#beastie the pet shadow beast

[voidbears-oc-stash]

Just read the blog banner and description. I'll use this pinned post as a list of my OCs.

Jax and perhaps Springtime, you both know the rules I put for asks. And if you don't, reread the rules on @the-cookies-of-darkness blog.

More OC tags

OC List under cut

OCs:

Expo, a Sphinx Cat that is half void, and is extremely powerful because of that. He's a bit witty but all-in-all loves adventuring. Lost his mom soon after his birth and his father died in The Great Void War.

Luna The Werewolf Queen. She's a werewolf queen and can command werewolves. She, unlike other werewolves, is not weak to sliver. You'll find her backstory depressing, but I'm keeping a little mystery for now. She typically wears a special gold necklace that keeps her in a between-form. She just looks like a white wolf but her front paws are hand shaped. She's a bit self-conscious about her full werewolf form and doesn't go into it unless necessary. Yes, in the between-form she walks on all 4s.

Vinnie the Velociraptor. He's a Velociraptor from the dream realm and can enter others dreamrelms while they're asleep. He's kinda dumb but in a funny way, though he takes his 'job' to save others from nightmare seriously. He miraculously came from the dream realm of Sky The Cloud Warrior, in which in the realm he though Sky died and had a whole existential crisis when he became real.

Nameless, he does not know exactly what he is, even his own name was a bit of a misunderstanding but he kept it anyways. He stays around special rainbow crystals that keep him 'powered up', though he can still make more if given the energy. Here's some art of him by @maskoni-five. He's basepart wolf, has owl wings, aardvark claws in front, basilisk legs in back, a camel hump, and the venomous bite of a gila monster. His favorite food is eggs.

Blacky The Void Demon. He's not exactly a "demon", demon is just the void's word for powerful, like the void's word for the world outside the void is "Osega". He has a pet Shadow Beast named Beastie. He also has a complex backstory, involving him loving somebody who his dad did not allow and (his dad)causing The Great Void War. He left out of hatered of his dad and gained enough power to be able to survive the osega without having to possess anyone, granting him rank of Void Demon. He'd be willing to share his knowledge about what lives in the void. Here's his ref.

Fiqunzur: A full on species of mythical bests I have made. They can shapeshift and fit through even the tightest of gaps, and have the magpie's tendency to just take anything shiny or that they find neat. I'll likely be using Fritz and his two kids, Atsen(male) and Zemryu(female). Fritz's partner was murdered by the superstitious folk, but his kids don't know that. Here's what they looks like typically

(Yes, my pfp is Blacky petting one)

Shadow Beasts. I've already introduced the jist of them on @the-cookies-of-darkness but I'm thinking of moving Raider, Silho, and Buddy here. They're shadowy lions, basically, though their temperament changes on how they grow up. Without supervision (or supervision of ferals), they grow up a feral apex predator. When treated like a person, they grow up acting like a person and are capable of speech, though still stand on all 4s(Raider, Silho, and Buddy as examples). And when treated like a pet, they'll act like a mix of a cat and a dog, Beastie being an example of this. They're weak to attacks of "pure light". Which they describe as "something you can see that does not cast a shadow". AKA mostly just fire. Their scratches typically leave permanent black marks, and when one dies they are reborn. Though they can still have the more 'traditional' kids way. They're all one gender but it still takes two. The ferals have been known for taking over universes.

Sola and Quasar are two space-patterned technically aliens. Sola looks like a and is about the size of a Songbird, while Quasar is a large and powerful-looking dragon. The two are in love. They refuge in this galaxy to hide from a Tyrant in their home one. Quasar, despite looking powerful, the most power he has is the strength due to his size, the typical dragon fire-breath (but, ya'know, at will), and technically being able to move at Faster Than Light speeds, but he's actually a big softie who loves to make cookies(for eating, which might cause awkwardice when confronting cookie run characters.) Sola is a bit more willing to talk about the tyrant dictator of their home multiverse, but is clearly still scared to talk about them. She's a bit more introverted and only really feels comfortable around Quasar. She's prone to nightmares.

Sybeny, said Tyrant Dictator. I do not intend for her to show up yet, but I am at least writing her name down. The warning I have: Do not let her cuteness fool you. That's exactly how she gets you.

Cannibal, one of my Just Shape and Beats OCs. His home world's treeangle had a star on top that often kept our cannibalistic friend fed, but after a lot of trouble and the world starting to fade, he and 2 remaining others had to leave. Will Of Fire (will be referred to as "Will") made the mech and infused his soul into it, giving the mech his ability to make golden fire that has like a midus touch effect. However, it did not have enough time to charge with solar power, so Cannibal grabbed his other remaining friend Fusion, who was already in a comatose state, and put him into the backup power source spot and managed to flee the world before it faded. Fusion will ne near impossible to wake up again unless another star-topped treeangle is found, Will's soul does have some mild influence in the mech, but Cannibal is the main guy controlling it. He controls it all from the head portion like that scene in Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs 2 where Berry controls the sentinel of safety suit. He can leave the suit if he wants, but usually only opens the visor to eat, and only ever leaves to go to the bathroom. But here's a ref of him outside the humanoid mech suit! Due to not having a star treeangle piece to keep giving him the required food he needs, he usually eats cacti as it's the closest to what he could eat in home world that lives up to his cannibalistic instincts(as long as it works to keep him from self-cannibalism, that's what he's concerned about). He is not corrupted, he is just naturally pink.

Fusion, another Just Shapes and Beats OC. When not able to be powered by a treeangle, Fusion will be in a comatose ball form that's all rainbow-y that constantly leaks energy. When powered by a treeangle, Fusion is a force to be reckoned with. With powers from each boss from Just Shapes and Beats with looks to boot, he is essentially a demigod. He takes his job to protect the innocent very seriously. Sometimes even too seriously. Threaten anyone he deems innocent, you're in for a bad time. If he's in a good mood, you'll likely just be punted. In a bad mood? Better start praying to what gods you believe in. His favorite attack is lasers, which he, like annihilate, can shoot from his mouth. He can also summon things like sawblades and scythes, fire and spider webbing. Arms can also detach and regrow like Blixer/Fresh/whatever you call the main boss guy.

Quinton the Hydra. Good friend of Luna's, ended up in a minecraft world that's basically single-biome of cherry grove. So has gotten used to eating cherries, pigs, and sheep. Ironically, when I first made him I imaged him looking like the hydra from minecraft's Twilight Forest mod. He's kinda goofy, with his center head being in control, and the other heads tend to not exactly care, which leads him to limp now-and-then when the other heads are lazy and sleeping. He does take his job as a guardian seriously, however. He's covered in scars, though at least it seems people are smart enough to not cut any of his heads off. He calls his other heads Lefty and Righty

Swifty the Jagfox. She lives in the trees and is very quick in them, that's even how she got her name! And her jaguar spots help her camouflage. Was also in the cherry grove world. She tries to be friendly, but sometimes her hunting instincts take over. (Drawing was made when I was still, like, a freshman in highschool and was starting to get into drawing, so don't judge how bad it is :b)

Silver the Giant Snake. She's an albino Burmese Python who is slightly bigger than a Reticulated Python. She's sometimes seen like the mom of the group, she's kind and caring, but can do the 'I'm not mad I'm disappointed' attitude. Sadly and ironically, she's infertile. She did take care of a baby turtle named Ellipse for a while before the shadow beast invasion, in which Ellipse was killed in front of her, which has caused her to be a little more depressed. Ellipse was friends with Swifty. She ended up in the Cherry Grove world

MINOR (for now) OCS:

Sky The Cloud Warrior. I do not intent on having him be very relevant other than being Vinnie's 'dad'. He's retired and loves pizza parties, though he gets his nickname "The Cloud Warrior" for a good reason. He lives on the top of a mountain. Here's a ref with a little bit of info on it(Via a very inexperienced OC maker past me). The clouds he makes are always the perfect comfortable temperature and he can choose whether or not they're tangible.

Plobettba(Goes by "Plob" for short). I don't intend for her to actually show up in a long time, but she will be mentioned by Expo and the others. She's a cyborg dragon with the ability to melt planets, and only the metal on her could resist such high temperatures. She's killed her maker, Snatg(which is a shorting of "Snatgbbgu"(back when I was obsessed with Rot13 names lol), he was a mix of an Okapi and a Rhino, and is a more horrible and powerful tyrant than Sydeny could ever dream to be.), and has the source of his power on her. She's currently residing in the center of a star about a thousand lightyears away in hypersleep mode, and has connections to Expo if she wakes up and wants to talk, or if something goes horribly, horribly wrong to the point she can't handle it alone.

Qwarkon, The Blood Moon's Ghost. He's a weather elemental that looks ghost-like, though he can only seem to charge up his powers at night when the moon is out, and when he charges up, anyone nearby sees the moon turn to look like a blood moon. So he kinda typically stays away from the crowd and usually can't get himself the confidence to start a conversation.

Fred. He's just a grouchy scrooge Komodo Dragon who would kill just for peace and quiet.

These four. Not adding as much info as I've already shared it all in DMs with Jax and I'm pretty sure it's just me and him on this blog lol

Phantasma the Ghost. He's a humanoid wolf-panther mix who is, of course, a ghost. His tail is completely clipped off and he has no idea what happened to it. He's a quiet guy who enjoys the little things. His favorite thing to do is watch Fireflies, which he hadn't done in a long time due to first being stuck underground and then being stuck in the cherry grove world (even if Minecraft added Fireflies, they would've only been in swamps). He is lacking a good chunk of his memories, and only remembers that he died due to his best friend betraying him and thus doesn't trust easily.

adding the mutants to the more OC Tags post

#Expo 'the explorer' #Luna the werewolf queen #Vinnie the velociraptor #Nameless #Blacky the Void Demon #Fiqunzur #fritz the fiqunzur #atsen the fiqunzur #zemryu the fiqunzur #shadow beasts #raider the shadow beast #silho the shadow beast #buddy the shadow beast #beastie the pet shadow beast #Sola the Galactic Songbird refuge #Quasar the Galactic Dragon refuge #Sybeny the dictator tyrant #cannibal and his shape mech #fusion the shape demigod #sky the cloud warrior #plobettba the cyborg dragon #qwarkon the blood moon's ghost #fred the grouchy lizard #spec the cacti #cog the cacti #willow the cacti #pixel the cacti #quinton the hydra #swifty the jagfox #silver the giant snake

[angrelysimpping]

do u maybe think it’d be possible to get,,m! remy with a sweet cattle pc who really likes cuddling and sitting in his lap but theyre always too scared to ask or take the initiative,, idk maybe it takes an nsfw turn but that’s really up 2 u,,

DoL Relationships; AMAB Remy (he/him); GN Reader (you/your); hybrids; cow tf; milk talk but no straight-up lactation; dry humping; is Remy maybe too soft? perhaps; I wanna say Reader probably has Stockholm Syndrom; Reader refers to Remy as ‘Master’

Words: 1897

Cold. 

That's your first thought as you wake, groggily rubbing at your eyes as you struggle to sit up in a bed of hay. You're cold. 

You can't remember the last time you were cold, the sun constantly warming your back as you roamed the fields. Even on bitter winter nights, you were warm, tucked up in the barn. 

You're not in the fields now. Nor the barn. You're in a small, windowless stone room, one you have vague memories of. You’ve been here before, you think. You shrink in on yourself as you start to remember the last time you were here. You’d been bad then. Had fought with some of the farmhands and passed out. 

You didn’t do that anymore. You still ducked out of the farmhand’s reach, but you didn’t fight, you didn’t push yourself too hard. You didn’t want to spoil your milk or upset your Master Remy. 

A burly man stands next to the doorway, holding the only source of light: a flaming torch. You shudder under his gaze, your tail twisting around you to cover your crotch. Light from the flickering flame cast shadows over his face, making his expression unreadable, but you recognize him. He's tried slipping into your stall before. Master Remy doesn't like when the farmhands do that, but it's happened more than once. 

Shuffling away from the man, you try to put as much distance between you as you can in the cramped room. You end up with your back pressed against the cold wall as you keep your eyes on him. He chuckles at your blatant distrust, taking a menacing step forward before freezing as a sound comes from the doorway. 

Soft light slowly illuminates a set of steep stone stairs as someone descends them holding a lantern.  

You perk up as you recognize your Master as he comes into view. You want to run to him, but hold yourself back. Your Master doesn’t like you being overly affectionate with him, not when there are others around.

Since accepting your place in the herd, you’ve been rather affectionate with Remy. Nuzzling into his hand whenever he'd pet you. Followed his every order with a sweet smile and a moo. He thinks it's cute. He might have even given you a little extra attention from time to time. Maybe even spent some of his precious little free time looking out over the fields, watching you laze in the sun. 

What does it matter, really? He doesn't think it could hurt anyone, in the grand scheme of things.

    It’s not uncommon for the beasts to get attached to him. He’s their Master, after all. He keeps them safe and well-fed. But none of them are half as affectionate as you. Some of his farmhands have been saying that Remy’s going soft, letting you get so attached. They’re careful not to let Remy overhear, not unless they want to find out if he's just as willing to use his whip on his employees as he is on the cattle.

    With you being such a docile, obedient beastie, it was a surprise when the farmhands came to him, saying you had passed out in the fields. What did you get yourself into? Cattle don’t just pass out for no reason, after all. 

But he’d looked you over from toe to tip and you seemed fine. Mostly. A few bruises on your thighs in the shape of hands gave him pause, but that's something to look into later.

With a wave of his hand, Remy dismisses the burly man. The moment the man leaves, you relax, rushing to Remy's side. Another thing to look into, perhaps. 

Remy runs a hand over your hair, “Gave us quite the fright.” 

Your ears droop, but you still press into his touch. You don't like upsetting your Master Remy, don't like the crease between his brows or how the corners of his mouth twitch into a frown. 

"Found you passed out in the fields, a stress response." You shiver as he focuses on the spot behind your ear. “You need to stop worrying. You’re safe here. I thought you knew that.” 

You nod, giving a soft moo. 

Remy sighs, glancing over to the door. He probably shouldn’t do this, but you’re such a good beastie and you always give so much milk. He could explain it away easily under those pretenses, though he knows a pair of blonds who would give him never-ending shit if they found out. 

Weighing the pros and cons, Remy finally caves, sitting in the hay bed and pulling you into his lap. You sigh, content as you make yourself comfortable in your Master’s lap. It’s rare that your Master is so overly affectionate with you. Even though you crave his attention, you always wait for him to give the much-coveted affections of his own accord.

You make yourself comfortable in his lap; press into him and inhale as deeply as possible. He smells good. He always smells good. Crisp and clear. Grass and apples and leather and musk. Remy laughs, the sound making your heart flutter. 

“Silly beast,” he mutters, continuing to pet you as you relax into him. “Maybe you’re too delicate for the fields.” 

You stiffen, confused at what he means. Too delicate for the fields? Would he get rid of you? A tiny sound of panic escapes you as you try to press closer to your Master. You don’t want him to get rid of you. There was a time, long ago, when you raged against him. Not anymore. You can't imagine a life without him now. 

Remy chuckles at your distressed whine, easily manhandling you so you’re sitting with your back to his chest. You let out a startled moo as your Master’s hands stroke over your thighs, one gloved hand cupping your sex.

You squirm, trying to turn to give Remy a questioning look. You can't. Remy keeps you still in his lap, back firmly pressed against his solid chest.

“Relax, pretty,” Remy coos, hot breath making your soft ear twitch. “You’re safe here.”

Melting into your Master’s touch, you forget your worries as his skilled fingers brush over your groin. You can’t remember if your Master has ever milked you by hand before. Surely you would remember something like that, right?

Gradually, Remy’s movements become more pointed, making you squirm in his lap. A strong arm wraps around your middle, keeping you from moving too much, from chasing your own pleasure, as he toys with you. 

"M-My milk?" 

Remy hums in acknowledgment, pulling his hand away from your groin and holding it out in front of you. There’s something strange about seeing your fluids, your milk, on your Master’s gloved hand. 

“Don’t worry silly thing, I won’t waste a single drop of your precious milk.”

Remy brings his hand to his mouth, licking the leather clean.

Watching his slender fingers disappear past his lips, your stomach does a flip. For a second, it feels like you're going to combust from that sight alone. You sit stock still, hardly daring to breathe, heat burning through you as he withdraws his fingers from his mouth, glove dragging on his bottom lip, saliva glistening on the leather.

  The farmer chuckles at your dazed expression, your mouth slightly agape. Before you can collect yourself, he drags his fingers over your lips before pressing in. You don’t think, sucking on the digits without a second thought. 

“Good beastie.”

You hum around his fingers at his praise. 

Remy swears under his breath, cock pressing against his trousers uncomfortably as you moan low, tongue-twisting around his fingers. The arm he’s had wrapped around your middle now shifts, allowing him to tuck his hand between your thighs and resume his earlier attention while keeping your mouth preoccupied. 

It’s not long before you’re bucking into Remy’s hand, milk coating his palm as you moan around his fingers. You’re very, very close to your peak, tears pricking at the corner of your eyes as you try to get that last little bit you need to go over the edge.

Remy moves forward, manhandling you until you’re on your hands and knees, his chest pressing against your back, fingers still firmly tucked in your mouth and hand between your legs. He’s breathing heavily as rocks forward experimentally, grinding against your ass. Your tail thrashes violently, adding to the friction, and making him shudder. It’s with a hazy mind that he brushes his lips against your shoulder before biting down, muffling his own groans as he starts to rut against you in earnest. 

It’s too much. Your Master’s teeth in your skin, his scent surrounding you, his hand between your legs, his hips meeting your ass, his cock rutting against you. All of it, too much. Too deliciously much. 

You cum, milk gushing into Remy’s hand and painting the floor. Normally you’d be held upright by the milking machines during something like this, your arms going weak with the intensity of your orgasm. The only thing that keeps you from crumpling to the floor is your Master, one strong arm wrapped around your middle and the other across your chest, as he holds you tight, continuing to rut against you.

Idly, you continue to suck on your Master’s fingers, basking in the afterglow of your high. Remy stills behind you, pressing against you, hips twitching as he reaches his own end. 

He stays pressed against you like that for a moment before sitting back on the hay bed, careful of your mess, and pulling you back into his lap. You let out a soft whine as he pulls his fingers from your mouth, the sound quickly dying as he cups the side of your head, pressing your face against his chest as he holds you.

