#yes the lizard man is far more normal than the HUMAN male | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

zora-moyashi · 4 years ago

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Core

“No I am not, just working on this Wolfbane file.”

"Ooo~ cool. Can we check out that book we were looking at before? Or does this place not work like a library."

Core

“I trust Shatter to bring it back, so yes you may borrow the folder.”

"Sweet thank you" She sits on the floor crosslegged flipping through the folder. "Which do you wanna get next tonic?" "Oh, um orion?" She flips to that.

Core

It was in the ‘adventure time�� au.

she looks to shatter who said that. "Ah, alright. Wonder if we'll meet fin. Its so weird meeting fictional characters haha! "

Core

“Well we just need to find this hunter.” Shatter said.

"Maybe its fin." She jokes. "Shatter would you do the honers of taking us there?"

Core

Shatter made a portal. “Says here ‘hunter princess’”

"Bubble gum! Kidding, is hunter princess what they call her?" She goes through.

Core

“It literally just says hunter princess, forest, adventure time au.”

"So helpful." She slides down a little hill in the forest. "Hunter princes! Wherever you are come here"

Core

“What do you want?” A voice sais

"oh uh, you have a gem?"

Core

“Yes I have the jewel you seek, but it’ll cost ya.”

"yeah, and what's that."

Core

“The feather of a cockatrice, get me that, and the jewel is yours.”

"Random. Why?"

Core

“It can heal cancer, and also be used as a spell ingredient.”

"what's this spell than?"

Core

“Turn people into stone.”

"sure.... whatever yeah we'll get that for you." chara waves her hand. "were can we find it?"

Core

“On a cockatrice, it lives in the desert.”

"k" she turns and they go to the desert "how big do you think this chicken is?" she asks shatter

Core

“18 to 50 feet, but my form is 25.” Shatter said

"that is a big chicken. we should bring it back for horror."

Core

“She would eat it, but watch out for it’s eyes.”

"yee i know sis, medusa chicken, i'm ready."

Core

“I have an idea, when we find it, I’ll turn into a mole and kick sand in it’s eyes.”

"sounds good. it is freaking me out a little that it lives in the desert."

Core

“Why?”

"well there's nothing here. it's not like it burrows, does it?"

Core

“Cockatrice are cold blooded, so it is perfect.”

"hmm, they must be pretty hardy." chara points "hey is that it?" in the distance there's a figure.

Core

Shatter looked and saw familiar plumage. “Yep.” She turned into a mole and dug underground

Chara laid low and watched

Core

She appeared in front of the bird and kicked sand

The bird shook it's head and glared at the mole relizing there were no eyes it got mad and looked for another victim

Core

Shatter assumed she got both eyes and turned back to normal.

The creature turned to their good eye, luckily shatter turned into a cockatrice just in time, the twos ability balancing out

(Stare down of the cockatrice.) Chara had been trying to sneak to the back of it and pluck a fether. She was close

Core

Shatter kept the cockatrice’s attention, though that wasn’t very hard since it turned out the wild one was male. (Sorry not sorry but he is trying to flirt)

(Lol) Chara gets ready to jump and right after she pluck it she did, right over the two of them and started to run to tonic.

Core

Shatter then attacked the male, showing she was NOT interested

"Woooo!" Chara runs and grabs tonics paw while waving the feather in the other hand.

Core

Shatter nodded and started to run off, noticing the male following.

Chara didn't look back so she didn't notice until she wondered what was making shatter as far back as she was.. "hurry up shatter?" She calls.

Core

Shatter used her wings to jump up and kick the male,

Chara heard the male cry out as shatter gouged his chest

Chara's curiosity wins and she looks back making sure to look low.

Core

Shatter killed the male, turning back. “He wouldn’t take a hint!”

"Oh I think he took it shatter haha!" She goes back and gets a couple more feathers for fun. "Alright let's get back."

Core

Shatter nodded, following

When they got there chara waves the feathers at the princess. "There you go. Why do you even have the gem if you're willing to give it up that fast?"

Core

“Getting the feathers is not that easy.” The woman said, tossing the blue gem to Chara

"OK better question, where did you get the gem?"

Core

“This lady with floating hair and glowing eyes gave it to me.”

"Didn't she tell you not ta give it away? Cause dang."

Core

“She told me find someone worthy.”

"Cool. Guess we win~" she sets the gem in, bright red color slowly dies down as it settles in. Chara spins the outside ring.

Core

It landed on pegasus

She showed shatter with a smile it glowed yellow.

" pegasus huh." Chara says "wonder what it'll be like"

Core

“Says Dracopedia AU, so more feathers.”

"well a'ight. not sure exactly what that means but i like surprises. let's go" chara says.

Core

“Also be careful, this au has my most dangerous forms

"eh, we're fine. we've got you."

Core

“True.” Shatter shrugged, making a portal to the mountains.

the three of them enter, it's late at night with a new moon making it pretty dark. the three of them made their own light for each of them. "okay, so, where is this thing?"

Core

“Well it lives in the mountains, so somewhere here”

"do these kinds of pegasuses... like, make nests?" chara asks

Core

“Kinda?” Shatter started, turning into an eight legged lizard large enough for Chara and Tonic to ride up the steep slopes. “They make large areas of flat stone to roost.”

"huh." chara hops on with tonic. "you have good night vision in this form shatter?"

Core

‘Actually it’s pretty decent, this is a Saharan Basilisk by the way’ she said, climbing up the slopes

they climb until they hit the top where it flatten out. there is a cliff in front of them they'd have to climb to get higher.

Core

Shatter looked around, sniffing the ground

the watch starts to glow indigo again. tonic holds it in a certain direction and it gets brighter.

Core

“I got a scent” Shatter said, turning the same direction. And bolting

tonic looses there balance almost falling off shatter's back. chara leans forward holding tight. "weeee! hahah " chara squeels.

Core

Shatter used her tail to help Tonic stay on as she climbed

shatter climbs up some of the cliff but than the sent is to the right. she can't see anything that way but the sent clearly leads that way.

Core

She turned to follow the sent, the basilisk’s eyes were small so this form mainly relied on scent anyway.

the cliff ended there, the mountain side dropping drastically. the sent came from inside the wall they climbed on, there was a spell of some sort on it it seemed as shatter touched it, the wall quivered.

Core

Shatter used her tail to snake the wall, again and again.

*smack

the harder she hit it the more it pushed back, like counter.

Core

Shatter growled at this. ‘You two get off for a second

there was a small ledge that they were able to stand on, though it was very thin they both did as they were told, tonic's light helping a lot.

Core

Shatter went over and started digging, something this form was great at

she could see that the spell was a bubble and went all around the protected area, even in the rock.

Core

Shatter bit at it, trying to tear

that was the most effective as the bubble's crease she made with the bite turned a light green

Core

She shook her head as she continued to bite

she eventually got through that, a bit more rock in her way before she could go into the grotto. shatter could hear sounds coming from in there. tonic inches their way over to where shatter was watching.

Core

Shatter dug through the rock with ease, once she made a big enough hole she went and got Tonic and Chara

the inside of this little hide away was quite nice. very cozy. there was a young looking Pegasus on the ground under some kind of animal pelt.

tonic and chara go in, chara looking around and finding gems. "oooo" she bends down to them and sees a little dragon there. much younger than the Pegasus. it was garding the gems

Core

“Dragonettes?’ Shatter questioned, confused. ‘They are domesticated so that must mean-‘ Shatter said before screeching as an arrow went through one of this form’s small eyes.

tonic jumped in surprise before bolting to where the arrow came from intending to rip up who ever did that's arm or whatever.

Core

He saw a male human. “Watch our you two! Basilisks are deadly, I’ve never seen one this far from the desert...” Shatter scratched the arrow out, blue blood stained that side of her face.

tonic bit into this guy's arm and pulled him to the ground.

Core

The guy had on armor. “What are you doing imp?! I saved you!” The man said, throwing Tonic into the dirt. Shatter heard this and hissed, raising her spines. She now could just barely see anything

tonic shook their head. "No! don't hurt her!" tonic growl/whines.

Core

“And why not?! They are dangerous!” The man yelled

Core

(He’s so cute argh!!! Shatter you better protect the bean!!)

"She wasn't hurting anyone." They say firmly. "Who are you?" Tonic asks sitting up. (Yee shatter, tonics gonna get in all kinds of trouble.)

Core

“It is after my steed! And I am Orion, rider of the winged horse.” He said.

"Funny that, we just met the representative of orion somewhere else." Tonic says quietly. "Do you mean that filly? It's hardly a steed."

Core

The horse seemed to hear this and charged at Tonic. Shatter heard the galloping and quickly got over Tonic, using herself as a shield.

Tonic being the skittish thing that he is jumped again. tonic tries to reason with the man saying they didn't know what they were doing and they were just looking for something. Chara saunters out of the cave thing holding the small dragon in her arms petting it as it purred watching the spectacle.

Core

It was a hatchling, fire red and covered in black spots, The man calmed down the horse, who and a golden collar with an indigo gem in the center. Shatter stayed over Tonic.

Tonic looked to shatter as if questioning if they should ask for the stone.

Core

Shatter nodded softly( Night)

"um... sir? That is actually what we're looking for." Tonic points to the horses neck. Chara steps over to them.

Core

“The gem? Do you have the ring?” He asked.

"Yes." Tonic nods as chara fishes it out of her pocket and shows him.

Core

“I see, well...” he took the gem out of the collar. “This is yours then.”

Chara's hands are full or else she would have taken it it, tonic takes it instead. "Why are you giving it up so easily?" Tonic asks

Core

“That barrier is not easy to get through, not to find it in the first place. You passed the test.” He said

Tonic looks unsure but thanks him anyway. Chara pats the dragons head until it hears the filly make a sound and flies over to it.

Core

Shatter turned back to her normal form, holding a hand over her left eye.

Tonic motioned for shatter to go down to their level

Core

Shatter was sitting down. “Oh, you are a shapeshifter.” Orion said “No shit Sherlock.” Shatter hissed, salty because eyes took forever to heal.

Chara giggles and goes up to pet the pegasus. Tonic heals shatter's eye with a drop of magic form their claw.

Core

“It needs to heal naturally, otherwise it may miss details.” Shatter explained to Tonic The Pegasus stomped a foot.

Tonic pouts and cuddles next to shatter instead. Chara copies the pegasus.

Core

Shatter sighed. “You two okay if we stay here until my eye heals?” The Pegasus snorted

"Fine with me" Chara says. Tonic shrugs

Core

Shatter laid down, closing her eyes. “You know, my core is blind.”

"Yeah? Why do you bring this up?" Chara asks while inspecting it's wings

Core

“Well, the first thing I ever saw was death, made me not want to see any more, but, I’m glad I can see you and Tonic.” Shatter said with a slight smile

"Awwwww~ break my heart, shatter!" Chara grins pulling at the wing to see how it bends. Tonic placed their head on shatter's belly resting with her.

Core

The Pegasus smacked Chara with its wing. Shatter continued to just chat. “Remember that other Nightmare? I think that’s because the Norse au shares the same creator as ours.”

"That so? Guess that'd make sense hm?" Chara shakes her head from the hit. Surprised by how soft the feathers are.

Core

“Yeah, in some of the aus with actual stars are limited, but rather interesting. One is where everyone is like opposite, then one where Dream and Nightmare swapped, one were the apocalypse happened, one with medieval kingdoms, and one where Geno and Dream made this deal.”

