Completely random post time brought to you by a serious lack of inspiration.
A while back Satashi (I think) used to issue little challenges to the writers here in an attempt to stir up some creativity. This was YEARS ago, but some of you are veteran enough that you may remember. I'm thinking of starting that back up again. There's no contest and no rewards, just something fun to do. By making you write something you may not have written before or thought about, it makes you think a bit harder about what you're writing.
What say you?
I say bring on the challenges
I've been in a writing slump anyway, maybe it'll help me get out of it?
Completely random post time brought to you by a serious lack of inspiration.
A while back Satashi (I think) used to issue little challenges to the writers here in an attempt to stir up some creativity. This was YEARS ago, but some of you are veteran enough that you may remember. I'm thinking of starting that back up again. There's no contest and no rewards, just something fun to do. By making you write something you may not have written before or thought about, it makes you think a bit harder about what you're writing.
What say you?
That sounds like a good idea, it would be interesting to see what random fics we'd end up with.
I could think of a couple ideas for challenges that would be interesting to see someone write.
Location: Place of rocks and trees, and trees and rocks...and water.
Age: 33
Quote:
Originally Posted by Shigan
*is trounced by dc's and Yui's massive shove for Hot!/"fluff"/pr0N* ^^;
Just to make sure... what exactly is it you're shoving me for? I mean, mild sex scenes of the Tame kind do take a whole story that goes with it to build up. I think RB is actually more skilled than me in producing hot shorts *holds up It Never Hurts With You*.
Hm, well, for me I'd just like to see the scene that leads up to a reaction like that from Hayate . So technically, what happens after yui's picture wouldn't even matter that much, I want to see just what Vivio said that caused Hayate to snap .
Completely random post time brought to you by a serious lack of inspiration.
A while back Satashi (I think) used to issue little challenges to the writers here in an attempt to stir up some creativity. This was YEARS ago, but some of you are veteran enough that you may remember. I'm thinking of starting that back up again. There's no contest and no rewards, just something fun to do. By making you write something you may not have written before or thought about, it makes you think a bit harder about what you're writing.
What say you?
Sounds like a good idea. Maybe I can finally write something in contribution after reading all these years.
Hm I want to see just what Vivio said that caused Hayate to snap .
after an hour of teasing and cajoling for attention from a busy Yagami:
"Mmhmmm... Shexy legs. At what time do they open, Hayate? "
__________________
Never stop being a kid. Never stop feeling and seeing and being excited with great things like air and engines and sounds of sunlight within you. Wear your little mask if you must to protect you from the world but if you let that kid disappear you are grown up and you are dead.
— Richard Bach
I walked up to the green crystal that contained the girl. She was small, not even adolescent; she couldn't be older than five, barely out of infancy. A twinge of something like sadness touched me, for this girl was dead, and she had been dead for quite some time. Her soul, miraculously, was still within her body, however; I figured that the crystal must have been a primitive version of the Throne. The soul seemed connected strongly to the girl's Linker Core, and I could feel that the Core's energy was almost gone. This girl didn't have much time left.
I took my gloves off and touched the crystal. Focusing energy into it, I willed the crystal to come apart. Cracks emanated from where I touched it, spreading rapidly across it before the crystal shattered into thousands of glass fragments. The girl floated down to the ground, her still body uncaring about the events unfolding around her.
The soul and Linker Core would need a charge. Without some sort of power, the girl would never come to life. I knew that the only thing that could power a soul was another soul - it was the basic premise behind sustaining yourself via soul-stealing. However, unlike taking a soul into your body, you would sacrifice a soul to revive the dead. It was basically supposed to be martyrdom; in the legends of Al-Hazared, there were many love stories where parents or lovers would give up their souls so a loved one would come back to life. These stories always ended in tragedy, of course.
I almost decided to turn and walk away then, deeming the girl not worth it, but I could sense that the girl's Linker Core was powerful... or rather, it had the potential to be. With the right training and studying, I could turn this girl into quite the formidable opponent. Yes... I could indeed.