It’s a solid minute of silence in the small stone room, the only sound Remy’s labored breathing as he tries to collect himself. He had only meant to milk you, to calm you in a way. Not…do all that. Or this, keeping you here with your head pressed to his chest. 

The small amount of anger in him building at the situation flickers out as he glances down at you, eyes shut and a sweet smile on your lips as you listened to his heartbeat. With a sigh, Remy moves you from his lap, your small whimper of disappointment making his chest ache.

“Enough of that,” he mutters, harsh words lessened by his soft tone. Remy gets to his feet as you remain on the bed of hay, obediently awaiting your Master’s orders. “Was right about you not being fit for the fields.”

Your ears droop, heart sinking at his words and mind racing. Had you disappointed him? How? Had you-

Before you can start to panic, Remy pulls you to your feet, clipping a lead to your collar. “Too delicate for all that. A special room in the manor is better suited to your needs.”

You perk up. He wasn’t getting rid of you! Your Master wasn’t getting rid of you! With an ecstatic moo, you butt your head softly against his chest, pulling a chuckle from the farmer. 

“C’mon, let’s get you cleaned up. Can’t have my best producer walking around dirty now.”

With an eager nod, you follow your Master Remy as he leads you from the room.

#degrees of lewdity #remy the farmer #tw hybrids #cw hybrids #cow tf

[sinbyrn]

who?: @corvinxs where?: uh the dark stable where the beasties are tied up idk

♝

Sinbyrn stands before one of the dark creatures, admiring the wild way it bucks against its bindings due to her presence. She'd prefer one that had an unruly spirit with enough strength to slaughter foes on its own, one that only bent its head for her. Of course, she had practiced no particular taming skill during her years being trained by the priesthood and still saw no real value in the practice. However, she was also not going to entirely remove herself from the selection process of her mount. "You responded so promptly to my summons. I'm impressed," she patronizes, viewing Amadeus' talent for beasts and his very presence was beneath her. "I do believe a dedicated mount will suit me, and I want to not only make the best selection but bring them to heal myself." This time when the nearby beast lunges again, Sinbyrn is quick to cast a sharp web of shadows, lashing the beast cruelly until pulls from her. Only then does she approach, petting it now that it understands that it should only look upon her in fear. "This one is no good, but you'll work with me to find one of suitable status for me. I want to look regal as I lead my unit into the Otherwilds."

#corvinxs #amadeus ☸ 001

[miloscat]

[Review] The Lord of the Rings Online (PC)

My first MMO experience!

I knew I wanted to close out my current playthrough of LotR-adjacent games with a dive into the long-running MMORPG (15 years and still getting updates!). The question is, how much to play? Where do I stop? I knew I had to reign in my addictive personality. I considered a time cap, but that could be too abrupt. Luckily while I was considering it a new expansion was announced that catered to lower-level players. Great! “Before the Shadow” was an ideal addition for a first-timer. I eventually settled on doing that as well as the regular intro stuff, up to the end of the “Shadows of Angmar” storyline that the game originally launched with in 2007. I spent 100 hours in this world getting to level 40 with my elven Loremaster Nelduilas and had a grand time.

This is another of the “non-movie licence” games. I suppose it can look generic at times but they’ve done a good job maintaining a consistent sense of place while having distinctive-looking areas to explore. As far as I know this is a World of Warcraft-like game; my only previous attempts at MMO games were the browser-based text-and-stick-figure RPG Kingdom of Loathing and a brief dalliance with Maple Story. For an initiate things can be overwhelming: a baffling array of skill icons, an alphabet of hotkeys, systems upon systems. Plus the monetisation strategies that have been shoved in. Tactically ignoring some mechanics can help to get a grip on the core open-world questing adventure, but I was still learning nuances and new tricks well into my 100 hours of playtime.

Perhaps all MMOs plan to run forever, but Turbine surely didn’t know how the gaming landscape would change in 15 years. Since its launch things have been streamlined and much content added, with capped level 50 adventuring expanding now to 140 and many new regions of Middle-Earth, not to mention Standing Stone Games taking over as the maintainer and developer (a company set up to do just that for this and D&D Online) and a transition to free-to-play. But it’s all been building on a 2007 game at its heart and the engine shows its age in its limitations. Still, it’s impressive that they’ve managed to keep it running and with the right mindset I could easily overlook some clunkiness... I’m just glad this is still active and hasn’t become lost media like many failed MMOs.

For me a big appeal of this game was existing in this fictional world and expanding on plots and off-handedly mentioned areas and cultures from the books. The game world is simply enormous, which presents a problem for travel but is great for worldbuilding. Like other game spinoffs, the focus of this initial arc is the “meanwhile” scenario: Frodo and the Fellowship take the Ring south, but meanwhile so much other stuff is happening up north. The resurgence of Angmar and minions of the Witch-King, peripheral events related to the machinations of Sauron and Saruman, or just helping a hobbit get some vegetables. There’s only so much depth this kind of game and engine can deliver in terms of presentation but there’s a heck of a lot of breadth in plot and NPCs and oh so much murdering of beasties and nasty folk.

In my playthrough I wanted to play a “pet class” who could summon minions to do the battling for me. Sadly I discovered that I would be limited to only one at a time, but the flexible Loremaster is I think ideal for this combat engine. I had a nice array of ranged attacks and (after cycling through various bears and birds) even got a ranged pet, the bog-guardian, a spindly kind of fantasy swamp-beast like something out of Dark Crystal. I specialised my skills to boost its power and let it do a lot of the work. We were a pretty good team. Speaking of which, as an MMO, players exist in a persistent world alongside each other, but I rarely encountered other human-controlled characters in the wild, whether because of my timezone, the sheer size of the world, or the general slow burn of this now 15-year-old game. When it happened and I was able to team up with someone to fight through a zone or tackle some instances it was a great feeling and I had some lovely interactions, but I was content playing this as a really large solo RPG for most of the time.

The handicaps on a non-paying player aren’t too stringent but things do get a bit nicer when you drop some dough on the game. This includes buying the Before the Shadow expansion, which also adds two new zones in the south-east of Eriador full of questing and a self-contained side-story involving an ex-Dunedain, Saruman’s sinister expanding reach, the fallen kingdoms of Arnor, and Boromir’s journey to Rivendell (plus a bit of Celebrimbor backstory). There’s the option to start a new character here directly but I made my way over after doing the default intro stuff in Ered Luin, the Shire, and Bree. Then, after ranging around the Lone-Lands east of Bree and the North Downs plus the Yule event zone, I was ready to pack it in... for now.

A quick note on diversity since that’s interesting to compare to other media in this fictional universe. Some good stuff at least in female representation, lots of women everywhere doing all sorts of things, and no impact on a player’s abilities. No lady dwarves though, and no non-binary or LGBT rep that I saw. Ethnically it’s a bit mono-culture but there are examples of good-aligned communities of darker-skinned people and even giants and such. The character creator also lets you pick a variety of skin tones... depending on your character’s “origin”. For example, elves are generally very white while dwarves and Harfoot or Stoor-descended hobbits can be darker. Rohan humans are white, but those from Dale or Gondor have more options. So a few ticks on that score. Anyway.

I just found this a really engaging way to get immersed in Tolkien’s world in a direct way. Being an adventurer among many, boots on the ground, solving small problems that build up to larger heroics. Having so much freedom with so much to discover but still being guided in a story—and many small story-ettes. As an MMO it’s a big commitment to get involved in but perhaps the best expression of Middle-Earth in a video game, just because of its scope. And as a game experience I just found it nice to chill out with due to the repetition and slow pace. Just like Tolkien’s prose, am I right!! (I’m joking.)

#The Lord of the Rings #the lord of the rings online #turbine #standing stone games #pc #review

[shipwreckedshadows]

Espionage AU

-The Children-

A terrible storm bombarded Mystacor and her surrounding territories. Lightning reigned supreme that night and Casta watched anxiously from the north east tower of the Academy. She downed the last of her night vision potion and leaned into the cold glass windows. Even with her ocular enhancement spell, her vision was not good enough to see through the sheets of rain. She nearly looked away to retrieve a book when she caught sight of some movement near the edge of the shield. After so long, she’d learned what to look for when seeking Shadow Weaver’s return. The shadows responded to the elder witch, they leaned sharper in her direction and sometimes, if it was quiet enough, they gossiped in hushed tones about her return.

Casta hastily activated a teleportation spell and appeared beside the dark spot at the edge of the shield. The shadows wrapped away to reveal Mystacor’s best and only agent. She hunched over a box and her breaths came in clouded pants. Her face was hidden under someone else’s stolen identity.

“Are you alright?” Casta asked, taking the box from her. It was no larger than the cavity of her chest and a small girl sat upright in it. A garbage back had been wrapped around her like a makeshift pancho. Her teeth chattered together and her eyes stared widely at Casta. The rain slid right off it and caused the cardboard to grow soggy. It was heavier than she expected and she used a small levitation spell to assist her.

“I’m fine.” The agent stretched out her back. Several vertabrae crackled from being hunched over for so long. “I’m not used to transporting more than just myself.“ She shivered, “We should go inside, before any of us catch cold.”

Casta was barely able to teleport all of them to the stairs of the academy. They walked the rest of the way to her chambers, leaving a trail of rain water as they went. Several academy tutors and students, up late finishing term projects, nodded at them and offered help for the old mother and her child. Casta dismissed them with a warm smile and gratitude for their offer. It was then that she noticed that Shadow Weaver had taken a visage similar to the girl in the box - blond hair and bright, blue eyes. It clashed with her robes, soaked through and clinging to her meager body.

They exchanged no words until they arrived in Casta’s quarters. Shadow Weaver let the illusion fall from her face.

“No, wait, don’t do that.” Shadow Weaver said, as Casta set up a drying spell.

“We’ll all die from cold if I don’t!”

A warm blast of heat surrounded the three of them and evaporated every last drop of water.

“See, its so much better now - oh!” She giggled, “Oh stars, your hair!”

Shadow Weaver struggled to smooth the mess of frizz on her scalp. Casta decided to give the agent a break but she couldn’t stop herself from smiling. Leaving the agent to her own devices, Casta turned her attention to the small girl. She had since climbed out and was playing with the knobs on one of the dresser drawers.

Casta went to pick up the box, so she could dispose of it, when she discovered another, smaller bundle. A hairless cat baby snored quietly, swaddled in a patchy bath towel. She must have been hidden under the other child’s bag pancho.

“What in Etheria is dark, scary Shadow Weaver doing with you.” Casta cooed.

“Cat-ta, Cat-ta!” The small girl babbled, pointing at the baby.

“I was only going to leave with the girl.” Shadow Weaver sighed, “But she wouldn’t leave without the cat and the cat wouldn’t leave without the box.”

“That’s adorable. Do they have names?”

“The older child is named Adora. I don’t have a name for the cat.”

Casta gasped, “You found this adorable baby and you didn’t bother to name her? You know, I read once that children require a name in order to properly forge their identity. They can’t name themselves, so, as the responsible adult in the room, you are obligated to do it for them.”

The agent massaged the bridge of her nose, “I kidnapped two soldiers from Hordak’s barracks - I didn’t exactly have an open schedule. Especially not with that little beasty yowling for her friend.”

“Shh! She is not a beast! Don’t listen to her... she’s just tired.”

“You’re going to wake her.”

“She slept through your terrifying magic and the thunder outside. I’m not going to wake her up.”

Shadow Weaver shifted her eyes away.

Casta squinted at her, “What did you do...?”

“I charmed the towel. She can’t hear anything as long as its wrapped around her.”

Castaspella didn’t bother to hide her disappointment, “I can’t believe you were allowed to teach students at this academy.”

“Teaching and parenting are very different things.”

Casta gently unraveled the towel from the baby and set them together on the bed.

“Watch her while I go find her a proper blanket.”

From her closet, she sifted through the spare garments on the top shelf until she found something that would work. It was one of the first things she had knitted. It wasn’t a perfect square but the yarn was soft and transitioned gently between different pastel colours of rainbow. 

“It’s a little old but I think - oh.” Casta smiled softly when she saw Shadow Weaver at the windowsill, looking out over the Academy court yard. The cat baby was in one arm. Her other hand steadied Adora’s back as she stood against the glass and wondered at the humongousness of the outside.

“Let me.” Casta said, reaching for the baby.

Shadow Weaver took the blanket from her, “No, I can do it. I’ve been doing this far longer than you have.” She let Adora down gently before attending to the baby.

With a gentleness Casta didn’t expect the agent to posses, Shadow Weaver wrapped the child in the knitted blanket. Through the commotion, the baby opened her mismatching eyes and made several noises at the mages.

“Cat-ta!” Adora tugged at Shadow Weaver’s gown.

“Would you like to hold her?”

The child exclaimed, wordlessly.

“Alright, but be careful with her. She’s only a baby.”

“I know!”

Shadow Weaver knelt and made sure Adora’s small hands were secured around the bundle. The girl smiled down at the kitten, “Hi, Cat-ta.” She whispered.

“You’d make a great mother, under different circumstances.”

“Don’t you ever say that.”

“Why not?”

“Motherly I may be, a mother I am not.”

Casta thought for a moment. After some silence she murmured, “Cat-ta doesn’t have a very pleasant ring to it.”

“She’s trying to say Catra. She wrote it out in her crayon drawings a few weeks ago.”

“I must be imagining this, but is that pride in your voice?”

“Of course. She’s my ward. I put in a lot of hard work to teach her.”

Adora handed Catra to Shadow Weaver and climbed up onto the bed. She lay her head on Casta’s lap and the sorceress pet her hair until she dozed off to sleep. Shadow Weaver sat on the other side of Casta.

“Why’d you take them?” She asked.

“Because they refused to leave each other.” 

“Yes, you said that - so I understand why Catra is here. But why Adora?”

“Because Adora is special. You won’t be able to see it but the Obtainment powers showed me - she has something inside of her that will bring peace to Etheria. She’s not from this world. Lord Hordak found her laying just beyond a portal in space. The idiot put her in the nursery with the other children and she unfortunately developed attachments. When I explained to her that I would have to take her away, she cried for hours.”

“What made her stop?”

“I told her that if she didn’t stop crying, she would use up all the water on Etheria and the whole planet would become a desert.”

“That’s a little... harsh.”

“It worked.”

Casta frowned, “We’ll have to find good homes for them. Money is a little short for everyone so I’m not sure who’s going to take them. But we’ll try.”

“Promise me you’ll take them if nobody else does?”

Shadow Weaver hardly ever begged for anything but when she did, she did so without a care for her dignity. Casta had to look away so she wouldn’t have watch the agent’s face fall.

“I can’t do that. I have so much responsibility as the Supreme Sorceress. I can’t take care of two children, let alone one. And what happens when I have to go out there and I get injured in battle? What happens to them if I die?”

“Don’t say that. Never ever say that.” She put a hand on Casta’s cheek, “You will be here for at least one hundred years. Longer than that, maybe.”

“Dearest... that still doesn’t mean I can take care of them.”

Shadow Weaver took a breath.

“I’ll find them the best home, I promise.”

“You better.”

#something a little more angsty #to cleanse the pallet #espionage AU #shadow weaver #castaspella #shadowspell #spop #my work #adora #catra #babies

[thebibliomancer]

Dark Crystal Age of Resistance Tactics pt 17 THE END

Endgame lets gooooooooooooooo

Mission: Call of the Glaive - Stonewood Ruins

"The heroes search for the second half of the Dual Glaive. It has been hidden somewhere in Stone-in-the-Wood."

Good god. Lvl 40. My party ranges from 38 to 34. Do I have to level grind some more more more?

Well, lets find out.

I don't remember the forest around Stone-in-the-Wood having so many misty chasms. Damn, global darkening.

SO I see a lot of Darkened beasts. I see a glowy exit square next to the the Crucible. Hmmmmm I wonder WHERE the 1/2 Dual Glaive could possibly be hidden.

Okay so the party this time has to be Rian, Brea, Deet, and Gurjin. If only I could have a few more to get the rest of the mains in here. But this is endgame time and its time for Rian to get the Good Sword.

Rian: "Stone-in-the-Wood. Since its fall, the place has been overrun with darkened creatures."

I mean, that makes a lot of sense, actually. I'd like some more emotion about it, though. This was your home, Rian.

Deet: "We need to find the Dual Glaive. It's here... somewhere."

Rian: "There, the forge! After a battle, the Stonewood place all their weapons in the forge. The Dual Glaive has to be there."

Holy crap I've never seen Nurlocs get the first turn what the heck.

But all I have to do is get to the glowy square. Preferably with Rian, for plot reasons.

There's two paths around from where you start. One side path. One low path thats only one square wide and blocked by a boulder. Some of the enemies are going down that path anyway so I'm just going to be shooting Firemoss Bundles at them like fish in a barrel.

After three bundles, they ded.

Also Gurjin is being my front line on the other path and I finally got to use Rian's Even the Odds! Between Pursuit, Hold Position, Retribution and best friends like Rian, Gurjin is amazing at standing in one place and absorbing damage!

Anyway I killed all of the enemies. I wonder if more will spawn in or what.

welp. None spawn ins. Just me moving my units closer to the glowy square turn by turn.

That was a design decision that was made.

Rian: "This is it, the Dual Glaive!"

Deet: "Something is happening. Look at the Forge! The flames... They're turning blue!"

VICTORY!

Arrrre we going to do the fire skype thing? I already united all of the clans.

LEVELS UP! Rian leveled and learned Aim for the Gaps (100% critical chance on a marked enemy)! Brea leveled and learned Convalesce 2! Deet leveled twice and learned nothing. Gurjin leveled and learned Heroic Leap!

Brea maxed out on Mendering. But since we're in the endgame and I like her loadout, I'll leave her where she is.

I got the Glaive of a Fallen Hero! Wooooooooooo! Weird that its not just called Dual Glaive but I don't mind this name either.

Glaive of a Fallen Hero is the Sword of the Stonewood Clan. Gots some good attack and critical chance. This is going right on Rian, for plot reasons.

---

Yeah. We're doing the Fire Skype.

Rian: "Gelfling, the Skeksis have deceived you; turned clan against clan."

I FEEL like we've gone over this pretty thoroughly in the various clan specific mission chains!

I guess giving the clans a place to rally around is a good reason to still do the Fire Skype. I'm just a bit perplexed at what gets brought over from the show 1 to 1 and what gets added.

The Emperor: "Enough! Your rebellion will end in ruin!"

Rian: "Bring your weapons. Bring your Skeksis, and meet your destiny!"