"What kinda deal?" Chara leaves the horse alone.

Core

“Not sure, but that au is a lot different from the others because of it.” Shatter explained

"Hm." Chara sits by shatter and starts to play with the loose rocks nearby. Orion and his pegasus head back to the hideaway

Core

“And one au, stars are bio weapons.” Shatter added

"Like you?"

Core

“No, no. Like robots with a soul stone core, you know, made by humans. Let me tell you that the one with the blades is ridiculously fast.” Shatter explained

"I'd bet. A star made only for fighting would really be something scary. So shatter, I'm a little foggy on bioweapons, it means using living things like germs or whatever to fight other living things? So even though they are made by humans they're still alive. Right?"

Core

“Well, it literally means ‘living weapon’ so anything alive, and they are.” Shatter said

"Uh-huh, how did they make them?"

Core

“Don’t know, I left fairly quickly.”

"Aw, that's too bad."

Core

“You would leave too if you were getting your ass kicked by something too fast to hit.” Shatter defended herself

"Not blaming ya, but it's still a shame. What was this star's name? Cause it's reminding me a lot of shadow lol"

Core

“C-5.”

Tonic fell asleep, "i'ma call her carma with a C. I hate the stupid code names. Anyway, what was your favorite place you've visited shatter?" Chara checks her soul with the small peice of gradients core sticking out of it still. The spread of the green seems to have stopped though. Lv 15.

Core

“Hmmm the jelly shroom forest.”

"sounds squishy."

Core

Shatter opened her eyes, the left one now healed. “So, ready for the next one?”

"i am but looks like tonic passed out."

Core

Shatter looked and chuckled, picking up the sleeping boy. “Well, next is dragon, so chances are it’s going to be here.”

draco's color glowed a silvery white with a tint of red. chara looks at it "i'll take your word for it, but i'd find it strange she'd hide two in the same world." tonic shifted in shatter's arms getting more comfortable.

Core

“Well, I told you before, this world is one of the most dangerous.” She reminded. “We should really stay here until Tonic Wales up....”

The watch's brightness stayed steady. "I say we go into their little cave if they'll let us."

Core

“We’re fine right here.” Shatter said, setting Tonic down.

"whatever. you know that thing could be out for hours. why don't you just wake them up?"

Core

“Because that is rude.” Shatter said.

"pfff, fine. maybe the dragon will come to us."

Core

“Not likely...” Shatter said

chara lays down with a huff.

Core

“Sorry, I know you are excited.”

she grunts as a reply.

Core

“Look, how about truth or dare in the meantime?”

"sure, how's that work? i made up shit when i played that with asy."

08/13/2019

"I never got to play with other humans. I just watched them sometimes."

Core

“Well, I say truth or dare, then you choose to answer something with only the truth or do a dare.”

"Uhhhh okay truth"

Core

“Are you using me?” Shatter asked, rather seriously

Chara was instantly shocked. She opened and closed her mouth unsure what to say.

"....uh.." she laughs it off. "I thought this was supposed to be fun?"

Core

“Yes that is the general purpose, But it is also good excuse to get answers,” Shatter said

She blinks. "And if I refuse to answer?"

Core

“You get punched in the arm.”

Chara groans. "Shatter! Come on! I don't even think I know the answer to that!"Tonic stirs from the noise before falling back asleep.

Core

“Then you accept the punch?”

"....I guess."

Core

Shatter punched her in the air hard enough for it to sting. “Your turn

She rubs her arm disheartened with a sigh. "Truth or dare?"

Core

“Dare.” Shatter said

"I dare you to wake tonic up so we can fucking leave."

Core

“Fine, Fine.” Shatter said, gently shaking Tonic. “Come on, wake up sleepy head.”

Tonic slowly shakes their head and blinks at shatter half alseep.

"Yes shatter?" He asks yawning.

"Shatter's being mean to me so I made her wake you up."

Core

“Sorry, “Shatter apologized, I promise you can rest on the way.

"Mmm, okay." Tonic wraps their arms around shatter's neck closing their eyes again.

Core

Shatter carried Tonic like a backpack. “You got the ring?” Shatter asked Chara

"Sure do." She holds it up as it shines brightly to the north.

Core

“Well, the sea orc’s lair is north..” Shatter said

"Alright." She walks that way. Unnaturally silent for her

Core

“Hey, Sorry if I made you upset.” Shatter said

She shrugs. "...It made me mad that I don't know the answer. Not your fault."

Core

“Oh, I see, well do tell me when you figure it out.”

"...fine." They see the orc's lair ahead of them. Murmuring can be found in that direction.

Core

It was a cave surrounded by water, Shatter turned into a lapras. ‘We have to be careful of rocs.’

"Yeah I'd assume seeing the name. Think they captured the dragon?"

Core

“No, rocs are giant birds, they might They to eat me in this form.’

"Well then get out of that form stupid?"

Core

‘What else do you expect me to use? Rocs will eat anything I do!’

"Try a laprass? How big are these things?" She looks around to see one.

Core

There was what looked like a cliff, at least 1500 feee tall, it opened an eye and stretched out it’s wings. ‘Shit!’

"WOOOW!" Chara squeals. "SO PRETTY!!!"

Core

The roc looked over, seeing shatter. ‘Shit! Shit! Shit!” Shatter hissed, diving down

"Shatter! Look how cool it is!"

Core

‘It’s not cool!’ Shatter said as the roc flew into the air, watching the water.

The roc blocked all light out from the sun that was coming up. "Shouldn't we just leave??? Why the hell are you diving?"

"I feel tree cover would be better!"

Core

The roc dove its talons into the water and caught a whale, easily lifting the giant mammal into the air.

"Yeah, like that." Chara dunks her head under trying to find shatter but she sees nothing untill she notices a faint light that she assumes was tonic on shatter's back.

Core

‘Wasn’t me!’ Shatter cheered as she surfaced, letting Chara on her back so they could head to the lair

Tonic shakes off like a dog and chara gets on with them. "How fast did you dive?"

Core

‘Fast enough apparently.’

"Yeah sure." They get to the shore of the cave. Chara hops off into the black sand.

muttering is much louder on the shore. Chara sneaks around to the edge of the cave.

Chara sees a big gathering of orcs circling something, chara's not sure what it is. She quietly relays that info to shatter.

(These are sea orcs)

"perhaps. If the gem's in there that'll make this difficult. How strong do ya think these are?"

Core

“Well, a freybug won’t work... but a naga will.” Shatter said before turning into a cobra with four arms and a scorpion stinger at the tail

"so we're just gonna crash that party?"

Core

‘Hell Yeah’ Shatter hissed slithering over

Chara follows, they notice them right as they enter the cave and start making screaming like sounds at shatter and chara.

Core

Shatter was highly venomous in this form and would paralyze her victims

One of the orc's came over (Wait so, the orcs are in the water in a cave on the island right?) Jumping out of the water and whipping their tail at shatter's torso knocking her of balance.

Core

The cave is like the one kyogre is in)) Shatter hissed as she used her four arms to spin back around

some of the orcs go on the land to attack, biting at shatter's legs. Another snaps at chara as she hops on it back

Core

Shatter quickly nabbed the one that was going to attack Chara.

It slams against shatter as the others do something similar as back up. Chara desides to go check what they were circling while they're destracted. Chara manages to get around most of them as they attack shatter. There's a big pool of blood fogging the area making it hard to see what's inside.

Core

There was a red gem in the water. Shatter’s teeth weren’t for tearing to she had to resort to her claws and stinger.

Chara darted into the fog grabbing for the gem she saw a glimpse of. As she waved her arms in the blood she hit chunks of flesh and bone. She eventually got what she wanted though it was covered in fleash. She swims up unharmed and calls "shatter! I got it let's leave!"

Core

Shatter turned back and teleported to Chara before teleporting to Tonic

they get out and the orc's aren't happy about that as they search for them, shatter and the others are on the other side of the lake, pretty safe from being found. "wooo! that was fun!" chara says as she wipes the gore off of the gem.

Core

“Sure, for you.”

"don't be like that. it's not like you got very hurt!"

Core

“True, but I was more worried about you.”

"yeah well you shouldn't be..... shatter? would you hate me if i was only using you?"

Core

“No, I don’t think I would, I don’t think I could at this point.”

"tch. well you should."

Core

Shatter shrugged, “it’s not the first time and it won’t be the last, I’m just glad you are actually a great friend.”

( there's the color list, i got rid of the dog and bull cause they're too similar to wolf and touros. )

Core

Shatter started to say something and sighed, before looking at what was next; (file above)

(so that's the dog? or what?)

Core

(Greater dog)

Core

“Yeah but this is a different kind.”

"Right. I guess we'll just have to see when we get there." Tonic says nuzzling into her shoulder.

Core

Shatter nodded and turned into a lapras again. ‘Come on Chara’

She makes not a sound and gets on the lapras's back.

Core

Shatter swam across the shore

Chara stands on her shell looking into the water

Core

‘Truth or dare’

Chara shakes with anger 'shut up.' Though tonic couldn't hear them they could see the tension between them.

"Ummm. Did something happen while I was asleep?"

Chara rolls her eyes. "No, it's none of your concern "

Core

‘I’m just trying to lighten the mood.’ Shatter said

'Because that worked so well before.'

Core

‘Ok, how about I make you something? Like chocolate?’

'Not hungry shatter. Like i said before, just forget it.'

Core

Shatter sighed as they reached the next shore

Tonic and chara get off, this shore is very muddy. The watch calls for the next stone with a pure red color. Tonic looks around "which way shatter?"

Core

“There are some plains nearby, drakes normally live there.”

"Oh, so there's many of them?"

Core

“Well there are tons of drakes, hydras are rarer.”

Tonic nods and starts trotting through the plains.

Core

They saw some creature’s run past

Tonic looks back to make sure shatter's there before they go close to the animals.

Core

Shatter was trying to make up with Chara

"Shatter! I'm serious, forget about it!" The drakes land near the group seemingly curious of them and the light.

Core

(Drakes can’t fly, they run)

( dheidbdksbd, kk. I was thinking of a different critter. Want to send me a pic.)

Shatter growled at the pack.

They sniffed and snarled at shatter's hostility

Core

Shatter turned into a war Drake, different from these Common Drakes, she had her tail down, a sign she wasn’t interested in a fight

They weren't wanting a fight either, but they did seem interested in shatter's transformation and tonic in general. One nudged against tonics head with its snout.

Core

Shatter raised her tail and growled, lowering her body, showing she was defensive about Tonic like he was a pup

It didn't listen to shatter as it pushed tonic to the ground starting to lick them. Tonic giggled pushing it away.

Core

Shatter growled at this, showing her disapproval to the pack

They back off, as this isn't their territory and they were just looking for food to bring back to their group leader (the hydra)

They start to leave and drag the prey they already had.

Core

Shatter growled softly. Before sniffing the ground

Tonic shakes off the slobber and joins shatter attempting to smell for the gem as well though they can't smell anything

Core

‘Got the scent, come on.’ Shatter said, running towards the source

They both follow quickly

Core

One of the packs look outs saw shatter enter their territory

It made a howl like sound and instantly a a new group of drakes came after the group.

(meet pickett)

august 14 leo

Core

Shatter growled and kept herself in between the pack and the others

08/15/2019

The pack reached them, nipping at shatter and roaring, telling them to get lost.

Core

Shatter had more armor and sharper teeth, but she was outnumbered.