I searched within myself for a powerful soul to sacrifice. Even after all this time, I still had quite a few at my disposal, easily over a hundred. At first I considered Precia's soul; for whatever reason, souls that were related somehow had a higher compatibility rate. I decided against it for fear that Precia's madness was infectious. Instead, I chose a different soul, that of what you would call an SS-type Knight, and pulled it out of myself. The pain was negligable, and, taking the swirling mote of light, placed it in the girl's body and whispered words of power.
The resurrection process is hard on the body; it's similar to being born again. An anguished cry of pain came from the girl's mouth; she writhed, clawed at the air, at her own skin. I held her down the best I could and closed my eyes, focusing my own powers to heal the wounds she was causing to herself. But slowly, the girl began to calm down, and for the first time in years, she opened her eyes.
The thing about meddling with souls is that it changes your eye color. Whatever they were before, this young blonde now had bright green eyes... eyes that glowed with power. I smiled at the girl, who only gave me a confused stare back.
"Who are you?" she asked. "Where's Mama?" I bit the inside of my lip.
"You... don't remember?" I asked, thinking of a lie. "Your mom was hurt in an accident... you have to stay with me for a while."
"What kind of accident?" The girl tried to sit up. I helped her, pulling off my robe's cloak and wrapping it about her. She shivered.
"Nothing that can't be repaired," I lied. "You're mom just needs some time to get better, that's all!" I smiled at the girl, and I could feel my old ways easily returning to me. I began to lace in a bit of enchantment with my words. "But your mom told me that you have to become a great and powerful mage in the meantime, so you have to study with me and my friends, okay? You don't want to disappoint your mama, do you?"
"No, I don't," The girl nodded, and I could see a determined fire in her eyes. "I love my mama, I don't want to disappoint her!"
"That's a good girl," I ruffled the girl's hair. "But..." I tried to recall her name. "Alicia, I bet you're tired, aren't you? We've had a long trip, you know!"
"..." Alicia nodded and yawned. "Yeah... sleep..." Fortunately, the revive process is taxing on the body, and Alicia quickly passed out. I conjured up some sheets for her to lay on, and soon she fell even deeper into slumber. I turned my attention from the girl and looked at the Throne of Souls. I could see the grey and red motes of light which I needed. Walking up to the computer, I typed in a series of commands. The computer accepted the codes, andd a portal opened in the Throne, ejecting the two souls.
The souls floated aimlessly and started to ascend; the natural direction of whatever Heaven you believe in, I assume. I cast a bind spell and dragged the souls to my level, staring at them intently.
"Now, you two," I said, pulling two more souls out of myself. "It's time for you to return and continue your duties!" I concentrated and pushed my sacrifical souls into theirs. Pulses of white and red light emitted from the souls as they began to rebuild from bodies with magic. I looked away from the blinding light, but I had seen this before and knew what was happening; first, the bodies, made whole again, every fiber and muscle and organ rebuilt; secondly, their Linker Cores were being refocused, using the power of the soul as its main component; finally, the clothing the souls last remember wearing, in pristine condition.
The two reformed humans fell to the ground and to one knee. Silence, except for breathing, was all I could hear as I looked at the two. But slowly, one of them stood.
He was tall, his dark hair tied up to keep out of his eyes... well, if he had any. He was blind, and instead of eyes I knew under that bandage were nothing but scars. He was dressed in heavy platemail, colored as if the purest silver, the etchings of his family crest on the pauldrons. A great red scarf, sown by the other, covered the lower half of his face, and extended down his back. On his side was a small rod that would extend into a halberd at a moment's notice.
I smiled at the tall man. "Noland Reiniger," I greeted. "Welcome back."
Next to him, the second rose, much shorter than he and even shorter than myself. Her hair was in a sideways ponytail, long and a shade of red that I was always envious of. She had on a tight-fitting suit of black armor that showed up her petite but, I knew, powerful figure. Her eyes were a blue as dark as the ocean but as intense as the sky, and a mask covered much of her face. She looked at me and removed her mask, a smile on her face.
"And Keroko Georashi," I nodded. "It's good to see you too, after all this time."
The two smiled back at me, and for a brief moment, that warmth of friendship and love extended between the three of us. These were my Guardians, my Protectors, sworn to defend me to their deaths, which they had done - numerous times in fact. But I always brought them back. I could have gotten new Protectors; perhaps stronger ones, or smarter ones, but I didn't. The three of us had seen so much together that life without them was impossible for me. We were all more than friends, but not quite lovers.
