it like an animal. He was covered in energon more times than he cared to admit as he tried to assist Orion in figuring out how things worked.

It was tiring and all the kept Alpha Trion going was the promise of his brother's return in the frame of the youngling some day. He just needed to make sure the youngling was worthy and then when the time was right, the Matrix could be given and Thirteen could take control. That was the plan, that was all it was. There was no reason to care more than necessary for the feral little thing. He needed to ensure the youngling was educated in all that was related to their history and skilled in all matter of things so that Thirteen could absorb those abilities when it came time. He was not required to be loving or affectionate.

But as with all things, time took its toll and eventually Orion began to calm while at the same time Alpha Trion got attached. It started small, that with Orion uttering his first garbled glyphs in the old tongue as Alpha Trion had taught him. It warmed something in his spark to have Orion call out his designation in a staticky mess alongside hisses and whistles. He found it... endearing. Even as he worked to correct Orion's speech and help him adapt to better speak the old tongue and then later the modern, he always loved the little calls of "Sire" Orion was so fond of crying out to him once the youngling learned the meaning of the word.

He tried to tell the youngling that he wasn't his Sire, but Alpha Trion's spark thought otherwise as a fledgling bond between Orion and him formed. The youngling, as soon as he was somewhat civil, followed Alpha Trion everywhere. Like a loyal guardian he would stay as close as possible, often clinging to Alpha Trion's cape and growling at any who came too near. He was dutiful, watching and keeping an optic out for threats at all times. It was honestly adorable considering his size and his wide optics. He thankfully never attacked anyone, he would always listen to Alpha Trion in that regard.

Of course then Orion had to go and show himself to be curious and only get Alpha Trion more invested in the youngling. He always peeked over Alpha Trion's shoulder when he was reading with little wonderings of "What that Sire?" and so on. Eventually Alpha Trion had no choice but to begin teaching Orion reading and writing, a set of lessons that managed to civilize Orion more than simple instructions did. The youngling was quick to read and write, learning every dialect and sub-class of language in record time. His ability to speak skyrocketed and before Alpha Trion knew it, he saw the youngling as his sparkling more than a ward, especially as he began speaking clearly and expressing greater interest in the archives.

Many a cycle was spent with Orion buried in datapads discussing the past and going over history together. Those were good times, filled with smiles and eager enthusiasm. Alpha Trion grew to truly love his sparkling as Orion grew in knowledge and showed himself to be just like Thirteen in mentality. He was kind, he was soft-sparked, he was intelligent, empathetic, dutiful, and so much more. Thus when Orion was grown and the time came to take him to receive the Matrix.... Alpha Trion waited. He told himself it was because Orion wasn't ready, that he needed further training. As such he sent Orion on trips to study, had him dig into old mysteries, anything to keep him learning and working.

He practically threw Orion down to the pits to get him working with Megatronus and very nearly forced Orion to go meet with Ratchet to learn from him. Perhaps a Prime wouldn't even be needed if his sparkling could stop things before they grew to large... at least that was his hope. He missed his brother, yes. But Orion... Orion was his sparkling who he had raised and forged into the mech he was. He knew based on how he had raised Orion that if asked the mech would gladly give himself to the Matrix and Thirteen. However Alpha Trion didn't want to lose the one good thing he had gained since his brothers scattered.

He tried. He tried so hard to keep it from happening, but with how Cybertron was deteriorating... they needed a Prime. Alpha Trion hated every moment when he took Orion a day before his meeting with the high council and dragged him to Primus's core. He hated himself when Orion screamed out for him as the Matrix was offered. He hated how cruel it all was when his dear and precious sparkling was left to fade away, his spark locked within the Matrix so that Thirteen could take his place.

However, Thirteen never took control. He could sense his brother was within Orion's frame, but Thirteen did nothing, merely pulsing within the Matrix in curiosity. Orion, or rather Optimus was confused but took to his position well. Unbeknownst to the living, the Primes were conflicted and joyous at the same time.