One rammed into shatter knocking her over, the drake climbed on her and started ripping st her neck.

Core

Shatter used her strong back legs to tear at her attacker’s stomach, her long claws meant for traction on land, thinking quickly she turned into a Shedu, or a winged lion, the natural predators of drakes. ‘Ok, I’m done playing fair

The drake's belly was pretty ripped up and it backed away as much as it could looking up at the shedu. The other drakes still had a job to do, no matter what, so even though they hesitate they attack her again anyway. One got a good grip on one of her wings.

Core

Shatter spun around and attacked the Drake, swatting it.

the cerberus noticing the trouble it's pack was in, grabbed the gem hiding it in its mouth, and sprinted towards the group. It seemed to be able to talk through telepathy. It clearly wasn't it's power, but given to it by someone else. 'Get out of home' it growled like an angry child.

‘Not until we talk!’ Shatter hissed, roaring at some of the drakes

One of the cerberus' heads ordered the pack to back up. The head on the right said 'there nothing to say! Trespass!'

Core

‘Only to find you!’ Shatter hissed,

they relax except the head on the right. The one on the left asks 'what want stranger?'

Core

‘We are after the gem’s of Singularity.’

'Can't have, it master's' says the middle 'important to master.'

Core

(So far the highest points is 20 with the exorcist) ‘Yes, But we found her ring, and wish to restore it.’ Shatter said.

The heads talk amungst eachother before looking at the group silently. Chara grows sick of it. "Well??? Make up your damn mind! Can we have it or not?" The head on the left says 'must check worthiness' 'Destroy shedu nest.' The heads all nod in agreement.

‘You want me to destroy a Shedu nest? They are an endangered species, how about I do you one better? A bull hydra nest.’

(That tail tho) 'hydra's don't bother pack. Must be shedu.'

Core

‘Fine, But only one cub, I do not want to be responsible for the extinction of a species’

'Than no deal.' They nod and turntail.

Core

‘Ugh Fine, I’ll destroy the nest!’

'Good' head on right than says ' back before sundown or test failed.'

Core

‘Fine...’ Shatter huffed, letting Chara and Tonic on her back

They climb on and chara sticks her tounge out at the beast as they run in the direction of the nest.

Shatter flew up to the nest. ‘They didn’t say we had to kill the cubs...’ Shatter told herself as she tore up the fur padding that made the nest. (This is a white Shedu)

(A roc☝️)

There were four cubs shivering covered in their moms shed fur watching shatter confused. The Cubs had little fur and if they were to leave they would certainly freeze.

Core

Shatter changed the nest, destroying the old one.

One of the cubs grew more curious and went up to shatter, they'd never seen a non artic of their kind. It made a little cub sound as if questioning her.

Core

Shatter chuffed nudging the cub back before flying away

"...shatter?" Tonic asks. "I don't think... that'll be good enough for the cerberus."

Core

‘They said destroy the nest, and I did.’

‘They never said I couldn’t fix it later’

tonic shrugs and enjoys the ride, not sure about that.

When they get back the cerberus is instantly unpleased. 'Didn't do as asked!'

Core

Shatter landed. ‘Yes I did, you never said I couldn’t rebuild it, nor did you say I had to kill the cubs.’

The cerberus is angry about the miscommunication. 'You know what ment! No gem until what asked is done! Whole nest! We watch, do it right.' The one who game them telepathy also gave sight sharing.

( *gave them)

Core

‘Fine!’ Shatter hissed, flying back. ‘Chara, can you keep the cubs warm?’

"Yeah."

Core

‘Ok, Shatter landed by the nest. There were three cubs

'Where is the other one?" Tonic asks.

Core

Shatter looked around and saw it fell off the cliff. ‘Poor thing.’

"more like dumb thing." chara says getting off her back and gathering the other cubs.

Core

‘The wind up here is bad’ Shatter explained, waiting for Chara to get the cubs before tearing up the nest

"shouldn't have been so close to the edge." after shatter's done chara makes a bubble and puts them in it. than she puts a fire around it to keep them warm. the babies can't break the bubble but a mom surly could.

Core

Shatter made her work quick. ‘Can you leave them here in the bubble?’

"yeah, they'll be fine."

the cubs scratch at the walls of the bubble.

Core

Shatter felt deep guilt leaving, but got herself to do it

when they get back once again the Cerberus just glares at them. it spits out the gem onto the ground. it's given up on it's communication and considers them strong enough for the gem anyway. if the cerberus could have told them better it would have meant 'kill all the cubs available. but it didn't so pff'

Core

Shatter took the gem.

"alright then." chara holds out the watch to shatter.

Core

Shatter placed the gem.

it fit into place and started to call for the golden quezlequatle.

it was clear that that gem wasn't in this world.

Core

Shatter looked at the file, ‘I’ve never heard of this au’

shatter opens a portal to a very dark space similar to the void. in the distance there is flashing lights changing colors. "weird place" chara says.

Core

Shatter walked through, cautious

the other two follow and the portal instantly disappears as if it didn't ever exist. as shatter tries to make another portal she's unable to. she can still shapeshift though.

Core

Shatter paused

this place echos like crazy and chara's having way too much fun with it. she starts by stomping on the 'ground' and than starts yelling nonsense. "SHATERR! THIS IS AN AMAZING ECHO!"

Core

‘I can hear that.’ Shatter smiled

chara walks to the flashing lights and they emit a song per each structure. she taps one and it blinks off.

"Hm.. I bet we need to recreate a song. The question is what is the song." Tonic steps on a tile that makes a 'bloop' sound

Core

Shatter turned into a Chatot and repeated the sound

Core

(Crazy Idea: T.G. Au Dream and Nightmare would always fly at night together because it made them feel like all the pain of having to hide was gone, but one night Dream kept her jacket on and said she wasn’t in the mood, Nightmare shrugged it off and flew, Dream watching from the rooftops. The next night, Dream told Nightmare she was tired and it was overcast. This time her sister was concerned and asked if anything was wrong. Dream forced a smile and told Nightmare that everyone was ok. Later that night as the two slept, Dream had a nightmare where she was flying during the early morning and a wire net tore up her wing, she crashed down, exposed to humans who tore off the wing. Dream woke up in a cold sweat, pulling the blanket closer to her as she looked at her sister. The third night came and Dream still didn’t want to fly with Nightmare. “What’s with you recently?” Nightmare asked. “It’s nothing, I promise, you just enjoy yourself.” Dream replied. “Stop lying to me Dream! You haven’t been able to sleep, and haven’t been eating either!” Nightmare said to her sibling who tugged on her own jacket sleeve. “Why won’t you fly?” “I’m sorry, but I don’t want to tonight.” Nightmare went to Dream, picking her sister in the air. “Why are you continuing to lie to me?!” “I’m sorry!” Dream said as her jacket fell off, revealing her left wing was gone. Nightmare in shock landed, Dream quickly hid her bloody back with her jacket, looking down. “I’m sorry Nightmare...” It’s based on a new song I added ‘Two birds on a wire’)

As chara pushed more buttons something was chamging. The area they were in seemed to get smaller everytime something was pushed.

Core

‘Hold on...we might get squished’

Chara stops. "Have a better idea genius?"

Core

Shatter looked at the floor, before turning into Ironhide. Then stepping in the correct pattern. “Simple key puzzle, typical of Nintendo games.”

( look at this new boi I got.) Chara cocks her head as a way is opened. "How'd you know the melody though???"

Core

“The height of the plates, it’s minimal but enough that I noticed.”

Chara then noticed and huffs. "Fiiiiine" she goes through the gateway and is transported to a forest area with ghost like creatchers. Also there's a frog just sitting there. Chara goes over and pokes the frog. It makes a croak but doesn't move

Core

(The creature is Bioweapon!Killer) “An echo forest?” Ironhide asked

One of the ghosts came up to iron hide looking down at her.

Ironhide sat down. “Hey buddy

it made gurgling sounds and shrunk down seemingly sitting aswell. Tonic went off on their own to try to find clues to the gem. The watch doesn't glow in this au. Tonic comes appon a street with a bunch of traffic cones blocking the way.

Core

Ironhide turned into Plasma, her ghost type form.

A bunch of other ghosts that look similar with different colors gather around shatter. Chara picks up the frog and it turns into a small egg. If she puts it back down it turns back. "Hehe. Cool."

Core

“They are wisps....” Plasma whispered

#rp chain #ignore me #long

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friendlyspiderr · 5 years ago

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Character Survey

Below is my survey for Peter. (I’m basing him more on the Insomniac Spider-Man game).

general info:

Name/Alias: Peter Benjamin Parker / Spider-Man

Age: 23

Gender: Male

Preferred Pronouns: He/Him

Team/Group: So far on his own as the friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man.

Faceclaim: Andrew Garfield

Penned by: Sophie

quick facts:

Any special abilities/skills?: Spider physiology: Peter has the proportionate powers and capabilities of a spider, altering his physiology and consequently granting him superpowers and newfound heightened senses. In addition to gaining the ability to effortlessly cling to walls and a sixth sense ("spider-sense") that alerts him to immediate danger, Peter acquired considerable superhuman strength, thereby enabling him to accomplish spectacular feats using his raw strength. Peter's anatomy is significantly more resilient and durable compared to a normal human, allowing him to withstand vigorous amounts of impact and endure collisions that would otherwise pulverize an average human. His speed, agility, balance, and bodily coordination are all enhanced to high levels beyond the peak of human potential, with his bones, muscles, and joints twice as elastic than the average human which, combined with his great strength, allows him to jump great distances and heights and perform graceful acrobatic manoeuvres with no difficulty whatsoever.

Healing: Spider-Man's enhanced physiology also grants him a limited but advanced healing factor. He has been shown to be able to quickly recover from fourteen broken bones and being slashed open by a katana.

Vision: His vision has been amplified to superhuman levels, leading him to relinquish the use of his spectacles a long time ago. His field of vision has been augmented with impeccable clarity and infallible detail enabling him to effectively exploit the full extent of his web-shooters to be a proficient marksman as well as notice things other people fail to observe.

Genius level intellect: Peter has expertise in the fields of applied science, chemistry, physics, biology, engineering, mathematics, and mechanics. He is a talented and prolific engineer. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in biophysics and wrote an A graded thesis of neurotechnology, subsequently earning a job as a research assistant at Octavius Industries. Peter is also a formidable and proficient hacker, notable for his impressive skills in intelligence gathering and data interpretation, being able to pick up on patterns others do not notice.

Fighting Skills: Due to years of extensive experience and brawling, Spider-Man is a highly accomplished and versatile hand-to-hand combatant. He is a master of several martial arts as well as numerous professional wrestling moves.

Human? Something else?: Human

Three positive traits (+): Clever, Resisliant and Brave.

Three negative traits (-): Sarcastic, Too Trusting and Secretive.