"Lady Morrigan," Noland returned, a bit stiffly. He always was when trying to be formal. "What glorious path shall we tread today?"
Keroko was a quite less formal, and threw her arms around me. "Morrigan, it's so nice to see you! Hell, it's nice to be alive again!" I accepted the embrace warmly for a minute before I let her go.
"We have a lot of catching up to do, you two," I started. "We've been out for a long time."
"We?" Keroko echoed. "You mean... they got you too?" I nodded.
"Yes, but... we still won in the end, I think," I smiled. "Al-Hazared is no more! But," I paused for dramatic effect. "We are now so far in the future that the entire system is different now. There's a new authority over Ordered Space, but they seem much more benevolent... but we know what that means."
"So it's started all over again?" Noland asked, a bit despondant.
"On the contrary, my... Calamity Knight," My smile took on a slightly dark edge as I used the name given to him by our enemies. "This... Time-Space Administration Bureau is still young, very young. From the memories I've analyzed from the first person I came across since revival, They've not even been around for a Galactic Century yet! Also, their magic, while more advanced than ours, does not share the same versatility or power!"
"So we're to fight again, Morrigan?" Keroko inquired, her eyebrows raising and a glint of bloodlust in her eyes. "I look forward to a good scrap!"
"Not yet, my love," I said, gesturing toward the sleeping girl. "I want to try something different this time. Whereas before, we tried to destroy Al-Hazared from the outside, this time I simply want to take this Bureau over, to ensure that the same thing that happened to us can never happen again! Furthermore, that girl... she's powerful, I can feel it. I want to train her, make her strong and powerful... I want to raise her, I suppose."
"A daughter of your own?" Noland walked over, his heavy steps echoing in the air, and looked down at Alicia. "Yes... I could see why you would want to. People like us, we're unable to have children, after all."
"Indeed," I nodded. "But... I want our family to grow, Noland. For so long, it's been just the three of us. It's been wonderful, but I think it's time to expand! And this girl is the first step to that. Her name is Alicia. We will raise her as our own."
"Of course, Morrigan," Keroko walked up to Alicia and picked her up, cradling her gently in her arms. "So where shall we raise her?"
"There's a world not far from here," I answered. "In our time, it was a primitive backwater, but today, it's at the beginning of its technological revolution! We will go there, and together, we'll start a family again." And be happy, I thought to myself.
"And then when that time comes..." Noland began.
I smirked.
"Then... my Calamity Knight and my Planet-Cracker will be ready again, yes?"
"Always, my dearest Lady Morrigan." Noland said, nodding his head.
"Anything for you, my lovely Empress," Keroko smiled wide. I nodded to both of them.
I walked up to the green crystal that contained the girl. She was small, not even adolescent; she couldn't be older than five, barely out of infancy. A twinge of something like sadness touched me, for this girl was dead, and she had been dead for quite some time. Her soul, miraculously, was still within her body, however; I figured that the crystal must have been a primitive version of the Throne. The soul seemed connected strongly to the girl's Linker Core, and I could feel that the Core's energy was almost gone. This girl didn't have much time left.
I took my gloves off and touched the crystal. Focusing energy into it, I willed the crystal to come apart. Cracks emanated from where I touched it, spreading rapidly across it before the crystal shattered into thousands of glass fragments. The girl floated down to the ground, her still body uncaring about the events unfolding around her.
The soul and Linker Core would need a charge. Without some sort of power, the girl would never come to life. I knew that the only thing that could power a soul was another soul - it was the basic premise behind sustaining yourself via soul-stealing. However, unlike taking a soul into your body, you would sacrifice a soul to revive the dead. It was basically supposed to be martyrdom; in the legends of Al-Hazared, there were many love stories where parents or lovers would give up their souls so a loved one would come back to life. These stories always ended in tragedy, of course.
I almost decided to turn and walk away then, deeming the girl not worth it, but I could sense that the girl's Linker Core was powerful... or rather, it had the potential to be. With the right training and studying, I could turn this girl into quite the formidable opponent. Yes... I could indeed.