When Thirteen connected to his chosen vessel, the first thing he sensed was the mech's connection to Alpha Trion. It startled him so much that he did not try to force control over the frame offered to him. He instead sat back within the Matrix, watching as the youngling who had been modeled after him fulfilled the purpose set before him without Thirteen even needing to be involved. This one was loved, this one was deeply connected to his brother. Thirteen could never in good conscience ever take his brother's only sparkling from him. Thus he instead opted to serve as a guide, directing Optimus and offering him the wisdom within the Matrix as needed. He was there to bear the brunt of the woes Optimus experienced and he came to quickly care deeply for the youngling.

Optimus was pure, Optimus was just like him. His new Prime was loved, he was kind, he was everything Thirteen was and more. Thirteen didn't need to take control, Alpha Trion had raised Optimus so well it was unnecessary. Instead he came to care for Optimus, watching and guiding as a mentor. He couldn't leave his nephew alone after all.

Solus from within the realm of the Primes did a complete double take when she saw the one Alpha Trion had taken as his own through the Matrix. Her first instinct was to call slag on it, Alpha Trion didn't care for others like that. However upon seeing Optimus she conceded and agreed that Optimus was indeed worthy of her brother's affection. Thus when possible she would speak through the Matrix to Optimus, smothering him in affection through emotional waves. He was so sweet and lovely, a baby Prime indeed. He needed an Aunt there to play a more maternal role throughout everything. She would gladly take on that role.

Prima was skeptical of the new Prime, but those worries disappeared when he saw Alpha Trion of all mecha care for the newly named Optimus Prime. He was marveled even more when Thirteen didn't try to take control of the new Prime and instead served as a guide. Thus not to be outdone, he joined his brother and his sister in teaching, quickly coming to care for Optimus as well. The baby Prime was young but wise. He embodied everything Prima sought in a true Prime, a perfect leader for the damaged world above.

Vector cared very little for the birth of a new Prime. He saw it amidst the push and pull of time that passed him by, however he gave it little thought. If nothing else, Optimus was a chance for Alpha Trion to grow and for Cybertron to change. However he was just one spark among a sea of others, not worth too much attention in the grand scheme of things.

Micronus was confused above all else when it came to Optimus. Why was Thirteen not taking control? Optimus wouldn't fight back, he was too good for that. If he believed it to be for the greater good, he would gladly give himself willingly. So why wait? Why not take what was offered and fix things? Micronus got his answer when he decided to watch the newest Prime and saw how much Alpha Trion cared and how he very nearly cried when Optimus was not locked away and instead allowed to continue living. He did not love Optimus, but he saw how much he meant to Alpha Trion and thus endeavored to teach if only so that Optimus could fulfill his duties.

Alchemist for his part knew about Orion long before he was a Prime and quietly supported Alpha Trion from afar. He was pleased that his most isolated brother aside from the fallen was finally getting some interaction. He was also so very pleased when Orion began wandering to his bar once he got older. Alchemist was perfectly happy to offer Orion some low charged drinks on exchange for a few stories. Orion was such a sweet young mech, he was perfectly content to be a kind listening audial and an uncle to the little mech Trion loved so much. He still remained at his bar offering drinks when Orion became the Prime, nothing changes about how he treated him and Optimus appreciated it.

Nexus had optics everywhere with so many of his component parts running around. He was well aware of Orion and played a role in getting him from point A to point B. He thought it was great fun luring Orion into new situations to try and get the youngling to have fun. He also tended to keep close watch on his nephew at Alpha Trion's behest. Orion was a good mech, but he got himself into all sorts of trouble, especially after becoming Prime. He didn't like intervening too much, but if only to calm his brother, he would drop in at times to make things happen. Optimus never knew it was him, but Nexus knew Optimus and he was fond of the little Prime. Still so very young and worth protecting.

Onyx Prime was not enraptured with Optimus once he claimed the Matrix at first. It took him time to determine Optimus's worth, but once he did, he was willing to offer much needed spiritual guidance. Thirteen offered wisdom, Solus offered love, Micronus offered wits, Prima offered skill, and Onyx brought his understanding of sparks to the table. He was there to direct Optimus to places of interest and helped to protect him from the EM attacks of others that could rattle his spark. The young Prime needed guidance, it wouldn't do to sit back and watch while Optimus dealt with the fallout of millennia of abuse and corruption alone.