Dusted or not?: Dusted.

brief background:

Peter was born around the year 1995, to government agents Richard and Mary Parker, in Forest Hills, New York. Following the death of his parents, Peter was raised by his Aunt May and Uncle Ben in Queens. While in middle school, Peter became best friends with Mary Jane Watson and Harry Osborn, forming a friendship that would last into his adulthood. Peter also developed an interest in science at a young age. At fifteen years old, while attending a science demonstration, Peter was bitten by a radiation-infused spider, which altered his physiology and granted him several abilities, such as enhanced strength, agility, speed, as well as a "spider-sense" that alerted him to any danger. At some point, Peter allowed a mugger to run past him without using his abilities to stop the mugger, deciding it was "not his problem". The criminal would go on to shoot and kill Uncle Ben, who died in his arms. Knowing that he could have prevented Ben's death had he stopped the mugger when presented with the opportunity, Peter blamed himself for the incident. Though this was traumatizing and heartbreaking, Peter carried on and began using his powers to help the people of New York, taking the lesson his Uncle Ben once taught him, that "With great power comes great responsibility", to heart. Resolving to use his powers for good, Peter designed a new suit for himself, one with a red and blue pattern and web designs, and began calling himself "Spider-Man". As New York's newest hero, he helped to stop petty crimes across the city and gained a reputation for either being a menacing vigilante or a saviour to the people. Peter also took up photography in his free time, eventually landing a job as a freelance photographer with the Daily Bugle assigned to take pictures of Spider-Man in action. Over the following eight years, Peter protected New York under his costumed alias. During this time, he had several encounters with super-criminals Electro (his first genuinely super-powered foe), Vulture, Rhino, and Scorpion. He encountered Herman Schultz (Shocker) early into his career. He managed to defeat them all and lock them up in the secure superhuman prison, the Raft. Other villains that Peter encountered included the Sandman, the Lizard, and Mysterio. Due to his unsystematic approach to crime-fighting as a neophyte, Peter left several of his backpacks webbed to walls around the city at various points throughout his war on crime.

questionnaire:

How is your character doing since the downfall of Thanos? (it has been 6 months): Peter is trying to adjust and to help New York as much as he can knowing his absence might have left room for crime to grow.

How is your character handling the newly merged universe? Are they scared? Concerned? Excited but nervous.

Is your character willing to work with other heroes from other universes? If not, why? He is. He is excited to work with other people that can help.

With new threats looming from other universes, are they prepared to fight? What do/will they fight for? They are prepared to fight and will fight to keep any peace and people safe.

Is your character willing to die to save the new world? To save others from other worlds? Yes, Peter is more than willing to do that.

anything else?:

Just that I’m mostly basing him from the Insomniac game.

#con:survey

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ratretro · 6 years ago

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Under The Light Of The Full Moon - NaLu FanFiction

Title: Under The Light Of The Full Moon

Pairing: NaLu

Prompt: NaLu Week Day 6 - Sensation

Rating: T;

None of these characters are owned by me, they are all owned by the wonderful Hiro Mashima!

A/N:

Honestly im just using this as an excuse to write werewolf lucy because goddamnit ive wanted to for an eternity also I forgot I wrote this so here y’all go im hella late to the party lmao

FF.net

The air was thick with the scent of dragon, and against Lucy's better judgement, she decided to follow it to the end of its trail. Tonight, she was at the peak of her strength, and every sense was on fire as she followed her curiosity. Dragons were secretive creatures, and very rarely caught doing who-knows-what in the forest. Personally, she'd never met one. She only knew the scent from descriptions her favorite pack member gave her. For all she knew it may not even be a dragon she was hunting.

Well, if it wasn't a dragon she could worry about that later. Instead, she followed the enticing scent of smoky firewood, and an underlying sweet smell she couldn't quite place. If she could, Lucy would be humming right now as she vibrated with excitement. This was the perfect time after all. With the full moon hung high in the sky; vibrant and clear with no signs of clouds. As a werewolf, she was in peak performance which meant if needed she could make her escape without fear. She was intelligent and quick, only second to her packmate, Jet.

A clearing appeared up ahead on the very edge of her territory. If she tread too far it could incite a large-scale war, and she wasn't about to be the cause of another dispute. Her father was the pack leader after all, and that meant she had to be the perfect lady. What a load of bullshit. What was the point of having wolf blood if you couldn't truly be free?

The bushes rustled as she pushed through them to enter the opening where the large creature no doubt was hiding. She shook her entire body to get the leaves from her fur, and as soon as she was absolutely certain they were gone, she gave an aggravated huff. It was then that she lifted her head to look at what she considered to be her prey since she'd been stalking it for 30 minutes now.

Surprised. That was the emotion Lucy Heartfilia felt as she looked upon what could not possibly be a dragon. His hair was a shade of pink she'd only ever seen when passing the flower shop next to her favorite bookstore. His skin was sun-kissed even in the shade of silver that came from the pearl in the sky above her. Truly the scene was breathtaking, and yet the scent that radiated from his body was the same one she'd followed all the way here.

Now, it could be that he was a drake. She'd heard stories from the elder pack members of dragons who'd taken human mates, and given birth to half-breeds. How did that work? She had absolutely no idea. Who was she to question another species' mating rituals anyway?

Perhaps, he was a half-breed. He did hold attributes similar to a dragon. Sharp, curved black horns protruding from his skull, bright red scales moving across his cheeks and up to his temples, the claws where hands should be. Everything screamed dragon, except, that he wasn't a giant lizard like she had expected. Perhaps, she should be grateful she hadn't run into the fully formed dragon that her packmates had been so scared of.

"What are ya doin' here?" it was a simple question, soft and barely heard above the gust of wind that tore through the clearing. Of course, Natsu wasn't expecting an answer from a wolf. He'd never attracted wildlife before so he would consider this one to be rare. He took a moment longer to stare the creature down in hopes it would run off, and leave him to his own thoughts.

Although, a deeply buried part of him yearned for the company, and hoped the female wolf would stay. She was gorgeous after all. Her fur was long and seemed to be painted by the starlight above as tones of blue and silver drenched her smooth coat.

Though, it was the eyes that pulled him in. Dark chocolate. Normally, wolves of the color white had eyes in shades of blue, yellow, and even on occasion brown and blue at the same time. She had solid brown. It was unique, and he found himself smiling before raking his claws through his hair.

"Ya know, I'm kinda glad you're here. I didn't really want to be alone tonight." Lucy couldn't respond to him, but he seemed to recognize and accept that. He seemed deep in some kind of thought. Obviously, a sad one. She hoped her presence would help him in some way, besides she didn't want to hunt or run around just to get dirty and have to scrub the mud off her skin in the morning.

It was a slow, graceful trot as she met him in the center of the clearing, and sat beside him to share his company. Maybe he'd even speak more, she liked the sound of his voice. It had a soothing calm to it even if it was rough around the edges.

Natsu let himself fall to the grass with an aggravated sigh as he looked for the words to say. He was talking to a woodland creature who couldn't even talk back, in the middle of the night no less. To say he felt a little crazy would be an understatement. Hey, maybe he needed this. Maybe he needed to let out his emotions. Even if it was only to a lone wolf in the middle of the forest.

He was startled as the creature curled into his side and laid her head on his chest. There was some blinking, a crinkle where eyebrows would normally be, and then an annoyed huff. Was she telling him to continue? He supposed it wouldn't hurt to do so.

"I don't want to be king, ya know?" King was much higher than Pack Leader, but she could understand the sentiment.

"I love Igneel, and being his son is great. But I love the wind through my wings, and fighting with the younger members, visiting the towns as I please. Ya can't do that as a king. Ya gotta be responsible." She longed for the freedom he spoke of. They were different in that regard. He had the freedom she sought. To have that ripped away would certainly make her aggravated as well. She gave a small whine to try and signal her agreement, and sympathy. Not being able to speak made this troublesome.

"Trying to make me feel better?" it sounded to him like she'd understood his plight in some way. He was glad for that much.

"Thank you." Soft, but serious. He meant it, and even if the wolf didn't understand him he appreciated her willingness to listen to him. A noise went off in the distance: a howl. It was obviously the call of a wolf. Maybe one from her pack. White ears twitched, and then a small noise from her. It sounded like a ‘no' if he'd ever heard one.

The next howl was louder, and when she finally picked up her head, all she did was bark. Like a kid saying ‘I'm coming!' when their parent calls. The wolf eased up from her position and stretched; first backward and then forward.

"Will ya visit again?" Lucy's head tilted at the idea. She'd seen a dragon, thus her curiosity was quenched, but she hadn't thought about seeing him again. Her head tilted to one side, and then the other. Yes, she decided. She'd come again the next full moon.

The dragon sat up slowly, and as soon as his cheek was high enough she gave a soft nuzzle before turning and disappearing into the night. If she didn't get to the hideout soon her father would give her an earful. That much was certain.

Natsu, however, remained in the clearing till sun up, claw resting upon his cheek, and a soft smile on his lips.

---------------------

Lucy was practically vibrating with excitement even as her packmate Levy stared at her from behind a book.

"Lu? Are you okay? You normally hate the full moon." A correct statement. The blonde nodded in agreement, but still, the feeling did not fade. She'd see him again tonight, surely he'd be in the clearing. She was betting on it, and Lucy was not one to lose a bet. They didn't call her ‘Lucky' Lucy Heartfilia for nothing after all.

Currently, she had her chin resting on her hands as she took in the strong smell of roasted coffee beans and whipped cream. Both of these, however, was second to an old book. The wonderful thing about this shop wasn't the café, although it's a nice bonus, it was really the fact that it was attached to a used bookstore.

Levy had already chosen a classic from the fiction section depicting a war between werewolves and vampires, where Lucy had opted for a more classic romance set in a world of wizards bonded together by loyalty and friendship in a place where they'd built a new family. She was excited to start and finish the book in the next few days.

"I do. Tonight is different though. It's special." The blonde was certain Levy would understand. Levy was the one who'd told her about how dragons smell. Though she'd thought there might be some fibbed details but she wouldn't question her on that.

"Oh. Meeting a boy are we?" she flinched which was all Levy needed. The blunette smirked.

"Hmm-hm. Who's this mystery man?" Levy was personally excited to see her friend intrigued by a male. She'd always talk about boyfriends but never seemed to have an interest in anyone.

"It's just… a man I met in the woods on my last run." The blonde averted her eyes from Levy's and waited for her friend to stop gawking.

"You just. Met a man? In the woods? As a wolf?" Levy recognized that Lucy had already explained that, but damnit she wanted elaboration.

"Between you and me, I followed the scent of a dragon like you said. And I found one!" her grin went from ear-to-ear. Levy swallowed, but her mouth was as dry as cotton. Her best friend had found a dragon in the woods, and subsequently gained interest in said dragon. There was no way Levy had heard right.

"A dragon. In the woods." She repeated, but as a statement instead of a question as if willing her friend to continue.

"Yes. His scales were bright red, and he smelled of smoke. But the kind you bbq meat in, not a forest fire." Lucy finally gave Levy the information she needed to understand what had happened.

"You met the Fire Dragon King's son?" Levy was dumbfounded by her friend's unique ability to fall into troublesome situations.

"He mentioned something like that. How'd you know?"

"I'm dating the Iron Dragon King's son, Gajeel. It was easy to draw the conclusion." Lucy buzzed at the information. She'd known Levy was dating someone but didn't know who until now.

"I can't believe you didn't tell me that!" was all the blonde could manage.

"You know how our pack is Lu. You know interspecies isn't allowed." A rule decided by her father when he first took over as leader. Lucy made a pfft noise and shook her hand in the air.

"We all know that's a rule for me, and no one else. He's just disguising it to keep pack control." While the blunette agreed with Lucy she wasn't going to test that theory.

"Regardless, I'm glad for you. You always hated the full moon until now."

"It's not the full moon I hate. It's the forced transformation." She corrected. Lucy loved the stars more than anything, and each forced transformation was spent staring into the sky. Until now.