'Come on if you're hard enough'

Huh! Two more missions opened up. One at the castle and another one at the Stonewood Ruins. I feeeel like the one at the castle happens first, most likely? It says requires Seladon and Tavra, people I don't have in my party. Buuuuut might as well see if I can do it?

---

Mission: Broken Bargains - Castle Hallways

"Seladon and Tavra must now escape the Castle of the Crystal after freeing the Stonewood Gelfling."

Sweet, its Seladon and Spider-Tavra! I finally get that closure I've been wanting!

Party: Brea, obviously. This is the big sisters moment! Naia, because I've been reading Shadows of the Dark Crystal and she and Tavra have a funny dynamic. And Rek'yr. How is he here? Brea called in a favor? Look, we can't question the location of people in this game. It started in the flashback zone and had people wildly out of time!

Okay so we have a bunch of Darkened beasties and a couple of Nurloc experiments which are even beefier. We have a locked door and a lever to open it. We have the General.

Time to kick his ass again.

Spider-Tavra: "We had a deal. You were supposed to let us go free!"

The General: 'I have altered the deal. Pray I do not alter it further.'

Where's SkekLach, tho?

The General: "And what's this, Arathim working with Gelfling?"

Spider-Tavra: "Our deal has changed as well."

The Arathim Ascendency: "If you need help, use the etchings. Arathim will come to your aid."

YO WHAT?? I get to summon spiders??

Amazing. This game never stops giving.

Also, we're in the crystal chamber, I think? There's the symbol on the floor. No crystal though.

Okay, the mission objective is to get Seladon and Tavra both to the glowy exit square. Hypothetically feasible.

There's three glowy runes which increase evasion and apparently summon spiders. Lets gooo.

Seladon has Even the Odds, Firemoss, Landslide 2, Shockwave, and Flow of Battle.

Spider-Tavra still has Double Strike, Shove, Adrenaline, Retribution, and Spot Weakness.

HAH SUMMONED SOME SPIDERS ON THE GENERAL

Also, I've almost taken out all of his darkened minions although its taken its toll. Damn Thrash. Damn Wound status.

The spiders are allied but they're not controlled by me. So its fine for them to just do their own thing. I need to heal. Everyone.

Well, poor Rek'yr gave his life but I successfully surrounded SkekVar and slowly beat him to death. And that took me right to the in-engine cutscene which is probably what should have happened in the last level.

Brea: "What are you doing, Tavra? I won't leave without you."

The General: "No, stop! I beg of you!"

Spider-Tavra: "This is for the Arathim, for the All-Maudra!"

-Chamberlain comes out of basically nowhere and kills Tavra, threader spawns onto the field and runs off-

In-engine cutscenes are amazing.

Chamberlain: "Leave friend alone!"

Brea: "Tavra! Sister, no!"

-upbeat victory music-

But I already made fun of that when Ordon died so.

Brea leveled. Naia leveled twice! Rek'yr did not!

I got Heartseeker (the dagger of the Stonewood clan)! I got the General's Cuirass! Stealing clothes from knocked out Skeksis never gets old.

The Cuirass is going right on Gurjin. Its going to slow him down even further but it gives him a matched set of Skeksis gear. The General's Hand Axe and the General's Cuirass.

"Heavy metal plates seated on tough leather and trimmed with fur... How inelegant!" -skekEkt

---

Two more levels, I reckon. Just the final battle left, in two parts.

Mission: Seven Clans United - Stonewood Ruins

"With the clans united, the heroes stand against the Skeksis. The General approaches to challenge them."

Yeah, sure. I don't mind kicking his butt again. He's got more clothes I can steal, probably.

Geez, this is an excessively cozy map. Its not very big and one of the starting squares is right up in the General's face.

He's got two hollerbats called General's Pet which grant him buffs. Gotta kill those guys.

Party: Rian, Brea, Deet, Gurjin, Rek'yr.

The main squad, plus Rek'yr. I need someone to be applying marks for the other people to hit.

Rian: "The reign of the Skeksis is over. All Gelfling rise against you!"

General: "Fools! You will all die, here and now! If it's a fight you want, I'll give you one! Haaaa! Let's have some fun!"

AHHH HE GOES FIRST! AAAAAH HES RIGHT IN RANGE OF BREA! HE SILENCED HER!

This map is too small...

Killed his pets tho.

General: "This fight isn't over yet! I'm just getting started!"

Geez, if he stuns someone on his next turn he can do Killing Blow which does a ludicrous amount of damage. Very ludicrous. RIP Rek'yr.

HE SUMMONED MORE BATS

uncool

I killed his bats. HE SUMMONED MORE BATS. I think maybe its not worth killing the bats...

Also he stuns people for like three turns. I think I'm gonna have to spend some of my money on stun-proof trinkets.

Whats also uncool is that the summon more bats thing the first time? Erased Rek'yr's body from the map. I had Awaken on Brea. I could have brought him back. Boo. Boo on this game mechanic.

Ok this battle is going downhill.

The General has 4000 HPees which is a lot. And he can lock people down with stun for a while. So I'm going to have to spend some cash. I might even have to.... level =(

Yup everyone died.

Lets try that again.

So soiled Podling socks all around. The best way to prevent stun, donchaknow.

And lets spend some more money.

Upgrading Deet and Brea to Ceremonial Vestments. Upgrading Rian to Paladin's Full Plate. Upgrading Rek'yr to Etched Lorica and giving him the Heartseeker.

Gurjin didn't do a lot of damage so I'm guessing that the General is resistant to axes? Is that a thing in this game? But I'll hit him with Naia instead. And I kind of want to use Kylan who can mark and heal but I don't know who I'd replace. Hm. Maybe next time.

TAKE 2

Party: Rian, Deet, Brea, Naia, Rek'yr!

Hm. I forgot that the Intimidate move also lowers attack. My guys are hitting for shit with these debuffs. Maybe I should bring a party member who can remove debuffs. Well, live and learn. And attempt to chip away at his health bar anyway.

So its not very entertaining but I'm just slowly ganging up on him and slowly beating the crap out of him. Annoyingly his bat can heal him. And I can't kill it or he'll summon more bat.

Chipping away chipping away I guess I got it low~

Because: dialogue.

Rian: "You are bested, General. It's over."

General: "Well, what are you waiting for? Finish me!"

Rian: "No, I am no killer! Begone!"

I still don't know how the hell Rian thought this would shake out favorably.

How did he see the war ending in his head? The Skeksis would just agree to stop drinking Gelfling? Would they vacate the castle and let Aughra take over the crystal again? As long as he never tried to kill any of them in a war situation?

Or is it just he won’t kill an unarmed opponent?

I dunno.

And my party just. Runs off screen. So Chamberlain can run on-screen. And kill SkekVar. Despite their rivalry not really being established. In the game plot.

Chamberlain: "Emperor will listen to ME now."

Then again, fair enough. This is in character for him.

VICTORY.

Rian leveled twice and learned Shockwave (stun enemies in a line)! Rek'yr leveled twice! Naia leveled and learned Aimed Strike 2! Deet leveled and learned Awaken 2! Brea leveled and didn't learn anything because she's max on her job.

Naia maxed out on Soldier! Don't want to start her on a new job on the last level so I'm going to flip her back to Paladin for the good, good stats.

I found the General's War Flag! Starts battle with five turns of Attack Up, Haste, and Beserk! Uh. Not sure how that's helpful. I like deciding what my guy is going to do. Stupid Var and his stupid flag.

---

Mission: Seven Clans United: Part 2 - Stonewood Ruins

"The Hunter has returned once more, to the surprise of the hereos. But help comes from an unexpected place."

... How are they going to represent Aughra exploding out of him though?

I think I want to bring Kylan. Didn't the Hunter kill his parents? So I'm going to upgrade him to Ceremonial Vestments.

And I'm buying Armalig Scales for everyone since I think Wounding was the Hunter's thing and I don't want to deal with that biz.

Geez, this dongus starts the level on a big hill ready to jump down and squish people. The rudeity of people.

Party: Rian, he's the hero guy. Kylan, he's here for the revenge. Rek'yr, he's here to say goodbye to an old friend. Brea, she's mad that he kidnapped her between levels or something, I'm not sure when it happened. Gurjin, he's here to be a supportive best friend. And plus, offer hugs.

Rian: "The Hunter! But... how?"

The Hunter: "Quiet, puny Gelfling! I have conquered death! I am more powerful than ever... more powerful than Thra itself!"

Oh, this hubris is going to end really well for him.

Ok. So this dingus has 4000 HPees. He's got Carve which hurts and inflicts Wound. He's got Carve 2 which hurts and inflicts Wound and shoves. He's got Stab, which stabs. He's got Cleave. We know that one. Gotta keep my guys not adjacent. He's got Pelt. I think that means he's gonna throw stuff. And he's got Target Wound. Which I just bet does massive damage. But joke's on him. He's got Savage Counter which means he 100% of the time counters. And he's got Surefooted which means he's a hoppy boy.

-one turn later where he hits Gurjin not very hard, gets critted by Rek'yr and counters-

Brea: "He's too strong!"

Mmmm. I could take him.

Rian: "We have to try! We must keep fighting!"

urVa, the Archer, somewhere: "No more. The hunt must end."

The Hunter, back in the Stonewood Ruins, somehow hearing that: "No! Nothing can stop the hunt!"

-I beat the shit out of the Hunter some more-

-flash over to the Archer taking one step-

Hunter: "Archer! What are you doing!"

These interludes are killing the pacing. Just to say. Maybe they should have been saved for the end. Or something.

-more violence-

Archer: "Now, we shall see what lies at the dream's end." -another baby step-

Hunter: "No, stop!"

Archer: -jumps-

This isn't conveyed well in in-game cutscene, I have to say.

Then the Hunter dies.

VICTORY.

Uh. That was. Something. I think that's a time where the plot butted too much into the gameplay. I only got him down to half life before he died and it didn't take much time at all. Ah well.

Gurjin levels twice! Rek'yr leveled and learned Opening Act 2! Since I still don't get how Opening Act 1 works, I'm probably never going to use this! Kylan leveled three times and learned Grand Concert and Motivating Chord 2! Wow! Brea levels! Rian levels and learns Unfailing Blow 2!

I also find the Hunter's Helmet in the gross ash pile that used to be him!

"A trophy from some avian beast? Or the skull of another Skeksis...?"

It gives you reduced recovery time, increased crit chance  but reduced magic and normal defense. Dammit, Mal!

Kylan did get the last blow in the fight. That's something.

---

Anyway, I was wrong. There's at least one more mission.

Mission: Seven Clans United: Part 3 - Stonewood Ruins

"The heroes have bested the Skeksis' mightiest warriors. Only one challenge remains: The Emperor"

oof, I bet this is going to be hard.

Ooooof this is going to go badly. Three Skeksis. The Scientist, the Emperor, the Chamberlain... WAIT THE SCIENTIST WASN'T ALLOWED TO COME BECAUSE HE WAS TOO BIG A NERD! Dammit, game!

Anyway, the Emperor has Darkening Decay - attack and inflict random status effects. Focus Darkness - mark random tiles for the next move. Unleash Darkness - deal damage to anyone on a Darkened tile.

The Scientist and the Chamberlain have their usual abilities. So I think I should have kept the anti-poison gear and anti-stun gear on my guys.

Ah well. At least the non-Emperors only have 2000 HP.

Party: Rian, Brea, Deet, Naia, Rek'yr.

The Chamberlain: "Emperor, Skeksis should retreat. There are too many!"

Emperawr: "I will not lose, no matter the cost! Gelfling, you now face the true power of the Darkening!"

Oof that focus darkness does some damage. But hah, the Scientist only has 1500hp. He really is the nerd of the group.

Oops. Rian died. He was on a darkened tile and he didn't get a turn in time to move. Thank goondess I put Guardian's Blessing on him and he got to revive instantly.

Ok Rian died again, for real.

I just noticed that the Unleash Darkness hurts the non-Emperor Skeksis too if they're standing in it. Hahah

Between getting bombed a few time by his own boss, the Scientist was low enough health for Rek'yr to wander over and bop him.

One down.

Chamberlain is at low health but he's hiding in a corner casting stun and confuse on anyone that tries to bop him in the head. Which I'd very much like to do.

Crap, Brea and Rek'yr died in the same focus/unleash darkness.

Crap, Deet died.

Crap, Naia died.

Crap, Rian died.

The Emperor can just whip out the Focus Darkness too fast and it deals too much damage. And I think I needed to focus more on knocking Chamberlain senseless before he can split my party too much.

So anti-stun for everyone.

Or, actually, I'm going to try the Glowmoss Poultice which gives everyone ten turns of HP regen.

And even though Rian was there, I think I'm swapping out Gurjin. Having another person available that's immune to poison and can kick some serious butt. Well... Strategist hasn't really paid out much yet.

Okay on take 2, Scientist is down. Halfway through kicking Chamberlain's ass. Focus Darkness is getting really alarming.

Oops, Deet died. Haha Chamberlain died.

Now I just have the Emperawr and his full health.

I've got him down to half health but he killed AND THEN STEPPED ON Rek'yr.

Deet died in some darkening explosion but I got Brea to raise her. Just got to keep her alive now. Because plot. I mean, its not a level requirement. I just want to.

God, I'm glad I put so much Stone Warden into Gurjin. He's damn beefy.

Now he's down to less than a thousand.

AND HE TOOK TWO TURNS IN A ROW.

This man is corrupt to his core.

I have him under 100 hp and he uses focus darkness. And its covering a pretty generous area so I don't know if I can move everyone out of the way. Especially because he gets to go before half of my party.

But I have Brea up and she has a pocket full of fire moss with this guy's name on it.

It says SkekSo.

-blam, plop-

Emperor: "Impossible... I cannot be defeated."

Chamberlain: "Retreat! To the castle!"

Deet: "They're running away!"

VICTORY!

Never before has the fanfare been so sweet.

Naia leveled twice! Reky're leveled! Gurjin leveled THREE TIMES and learned Double Strike 2! Brea leveled twice! Deet leveled twice and learned Healing Touch 2!

Also I found some Crystal Fragment! Weird that random crystals just fell out of this boss birdlizarddragon as I was hitting him.

It lets you steal MP when you attack. Pretty cool.

---

Oh a cutscene.

Its the lost crystal shard, maybe.

Oh and Deet wanders off into the wilderness, all Darkened. Despite that not being very well established in the game.

Is sad.

But she wanders back to pose in a group shot.

Yup. The main characters. Aughra, Rian, Brea, and Deet.

When will Gurjin get respect?

Oh and Aughra tells me that there are more missions or I can do a new game plus which is harder.

I don't see any new missions on the map. Just some encounters to test my mettle.

And I'm not going to do the new game + just now. Not when I'm still riding high on winning while slightly under leveled.

---

But that was the game!

I loved the gameplay when it wasn't frustrating me. The moves are mostly all cool. I wish you could use more of them than three from primary job and two from secondary but you can still get a cool load out. The environments and characters look great.

Its the storytelling that lets it down, a little. Its trying to be a supplement to the show and that really hampers it at various points. The weird setup where we start in the flashback zone. Plot beats from the show being introduced because they're in the show but weren't properly set up in the game.

It either needed a bit more rewriting to tell the story of the show in a satisfying way or it needed to use the show as a jumping off point while it did its own thing.

The stuff that they invented to fill the gaps work pretty decently. The writing isn't particularly deep but its decent enough. The forbidden archeology quest with the Sifa. Discovering the fate of the guards. That stuff.

And this is hindsight, of course, but with the show being cancelled, there's so much ground left uncovered! If they were more willing to diverge from the show, they could have done some battles set afterwards and used the Garthim. I'm pretty curious how they would have been represented!

I also wish we could have gotten one or two more Skeksis. Chamberlain, Hunter, General, Scientist, and Emperor is decent but you know what could have been decenter? The Collector.

But overall. A good time was had by all, wherein all was me.

#dark crystal #the dark crystal #dark crystal age of resistance #dark crystal age of resistance tactics #THE GAME #liveblog #THE END #i beat up every skeksis basically in a row #plot stubbornly happens #i stubbornly refuse to level grind

[wistfulcynic]

“...for we all have stripes, and we all have horns, we all have scales, tails, manes, claws and thorns

and here in the dark is where new worlds are born...”

It’s Halloween, when all the weird and wondrous beasts of the world creep out of the shadows and throw themselves one hell of a party.

For Emma Swan and Killian Jones, witch and shapeshifter respectively, it’s a chance to kick back, get high, and watch the mayhem unfold...

Rating: M Words: 1200 (Chapter One) On AO3

To accompany this brilliant piece of art from @allons-y-to-hogwarts-713 for the @csrolereversal, and also I think suiting today’s @cshalloweek theme of Fright Night, we have witch!Emma and shapeshifter!Killian, and a Halloween party that’s literally out of this world. 

-

come sit at our feast

Of course we’ve all heard the stories. Centuries of them, handed down, tales of things that belong to the darkness and the eerie edges of this world. Tales of ghoulies and ghosties and long-leggedy beasties and things that go bump in the night. Of witches and goblins and banshees and djinn, of wendigo and yaoguai, mokèlé mbèmbé and yara-ma-yha-who. They come from every culture and in every land we tell of them. We sing them in verse and scribe them in books, we paint them and carve them and we hide behind our hands in darkened rooms when they leap out from nowhere on our TV screens and we scream with all the breath in our lungs though we’ll later swear we knew it was coming.

We love the stories. We love to be spooked, scared even, love the pounding rush of adrenaline through our veins, our hearts racing, terrified yet always safe, knowing that it’s not real, not really.

Except when it is.

—

She’d put the scarecrow on her lawn. That was the first thing he noticed. Smelt it, actually—pine resin and straw and sweet decay wafting down the darkening streets from at least three blocks away. The scarecrow was on her lawn and there were pumpkins in her windows that had faces.

He paused just outside the gate, a large black dog with chalcedony eyes, one with the shadows until he chose to emerge from them, always felt but rarely seen. At least, not by most.

“This is your fault,” said the scarecrow, in a voice raspy with disuse. Its dead-eyed face turned stiffly on its neck and glared at him with all the feeble power of its clumsy features. Its ratty top hat teetered on its cloth head. “You told her to ‘lean into it.’”

Brightly coloured leaves adorned the porch and candles lit the way along the path that led to it. The gate swung on creaky hinges in the chill breeze. It seemed she had ‘leaned into it’ with a vengeance.