Amalgamous thought Optimus was the best thing since processed energon the moment he saw him from within the Matrix. He was just so very pure and so hopeful. Amalgamous adored that about him and was so very pleased when Optimus allowed himself to enjoy life a little bit. Where other Primes guided Optimus to perform better, Amalgamous preferred to instead convince Optimus to rest and relax, to take care of himself after long days. He was also there to feed the little Prime good memories and happy feelings after everything. Optimus needed joy just as much as he needed everything else. And Amalgamous couldn't possible leave his dear nephew to wallow could he?

Quintus for his part didn't care much for Optimus. He preferred creating over watching growth. He would offer bits and pieces of knowledge and come forward to watch when something of interest happened, but beyond that he was content to remain largely uninvolved. Although when Optimus deviated too hard, he would fight bitterly to force Optimus back onto track. It got him scoldings from all his siblings, but to Quintus it was worth it. Sometimes young Primes needed reminders of why they fought. Being allowed only support could lead to imperfections.

Liege was for his part denied any and all access to Optimus when possible. The Primes didn't trust him, they didn't want him whispering lies and other cruel things into their baby Prime and nephew's audials. Thus they fought bitterly to keep him away, however even with their efforts there were times where his influence managed to sneak through. He was not a kind mech, but he did care for his kin to a degree. When he was allowed access, he guided Optimus on how best to use his words to manipulate in quiet ways. He always whispered sweetly, never too loudly and never too boldly. He always made sure to sound as though he were loving and caring, and often, much to his glee, Optimus took his advice.

Then there was the Fallen. Simply put, he felt the shift around him as a new Prime was born, but other than that he knew nothing. He was temped to return to Cybertron to greet his newest brother, but he abstained. It wasn't his place, not after all he had done.

[mousetoe-wc]

I Got bored one time awhile ago and made a list of every prefix plus some into organised sections so I thought I might as well share.

All the ones that aren’t cannon to warriors, yet at lest are bold

Describing names

Colours: red, russet, copper, golden, amber, yellow, green, blue, violet, pink, white, gray, black, ebony, dark, pale, silver, brown, tawny, fallow

Pattern, Texture + Size: spot/ted, dapple, speckle, freckle, brindle, patch, mottle, ragged, tangle, kink, bristle, fuzzy, curl/y, wooly, soft, sleek, little, tiny, small, slight, short, tall, long, big, heavy, crooked, broken, half, stumpy, shred, torn, jagged

Actions + Character: flip, pounce, bounce, jump, hop, crouch, down, low, drift, flail, strike, running, fidget, mumble, whistle, snap, sneeze, shiver/ing, shining, flutter, fallen, lost, rush, fleet, quick, shy, sweet, brave, loud, quiet, wild, hope, wish,

Other: claw, whisker, dead, odd, one, spike, fringe, echo, song, hallow, haven

Elements

Time + Weather: day, night, dusk, dawn, morning, sky, sun/ny, moon, storm, lightning, thunder, cloud/y, mist/y, fog, snow, blizzard, ice, frost, dew, drizzle, rain, clear, wind, breeze, gale, shadow, shade, bright, light,

Earth/Water/Fire names: stone, rock, boulder, slate, flint, pebble, gravel, sand/y, dust, mud/dy, meadow, hill, rubble, river, ripple, whorl, float, rapid, shimmer, lake, swamp, marsh, wave, wet, bubbling, splash, puddle, pool, creek, fire, flame, flicker, flash, blaze, scorch, ember, spark, ash, soot, cinder, smoke

Plants

Trees: alder, aspen, birch, beech, cedar, cypress, pine, elm, willow, oak, larch, maple, bay, rowan, timber, bark, log, wood, twig, acorn, cone, seed, spire

Berry/Nut/Fruit/Herb: juniper, elder, sloe, holly, yew, mistle, bramble, hickory, hazel, chestnut, nut, apple, cherry, cranberry, olive, pear, plum, peach, chive, mint, fennel, sage, basil, mallow, parsley