"I know that. I'm just surprised. Dragons have keen noses, he should've been able to smell the magic on you. That's how Gajeel found out what I was." Speaking on keen noses. Werewolves definitely didn't match up to dragons, but they still had a hell of a sense of smell. And right now, all Lucy could smell was smoke.

She froze on the spot as a familiar voice chatted outside the window with a large man covered in piercings. Pink, but this wasn't from the flower shop next door. Her breath hitched in her throat, and with a small whimper, she faced away from the pinkette. Their eyes hadn't met, and she was fairly certain he didn't know she was there. It needed to stay that way.

"What are you doing?" Levy's voice broke through her inner monologue with a chiding tone.

"That's him." She whispered. Surely, they could still hear the conversation so Lucy held up a hand, and shook her head before Levy could manage her next question.

"All right. But you better have an explanation in the morning." The blunette was awarded a mock salute from her incredibly nervous blonde friend.

"Wait, are you leaving already?" the question startled Lucy, but she nodded in response.

"Yes, I wanted to get ready for the change. I know it's still early, but…" Levy understood completely. While most of the pack had a seamless transformation, herself included, Lucy did not. Many believed that it was because of her human mother's blood that she had what was regarded as the most painful transition. It was why she never willingly shifted forms.

"I'll see you in the morning, Lu." A small wave from the blunette was Lucy's signal that she was good to head out. With the doors of the café opened all she could hear was what sounded like the end of a conversation that had left the fire drake irritated. Maybe that was usual for him? She didn't know, but a part of her wanted to find out.

"Are you okay?" the words slipped out before she'd even realized it. Her mouth, and her brain, were clearly working against her.

"Huh? Who are you?" gruff. Not at all like the voice from the clearing. Put in perspective she could see where she went wrong. She'd approached an irritated drake and then tried to question him as though she was his friend. She held up her hands in a surrendering fashion which calmed his features ever so slightly.

Features that she found insanely different. He was definitely able to pass as a human if you ignored the fangs. His claws, the scales that adorned his face, and the horns that curved from his temples were all gone. She nearly frowned but caught herself quickly. She missed the man from the clearing, she realized.

"Sorry." His voice was closer to the tone she'd remembered.

"For? It was my fault. I shouldn't have intruded on a personal issue."

"No. I shouldn't have been rude about it." His tone hadn't really bothered her, but this conversation had already gone on too long. Any longer, and he might realize who she was.

"Don't worry about it. Whatever it is, I hope it gets better." She turned with a wave, leaving him to watch her go. And he did. She'd smelled familiar, like the scent of pine, and vanilla. Which he hadn't recalled smelling before, but still his senses were screaming as though he knew her. Which was impossible. There's no way he could. He would've known if he'd met a girl like her.

Still, she smelled of magic which meant she was, at the very least, not human. Never the less, he didn't want to worry about that. His only worry was the wolf. He hadn't seen her in nearly a month, and with fur as white as snow she couldn't possibly be able to camouflage in the dense greenery that surrounded Magnolia. Though, he bet she thrived in the winter. He worried that she had possibly been killed by a hunter. Those were common after all. Especially with the possibility of the wolf being a werewolf. The only difference between a were, and its counterpart was size.

This was especially true with wolves. Werewolves are abnormally large, and barely look anything like a natural-born wolf. Come to think of it, the wolf in the woods that night was rather large. At least larger than normal, but most of the ones he'd seen were much bigger. Though, she could have been a runt.

If she was a runt that was even worse. His anxiety skyrocketed as he rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet. He needed to move. He gave a grunt and trudged back toward the nest. He'd just check again tonight. Like he did every night.

----------------

Lucy's hands dug into the hard concrete of the dungeon she was currently locked in. It had to be this way after all. She didn't want to ruin her home like she had the first time she'd transformed. That had been an experience she didn't want to relive a second time. Below her, the solid foundation of the building began to crack, and a yowl ripped from her throat. It sounded like a mix between human agony and raging wolf.

It was several minutes of her bones cracking to break down her human form into something dangerous, and far more primal. When it was finally over, and her senses began to return to normal, she cautiously moved her limbs. Hind legs, front paws, neck, jaw. It was all in working order, and the blonde almost wanted to spend the rest of her evening laying on the cold concrete that had already begun to soothe her sore body.

However, she forced herself to her paws and began to bounce up and down to test the boundaries of her body. She wouldn't be running any time soon, but if she kept hidden it wouldn't be too risky to keep a slow trot to the clearing where she hoped he'd be waiting. Who knew at this point.

He could have stopped going by now. She also could have visited, but shifting took a lot out of her, and she normally spent a few days recovering in bed after. Pack work had to be done, but she also had a job at the library downtown.

A doctor's note easily allowed her to get the few days after the full moon off each month, but anything after that would be testing her luck. While she was ‘Lucky' Lucy Heartfilia she'd rather not test how far that went.

Claws raked on the metal door, causing a rather annoying screeching noise on the iron as it protested to the unfair treatment. Creeeeeeak. The door moved open at a steady, slow rate to reveal Michelle. Her cousin was also a hybrid like herself, but the human genes had won out in the end, and she'd yet to show any signs of being a werewolf. Although, from what Lucy had seen, Michelle had no problems with it.

Michelle bent down to a crouch to rub Lucy between the ears and make soft cooing noises. She was giggling with joy at the motion, and Lucy didn't put up a fight. Not that she wanted to, she quite liked the feel of hands in her fur and she even gave a low rumble of appreciation.

"Well, get along now. He won't be happy if you stay here for too long." Her voice echoed in Lucy's mind, and the wolf gave an angry snort before dipping her head and making her exit. Michelle wasn't wrong (which only infuriated Lucy more), but she was hoping that someday her father would lighten up a bit, and allow himself the opportunity to move past her mother's death. She knew for a fact that her mom wouldn't have wanted to see him become this… monster.

The grass was scratchy beneath her paws and even grazed her underbelly. She had to keep low to the ground that way she wouldn't draw attention, though it was easier said than done. She may be a runt, but she had the physique to match her werewolf genes, plus she was bigger than the average mutt.

She wasn't concerned, though she should be, considering this was her turf and she knew these woods like the back of her paw. Though, there was a small problem: the section without shrub to hide in. This was one she had to pass through to make it to the clearing that he would theoretically be waiting in. She hadn't been paying attention the first time she'd traveled to him, but now in her weakened state, she had to be careful.

The first time they'd met she'd already had time to brush off the transformation aches but having left immediately after she was still sore. Sure, she could escape if she needed to, but honestly, she didn't want to. If at all possible. Her ears twitched as a rustling came from her right. Hunters. She cursed internally because of course there would be hunters. Why the hell not. Every lean muscle in her body tensed as she pressed as far as she could into the ground.

This was dangerous, and she needed to be careful.

--------------------

Again. He waited under the cover of night. His form warped by the darkness to the point that if you looked he would appear to be a human by any other standard. His chin rest in his palm and his brows were scrunched in irritation. He'd waited for the wolf to grace him with her presence again, but it was day 30 and there was no sign of pale white fur. Feet tapped anxiously as he stared into the bark of the tree in front of him. His eyes glazed over as his mind wandered leaving his body an empty shell.

He would have stayed in that mindless trance had he not been snapped out of it. Bang! The metallic scent of blood crashed his senses making him think distinctly of pennies. That was neither here nor there. His mind switched immediately to defense as the crashing sound of footsteps echoed around him.

Branches breaking, leaves crunching, the collision of bodies. Whatever was bleeding was frantic, and whatever was chasing it had a partner. A partner it couldn't stop running into. Boy, was their teamwork bad.

He stood still as he waited to see exactly what was causing this kind of commotion in HIS woods. A flash of white caught his eye which caused a flutter of panic in his chest. That was impossible. Another shot fired, and the sound of a yelp! had him ready to run to the rescue.

She crashed to the ground, her breath labored, and a soft whimper leaving her body. They'd gotten her good, and if she managed to live her father would not be pleased. She urged her body to move, and somehow it complied. The calm didn't last as the sound of a small branch snapped beneath a heavy boot. A noise rose above the rest: growling. She wondered when exactly she'd began growling and it took her a moment to realize that she hadn't. That's when she realized exactly where she was. The Clearing.

Which meant to her left was the one person she'd never been happier to see. He'd waited for her. With the hunters distracted she leapt into the clearing and booked it to his side. She ignored screams of protest and the sound of cocking guns. She just needed to reach him. She slid to a stop behind him, her breath leaving her body in heavy spurts. Warmth spread through her entire body as his hand laid upon her head. It was urging her to rest. It was like he was saying, ‘Leave it to me.' And she did.

He never thought he'd be so MAD. Her beautiful fur was matted with blood from an injury on her backside, and her body shook with exhaustion. Wings extended from his back, and the original growl turned into a loud snarl which evolved until a roar was echoing for miles.

"Leave." He bellowed his command into the air. He was every bit Igneel's son, and damnit he was the Fire Dragon King's heir. They'd leave if they wanted to live. Guns clattered to the ground and with wild scrambling, the hunting pair took their abrupt departure. He huffed, blowing out a puff of smoke. These were his woods, his territory, and he'd be damn if someone attacked a friend in his presence.

Her body quivered next to his, and when he crouched down to check on her she shoved her muzzle against his face and rubbed furiously.

"Hey! Cut that out!" she didn't take him seriously as she watched him light up with laughter, and his mouth contorted into the same grin she'd seen the first time they'd met. She'd been worried. The expression he'd made when he'd ran off the hunters had made him look like a demon. It was someone she'd never seen, but also someone she knew he'd be unhappy to become. He'd looked like a king protecting his people.

Her whiskers tickled his cheek as she nuzzled him. She must've felt scared, which wasn't surprising all things considered. Then, he caught it. A soft scent just past the smell of pennies: Vanilla. His eyes widened, his mind flitting to her. The blonde who'd been a stranger. The one who checked to see if he was okay after his fight with Gajeel.

"You…?" he whispered. A howl sounded off in the night, the call to beckon her home. Just like before. A nod and the wolf was gone. A roar sounded off in the distance, his own call home, and he knew he'd have explaining to do.

--------------------

She stood, slowly, from her chair at the library. She'd been adamant about returning to her job even through her father's distress. It seemed like his only daughter almost dying had lit some kind of fire in him. He'd been more caring, and dare she think it, tender. Still, she wouldn't just sit, and wait for her wound to heal.

That'd be boring. Plus, she couldn't stop thinking about that night. The pink-haired man waiting under the moonlight, and how he'd saved her life. They wouldn't have killed her. No, they would have sold her.

She shuddered and gripped the book in her hand even tighter. Lately, she'd been having trouble controlling her strength so when it snapped in half she wasn't surprised. Even so, it would surely be docked from her pay.

"It seems weird for a librarian to be destroying a book. Aren't ya supposed to like those?" she recognized his voice easily. It was the same tone he used when they spoke in the woods the first night.

"You thought so too, huh?" she sighed, but set the destroyed book down on the cart beside her.

"Interested in anything?" she meant a book, obviously. The pinkette had something a little different in mind.

"You." He watched her body stop on a dime, and her cheeks exploded in the color red. A part of him wanted to chuckle and stroke her hair to calm her. The other part told him not to. Even if she was the wolf in the woods (he still wasn't sure) it wasn't likely she'd care for being treated like an animal.

"W-What do you mean?" her voice sputtered, but then evened out. Did he know? It was entirely possible, though she wasn't in the mindset to be playing this game. Fake it ‘till you make it. That was her motto.