He cocked his head at the scarecrow with the closest thing to a shrug a dog can manage then trotted through the gate and along the candlelit path, ignoring the hollow glare of the eyes that followed him as the scarecrow spun on its wooden stake. If Jefferson didn’t wish to be displayed on her lawn like wares in a secondhand shop then he shouldn’t have messed with her.

Everyone knows you don’t mess with a witch.

She stood in her doorway, framed by the flickering glow of firelight, holding a besom broomstick and wearing a black and pointy hat at a jaunty angle on her head. He wished he could roll his eyes. Perhaps she had leaned in a bit too far after all.

The trio of small girls standing bravely on the porch seemed suitably impressed. The tallest of the three, dressed as Captain America, held out her candy bag with arms that barely shook and the small princess at her side, after a nudge of encouragement, did the same. The smallest girl, almost lost in her dinosaur costume, was too interested in the dog presently absorbing light at the top of the steps to care much about candy.

“Hi,” she said, her brown eyes wide with wonder. He adopted his friendliest expression and let his tongue loll from the corner of his mouth. She giggled.

The tongue loll gets them every time.

He allowed the dinosaur to pet his ears and gave her hand a sloppy lick that had her giggling again. Captain America observed the exchange through narrowed eyes.

“Is that your dog, miss?” she asked.

“Oh, he’s definitely mine,” replied the woman in the doorway, smiling with just a few too many teeth. “He showed up as a stray a few years ago and he’s just so cute I had to keep him.”

He huffed a deep, indignant bark. {Stray indeed.}

The woman smirked at him and Captain America stumbled back, grabbing the startled princess by the sleeve of her dress and pulling her down the porch steps, but the dinosaur was unfazed. “My sister doesn’t like dogs,” she informed him in a quiet voice. “But I love them.” She leaned in closer, her voice dropping to a whisper. “You have really pretty eyes. Like the sky.”  

“Eva, come on,” called Captain America, who was by then halfway down the path, clutching her candy bag tightly in one hand and the princess’s sleeve in the other. “Let’s get out of here.”

The dinosaur kissed his head. “Bye, puppy,” she said, and ran after her sisters.

He couldn’t remember the last time anyone had called him “puppy.”

The woman was leaning against the doorjamb, watching the proceedings with great amusement. “I see you’ve made a new friend.”

{What can I say, love? Women adore me, even the extinct reptilian ones.}

She laughed. “Well, you’d better come in before any triceratops show up. You know what they’re like.” She set her bowl of candy down on a chair next to the door, and with a wave of her hand produced a sign that read “Take one, if you dare.”

“I don’t think many more trick or treaters will show up but just in case,” she said, closing the door behind them and locking it with a flick of her wrist.

{And what if they take more than one?}

“They won’t.” She flashed him that slightly-too-toothy grin. “At least not if they know what’s good for them. Catching sight of her reflection in the hallway mirror she frowned and snapped her fingers. Her casual jeans and sweater, the loose ponytail and the absurd pointy hat disappeared, replaced by a dress that hugged her slender form, short and strapless and blood red. Riotous curls tumbled over her shoulders and down her back, and her eyes were smoky black. She smoothed the dress over her hips with a satisfied nod, then turned to him. “Are you going to go like that?”

Spears of bright white light rose from the ground, whirling in a dizzying spiral around him, and when they spun away the dog was a man, with hair as black as his fur and the same blue eyes. “You prefer me like this, then, love?”

“I do,” she purred, pulling him towards her by the collar of his leather jacket and into a kiss that fired his blood. He grabbed her hips to draw her closer, backing her against the wall and plundering her mouth. It was far too long since he tasted her, that rich, dark flavour headier than the finest rum. She nipped at his lips with enough force to sting, challenge glinting in her eyes. With a hungry growl he fisted his hand in her hair, tugging her head back to return the favour with his teeth on her neck. 

“You know, we don’t have to go,” he murmured against her skin. “We could stay here.”

“We could,” she gasped, in a breathless voice that made him ache. “Or we could go, get high as a pair of kites then come back here and fuck until sunrise.”

He ground himself against her, chuckling at her helpless moan, then stepped back with a smirk. “As you wish, my love. Lead the way.” 

-- 

For anyone interested, the full text of the amazing poem quoted in the summary:  If you are a monster, stand up. If you are a monster, a trickster, a fiend, If you’ve built a steam-powered wishing machine If you have a secret, a dark past, a scheme, If you kidnap maidens or dabble in dreams Come stand by me. If you have been broken, stand up. If you have been broken, abandoned, alone If you have been starving, a creature of bone If you live in a tower, a dungeon, a throne If you weep for wanting, to be held, to be known, Come stand by me. If you are a savage, stand up. If you are a witch, a dark queen, a black knight, If you are a mummer, a pixie, a sprite, If you are a pirate, a tomcat, a wright, If you swear by the moon and you fight the hard fight, Come stand by me. If you are a devil, stand up. If you are a villain, a madman, a beast, If you are a strowler, a prowler, a priest, If you are a dragon come sit at our feast, For we all have stripes, and we all have horns, We all have scales, tails, manes, claws and thorns And here in the dark is where new worlds are born. Come stand by me.

― Catherynne M. Valente

#cs role reversal #cs halloweek #witch!Emma #shapeshifter!Killian #monster mash #come sit at our feast #allons-y-to-hogwarts-713 #profdanglaisstuff #cs fanart #cs ff #cs ff au #magic au

[ephrampettaline]

[ chatzy with @alessafalling, @ephrampettaline, @mayaparker, @rydenbolt, @scarlettxruby, and @thatwhichbindsus ]

A sunken grocery store. Somebody’s first time, another person’s trip back to the town. Six bloods spilled and six bloods combined.

The air had been strange lately, cool and damp like standing by the coal had been. The earth, unforgiving and unwelcoming. Roots weren’t growing, new leaves weren’t budding. There was a corruption slowly settling in like an oil slick over the lake, and Ciara had no idea whether it was that a ley nearby had been drained, or if something more deadly was setting in, or if someone had just cursed her with a sense of malaise. The two gitturns that she’d adopted were settled in the little pouch she’d bought them, so she could keep an eye on them and they could be exposed to the world a little. The vet had said to be careful with them, but that they could cope with this now. Their fur was thickening out and three days ago the white one had opened its eyes. So she took them to the grocery store with her, filled up her trolley with fresh meats for them and fresh veg for her. 

Ciara had almost forgotten her ill ease as she idly pet the dark one, when the fluorescent lights of the store went out. Ciara looked up, and saw only dark blue, and looked around as the shelves dissipated into wrought iron stalls, and the bright plastic wrappers of foods vanished, leaving only old, emptied cans. The light was weak and flickering, and the floor creaked and swayed. 

Swayed? 

There was a layer of water on the floor, slimy and thick, and the floor wasn’t on the ground at all. In fact, there was no ground at all, none for miles. Ciara stepped out of the abandoned, torn up grocery store, and looked up. Up. Up. Glass for a ceiling, with cracks. Above it, at first she thought was the night sky, until a shadow passed overhead, large, long, with a strong tail. A whale. Ciara looked to the side and there were windows there too, and beyond them kelp growing in all directions, illuminated by the light of a dozen underwater skyscrapers. In the windows, she could see shadows moving.

Maya wasn't having a great time. Sleep had pretty well escaped her for the last few nights. Between the mysterious warning that she hadn't quite managed to scrub out of her skin and the couple of things she was already trying to stay on top of, she felt the stress weighting heavily on her shoulders. But she still had to go about her day. Today found her in the grocery store, buying her things for the week. A few more comfort foods than usual were in her cart. She stopped in the middle of the aisle as something strange started to happen. "What the fuck?" Maya asked herself as a layer of water soaked the floor and her shoes. She looked around to see that was not the only thing that had changed. "Is this what you meant by they're coming?" she shouted to no one in particular, "Because I think you could've been a bit more specific."

“Maya?” Ciara called as she spun, reaching into some new, empty ley she could just about feel. Just in case it wasn’t Maya. “Who’s coming?” The little gitturns tittered and trembled against her hand, and Ciara pulled their pouch closer, just in case. Just in case. She was already breathing a little faster, this canned air that didn’t move or didn’t cycle, just creaked. She spotted the other witch with some small relief. Someone to survive this new hell with. Which was good. Someone was coming from a distant tunnel, their feet splashing in water puddles, and their giggles echoing off iron walls. “Can you fight? If we have to?”

Maya turned as she heard someone call her name. "They," she called back, "Because apparently being fucking specific isn't cool anymore." She saw Ciara just after the other witch saw her. Despite not knowing Ciara well, Maya breathed a sigh of relief. At least she wasn't completely alone. She nodded, "Yeah, I can fight." After a pause she added, "Course I was sort of hoping I wouldn't have to on my trip to the grocery store."

Ephram had been ranging around the town nonstop since the rat king at the decrepit bakery, and then the octo-beast at the dilapidated bowling alley. He found that after having encountered Essie's dust and so much of the mold in the course of duty, and then those two ugly versions of Soapberry places, he could feel his magic itching through him to lead him towards new pocket-worlds that were opening. So the grocery had been his new destination -- but even expecting something bizarre to happen didn't prepare him for being suddenly in an underwater abanadoned supermarket. The familiar voices, at least, were something that held constant. "I'm here too," Ephram called, hefting the golf bag he'd replenished after the bowling alley incident. "Is it only you two so far?" he asked Ciara and Maya, trotting up to stop next to them.

“Did you get a message about th- oh, the mould?” Ciara guessed, although she truly had no idea. “Likewise, but I guess we can’t trust this town at all. Hopefully we just have to find a way out... of here.” It was creaking again. Had Ciara mentioned she hated the creaking? “Ephram? There’s a ley here, you should connect to it,” she said, slipping into a teacher role where she hadn’t for Maya. “Just us. But someone’s coming.”

Ruby had been at the other end of the shopping center - having just finished up taking the statements of a naga couple that had just come from some mad max death race pocket, but seemed to be mostly alright now - and was headed into the store to grab something for lunch when things started to change. At first she thought she was imagining it. The doors slid shut behind her with their usual hissing sound, and she moved to grab a small basket when it cracked beneath her grip, dryrotted. Which was unusual considering the layer of water beneath her boots. She huffed a sharp breath through her nose, spinning around to face the glass doors of the store as the air suddenly became... less. It was tighter, more metallic. And the saltwater ooze of everything else made her cover her nose. "What the fuck..."

The Splicer giggled. “I can heaaaar you. Little rats digging through scraps, but they’re all gone, all gone now!” His sing song voice echoed in the large chambers, although he hardly had enough sentience left to consider himself a he. “You’ll make a fine roast and I can smell the good stuff on you. It’s mine, you hear me? MINE! Ohohoh Im going to be sooo happy when I find you!”

Ephram shook his head when Ciara mentioned a ley line. "From what I seen of these black mold creepy places, I don't reckon I'd wanna try connecting to anythang here," he said, looking around and stepping a little closer to a shelf at the thought of all the water pressure outside of the market. "Do youn's have your magic? Mine works okay. Works fair good against them beasties that seem to be lurking--" He stopped talking when The Splicer's voice started up, echoing even more unsettlingly because of the water surrounding them, and set the golf bag down between them. "By the way? I got weapons."

Maya nodded, "Yeah, I did. Sorry, I got a bit...distracted by some other stuff." She turned again as someone else approached. Her shoulders tensed, ready for a fight if it came to that. She relaxed a little when she realized it was only Ephram. She nodded in agreement with Ciara. "Yeah, just the three of us..." she was about to add so far when two voices interrupted. The first was one she recognized. Ruby. she thought. The second was decidedly foreign. "Yeah, um my dude I am super not delicious. Meat's way too tough on this one," she shouted, fully knowing that it would help whoever that was find them.

What was it with these fucking underwater scenarios?? If Ruby was afraid of one real-world thing, it was being trapped underwater and drowning. The voice that came next raised the hair on the back of Ruby's neck. A low growl rolled in her chest. She didn't know the others were there yet, so she didn't know the message was meant for all of them. It temporarily pushed fear of the water from her head. "You might rethink that once you do." She said of being found.

Though the slight tremor in her voice said otherwise.

”Ooh, a player!” The splicer replied, spinning to the sound of Ruby’s voice, sprinting in her direction with a loose limbed ferocity. The hunt was on, and the splicer was so, so hungry. Everyone walking around here was an empty husk, but not her, not her! “Lay down your bets because you’re going to be mineeee!” He spotted her, pale and dark haired and pretty as a picture, and oh, he was going to fix that.

Essie knew the feeling as soon as she landed in one of these other pocket worlds. Her third one she hunkers down for a moment. Voices down a tunnel to her right, and one echoing over everything. Not wanting to be alone she hopes with all her might the people down to her right were people she knew, or at the very least friendly. She runs down the tunnel and finds a crowd of people, almost running right into the back of Maya. Her hands reaching out to steady herself. Eyes shifting over the crowd she spotted Ephram and his golf bag. What a life she lead that a golf bag was what comforted her the most.

Ephram spotted Essie and jerked his golf bag in her direction. "You still got your rifle?" he asked hopefully. "I mean I brought a couple this time but you should really start jes ... wearin' your rifle around town. God knows I'm strapped all the time now my own self." Hip holsters, shoulder holster, and the baseball bat he favoured.

"Wait," Maya said to Ephram, "You got another gun. I got my safety training when I was fifteen." She could hear the creature sprinting after someone else trapped in the grocery store. And she was pretty sure it was Ruby. Even now though she wasn't stupid enough to go after it emptyhanded.

The voice came again, and there was movement to accompany it. Ruby turned to see ... something... sprinting all long limbs and manic speed towards her. She knew better than to run. She /wouldn't/ run. Even if she had no idea what would happen if it caught her. But Ruby had her pistol, and the katana Dani had given her (that she'd also started carrying since all this shit started going down). There was no way she was risking a stray bullet with all this glass. Heart beating out of her chest, she pulled the sword from it's charmed sheath across her back - made to look smaller than it was - and when the creature was close enough, she let the blade arch towards it, spinning to the side as she aimed for something vital.

Ephram hauled one of the rifles out of his bag and handed it to Maya, passing her a fanny pack of ammo along with it. "Sorry bout the thing," he said, gesturing at the Glee fanny pack. "Was all I had handy when I was kitting out this here golf bag."

“Suit yourself,” Ciara replied to Ephram with a shrug, although in the back of her mind, she thought that she could have used a battery. “Why do you have weapons? Did you come to the grocery store for a fight?” The white gitturn then decided to jump out of its pouch, and scrabbled up Ciara’s sleeve to her neck with a strength she didn’t know these babies had, and snarled at the hall before burying itself in her hair. And then there were four of them. “Wait, no guns. Do you want to drown?”

Essie nodded digging in the pocket of the golf bag she remembered the ammunition being in. "Had to start carrying it after my second trip into these places." she admits. "Not that I had any ammo, just hoped the sight would distract something. Relying much more on dust." Her head bouncing up to look at the unfamiliar woman in the group then at Ephram, much more likely to listen to her boss than anyone else.

Maya took the gun from Ephram and the fanny pack too. It took her a second to even realize what he was even apologizing for. "Honestly, like, whatever. Ammo's ammo." With that, she ignored the subtle loyalty dynamics and headed towards the sound of the creature and possible a sword. She skidded to a halt at the end of the aisle and raised the weapon, ready to fire.

Ephram gave Ciara a considering look when she objected to the guns. "Reckon the survival situation at the moment calls for whatever weapons we got handy," he said coolly, all traces of his more obedient student persona gone. "Don't worry. I'm sure them other two are good shots." The implication, of course, being that there was no chance at /all/ that Ephram himself might cause a stray bullet to shatter the glass. He looked in the direction that Maya had headed off. "Was she tryin' to call that talkin' beast down on somebody just now?"

The Splicer: She wasn’t scared. How charming, it would leave her all tender inside nice and gooey and juices and precoated in salt and sass already. What a treat! The splicer charged without abandon, swing a wrench he had found in his best friend’s head (or maybe he had left it there, he was oh so forgetful, wasn’t it charming?). And then she sliced right through his arm, and it flopped on the floor for a second, up and down, like a fish gasping for air. “That wasn’t very nice, play fair and die already!” He sang, and leapt again.

As the creature popped back up, Maya fired. It was an easy shot, all things considered. Only after she fired though did Ciara's words fully sink in. /Did they want to drown?" They were underwater. She made a mental note of that so that she would be careful with any shots she made next.

Essie considers their surroundings and the fact she can't swim. She didn't trust her shot as much as the other two did, watching Maya charge recklessly away from the pack she reconsiders. She doesn't discard the rifle, simply swings it behind her onto her back. Dust had been here only hope the last time, so she figured why mess with it. She'd figured out exactly how useful her limited Glamour could be. The shot from down the tunnel had Essie turn and brace herself.

Oh, Ruby was scared all right. Terrified. But she wasn't about to get eaten by some fucking monster movie reject. So when the sword met heavy, wet flesh, followed by the spray of dark, thick blood and an equally wet, fleshy flopping sound, Ruby knew she'd made a hit. When the gunshot rang out as the creature righted itself, Ruby flinched, not expecting it. She spun, momentarily distracted, to see Maya standing there with a gun. "No fucking bullets!! We'll drown!" she yelled. But that was all she could say before the creature was screeching at her again and launching itself in the air. It was fast. And close. Ruby swung again, but she misjudged the distance and was sent sprawling through water, blood-soaked mess on the floor. She shoved a hand against the creatures' throat while the other scrabbled for the sword that had slid somewhere into the dark. "Fuck... off!" she grunted, giving up on the sword and swinging at the creature's jaw.

Ciara didn’t even raise an eyebrow as Maya and Essie deferred to Ephram, because he was he sherif and authority and all that and whatever, but she did at Ephram, sinking back into a cool, cruel persona that had served her all too well on a different battlefield. The gitturn by her ear tittered, staring at Ephram too. But then Maya was off, chasing a shadow, a half being at this point, barely a man at all. His skin was so pale it was nearly translucent, starved of sunlight here and ashy, so much his skin almost had a blue tinge to it. It bled, but it had no heartbeat, not one that one could survive on. Maybe she’d just leave it to the sherif, but a gun fired and Ciara didn’t doubt that Maya was a better shot than Ciara herself, except it echoed like a bullwhip, all the way up and down the tunnels and this hallowed hall. And when everything finished ringing, there were more voices. Giggles and yells and cries and screams. A figure appeared at the bottom of the hall. Ciara tore its throat out.