Flowers: aster, poppy, primrose, rose, bluebell, marigold, tansy, pansy, briar, cherry, daisy, dandelion, daffodil, tulip, violet, lily, myrtle, thrift, yarrow, heather, lavender, blossom, bloom, flower, petal

Other: leaf, frond, fern, bracken, sorrel, hay, rye, oat, wheat, cotton, reed, pod, cinnamon, milkweed, grass, clover, weed, stem, sedge, gorse, furze, flax, nettle, thistle, ivy, moss, lichen, bush, vine, root, thorn, prickle, nectar

Animals

Mammals: mouse, rat, mole, vole, shrew, squirrel, hedgehog, bat, rabbit, hare, ferret, weasel, stoat, mink, marten, otter, hog, wolf, hound, fox, vixen, badger, deer, doe, stag, fawn, sheep, cow, pig, lion, tiger, leopard, lynx, milk

Birds: robin, jay, cardinal, thrush, sparrow, swallow, shrike, starling, rook, swift, dove, pigeon, crow, raven, duck, goose, heron, wren, finch, swan, stork, quail, gull, lark, owl, eagle, hawk, kestrel, buzzard, kite, hoot, feather, bird, egg, talon

Fish, Reptiles + Amphibians: pike, perch, pollack, trout, tench, cod, carp, bass, bream, eel, minnow, fin, snake, adder, lizard, turtle, frog, toad, newt

Bug type Names: bug, lady or ladybug, moth, spider, ant, snail, slug, beetle, bee, wasp, dragon or dragonfly, bumble, worm, maggot, cricket, fly, midge, web, honey

Skyclan + Warriorclan: Bella, Billy, Big, Harry, Harvey, Snook, Ebony, Monkey

[belowzion]

Adam and Why I Felt His Character Disappointing

Sooo, I have watched the first two episodes of Hazbin Hotel! While I did really enjoy Status Quo (The song, the fact that Vox loses his first match against Alastor in the show is quite sad.) the rest of the show, I had a lot of problems. Especially the way they handled Adam.

(Look at this lil' shid.)

The dude-bro thing is just too much. It feels like his entire character is just Mammon but Angel.

Now, I've been working on rewrites for months now, slowly turning it into my own piece of fiction. Funnily enough, me and Vivzie had the same idea of taking from Paradise Falls. I feel like the book is great and can have many different ways of interpreting it. However, I am not here to talk about Lucifer, so lets instead get back to Adam.

So, let me tell you all about Adam in Below Zion and how he is in a bit of an odd spot considering Angels...:

Adam is in his luxury spire, pacing around, phone in hand, another hand flailing, disappointment, sadness and anger is felt in the presence of his holy living room.

"You hold the keys to the Well of Souls, you lead an army of an entirely new species of Angels! And you're letting these absolute nutjobs beat you!? Adam, come on! You're better than that! I mean for fuck sake man, you have the name of the first human! He got like... 100 percent of woman in his time!"

"Good on him, but i have 0 percent. I'm telling you, there's something wrong with women. They Never go for a nice guy like me, only for douchebags who probably don't even treat them right!"

"Well, Adam. Do tell me… how would YOU treat your woman?" "Well, i treat M'lady like a queen, of course! They don't know how good they would have it with me!"

"... M'lady...M'lady? Adam... you don't treat woman like... oh my... Mrghhh! Look, this is the third time this week. Why don't you just come over to me and... we'll talk bro to bro. How does that sound, hm?"

"...I don't know what you have, the Virtuosos (opposite of sinner, worships angels despite flaws) tell me it's Top gentemanly behavior of the century. And yes... I'd love that. I'm coming. And i'm bringing my emotional support Lute."

"... Just... just come over here and we'll fix you up... or attempt to at least..." Adam sighs, and hangs up. Lute comes out of Adams room with a suggestive smile, like she always does.

"Mmm, we're visiting Master Lucifer, sir?"

"We are, my dear Lute."

He says, kissing her forehead.

"Just a trip for a talk between bros. Sounds lovely, doesn't it?"

"Indeed, sir... Would you like me to transform?"

"That would be preferable for the way... yes. Makes getting out of town easier."

She nods... and folds into a brilliant lute! And then... Adam is off... taking flight to meet with Lucy...