"Nothing. I just saw ya from the window. We met a few days ago so I wanted to say ‘Hi'." It wasn't a lie, not entirely, but he wasn't prepared to try and out a werewolf even if it was an empty bookstore.

"Oh. Well then, hello, stranger." She teased, shelving another book into its rightful place. This was the tricky part, having to walk forward to the next section of literature without him noticing her wound.

"Stranger." He said it with a bitter aftertaste in his mouth, "What's your name?" if they exchanged names they would be acquaintances. Then, maybe the anger creeping into his chest might subside. She knew him and she'd heard his inner-most concerns. He'd saved her life. They were hardly strangers.

"Lucy. Lucy Heartfilia." She held out her hand to him, a soft gesture, hoping he'd take it. Then, perhaps they could be more than just the wolf and the dragon who met under the light of the full moon.

"My name is Natsu Dragneel." There. Acquaintances. Next step: friends. "Can I help?"

She considered his offer, maybe if he was elsewhere in the store she could maneuver with ease. Or at the very least she'd be able to keep her secret.

"Yes. That would be great." She smiled, soft and sweet. "The system is alphabetical." It was nothing special like the Dewey Decimal system.

"Got it." He grabbed a few hardcovers and stared at their titles before wandering off. She'd heard him whisper the letter ‘P' and that was at least two rows over. Now, she just needed to place the book she currently held in her hand. ‘Starlight', it was a children's book that her mother had read to her when she was a child. It detailed the story of a young girl with the power to control call upon the stars. It was her favorite. It was also, unfortunately, on the top shelf.

She grimaced but still pushed to the tip of her toes to push the book into its rightful place. The wound where the bullet had lodged deep into her hip was screaming in agony. She should have had him put it up. He was tall, probably? Her mind pictured him as she confirmed his height. She hadn't really been paying attention to his physical features due to her internal panic.

Move on, her mind urged. She agreed and switched to the next title. ‘Roses Be Damned'. This was supposed to be some classic, cheesy romcom and she couldn't wait to purchase it and let it consume her life for the next month. If it was good anyway. It was here, that Lucy made her mistake.

She shifted to the right accidentally bumping right into the heavy cart full of books. She let out a scream of pain as she toppled to the ground, holding her hip tightly as though that would help. As if the tighter she squeezed the less pain she would feel.

Natsu, two rows over, stared at the book in his hand. It was an informational guide on Werewolves. Now, while werewolves had outed themselves – for the most part – that didn't mean all of the packs had. It was more a pre-emptive strike than anything else. He should probably buy this book. He was making his way around the corner when the scream and clatter of books had him rushing.

There she was, lying sprawled across the floor with small whimpers leaving her lips. He cursed. He'd gotten complacent. Of course, there's no way she would have healed by now. Werewolves and Dragons were fundamentally different after all. While he wouldn't be slowed down by a bullet, she wasn't built as sturdy.

"Are you all right?" his voice sounded like it was miles away as her mind seemed shrouded by the pain her body was experiencing. Fuck. Maybe she should have stayed home. This was shaping up to be a great day already.

"Nnn." Her grunt seemed to be an affirmative but she still hadn't moved from her spot on the floor so he decided to take it with a grain of salt.

"Why are you pretending?" her entire body froze from its position on the ground.

"What do you mean?" she feigned ignorance for a moment. She couldn't allow him to figure her out so easily, though it would just be easier to come clean.

"Actin' like you're okay, but clearly you're not." She'd been scared when he asked the question. He wasn't entirely sure why she would be. Either she was scared of him, or someone else. It had to be a someone, not a something. He hoped so anyway.

She stared into the carpet as though it was the most interesting thing she'd ever seen. It wasn't. Lucy couldn't just avoid him forever but maybe she could feign passing out and deal with it later. No, that was a bad idea too. She cursed under her breath and gathered all of her courage to face him.

"I'd say you're right. I was in a sticky situation and got injured a few days ago." He knew that already. He was there. He saved her. It had taken a bit of time to find her though, in fact, he probably wouldn't have without Gajeel's girlfriend to help him out. Apparently, the girls were in the same pack. Now, that was a plot twist.

"I know. I saved ya didn't I." there wasn't a question; it was another statement. Yep, he knew. Would he be mad? First, he shares his secrets with her in the woods under the guise that she was a regular woodland creature. And then, she hides her identity and pretends they never met. Lucy regretted her train of thought because of course, he'd be mad. She'd be mad too if he had done the same thing. Ah, but he hadn't done it. She had.

"I should start with an ‘I'm sorry.'" She mumbled. His heightened hearing caught her words whereas a normal human would have experienced some difficulty. That was not helping him understand why she was sorry. There wasn't really anything to be sorry about, right?

"Why are ya apologizin'?" Theoretically, there shouldn't be a reason to apologize. Not unless she'd run rampant and telling the story of the dragon who didn't want to be king. That sounded like a shitty romance-drama movie waiting to happen.

"Well, you confided in me, and I didn't bother to tell you that I wasn't human." she felt bad about it. Rationally speaking, how could she have told him anything. Speaking was NOT a skill that wolves had. Mostly, it was that she never went back to that clearing – as a human – to explain herself.

"Ya realize wolves don't talk right?" he wasn't quite sure what she was feeling so guilty about. He wasn't mad. He'd shared a secret with a wolf on the night of the full moon. It wouldn't have surprised him in the least if it'd been a werewolf.

"Well, yes, but--" she sputtered to a stop as he interrupted her.

"No harm, no foul. I'm not mad about it. As long as ya didn't run around tellin' every damn person on the street about it, then who cares?" she cared. Obviously.

"It was still a betrayal of your trust! Let me make it up to you." she silently pleaded that he'd agree and just let her take him to lunch or something. The pinkette was uncomfortable. Again. His fingers raked through his hair, displacing the messy locks, and then he gave a groan of annoyance before nodding.

"Fine." he didn't elaborate, instead he placed his hands on his hips and waited. Lucy found herself drawn into his gaze. When they met she could've sworn they were the color of midnight, but in the day with the sun high in the sky, they were a dazzling green. To her, they equated to the vibrant journal decorated in white daisies that lived in her desk at home. It had reminded her of spring, and the same was true of his eyes.

"Hello?" he waved a hand in her face. She'd suddenly gone blank on him and while she could've been thinking of what to do to ‘make it up to him' – he got a distinct feeling that wasn't the case. He was caught in his own trance as well. She was definitely the wolf in the woods.

The second he looked into her eyes he knew. It was the same dark gold that he'd seen then, only this time the face staring back at him was a human's. The human was blonde, beautiful, and admittedly a little weird.

"What about lunch?" she blurted, as though she'd finally came back to reality.

"What about it?"

"Let me take you to lunch. To make it up to you." she elaborated for him, and honestly, he buzzed with excitement. He could eat any day, any time.

"Absolutely." no hesitation. Lucy's brow quirked in response.

"Well, then. Would now be a good time? I'm due for a break."

"I'm ready when you are." he held his hand out to her and she gladly took it. She'd need the support if she wanted to make it anywhere in the next millennia.

#fairy tail #nalu #nalu ff #natsu dragneel #lucy heartfilia #natsu x lucy #ft #dorkneel #queen #my writing #otp: welcome home #ever since i switched to linux #it wont let me copy paste my text with the indents #in any case have this #naluweek

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wwjacksparrowd · 7 years ago

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1) I don’t understand the point she’s making about “drag queens” reading to children in public library. How is one’s anatomy in any way relevant to their clothing? Why can a biological male not wear heels or make-up? What’s the difference between a male wearing heels and a female wearing pants? Should women in pants also be forbidden from reading in public libraries and other such community activities? 2) While I do find some drag queen names rather distasteful, it doesn’t seem like her problem with them is their names. She’s saying that they and their choices should not be exposed to children to “accommodate the 0.001% of the population.” Years ago, this might have been said about women who wore pants. So few women wore pants! Why did children need to know about women wearing pants? Well, nowadays, more and more women wear pants. That’s not because more women want to wear pants; it’s because less women feel like they will be targeted or singled out or even assaulted for doing so. By spreading awareness, more men will feel comfortable wearing articles of clothing that are traditionally considered feminine. I fail to see a reason why they should not. 3) Very few people actually use the term “LGBTQQIAAPP.” Those who do rarely attempt to convince others to do so as well. I can’t speak in defense of those who do. However, it’s unfair to categorize all LGBT+ (which is what it’s normally called, incidentally) individuals and allies as being ridiculous just because a select few individuals want everyone to use the aforementioned mouthful. 4) I’ve met plenty of transgender individuals. None of them have gotten offended if/when someone uses the wrong pronoun. Meanwhile, I know that you know that there are an abundance of swear words in my everyday vocabulary. However, when I am around Christians, particularly when I’m in their houses – in fact, even when they’re in my house, I go out of my way not to let a single swear word slip, sometimes taking a few minutes to think of a decent substitute for whichever swear I might be inclined to use. Even though I have no issue with swear words personally and am naturally inclined to use them, I still take care not to offend them by avoiding all of them. It’s not difficult to slightly alter your vocabulary for someone else’s comfort. In terms of curses, it’s considered common courtesy. I don’t understand why it’s so hard to replace one set of pronouns with another set for the same reason. 5) No one with any knowledge of language calls you racist for using the wrong pronouns. That’s an entirely different issue. 6) Someone identifying as agender, bigender, or any other gender identity you’re unfamiliar with does not have any impact on your life. It doesn’t hurt you. It doesn’t change your lifestyle. Just theirs. That is their choice. If you don’t like the way they dress, don’t look at them. 7) Yes, Caitlyn Jenner is a biological male. Also a woman. It’s important to her and other transwomen that you refer to her as a woman, and it’s important to transmen to be referred to as men. Again, this doesn’t hurt you. They’re just words like any other words and it’s not like you have to go very far out of your way to use man instead of woman or vice versa, or to refer to someone as a person instead of a man or a woman when it causes them discomfort to be called either. The same goes for her name. If she wants to be called Caitlyn instead of Bruce, just call her Caitlyn! It’s not a big deal! Prince changed his name to an UNPRONOUNCABLE SYMBOL and people still didn’t make a fuss THIS big! But when a biological male changes their name to a feminine name, it’s the end of the world. 8) If you can find for me a scientific study proving that having a penis forbids you from using certain words to describe yourself and wearing certain clothes, please point me in its direction. I would truly love to read this study. 9) No one’s asking you to “celebrate” LGBT+. All we’re asking you to do is accept that other people have other lifestyles that you may or may not agree with but ultimately don’t affect yours in any way. We’re asking you not to try and change people when they don’t need changing. 10) Oh, my favorite complaint! “…I’m not gonna celebrate your mental disorders…” Excuse me? A mental/psychiatric disorder is, and I quote, “a clinically significant behavioral or psychological syndrome or pattern that occurs in an individual and that is associated with present distress (e.g., a painful symptom) or disability (i.e., impairment in one of more important areas of functioning) or with a significantly increased risk of suffering death, pain, disability, or an important loss of freedom.” The government article I am quoting (a link to which can be found at the bottom of this comment) goes on to say that “Neither deviant behavior (e.g., political, religious, or sexual) nor conflicts that are primarily between the individual and society are mental disorders unless the deviance or conflict is a symptom of a dysfunction in the individual, as described above.” So let’s review. A mental disorder can only be categorized as such if there is distress or disability caused by it, or increased risk of death, pain, disability, or loss of freedom. Obviously there is no disability there. Unless they’re referring to the risk of murder or assault, no increased risk of death, pain, disability, or loss of freedom either. As far as distress is concerned, admittedly, there is some distress when someone who identifies as a woman is forced to live as a man, or vice versa, or if they identify as neither man nor woman or as both a man and a woman or any of the other gender identities out there. However, that distress fades when they’re allowed to alter their lifestyle in the ways they want to which, incidentally, don’t cause any harm whatsoever to themselves or those around them! Imagine that! So if you want to call being trans a “mental disorder,” then changing their name, pronouns, and/or wardrobe is the cure! https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3101504/ SCIENCE TIME! I didn’t find a good place in the video to comment on the science behind being trans (yes, it exists!) so I’m putting it here. 1) The amygdala is the part of the brain responsible for emotions. The hypothalamus is responsible for our essential hormones. Together, they make up the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, or the BNST, which is in turn responsible for our survival instincts. One of these instincts is reproduction. The BNST in a man’s brain is twice the size of a woman’s BNST. Notice that I said “man” and “woman,” not “biological male” and “biological female.” That’s because I’m not talking about male and female. In fact, regardless of biological sex, men have larger BNSTs than women. Even if a woman is biologically male like Caitlyn Jenner, they have a small BNST like other women do. Same goes for men who are biologically female. This is not because of sex reassignment surgery or hormone therapy. Trans individuals have the same size BNST before and after these treatments. Similarly, the number and size of the neurons in one’s hypothalamus, along with the size of a person’s putamen (another part of the brain), which are different for men and women, reflect one’s gender identity as opposed to their biological sex. 2) Phantom limbs! Have you heard of them? If not, here’s a quick explanation: when someone who is born with two arms and two legs loses one of those limbs, they can still feel pain in the limb afterwards despite no longer possessing it. This phenomenon is referred to as having a “phantom limb.” Now, when men have penile cancer, sometimes it is necessary to surgically remove their penis to help them recover. In one study, 60% of men who had this treatment claimed to feel pain in their penis, just like someone who has a phantom limb. However, when a biological male who identifies as a woman has their penis removed during sex reassignment surgery, they don’t report this feeling! Almost as if the penis was a part of their body that shouldn’t have been there to begin with. 3) Humans are not the only creatures whose genders are too complicated to be defined at birth. With clownfish, a female is at the top of the food chain, and when they die, the most dominant male BECOMES FEMALE to take their place. With reef fish, if the only male dies, the females adapt by becoming more and more masculine until they are able to produce sperm. With one species of lizard, the central bearded dragon, the males become female when the temperature rises significantly. Deer can be intersex. Male kangaroos can have pouches. You say being trans is “unnatural?” Nature disagrees. Finally, I would like to address one last argument that many people make, particularly (but not exclusively) Christians, among other religious folks: “If you weren’t born with a penis, you aren’t meant to have one. If you were born with a penis, you’re meant to have one.” I hear variations of this argument exceedingly often. According to this argument, you are meant to have the body parts you are born with, and no others. I can only assume that proponents also contest that those born without two arms and/or two legs should be forbidden from getting prosthetics. Perhaps they also believe that those with genuine mental disorders should be forbidden from receiving treatment in the form of prescription drugs. After all, if you’re born with bi-polar disorder, presumably you’re meant to have bi-polar disorder. It doesn’t matter if it causes you to sleep less. It doesn’t matter if causes you to lose your appetite. It doesn’t matter if it causes you to have suicidal thoughts. If you were born this way, you are meant to be this way, and you’ll just have to deal with it. That’s what you’re telling transgender people when you dismiss their gender identities. If you have questions or objections (or even if you don’t!), while I am more than happy to provide answers or engage in debate with you, I encourage you to read Becoming Nicole by Amy Ellis Nut, which describes the true story of a pair of biologically male identical twins, one of whom is a transwoman, the other of whom is a cisman. It provides fascinating insight into the experience of a transwoman, as well as her brother and parents’ perspectives. (In case you're wondering, I found the symptoms of Bi-Polar Disorder right here: https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/bipolar-disorder/index.shtml)