I searched within myself for a powerful soul to sacrifice. Even after all this time, I still had quite a few at my disposal, easily over a hundred. At first I considered Precia's soul; for whatever reason, souls that were related somehow had a higher compatibility rate. I decided against it for fear that Precia's madness was infectious. Instead, I chose a different soul, that of what you would call an SS-type Knight, and pulled it out of myself. The pain was negligable, and, taking the swirling mote of light, placed it in the girl's body and whispered words of power.
The resurrection process is hard on the body; it's similar to being born again. An anguished cry of pain came from the girl's mouth; she writhed, clawed at the air, at her own skin. I held her down the best I could and closed my eyes, focusing my own powers to heal the wounds she was causing to herself. But slowly, the girl began to calm down, and for the first time in years, she opened her eyes.
The thing about meddling with souls is that it changes your eye color. Whatever they were before, this young blonde now had bright green eyes... eyes that glowed with power. I smiled at the girl, who only gave me a confused stare back.
"Who are you?" she asked. "Where's Mama?" I bit the inside of my lip.
"You... don't remember?" I asked, thinking of a lie. "Your mom was hurt in an accident... you have to stay with me for a while."
"What kind of accident?" The girl tried to sit up. I helped her, pulling off my robe's cloak and wrapping it about her. She shivered.
"Nothing that can't be repaired," I lied. "You're mom just needs some time to get better, that's all!" I smiled at the girl, and I could feel my old ways easily returning to me. I began to lace in a bit of enchantment with my words. "But your mom told me that you have to become a great and powerful mage in the meantime, so you have to study with me and my friends, okay? You don't want to disappoint your mama, do you?"
"No, I don't," The girl nodded, and I could see a determined fire in her eyes. "I love my mama, I don't want to disappoint her!"
"That's a good girl," I ruffled the girl's hair. "But..." I tried to recall her name. "Alicia, I bet you're tired, aren't you? We've had a long trip, you know!"
"..." Alicia nodded and yawned. "Yeah... sleep..." Fortunately, the revive process is taxing on the body, and Alicia quickly passed out. I conjured up some sheets for her to lay on, and soon she fell even deeper into slumber. I turned my attention from the girl and looked at the Throne of Souls. I could see the grey and red motes of light which I needed. Walking up to the computer, I typed in a series of commands. The computer accepted the codes, andd a portal opened in the Throne, ejecting the two souls.
The souls floated aimlessly and started to ascend; the natural direction of whatever Heaven you believe in, I assume. I cast a bind spell and dragged the souls to my level, staring at them intently.
"Now, you two," I said, pulling two more souls out of myself. "It's time for you to return and continue your duties!" I concentrated and pushed my sacrifical souls into theirs. Pulses of white and red light emitted from the souls as they began to rebuild from bodies with magic. I looked away from the blinding light, but I had seen this before and knew what was happening; first, the bodies, made whole again, every fiber and muscle and organ rebuilt; secondly, their Linker Cores were being refocused, using the power of the soul as its main component; finally, the clothing the souls last remember wearing, in pristine condition.
The two reformed humans fell to the ground and to one knee. Silence, except for breathing, was all I could hear as I looked at the two. But slowly, one of them stood.
He was tall, his dark hair tied up to keep out of his eyes... well, if he had any. He was blind, and instead of eyes I knew under that bandage were nothing but scars. He was dressed in heavy platemail, colored as if the purest silver, the etchings of his family crest on the pauldrons. A great red scarf, sown by the other, covered the lower half of his face, and extended down his back. On his side was a small rod that would extend into a halberd at a moment's notice.
I smiled at the tall man. "Noland Reiniger," I greeted. "Welcome back."
Next to him, the second rose, much shorter than he and even shorter than myself. Her hair was in a sideways ponytail, long and a shade of red that I was always envious of. She had on a tight-fitting suit of black armor that showed up her petite but, I knew, powerful figure. Her eyes were a blue as dark as the ocean but as intense as the sky, and a mask covered much of her face. She looked at me and removed her mask, a smile on her face.
"And Keroko Georashi," I nodded. "It's good to see you too, after all this time."