Adam is an agent of Lucifer whom is... okay, lets not beat around the bush here. He is an incel. The odd thing here is that, Exterminators are an unofficial branch of Heavens military. So unofficial that even Arch-Angels don't know about them. They are robotic angels, made by Lucifer and a dear friend of his, trained and maintained by Adam. Adam is also not the leader of the Angels. He works at a very high position, that being that he guards the Well of Souls that leads to the conjuration of all the souls on Earth. All Exterminators are made for Lucifer and Adam. The marks on their eyes are the Mark of Lucifer. They belong to him. They do whatever HE wants.

This makes Adams girlfriend a robot.

He has an AI girlfriend.

He objectifies women to no end.

He is also very good at his job as being Lucifers mole in Heaven. While Sinners do pacts with each other, Adam allows Lucifer to have a foothold in Heaven, years after he got kicked out...

Adam is in his luxury spire, sitting at his computer, with a plate of pretzels on the desk, phone in hand, screaming wildly to it!

"What you're suggesting is ABSOLUTELY ludicrous! I will have NONE of it! You will deal with the Brightwing family until next week or I'll make sure to put that pact to good use!"

From the phone, a rather paniced individual speaks!

"Hah, BITCH! You think you have any say in here!? Killing the guys children- what don't tell me YOU have any children!? You do?! Well, uh, thats the thing! Noooot anymore you don't! I'll see you again soooooon~

The other angel on the phone seems to speak in an extremely agitated and afraid tone! Pleading!

"Oh! Changed your mind have you!? Great, GREAT! NOW! I got the whole thing planned out for you, so YOU can't mess this up! Sending you the docs. DON'T. MESS. THIS. UP! BYE, ASSHOLE!"

He hangs up and grins triumphantly…

He continues to deal with the usual fluff. Lucifers extend into heavens business. Angels need a good amount of convincing to stay in line sometimes, but it's good work, and… dare he say it, fun~ With how he feels life is treating him, it feels Great to be able to make the lives of others even worse. It having such a positive impact on the work of his best bud is of course a wonderful bonus!

He is a lonely asshole that lives off of the misery of others and finds purpose in serving someone like Lucifer.

He is a villain, but he is a lot more complicated than just being a dude-bro.

[saberwitch]

Commander Week, Day 4: Elder Dragon

No pic for this one, only warnings.

cw: descriptions of violence, mild gore(?), implied character death.

Captain Elliss was tired. Her back burned, her legs had gone numb, her fingers ached on the triggers of the deck gun. Sweat from the heat and smoke from something burning belowdecks stung her eyes.

She couldn't hear the whine of the gun charging but she could feel it in her bones. There was a sound, a sort of clack-thunk, that meant the gun was ready. It seemed to take a minor eternity for the circuit to complete.

The ship shook and yawed beneath her, and she felt her guts churn. Something struck the side, not close. She felt that in her bones too. Her eyes were locked on the colossal head of the dragon.

No. Not 'the dragon'. Zhaitan. The manifestation of Death itself. It clung to a rocky spire, tattered and gaunt, but it still swatted airships out of the sky like they were nothing more than irritating mosquitos.

Clack-thunk.

She squeezed the triggers, her fingers creaking, and felt the gun throb as it launched a blistering arc of crackling energy at the mass of tentacles coiling out of Zhaitan's mouth. Elliss felt woozy as she realized some of those tongues had heads of their own.

The arc hit, and the dragon flailed, shedding rot like a dirty snowfall. A piece of tentacle spun off, twitching, as it sank into the rancid clouds.

"Right in the kisser," she muttered. The wind shredded her words.

She felt the gun whine, and scanned the deck for the Commander. Found her amid piles of burning ragged flesh, the remains of her minions.

She stood with her legs apart, bared calves flexing and extending with the roll of the ship. Her skirt flapoed behind her; her hair had come loose and waved like a banner. Even from this far away, Elliss could see the taut muscles across her belly sheened with sweat.

Am I...into women? she thought.

"Gods, so not the time, Mel," she said aloud.