#transphobia #trans #transgender #transman #transwoman #mtf #ftm #nonbinary #agender #bigender #genderqueer #genderfluid #drag queen

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mst3kproject · 8 years ago

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407: The Killer Shrews

Whatever else one might say about The Killer Shrews, it is a huge step up from The Giant Gila Monster in at least one respect – it is actually about the titular monsters, and those monsters actually interact with the human characters! So far, so good. Then we get to the monsters themselves, and... oh, dear. This movie wouldn't quite be better without the shrews in the way that last week's feature would without the lizard, but they're still a very significant problem for what would otherwise be a serviceable film.

A small boat arrives at a remote island off the coast of wherever this is (the opening narration suggests the Pacific Northwest). Captain Sherman and his redshirt buddy are there to deliver supplies to a scientific outpost, but plan to stay overnight in order to ride out an approaching hurricane (meaning it can't possibly be the Pacific Northwest). This is treated as bad news by Mad Scientist Dr. Marlowe Cragis and his assistant and daughter Anne. After some beating around the bush as night closes in, Cragis confesses that he has created a species of giant, nocturnal, venomous, man-eating rodent. With supplies running low, the group must make a break for the boat in the morning – if only they can first survive the night!

At its barest and boniest this is the plot of Alien, The Thing, Friday the Thirteenth, The Green Slime, and god knows how many other movies: a small group of people are stranded in the middle of nowhere with something that wants to kill them. They're picked off one by one, usually ethnic stereotypes first, until the last desperate survivors must destroy their foe and get to the choppah for rescue. Although there are some very good movies with this premise, there are also some thoroughly terrible ones. The Killer Shrews is pretty mediocre, but does its best with the material and sometimes comes surprisingly close to success.

In the average 'trapped with a monster' movie, the characters are either completely dull or utterly detestable – the latter option usually makes for a more entertaining film, since we can at least take some vindictive joy in watching these assholes get killed. The Killer Shrews has its share of nobodies: Griswold the first mate and Mario the janitor are the aforementioned ethnic stereotypes, who are in the movie so it can put off the deaths of the white people. Uber-nerd Bradford feels like he ought to be a joke but never gets a punchline. He dies pretty quickly, too.

The rest of the dramatis personae, however, have a little more meat on their metaphorical bones: Dr. Cragis is fascinated by the shrews' single-minded and ruthless survival instincts, admiring their effectiveness even as they threaten his life. Anne is as consumed by guilt over her own role in creating the monsters as she is by her fear of them. Her crush on Sherman and semi-frantic attempts to endear herself to him seem to have more to do with the fact that he represents a chance of escape than with any real attraction. Jerry's determination to finish the experiments, in spite of his cowardice, stems from a desperate need to atone for his past mistakes. Captain Sherman is supposed to be our hero, but there's a point when the others nearly have to physically intervene to stop him from throwing Jerry to the shrews. Everybody in this film has been pushed to the edge of sanity.

So what keeps it from being effective? There's a few things. One is the acting – Ingrid Goude as Anne and Baruch Lumet as Dr. Craigis are pretty good, but the other major players tend to be too low-key to really be convincing. The one exception is Ken Curtis as Jerry, who overplays everything just that crucial tiny bit. Whether drunk, paranoid, or hysterical, he tends to end up sounding like he's in a high school play.

As with The Giant Gila Monster, we begin with a voiceover that provides us with a completely different origin for the monsters than the actual story will do. Here the narrator tells us that this is a new species, which first appeared in Alaska before moving south into Canada. The subsequent movie, however, informs us that the shrews were the product of mad science (and for once there’s an actual justification for the experiments besides ‘let’s see if we can create a monster’. Cragis was studying the relationship between size and metabolism). Seeing as one of the characters claims to have created the shrews himself, I'm going to go with his version rather than Mr. Voiceover's, but it does make me think the opening narrations wern't originally part of either movie.

There's too much exposition. The script spends a very long time emphasizing the voraciousness of the shrews through dialogue, and while this does also establish a certain amount of character, it would have been far more effective to show us the small shrews ravenous' appetites. Our imaginations could then have done the job of scaling it up – the idea of being gnawed to death by rats is truly horrifying, and being gnawed by giant rats would hardly be less so. Having typed that, however, I realized that doing this in 1959 for this particular movie would probably have involved forcing a couple of cute mice to fight to the death, as many times as necessary to get the shot right. So on second thought, never mind.

The music is unsubtle but it works all right. Same with the direction, which is actually another marked step up from The Giant Gila Monster. For the most part Kellogg still just points the camera at what's happening and films, but at least people move around within some of the shots and display body language rather than just putting a leg up on the nearest ledge.

We get no real impression of the hurricane itself besides hearing the howling wind – I don't think there's a single shot in which we are in any way aware of rain. Just the sound of it hammering on the roof would have done wonders for the feeling of claustrophobia the movie is trying to create.

I think you know what I'm working up to here, though. While there's a lot of minor adjustments that could have been made to help The Killer Shrews, the main problem is the actual shrews. They're among the least-convincing monsters in film history. Trailer Club 70 included them in its bottom five, along with the jellyfish man from Sting of Death and the turkey-headed vampire from Blood Freak.

How do you depict a giant rodent in a movie? Well, if you're Rob Reiner, you throw a big latex puppet at Carey Elwes. If you're Bert I. Gordon, you film actual rats in extreme close-up and pretend they match your amusingly adorable fake rat heads. If you're Bruno Mattei, you put rat masks on your actors and leave the audience wondering what the fuck they're watching (god, I've seen way too many movies). And if you're Ray Kellogg, you shave a bunch of dogs and hope we won't notice.

Well, okay, that's not fair: not every shrew in the movie is a shaved dog. Some of them are dogs with ratty-looking fake fur draped over them. Others are puppet heads with long 'fangs' that look like a third-grader's attempt at a saber-toothed tiger prop for a home-made caveman movie. All of them are tragically cheap and completely unconvincing. The heads are immobile, so in the shots where a shrew is supposed to be biting somebody, all we see is the puppet's nose being rubbed against a pre-bloodied trouser leg. In another scene a 'shrew' enters the room, and is not only obviously a dog, it's a dog that's happy to see you! I have never seen a shot so entirely ruined by ordinary canine body language (though bits of Teenage Caveman come damn close).

Considering the sorts of things I tend to talk about on this blog, you're probably wondering why I haven't said anything yet about Anne's decision to give up science and become a housewife. Truth is, that's just not high on the list of things that suck remarkably about The Killer Shrews. I mean, yeah, it's definitely sexist, but it's handled so much better here than the comparable development in Rocketship XM that I have kind of a hard time being angry about it. Dr. Van Hoorne supposedly came to realize that the men were right and she was wrong, despite all narrative evidence to the contrary. Anne Cragis' retirement is her choice, not imposed upon her by the male characters, and emerges organically from her own story.

The men in Rocketship XM asked Dr. Van Hoorne why cooking and cleaning and changing diapers isn't enough for her. In The Killer Shrews, Sherman asks Anne whether she's a scientist in the obvious expectation of a 'yes', and listens sympathetically while she talks about it. When she states her choice to retire and lead a 'normal' life, he is supportive of this without placing a value judgment on it. The fact that Anne is the only woman in the film makes it very difficult not to see her as the writer's stand-in for all women everywhere, but there is at least no explicit statement that science is no place for women. It's a low bar, but hey.