The two smiled back at me, and for a brief moment, that warmth of friendship and love extended between the three of us. These were my Guardians, my Protectors, sworn to defend me to their deaths, which they had done - numerous times in fact. But I always brought them back. I could have gotten new Protectors; perhaps stronger ones, or smarter ones, but I didn't. The three of us had seen so much together that life without them was impossible for me. We were all more than friends, but not quite lovers.
"Lady Morrigan," Noland returned, a bit stiffly. He always was when trying to be formal. "What glorious path shall we tread today?"
Keroko was a quite less formal, and threw her arms around me. "Morrigan, it's so nice to see you! Hell, it's nice to be alive again!" I accepted the embrace warmly for a minute before I let her go.
"We have a lot of catching up to do, you two," I started. "We've been out for a long time."
"We?" Keroko echoed. "You mean... they got you too?" I nodded.
"Yes, but... we still won in the end, I think," I smiled. "Al-Hazared is no more! But," I paused for dramatic effect. "We are now so far in the future that the entire system is different now. There's a new authority over Ordered Space, but they seem much more benevolent... but we know what that means."
"So it's started all over again?" Noland asked, a bit despondant.
"On the contrary, my... Calamity Knight," My smile took on a slightly dark edge as I used the name given to him by our enemies. "This... Time-Space Administration Bureau is still young, very young. From the memories I've analyzed from the first person I came across since revival, They've not even been around for a Galactic Century yet! Also, their magic, while more advanced than ours, does not share the same versatility or power!"
"So we're to fight again, Morrigan?" Keroko inquired, her eyebrows raising and a glint of bloodlust in her eyes. "I look forward to a good scrap!"
"Not yet, my love," I said, gesturing toward the sleeping girl. "I want to try something different this time. Whereas before, we tried to destroy Al-Hazared from the outside, this time I simply want to take this Bureau over, to ensure that the same thing that happened to us can never happen again! Furthermore, that girl... she's powerful, I can feel it. I want to train her, make her strong and powerful... I want to raise her, I suppose."
"A daughter of your own?" Noland walked over, his heavy steps echoing in the air, and looked down at Alicia. "Yes... I could see why you would want to. People like us, we're unable to have children, after all."
"Indeed," I nodded. "But... I want our family to grow, Noland. For so long, it's been just the three of us. It's been wonderful, but I think it's time to expand! And this girl is the first step to that. Her name is Alicia. We will raise her as our own."
"Of course, Morrigan," Keroko walked up to Alicia and picked her up, cradling her gently in her arms. "So where shall we raise her?"
"There's a world not far from here," I answered. "In our time, it was a primitive backwater, but today, it's at the beginning of its technological revolution! We will go there, and together, we'll start a family again." And be happy, I thought to myself.
"And then when that time comes..." Noland began.
I smirked.
"Then... my Calamity Knight and my Planet-Cracker will be ready again, yes?"
"Always, my dearest Lady Morrigan." Noland said, nodding his head.
"Anything for you, my lovely Empress," Keroko smiled wide. I nodded to both of them.
"And so we shall begin."
~To Be Continued
In conclusion, write your story as a single One Shot and you'll see much better results that breaking it into chapters. It's short enough.
Seriously though, the final chapter of Episode 0 was a lot better.
Location: Pennsylvania. It's sort of like a real state.
Age: 39
Quote:
Originally Posted by Shigan
*Looks to MoCZo with meaningful eyes.*
The Tragedy gal has a point, the line would be hilarious in context.
I'll think about it. Maybe if I'm struck with inspiration, but to be honest, I've been in a bad mood the last few days and crack doesn't exactly flow in that state. I promise nothing.
I think that's really more up your alley, Shigan. Considering what it leads up to and all.
*Takes a thinker pose*
I shall consider this. I mean, I've got one of the lines already, all I need is the rest of the story...
__________________
Never stop being a kid. Never stop feeling and seeing and being excited with great things like air and engines and sounds of sunlight within you. Wear your little mask if you must to protect you from the world but if you let that kid disappear you are grown up and you are dead.
— Richard Bach
And indeed, locating the book and slipping it into his special stealth pack which blocked scrying spells as well as conventional alarm scanning had gone off well
I think this sentence is a bit weird, is it saying that the alarms went off? It really leaps out to me since just as I was reading this, an alarm went off downstairs