Still, the Commander held her gaze. She had both arms thrust out before her, hands curled into claws. Searing gouts of sickly purple-green energy lashed out from her, carving chunks from Zhaitan's hide. She was wreathed in a spectral glow, and Elliss could swear she saw the woman's life force tearing through the clouds to slash Zhaitan apart.

Clack-thunk.

She squeezed the triggers, throwing herself to the left to angle the gun as Zhaitan's horrific maw reared back. The bolt sailed true, right into the center of the writhing tongues. At the same time a dark flare struck the side of its face, and Elliss gave a hoarse cheer as she saw a massive swath of bone and decayed flesh fly free.

Zhaitan screamed with the voice of every dead thing it had ever vomited forth. Elliss broke into a sob as the sound tore into her, wishing she could claw at her own ears, but the Commander had told her to keep shooting, so she was going to keep shooting.

The gun whined.

Elliss stared at the Commander. For just a moment, she saw an outline around her, as of great dark wings, and heard a hoarse cry, like a raven, but a raven the size of Zhaitan. She heard the Commander scream as something ripped out from her, a blast of energy so dark it hurt the eyes.

Clack-thunk.

Elliss fired. The ship shook as though a dozen bodies had struck the deck. The arc from the gun and the dark energy struck Zhaitan at the same time. It screamed again, but this time the sound was somehow...lesser.

Elliss watched Zhaitan's scythe-claws scrape at the rock. It slipped. Ragged wings beat, swirling the clouds and wafting the stench of death over the deck. Where its head had been was now a torn and shattered husk, spewing jets of decay. One baleful milky eye rolled skyward...

And Zhaitan fell.

Its body sank into the clouds, vanishing from sight. Elliss's eyes snapped to the Commander. She saw only her vivid purple gaze, looking right back at her, and could not look away.

Gods, she is beautiful, Elliss thought.

She barely noticed the rotting limbs pulling the shell of the gun to pieces around her, the dead claws scrabbling, yanking her backwards. She didn't feel herself falling. All she could focus on was those eyes. She wanted to drown in them. She was drowning. Gasping, falling, drowning.

And then, darkness.

[justashadetalkative]

Writing Flails

So I’ve been running a DnD campaign set in the Spire for a year or so, and it’s reaching the point where I need to start thinking about the arc that will lead to wrapping it up.

I’m beginning to realize that said conclusion is probably going to need to be having the group discover how to undo or escape the soul binding. That’s what’s going to feel satisfying to this particular group of players; that’s what fits best given the way D&D works as a game + how the campaign has gone so far.

Which is fine! I think I can make that fun, in this little D&D AU.

But it’s also really clarified to me just how much that isn’t part of my focus for the overall arc of the Spire as my own personal story. (No matter what Diamond thinks or hopes. 😂)

In fact, it’d pretty much undermine the whole point of the thing. The things I like to explore with the Spire (not necessarily through RP to be fair) are things like…

What do you do when your mistakes can’t be fixed?

What do you do when you can’t truly cut off all contact with people who have hurt you… and what do you do when you can’t avoid the people you’ve hurt?

What do you do when most people’s needs are met, but you can’t control where you live, or who’s a part of your community?

What do you do when some people’s needs aren’t met, and it’s a strain to try to meet them?

What do you do when there aren’t enough qualified people to cover crucial community needs, and when those who are doing that work are desperately overtaxed?

(So, y’know, pretty real world stuff! Just, as scifi does… putting the questions into a different [or exaggerated] context.)

[krtart]

A list of all the conceptualized Spire characters that I can think of off the top of my head, because why not?

Felidaen

Waehua

Diamond

Valien

Valien’s robots: Millie, Walker, Yzma

Sondra

Phosa

Linast

Clemcy

Space

Ventro

Oranask

Clemcy’s other employees: Meridian, Merlin, Drake, Kaa, unnamed mech

Al’deial (Clemcy’s sister)

Piper

Lis

Brian

Brian’s children: Azi, Tangon, Corglacia, Aquihora

Monanda

Medics: Rainbow, Jaenum, Kilsi, Scarlet, Ruby, unnamed curved spiky back dude, unnamed pterodactyl dude, 2 unnamed moths, Sotoree