Remember Terror from the Year 5000, in which a woman promptly abandoned her fiance when the hero appeared on the scene? This happens in The Killer Shrews as well, but again, it's less annoying here. Unlike Claire and Bob, Anne and Sherman actually get to know each other a little over the course of the story. Her engagement with Jerry is already ended, for completely understandable reasons, and Sherman represents both her potential escape from the island and a person who listens to her respectfully rather than trying to impose his own will. It's still a useless romantic subplot that exists to add artificial drama, but we have reasons why these characters behave as they do and it feels more like part of the same story rather than a distraction from it.

All things considered, I'm left with the impression that if writer Jay Simms and director Ray Kellogg had wanted to make movies that did not have giant mutant animals in them and had been given a bit of money to do so, they probably could have done a pretty good job. The two movies they did make are a long way from masterpieces, but there are some surprisingly good things in them for those who care to stop riffing and look.

#mst3k #reviews #the killer shrews #50s

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uglybunnie245 · 5 years ago

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Pale Blue Chapter 1

A bright light comes through my window and irritates my eyes. At first I think it's the morning sun and that I forgot to close my curtains, but when I take a good, long, reluctant look; I realize the light is very artificial and it's in fact still night. I put my shoes on immediately and the closest things to keep me warm, which are a thin plaid poncho and jeans. I scurry out of the house and into the large field adjacent.

The light is brightly coming from a spaceship, illuminating the lot. I freeze in awe of the large craft. Hundreds of square feet it hovers about 50 feet off the ground with just a light humming sound. Without realizing, I had already begun to approach it and the bright, almost blinding light. A door from the bottom of the ship opens down towards me and causes me to nearly fall backwards. More light spills from the shining inner walls of the craft and at first there's nothing until a silhouette breaks the light. My eyes widen but only for a moment. The figure comes closer and closer as I shield my eyes from the persistent light. Something doesn't quite seem right until I realize they're floating right down from the ship as the door isn't long enough to reach the ground. The closer they get, the ship does as well. There's a pull closer to it, like gravity itself is shifting towards the inner workings of the craft. The growing attraction slowly lifts me up, a few inches off the ground. I look down helplessly as I can't go back. When I look back up to the figure, they're right in front of me. Not a little gray man with a huge head and eyes, or a lizard with an upright posture, but a perfect looking human. They have a silver undercut and large twinkling pale blue eyes. A whole galaxy set in a pair of blue orbs. They don't smile, just a stare of fascination and an offered hand towards me. They're so beautiful, in the most unrealistic way. Hesitantly I put my hand into there's, flinching at the touch. It all feels so unreal, like a crazy dream but there's no way to prove it other than waking life. Quickly we fall up into the craft and touch the floor. It feels strange now to have weight, but what's even stranger is the inside of the ship. Everything is smooth and chrome, like in the movies. The fluidity of the walls and what little furniture is surprising. There's large windows all around, with a 360 view of what's around us. The silver haired being looks me up and down and lets go of my hand without a word. I awkwardly follow as they go about their business of leading me into a small little room. It has a chair by the large window and what looks like a couch. I rush to the window to get my senses back, and the ship is going up. It gets darker and darker outside the window as we ascend. I see the ground disappear, not without anxiety as the world I know is left behind. Tears fall down my cheeks and I have to pull myself from the window. The silver haired being is still standing in the doorway and comes over curiously. They poke my cheek right in a stream of a tear and observes the liquid on their finger. They look at my face curiously and it makes me smile at how innocent it is.

"Tear." I say quietly. They flinch at the sound I made. They stare at me hard, I try again.

"Tear." I point at the tip of their finger. They mouth the word with me.

"Tear." they say, slightly off but close enough. Introductions are probably in order. I gesture to myself.

"Angela." I then gesture to them. They hesitate but do the same.

"Xi."

"You are a human female, yes?" they ask.

"Um, yes I am. Why did you come to my house?" I ask back. They look me up and down again. They hesitate but all the time sounding honest.

"I'm part of a scientific team researching human genetics and you have been chosen to represent your land area as a DNA sample. You will be assigned a partner and expected to live with and produce offspring with them. I regret to say you can not refuse, you have been selected by the hierarchy." They look into my eyes intently and continue, as I mumble swears to myself.

"I have been chosen to be your partner. I'll be the only one of my kind you will see for the next 168 earth hours. You're not allowed to meet the pilot, only me until we're at stella erratica."

"Why can't I see anyone else?" I question.

"We figure it creates some intimacy, each couple must depend on each other or it could lead to complications in our experiment." I sigh, trying to take everything in. Rubbing my temples I pace around.

"God this is weird." I mumble to myself. They just stare at my odd behavior.

"So what you're saying is that they're taking human females and breeding them with, what I'm assuming is the male of your species to see if we can crossbreed?"

"Yes, there will be a male program shortly after as well." they continue.

"I had to learn your human dialect just to even be thought of to be selected for this project. It's a great honor to part of this such important research."

"So I can't talk to anyone but you?" my eyes widen.

"Yes." this doesn't sound great so far. Professional and heartless all in the name of science for these other beings.

"Does my government know about this?" I try to reason.

"Yes they do, we work closely with them to ensure we can provide care for our humans and our offspring if we succeed in our trials." I look him up and down myself this time. He's very attractive actually.

"No offence, but I wouldn't fuck you." I say flatly.

"I don't fuck people I don't know." he wrinkles his nose.

"What is this queloquial 'fuck' mean?" he leans in closer to me hoping for an answer.

"It's contextual, but right now it means I'm not going to have sex with you. I don't know you, so stay away from all this." I gesture to my body.

"That's not going to help if the plan is to see if we can create life." he comes closer, intently. I push him away defensively.

"Just leave me alone I need some time to myself." He holds a hand to his chest, looking at me with surprise.

"Go!" I yell. The volume of my voice makes his face harden but he leaves finally.

I frustratedly sit on the chair by the window. The stars go by too fast to be observed comfortably like I had hoped for. They're just blurry lines of light being dodged on our course to wherever the fuck we're going. My emotions get the better of me and I just cry again for some time, holding myself in a mix of fear, sadness and bewilderment.

"Maybe there will be a day I can go home. I'll be okay." I try to comfort myself out loud. I repeat it over and over.

"I'll go home one day, I'll go home one day, I'll go home one day." after a few minutes I fool myself into believing it. A sense of optimism washes over me. I uncurl myself and look around the room. There's barely anything here, so I go beyond the door. If there's anything at all interesting it's not in that room. I walk around, there's windows and the soft curves of the walls, nothing really interesting. I open a door, only darkness. I try another door and lights flash on immediately. It's a medical center, great.

"Moving on from the scary shit." I mumble to ease my worry, closing the door. I try one more door and when the lights come on I gasp. A perfect replica of my own room appears before me. My bed, my books, my clothes down to the last pencil it's exact. I rush to a book on the shelf that would be my diary and open it hurriedly. The pages are blank and I sigh relieved.

"Oh thank God." I put it back and look around. My window is missing but there's fake curtains in their place. I sit on my bed and kick my shoes off. Might as well make myself at home. I feel my pocket and luckily my vape pen is in there.

"Fuck yes, finally something." I take a drag and feel more at home instantly.

The door suddenly opens with a woosh and Xi walks in holding a flower. I glare at him until I notice the sunflower in his pale perfect hand. He bends down a little closer to me with a smile. The first time I've seen one on his almost expressionless face.

"I made you a flower. Will you stop being mad at me now? Stress is detrimental to humans."

"Yes I'm not mad anymore and I'm sorry but did you say that you 'made a flower for me'?" I take the offering in my hand and look it over. The flower feels normal with all the petals and they feel just as velvety as the real ones do.

"Yes, if I have the atoms we have machines to make simpler organisms like Earth plants. It doesn't make anything that's conscious of mind like an animal though." I turn the flower over in my hand again.

"Wow that's amazing." I smile at him.

"You don't have anything like that on Earth?" He asks.

"No, everyone just wants new cars or a phone." I shrug and take a drag from my pen, blowing out the smoke away from his face. Alarmed he sntaches the pen from my hand with terrifying swiftness.

"That's harmful to humans too. Save his highness, why are you so self destructive?" I glare at him and grab it back.

"That's mine you can't just take it!" he grabs it back just as fast and holds it away.

"We have other fluids you can inhale if you're so keen but not that kind. It'll kill you." I roll my eye in annoyance and cross my arms.

"Oh stop making so many defensive human gestures, it's bothersome." he taps my shoulder.

"You don't fucking know me." I lunge at him, standing close to his face. Not even a flaw to scrutinize, damn. He doesn't even blink at my attempt at intimidation.

"Then let me get to know you." he says simply. It puts me off and I just fall back into the bed, feeling defeated.

"Fine. whatever." I mumble looking away.

"Whatever? Is that an invitation to do what I want?" my eyes widen.

"No!" I quickly respond. He stands a bit more comfortably.

"I thought so." he sits down next to me on the bed. My bed? Who knows, it looks like nothing will ever truly be mine anymore.

"May I ask something?" he says after some silence.

"Sure." I deadpan, putting the flower down on my nightstand.

"Why do you have so many scratches on your forearms?" without hesitation I differ.

"No reason. It's a human thing." I can't even look at him. My poncho wasn't long enough to cover my arms...

"It's not good for you, you know. Did something happen to you? Did you fall on something or attacked or-" I just interrupt him in further annoyance.

"I did it okay!?" I hold my arms closer to myself.

"Why would you do that it's self destructive, just like the inhaling of all those chemicals. You're just killing yourself slowly or damaging your body." he stares at me with those piercing blue eyes.

"It makes me feel better... If I get hurt then I have to care for myself. No one else wants to." I fumble with my fingers.

"Then you don't have to do that, I'll care for you." my eyes finally reach his, they're almost shining in emotion. Is he earnest? Maybe.

"Yeah like I can trust you." I say sarcastically.

"Thank you for saying that." He smiles mechanically. It must be a learned trait to make me feel better. It's annoying that there's no sarcasm where he's from.

"Guess I'll just have to see if that's true." I kick my feet around a little, getting bored.

"Of course it is. I wouldn't say anything false to you." He looks around my room.

"So was the little orange knife in your desk made just so humans could hurt themselves?"

"No, it's made to cut other thin materials like paper, but many people, like myself misuse it." I respond.

"Okay." he gets up and looks through my desk for it, grabbing it up in hand with my vape pen and scissors.

"You can no longer be allowed to have these without my supervision." I get up quickly but he holds the objects away from me.

"Please don't take my blade. I can't part with it yet..." my voice falters.

"You want to hurt yourself?" he looks at me oddly.

"N-no but I..." I can't finish. It hurts to be in this place. Pain or pain, hard to pick.

"I will make a deal. I'll give you the orange knife and if you have cuts on your arms I know that I'm not taking good enough care of you." I freeze for a moment.

"That's not how it works, but okay..." he hands me the blade back.

"I will help you realize you're not worth of hatred." he grabs my hand tightly, for a moment. When he lets go my stomach drops. It actually felt nice...

"I'm going to put these in a safe place for now." he heads for the door.

"Wait why?" shouldn't I get my stuff back?

"Because I never said you could have the scissors back and it might surprise you," he leans in the doorway in a cocky stance.

"on my planet, smoke breathing is kind of errotic." he closes the door behind him. My eyes widen and I go back to sit at my desk. I just did something errotic in front of him, crap. After a while he doesn't return, I realize how tired I am. But then of course it was the dead of night when this ship was in my field. I get into bed and close my eyes for what feels like just a moment.

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