Magic, good or bad sort, worked within a certain spectrum of rules. Crazy, mostly unfair, seemingly unpredictable and somewhat bendable but still rules you could single out, analyze and utilize the way you see fit or the way whatever personal limits allow you to. There are very few exceptions to that. But once in a lifetime, there comes an agonizingly stubborn knucklehead whose persistence to butt into things he had no business, knowledge or brains enough to deal with that rules just take one good, scrutinizing glance at him and say fuck it, we give up. Give him a complimentary bag of peanuts and a one-way ticket to doomed as fuck then send him on his way, cause that's where he's headin' and there's no stopping him. 

Ryden's one way ticket had been for a month-long surf-around through places a less magically equipped supernatural should not step into. Well, the time-space parallel dimensions spin-dry he's been through told him it's been a couple of hours, not a month. He'll figure it out by piles of dust piled on top of old piles of dust he never cleaned on his floor in Rein's house. Right now, it felt like a couple of hours of beating through a beehive of abominations too ugly to love even if you were their momma. He was dragging one behind him by one of it's seven legs, two of which he'd pulled out himself, when the terrifying, toasty hell-like mood of the pocket universe he last rolled through turned into something Aquaman might call his secret, creepy hideout where he sometimes jacks off. "Fuck me runnin'..." He muttered, letting go of the creature he'd savagely murdered for threatening to do even worse things to him, and rounder a corner, not even trying to get the gooey, slimy liquid those things had instead of blood off himself. He was already drenched with it beyond spitting on your thumb and rubbing it off. By the commotion he was hearing ahead, he was pretty sure more nasty things awaited him. 

Not even registering what it was assaulting nor what it was exactly, Ryden approached the creature ahead of him, while it was unaware in its attempts to feed on very possibly someone who'd been thrust in here by chance just like he was. A large hand grabbed at its bald scull, digging into brittle bone and ash-grey skin. He picked it up easily and tossed it aside like a rag, off Ruby and a good few feet away from the group..

The Splicer laughed and laughed and laughed and he scrabbled for her, scratching her, gouging her, trying to bite her. He - It - writhed against her hand, struggling, squirming, too keen and too hungry to care as the life was squeezing out of him. But then something tore through him, hot and cold as liquid nitrogen. He fell, turned, faced the girl that had shot at him. “Ooooh eeh heee her. I likes you! You’re a cheater! Dirty filthy little cheater! You’re going to pay for it, that’s right, but-“ and then he died, because Maya was indeed a good shot.

Maya heard the giggling down the hallway. "Okay, no guns," she finally agreed. She picked up the nearest thing off the shelf, a can of beans and got ready to throw it. Luckily, it seemed to slump over less than a second before Ryden appeared and tossed it aside like a rag doll. She had to grin at him "Ryden," she said in little more than an exhale. She turned to the others, "I think we've got more company. Sorry about that."

Ephram returned Ciara's look for a moment, his own eyes narrowing slightly before he gave a terse nod and drew his revolvers. She pulled the throat out from one of the new throng of creatures between one breath and the other, and Ephram banged together the bases of his revolver grips, silver-green magic spiking through them into the barrels. He stayed with Ciara and her gitturn -- the little creature still watching him suspiciously from behind her hair -- and shot at the emerging creatures with their sick giggles, bullets of spinning green magic that unerringly found their targets. "You dropped into any of these weirdsmobile realities yet or is this your first?" he shouted to Ciara over the increasing din. "That's why I been carryin' round them weapons. They keep poppin' up all over town."

Ruby could feel the deep rends in her flesh where the creature gouged her open. Her blood mixed with the rest of the mess on the floor, steaming hot as it ran from her wounds. She dug her fingers into the soft flesh of the creatures neck, squeezing until she heard cartilage pop and break and grind, and then it just... stopped. It was gone, and Ruby could breath. She lay there for a brief second, grimacing at the deep rends in her shoulder and stomach, before seeing Ryden standing over her. "God save the fucking Queen am I glad to see you," she told him as she pushed to her feet.

"Maya? The fuck ya doin' 'ere?" She was someone he'd least expected here. Or anywhere. Looking beyond her, he saw more faces he could recognize. "What's going on?" Looking down, he saw that the person creature was trying to nibble on was actually Ruby. "Shit, you a'ight?" He reached down to pull her up, knowing that her werewolf healing would take care of the rest. Ahead, he glanced at the rush of staggering, giggling monstrosities advancing forth at them. "Can't it just, like, for once, be a land of sparkles, polite leprechauns and unicorns? Naw?"

Retrieving her sword and wiping the gore off on her jeans - not that it did much good - after Ryden helped her up, Ruby rolled her shoulder as it slowly started to heal. "Yeah. You know me. I can take a punch," she said to her friend. "You good?" She looked at Maya and asked the same thing. But then the sounds came, and Ruby's attention turned with the rest. "Always another fucking shit show..." Ruby moved with the others next to Ephram and Ciara, unsure if she should fire her gun or not. She was a good shot, but her bullets weren't spelled like Ephram's. She could miss and then... well, they'd drown.

"I needed groceries?," Maya replied. She looked back towards the others as far as an answer for what was going on. She had an ominous warning. One that was getting clearer by the minute, but didn't yet explain all this. She turned back when she heard Ryden asking Ruby if she was okay. It was a question she wanted to hear the answer to. "Not to be a complete asshole by the way," she added mostly to Ruby, "But I am like 85% sure I actually killed it, so that God save the Queen should be directed at me." She was about to answer Ruby's other question when the rest of their company's arrival drew her attention.

“Six of us, three entries. Let’s stay close.” Ciara ignored Maya’s apology, focused on nothing but the creaking floor and the creatures headed their way. “First,” was all she said to Ephram, as the gitturn chirped and drew her attention to her left, shattering a heart there. The nausea was coming back - Ephram was right about these Leys. The world was shrinking down to a fight, a need to win, and damn the consequences to her soul as she stained the water they were standing in red, dropping four bodies in quick concession. It didn’t matter. Again. There were dozens.

"Yeah but the point is to NOT let 'um punch ya. Yer just a bag for it then." Ryden snorted, stepping up with Ruby. "Where'd ya get the fuckin' kitchen knife ya got there? In an anime?" Raising an eyebrow at Maya, he couldn't skip on a challenge to be the better one even when it was pointless. "Ya squirted a metal ball at it. I bashed its brains in. Let's do the autopsy later. I'll give ya a cookie if it's your kill." Looking back at Ephram's gun out and aimed he cringed. "Should we have guns out here? Anyone smart enough to consider that's maybe a no, cause..." He waved his hand in a general direction of... everywhere.

Essie balled her fists from her spot beside Ephram. She wasn't as good a shot as the others but she could do her best to be useful. She threw a handful of dust towards an open tunnel entrance the dust caught fire at her glamour and she looks back at the others. "Can we maybe fight about kills LATER."

Ephram glanced down at the reddening pool at their feet, leaning hard into Ciara so he could mutter closely in her ear, "--I'm in good shape right now and me and Essie got healing abilities that work in these places. If you need blood that ain't fucked up like I'm guessin' is in these critters, you don't need to ask." But Ciara knew her own magic, so Ephram felt he only needed to make the offer once. He took note of Ruby and Ryden returning with Maya, not bothering to address the question of his guns and instead saying, "these fuckers seem a sight smarter'n the monsters Essie and me faced off in them other pocket worlds. Seems to me it might be best for us to split and stopper up wherever they might be streamin' in here from, unless we wanna end up as the cheese in the worst fuckin' game of Farmer in the Dell ever."

"True," Ruby said to Ryden. "And I'll tell ya later," she said of the sword. She managed a tiny smirk - which was more a grimace - towards Maya, but the crowd of creatures in the hallway was growing, and while Ephram and Ciara were making a dent, it was refilling over and over. One made it past, screeching and lurching towards them. Ruby took it's head off with her sword. Another broke through, fell in the water, and she crushed it's skull beneath her boot. "We're runnin' out of opttions," she said to everyone else. "Is there a way outta here?"

"How 'bout I stay back here and out of ya'lls way and fight o'er YER kills t'pass time cause it looks to me like yer all handlin' it well." Ryden said, as the advancing mob of zombies wobbled their way at them. He leaned against a glass wall, right over one of the cracks spreading like spiderweb over them. He was tired and he had somewhat figured out how this pocket world travel works here. Which means that they might get spit out somewhere else anytime now. If they didn't, he was ready, tired from his own previous quest as he was.

"I hope you mean the kind of cookie I think you mean," Maya shot back at Ryden with a shit eating grin. She turned though to look at all the new arrivals. There were too many. The water around their feet was already red with blood. She dropped the rifle in her hands. A second later, it landed with a dull splash. "Fuck," she muttered. She shook her head. "I'm out guys. I can make sure you all get out, but I'm fucking done," she confessed. It was like a switch turning off, something she couldn't explain.

Essie stared at them incredulously. "You're just done? Shit is trying to fucking eat us." she couldn't believe it. Throwing another handful of dust, this time onto an oncoming figure to then burst into flame.

Ruby glanced at Maya as she dropped the rifle. She didn't know if one could actually die in these places, but Ruby wasn't about to take that chance. "Get her," Ruby said to Ryden before turning back to the oncoming hoarde. "Split up where?" she asked Ephram. "If I shift, I might be able to lure most of them down another way...."

Ephram was embroiled in shooting at creatures who were crawling and scrabbling and leaping towards them, but Essie's comment made him guffaw out loud anyhow.

Ephram said to Ruby's idea, "Take Ryden with you. I dunno how much help Maya's gonna be, maybe leave her here for Essie to sort out." He wasn't sure what was up with Maya once she dropped the gun and started talking about making sure they'd all get out, but it didn't sound like she was coping well, whatever it was.

Not batting an eyelash when Ruby pointed out Maya's distress, he grabbed her by the arm, pulling her back. "Stay behind me, cupcake, and hold that cookie I promised." There was no way Ryden would willingly move himself up front where he'd be most effective for anyone, because he'd easily be in line of Ephram and Ciara's fire and the wicked fairy dust fireballs Esse was throwing. But for Maya and her safety, he was willing to risk friendly fire. "Fuck that, we ain't splittin' up. You even watch horror?" With sickening crack of bones and muscle, Ryden was doing that neat little werewolf party trick unique to him - muscles in his arms bulged and sharp claws sprouted out of his fingertips. He now had a jaw full of too many teeth for a human. He stepped out of the front line of shooters with a leap, claws aiming and shredding at random but efficiently.

“If it comes down to it, I won’t ask,” Ciara replied quietly. If it came to it, it would just be like the first time they had met. She’d sacrifice him at her altar with only barely a second thought. “Stopper them, then drown them. Some of the doors hermetically seal. Like a sub.” Her gaze flicked to Maya, and saw the deadness Ciara felt already.

Ephram lifted his guns as Ryden leapt in front of them, growling in aggravation, "I'm watchin' a fuckin' horror right now! Get the fuck out my way, Bolt!" But it was pretty damn obvious that wasn't going to happen, so Ephram swore a blue streak and told Ciara, "Fine, but watch my back and make sure these un's don't git shredded." The way that Ryden was dealing with the creeping pale people ahead of them. So Ephram used it to his advantage: with Ryden flinging ribbons of meat and blood, Ephram dodged and darted behind him as if the wolf was an ambulance, the two of them steadily making their way to one of the door seams where -- hopefully -- there'd be some sort of mechanism to seal the place.

Maya stumbled as Ryden pulled her backwards. "No" she started to argue. It didn't matter. Didn't they all understand it didn't matter? She swallowed a shout as Ryden jumped in front of everyone. Her heart thudded in her chest. There was a moment as she looked around at everyone else where something like life flickered in her eyes. It was gone almost as soon as it had appeared. They were still fighting. They were going to get hurt and all for nothing. With dead eyes, Maya picked up the rifle again. It was almost robotic the way she fired. Each shot hit with almost perfect precision as Ryden and Ephram advanced. But it wasn't Maya anymore, not really. It was a version of her that knew only how to survive. The moment the threat was no longer imminent, it would crumble like dust.

Essie had stopper and drown repeating in her head. She could potentially blow a bigger hole than a bullet hole with her dust she'd just need to be at the front when they found doors that could close. Not that the idea enticed her any. But she voiced this to anyone who could hear her as she followed down the tube, walking backwards to keep an eye behind them. "I can firecracker my dust, blow a hole when you get the doors closing."

Ryden was practically tossing the creatures out of the way, his breaking through forceful, messy and stomach-churning, elbows-deep into dead bodies and their insides, ripping limbs, organs and skin with bare, clawed hands. What he missed, others would easily take down as they drew closer to what might be their salvation.

Ruby wasn't keen on leaving Maya behind for her to 'maybe' be sorted out. So when Ryden pulled their shell shocked friend behind him, Ruby let out a breath. She knew Ryden would keep Maya safe above everything else. But that meant she couldn't be a decoy. So as Ryden did his shifting trick, Ruby heard Ciara over the din. "How do we get the doors to work?" Ruby asked. "If we kill enough of them, they'll block themselves in. At least for a bit." 

But then Ephram was already moving in behind Ryden, headed that way. That left Ruby and Ciara and Essie. Ruby's shoulder was starting to ache fiercely, her swings growing weaker. She needed to shift so she could heal, if nothing else. Or she was a liability. Trusting that she would retain enough of her human mind with a voluntary shift, Ruby shoved her sword into the duffel bag that lay nearby, striipping her boots and clothes in quick succession before she let the wolf have her. Bones cracked and limbs lengthened, dark hair turned white and blue eyes bled crimson until a huge white wolf had taken her place. It shook itself, still covered in the same blood as Ruby, and lifted it's nose into the air. She could smell The Other ahead of her, and more that were familiar. It didn't take long for her jaws to find flesh. One great shake and a spine snapped before being tossed aside.

Ephram heard the familiar flap of fairy wings behind him and Ryden, and when Essie voiced her plan he was intensely glad that she /had/ followed them. "Git ready, then," he barked back at her, to be heard through the schripping of Ryden's claws and the screams of the creatures. "Build up enough dust so's you can blow a hole big enough for a goddamn hearse to drive through, and I'll take care of findin' the sealing mechanism." Because she was right; his bullets were good against the creatures, but the kind of hole they'd need to blow required dust and plenty of it.

Maya twisted as something caught her shoulder. She didn't go down though. Instead, she used its own momentum against it. In complete survival mode, she found its head and yanked. A sickening snap echoed in her ears. She scrambled again to her feet, blood dripping from her shoulder. She glanced up at Essie and nodded. Whatever the fairy needed her to do to help, she was ready.

Essie spares a hand, reaching out and touching Mayas shoulder with just a hint of healing, she couldn't spare much but a little was worth something at least. But she lets her wings lift her up off the ground, concentrating on generating a mass of dust rather than focusing on not tripping over the carnage on the ground. She might not be taking anything dangerous out while they moved, but she was trying her best to provide as much use as she could.

They were reaching the door that was Ryden’s goal. Kind of like one of those round, hermetically sealed submarine passages. Ryden had tossed one of the zombified creatures right at it, where it was full-body slammed and had its spine broken. Ryden reached those doors right after it but there would be no good in breaking the hatch, which he could definitely do - they needed it closed after. "Little help 'ere??" He asked, speech impaired by the Cheshire grin of sharp teeth and protruding canines.

The wolf-Ruby pushed forwards when needed, pulling back when necessary only to surge towards the monsters again when there was an opening. The corridor was quicklly filling up, and anything not dead from Ryden's hands or otherwise, she crushed it's skull with her teeth, making sure it didnt' move again. Her muzzle and chest and legs were stained red with gore, but Ruby kept going with the others. Biting and crushing and smashing her way through.

A fighter, a healer, a maker, a leader, and... Wasn’t Ruby human?? Not anymore, it seemed, but it would still work, an idea in Ciara’s mind. They needed the door closed. They needed to reach the door. The floor was slick and slippy and covered in corpses - each time they killed they made their own progression harder. They were under the sea. Sea with currents and waves and movement, and blood had that all too. She had the consent of two. That would have to do. 

In six people at once, the back of their wrists split open, spilling blood into midair that flowed into Ciara’s hands like a current, flowing and twisting and pumping, a six fold circulatory system. Magic like this had a cost, and they would just have to find out what that was. Once they’d survived. The blood curled into crystals And then into one. Ciara twisted the threads of ley magic into a whole new shape, instinct and confidence pouring into one, something new and something old, and something that would have to do. Ciara carved it and sculpted it like wood on her bench, like clay, like ice, and found a word that suited. She dropped the crystal to the ground, and spoke. 

“Clot.” 

All that bloody water surged around her, up, up, up, like a wave, and left those that she wanted untouched - the blood she had taken from them made each immune to her spell. The water pulsed and pumped, and picked up each body in turn, splicer and dead alike. Except it wasn’t picking them up - they were becoming part of the wave, like blood pouring out of a split artery and picking part of the pulsing, pumping mass. It was imperfect - all new spells were - too many had been left unscathed as well, confused if not for long. But others were gluing up behind the door, struggling. They were platelets to a wound, and now they were sealing, like a scab. The ley was quickly draining, and so was her connection to it. This would not last.

Maya stood for half a second in awe. The thought of pain in her wrist didn't occur to her. But she knew magic. It shook her out of awe quickly. "The door!" she shouted, "Someone hit the door." But she was holding a gun. Even as she said it, Maya raised the rifle and aimed. She fired into the door's control panel in a very Han Solo move. It crackled and fizzled before sliding closed. Maya dropped the rifle again, breathing heavily.

Ciara didn’t see the door close. One dozen, two dozen of them left, at least one was making its way over to her. Ciara raised a hand to do something, and instead... dropped to the floor, as two gitturns squeaked.

Ephram had been half-expecting Ciara to dip into her blood magic, but he hadn't for a moment thought it would look like this. Bodies and not-quite-corpses being picked up and dancing like puppets in a pusing wave to clot and seal up the entranceway that he, Ryden, and Essie had been making their ways towards, and Ruby too, from the sound of it. But before they could reach and put their plan into action, there was a rifle shot from behind them. The panel exploded and the door shut, and that was that. Problem solved.

Ciara, though, collapsed into the bleeding water below her feet, so Ephram turned his attention from where it was no longer required and ran back to the witch, dropping down to pull her from the filthy puddle. The gitterns chittered, angry or scared or both.

"C'mon, git the gross blood lady up and git in. Go go go GO!" Ryden hurried them along, having pulled the door open after Maya shot at the panel.