Eldraxx

Natay

Unnamed yellow bug dude

The cat family: Nermal, Dotson, Smoke, the unnamed grandmother, Snowball, Shadow, Chip, Smokey (Jr.), Anthony, Stephanie, Mickey, Brownie, Fudgie, probably at least one more I’m forgetting rn

(The cats are descended from Actual House Cats that the Spire mutated, and their naming conventions reflect that 😂)

Juno

The mind sprites: Azizi, Ulstrixi, Zami, Kade, & Tadistix

Atari

Quinia

Atari & Quinia’s kid whose name I’ve forgotten

Dalgiroth

Unnamed goth druid lady

The pseudodragon group (I’ve forgotten their names)

Bodo

Dentolin

Sciathain

The other dragons (red, yellow)

The big skeleton dude

Grim

Grim’s pet

The unnamed ice dude who wrecked Clemcy’s shit

The unnamed iron tiger

[angelasscribbles]

The Dark Kingdom Chapter 1: Escape

Series: The Dark Kingdom

Fandom: The Royal Romance

Pairings: None yet.

Word Count: 1,053

Rating: MA for series just because themes could get darker

Warnings for this chapter: vague mention of abuse

A/N: Esseri is a catch-all term for all humanoid creatures that aren't human (vampires, shifters, demons, etc)

A/N2: Well I was going to wait for Tumblr to unmark my blog as explicit to post but as it turns out, I don't have that kind of patience. I'm really, really annoyed about it, but it doesn't keep me from posting so I'm doing it.

I thought about waiting until I finish Dark Elf but again, ADHD and no patience. Hopefully no one is confused by two different paranormal fics going on at the same time.

My other stuff: Master List.

The girl ran through the night, heedless of her torn gown and bare feet. She was fleeing for her life and there was only one place she could go, only one place no one would dare follow. One place she could disappear into.

The Black Spire Mountains.

The sounds of pursuit faded behind her as she climbed. Jagged shards of rock pierced her hands and feet as she hauled herself painstakingly, but determinedly up the side of the cliff face.

The sound of the royal hounds baying as they gave chase transformed into yelps and whimpers as the dogs drew close to the foothills.

The horses stopped of their own accord, refusing to cross the invisible barrier between the world ruled by men and the one ruled by monsters.

“She couldn’t have gone in there!” The captain of the King’s Guard spat, “No one is that stupid! Fan out! Search the riverbank, the woods, and the old ruins! Find her! Go!”

Hooves clattered as riders scattered in different directions to do their leader’s bidding.

Riley had no idea how long she climbed but finally, she pulled herself over a ledge and collapsed onto the ground, heaving the cool night air into her burning lungs as she gasped for breath.

Something howled in the distance. Werewolves? Dragons? She didn’t know and she didn’t care. The real monsters were down below. She would take her chances with the Esseri.  

When she could draw breath comfortably again, she rose to her feet and took in the sights. The darkness coalesced around her, and thick tendrils of fog obscured her vision. She glanced behind her, shuddering at the steepness of the cliff face she had just scaled. She listened, but the searchers had either moved on or she was too high up to hear them. Either way, she couldn’t go back down so she moved across the plateau, the wet grass soft on her bloody feet, a welcome change after the unforgiving rock.  

She hesitated when she reached the tree line on the other side of the clearing. The moon was obscured behind a cloud, the dark of the woods in front of her was deep and thick. Something moved through the underbrush, the snapping of a branch echoing through the stillness of the night like a shot.

Fear gripped her as she stumbled back away from the edge of the forest. A rabbit darted past. Relief surged through her, followed by a new jolt of fear as she found herself face-to-face with a lynx. The large spotted cat abandoned the rabbit to investigate its new prey. Its ears twitched as it regarded her. She could hear her own heart thundering in her chest as the predator crouched down preparing to pounce. She took a step back steeling herself to turn and run, but before she managed the maneuver, the lynx made a screaming sound as it spun and fled back into the forest.

Her respite was short-lived. A pair of powerful arms grabbed her from behind. A menacing laugh cut through the quiet, “Ohhhh, what have we here!”

“Let me go!” She struggled in his arms, kicking and flailing to no avail.