Essie yelped in pain at the cut on the back of her wrist forming, tears in her eyes involuntarily at the pain. Maya raised her gun to shoot and Essie -who'd almost dropped her growing ball of dust- lurched forward in a moment of panic but the door was closed too quickly. So much for drowning them. She turns her attention to something else she could potentially do with it. "A healing touch?" she offers unsure whether it would do any good running to the unknown womans side.

Maya nodded towards Ryden. They should get out of here while they still could. She half turned to Essie at her offer, "Ciara." She nodded towards Ciara for Essie's benefit before she looked for Ruby. She needed to make sure that the wolf got out with them safely. She wiped her face, finding it wet with saltwater.

Ruby barely felt the slice in her own leg/wrist as Ciara worked her spell. All she knew was that the air hummed with blood and magic and gore. The wolf knew what magic felt like, when it was dangerous and malintended, but other than that, she knew only that whatever the blood witch had done, it seemed to have worked. The other were further up the tunnel than her, so Ruby turned back when the door shut under the rifle blast. She saw the witch collapse, saw Ephram run over, and saw the lurch of another creature nearby by. 

Growling and snapping, Ruby leapt at the creature, who screamed and railed at her, clawing and biting before Ruby could close her jaws around its slick flesh. There was a sickening crunch, and the creature went limp. Ruby shook her head, tearing thecreatures throat out for good measure. She turned to the others as Ryden called out, lingering in the back but following close as the others moved ahead. She didn't want to be left behind.

Ruby wuffled at the nearly unconscious witch as Ephram dragged her up, giving the chattering furries a passive glance but not caring enough about them to linger. ~GO.~ she thought to the others. ~GO NOW. They are coming.~

Ephram made sure to scoop the little gitturns up, not at the moment caring if they bit him or whatever; into his rescued golf bag they went, as he toted it and Ciara down the passageway. "If this is anythang like them other fucked-up mold places," he huffed as they hustled, "now that we squashed a bunch of them monsters it's like that we's gonna--" And that was as far as he got, this time. Suddenly, Ephram ran himself, Ciara, the gitturns, and his golf bag full of weapons into a stacked display of yum-yum pickles, knocking everything over in a resounding and vinegary crash over the floor of the regular world version of the supermarket.

Essie watched the sheriff vanish as he had done before and gave a firm nod. She'd seen this before. "Some of us are gonna vanish outta nowhe-" and there she went. That tugging in her gut and she overbalanced and landed on her ass in a pile of pickles. Blinking in the new electronic lighting of the market she looks shakes her head, getting up quick. She needed to get home ...covered head to tow in guts /again/.

#plot:the blight #violence cw #blood cw #alessafalling #mayaparker #rydenbolt #scarlettxruby #thatwhichbindsus

[mainstream-deviant]

Deathshipping Week Day 4: Shadow Realm

@deathshippingweek Day 4 is here! I choose: Shadow Realm!

Summary: All Ryou wanted to do was meet a real live monster. That's not too much to ask, is it?

Rating: G

Words: ~1400, below the cut or here on A03

They were painting some of Ryou’s latest figurines when it first came up.

“You know… after all that happened, it’s odd to think that I never really got to play a shadow game myself.”

Kek cursed as a glob of paint ruined the end of his figurine’s cape. “Sure you did. You must have, at some point.”

“No, not really. Bakura did all of that while I was stuffed in my soul room away from the action. I never got to actually meet any of the monsters.”

“What about that one duel in Battle City?”

Ryou glared over the top of a 6-inch-tall tree. “Thirty seconds of severe disorientation doesn’t count.”

Kek huffed. “Maybe not.” He set down his brush and stretched out his back with a wince. “But you’re not missing much.”

“I still think it would be a really interesting experience, though.” Kek just hummed, and they went back to work. The topic drifted to other things as they slowly brought the figurines for their next campaign to life.

But the thing about Ryou Bakura is that when he gets an idea into his head, he doesn’t let it go until he’d seen it through. He brought it up again over dinner a few days later.

“Oh come on, let’s just try it!” Ryou gave Kek a hopeful grin.

“You’ve been sent to the shadows before. I don’t want to send you there again.” Kek pushed some rice around his plate with a frown.

“It would be more like a short vacation this time, really. And I don’t remember much of anything from the shadow realm the first time around, so that hardly counts. What I remember best is being famished when I got back, which isn’t terribly exciting. And besides,” Ryou waved a rice paper roll in Kek’s direction to emphasize his point, “this time I would have a guide to show me all the sights! It would be an adventure!”

Kek huffed and crossed his arms. “No. You could get hurt.” He knew – and so did Ryou, unfortunately for him – that he’d do almost anything for Ryou at this point, but putting Ryou in danger was definitely on the short list of exceptions.

Ryou huffed and chomped the end off of his roll, but promptly hooked his ankle around Kek’s to reassure him before leaping into gossip about Bakura’s latest escapades. They took bets on how many KaibaCorp employees were likely to get fired over them this time. Ryou figured at least three. Kek’s money was on more like ten. Kaiba must be pissed by now.

It took another week for Kek to finally crack. Ryou was splayed out on the couch, pouting as he fiddled with some loose threads on the armrest. “Pleeeeease? Just a very little visit. You know I’m not going to drop it until I see a real monster with my own eyes. We’ll be very careful. You know you can protect me, even if I manage to do something stupid.” Ryou was met with more silence, and tilted his head imploringly. “Pleeeeeeease? I’ll love you forever.”

Kek finally let out a huff of laughter. “I thought you already did?”

Ryou knew a victory when he saw one, and swapped his pout for a wide grin. “I’ll love you extra forever, then. Come on, come on, let’s try it!”

Kek let out a long sigh. “Ugh. Fine. But I’m pulling us out the instant something comes to attack you.”

“But not if it’s just saying hello.” Ryou’s face had settled into a small but determined scowl.

Kek levelled his best glare on Ryou. Ryou glared right back. Kek let out a self-deprecating chuckle and rubbed at his temple. “Fine. Deal.”

Ryou perked right up again. “Deal.” He clapped his hands and bounced in his seat excitedly. “Ok, let’s go! I want to meet some monsters!” When Kek held his arms out in invitation, he hopped to his feet and scurried over.

Kek wrapped his arms securely around Ryou’s stomach and pressed him back to his chest, before closing his eyes and tugging on the thin thread that would always connect him to the shadows. He felt Ryou’s excited fingers gripping at his forearms as a warm glow burst from his forehead and the room darkened in a swirl of deep purple. For a few long moments, all was silent. Then, Ryou was batting excitedly at his arms.

“Kek, Kek look! Isn’t that one of your cards?”

Kek opened his eyes and looked to where Ryou was pointing. There was a brief swoop of pale blue before the creature vanished again in a puff of purple smoke.

Kek grinned. “I think so, yes.” He kept one arm firmly around Ryou’s waist as they walked toward it. “Not a bad one for a first visit, either.”

Ryou gasped in delight as the creature swirled into view. It formed a lopsided face for a moment before looping around them. “I think it’s curious!” Ryou held out his fingers and practically shone in happiness as some loops of blue slime curled around his fingers. “Why didn’t you tell me revival jam was so cute in person!”

Kek rubbed at Ryou’s hip with his thumb. “I didn’t stop to talk to any of these at the time, you know.”

“You should have. He’s delightf- oh!” Ryou startled as his hand was suddenly encased in cool slime and a wobbly blue face formed a few inches from his nose. “Why hello! It’s nice to meet you!” Revival jam trembled for a moment, before slipping away back into the shadows.

Ryou clapped his hands. “That was amazing!”

“I’m glad. Let’s get out of here before…” Kek tensed as the shadows to their left rippled. That looked like something considerably larger than a revival jam.

Ryou held still and lowered his voice to a whisper. “What is it?”

Kek tightened his arm around Ryou and squinted into the nothingness. “I’m not quite sure. Something bigger.”

“Let’s see what it is!”

“Stay still, Ryou.”

Ryou nodded and kept his eyes trained on where they’d seen the last disturbance. Every few seconds there was a new ripple in the wall of darkness, but nothing came out. Kek growled. “Get on with it, would you?”

Almost as though it had been waiting for an invitation, a vicious looking claw emerged from the shadows, followed by a blue hand tipped with sharpened nails.

“Oh, that’s definitely not the jam back again, is it?”

“Hmm. No.” The beast stepped out of the shadows, gaping at them with the fanged mouth sitting where its stomach should have been. “That’s Dark Jeroid.” The creature stood as tall as a horse, though with far too many limbs, and waved its long upper claws at them slowly as it approached.

“He’s lovely!” Ryou held out a hand. “Do you think he’ll let me touch him?”

“Hell if I know, Ryou.” Kek shuffled them around to face the monster properly. “Try not to lose a hand when you try.”

“Oh, pssssh, I won’t. He’s a nice friendly fiend, isn’t he? Yes you are.” Ryou reached out and gently ran his fingers along one of Dark Jeroid’s limbs. “Oh, he’s lovely and warm. What a good beastie!”

Kek watched in bemusement as his supposedly horrifying and vicious beast gave an awful, ear-grating moan and shuffled closer to Ryou’s reaching fingers. Ryou was clearly thrilled. He reached out with both hands to run his palms along the top of the creature’s torso, where the it was noticeably lacking anything like a regular head.

Loud, rattling gasps started coming from both of the creature’s mouths, and Kek could only assume they were a Dark Jeroid’s equivalent of a purr. Kek’s silent bemusement gave way to a low chuckle, which quickly became a loud burst of laughter when the beast knelt down, tucked its limbs up underneath itself, and settled its weight into their sides like an overgrown housecat. He reached out to grasp one of the vicious-looking claws and shook his head as Ryou enthusiastically started searching for the best spots to pet the beast.

“Only you, Ryou.” Kek laid his third eye on top of Ryou’s head as Ryou continued to coo at the monster, which was now lazily flicking its tail back and forth as Ryou ran tender fingers along its limbs. “Only you.”

**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**

((I can’t tell if this story is just about the fact that Ryou is a friend to all scary things, or whether it's more about Ryou earning the stamp of approval from his boyfriend's buddies. You know: “So, uh, guys, I’d like you to meet my boyfriend Ryou…please be cool about this....”))

#mainy writes #fanfiction #deathshipping #ryou #bakura #yami marik #yugioh #ygo

[theweddingofthefoxes]

So on your monster!kylo pet play fic frapandfurious commented "imagine they come under attack and Hux is in danger and he just, snaps and goes from regular to monster in .004 seconds and just Wrecks the attackers." Would you please write this?!

Oh @obsessions-and-dreams! This one’s for you!

It’s a little companion piece to The Onyx Mine but all you really need to know is that Ren can go into a sort of monster mode when he needs to but Hux has sort of ‘tamed’ his monster side. 

The return to the shuttle wasn’t far, but it was soured by the knowledge that everything that they had come to this backwater planet for absolutely nothing. Defeat was a taste that Hux wasn’t used to, but the senator he had met with had made things explicitly clear–he would not give up the natural resources of his home planet to the First Order for any price or under any condition, would rather destroy all of the raw materials and face annihilation than give up. It was a quandry. Hux would happily do it for him, and start over, shaking down some other planet instead, but these were rare, and the senator was serious. A more delicate solution had to be devised. And fast.

Ren was at Hux’s side like an enormous shadow, silent as Hux spoke. “Absolute waste of time,” Hux said. “For all parties concerned. A fast submission would have been far more beneficial for everyo–”

Ren froze, pulling Hux’s arm to keep him from moving. Not half a second later, a blaster shot pierced the empty air where Hux would have been standing had Ren not acted. Every nerve in Hux’s body felt raw and on edge, and he stepped, instinctively, behind Ren as he drew his own blaster. “Ren, are you–?”

In a languid moment they’d had together, not too long ago, Ren had mentioned that he had been refining his transformation, and could enter the onyx mine much faster than he used to be able to. “It used to take ten minutes or more, and only with serious concentration,” Ren had said lightly. “But it’s come faster and faster, every time–like my body knows what it needs to do, like my mind just slips into it–”

And it was true.

Hux had never seen the beginning of the transformation, only the end. 

It was hard to see much of anything at all, with Ren fully dressed and masked, but the sounds coming out of his vocoder were so strange and strained and odd that they sounded almost like a broken machine, a radio just barely working. It was horrifying. It was arousing.

Ren took off, moving like no human being and no known animal, too fast and too liquid and sometimes on all fours and sometimes on two legs. The air, warm with sunlight already,was now almost unbearably hot, as Ren pulls through him some kind of energy that Hux can’t even imagine. There were a number of attackers, those loyal to the Senator who thought they could just take out a general of the First Order and Kylo Ren, and Hux had gotten a few with his own blaster, but nothing, nothing in the entire universe, could prepare him or the attackers for the true terrifying power that Ren had–

And then there were none left, and Ren had torn off his helmet and approached Hux, still radiant with power and blood coursing with whatever unknowable Force he had tapped into but proud, pleased him with himself, expectant. Waiting for Hux to tell him he had done well. His black eyes were as unnerving as ever, but there was something sweet in that warped beasty expression, too.

“How magnificent you are, Ren,” Hux murmured, not yet reaching out to touch Ren–not here, not yet. “One last thing, my very best one. My loveliest beast. You know what’s left, right?”

Ren knows what’s left. He can’t verbally agree to this, but the way he took off back into the senate building, Hux striding, moving quickly but not hurrying, not fearful–they both know what’s going to happen next.

By the time Hux caught up, smiling thinly, his boots clacking triumphantly on the marble floor, Ren had already caught the senator, was holding him in his deadly grip.

“An unwise move,” Hux said. “But perhaps it’ll save us time after all. We did not come here to be played as fools, Senator.” Hux smiled, sweetly now, at his darling boy. “Did we, Ren?”

Ren lets out a snarl that could freeze another man’s blood. The senator whimpers. 

“Let’s put the past behind us and begin the negotiations again. Exactly where we are.”

On the ride back, the contracts all signed and their time not wasted after all, Hux took the still-shimmering Ren back to his private quarters for the business of soothing Ren back into humanity.

“My very best one,” Hux said again, stroking Ren’s hair with a firm hand, the way cats and dogs and human-beasts like most. “My very best boy. You amaze me, every day. I am in awe of you, Ren.”

Ren growled, satisfied, beloved, and sank into exhaustion, knowing Hux would not leave. 

#my fic #cosleia #obsessions-and-dreams #monster ren #kylux

[tales-of-abysia]

Mind of a Madman - The Flood (4/4) Dried Up

(This is the #4 of a 4-part blog. These are all from months ago, and it took me a long time to form them into the right words, to get it all together. You can also find them with my #theflood tag below if you find it hard to get them straight.)

Several months ago…

They all met in the Library chamber. It was an awkward moment of silence as Azure approached the table. “What happened?”

Mari scoffed. “While you were off having a snow walk we had a breakdown. Aqua attacked, Crimson is locked in Lexi's chambers and Darkside was caught walking her right through the door to our home.”

“He's here as well, yes?” Azure turned his gaze from Mari to Bastion, who seemed more than a little bit smug.

“Honestly, I'm not sure to buy his story but Duske, Zane, Skeith and I caught him with coordinated attacks. He says he was sent down for recon and took this opportunity to reach back to us. The way the gate was opened suggests it was forced from the other side so it’s more than likely that he did it himself.”

Azure nodded. “Yeah, that makes sense. I told him I wanted Aqua lured into a trap, and Duske was designed to be able to seal someone within.” He glanced over Bastion's shoulder to where a suit of armor sat on its knees, hands bound backwards. “It looks like it worked but not for the correct target. Damn.”

Bastion shook his head. “Of course you had some kind of secret plan. You couldn’t give anyone else a heads up, could you? We could have been ready for this. Instead we have Mari, Zane and Audio all wounded and Artisan is gone.”

Azure looked around the room. Mari's face was scarred, Zane was very gently assembling a new arm with only his right hand, Audio and Engine were missing as well as Artisan. “What happened to them?”

Zane spoke up, “Well Darkside bent my wrist so far back my forearm exploded, Crimson threw Audio down into a staircase and shattered his physical form, and Engine’s book was ripped up and he went full exorcist on the undercroft before returning to Audio's side. Lexi stitched the book back together but he’s gonna need a few days to pull himself together. Ink is fucking everywhere down there. They’re both in their rooms. As for Artisan, he got to Aqua as she was going to kill Mari and ended up getting abducted. She took him under.”

Tech stood up. “I’m going to the bulkhead to check on it. I’ll stay there as gatekeeper for a while. When you are ready, I’ll let you pass into the Bin. Don’t be long, as Artisan surely doesn’t have forever.”

As he exited the room, Mari stood up. “Jaxx and Kaje are coming with me. They are more resilient than most of you. Bane, will you come along?” His arm was damaged, but partially functional after Aqua's assault.

Bane went to push his chair back, but as he stood Mikendo grabbed his shoulder and forced him back into the large wooden seat. “No dice, mate. Imma head out instead.” He walked around the table to where Azure stood. He shot him a solemn smirk for a moment and then sighed. “I’m gonna need it back now.”

Azure stared into Mikendo’s eyes. There was only ever one gift, so there wasn’t much else to say. Azure closed his eyes and held his hands out, cupped upwards. There was a whistle as he focused, dull at first and then growing to that of a teapot. A golden light formed in his hands, whipping around until it formed a solid gold sphere. Mikendo placed his hand atop it and there was a snap, a burst of wind, and a dull flash of light. Azure opened his eyes and the golden ring in them had faded away. The exchange was complete, for the time being.

Mikendo let out a sigh and ran his fingers under his hat and into his hair. The hat fell to the ground and his short, orange hair showed through. The blond had vanished. As he opened his eyes the green had grown more yellow, flecks of gold shining as his gaze turned to Mari. He spoke without his normal accent. “Well, now I’m ready to go and fight Aqua. What are we waiting for?” He had returned to being the man he once was; Mikendo had returned to being Scythe. However, this transformation was not complete; could never be complete without Audio. No, this would be a fleeting form for him, one that he would wear only when full of dark emotions, like now when his brother may be killed by his sister. He wouldn’t take any chances.

Mari nodded at him. “That sounds good. So we have the four of us. Anyone else?”

Hush stood from his corner seat and nodded. “I can’t enter but I would like to help. I have a connection to the Bin, while you’re inside I can use you guys like circuits to control aspects of your environment. I’ll do my best to turn situations in your favor.”

Jaxx rippled under his human skin. Dark veins pulsed as he let out a heavy sigh, a rumble resembling a growl hiding just beneath his voice. His frustration was nearly overwhelming. “I’m going to wait at the gate. I can’t be here anymore.” He stood with force, his chair falling over as he did so. He then rippled and sank into his own shadow, which swam across the ground and underneath the Library door.

Kaje nodded, standing hesitantly. “I’ll do the same. We shouldn’t be alone right now.” He turned, faded into smoke, and glided along the floor and through the crack in the door.

Azure spoke to Mari and Scythe. “You guys be careful. She’s not going to go down without a fight. She’s been waiting for a long time for a chance to do this.”

They both drew their weapons as they said “I’m counting on it.” Mari and Scythe then walked down the carpet and out the large doors.

Azure sighed. “This is not how I wanted my morning to progress.”

There was an eerie deadness to the air within the Chronos Bin. Where thin fog and an uncomfortable static once filled the air, there was now a stifling silence. The dimness that once cascaded down through the fog had thickened to darkness, lit only by weak lanterns of blue light that were stretched few and far between. Tech closed the bulkhead behind them and stood guard, bumping his fists to Scythe's as they began to fan out.

Jaxx called out first. “Blood here. It’s thick and rich, must be from Artisan.” The other three drew near and they all examined their surroundings. Outlines of dying flora hardly stood out among the black. “Curious how she managed to move him. He’s a big guy, for such a soft voice. She’s the opposite.”

Scythe scoffed. “Wit and cruelty are her weapons. She likely prepared for this, so maybe she had some beasties around to help, or she used her water to make a dolly.” He ran his fingers through his hair, from bright orange tips to dark roots. “She got Artisan in the arm, yeah? That would certainly inhibit his ability to fight back.”

Mari pushed passed the boys and to a small gap low in the branches. Kaje came up behind her, his pale, feathered flesh letting off just enough light. “Okay boys, it looks like she definitely went this way. I see what looks like water flow here. The ground is soft like a riverbed.” Her eyes narrowed. “We have a trail.” She held her right hand back and Kaje coiled around it, forming a glowing shield on her arm she then used to hold the bramble out of the way.

They continued to follow the trail until they met a great gate, stone walls extending out in both directions on its side. This was the end of their safe zone. The area up until now existed within a great hall, which plants wound in and out of through broken stained glass windows. When they arrived at the doors they creaked open invitingly. Scythe pat the door as he walked through it. “We’ll return soon, Hush.” The others followed him out into the exterior. They knew nothing of what waited beyond.

Outside of the Cathedral shaped building, the sky above them was cracked, the infinite blackness letting through thins cracks of light as the ocean overhead began to bleed down. At this rate, the sea they looked upon each morning would be all dried up soon. The area around them was once full of life, albeit a twisted form full of beasts, shadows, and nightmare plants. Now it more resembled a wasteland where Death awaited them. After a moment they saw dim beacons appear in the distance. They found a trail of moisture, and without any doubt they followed the trail to Her.

Her hideout was decayed, an old building that wore a broken emblem from a forgotten time, the building in which four worked as one for years until their uneasy team broke apart. What once resembled a town hall now instead had fallen to ruin, the clock tower's hands fallen meekly to the bottom numbers, never to move again. At the window Mari could see in to the building where Aqua stood. She leaned on a counter that had seen much wear and tear, and before her the back of the building was gone, instead a thick black ice stretched up and into the cracked sky.

Artisan's voice echoed through the chamber from the back. “I’m surprised you haven’t ended me yet.” He was half-embedded in the ice, his wounded shoulder and the same leg both frozen in place. He couldn’t work with the soft ground around him.

“Honestly, I don’t plan to. I can’t put us back together how we used to be if you’re gone. That makes my job harder.”

He scoffed. “You really think you can put it back how it once was? It’ll never be the four of us again. Tech has deteriorated to the ghost of who he was, and Mikendo actually likes who he is. If I’m being honest, I didn’t enjoy myself back then either. Atlas was a phase.”

“Well, either way I’m sure they won’t leave you here forever. It wasn’t my plan to take hostages, but I’m sure it will work out. Darkside and my pet are still up there anyways.”

Artisan shook his head, and wrinkled his nose as he grimaced toward the mountain of black ice he had been fused to. “This smells rancorous. How did you manage to even make such a poison?”

Aqua chuckled. “Honestly, Alexander, it’s your innocence of this matter that tickles me. I didn’t make any of it. It bled down here from higher up, sinking down through the layers one by one and filtered through your great Tower above. The dark fluid has been repressed, bottled up. When it overflowed it sank into everything, started affecting all of us. Down here, only the most powerful aspects survived. I didn’t always have this plan, but in the last decade there’s been so much of this I had to. Your precious Sorrow failed you. This is all his doing, his fault. When I’m done with him, there won’t be any more sorrow, and this dark depression you’re quite literally stuck in will begin to evaporate. I'm sick of the weakness.”

Artisan stared at her, and then looked up through the ceiling’s many gaps to find the glacier extending upwards. Above them was one of the many glowing cracks, a viscous fluid draining through. “All of that?”

“Emotion. Dark ones, too. You can taste it, can’t you? Hate, betrayal, heartbreak and self-depreciation. It’s like a fluid suicide, perfectly preserved deep inside. Nothing is done with it. This feeling of oblivion builds up more and more, so it’s really no surprise at all that we’re suffering. The pain is being banked, Alexander.”

Artisan stared at her for a long time, silent. His mind raced, this information shaking his core. He had always thought that he had kept things under control. It appeared that she had convinced him into uncertainty. His eyes looked beyond her for a fraction of a second before closing. “I understand.”

Aqua raised a brow. “Good.” She then leaned back, flipping over the counter and grabbing a long pole with a blade on the tip. As she landed on her feet, she pivoted her body toward the doorway where Mari stood with a white shield on her arm. “My, my. You came right back to me!”

Mari glared. “I will never be a part of you.”

Aqua smirked. “You’ll always be a part of me. You can’t control that.”

Mari spun her arm, her ring-shaped blade gaining speed before she threw it forward. Aqua swung her glaive in an arc and caught the weapon, pinning it to the ground. As Aqua drew the tip from the soil Mari ran up to her, hand extended back toward her own shadow. The shadow grew a hand, Jaxx pulling his form from the dark and twisting his figure into a spined sword. Mari parried the glaive with Jaxx, then rose Kaje and used his hard surface to parry a blow from the crystal at the end of Aqua’s long hair.

Aqua kicked off of the counter and stepped on Kaje to get passed Mari. Once behind her, the ground beneath her cracked and a grey hand extended to grab Aqua's ankle as she tried to turn.

Mari took the opportunity and sliced at the back of Aqua's knee. In a pained reaction, Aqua’s crystal stabbed back toward Mari. She dropped Jaxx to the ground and grabbed the sharp shard, not even wincing at it cut into her palm.

Aqua struggled to break free, then looked up to see Scythe before her. “You… you’re back to yourself.”

Scythe glared down at her. “Yeah, that would be your fault.” He spun his scythe and held it out, the blade curling around Aqua's neck. “Any last words?”

Her eyes filled with panic, she tried to pull away but found the grip of Hush on her leg tighten alongside Mari's. “I just-“

“Nah.” Scythe turned around, tightened his grip on the shaft of his weapon and pulled tight. There was a shriek, and then the sound of slicing filled the room. Suddenly, the cold in the air faded away. Aqua's glaive melted into a rancid black liquid. He didn’t turn to look at her as he took the long way around the room. It was a familiar path to where Artisan was trapped; he sighed in relief. “I really thought you were about to behead her.”

Mari pulled the braid of hair from the cold glowing crystal and let the long, loose hairs fall around the now short-haired Aqua. The brilliant blue began to bleed out of her, becoming pale and palid. She was powerless, and without drive. “Only doom remains…”

Mari narrowed her eyes and tossed Kaje at her. Kaje warped his form into hard shackles, wrapping around her arms and feet. Jaxx rose from the ground and leaned down to growl in her face. “Your pet killed what I loved. It’s poetic that my little sister helped save Alexia's life.” He then grabbed her throat, his form warping around her as well to form a large collar with spines. He wouldn’t let her escape again.

Scythe placed his palm on the black ice. It hummed, then cracked. With his other hand he grabbed Artisan's free shoulder and yanked him free. Artisan's face was one of disbelief. “Wow… I never thought I’d see you wear that face again.”

Scythe stared straight at the wound on Artisan's shoulder. There were dark black veins stretching out like a spider's web. He looked away, his eyes instead focused on an old table with four seats. “I didn’t really have a choice. At the time my oldest friend was being dragged into an endless graveyard by his worst enemy. I was pretty sure you were going to die.”

Artisan nodded. “Mhmm… Did you hear what she said?” He pulled his tattered sleeve down to cover the wound.

“Yeah. Gonna think on that for a while. Let’s get outta here though.” He turned around, walked passed Mari. “Hush, let her go.”

The grey hand softened into soil and Mari grabbed Aqua, pulling her to her feet. They walked the long path back. As they got to the Bulkhead again, Tech’s eyes met hers. The blue had begun to fade from them. “Tech… I’m s-“

The collar rippled, growing over her face. Tech frowned. “Jaxx, let her speak?”

A fanged mouth grew over her face. “No. Her actions have said enough.”

She stared back at him riddled with guilt as they walked her onto the pad and then vanished in a bright light. She looked over her shoulder to him, certain that it would be the final time their eyes would meet.

Back in the city, they came through to find Azure, Bastion, and Damien there waiting. Damien stood first. “Artisan, are you all right?” They had a short talk. Damien had already begun to plan repairs and requested his help.

Bastion approached Mari and took possession of Aqua's chains. He knew where to bring her. Scythe was looking around at the city's many pipes, and then out the window to see that the ocean had vanished almost entirely, and the city was slowly growing closer to the ground. They would land soon.

Azure walked up to him. “You did a good job. It looks like nobody was hurt. I can take that back for you, now.” He held out his hand.

Scythe slowly looked at him, then down to the hat that Azure held in his other hand. He snatched the hat and slid it on, his eyes fading back to their green tint as the hair color lessened. Mikendo once more, he then placed his hand on Azure’s shoulder and looked him dead in the eye. “Yeah…” He glanced over to Artisan, who was showing Damien his wound. “That aint gonna happen.” He turned away and walked up the stairs. Azure look after him in disbelief before turning his gaze to the permanent sunset on the horizon. Change had finally come.

#mind of a madman #theflood

[voidbears-oc-stash]

*before the ice can hit him he creates an Overwrite button! AND SLAMS HIS FIST INTO IT! causing A MASSIVE explosion of energy which INSTANTLY incinerates the ice! and throws EVERYONE back SLAMMING them against the walls! AND THE WHOLE TOP OF THE MOJO TEMPLE! IS BLOWN CLEAN OFF! as a dark GEYSER! a straight BEAM of dark energy being encircled by a spiral of green energy! EVEN the Goliath looks on in shock! ALL OF Xaster's minions are in shock!* Riot: OH HELL NAH! *BEEP* THIS! i don't CARE what Xaster dose to us! UV Goblin: these energy reading ARE OFF THE SCALE! i've NEVER seen anything like this! Riot: *looks at Nina'n the Mutants* SCREW THIS! YOU WON! and good FREAKING LUCK! ALL MEN! RETREAT! *ALL of the forces WITH a brain scramble into exist portals! the Goliath getting dragged through one! back inside all this energy's being SHOT STRAIGHT outta Xaster! you can only SEE his eyes'n mouth glowing from that ENDLESS stream of darkness!* Xaster: COME! COME TO ME MY SPAWN! RETURN! ALL! TO THE UTTER PRIMORDIAL TO WHICH YOU SPAWNED! *cue Shadows ZOOMING from EVERYWHERE! in EVERY nook and cranny of Wumba island! Nina would probably be the first to notice her own shadow distorting! a red SMILING face! tearing its way onto it! before it ZIPS off! the same happening to EVERYONE on the battlefield- including the bloodmoon ghost! all of it RACING into the stream surrounding Xaster! whatever he's DOING is needing all the evil just floating around! * Ultra: UGH! IS- IS EVERYONE ALRIGHT!? I CAN'T- THE FORCE OF THIS IS PINNING ME TO THE WALL! I CAN'T! MOVE-

"Give me the ring." Qwarkon says.

Frostbite casts a protection spell hastily.

"I think hometown may be getting a few million more residents." Expo says, with a bit of concern in his voice

Beastie is hissing at everything.

Fusion is holding onto Jackxy tightly in a protective way.

#oc roleplay #jax #qwarkon the blood moon's ghost #frostbite dragon #expo 'the explorer' #beastie the pet shadow beast #fusion the shape demigod

[michaelpatrickhicks]

Interview: Hunter Shea, author of Jurassic Florida

Hunter Shea has been a favorite of mine for a few years now, earning my attention rather quickly with his weird western novel Hell Hole [review]. The fact that Hunter is one of the most reviewed authors on this site speaks both to my love for the man's work and also just how damn prolific he is. I haven't read all of Hunter's books just yet, but it's pretty damn close. Over the last few years, Mr. Shea has become inextricably entwined with creature features, oftentimes of the cryptozoological nature, and his particular brand of horror is all about fun. While the monsters are certainly important, the human element is equally well-crafted and vital to the success of Hunter's works.

This summer and fall, Kensington Books is releasing Hunter's One Size Eats All trilogy. Like last year's Mail Order Massacres, each title will be a stand-alone novella tied to one another by a common theme. First up is Jurassic Florida, which released this past Tuesday (you can read my review here). To mark this new release, Hunter was kind enough to join the High Fever Books blog for a few questions. Welcome to the blog, Hunter! 

Favorite beer and favorite scream queen or Final Girl?

Oh man, favorite beer? It’s like asking me to pick my favorite child. For many, many moons, it was Sapporo, but lately I’m digging 914 by Yonkers Brewing. Love their place on the Hudson River, too. As for my favorite Final Girl, if we’re going old school, it’s Julie Adams from Creature From The Black Lagoon for damn sure. In more modern times, I would have to say Sharni Vinson as Erin in You’re Next. That little waif of a woman was a total bad ass.

It looks like your first published book was 2011’s Forest of Shadows, and over the last seven years you’ve built up a hell of a catalog of titles. How long were you writing prior to becoming a published author and tell us a bit about your writing process. What allows you to pump out so many consistently good and entertaining books so quickly?

I got bitten by the writing bug in the mid-90s. I spent years working on short stories, tried my hand at a couple of novellas, then dove into the deep end and wrote a romantic comedy as my first novel. I just wanted to see if I could sustain that passion and momentum for a whole book. Once I proved to myself I could, I wrote another, this one a pretty dark comedy. All of it was prep work to write my true love, horror. I didn’t want to do it until I felt I was ready. Forest of Shadows took years to write because my kids were babies at the time, and years sitting in one editor’s hands (Don D’Auria) before it got accepted. But it was worth the wait. When I’m working on a book, I try to write at least 1,000 words every day, trying to double the output on weekends. That way, I know I can get a book done and edited in 4-5 months. Novellas I attack like a sprinter. They key is to just sit my ass down and write. There are so many distractions out there, but if you want to be a working writer, you have to learn to ignore them. There’s no shortage of ideas, just time to get them all out of my head.

You don’t just write about the paranormal and cryptozoological, but you actively seek it out. In your Monster Men YouTube series, you’ve discussed all things supernatural and have taken the occasional visit to a haunted cemetery or two. Where did this fascination come from, and have you had any encounters with the supernatural? Tell us about your monster hunting!

Growing up, one of my grandmother’s was a psychic. Not the kind that had people pay her money to read their palms or tell their future. My grandfather said she would hold séances and he’d seen their table levitate a couple of times. By the time she was just grandma to me, she looked a lot like Mrs. Butterworth. She was an amazingly sweet lady who never talked about her gift. Cut to my getting married and my wife and I moved into what we now know is a haunted house. We see a boy walking around from time to time. Not like a pale ghost, but an actual boy. You get this very calming feeling when he’s around. It’s hard to describe. I’ve had several other odd experiences, including one the night my father passed, that make it impossible for me not to believe there’s more to death than just THE END. I haven’t done much monster hunting simply because there aren’t many monster sightings in lower New York. LOL But, I have gone on many, many UFO hunts in Orange County, NY.

Jurassic, Florida just came out earlier this week and revolves around the sleepy little town of Polo Springs coming under attack by enormous prehistoric iguanas. What do you have against iguanas? What made them the perfect monstrosity to base a story around in your latest creature feature?

I hate reptiles. I love animals, just not snakes and lizards. My kids have been asking for a pet iguana since they could talk. I tell them they are free to get as many iguanas as they want when they move out. My editor and I wanted to do this big, Bert I. Gordon inspired novella with giant reptiles. Watching Floridians get eaten by them just seemed like a lot of fun (no offense to Floridians – I get joy out of all people being terrorized by prehistoric beasts). Now I can tick killer giant iguanas off my writing bucket list.

Jurassic, Florida is also notable for being the first in a series of novellas for Kensington Books that are united under the One Size Eats All banner. Last summer you wrote the Mail Order Massacres novella series for them. How did these trilogies develop? What’s the creative processes like in bringing these works to life?

I have a great editor there, Gary Goldstein, who, like me, is just a big kid warped by comic books, B movies and bad television. We had so much success with the Mail Order Massacres series that we wanted to tackle a new one, but shift it from comics to nature gone wild. The original series title was Hunter Shea’s Don’t Fuck With Nature, but naturally we were turned down on that one. Gary and I trolled for stories on the Internet for inspiration. Living in NY, we read a news article about how rats were becoming resistant to rodenticide, so in comes Rattus New Yorkus. Another story about swarms of tiny iguanas got us to Jurassic Florida. The Devil’s Fingers came from I think Gary seeing a horrid picture of what they look like. Once I saw it, I ran with it. Those things look like they’re either from outer space or hell.  

Over the course of your career so far, we’ve had books about Loch Ness, Orang Pendek, a megalodon, the Montauk Monster, chimera fish, and so, so much more. How do you decide what creature to feature from book to book? When you set out to write, does the creature come first, or do you develop a story around the creature first and plug in a threat? Do you have a list of cryptids you’re working your way through?

It’s crazy how I’ve fallen down this cryptid hole. And I love it. I’m a huge fan of cryptozoology, so yes, I do have a list. I always start with the monster and flesh the story out from there. Even though they’re creature features, getting the humans just right is most important to me. People don’t walk away from Loch Ness Revenge wanting more Nessie. They want more Nat and Austin and Henrik. That makes me happy. Plus, I’m just having a ball writing about all the beasties that have fascinated me since I was a kid.