“Okay!” He released her and she lurched out of his embrace, running for her life back the way she had come. She never saw him move past her, but he was suddenly, inexplicably in front of her, “Boo!”

She whirled and ran back the other way, crashing into another man. This one didn’t try to grab her. He just stood in front of her, arms crossed, immovable. The collision sent her sprawling to the ground. The first man was behind her now and any chance of escape was rapidly dwindling.

The first man bent over her as the fog lifted, giving her a clear view of blond hair and soulless blue eyes, “What could possibly have possessed you to come here, human? Do you have a burning desire to be eaten?” The grin that spread across his face was bone-chilling, “because that can be arranged.”

“Knock it off Leo,” the second man still hadn’t moved but his tone brooked no arguments. Her eyes moved to him, taking in the chestnut hair and copper eyes that glinted in the moonlight. He seemed more human….barely.

“Ah, come on, Drake! She’s here, in our territory looking helpless and delicious, let me have a bite!”

“What happens to her isn’t up to you. There are treaties to consider.”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake! She broke the damn treaty the moment she crossed the partition and I saw her first so that technically makes her mine!” He turned his attention back to her, his head tilting to the side as his eyes ran hungrily over her form, his stance not much different than the lynx that he had scared away.

“You will abide by the rules,” the second man replied evenly, “We will take her back to the keep. The dark lord will decide her fate. No one else.” Finally moving, he reached out one hand and pulled her to her feet as if she weighed nothing, “Let’s go.”

“Thank you,” she mumbled as she stumbled into him.

“For what?” He steadied her as his eyes fixed blankly on her face.                   

“Saving me from him!” She moved closer to him, seeking safety in his nearness.

He continued to regard her with an inscrutable expression before shaking his head, “I am not your friend. I’m merely doing my duty, and by the time the dark lord is done with you, you may well wish I had let his brother eat you.”

Her blood ran cold as her eyes darted back to the blond. His brother was the dark lord? Her eyes closed as she swallowed thickly. What the hell has she gotten herself into? Then her eyes fluttered open, and her head turned back toward the edge of the cliff she had just climbed, the memories of her life before solidifying her resolve. She filled her lungs with air as she pushed her shoulders back and thrust her chin out. Making direct eye contact with the one called Drake she nodded, “I’m ready. Take me to him.”

Whatever awaited her in the dark kingdom could be no worse than what she had fled from, she was sure of that.

[giulolosblackmail]

cozytober2024: 6. Cuddles After a Bad Day

Lou stormed through the house and right into Nyx's room where she was reading in bed. It was only six in the afternoon, but she liked to get a head start on her bedtime reading.

Nyx couldn't even get out a greeting before yanking up her book as Lou flopped on top of her and grumbled. Ah, one of those days again.

Nyx placed her book back on top of her sister and wiggled so she wasn't getting squished quite so badly. "Did you have a bad day at the spire, Lou?" Nyx asked politely.

The grumbling didn't increase, so she nodded in understanding. "Those pesky nobles have no sense of shame." In response, Lou's grumbling got louder. Nyx grabbed the closest flailing hand so it wouldn't hit her in the face. Lou squeezed her hand in thanks.

"It's not fair that you always get in trouble for defending yourself when noblemen are not held to the same standards of conduct," Nyx recited dutiful. A pointed grunt punctuated her point.

Nyx Angled her book better against her sister's side and flipped a page with one hand. "It's not your fault that you're a powerful mage, nor that the average nobleman thinks he can win against one of the Spire's strongest in a fight, honestly, it's like they all have death wishes." Nyx was only reciting the same old assurances with half a brain now. She really had gotten to a good part of the story.

Eventually the anger wore her out, and Lou fell asleep face down on her sister's bed. Nyx took a moment to carefully turn her sister's face to the side so she wouldn't suffocate in her sleep and settled back down to read, and at midnight, when Nyx had gotten lost in her book and even the magical nightlight her sister had given her had begun to flicker, Lou woke up long enough to drag her sister to bed. Arms now trapped against her sides, Nyx couldn't keep reading and had to give up and sleep.

Lou was gone in the morning before Nyx woke, as always.