What’s your personal favorite cryptid (and why)? Is there a creature you haven’t written about yet, but that you’re dying to tackle in the future?

Growing up, I was a huge Nessie lover. I wanted to move to Scotland and just live on the Loch. Back then, I loved any aquatic creature. My fascination went from sharks to whales to Nessie. Now, to me, the most fascinating cryptid and backstory belongs to the Mothman, hands down. Everyone should read John Keel’s book, The Mothman Prophecies. We are talking some wild, weird stuff. It wasn’t just about a winged creature terrorizing people. We’re talking ghosts, UFOs, men in black and so much more. I really have to get my butt to the annual festival this year.

You’re perhaps best known for writing really fun, humorous, off-the-wall works of horror that are high on action and adventure. But you’ve also got a few works that are more serious in tone, like We Are Always Watching. In the fall, Flame Tree Press will be releasing its first wave of horror titles, including your novel Creature, which sounds like it’s one of your more serious works with its heroine, Kate, suffering from an autoimmune disease. What can you tell us about Creature and how your own life inspired this book?

I love character driven stories, and Flame Tree gave me a golden opportunity to explore some dark and scary issues. It was very difficult to write because so much of it is drawn from my own life. My wife has a series of autoimmune diseases that have nearly taken her life more times than we can count. I took all that fear we’ve experienced and laid it out on the page. Sure, it’s set in a cottage in the Maine woods, but it’s not a teen slasher romp. I want readers not just to be scared by the antagonist, but to also understand how tenuous their own health and lives are. Nothing is more frightening than that. People who loved We Are Always Watching I think- I hope - will devour this one.

Creature also sees you working again with famed horror editor, Don D’Auria. You worked with him previously when you both were with the now defunct Samhain Publishing. How was it working with Don again? 

I love Don. He was the only editor I sent my very first book to because I only wanted to work with him. And by some magical twist of fate, here we are years later, not just editor and writer, but friends. Don is great because he values the writer’s vision. If he’s chosen to work with you, it’s because he loves your work and trusts your instincts. He’s just there to tighten things up for you. It’s incredible creative freedom. With Don, I can try my hand at just about anything, so long as it hits certain marks and has characters people give a crap about. Without that, you have nothing.

Do you prefer writing the pulpy creature features, or the more serious horror novels like We Are Always Watching? Do you find one style to be more rewarding?

The more serious toned books are much, much harder to write and like all things in life, more fulfilling. It’s just a different experience. I almost feel like when I write the creature features, I’m a kid who can’t believe I get to do this for a living. When I step into a book like Creature, I have to put my big boy pants on and be an adult. Both are extremely satisfying in their own ways.

What comes next for you? Pimp away!

After Jurassic Florida, the next in the series, Rattus New Yorkus will come out in August, followed by the series ender, The Devil’s Fingers in October (just in time for Halloween!!!). Right now, I’m working on a ghost writing project that is a whole new world for me. Once that’s complete, I have a new novella for Severed Press to work on that people who dig The Thing will salivate over. Then it’s on to my next book with Don and Flame Tree. Speaking of that, I have to get the synopsis over to him!

Where can readers find you? Share you links!

It’s all at www.huntershea.com. On Instagram, you can find me @huntershea2017. Feel free to visit me any time! I actually respond to folks when they reach out to me. :) 

FLORIDA. IT’S WHERE YOU GO TO DIE. Welcome to Polo Springs, a sleepy little town on Florida’s Gulf Coast. It’s a great place to live—if you don’t mind the hurricanes. Or the flooding. Or the unusual wildlife . . .   IGUANAS. THEY’RE EVERYWHERE.  Maybe it’s the weather. But the whole town is overrun with the little green bastards this year. They’re causing a lot of damage. They’re eating everything in sight. And they’re just the babies . . .   HUMANS. THEY’RE WHAT’S FOR DINNER. The mayor wants to address the iguana problem. But when Hurricane Ramona slams the coast, the town has a bigger problem on their hands. Bigger iguanas. Bigger than a double-wide. Unleashed by the storm, this razor-toothed horde of prehistoric predators rises up from the depths—and descends on the town like retirees at an early bird special. Except humans are on the menu. And it’s all you can eat . . .

Buy Jurassic Florida on Amazon

#interview #Hunter Shea #Jurassic Florida #Kensington Books #Flame Tree Press #Severed Press

[shepgeek]

Film Review of 2016

Disappointments

Since everyone seems so keen to dispatch 2016 asap, let’s start on the downers!

2016 has definitely had its occasional moments but we seem to be fast converging on a generic blockbuster soup. The year was littered with blockbusters which had both impressive visuals and charismatic performances but also had nothing new to say, beyond sticking a franchise marker in the ground (Doctor Strange, Fantastic Beasts, Ghostbusters, Kung Fu Panda 3, Warcraft, Jason Bourne, The Magnificent Seven & even the largely over-praised Civil War). Whilst all of these films passed the time well & were basically enjoyable, there is the ever-increasing whiff of missed opportunity around the primary Hollywood fare. Less successful were Independence Day: Resurgence (distracting but pointless) and X-Men Apocalypse - an uneven, florid and unexpected misfire, although nowhere near as far behind Civil War as was generally made out.

Meanwhile, over in the DC Universe, Warner Brothers kept fumbling what should be their easiest win. From a low start, Batman vs Superman fades badly on repeat viewings (even the ballyhooed Special edition). There are definitely no problems in their casting department and I remain a fan of Cavill; his mournful look in the courtroom is played magnificently. Ben Affleck’s Batman was expertly portrayed but bore almost no resemblance to the essence of the character that I for one love, delivering in his place a psychopathic fascistic jackass who was a far cry from the world’s greatest detective. How we’re supposed to root for him then or in the future is a mystery - I would honestly take Clooney’s portrayal over this. Poor Affleck - he delivers what he is given magnificently; blame the architects and not the builder. Gal Godot’s cameo keeps me hopeful that Patty Jenkins may just save the whole damned thing with Wonder Woman next year, but Warners are certainly running out of strikes. The idiotic shambles of Suicide Squad was only barely saved from one-star dreck by the huge charisma of Will Smith & Margot Robbie, and whatever spark the concept started with seemed produced and edited into manufactured oblivion. To make it worse, DC’s TV shows remain such charming and silly fun: I wonder how much appetite standard audiences still have for the upcoming JLA films.

Arrival came trumpeted with massive critical heraldry but I was greatly disappointed.  I found it derivative (Torchwood: Children of Men with the pilot & finale of DS9) and, as with The Martian and Interstellar, flirted with scientific ideas (which film reviewers mistake for “intelligence”) only to discard them for woolly sentimentalism. Only Zemeckis’ Contact reigns supreme in this expanding genre of science storytelling and, even though the performances in Arrival were compelling, the film (albeit decent) left me greatly frustrated.

Another smash hit that I did not care for was the Secret Life of Pets, a tedious and rambling Toy Story knock-off (though my daughter loved it so what do I know?) but nothing compares to the real disappointment of the year- Swiss Army Man.  My take was this: a smug, cold, flimsy and empty experience, it became the first film I’ve walked out of.  Ever.  In fact I did so about 5 minutes before the end, since I knew exactly where it was going and was so disengaged that it was only going to annoy me. I should add that I do like very much that the film exists and I could imagine friends and reviewers whom I respect loving it (as many did) but it bounced off me completely and ultimately left me irritated and even a little angry.

  Moments

In the midst of an uninspiring year for cinema, there were still a few moments which blazed through the repetitive fug & reminded me how joyous cinematic storytelling can be. Spielberg’s BFG had many such notes, from the visual poetry of the Giant silently twirling through the shadows of London to the childish joy of the whizzpopping Queen. Other moments of delight included the moment of “Hang on - are they doing this? - oh Yes They Are!” when the Beastie Boys’ bassline kicks in during the final act of Star Trek Beyond and, whilst The Revenant may have been a tad indulgent, the bear attack had me yelling at the screen.  Any scene featuring Flash the Sloth in Zootropolis was laced with comedic genius whilst our arrival in the city, combining Shakira’s perfect pop with gorgeous animated depth and colour, was magical. Ryan Gosling’s masterclass of toilet gunplay clowning in The Nice Guys was only topped comedically by the rampant and prolonged genius of the game of “Would that it were so simple” tennis in Hail Caesar! But narrowly pipping that for my cinematic moment of the year though, was Lord Vader himself.

I feel conflicted over Rogue One as ultimately it is yet another film which exists because it can, not because it needed to. To note the lack of comment about the unsettling fake Peter Cushing (squarely in the uncanny valley) after the shrieking which greeted the prequel trilogy’s “Dodgy CGI!” headlines perpetuates the accepted myth that those films are disasters to discard  but I see little difference.  Rogue One is another three star entry to the saga; I’d put it on a level with Attack of the Clones in terms of quality, ahead of Phantom Menace. Disney have a whole Galaxy to explore but choose to sustain the increasingly weird trend of aping preceding classics with an echo instead of trying out a new voice. Quite what Joss Whedon made of the final act is anyone’s guess: “the feisty rebels fight their way past a space armada (losing comedy relief Alan Tudyk along the way) to climb a radio antenna so they can send out the message to topple the evil empire” rang a few bells with me anyway. Rogue One also felt choppily re-edited (what was with the psychic space octopus?) whilst the new characters didn’t really land at all.  Indeed directly after leaving the cinema I (and all of my party) struggled to name any of the characters (Erm…. Jinn, the moustache guy, the blind guy, his mate, the pilot, Forest Whitaker, the funny droid, the small thing that looked like a testicle…).  Despite this problematic emotional deficit we were treated to some glorious set pieces and nicely pitched beats, but when Darth Vader’s lightsaber illuminates his terrifying visage we are treated to a moment of cinema as resplendent in its awesomeness as it was shamelessly gratuitous.  After my considerable mithering about not being able to share Star Wars with my children last year it was almost a relief to see such a grim conclusion (No Way is it suitable for under 10s) but it makes me return to my wondering of who Disney are making these films for.  Episode VII is rumoured to be “darker” still; where is the cheerful space-fairy-tale where we all started?  Eventually they’ll stray too far from Lucas’ indelible first film (still the finest of the lot, for me) and step back cinematically but they run the risk of increasingly diluting the specialness of the whole thing. The fun “Star Wars Rebels” TV show fills a bit of this gap but even that has clouds of doom in the background (although seeing Chopper & The Ghost in Rogue 1 was a nice touch). Maybe after the sad loss of Carrie Fisher last week now isn’t the time to whinge about gloom in the Star Wars Universe, but I feel that my love for the franchise is certainly starting to be tested.

The year in numbers

Number of films seen: 93

Way down on other years- I blame box sets).

Number of ***** films released in 2016 : 0

This happened in 2011 too, but I’d normally expect at least 3.

Number of 2016 releases seen: 32

 About par for the course.

Number of cinema trips:29

Again about my average: I’ve been to the cinema 188 times in the past 6 years.

Number of new films seen:51

I’m improving here, which pleases me.

 Most anticipated for 2017

Baby Driver

Edgar Wright’s films are ace (except that one which I don’t mention since people shout at me).

 La La Land

This looks gorgeous and I thought Whiplash was sensational.

 Logan

I like everything about how this looks.

 A Monster Calls

Original storytelling! Yes!

 Paddington 2

Obvs.

 Star Wars Episode VIII

A New Hope?

 T2: Trainspotting

Hugely exciting- these film makers have only grown more talented in the past 20 years.

20 years.

Gods I’m old.

 Thor: Ragnarok

My favourite Marvel franchise goes comedy-space loopy. Has the potential to be my favourite of them all.

 Wonder Woman

I love this character and I want my daughter to as well. Get this right DC. Please.

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

 Missed during 2016 but would like to have seen:

Allied, the Big Short, Finding Dory, Midnight Special, Money Monster & Passengers. I also did not see either Room or Spotlight, because I was never in the mood for the grimness of either.  Look, I’m busy and I’ve turned 40. Can you tell?!

  Top 10 films of 2016

Bubbling Under: The charming and colourful Moana and also Kubo and the Two Strings were superior family fare whilst The Jungle Book was an immersive treat.

 10        The Revenant

Technically stupendous but also oddly emotionally detatched and often needlessly arty- truly great cinema puts storytelling before craft and allegory with the latter drawn from the former (if it can) and I felt that, despite the stupendous cinematography and artistry on display, that beauty was sacrificed for emotional or narrative strength- certainly for plausibility. I’ve had these issues with Iñárritu before, but there is no denying the fact that this remains a remarkable piece of cinema.

9          Deadpool

Actually a bit more sharp than I’d first realised and a clever piece of programming, but still not what it could be if it halved the budget and really cut loose.

#driveby

8          10 Cloverfield Lane

The main problem is the name (It has nothing to do with the 2008 film and I was always waiting for them to tie together), but the claustrophobia and paranoia are immersive, shocking and unpleasantly tense.

7          The Hateful 8

A trifle indulgent at times, but a terrific theatrical experience.

6          The BFG

Not as comedic as you’d think, with a pervasive melancholy vibe of loneliness, guilt and regret emitting from the screenplay, lead actor and the director. It takes a while to get going and doesn’t aim for huge emotional sweeps, but the patient craft of Spielberg is clear to see. The BFG is lovely filmmaking with a real gentleness at its core and it will only grow in reputation over time. Also features explosively farting Corgis.

5          Star Trek Beyond

The best Blockbuster of the year I was surprised and delighted to see how much it grew on repeat viewings. This warm and witty love letter was assembled at huge pace but it made for a thrilling piece of cinematic escapism. A considerable improvement on its predecessor, the highlights were the pairings of the characters, especially Spock & McCoy. They did fudge the character of Kirk a little in order to both complement the story’s main theme & provide a suitable reflection in the villain and as a result Kirk is, paradoxically, the least convincing part of the piece but, after a terrific and assured finale and beautiful grace note for the 50thAnniversary, the films ends perfectly with the whole crew, as it should.

4          Hail Caesar!

Another film that gets better the more you think about it, Hail Caesar! loves movies almost as much as its protagonist and this feels like one of the Coens’ more personal films. Their goofy wit is littered throughout it and it nods to cinematic tradition constantly, including some wildly unnecessary set pieces which spectacular and as fun as there are knowingly indulgent.

3          The Nice Guys

Quintessential Shane Black it may be, but his voice is so distinct and entertaining that a film with this level of charisma is hard to take against, no matter how familiar the ingredients might be.

2          The Man who Knew Infinity

A truly delightful surprise, I was expected this to be a guilty pleasure (given my love of Maths and knowledge of the subject matter) but instead I was treated to a terrific piece of film making: quiet, earnest, substantial, well acted and gracefully told.  Seek it out! It may appear like a generic biopic but the subtle exploration of Ramaujan’s talent and his faith and the search for absolute truth in both Mathematics and Religion that connects him to Hardy (along with circumstance) is well rendered. It is certainly considerably superior to the Imitation Game.

1          Zootropolis

So Disney has eclipsed Pixar- that Lassiter dude certainly knows what he’s doing.

I’m pretty amazed to see this as my film of the year, as it is a kids’ film, a cartoon. And yet, when I look back on everything I’ve seen over the past 12 months, it is the one film which made me smile the most and it continues to grow on repeat viewings (which my children beg for).  It is kind of expected that incredible colour, imagination, design and wit are de rigueur in these films but not only does Zootropolis get all of these ingredients exactly right, it sneaks in small hints of profundity. After a year in which unsavoury debates have been poisoned by irrationality, this film, without every threatening to be preachy, gently illustrated to my children exactly the message I needed them to see. The core of the film concerns how we can get judged by what we are, not who we are or what we do and even both protagonists, who are wildly different, fall into this trap during the course of the story.  Judging a book by its cover is in our DNA but reflecting on how we process this instinct is something that struck a chord with me, long after my first viewing. Concepts of “Them and Us” are challenged directly but without ever lecturing or straying from the narrative or the wit.  The film is subtly layered both narratively (themes of exclusion and lack of purpose are examined through deft comedy) and visually (a quick rewatch of the final 10 minutes allowed me to spot nods to Speed and The Empire Strikes Back) and the music and humour are hugely pervasive.  It is no masterpiece but is certainly the film I needed in 2016.

This may be a cheesy way to finish the year but the lyrics to the (frighteningly) catchy main song from Zootropolis contains a message for Film Producers (despite being sung by an alarmingly sexy gazelle):

“I want to try everything, I want to try even though I could fail;  I’ll keep on making those new mistakes.”

I’ll take more Swiss Army Men every now and then if it leads to more Whiplashes.  Let’s hope to see cinema trying everything in 2017.

Happy New Year!

[voidbears-oc-stash]

*she threw off his swing, causing him to miss da bois! and actually startled him! him stumbling back! impressive considering the size he's normally at! wouldn't have worked if he wasn't still small- that form QUICKLY unraveling and surrounding Beastie! causing her to be in his hand! in his grip!* Xaster: BLASTED! INSOLENT BEAST! I AM TIRED OF BEING TREATED AS A JOKE! SO I'LL SHOW YA WHAT REAL FEAR IS! MORTAL! *cue his grip TIGHTENING! and a SURGE of Chaotic'n dark energies shoot from said hand holding Beastie! running through her body, like a she's a gaming mouse and he's the battery! A LOT of power flowing through her! making EVERY nerve and pain sensor feel like its ON FIRE! the pressure from him squeezing her like a stressball won't help either- *

Beastie does something that's a mix of both a growl and a whimper.

But her little plan did work, Frostbite has woken up and Expo and Blacky are coming back now.

#oc roleplay #jax #beastie the pet shadow beast #frostbite dragon #blacky the void demon #expo 'the explorer'

[voidbears-oc-stash]

Xaster:... well if its like that- *the whole of the recreations for all three crumble- back to the Mojo temple'n this universe- Phantom and 9 stuck in place eyes glowing purple as they can't exactly escape their worst fears- Xaster creating a MASSIVE sword* perhaps, getting rid of THESE worthless puppets'll BREAK you ay Ultra? *he says reading a massive side swing leveled at their chests- BEFORE Swinging said swing- he's tired of playing too it seems- *

Beastie, who is still there, just starts lunging at Xaster's arm and biting. It's gone poorly before but she's still protective. She just wants to distract Xaster for long enough to Frostbite to wake back up and Expo and Blacky to feel like it's been long enough to return.

#oc roleplay #jax #beastie the pet shadow beast